The Hard-Working Words Blog

Hi (NAME),

Welcome back to the Hard Working Words Newsletter . . .

No big preamble this month. Let’s just dive in and get right to the good old fashioned marketing meat . . .

In today’s issue . . .
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A Stupidly Simple Trick That Practically *Forces* People To Believe (Almost) Every Word That You Say
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I screamed like a sugar-addled pre-teen who’d clawed her way to the front row at a Hannah Montanna Concert.

Only louder.

And *slightly* manlier.

And not so much from “Oh my God it’s Miley!” excitement as from “Oh my God I’m going to die” pain.

You see, for about 12 years now (and for the last 3 years really bad) I’ve had horrible, terrible, awful, nasty, brain-addling back pain.

Not all the time.

I mean, heck, I go through long bouts where I bounce around like Tigger and do handstands for no reason at all.

But once or twice a year something *weird* happens and I go down for the miserable, Vicodin-loving count.

All the muscles in my back seize up.

My right hip crawls up under my armpit and lays down like a tired kitten.

And suddenly I don’t “walk” so much as shuffle, stumble and *rage* my way from place to place.

Now, over the years I’ve tried *everything* to get my spine to shut up and behave. Chiropractic, yoga, weird Russian electro stim therapy, whacky pills, meditation, stretches . . . you name it, I’ve signed up and paid my money.

And nothing has *really* worked long term . . .

I’ve never been able to find that “Magic” cure that I’ve so desperately been looking for (and that so many people seem downright eager to provide) . . .

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And Then Last Week I Found Myself Flat On My Back In A Small Room Above A Dry Cleaner Screaming My Fool Head Off As An Ex Gymnastics Champion FORCED My Leg To Stretch In Ways I’m Not Quite Sure Are Natural
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I screamed, bitched, swore, prayed and moaned my way through a full 2 hours of torture with this guy . . .

I hyperventilated, sweat my way through my T-shirt and, at several points, thought I was going to pass out . . .

I giggled like a maniac and, I’m not too manly to admit it, I cried . . .

And then the next day I went back and did it all again.

And while I’m not 100 percent back to “Tigger” mode yet, thanks to all that screaming and kvetching and pain, I am standing up straighter and happier than I have in months.

Which is pretty darned cool.

And makes my girlfriend happy (because a pain-wracked Haddad is a grumpy Haddad.)

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Now, Here’s What This Is All About
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In marketing, there are certain “Magic” words that you hear again and again and again.

Things like “Easy, Simple, Lazy and F.ree.”

Heck, I use these words all the time in my own work.

Because they’re extremely effective at appealing to the “Lizard brain” of most prospects.

And because, like I always say, Marketing Is The Art Of Making A Promise And *Keeping* It . . .

But there’s an advanced level component to this, which is that you’ve got to make a promise that your prospect can actually *believe.*

And the best way I’ve found to do that is to inject a tiny “damaging admission” into your pitch where you admit a small (or sometimes even *large* flaw.)

For instance, I was recently hired to write a sales letter for a hypnosis product (not creepy stage hypnosis, but cool brain-hacking stuff that really does work.)

Now, the obvious route would be to say that once you had these hypnotic “Conversational Hypnosis” powers you’d be able get those around you to do “Anything You Want.”

The problem with that kind of promise is that, to most people, it’s completely unbelievable.

It’s just too big of a pill to swallow and it sets off the “BS” meter like crazy.

So what we have to do is add a little bit of “damaging admission” sugar to this hypno medicine to disarm that raging BS meter.

How do we do that?

One of my favorite ways (and there are others) is with the word “Almost.”

Compare these two headlines . . .

1. “How To Use The Power Of Simple Conversations To Get Anyone To Do Anything You Want.”

Or

2. “How To Use The Power Of Simple Conversations To Get Anyone To Do (Almost) Anything You Want.”

Which one is more compelling?

Which one is more *believable?*

Which one disarms the BS meter?

Just using that one little word makes the big promise much, much more believable.

And *drags* the reader in to the letter to learn more. (As an aside, very early in the sales letter I talk about what hypnosis *can’t* do . . . and turn that into an advantage and a benefit. By pacing the skepticism of the reader, I’m able get them to swallow the big promise of the letter a lot more effectively.)

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Now, What Does This Have To Do With My Screaming Back Pain Adventure?
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Just this:

When it comes to back pain relief, I’m a pretty darned jaded prospect.

I’ve heard it all, done it all, tried it all and gotten nowhere near the results I wanted.

So I’m really hard to sell.

If my friend Kerry had said “Go see this Johnny guy and he’ll fix you up no problem, no pain and you’ll feel like you were eating ice cream the entire time” I wouldn’t have believed him and wouldn’t have called the number . . . and would probably still be doped up on Vicodin and spending my days playing GTA 4 instead of working.

But instead, Kerry said “Go see Johnny. “It’ll hurt like hell, but you *will* get results. ”

And I ate that fish hook, line and sinker.

OK, so here’s your homework:

What small “damaging admission” can you add to your messaging to make your big promise more believable? I don’t recommend you use something like “It’ll hurt like hell” unless you’re going after body builders or folks like me who are already in pain. But what “skepticism killer” can you add into your copy?

It’s been a nasty typhoon of a week here at HWW central, and I’d be
lying if I didn’t think about letting this month’s newsletter slide
a bit. But I feel like we’ve got a contract here, you and I. And I
haven’t missed an issue in over 3 years, so why start now?

In today’s big (big . . . maybe too big) issue:
* Where and When . . . *You* can meet the Moneyfingers!
* Why You’re Website *Sucks*
* Remembering Ross Yockey

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Where and When . . . *You* Can Meet the Moneyfingers
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I’m traveling like crazy the next few months, partly for business,
partly for pleasure and partly out of sheer obligation. Here’s the
stuff you might want to know about:

* This very weekend I’ll be flying down to San Diego for Frank
Kern’s “Mass Control” event. Should be a heck of a party. Look me
up if you’re there.

* May 2 - 4th I’ll be in San Francisco for John Carlton’s “17
Points of Copywriting” Workshop. I’m almost desperately looking
forward to this and I’ve got it on authority that David Deutsch,
David Garfinkel, Mike Morgan and some other “heavy hitters” will be
in attendance.

* May 30th to June 1st I’ll be in Chicago for The System Seminar.

And that’s not to mention a trip to the Grand Canyon in mid May and
a week in NYC in June (where I’ll be officiating my friend Mason’s
wedding.)

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Why You’re Website *Sucks*
======================

(I fully expect this article to draw flames, angry comments and
hate mail. I also figure that it’ll hit a lot of folks right
between the eyes and lead them down the path to better marketing
and a more profitable business. So I figure that’s a pretty fair
trade off.)

As a freelance marketing wonk and direct response word mercenary I
get asked (and sometimes begged) to look at a *lot* of websites.

Sometimes these are client sites where I’m being paid to dig in and
ramp up conversion . . .

Sometimes they’re sites that friends of mine have put together . . .

And sometimes they’re the sites of random smelly strangers who
shove their iPhones in my face at parties, ply me with alcohol and
ask for free advice. (And then get *really* mad when I tell them
the truth.)

But the one thing that almost all of these websites have in common
(whether they’re for scrappy little service providers, monolithic
mega corps or cool little products) is that the overwhelming
majority of the absolutely *SUCK.*

They *SUCK* at engaging a target audience.

They *SUCK* at making a compelling offer.

And they *SUCK* at helping their owner build their company and make
MONEY.

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Why Do They Suck?
===============

It’s not because of the design (though most of the time the design
*is* pretty darned bad . . . either incompetently put together or
too damned pretty for its own good.)

And it’s not because of the copy (though the copy is usually limp
and lifeless and doing you no favors at all.)

No, what makes most websites *suck* is the attitude and the mindset
behind them.

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What Makes Most Websites *Suck* Is EGO
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If you look at a bunch of the websites out there on the wide and
wacky interweb, you’ll see that most of them are all about
“ME.”(Not me personally–though that would be pretty cool–but
about the company or the person behind them.)

They say things like “Welcome to Incredible corp. We specialize in
creating incredible solutions! We have an incredible background
story! Check out our incredible about us page! We’re really
incredible! Like us!”

And they basically *scare* customers away in droves by acting like
that one guy at the party with the bad toupee and the noxious
breathe who won’t stop telling you how cool his car is.

In other words . . .
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Most Websites Are Egotistical And Obnoxious
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And *nobody* likes (or buys from) egotistical and obnoxious people.

So what’s the cure to this dangerous and profit-killing affliction?

It’s to stop talking about *you* (or *me.* I’m confused. But I bet
you can figure it out) and to start talking about your customers.

In other words . . .

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Your Website Shouldn’t Talk About How Incredible *You* Are, It
Should Talk About The Incredible *Results* You Can Get For Your
Customers
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For instance, if you were running a massage studio (I just got a
massage today and it’s deep on brain) you don’t open your website
talking about your training and your love of massage.

Instead, you talk about how *relaxed* your customer is going to be,
how much less pain they’ll be in and how *wonderful* of an
experience they’ll have when they book an appointment with you.

If you’re running a tech support company, you don’t talk about all
your *weird* certifications and your mastery of tech speak.
Instead, you tell your reader how they’ll be able to *relax* and be
more productive and get all their work done without having to stare
at the blue screen of death.

Now, I’m not saying that talking about yourself is *all* bad.

People *do* want to know about your background, your success
stories, your years of schooling and all those lovely credibility
builders.

But they only want to know that stuff in relation to how it effects
*them.*

And they only want to know it *after* you’ve told them about the
incredible *benefits* that you can get for them.

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So Here’s Your Assignment
=====================

Right after you finish reading this article, pop open your web
browser and take a look at your copy. Read through it slowly and
put yourself in the shoes of a prospect who’s considering hiring
you or buying your stuff.

Now, as you read the copy, *who* is it really talking about? Is it
talking about the prospect, all the wonderful things you can do for
them and the *benefits* they’ll get when they pick up the phone?

Or is it talking about *you* and all the stuff that you *think* is
important but that your customers don’t care about and that’s
really just killing your sales?

Take this seriously and really answer that question and you’ll be
well on your way to making your website *suck* a heck of a lot less.

Comments? Questions? Harsh invectives? Hit me up on the blog at http://www.haddadink.com/blog

======================
Remembering Ross Yockey
======================

My friend Ross Yockey passed away on Sunday.

Ross was the father of my good friend and business partner Beth
Yockey Jones. He was also an Emmy winning documentarian, a heck of
a writer and a sincerely nice guy who, nonetheless, could get
downright vicious when something he cared about was on the line.

I learned that first hand a few years ago when Ross and I got into
fight over this very newsletter.

You see, Ross thought that writers had a responsibility to “elevate
the language” and improve the world with their writing. Whereas I
just wanted to make people laugh and sell stuff. And if you’ve been
on my list for a while you know that I don’t “elevate” much of
anything.

Ross got mad and disappointed every time that I sent out an email
riddled with typos or packed with grammatical atrocities. And he
wrote me long, lovingly-scathing emails pointing out where I went
wrong and pleading with me to shape up.

At one point he even threatened to unsubscribe from HWW if I didn’t
get my act together.

That was a few years ago now. He never did unsubscribe . . . and
most of the emails he sent me over the last year or so were more
complimentary than anything else. Though secretly I kept hoping for
another scathing review.

Anyway, the man was a friend and a mentor and he got me started in
this business back when I was young and lost. I’m going to miss
his emails, his goofy humor and his incredible passion and
curiosity. He lived his life well and left a lot of love behind.

Goodbye, Ross. You made this world better.

-c

P.S. I’m pretty sure that if he were alive, Ross would shoot me a
terse email saying that I shouldn’t have used the word “Sucks” in
this article at all. And he’s probably right.

About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================

©2008 Moneyfingers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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=======================
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===================================================

Hey folks,

If you’ve got any interest at all in making a damn good living slinging words then I’d highly recommend that pop over to Michel Fortin’s Blog and read his latest article.

Michel had a jaded, angry (and kind of rude) “wannabe” copywriter write and demand the “truth” about making six figures.

And Michel’s response is worth reading again and again and again.

Work to do.

Catch you later.

If there’s one thing I loved about the old 1990s Star Trek Series (the one with the Klingon and the bald guy and the robot who just wanted to be loved) it was the *three* comfy chairs that they had on the bridge.

I mean, in the “old school” Shatner series, there was just one chair. And Kirk sat there like a well coiffed King and lorded it over the rest of the crew.

But in “Next Gen” there were three chairs all crunched in next to each other.

One for the Captain.

On for the First Mate.

And one (and this is where this article starts to make sense) for the EMPATH.

Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor, was a buxom half-alien brunette decked out in a rather daring jumpsuit.

And Picard kept her right there on his left side during tense negotiations, big battles and even dinner parties because she UNDERSTOOD people.

She knew what they were feeling.

She knew what they were going through. (Heck, she even had crazy alien powers that almost *made* her understand people.)

Now, if you know anything about these crazy creatures we call humans you know that what we all *really* want is to be understood.

In fact, one of the best ways to *calm* somebody down if they’re mad is to simply say “I understand your point of view. I went through something similar once and if I was going through what you’re going through, I’d feel the same way.” (I had a customer service guy do this one on me not so long ago and it worked like magic.)

And great salesmen know that if you can show that you UNDERSTAND the problems and the feelings that a prospect is going through, then you can radically increase your chances of making a sale. (Especially if what you’ve got to offer really is the answer to their dreams.)

But How Do You Use Empathy In Your Marketing?

After all, when you’re talking about a website or a video or a radio ad or a sales letter or whatever else, you’re not really there. It’s not like you can play off your prospect, pick up off their verbal and non verbal cues and figure out what they’re feeling.

One great way to establish empathy in your marketing is to tell a story about how you went through the same thing.

For instance, if you were selling a back pain remedy you would tell the story about how horrible and frustrating it was when you were wracked by back pain yourself.

You’d say something like:

I remember the last time my back really went out.

And, honestly, I just about broke down crying right there on the street thinking about what I knew was coming next. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars at the chiropractor. Endless hours stuck lying on my floor and staring at the ceiling. And that deep, deep feeling of frustration, anger and even shame at what I must have done wrong to deserve this.”

(I could go on. As you might be able to tell I’ve had my fair share of experience with back pain. Mostly better now though =-))

In fact telling “I’m just like you” stories is one of the core strategies for selling just about anything.

And no matter what you’ve got to sell, whether it’s financial advice, massages or crazy little widgets, you can probably think back to a time that you went through the same problem that your prospects are.

But What If You Can’t?

What if you’ve never experienced “that sick click?” (or whatever other problem is plaguing your customers that you’re going to solve.)

That’s when you use what I like to call “maybe bullets.”

They’re not the only way to throw empathy into your marketing, but they are one way and, in my experience, they work really well.

What’s a “maybe bullet?”

A “Maybe” bullet is a short statement that “paces” the feelings and emotions that your customer are going through and shows them that you UNDERSTAND them.

For instance, for a sales letter I wrote aimed at parents of children with ADD/ADHD I put the following “Maybe Bullets” way up early on the page:

Maybe your child has just recently been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and you’re smartly scouring the internet looking for sound, proven advice on how to manage or cure this problem and give your child all the advantages he or she deserves in life . . .

Maybe you yourself are a teenaged or adult sufferer of ADD or ADHD searching for a way to find the concentration and focus you need  . . . and are ready to finally say goodbye to the side effects, cost and danger of prescription drugs.

And then the letter goes on.

Now, these bullets aren’t expected to carry the full empathy load themselves. (And if you look at the website for this product at Treat ADHD Naturally you’ll see a lot more empathy building.)

But they are a great way of calling out nice an early that you UNDERSTAND where your customers are coming from, that you’re not just some soulless, heartless corporation and that maybe, just maybe, you’re in this for more than just the money.

Used properly, Maybe bullets (and empathetic copy in general) are the next best thing to actually listening to someone’s problems.

And showing them that you really do understand.

Woah!

Check out Seattle Business Monthly this month and you’ll see my smirking face.

I knew I’d be *in* the magazine this month, but I had NO IDEA they were going to plaster my ugly mug all over the cover.

I’m particularly proud of my bright-white fish belly arms.

Eek!

-c

Hey Folks,

Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad here welcoming you back to the Hardworking Words Newsletter.

In today’s issue:

-Selling To The Lizard Brain - Hot, Profitable Emotions
-A quick shout out to my dear old Dad.
-A very special offer for readers of this newsletter.

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SELLING TO THE LIZARD BRAIN - Hot, Profitable Emotions
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Quick quiz . . . why do people *really* buy things?

Do they buy for logical, consistent *boring* reasons?

Or do they buy for hot, passionate *emotional* reasons?

Well, if you’ve been banging around the marketing world for any length of time (or have ever actually *sold* anything) you know that . . .

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People *Buy* Based On Emotion . . . .
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People buy your stuff because of *feelings* . . . .

But they *Justify* With Facts . . .

Why does the out of shape 45 year old ex-football player buy a monstrous humvee?

Because he wants to *feel* big and powerful and virile and tough and unstoppable . . . (though he’ll *tell you* that he bought it because it keeps him and his family safe. Very logical. Really.)

Why does the snarky copywriter and marketing consultant spend his hard-earned money on a swanky new iPhone?

Because it makes him *feel* hip and cool and special . . . (though he’ll tell you that he *needs* it to stay on top of his email and to do important work while out of the office. Good one.)

Why does the yuppie new mom splurge on a *designer* baby stroller when the old fashioned *push* cart will do just fine?

Because she likes the way it *feels* when she’s walking down the street pushing her bundle of joy ahead of her and drawing envious gazes from baby-crazed women everywhere (though she’ll *tell you* that she just wanted the highest *quality* cart . .. and after all, it was 20 percent off!)

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“But What Emotions Actually Make People Buy?”
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If you ask any old-school sales guys, they’ll tell you that there are really only 2 reasons that people buy:

Greed . . .

And Fear.

And to a degree, they’ve got a point.

*Fear* of losing something, of having your house broken into, of having your wife seduced away from you is a *powerful* motivator . . .and if you can allay a powerful fear you can sell what you’ve got like hot cakes.

And playing on the “Greed Gland” is a tactic that goes way back to caveman times. I mean, heck, the whole reason I call myself “Mr. Moneyfingers” is to tickle that little greedy place in the back of a client’s brain.

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But Greed And Fear Aren’t The Be All And End All Of Emotional Selling
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In fact there are a whole *slew* of emotions that you can use to crawl your way into a prospect’s head and appeal to that most primal, emotional “lizard brain.”

What are they? Well here are just a few of my favorites . . . .

* Pride - Can you position your product as something that will give your prospect pride? Or will *not* buying what you’ve got suck away their feeling of self worth?

* Envy (this is one of my favorites) - Can you make your prospect *envy* you or someone who’s used your stuff for the results they got . . . . or can you paint a picture of how they’ll be envied by others once they make the smart choice and buy today?

* Shame - Can your product or service help your prospect defeat a feeling of shame? Or will they *feel* ashamed if they *don’t* buy and something goes wrong?

*Anger - Are your prospects *mad* about something? Are they sick of being *ripped off* by some of your competitors? Position your product as a way to get *revenge.*

* Pain - (physical or emotional.) If your prospect is hurting, show that your product can relieve that pain and they’ll buy without even bothering to justify with logic (as a back pain sufferer for years, I can’t even tell you how much I spent on whacky devices and “wonder cures.”)

* Gratitude/Guilt - Give your prospects value for *free* and a lot of times they’ll buy from you to say “thank you” . . . or because they feel like they should.

* Lust - Just turn on the TV . . . you’ll see Lust selling in full effect.

And on and on and on.

—————————————————————-
“Powerful Stuff, Chris. But It Feels A Little . . . Um . .. Sleazy”
—————————————————————

Now, if you’re not a jaded marketing weasel, all this talk of “emotional selling” can sound downright manipulative.

I mean, after all, shouldn’t the *quality* of what you’ve got to sell be all that matters?

Sure it should..

Then again, we *should* all look like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, we *should* all be rich, we *should* have perfect health and on and on down the line.

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way.

But if you can *imagine* making more sales, making more money, building your business, actually *helping* people with your products and services, becoming the envy of all your friends and making your old boss go positively *green* . . . well, then you need to stop focusing on “shoulds” and start selling to the heart.

—————————————————
SHOUT OUT TO MY DEAR OLD DAD
—————————————————

April 1 is the birthday of my dear, departed marketing *genius* of a father. Kenneth George Haddad died just over a 11 years ago, but before he went he taught me *ton* about how to deal with people and how to sell to (and from) the gut. Thanks, Dad.

—————————————————
A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR SOLO PROS WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE *MONEY*
—————————————————

If you’re already pulling down 6 figures (or more) in your solo business, this isn’t for you.

But if you’ve been struggling in your business and want to make it to 6 figure land, pay attention.

Beth Yockey Jones and I are hard at work in our secret lab developing a program to help solo pros (folks who are self employed but don’t have or want employees) make some really good money.

And we need your help.

If you’re interested in cracking the 6 figure code, shoot me back an email and tell me what your *biggest* challenge is in your business and what topic you feel like you need the most help with.

And down the line I’ll send you something nice in return.

I should have brought ear plugs.

That’s the big thought that went racing through my head as I sat in the Tacoma Dome six weeks ago and watched “Gravedigger” do horrible things to a neon colored bus.

It was kind of cool watching 20 thousand people roar and cheer as the green and black truck did . . um . . the exact same three tricks as every other truck in the “competition.”

Cool and horribly, horribly dull.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I had a great time when my girlfriend and I buzzed down to Tacoma to get our taste of kitschy Americana.

We gorged ourselves on over-salted popcorn, roared and screamed at the demolition derby, wondered at the sanity of the of the hyped up “Good old boys” in the car flipping contest and felt like we got way more than our 12 bucks worth out of the night.

But when the actual Monster Trucks got out on the field to put on their “show”?

We Were Bored Out Of Our Minds

Which is a little weird since those big, gas-guzzling behemoths are, theoretically, what we were paying to see.

But every time the “Heavyweights” gunned up their engines, Katie and I (and several thousand other folks) covered our ears, sighed and counted the seconds until the *good stuff* would happen again.

Because, honestly, watching a big truck drive around in a circle and then crush a couple cars . . . um . . . not all that exciting.

Which, Of Course, Got Me Thinking About Marketing

When Katie asked me if I wanted to go to a Monster Truck rally, what “sold” me on the idea were the trucks.

(That and the kitschiness of going down to the Tacoma dome. Note, my girlfriend is awesome.)

But once we got into the dome, we figured out pretty quickly that while the Monster Trucks have the biggest *perceived* entertainment value, they’re actually really dull. (really, really dull. I can’t even explain how dull these things are.)

What made the night fun and worth our money, was all the “bonus” stuff that was thrown into the event.

The demo derby, the car flipping, the ATV races and the drunk guy three rows down from us who kept trying to take his shirt off.

In fact, if I had gone to the rally and had *just* seen Monster trucks, I would have felt pretty ripped off.

So What’s The Marketing Lesson Here?

Just this:

Sometimes the benefit that *sounds* the most impressive and actually gets people to buy from you, isn’t that impressive at all. (But you still have to feature it in your marketing since it’s what gets the response.)

Just think about it:

If they had promoted the event as “Car Flipping And Drunk Guys Taking Their Clothes Off” I don’t think many people would have shown up.

Because “Monster Trucks” *sound* more impressive.

In fact, I bet the folks who run the Monster Truck jam know exactly what they’re doing.

They know that the trucks themselves are kind of dull . . . but that the idea of seeing cars crushed by 6 foot tall tires drives 16 year old boys nuts.

And they know that if they want people to come back the next time they roll through town, they need to load the show up with “bonuses” that are honest-to-God-fun.

Which I think is worth thinking about next time you’re putting together a *killer* offer.

Later

c

Hey folks,

Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad here.

And I’m *buzzing.*

Why?

Because as I write this I’m curled up in a really (really) uncomfortable chair at LAX waiting for my flight back to Seattle.

And because I just spent three *mind-blowing* days at Larry Benet’s “Connection Mastery” seminar.

Now, I’ve known Larry for a while now.

And he’s easily the most connected (and most giving) person I’ve met in this crazy selling industry.

In fact, just being friends with Larry has done wonders for my business, has funneled a tremendous amount of cash into my pocket and has created quite a few amazing new relationships in my life.

So when Larry called me up and asked if I’d jet down to LA and share some ideas on using hot copywriting techniques to connect over email, I jumped at the chance.

You can learn more about Larry at  LarryBenet.com

Just one tip that I learned this weekend completely changed the way I look at networking and made connecting with bigwigs and high performers a heck of a lot more fun. Check it out.

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HOW TO USE STORIES TO SELL YOUR STUFF LIKE CRAZY
============================================

Ok, hold on a second. I’m going to do something to your brain.

Woah, woah, don’t, run away. No scalpels or weird voodoo are involved.

And I promise, it won’t hurt.

But with just a few simple words I’m going to *short circuit* your conscious mind and *instantly* throw your brain back in time to the way it felt when you were six years old and safe and warm and happy and your Mom or Dad was tucking you in for bed.

It’ll be fun.

I promise.

Ready?

OK.

Here we go.

(Waves magic wand.)

*Let me tell you a story.*

First off, let me apologize. I feel guilty now.

Because I’m not actually going to tell you a story.

But if you’re like most people, just hearing those words “let me tell you a story” made your brain open up like thirsty flower and sent a little excited tingle down your spine to your toes.

Why?

Because as human beings we’re all *hard-wired* to respond to stories and because stories are the oldest, most powerful way of transferring knowledge and ideas that we’ve got.

I mean, think about it.

How do we learn important stuff and keep kids from playing in traffic? Stories. (”Once upon a time there was a little boy who played with his ball in traffic and he never got to eat ice cream again.”)

How do religions big and small spread their beliefs like wildfire? Stories. (The bible is chock full of ‘em and as a kid I spent most of my time in church ignoring the sermon and just reading cool stuff about fishes.)

Why is the Enquirer the most successful newspaper in history? Stories. (Did you hear what’s going on with Britney? That poor girl.)

How did J.K. Rowling become the richest woman in England? Stories.

And how do smart marketers and business owners create groundswells of interest in their products and grow like crazy? Stories.

Why?

Because . . .

============
STORIES SELL
============

And if you *really* want to make an emotional connection with your audience and increase your sales, you’ve *got* to start telling stories.

What kind of stories?

* Origin stories about how you *stumbled* onto an incredible idea that changed your life and helped you create a great product (I usually call this the “superhero” story and use it in just about every sales letter I do.)

* Success stories about all the great stuff that happened to your client when they put your product or your advice into action (testimonials and case studies are both fantastic ways to show off your success stories.)

* Bonding stories that show that you’re a real life human being with regular Joe problems just like your customers.

* Insider stories that give your customers a peek behind the curtain into your world.

* And even metaphors that sneakily crawl into your customers brain and explain why what you’ve got to sell is so darned great.

So here’s your action item because I want to make this easy.

Right after you finish reading this newsletter open up  a fresh document and write out the *story* behind what you’ve got to sell.

Don’t edit. Don’t leave anything out. And be as honest and *human* as you can.

And just test out what happens when you start using that story to *sell.*

And that’s it, folks.

More on the blog next week.

Hey folks,

Just finished 70 scorching minutes with David Garfinkel in which we discussed simple ways to keep your sales humming during the recession.

You can check out the replay at this link

Again, we’re not selling a thing on this call. It’s just good, solid content you can use today (with a few jokes thrown in.)

Also, I got a couple emails from folks asking about my friend and client Michael Cage . . . “The Professor Of Profitable Teleseminars And Webinars.”

You can check out Michael’s excellent blog and learn about his stuff at MichaelCage.com”

Hi Folks,

I was digging through The Stranger last week when I stumbled on an article about a martial arts studio up in Greenlake.

Now the article was just puffery (it was part of the paper’s “Strangercrombie” promotion where they sell articles, features and columns for a good cause) but there was one quote right near the end that made my me sit up and take notice.

It was about the guy who runs the place being a lifelong student of martial arts, and It said “Martial arts is something you never get good at.”

Now, this is a guy who can do monkey flips, run up walls and do crescent kicks so beautiful they make grown men weep.

But he doesn’t think he’s “good” at martial arts.

He knows that there’s always more to learn, there’s always more to do and there’s always one more step he can take down his chosen path.

Now, What Does This Have To Do With Copywriting And Marketing?

I bet you can guess.

Like martial arts, learning good, effective, powerful marketing is an impossibly tall mountain. It’s a ridiculously long road.

There’s *always* a new technique, there’s *always* a new technological toy, there’s *always* a stunning new insight into why customers act the way they do, there’s *always* new way to get someone to take out their wallet and buy, buy, buy.

And if you sit down and think about it, it’s kind of overwhelming.

I mean, no matter how many books you read, courses you take or gurus you supplicate yourself in front of, you’ll never be *Good* at marketing.

Heck, the most successful, talented and savvy marketers I know will usually admit that, in the grand scheme of things, they barely know what they’re doing.

And as much knowledge and experience as I’ve personally crammed into my brain, I know that I’ll be climbing the marketing mountain and learning more and more and more for as long as I live.

Luckily, To Be Successful, To Make Sales And To Make Money, You Don’t Have To Get *Good* Marketing. You Just Have To Get *Better* At It

*Better* than your competition, *better* than your friends, *better* than you were yesterday.

Now, when I consult with business owners and entrepreneurs, or when I meet newbie marketers at seminars, I run into a lot of folks who are in “learning paralysis.”

They spend all their time digging through books and courses and long, rambling blog posts and refuse to take action and start *selling* until they get *good.*

But like I just said, you’ll never get *good.*

You’ll just get *better.*

And the only way to get *better* is to put down the books, take the headphones out of your ears and take all those bits of theory and technique that you suck up and *actually do something with them.*

Which means you’ve got to stop *thinking* about putting up a website, running an ad or crafting your new sales pitch.

And actually, start doing it.

It’s scary, I know. But here’s a way to make it easier. Pop open your text editor and write the following in big bold letters:

“Marketing Is Something You Never Get Good At.”

Now print it up and paste it above your desk.

And every time you feel that paralysis and worry creeping in, just mumble that little mantra.

I promise, it’ll make you feel better, it’ll make your marketing better and it’ll help you make more sales.

And that’s been your marketing theory and affirmation of the day.

Later.