Hey Friend,

Back in the day crankin’ out Foot Stompin’ Music by none other than Grand Funk Rail Road was the thing to get your groove (or should I say rock on).

And these boys were none less that raw rock and roll energy! I’m not ashamed to say GFR was one of my favorite bands.

If you were a rocker during the early 1970s maybe you’ll remember this album cover. It was shiny, silver 10” cover that looked like a coin featuring Mark, Don, and Mel on the front. Too cool!

Even cooler was the fact that the boys had cranked out their fifth studio album despite the fact that critics hated them. Oh but who cares about critics or what they may say—good or bad!

All that counts of the fans! And they loved them—with no end in sight. The album title “E Pluribus Funk” was a play on the former US Government motto “E Pluribus Unum.”

And speaking of counting and fan, the marketing lesson here is that Grand Funk rocked on and garnered thousands upon thousands of fans who bought their music and went to their concerts.

And as if you don’t know they paid to hear their idols pump out that sweet rock sound!

Grand Funk still has some of the same fans that were around from the start! Now that’s what I call a loyal “customer base!” That’s a 39 year relationship.

Is your business that good? Are you giving your clients what they really want? Do you know exactly what your prospects and customers want?

Good marketing is all about relationships. And for any relationship to work you must be attentive to the other party’s needs.

To do this effectively you the business owner or business rep must communicate, reach out and really listen to what your prospects and customers are telling you.

Remember, your customers vote with their checkbook. This day and age competition is fierce. The Internet has leveled the playing field to a certain degree.

With new technology and reasonable web hosting costs anyone can reach out to folks around the world for a fraction of the cost compared to what it costs in the “old days” of before the ‘Net.

So now’s the time to dial in and evaluation your marketing message, tune it up and resend it.

When was the last time you send birthday card to your house file (on the correct day of course)? If every thing you send or publish in the newspaper is a sales pitch then shame on you!

Why not give something back to your best customers—maybe a special unexpected discount or bonus. Wow them, surprise them and let them know that you appreciate their business.

That’d also be a great time to ask them for some honest feedback. Maybe they’d like to see a new product or service or whatever!

The point is to ask, ask, ask. Stay in touch with your clients in a more personal fashion rather than the same of lame ads you been running.

Now this is not to say if you have a hot running ad that’s been tested and proven, then by all means keep it going. You don’t want to stop running a campaign that’s working. Rather, test new ideas, new concepts all along.

Testing, Testing, Testing . . .

Many of my clients ask me, “what should I test?” That’s a good question.

Start with your current advertising. For starters you should be running direct response type advertising. If you are running general, industrial or image ads as I can them, then testing is impossible. So switch to direct response advertising now.

Basically all variables of your marketing should be tested. This includes headlines, offers, guarantees, sales pitches—you name it.

Start with the headline—test one headline again another. Tally the results and compare. Oftentimes you’ll find by just testing this one element your results will skyrocket.

But you shouldn’t stop at the headline. Move on to the body copy. Make sure it’s the best it can be. It’s beyond the scope of this article to explain how to write advertising that sells, but make sure your entire ad—whether it’s a print ad, internet, radio, sales letter or whatever does a complete selling job.

Once you’ve tested various elements of your advertisement why not test different media. Hopefully you’ve properly targeted your market first. Get a clear picture of who is your target market.

This forces you to advertise in places where your prospects are found. If you use direct mail contact list brokers for proper lists that may be available for your promotion.

The key is to eliminate marketing waste by defining, testing and getting feedback. And the only effective way to do this is by testing.

Here’s your assignment. Take a look at what you believe to be your most profitable marketing piece. If it is not a direct response type ad then you’ve got some work to do. If you are at ground zero and don’t know the difference between a direct response ad and an institutional type ad seek qualified council—I promise you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Yes, you can write your own sales copy but make sure you learn how from a qualified teacher or you’ll waste even more money.

Try to analyze what key elements make it profitable. Is the headline hooking your readers and pulling them into the lead? Is your body copy like a slippery slide pulling the reader all the way through the copy to the end? Are you providing enough proof? Does your sales copy tell a complete story? Do you stand behind your product 100%--does your sales copy explain this? Are you asking for the order? If so do you make it easy to order your product or service?

These are just a few elements to look for in your advertising. By testing you soon know with scientific certainty what works and what doesn’t work.

So what are waiting for? Now is the time to get crackin’!

Happy testing!

Warmly,

Emette E. Massey

P.S. Need help creating a promotion that pulls in cash fast? Why not give me a call? I’ll be glad to answer any questions, share a few ideas that will help grow your business! Call me at 828-292-9324. Or if you prefer send me an email at eemassey@yahoo.com There’s no cost or obligation at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howdy Friend,

Are you passing the buck? What?? So soon in the New Year?

“Buck passing” or “passing the buck” has been going on for years. Personally I believe it to be a sign of weakness. As you know it’s a sign of passing or transferring responsibility to another person or party.

It’s also used in “power politics” when the actions of one country are blamed on another.

The phrase is also associated with poker playing. During the days of the old west, a bone handled knife was used to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If the player didn’t want to deal he could “pass the buck” to another player.

Similarly in today’s times you could also pass the buck to your ad agency if you’re not getting results or you simply don’t want to deal with the pressure of writing butt kickin’, cash flowing advertising copy.

Truth be known you shouldn’t be using an ad agency in the first place.

Why? Cuz most of these agency’s could create an ad that sells if their life depended upon it.  These guys are into glamor not grits. They’re all about how the ad should look or feel. Or maybe their all about building your “brand.”

Don’t let this crap fool you. Unless you got mucho dollars forget brand building and concentrate on making sales or bringing in qualified leads and turning them into sales.

Most “regular” ad agencies are not held accountable for results. You know . . . getting tangible results from your ad copy. So, your best bet is learning what direct response advertising is and how to judge good copy.

The good news is that it’s become much easier getting that education thanks to the Internet.

How to get mind boggling results from all of your marketing

Being the good guy that I am, here’s a little secret I’ll share with you. This is the same exact secret David Ogilvy called his “secret weapon.”

We mortals call this “direct response.”

You’ve probably heard of direct response marketing. It goes by other names such as mail order advertising, direct mail, selling direct and direct marketing. Smart companies all around the world use this secret weapon to build billion dollar babies (businesses).

Now you can too—with the right tools and attitude.

Become a student of direct response marketing. You’ll be a smart company too.

Here are my top 5 places to start your education:

1. http://www.carlinecole.com/ Carline is nothing less that pure direct marketing dynamite! She's an A-list copywriter and marketing pro that seriously pumps up profits of her clients. What's more if you listen to what she says you too will profit handsomely. I know I have!

2.    http://www.draytonbird.com/home  Drayton is one of long time players of the direct response game. And he’s damn good at it. Advertising legend the late David Ogilvy said he “knows more about more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.” This should give you a tiny clue as to just how good he really is.

3.    http://www.john-carlton.com/  Carlton, another one of my favorite teachers. He can quickly whip up your buying emotions quicker than you can say “cheese.” He’s one of the true direct response masters of our time. His ads are literally stalked by other copywriters and marketers. And John’s teaching skills are superb. You’ll profit handsomely by tuning into this blog.

4.    http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/  Halbert is another one of rare persons who has an uncanny ability of making advertising pay—and pay very well. Sadly we lost him on April 8, 2007. He passed away in his sleep at his home in Miami. The good news he left the rest of us a king’s ransom of marketing knowledge and how to information that’ll rock your direct marketing world! Well worth your time perusing—yes I said perusing his website. His surviving sons now maintain the site and do a damn good job keeping it alive.

5.    http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/  Clayton Makepeace has stuck to his knitting as a direct response copywriter for nearly 30 years. He graduated with honors from the school of hard knocks and has made his clients very wealthy in the process (not to mention earned himself a pretty penny too.) You should pay very close attention to what this man says. Heed his advice and you’ll be able to cash in big time!

6.    http://www.terrydean.org/ Recently, I worked with Terry as an Internet Marketing intern. All I can say is that the experience was fantastic! Terry is considered by many one of Internet Marketing Pioneers and earned lots and lots of money by figuring it all out. Bottom line is want to learn how to profitably marketing your business on the ‘Net, then you’ll want to visit Terry’s blog—and suck up all the wisdom he shares, then be ready to cash in on what you learn. .

Ok. I lied . . . I gave you six great resources to learn and profit from. You can thank me later! There you have it. No excuses to keep floundering in your marketing efforts. You’ll soon be armed and dangerous with real world, proven marketing action plans that’ll fill up your bank account fast!

Warmly,

Emette

A New Year’s resolution? Heck, who needs one?

I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but nobody sticks to those things. At lease not for any real length of time. Do you?

Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that I fizzle out  after about three months. So, why bother in the first place?

I’ve going to give you five ways to become more productive, align your focus to what really needs to be done, set goals and actually see them through.

This I promise you is a much better way to stay on track with your goals and ambitions—and it’s sooo much easier than setting unrealistic New Year’s resolutions.

Ok, let’s get to it.

Step 1: Relax. I know that sounds like the opposite of what you’d think but it’s actually better for you and allows you to get more done in less time. Let me explain. Think about all of the deadlines that get thrown at you. Everyone wants something and is sucking away your time. Don’t let ‘em. Take a step back and relax. There’s always going to be more to do in a day’s time than you’re going to be able to get done. The key is to triage the events at hand. Only do what’s important and essential. Work on the less important stuff later.

Later in this article I’ll share a system that’s so simple, so easy to help you better manage your time that you’ll feel like you’ve gain an extra day in the week. And it’ll astonish you how much you’ll accomplish by using it.

Step 2: Start With The End. To get anywhere you gotta know where you want to go. Right? So start with the end in mind. Before you set sail on your goals, you simply must know what you want. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? You’d be surprised just how many folks haven’t a clue what they want out of life. They just drift around like a ship without a rudder.

Find yourself a quiet place, grab a pencil and paper and start writing down all of the things you want. Be as specific as possible. Just by writing down exactly what you want (even if you do nothing else) you’ll accomplish roughly half of the items on your list.

I know these sounds like voodoo but it’s true. What you are doing by thinking about your goals and writing them down is feeling your subconscious mind. It’s very powerful . .  . and it works!

Step 3: Plan your work. Now that you know what you really want get crackin’ on building your road map. This is the “how” part of getting there. No need to be too elaborate. Just allow your subconscious mind to hand it over to you.

I couldn’t tell you how many times my subconscious has freely given me all sorts of brilliant ideas and plans to test out. But I gotta warn you, be prepared to receive what your subconscious dishes out—it could (and usually does) come when you least expect it.

I always carry a note pad and pen with me at all times. If I happen to be in the shower and an idea flashes in, I’ll promptly write it down as quickly as possible. These ideas are what your action plan becomes.

Step 4: Work your plan. Now that you have your plan written down, start working on your goals. Again, relax and enjoy the process of working through your goals. Break it up into chunks. Remember the old cliché—inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard. So don’t burn yourself out by biting off more than you can chew. Also be prepared to change your course if needed. Nothing is written in stone.

Step 5. The killer system. Here’s the killer system I’ve used for years to get maximum results for minimum time. It’s responsible for keeping a laser beam focus on my goals and such.

Now before I share this killer system with you please don’t dismiss its simplicity. I’ll ask that you try it with an open mind and see what results you get—and I promise you will get results if you’ll just try it.

Round up your favorite pencil and paper and write down the six most important things you should do tomorrow.

Next number them in the order of their importance for you and the success of your business.

When you get to your office on Monday, start working on item number one. After all that’s the one that’s most important to you and the success of your business. Stay with it unit it’s complete. Don’t let any thing get in the way or interrupt. Yea, it’s hard but I know that if I can do it, so can you.

If you let a lot of little things interrupt, you may get a lot of little things done and done well but the most important item will not be done.

Remember the first things must be done first. Then proceed to the second, third, and so on until you get the six most important things completed. If you don’t get what you wanted done on the first day, carry it over to the second day. Just be sure each item is done in its order of importance.

When you have completed all six on your list, create another list of most important items. Again, I know this sounds too simple but I’ll assure you that it works—just give it a try.

Warmly,

Emette Massey

Dear Friend,

This is big . . . really big . . .  really, really big! Oh yea, this is definitely cool stuff and I just gotta share it with you! And I believe you’ll like it!

Ok. Before I share my big . . . heck my greatest marketing discovery of all time, I’d like to pass along a little tale I hope you’ll find inspirational.

It was several years ago when I jumped feet first in the trenches called “Internet Marketing.”

Immediately I sunk to my knees and stuck. I tried to move by testing numerous marketing tactics but surprise, surprise NOTHING gives!

After several months of this I begin to get a little discouraged—near the brink of throwing in the old towel. It was then when I first heard the story I’m about to share with you.

After I read the story I was in total disbelief—“how could this be so simple, so powerful and so overlooked?”

It’s been told thousands of times. In fact it’s a lesson directly from the Bible. Now don’t worry I promise not to go into a sermon here.

You see, this discovery literally fell into my lap (or I should say Inbox) while desperately trying to find the solutions to my marketing problems.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. Allen Says of the Warrior Group originally shared the story with me many years ago. He’s a fine fellow and appreciate what I’ve learned from him over the years!

Although, I’ve not heard much from him lately, I’m quite sure he’s still knocking Internet home runs all the same.

Ok, back to the story.

The story setting involves a young man while waiting on the bus striking up a conversation with an older gentleman asking for directions.

The conversation starts out talking about life, people and eventually turned to business. It was then that the elderly gentleman saw something in the younger man that made him feel like sharing the greatest secret ever told.

That’s when things got interesting. What’s that you say? “The greatest secret ever told.”

Riches, friendships, a prosperous bidniz? It’s all in the secret!

More, tell me more!!

Ok, ok . . . let’s just cool our jets for a moment and not get ahead of ourselves here.

For the sake of time I’m going to give you the Cliff Notes version—going straight for the jugular.

First I’ll caution you just as I was cautioned. DO NOT shrug off what you’re about learn here. As said above, you’ve no doubt heard this story in one form or another before.

You should know that the applications far reach beyond what most folks can conceive of. To get the most of it you must ponder intensely, even meditation on these principles.

Here’s they are in grand simplicity:

Secret 1: You are your market. What ever you want, there are millions who want that too. Create the product you yourself want to buy. What would you want the sales message to say so that you know this is the product you’ve been looking for? What would you want the sales message to say? What would get you to buy that product? When you have the answer, that is the ad you want to create.

Secret 2: Imagine all the things that could be done to make you a lifetime customer? What could they do for you to make you feel that way? Once you have the answers to that question, implement them in your own business across the board.

To further clarify what this lesson is all about, look at the questions below:

“If you are writer, write like you would like to be written to.”

“If you are a salesman, sell like you would like to be sold to.”

“If you are a speaker, speak like you would like to be spoken to.”

“If you want more love, then love like you would like to be loved.”

“If you want more friends, be the friend you would like to see.”

When you bond everything you do with these simple, but easily overlooked secrets, your business will flourish, your relationships will blossom, and your world will change.

Now read this short article again and let it steep into your brain. Think about your situation, your Internet business, your friendships, your home life, your everyday encounters. How do these secrets apply?

When you have the answers, then apply to them every area of your life starting today.

Warmly,

Emette