Last day to get this -- FREE Trial!

Just to let you know, today and tomorrow will be the LAST chance you have to get this month’s offline Seductive Selling Newsletter. Here’s what David Lowery, from Tampa, Florida is saying about this newsletter: “In terms of what could be improved??? I struggle with this since you are exceeding my expectations of value already. Whenever this rare event occurs in my life, I tend to cross my fingers and hope it continues. Why criticize?”

Here’s what you’re missing if you don’t JUMP at the chance to take a FREE 30-day test-drive (oh, and by the way, if you are sensitive or easily offended by mild swear words, do NOT get this month’s issue):

• In “Final Words From The Back End” you’ll hear about “The Most Gentle Man I Know!” Uncover the secrets behind one of the best personal and professional mentoring relationships I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing as an adult.
• Discover the newest niche markets I’m penetrating, and why... on page 9.
• Want to see where to find TONS of outstanding old display ads? Check out the “Weekend Update” column.
• Uncover some of the biggest pain-in-the-ass customers I have and how I handle them! (Hint: It’s NOT how you think!)
• If you’ve ever wanted SPECIFIC CRITERIA to use, to find out what markets you should be selling in, then you’ll LOVE checklist I’ve made for you on pages 5 and 6! This is truly the kind of information you will keep right next to your desk, for the rest of your career!
• How about sleeping on a $60,000 Dollar mattress? Find out more in Example 6!
• See a killer press release that was so dangerous, the publishers refused to release it, and why!
• And on page 10, you’ll see the new UK Waffle House Queen -- we’ve got everything in this issue!
• You get all this, and more -- heck, I even give you some tangible “Good Karma” this issue -- what more could you ask for?
  

SO check out all this, and much much more by simply taking a free 30-day test-drive of Seductive Selling (and getting $1,391 dollars worth of free gifts) at http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Don’t forget, the keys to the direct-response marketing kingdom are yours when you test-drive my offline newsletter FREE for thirty days AND get $1,391 worth of fre.e gifts as well, at: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

This is what makes them tick...

Today and tomorrow I’ll be out of pocket, so this is the last time you’ll hear from me until maybe this weekend, if not Monday.

You see, today and tomorrow are days I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. These are the two days my Mastermind group meets to discuss what’s been going on in our lives business-wise, and to help each other by sharing and offering suggestions about how to improve each other’s business, and increase our personal growth by climbing even higher and stretching even further out of your comfort zone than you even thought possible.

We have these meetings three times a year, and they are very demanding. That’s why this is a CLOSED group, and members must go through an extensive approval process.

So, I’ll catch up with you in a couple of days, and in the meanwhile I want to leave you with this quote, from respected Irish author George Bernard Shaw (who actually lived to be 94 years old!):. Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”

The same thing can be said about success, for sure. And that is why so few people choose to participate in roundtable discussions like my Mastermind group. The cold hard truth is that once you walk through the doors and into that meeting, you can NO longer blame anyone else for your failures, other than... yourself.

If you want more info about this group, you can discover it right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmarketer

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Only THREE DAYS LEFT to get your hands on this month’s offline Seductive Selling Newsletter! Want to see what niche group I’m finishing up beta-testing on? And what the next niche group I’ll be invading it? See my Weekend Update column on page 9, when you go to http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl and take YOUR free 30-day trial NOW!

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Matt Damon vs. Sean Connery vs. Roger Moore

A couple of months ago I saw the latest installment of The “Bourne” series with Matt Damon. This one was called Bourne Ultimatum, and as I mentioned a while ago, it was an excellent movie filled with intensity throughout.

In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie where the entire time, you were on “10.” (In case you didn’t see it, “Ronin” with Robert DeNiro was the same way, actually.)

Now lots of people will look at Matt Damon and argue that he’s not really “right” for an action hero role. After all, he’s not as “smooth” or “pretty” as Roger Moore... not as rugged-looking as Sean Connery, and he lacks the aesthetic charm and foreign “je ne se qua” of Pierce Brosnan.

And you know what?

Those folks are 100% right.

But do you want to know something?

It doesn’t matter, and there probably wasn’t even one person in one theater in the world, thinking about that when they were watching Damon in Bourne Ultimatum. Because what Damon lacks in suave, he more than makes up for in intensity and passion.

And intensity and passion are two of THE strongest characteristics great sales people possess. In fact, even when I critique a piece of sales copy that isn’t necessarily “great copy” per se -- if there is passion and intensity in it, it will be FAR more effective than an emotionally devoid piece of copy that is, in theory “well written.”

Keep this in mind, because if nothing else, your intensity and passion allows you to connect with your prospects (or not). And the first step in the relationship-building process, is ALWAYS... connection.

(And by-the-way, there is NO better way to learn about pushing your prospect’s emotional buy-buttons, than to dig into the Seductive Selling System, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive )

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Only FOUR DAYS LEFT! To get your hands on this month’s offline Seductive Selling Newsletter. On page 6, you’ll discover how this global service business uses a proprietary system to “hook” their clients -- and how they screw it up in half the world! Confused? Don’t be -- it’ll be CRYSTAL clear once you understand what’s going on behind the scenes, and why. Check it out NOW and test-drive my offline newsletter FREE for thirty days AND get $1,391 worth of free gifts as well, at: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Max, that’s the LAST thing you need.

I want to finish telling you the story about my vacation in Orlando last week, but before I do that, here’s something interesting. Oh, and just to re-state what I said the other day, I fully realize a few people reading this may be offended. But... if the truth is offensive to you, believe me, it won’t be long before I offend you anyway, so that’s O.K.

According to Trust For America’s Health, in a survey they did called “F, as in Fat,” in 2006 Mississippi became the first state to have 30% of their entire population classified as obese. Colorado is the least obese state with only 17.6% of the population in that category (buffalos not included).

And there’s also now been a direct relationship established between poverty and obesity. Typically, those states with the highest levels of obesity also have the highest poverty levels.

Keep this in mind as we now get back to my trip to Orlando...

So last week I was telling you about all the overweight folks driving around in “overweight scooters” (Check out my blog and look for the article called “Darwin’s Theory Of Natural Selection” if you didn’t see this, at http://www.kingofcopy.com/blog ).

One scooter-racing woman was particularly obnoxious. She had her son with her, who was also sadly, quite obese himself (I’d say he weighed about 225 pounds and was 5-foot 2-inches tall.)

She was just pissing and moaning loudly about everything. The lines were too long (It was literally the most empty I’d ever seen the park, and we go to Orlando at LEAST once a year, mostly when it’s less crowded.)... it was too hot outside (it was hot earlier, but had started cooling down significantly by this time in the early evening)... and they food selection wasn’t very good. (She was online at the fish and chips stand in Epcot, which is where they serve... fish... and chips. Duh.)

Anyway, everyone was sort of getting uncomfortable and irritated with this lady, and she brought a lot of it onto herself. See, in addition to whining about everything (most people were thrilled to be in Epcot on a nice sunny day, but maybe I’m missing something -- who knows), she also kept slamming into everyone with her damn scooter.

And when she bumped into you, it was YOUR fault for not getting out of the way quick enough, not HER fault for being... well... for being her.

Anyway, so this woman finally finished shoving everyone out of the way and gets to the front of the line. Her son, who was probably around 11 years old, is really hot and sweaty, and he says (very loud), “Mom, I need some water. I’m sooo thirsty.”

Mom starts screaming at him, “Max, that’s the LAST thing you need, a glass of water. How about some lemonade, or a Sprite? THAT’S what you need, Max.”

So she asks for a large lemonade (I think that’s what she settled on.) and hands it over to poor Max.

Witnessing this actually made me think to myself, for one of the few times in my life, “Gosh, my parents weren’t so bad, were they?”

The moral of the story is...

There’s ALWAYS a reason why people are broke...

There’s always a reason why people have bad attitudes about things...

And there’s DEFINITELY a reason why people are fat.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Only FIVE days left to get your hands on this month’s offline Seductive Selling Newsletter. On page 1, you’ll see how I handled a customer who -- in his own unique way -- was very similar to Max’s mom. Check it out NOW and test-drive my offline newsletter FRE.E for thirty days, at: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Oh, and don’t worry. Max is NOT included with this issue, although a TON of bonus gifts are, so hop to it at http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Undress yourself to success.

There’s one thing even the most timid person can do, that immediately increases your chances of persuading your prospects.

That thing is, to tell them a story about yourself.

Sounds too easy, right?

But that’s it -- that’s all you really need to do, and here’s why:

People are inquisitive by nature, and even more inquisitive about the details of someone’s life. You see, we’re all living our own life, and for the most part, unsure about what goes on behind closed doors of the rest of the world.

This is precisely why there are so many tabloid newspapers and magazines (all of them quite successful)... this is why reality TV has taken over all aspects of television programming... and it’s why the Biography channel has no reason to slow down at all! In fact, they sell LOADS of DVD’s about a wide variety of people. Just last week I ordered a few of them myself (Bill Gates, George Reeves -- the guy who played the original Superman on TV, and Helen Gurley Brown, if you can believe that one.)

What kinds of things do people want to know about you?

Lots of stuff, for example:

Where did you grow up and what was unusual about it?

Why did you get into the field you did? (Hint: if it was PURELY to make money, then you probably should talk about something else.)

Did you come from a big family?

What kinds of unusual things have you experienced in your life?

Do you have strong opinions or personality quirks others find interesting?

Basically, almost anything other than “the usual stuff” that everyone has experienced.

Also, your story needs to be captivating in the sense that you’re being genuine and open about the good, the bad, and the ugly of your life. No one wants to hear how you went to the grocery story and they were out of your favorite yogurt or something -- that’s about as interesting as a plank of wood. Just use common sense here.

Oh, and when you do this, why does it allow you to be persuasive?

The answer is simple, and actually, there are many reasons, but let me share a few of them with you: For starters, if you are sharing things about yourself, people become interested in YOU as a person, and they let down their guard about you as a “sales person.”

And making your prospects comfortable is the first step towards gaining their trust, right?

It’s also how you let people know you are real and not without your own flaws as well. Because remember, there is no such thing... and NO one trusts... the perfect... salesman!

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. For the first time in a good long while, I’ve found a mentor and someone I look up to, that is a family guy like myself, and he’s also one of the sharpest and MOST accomplished direct-marketers I’ve EVER met. His name is Christian Godefroy and in this month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter, I’ll share an intimate look at my recent visit with Christian in a very revealing three-page detailed article. Check out this unusual private glimpse into my life right NOW, and test-drive my offline newsletter FREE for thirty days, at: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Friday’s Finale: Be careful what you wish for...

On Monday I’ll finish my story about my trip to Orlando. I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback about the “lighter” e-mails on Friday so we’ll stick with these for a while. Here’s today’s story:

An attractive young lady from New York City was so depressed she made up her mind to end her life by throwing herself into the ocean. So she goes down to the docks, and is just about to leap into the icy cold water, when a handsome young sailor comes by.

He saw her crying, and suddenly felt very sorry for her. "Why are you doing this? You have so much to live for," he says. “Look, my ship is sailing to the Mediterranean in the morning, and if you'd like, I can stow you away, and you can get off and get a fresh start in Greece. It is beautiful there."

"The only thing is, we can’t tell the Captain, because he'd get upset and order you off the ship, and throw me in the penn if he found out."

"But don’t worry. I'll take good care of you," said the sailor, "I'll bring you food every day. I'll keep you happy, and you'll keep me happy."

The girl agreed. After all, what did she have to lose?

Perhaps a fresh start in Europe would give her life new meaning?

So that evening the sailor threw a ladder over the back of the boat, so the girl could sneak on board. Quickly, he hid her under a tarp inside a life boat, and from then on, every night he brought her three sandwiches, a few bottles of water, and some fruit... and they made passionate love until dawn.

However, two weeks later during a surprise inspection, the Captain discovered her!

"What are you doing here?" said the Captain.

"I have an arrangement with one of your sailors," she explained honestly. "I get food and a trip to Europe, and he gets to screw me."

"He certainly is screwing you," the Captain said, "this is the Staten Island Ferry."

The moral of the story is... be careful what you wish for. Sometimes things really aren’t as bad as they seem.

Oh, and a few people guessed it right -- the man who is disliked here in America FAR more than O.J. Simpson, is none other than George W. Bush.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. This month’s Audio Success CD is with Terry Wygal -- a VERY successful entrepreneur from Houston, Texas who has more streams of income coming in than a showerhead has streams of water! Discover how he takes his customers online from offline, and then communicates with them in both ways, when you take a fre.e test-drive of my offline Seductive Selling Newsletter right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection: Genocide Waiting

So last weekend I went up to Orlando for a few days of R & R with my wife and daughter. One of my sons joined us for one night, but my sons are old enough now that they’ve got lots of recreational and social activities (and girls) they are involved with, so as you would imagine, their social time with us is more limited nowadays.

Funny thing happened to us -- a nice funny thing, too. When we got to the Disney Beach Club, the valet told us we had special reservations on the Concierge level. I didn’t even know they had Concierge level in this hotel, and Anne was looking at me just as puzzled, since she didn’t book that level, either.

We didn’t really know what was going on, but no sooner had the valet taken our bags, then another person comes out and says “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Garber, welcome to the Disney Beach Club.” He then goes on to explain how Disney is making “One Million Dreams Come True” this year, and as part of this campaign, we were randomly selected to have our room upgraded.

That was a very cool thing to have happen to you. It REALLY sets your vacation off on the right foot, and having a complete stranger call you by your name creates instant rapport (which is why you should personalize as much of your communication -- especially e-mail and direct mail, as possible).

Besides the weather, which rained on and off, we really had a terrific and relaxing weekend. In fact, if truth be told, it was very hard for me to come back to work, which doesn’t happen too often since I really enjoy what I do.

Now I want to tell you a little story about something I saw in Orlando, that was literally astounding to me. I realize I am probably going to offend a bunch of people, but if the truth offends you, then you and I probably weren’t meant to be, and you shouldn’t really be reading these e-mails anyway.

O.K.?

So here’s the deal. I consider myself a pretty streetwise person, but in reality, that’s based on experiences from long ago. Because although I grew up on the streets of New York City, and did lots of naughty things back then, for the last 18 years of my life I’ve lived in the suburbs in Florida, and now for the last 2 years, I’m even further removed from that, living in the styx out in rural west-central Florida.

So combine this with the fact that I don’t really get out very much since I work out of my home, I’m probably out of the loop as far as what’s really going on out there in the world today with respect to certain things.

For instance, one thing I’ve been reading about for the last few years, is the incredible “fat crisis” we have going on here in America. The way they make things out in USA Today, you’d think we’re all about to die.

I can’t envision that, because I’m simply not out and about that much. The people I see in my small little world don’t have that problem, or at least not to that extent.

However what I saw this past weekend was absolutely astounding! For instance, do you know what the biggest lines were at the park?

No, not the lines for the rides -- the biggest lines at the park were the lines that formed around all the fat people who were riding around in scooters! Those things take up loads of room and you need to walk way out of your way to get around them.

I was absolutely mortified at the size of some of these people! This went W-A-A-Y beyond being a few pounds overweight here. These folks were like 2 and 3 HUNDRED pounds overweight.

This is not funny -- USA Today is right!

It’s almost like you’re going to have some sort of genocide of fat folks if things don’t change. There’s no WAY the human body can exist at massive girth like this.

And what’s really interesting is that all these folks consider themselves disabled, not overweight. They park in disabled parking spots... use disabled accessories... and line up in special lines for disabled people.

So they are buying into the entire disabled mindset, hook, line and sinker.

Very sad, indeed, and tomorrow I’ll share with you, what I felt was the PERFECT story that exemplified the sad mindset of these folks, so stay tuned.

Oh, by the way, do you know the one man who is disliked MORE than O.J. Simpson? Let me know who you think it is, and I’ll tell you the answer tomorrow as well.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. “GO TO HELL?” This month’s offline Seductive Selling Newsletter was just mailed out this week, and if you’ve ever felt like telling one of your customers to “Go To Hell!” then you MUST get your hands on it! Test-drive it for fre.e right here, and get LOADS of gifts with it: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Finally, a gift from Starbucks.

If you were awake, then you noticed last week I did not send out too many e-mails. A few folks were wondering if anything happened to me, and the answer is “No.” I am, in fact, very alive and well and full of piss and vinegar.

I was simply slammed with work and had lots to get done before leaving for a long weekend away on vacation, which I am now back from, and VERY well-rested.

Before I get started today, I have a couple of announcements to make -- and they may irritate some folks reading this. First, if you are a regular reader of this e-zine and do nothing else but read this e-zine, what you’re really getting out of it -- and frankly, out of your business -- is far less than what you can, and what you probably should be getting.

You see, reality is... the amount of energy you put into something, is directly tied to the amount of investment you’re making to get that information. So while I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to the sage advice I have to offer about marketing, business, and sometimes even life in general -- if that’s ALL your doing, you are leaving munney, and unfulfilled ambition on the table.

With that said, at a MINIMUM, you should be reading my offline newsletter, which is called Seductive Selling. Here’s a comment I received last month about it: “OK, I have been reading your newsletters for last 4 months and have also read 6 back issues. I have subscribed to (someone else’s) newsletter for the last 4 years and I am amazed that you surpass his material, which is darn good.

I think the best part of your entire newsletter is your rewrites of bad marketing. I can clearly see your teaching points about triggering emotional buy buttons and writing copy that kicks butt. And it makes sense because you put your money where you mouth is and show us what you got. This gives you a lot of credibility in my book and really drives home your teaching points in the newsletter.

Please keep doing this. In my opinion the rewrites are worth 7 or 8 times more than any other section. And the rest of the newsletter is still terrific.

I also appreciate that you go out and find good and bad marketing yourself by just doing your normal activities of life. This has helped me become more aware of marketing in magazines, newspapers, driving down the street, or whatever I happen to be doing. This definitely is a good thing. Also you break down these pieces in a lot more detail than (so and so’s) newsletter, which really helps anchor your message better in my mind. I still love (so and so’s) newsletter, but you really hone in on the “how” of writing better copy and I really appreciate that.

In terms of what could be improved??? I struggle with this since you are exceeding my expectations of value already. Whenever this rare event occurs in my life, I tend to cross my fingers and hope it continues. Why criticize? Best regards, David Lowrey - Tampa, Florida”

So now listen up -- if what David has to say makes you realize you’ve been completely missing out, then get on board NOW and test-drive my newsletter yourself pp FRE.E, and with NO commitment, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

This month’s issue is being mailed out today, and it’s literally packed so thick with information, you’re going to have to squint, just to read it all -- and I kid you not.

And now, let me tell you what else is going on. I’ll tell you about my mini-vacation starting tomorrow, but for today, let me tell you about the only good thing Starbucks has ever done for me.

First, you have to understand I hate Starbucks. Not because they are capitalist pigs -- I respect them for that -- but I hate them because I’m a bit of a coffee connoisseur, and Starbucks coffee simply sucks. Starbucks coffee tastes like good coffee left out in the rain for a month, then you add dirt and boil it up again -- and voila, that’s what Starbucks coffee tastes like.

Nevertheless, I DO go there every once-in-a-while, just to sit and get away for an hour or so with my wife. It’s a reasonably nice atmosphere, and I can sit outside and smoke a cigar while we catch up on things with each other.

Last week, I ordered a latte there (it’s about THE only thing I can stomach in the place) and they handed me a paper cup with an absolutely perfect quote written on it. It was called, “The Way I See It.” By Anna Nalick, a songwriter out of California whose song “Breathe” was played on the Grey’s Anatomy television show a while ago. Anyway, Anna said this:

“A valuable lesson I’ve learned from making music is to never let anyone intimidate me. Every student, celebrity, CEO and math teacher in the world has experienced love, loneliness, fear and embarrassment at some point. To understand this is to level an often very lopsided playing field.”

Now why should this be important to you, besides that it’s a true statement?

Any ideas?

Yes? No? Huh?

It’s important because when you want to sell someone something, you should never let anyone intimidate you. ALL your prospects, regardless of what they do and how much cashola they may have, are nothing more than people -- just like you. They’ve all been burned before... hurt by lovers and spouses... excited when they ride a rollercoaster... and humbled by the innocence of a small child.

If you can understand this and step up to the plate, then you really do get to level an otherwise somewhat lopsided playing field. And I don’t know about you, but give me a level playing field, and I’ll win every time.

And so this brings me right to the second announcement. If you understand that your ability to sell is ONLY as good as your ability to push your prospect’s emotional buy-buttons -- whether your prospect is a student, celebrity, CEO or math teacher -- then you want to get your hands on my Seductive Selling System literally right now, because tomorrow’s Seductive Selling Coaching Call is all about helping you communicate more effectively.

Tomorrow’s call shows you "How To Unleash Your Imagination And Get Your Creative Juices
Flowing... So You Can Sell More... And Write More Persuasively!"

If you order the System within the next 24 hours, you’ll be sent the information you need to get on the call and participate and ask questions, and you can do this right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Discover how I DESTROYED the competition by creating a sales piece that pulled a 42.7% response rate, and a 218-to-1 return on the first shot at http://www.kingofcopy.com/leads

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

A 44% Boost In NEW Leads

I just finished writing this month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter and sent it off to the printers, and it’s a real doozy.

It’s called “The Pissed Off” issue, and believe me, you do NOT want to miss it.

Here’s what Kevin Saffari, from Irvine, California had to say about last month’s issue:

“Tell Craig I did exactly what he said to do in last month’s Seductive Selling Newsletter with my latest mailer. I changed the font size, type, and changed the headline color like he suggested. Changed the incentive spot to #2, and WHAM 44% increase in calls, went from 100 calls to 144 so far.

By the way dude you are awesome, thanks a bunch. I even started my coaching program.

By the way, I’m going through your new marketing materials and they are awesome… I am a member of XXX (name withheld) group but I think you are THE KING OF COPY … ../…………..so best of luck to you and your beautiful family.”

If you want to find out what all the buzz is about, and get your hands on the same strategies people like Kevin are using to boost their own leads by 44%, then take a FRE.E 30-day test drive of Seductive Selling, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of bonus gifts right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. I’ll even tell you where the best Italian food in Europe is in this issue -- and you won’t BELIEVE where it is! So check it out now at http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

The convincing business really DOES suck.

Selling in print ISN’T easy, not by a long-shot.

One of the biggest problems I constantly see when I am doing critiques - http://www.kingofcopy.com/salescopyreview -- is that lots of folks spend tons of time trying to convince their prospects why they should buy their product.

Yesterday, I read -- I kid you not -- a 106-page sales letter. Now in all fairness, it was so long because it was printed off the web, and in reality, it probably “only” would have been something like 70 pages long.

The copy wasn’t bad, per se. The problem was, the person who wrote it spent an inordinate amount of time committing the cardinal sin: He was CONSTANTLY trying to convince the reader why they NEEDED his product. This is a total waste of time.

The entire premise of direct-response marketing is that you’ve already attracted those people who want what you’re selling, and then your job is easy -- ALL you need to do is persuasively explain why they should buy your product, as opposed to someone else’s.

Otherwise, you’re in the convincing business, and the convincing business stinks. It’s simply awful. It wastes time and in actual fact, it frustrates and alienates those people who ARE already “sold” on buying (from someone), because they can’t get to the heart of the matter, which is the “why they should buy from you” part.

Here, just look at it this way: when you are trying to hook up with a romantic partner, do you first try and explain to her or him WHY they should be interested in hooking up with someone?

No, of course not. It’s a safe assumption they know they want a romantic partner, so all you should be concerned with, is making sure they realize YOU are the one they should be hooking up with, right?

Your focus is to sell you, if in fact you want them, and this is why sales is so much like seduction.

So keep your eye on the ball and don’t waste your time. Focus on your mission at hand, which is to separate YOU from the rest of the pack, and nothing else.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Discover how I DESTROYED the competition by creating a sales piece that pulled a 42.7% response rate, and a 218-to-1 return on the first shot at http://www.kingofcopy.com/leads

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

The government’s got nothing on this extortion

As you all know, this is a weird day, 9/11. There’s probably not a person reading this who doesn’t remember where they were on 9/11/01. And I for one, sure hope we get the hell out of Iraq and the Middle East, soon.

But today I don’t want to dwell on things like this. I want to talk about another kind of injustice that’s happening. And... it’s going on right now before your eyes. In fact, you may even be involuntarily participating in it through your kids, so pay close attention here.

I’m talking about that traveling house of extortion, High School Musical On Ice.

Here’s what happened. About four months ago, I was coerced into buying some tickets for High School Musical On Ice.

How was I coerced?

The answer is simple, my seven year old daughter asked me.

Then, once the tickets went on sale, I spent an hour trying to log into Ticketmaster’s site, like some sort of burglar trying to crack the code to break into a vault.

When they say “you’ve got two minutes to choose your seats”, what they really mean is “Take what you can get.”

Because by the time you pull up the seating chart to see where you’re going to be sitting, you could probably get a new suit tailored, it takes so long.

Anyway, we got pretty good floor-level seats, and then I spent the next 90 days dreading the event. It’s not that I’m a party-pooper, but you’ve got to understand -- going to a concert hall to see Ted Nugent, Guns And Roses, or a basketball game, is something I can handle.

But going to a concert hall to see a bunch of pimply-faced pubescent kids skating around an ice rink singing about their day, is something you look forward to the same way you look forward to seeing your mother-in-law: It’s just one of those things you accept you have to do, but you piss and moan a lot along the way.

You know what? I was a fool. Except for the minor extortion (which I’ll tell you about in a moment), I had a great time. There’s nothing like having your little girl mesmerized for close to two hours, while she’s sitting on your lap with a smile wide across her face, from ear to ear, singing line for line with all the songs being played.

Truly, one of the best experiences I’ve had as a parent. Similar to when I took my (now 15 year-old) son Casey to see Rugrats about 10 years ago. These are two of the most vivid memories I have, and I’ll call on them forever.

But now let’s talk about the extortion. So we get in there -- my wife, me, and Samantha -- and order some snacks. We get a SMALL box of popcorn (the large one was big enough to go swimming in), and a cherry snow cone in a cup. I nearly crapped my pants, when the guy said, “$21 Dollars sir,” as if that was normal.

For cryin’ out loud!

The last time I bought a snow cone, I was on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue uptown in Manhattan. I bought it from a street vendor -- up there they call them “piraguas” -- and I think I paid MAYBE 75 cents. Even if you adjust this for inflation, I was still mortified.

I mean, I charge premium prices -- but at least I deliver a premium service!

What, was this special popcorn grown in the fields of Egypt of something?

Were the ice shavings from Pamela Anderson’s refrigerator?

Even still -- it was well worth it to experience the night with my wife and daughter, but next time someone’s complaining about something being “overpriced” -- give them a reality check, will you?

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. One of my clients just brought in $152,751 Dollars with one mailing. Find out how at http://www.BriansIncredibleJourney.com

===
If you enjoyed this, feel free to pass it on to a few of your friends and business associates. Or, simply have them subscribe themselves! Send them over to http://www.kingofcopy.com

Friday’s Finale: The Old Postal Worker

So it was George's last day on the job as a postman, after nearly 40 years of delivering mail through all kinds of weather to the same neighborhood.

When he arrived at the first house on his route, George was greeted by the whole family that lived there. They congratulated him and sent him on his merry way with a gift envelope that had a crisp $100 Dollar bill inside.

At the second house, the owners -- an elderly couple -- handed him with a box of fine Cuban cigars.

The folks at the third house, knowing he was an avid fisherman, handed him a selection of new fishing lures.

At the fourth house, George was met at the door by a drop-dead gorgeous woman in a revealing negligee. She took him by the hand... welcomed him inside... closed the door behind them, and then led him up the stairs to her bedroom, where she blew his mind with the most passionate love-making he had ever experienced.

When he had enough, they went downstairs, where she then fixed him a home-made old-fashioned breakfast: eggs... roasted potatoes... ham... sausage... toast with fresh butter... blueberry waffles, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

After devouring his meal, the woman then poured George a huge cup of fresh piping hot coffee.

As she was pouring, he noticed a dollar bill sticking out from under the cup's bottom edge. “This is for you”, the woman said to George.

“I can’t believe this. This was absolutely incredible,” he said, “but what's the dollar for?”

“Well,” she said, “last night, I told my husband today was your last day, and that we should do something special for you. So I asked him what to give you.

He said, “Screw him --give him a dollar.”

“The breakfast was my own idea.”

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Don’t wait until you RETIRE! Discover the secret behind my UNHEARD of 42.7% response rate right here!: http://www.BriansIncredibleJourney.com

Announcing 2 Ridiculously Simple, New Business Breakthroughs:

I meet a lot of people who are stumped for ideas. If you are one of them, then maybe this will help you.

Here are a couple of new business ideas I recently stumbled across, that are nothing more than combinations of existing ideas, and even that is probably making things FAR more complicated than I need to.

To start with, Heineken’s recently come out with a new beer called Charli, which is a beer specifically for women. Apparently, women don’t like barley as much as men do, so they’ve cut the barley back and added some fruit flavors instead.

Pretty cool, huh?

And regardless of whether or not it works -- I’m sure you’ll agree, there’s NOTHING better than a good heiney, right?

The other neat idea makes total sense. Do you know what “fractional ownership” is?

Yep, fractional ownership is when you and one or more other people own a percentage share of an asset -- usually an expensive asset. Fractional owners get to enjoy the privileges and benefits of ownership, and they also share in their proportional amount of expenses to maintain the asset.

You often see fractional ownership in things like private jets, high-end business offices, helicopters, racehorses, and yachts.

Now, a company called Halfshare, is offering you the chance to get a fractional ownership in upscale second, or vacation homes. So if you’re looking to own a second home on a sandy beach somewhere, but you can’t come up with the scratch to own it all yourself, you can now share it with some other family. (And you won’t even have to pay extra for the pair of underwear mom leaves in the top drawer of your bedroom.)

Again, neither of these ideas are rocket-science -- but that’s exactly my point. You don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to come up with a good idea. You just... need... to be alert and awake.

Pay attention to what’s going on out there and be open-minded and clever enough to recognize a good idea for what it is, and then clever enough to be able to adapt it to your own business.

O.K.?

The very BEST place you can find ideas -- GOOD SOLID ideas -- is by hanging around with other sharp people who have LOADS of them on their own. And the best place to do this is in my Mastermind Group.

Our next meeting will be taking place at the end of this month, here in beautiful sunny Tampa, on the 27th and 28th of September. If you would like to apply for membership (and I DO mean apply -- I have both rejected applications, AND thrown out members, so this is FAR from a “scarcity” ploy here), then check out what’s involved right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/maverickmarketer

Oh, and by the way -- I am now offering fractional ownership of my hall closet. Contact my office if you are interested.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Discover how this guy got an UNHEARD of 42.7% Response Rate at http://www.BriansIncredibleJourney.com

Lick this!

By now, school’s probably back in session no matter where you live, right?

And many businesses realize this is a great chance to capitalize on some serious selling. Remember -- in life, perception is reality, and so lots of companies are trying (and in many cases, STRETCHING) to tie what they’re pimping to the “back to school” environment.

So for instance, not only are pencils, notebooks, and new clothes being hocked like there’s no tomorrow, but check out a few other goodies:

Disney is pitching a “back-to-school cell phone” (don’t fret, the “Halloween cell phone” is right around the corner) that has some sort of GPS in it. I guess this is for those parents whose 8 or 9 year old elementary school kids are prone to playing hookey. This way, when they’re skipping school and smoking doobies down by the grassy knoll instead, you’ll be one step ahead of them and you’ll know EXACTLY where they really are.

Baskin-Robbins has some new ice cream flavors and their pitch is to “lick away the back-to-school blues.” Their VP of Marketing says it’s a great way to “reward yourself for all the hard work of going back to school.” I say, “Lick this!” If your family is like mine, the only ones who deserve a reward are the parents, for tolerating being driven nuts 24/7, all summer long while our kids were home. I think some Margarita company would have GREAT success with a “celebrate your kids going back to school and end your summer blues” for parents pitch -- but what do I know?

And bread maker Sara Lee has a “Take Your Whole Grain Sandwich To School Day.” Show me a kid who likes whole grain bread, and I’ll show you an adult who likes jock itch. We’re forced into liking whole grain bread once we realize we’re no longer immortal -- that one day we’ll be dust in the ground and somehow making ourselves more “regular” is going to help.

Oh, and if your kids are back to school and you work out of your home -- enjoy your new freedom! Now you can finally get some work done after that 10 week drought.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Only a fool wouldn’t want to know how this guy got a 42.7% response to his marketing piece. Go to http://www.BriansIncredibleJourney.com

Lick this!

By now, school’s probably back in session no matter where you live, right?

And many businesses realize this is a great chance to capitalize on some serious selling. Remember -- in life, perception is reality, and so lots of companies are trying (and in many cases, STRETCHING) to tie what they’re pimping to the “back to school” environment.

So for instance, not only are pencils, notebooks, and new clothes being hocked like there’s no tomorrow, but check out a few other goodies:

Disney is pitching a “back-to-school cell phone” (don’t fret, the “Halloween cell phone” is right around the corner) that has some sort of GPS in it. I guess this is for those parents whose 8 or 9 year old elementary school kids are prone to playing hookey. This way, when they’re skipping school and smoking doobies down by the grassy knoll instead, you’ll be one step ahead of them and you’ll know EXACTLY where they really are.

Baskin-Robbins has some new ice cream flavors and their pitch is to “lick away the back-to-school blues.” Their VP of Marketing says it’s a great way to “reward yourself for all the hard work of going back to school.” I say, “Lick this!” If your family is like mine, the only ones who deserve a reward are the parents, for tolerating being driven nuts 24/7, all summer long while our kids were home. I think some Margarita company would have GREAT success with a “celebrate your kids going back to school and end your summer blues” for parents pitch -- but what do I know?

And bread maker Sara Lee has a “Take Your Whole Grain Sandwich To School Day.” Show me a kid who likes whole grain bread, and I’ll show you an adult who likes jock itch. We’re forced into liking whole grain bread once we realize we’re no longer immortal -- that one day we’ll be dust in the ground and somehow making ourselves more “regular” is going to help.

Oh, and if your kids are back to school and you work out of your home -- enjoy your new freedom! Now you can finally get some work done after that 10 week drought.

Now go sell something, Craig

P.S. Only a fool wouldn’t want to know how this guy got a 42.7% response to his marketing piece. Go to http://www.BriansIncredibleJourney.com