Who said: oderint dum metuant

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was assassinated on January 24th, 41. Not 1941, but 41. You see, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus -- also known as Caligula, the third Roman Emperor, was also one of the most hated and despised men to ever walk the face of the earth.

Caligula had a saying -- it was “oderint dum metuant”, which means “let them hate, so long as they fear.”

Fear is a dangerous button to push, and there are many ways to direct fear -- whether you’re guiding prospects or even family members.

For example, you can make your children somewhat fearful of strangers, because in today’s crazy world, it’s probably better that they are NOT overly friendly with people they don’t know. That’s actually using fear for their own good, and not at anyone’s expense.

Then there’s the kind of fear where you put the fear of God into people by acknowledging a common enemy and creating paranoia. And you see, the natural reaction of this is that the people in fear will rally around the messenger.

After all, if you are the one pointing out the evils of “whoever,” then you must be the one to listen to, right?

Some folks say the Bush administration has used some tactics like this in our positioning with the “evil-doers.” Meaning, if we are afraid of the evil-doers, then we have no choice to rally around our own government, because in reality, who else is left?

I don’t put stuff like this past any government -- especially our government. If Caligula and a silly marketer like myself can understand these concepts, then surely W and his crew can figure it out too, no?

Other people say Michael Moore is doing this with his movies, making us all afraid of our own government. Funny how this all works, isn’t it?

Yet others say I’m doing the same thing making you afraid to even think about Michael Moore or George Bush -- or even Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s wedding.

Weird, huh?

How can you use fear in your marketing? Can you rally your prospects and clients around you? And do you want to?

Let me know.

Now listen closely, tomorrow I’m going on a nice little business vacation. I’m going over to the beautiful UK, where it’s been raining for 30 days and 30 nights so I hear, but it’s going to get nice and bright once I get there.

Then from London, I’m going to hop on over to Portugal to see my friend Christian Godefroy -- one of THE sharpest men around. In fact, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to persuade Christian to do an interview with me, and next month I’ll release it as my Audio Success CD to my newsletter subscribers in August.

And if I’m not lucky enough to do that, then you will get nothing.

So what I’m saying is that you won’t be hearing from me much next week -- time to have some fun. This also means you won’t have many opportunities to test-drive my newsletter and get this month’s Audio Success CD interview with Rod Underhill -- the founder of mp3.com and by far THE wisest person I’ve ever spoken to about intellectual property.

If you want to hear what Rod has to say, and if you want to uncover the results of over a dozen different online tests I’ve run online, using a wide variety of marketing variables, then test-drive Seductive Selling Free, right now: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

I will also send you TWO free copywriting and marketing critiques along with your newsletter as well.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. If you want to raise your game, and kick it up several notches, then apply for membership in my newest coaching group, right here. : http://www.kingofcopy.com/mavericks

What Paris Hilton Knows... That You Don’t

If you live here in America, practically a moment doesn’t go by where on some news or entertainment gossip show, they aren’t covering Paris Hilton.

Right now, every night you have literally DOZENS of shows covering Paris and whether or not she is going to get out of jail, and the myriad of (meaningless) circumstances around this.

There are so many excellent marketing lessons here about pop culture... the fickle American temprament... and our willingness to forgive.

But what’s also very instructional, and what I want to talk about today, is “visibility.”

You see, a good chunk of your popularity and recognition, will come from you being “visible” to your marketplace.

And whether this visibility comes in the form of an e-mail... your physical presence at trade shows... or because you are constantly arriving in your prospects home or office mailbox... frankly, it doesn’t really matter.

Because being seen adds an aura of success and popularity to you, which you simply can NOT create any other way.

Yes, talking about how wonderful you may be, and having others talk about how wonderful you are, is definitely important, but... “Being There” adds another unique dimension to your success, that is simply irreplaceable.

Paris Hilton knows this, and that’s why she’s been able to cultivate a buzz... and a fairly large following -- and command large fees just to “be seen” at parties. Especially considering she isn’t known for, or have any particular talent or specialty skills.

You may dislike Paris, or you may love her. But once she gets out of jail, she’ll continue laughing... all the way to the bank.

Be seen... or be invisible. The choice is yours.

On page 1 and Example 1 of this month’s Seductive Selling newsletter, I’ll show you a SPECIFIC live example of how to get seen in the mail. In fact, this piece literally went to the TOP of my mail pile. Test-drive this newsletter fre.e, AND get a ton of bonus gifts to boot: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Kick fear right on its ASS, NOW!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

If you can’t beat ‘em, become a cop.

Here’s an unusual marketing strategy that often works. I say unusual, because it’s actually a positioning technique that, on the surface, looks like an ethical consumer service, but make no mistake -- it’s a positioning technique.

It’s almost a way of saying, “If I can’t beat, ‘em... then let me police ‘em.”

Let’s say you’re trying to out-do your competition and you’re in a field that’s as crowded as a New York Subway during rush hour. And also let’s say that when it comes down to it, there really ISN’T anything much different between you and all those other strap-hangars smothering in each other’s sweat and aroma.

What’s a business to do?

Well, here’s one way to skin this cat: You set up a “policing” group or association that oversees everyone else in your industry, and you position the association, AND you (as the top dog who happens to run a company that also belongs to this association) as an overseer of everyone else. A champion of the marketplace’s ethical morals -- the honest gatekeeper of an entire industry, if you will.

A modern-day Robin Hood, you can even say.

If you think good and hard about this technique, you can definitely use many different variations of it as well, in different applications and situations.

Now appreciate you’re not going to build something like this overnight -- but there again... like Confucius said, “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with one single step.”

And if my memory serves me right, he said that right after his other famous line, “He who eats jelly beans... farts in Technicolor.”

Or something like that.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Kick fear STRAIGHT on it’s ass, right NOW!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

How to handle all the idiots you’re going to meet along the way.

I’ve been having an absolute BLAST up here in New York, visiting some friends and mostly spending a ton of quality time with my family, which is as refreshing as a tall cold glass of ice-water after an intense workout.

You know, a lot of times, being an entrepreneur is a lonely life. You don’t get a chance to get out much, and frankly... when you do, there really aren’t many people you probably want to hang out with anyway, right?

I just wanted you to know, you’re not alone. It’s a lonely life, especially for the business warriors of the world. Here, just check out some of the nonsense and criticism, many of the greatest entrepreneurs in the world had to suffer through (this comes from ThoughtMechanics.com):

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” - Tom Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” - Editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

“But what … is it good for?” - Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” - Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” - Western Union internal memo, 1876

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” - David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” - H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

“A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.” - Response to Debbi Fields’ idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’” - Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.

“The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives.” - Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project.

“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929

“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” - Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

“The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon.” - Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873

See, lots of great people had to deal with LOTS of stupid people while they (the great people) were busy getting stuff done.

Ignore the morons -- even when it seems like you’re surrounded by them. Kick FEAR straight on its ass, and show ‘em what you got: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. On page 4 of this month’s Offline Seductive Selling Newsletter, I’ll reveal a very sneaky problem you need to be aware of, when you’re using involvement devices with your prospects. Take a free test drive and get $1,391 Dollars worth of bonus gifts, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

This is going to be too deep for some people. How about you?

This past weekend my family and I went out to the Plant City Strawberry Festival. Plant City is a small town along the path of progress, about 20 miles east of Tampa. I’m not sure where Plant City ranks as far as Strawberry production nation-wide, but I believe it’s one of the biggest producers of strawberries on the east coast.

Funny, a lot of people think tourism is Florida’s number one industry economically (think “the mouse”), but it’s actually agriculture and farming. Tourism is number two.

It’s always strange for me going out to a place where there are so many people, since I spend most of my time working at home up in my office, and outside of the gym, I’m really not around too many “crowds” at any given time.

What’s also funny is how I feel totally at ease walking through Times Square or Washington Square Park in the heart of New York City, but not quite as at ease at the Plant City Strawberry Festival, which is clearly nowhere near as chaotic and hectic as Times Square.

Which just goes to show you that it’s all about what you’re used to. THIS is your norm, even if it’s not as good for you. In other words people will sooner stay in a bad situation (fill in the blanks: relationship, job, friendship, parenting dynamics -- whatever), than get out of their comfort zone to “fix” things, even if they KNOW it’s good for them.

It’s almost like, better the devil known, than the devil unknown -- but in this case, the unknown devil isn’t unknown, it’s just un-comfortable.

In fact, I was talking about just this thing with a good friend of mine over the weekend. See, the thing is, we’re ALL afraid of something, no matter what level you’re at. The only thing different that separates successful people from the rest, is that we consistently DO these things we’re afraid of, and get through them.

We know the ONLY way to achieve something, is to become comfortable in the “doing” of the uncomfortable. Then, once you get through it, your comfort zone sort of gets “re-set” to this new level, letting you tackle the next “big thing” on your scale up the mountain. (I told you this was going to be too deep for some folks.)

I’m not immune to any of these fears, anxieties, or doubts, either. The only difference is I expect, and actually welcome them, because I know once I kick down the door in front of me, the next door after this, is going to be even better.

The unsuccessful person rationalizes their lack of performance, or should I say, their lack of “DOING” the next BIG thing, by accepting their current status quo as being “good enough” for them. The problem with this is, “good” is a relative term based only on what you know. Success is about being good at the next big thing -- the benefits of which, you CAN’T actually “know,” until you’re there.

Promise yourself you’re going to do just ONE thing you weren’t planning on doing this week, because it’s been making you feel uncomfortable or awkward, and then reward yourself with the benefits of whatever breakthrough it leads you to.

Then tell me what you did so I can publish it in the next offline issue of my Seductive Selling Newsletter - http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Tomorrow I won’t be so deep. I’ll be very shallow since I’m anxiously awaiting for Borat to be released on DVD and I’ve already ordered my copy from Amazon.com.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Check out all the King’s products at http://www.kingofcopy.com/products

A Dismal Forecast For 2007 - Make Sure Y

Here’s something that’s disturbing.

Some recent government statistics indicate that television is the favored media of the average American, but what’s even WORSE is that during the next 12 months, the average American is going to spend approximately 4 ½ hours a day watching TV.

This is far more than they’ll spend listening to radio (which is the second most popular media)... the internet (third most popular) and newspapers (fourth).

Now the good news is radio IS second, and that’s why I’ve signed up to start broadcasting the Seductive Selling Marketing Show, starting weekly on January 4th at 1pm Eastern, on WorldTalkRadio.com

Meanwhile reading and listening to music -- two of the most productive and mind-expanding medias in the history of media -- are nowhere to be found.

Last week I was on vacation and I read THREE books. I’m sure if that’s the only reading I did this year, the information I learned and the wisdom imparted to me from those books would FAR outweigh watching even 1,000 hours of television.

Rest assured, if you are in the 4.5 hour of television watching, you need to look no further than that, for the reason why you don’t have enough leads or prospects to call on. Last time I checked, there were no marketing channels on the boob tube, and no unique ways of increasing the response to your marketing, or of creating unique marketing strategies on there, either.

I hope no one who is reading this is in this category of television addicts, but if so, you can always attend my new program called “TA”. It’s a twelve-step program that eliminates all dependency on television, breaks your habit of buying shitloads of merchandise from QVC and HSN on your credit cards, and eliminates any fears you may have, of not being in the loop about what’s going on with your favorite soaps operas.

And if you’ll send me a check for $297 dollars, you can get in this program, but we’re only accepting the first 2,000 applicants. The program is on TV on your very own channel -- it’s on every Monday night at 9pm, after the Waltons, on ATV -- Addict TV.

Now, if you are NOT a dum-dum who spends all their time in front of the television, then you want to see page 4 of this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, because I’ll be showing show you how to put together a very simple, but AWESOME Headline that completely removes all the risk from your prospects shoulders, and how two of the members of my Mentoring Program are using it! Subscribe for FREE, and get $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts, just for test-driving it NOW, while this offer lasts!: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Listen to my Seductive Selling Radio Show, premiering January 4th on WorldTalkRadio.com

Steve McQueen Did It -- So Can You.

I’ve been watching a lot of older movies lately. Stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Not sure why I’ve been feeling so nostalgic, perhaps it’s watching my kids get old, perhaps I’m getting old, not really sure -- but I’ll tell you one thing -- it’s pretty “comfortable” regardless. Kind of like sitting down with an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time. You don’t have to struggle to get to know that person and you can just sit back and relax and “be yourself.”

Familiarity may breed contempt in a relationship, but not in a relationship with a movie.

So last night I got through about half of Steve McQueen’s “Bullit”. (I bought the McQueen box set on Amazon.) I always liked Steve McQueen and when I did some research on his background, I liked him even more. Apparently he grew up doing things HIS way, in spite of getting a very difficult start in life.

This is a model for success, in case you didn’t know that -- as long as doing things YOUR way, means doing things that are legal, positive and productive -- albeit perhaps a little unconventional.

Sadly, McQueen died at a young age of cancer, but boy did he leave a classic body of work behind him. He was also one of Hollywood’s leading “studs” of his era.

Anyway, at one point in time during the movie (which was made in 1968), Robert Vaughan (in his first role after just finishing The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series) turns around to Simon Oakland and says, “Boy, it must be tough raising kids nowadays.”

Now how many times have you heard that one? Doesn’t matter if it’s 1968 or 1978... and in fact, chances are out STANDING you’ll be hearing it in 2008, right?

The point is this: THINGS change... environments change... products and goods and services change... but people -- and the things that keep them up at night and the things they WANT out of life -- simply do not change. Keep this in mind when you’re speaking to your prospects and you’ll be all right.

Steve McQueen did it, and now so can you. Kick FEAR and self-sabotage right on its ass, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/science

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. In this month’s OFFLINE Seductive Selling Newsletter, you’ll see why you can be absolutely BRAIN-DEAD and still write an effective ad, by using Example #2 as your model. Test-drive this newsletter for free while this offer lasts, AND get a $1,391 Dollars worth of FREE Bonus gifts to boot, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

From Now On, Ask How Likely And Not How Much

From now on, ask how likely... and not... how much.

In 1882, in Parma, Italy, a young man was born who eventually emigrated to the U.S. when he was 21 years old.

This man, handsome, energetic, confident and charismatic, would change the nature of how business was conducted, and the effects of his accomplishments are still being felt today.

Unfortunately, this fellow took the old entry-level salesman's adage, "fake it until you make it", too far. In fact, he didn't just believe in this adage as he began his career -- he lived (and ultimately died) by it.

In fact, Charles Ponzi left a lifetime of fraud and embezzlement behind him.

Ponzi's first job as a waiter ended when he was fired for screwing around with the checks and got caught ripping off customers.

Undeterred, however, Ponzi headed north to Montreal where he became a bank teller and promptly got tossed in jail for forging checks. (Ponzi wrote to his mother that he'd found a job as a special assistant to the prison warden.)

After he was released, he was immediately sent back to prison for smuggling Italian immigrants across the U.S. border.

Following his second release from prison, Ponzi, now 36 years old, moved to Boston and shortly afterwards, came up with his "master" scam -- the "postal reply coupon."

These coupons were used by immigrants who would write letters to their families overseas in Europe, and since these poor families living in Europe couldn't afford to pay for the postage required to mail a letter back to America, the immigrants living here in America would instead enclose these postal reply coupons inside their letters, which their families could then use as return postage.

Basically, it was like sending pre-paid self-addressed stamps to families overseas.

Ponzi started scouting around for investors in his new idea, promising they could double their returns in 90 days, calling his company -- interestingly enough -- the "Securities Exchange Company." He got a few investors and paid them off promptly in a very low-key fashion. Of course, it didn't take long for word about this to spread like wildfore, at which point investors began POURING through Ponzi's doors.

By February 1920 (only 3 months after his business started), Ponzi had brought in over $5,000 dollars. By the following month, he'd brought in over $30,000 dollars... and by May of the same year, he'd racked up over $420,000 Dollars in sales, from greedy investors throughout the entire northeastern U.S.

By July, he'd brought in Millyuns. Widows were mortgaging their homes, and average families were withdrawing their life savings and dumping it into Ponzi's lap. And by paying out a few people ONLY, Ponzi's reputation spread, to the point where most people didn't even want to get their funds back -- they simply kept their funds reinvested instead.

Suddenly however, when word of a minor (unrelated) lawsuit against Ponzi came out, people began qestioning how he could have become so successful, in such a short time-frame. People began pulling out of Ponzi's scheme -- but... since he was so flush with cash, it was no problem for Ponzi to pay this small minority their just desserts.

Nevertheless, the Boston Post, and then the Massachusetts state regulators, began investigating his "Ponzi" scheme. Media mogul Clarence Barron (of Barron's financial newspaper) then wrote an article which explained that to cover all the investments
that had been made with the Securities Exchange Company, there would have to be approximately 160 Million postal reply coupons in circulation, but there had only been 27,000 issued to date (the postal reply coupons were sold through the Post Office, so records were kept).

When this news came out, it was basically the beginning of the end for Ponzi, as investors angrily stormed through his doors, and one month later, by the 2nd of August, he was broke. The feds shut down his business a few days later, ade his former criminal record was soon revealed.

By August 13th, Ponzi was under arrest and the 17,000 people who had blindly invested millions with him, would never recover that money again. Ponzi was sent to Federal prison for 3 1/2 years, and then faced state charges where he was sentenced to nine more years in prison. However, he jumped bail and escaped to Florida, where he quickly set up shop selling Florida swampland to gullible real estate prospectors.

Running from the law again, Ponzi fled once more -- this time to Texas, where he changed his appearance and tried to escape the country.

Ponzi got caught and was sent back to Massachusetts to serve his prison sentence. Released in 1934, at the age of 52, he was deported back to Italy -- alone, destitute and broke. After spending some more time as a petty thief, Ponzi died from a stroke
in 1948, a pauper in a charity hospital in Rio de Janiero.

It is from this story that the "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scam, appropriately called, a Ponzi scheme, originated.

There are many many lessons to be learned from this. First, a lion never sheds it's stripes. With very few exceptions, a thief is always a thief, and a liar is always a liar, just as a good man is always a good man. Integrity is what you do when no one's looking, and your actions along these lines don't usually vary from day to day.

You either ARE... or you aren't.

second, appreciate that Ponzi was so successful because he pushed very deliberate emotional triggers and buy-buttons in his prospects, that caused VERY powerful reactions. These triggers were the emotional hot-buttons of fear, hope, and greed, the "Bermuda Triangle" of selling financial gain. I cover each of these hot-buttons in DEPTH inside The Seductive Selling System - http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive -- explaining exactly how to use them, step-by-step, and what mistakes you must avoid
making.

Lastly, the reason why Ponzi's scheme will work again -- if put to the test -- is because when it comes to "the big payday," people tend to ask "How much?"... when instead, they should be asking "How likely?" Sadly, the "fast easy money" sales pitch works so well, because of this.

The tragic human tendency of sticking your head in the sand to avoid reality gives con artists (ironically the "con" stands for "confidence") tremendous leverage. So strong, yet so weak.

Hope you're one of the strong ones.

There's no con, but lots of artistry in this month's Seductive Selling newsletter, and there's no mystery about the $1,391 in FREE bonus gifts you get along with your trial subscription, so check it out, right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Avoid the price hike: Seductive Selling System is going up by $100 bucks on December 8th. Get it NOW: http://www.kingofcopy.com/seductive.