Increasing Sales With Advanced Copywriting Tactics

If you haven’t seen the new tool from Copyblogger called Scribe… take a look at the video below. Awesome product from a top-notch organization. This should help you churn out high quality keyword focused original content almost as fast as your little fingers can fly across that keyboard. (Though it doesn’t make my fingers any younger or more nimble

Check out the video and then give Scribe a try

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The other day a friend told me a story about his daughter’s summer job experience. Little did he know the story packed a powerful marketing lesson.

Tina (okay, I made the name up) got a summer job at an ice cream store where she manned (girled?) a walk-up window. Like everyone else working there, she displayed a big jar with the word “TIPS” written on it.  No matter how hard she worked, how much she smiled or how great her service was, her tip jar was usually more empty than full. Then one day, she had an idea…

She removed the “TIPS” label from the jar and replaced it with one saying “College Savings Fund”. The response was immediate. Not only did her jar explode with cash – customers started talking to her more. They asked about her plans, taking a real interest in her. They came back more often too. Why should a different label create such profound sudden change? (no pun intended)Here’s some ideas:

Tina differentiated herself. People are used to seeing tip jars, but a “College Savings Fund” was a twist that made Tina stand out.

People prefer to give for a specific purpose.  Non-profits know this.  More often than not, an appeal for a special project will generate a better response than general appeals for donations.

Tina suddenly became more of a real person in the eyes of her customers. Instead of just the girl with a job at the ice cream store – Tina was someone working towards a goal.

Customers now had a reason to give.  “Reason Why Copywriting” is based on this same principle. People respond better when given a reason. Robert Cialdini in his book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”, cites a study by Ellen Langer.

They started out by saying “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine  because I’m in a rush?”  Later on, researchers left of the reason entirely saying “”Excuse me, I have five pages.  May I use the copy machine because I need to use the copy machine?”.  A surprising number of people let the researcher through even then.  When she simply asked “”Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the copy machine?” Far fewer people stepped aside.

It seems we are programmed to act when given a reason even when that reason doesn’t make sense. Note: Cialdini goes on to say this didn’t always work in every situation but the example does demonstrate a valid principle.

So how can you apply “The Exploding Tip Jar” principle to your marketing?

Dare to be different.  Sure, controversy sells, but if you’re not the controversial type, you can still find a way to stand out from the crowd.

Get real. We all tend to hide behind masks and labels. If you have to label yourself – at least make your label reflect who you are instead of just doing what everyone else does.

Give people a reason. “Reason Why” copy works. Ask yourself why people buy your product and/or service. Use those reasons in your copy.

God bless,

Andy

P.S. Last time I looked there were still a few free slots available for my split tesing course – Power Testing Profits.  There is no “catch” no upsell (okay – at the end of the course I do add a plug for an advanced course but I haven’t even completed it yet.) Sign up today because its free.

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Maybe it IS a silly question and then again… maybe not. Of all the things we do to grow our businesses, it seems many otherwise savvy marketers stumble when it comes to converting visitors into sales. So what’s the big deal? Consider this:

Let’s say you’ve got a website where you sell a product. You make $10 on each sale. Whoop dee do. You make one sale for every 100 visitors (Since 1/100 = 1% your conversion rate (cr) is 1%) and your site gets 100 visitors every day. So this site pays you $10 X $30 or $300 a month. (If you still don’t care, sell the site to me please Let’s face $300 is $300 but what if you got to thinking… “Gee, how hard would it be to double my traffic”?

Doubling 100 visitors a day probably wouldn’t be all that hard. For tickles and grins, let’s say you do just that. Now this lousy $10 a day site is a $20 a day site that pays you $600. That is at least a car payment for many of us. But wait a minute… what if you tried to double the conversion rate instead? Well, let’s see…

Take that 100 visitors, $10 per sale but now you sell 2 visitors out of every 100 and your cr is now 2%. So now your lousy $10 a day site is a $20 a day site paying you… $600. So what? So what if you doubled your traffic NOW?

You would quadruple your income!

And that lousy $10 site now pays a good chunk of your mortgage – if not all of it. But that’s not the end of it.

Web Analytics expert Avinash Kaushik once stated the average US website converts between 1-2%. That is average. If you haven’t guessed by now, I won’t beat around the bush – most people ignore conversion. Those that don’t are seeing conversion rates of 5-10… even 30% and more!

Imagine 30 sales per 100 visitors. Now you’re talking $300 a day for that same, lousy $10 profit.

Now, coming back to earth, let’s be realistic… it’s not always going to happen like that. I’ve seen sites where it’s like pulling teeth just to get a few adsense nickels. The traffic was plentiful, just not cooperative. Microsoft offers a tool to analyze keywords according to commercial intention. Some say it’s useful. I’m not so sure BUT it’s not a bad idea to keep in mind the intent of those coming to your website. And that includes those who show up via the search engines.

In any case, no one, certainly not I, can make any promises. That said, marketers have been proving testing works for over 100 years now. Yes, some do fail, but never before in history have tools with this kind of power been available to anyone walking in off the street.

My new course Power Testing Profits shows you how to harness the power of split testing – with these new bone-crushing monster tools. But for 20 of my loyal readers, it gets even better…

Try My "Power Testing Profits" split testing course!

I’m giving away 20 slots in my Power Testing Profits course. You do NOT have to sign up for anything. You don’t even have to tell me who you are. Okay, there is just one catch – I do ask you to answer 5 simple questions first and tell me what you think of the course afterwards, but that’s it.

If you’d like to see if there’s a slot open for you at no charge, you can visit the special page I set up for you here.

You’ll get the complete course with all the bonus materials provided for my paid  students.  I’d love to hear how you’ve used it to boost your sales. Don’t wait. The free slots are limited.

God bless,

Andy

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If you’ve read this blog for any time now you probably aren’t believing your eyes. You KNOW I’m an idiot when it comes to graphics. It’s Haaaarrrrrrrd! (In my best whiny valley-girl voice – and yes, I AM dating myself) But no more. Nope. From now on you may bow when you are graced with my presence. From here on out I’m a…

Graphics Guru!

You may kiss my pen.

You don’t believe me do you? Well get a load of this!

See that header baby? check out that course cover. Those are MY doings Pilgrim. Yep. Yep. Yep. Mine. Mine. Mine. All Mine.

So what transformed me?

A program called Ecover Pro

Ecover Pro Demo

I saw this a few weeks ago as I was struggling to get something together for a report I wrote. Yes, the bait piece report to the right which will soon be gone – so if you are not a subscriber yet…

In any case I finally broke down to try it. (First I emailed the seller to see if it would work on my ancient Windows 2000 machine. He assured me it would and it works very well thank you.)

I’m telling you it is just as easy as it was on the demo! I was up and running in minutes. Ron does offer an “upsell” if you want to call it that – it’s lifetime access to his graphics designer. That’s what I used to make my banner and cover. It was very easy to use too. It did take me a while to play with some of the effects but over all it was a snap.

Let’s face it. For ME to put something out that good…

I’ve used some other programs that have better text effects but overall this program is a great value. If you’re a true “graphics guy” you might want to pass this one up, but I don’t think I would even then. Why?

Because once you have the basic flat graphic down it’s very easy to slap that on a nice looking ebook, cd, box… even a membership card.

If nothing else, you should see the demo on the sales page.

Oh, by the way, if you didn’t notice, the sales page for my new Power Testing Profits course which I haven’t even “officially” announced yet – is a special deal – use the coupon code “Save $20″ (between the quotes bloke) to well, save $20. What else? I have limited the number of coupons available so you might want to mosey over there now.

God bless,

Andy

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Warning! Copyrighting heresy straight ahead.

Yes, that’s right. Not only have I become a heretic myself, I urge YOU to do the same! What in melted snowball land am I talking about?

Just got an email from a marketer I know and like. We’ve dealt together in the past – nothing big but every bit of personal contact helps. Anyway, he sent his list an email promoting an item of some interest to me, but that’s not what got my attention. He said “all the marketers” have gone to orange order buttons because they work best in tests. I say BUNK!

That’s right… pardon my language but this is pure crapola. Why?

Because those marketers probably didn’t test YOUR market!

Does that mean orange button won’t work for you? Not at all. What I’m saying is be daring – test it. But don’t stop there…

Test other button colors too. Test different button texts – Try “Download Now!” or “Click here to download” or… something else.

The fact is unless you stretch the envelope you’ll never break out of the box. (How’s that for a mixed metaphor?)

What’s stopping you from testing? Please comment below.

God bless,

Andy

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Security is not really my “thing” but as someone who has been hacked more than once, I’ve learned the hard way. Whenever someone asks about WordPress in particular, I find myself saying the same thing so it just seemed easier to write this article so I can post a link.

If you blog or want to blog, chances are someone recommended WordPress and no wonder… with all the themes and plugins available, it’s a great choice for beginning and veteran bloggers alike. But there is a problem with WordPress that could shut you down before you can blink an eye…

It has to do with security. The popularity of WordPress and it’s Open Source code, combines to offer enticing opportunities for mischief makers who like nothing better than to break in to web sites and wreak havoc.

Part of the problem is with PHP – the underlying programming language for the WordPress script. Bear in mind, I am far from a programming expert, as a matter of fact I’m not a programmer at all. All I know is what I’ve learned from working with scripts for the past several years. What I’ve learned is this:

PHP scripts are among the most popular around. And I’ve had more PHP scripts hacked than any other type. That tells me PHP has some inherent problems. Here’s one I know about…

Many PHP scripts are capable of creating or modifying files and folders. To do this, they require permission from the webmaster. (Often this is you.) These permissions are what control who has access to what files on your site. PHP generally requires global (777) permissions to do what it needs to do. The problem is, global permissions gives anybody permission to create, modify, or even delete that file… even hackers.

While some web hosts have take measures to prevent this – one of which is installing another script called “suEXEC” -

With both of the above problems, there is some controversy. I’ve seen some folks post that the problem runs deeper than this and is due to shared servers (cheap web hosting relies on sharing your server with lots of other sites) and inefficient server management. In other words, your host may not be dealing well with these issues on their end.

Okay, that may be true but I’ve been hacked several times on different hosts and I can tell you it’s ALWAYS the files with a 777 permission that are hacked.

So what do do about all this?

First, be careful about what scripts you install. Whenever possible, I try to opt for cgi scripts (another language – you’ll notice every domain and subdomain has a cgi folder) whenever possible – these have presented less of a problem over the years.

I still install plenty of PHP scripts – especially WordPress blogs. These days, I monitor those installs much more closely. One of the easiest ways is to log on to your account with an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program and look at the “modified” dates of folders and suspect files. Investigate any that look out of place.

How to spot a hacked file:

What I do is simply open the suspect file in a text editor. Most of the time I’ll transfer a copy from my site to a folder I create on my computer (I”ll call it hacked files-August-2010 or something) and then open with wordpad or some other simple text editor.

After you’ve seen a few php files, you’ll soon be able to tell right away but if in doubt, open the original file and compare the two. If it’s hacked they will look different. Usually the inserted code is right at the top.

Can hackers be stopped?

In the real world? No. Not really. Like someone said to me once – locks just keep honest people out. But, just as you can do things to make your house or car less attractive to burglars, you can make changes to your website to encourage hackers to move on to easier pickings.

As I said before, watch those file permissions. Make sure every folder has a file named “index.htm”, “Index.html”, or “index.php” – these are the most common. If your folder has no such file create one. It need not have anything on it. All you want to do is have something for browsers to see – even if it is blank space – if someone stumbles upon your folder. For example:

Let’s say you have an “images” folder on your website. Pretty common. On some hosts if you navigate to http://mysite.com/images/ and it has no index file in place, your browser will list every file in that folder. It may be possible to see more of your file structure too. If the folder contains sensitive files, anyone can look at or download them. My host tells me this is no longer necessary but I do it anyway.

Now about WordPress Security…

I’m not going to go into this because it’s already been done by people much more knowledgeable than I. But I will provide links so you can get this information yourself.

You can find an excellent white paper on WordPress Security here You’ll also find loads of other security information on this site too. It’s well worth a look and a bookmark.

Here is another good post on WordPress Security

There are others but between these two, you should be a lot better off than if you just installed your blog and hoped for the best.

By the way, I don’t always utilize every technique these publications recommend. But there are several I always do – like install the role manager and use it. And change my prefixes. (don’t worry, you’ll soon know what I mean

This article is far from a definitive work on security. But it will get you started in the right direction and the information can help protect you from a lot of heart and headaches.

God bless,

Andy

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Just finished reading an article by another copywriter who believes offering a free consultation shoots up a blazing red flag shouting “Incoming! Sales Pitch!”

Is it true?

Okay she was more subtle than that but my description offers a more precise idea of how I feel about “sales pitches”.

On my Havens Communications web page, as well as on some posts here, I offer a free consultation and I don’t use that as an excuse to “sell” anyone. How can I?

Lets say you downloaded my special report “Luring Prospects with a Bait Piece.” Maybe you like the idea but you are not sure it’s right for you so call me – do you really think I’m going to try to “close” you on the idea of writing up a special report for you on the spot? Heck no!

I don’t know anything about you or your business. It would be foolish of me to try to sell you anything. What I’m going to do is start asking some questions and listen carefully to what you have to say.

By the end of the call, I’ll likely be brimming with ideas about how to build your business. These will range from the starkly ordinary to the wildly exotic. I might make a suggestion or two or probe some more but in the end I am more prone to offer to call you back with an idea or two IF I think I can help. (If I don’t think my services are right for you, I may still offer to call back after I talk to a colleague or two who may be able to help.)

Or if you have a project in mind and want to know what it would cost to do it, I’d gather the information and offer to work up a quote. Then we would agree on when the quote would be delivered. Again, that is IF we decide I’m the right person for your project.

Almost everything I do is on a quotation basis. Before I even begin to work, you know what to expect and how much it will cost. And I never “sell” my quotes. I just don’t. You are always free to accept it or reject it. Of course we can always modify the terms if need be.

So what do you think? Am I missing something? Is there a better way? Feel free to comment below or privately if you prefer. I’d like to know if you are hesitant to take me up on a free consultation because you think you’ll get pitched instead. If you’d like to suggest an alternative, I’d be happy to hear from you.

Regards,

Andy

P.S. Comment below, call or fill out the handy form on the right. As always, my contact form “subscribes” you but there is no “mailing list”. It’s just a way for me to get your info.

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Okay so I used the ellipsis (three dots) because otherwise the ! looks like another “l” and therefore a typo, but I had to. I’m excited. I’ve got Poll…! Kinda.

I gave up trying to get the scripts to work on the blog but I DID get them working on my Havens Communications site. You won’t see it until you go to leave then my Virtual Assistant (Janet) pops to ask you to fill it out.

Give it a whirl.

Andy

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Okay an update is due and here it is…

Friday was a frazzling day. Finally got an answer about my poll script(s). The first one I kinda wasn’t expecting an answer to right away. The vendor lives in Israel so I thought he might be orthodox and not tend to business late Friday (the traditional Jewish Sabbath is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday).

Well I did get a response. I also got a response from a vendor of the other poll software. The vendor is a good guy but the software is indeed junk. Looks good. Great concept but lousy in execution. Too bad.

In both cases though, customer service was actually very good.

The funny thing is even after I got answers to my questions, I decided to abandon the script in favor of another one. After I bought the other script, it dawned on my to post my survey right in the script like above. (okay, it SHOULD appear above, but this sticky plugin doesn’t always work the way I want it too.) Why do I keep bothering with the script?

Well after all is said and done, I kinda like the way the script is set up. What I don’t like is the formatting of the pages it generates. However, I’ve figured out a couple of things so I can work around that.

1) I’m doing my own formatting.

2) I can put my own format in a page, combine this script with another one – the Sales Bot Generator – to create exit polls.

So it may not be a wash after all. I’ll likely offer a package deal with a video when it is all said and done.

God bless,

Andy

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