Over the years I’ve known quite a few auto mechanics. A few I’ve considered good friends.  Through the years I worked on a good number of my own cars - enough to know I hate it. And that is the first thing auto mechanics taught me about copywriting. Auto Mechanics? Copywriting?

Well, yes. You could even broaden those principles into life lessons.

The first lesson comes from a mechanic who was the father of a friend of mine. He was considered the best auto mechanic in town. After he “retired”, so many loyal customers drove or limped their vehicles to his driveway, he finally opened for business in his home garage. So what did I learn from him?

Besides the fact that if you know your stuff and can offer what other people can’t, there will always be a demand for your services - Mr. Bergerson had a particular pricing policy.

He always charged double his rate for the first hour. His reasoning? Most problems brought to him could be solved in an hour or less, thus his first hour was the most valuable. Whether you agree with this or not, his customers - myself included - gladly paid it. Why?

Because he was worth every penny. He did the job right the first time and, yes, it usually did take an hour or less.  And that revelation led me to a second insight I learned from another mechanic.

After a few years, Mr Bergeson passed away - no doubt with a wrench in his hand. I was forced to find a new mechanic. I settled for the most expensive mechanic in town. Why?

Because in the long run, he was cheaper than all the rest.

A lot of auto mechanics is trial and error. The really good ones can find the problem with less trial and error. The best rarely missed. Paul was the best. Not only that but when I would take my car in for even an oil change, he would present a list of what the car needed - broken down into what needed immediate attention - what could wait and how long it would likely last and what could be fixed but didn’t effect the performance or safety of the car. Paul was adamant on safety. If something was unsafe it did not leave his shop. He would go toe to toe with you on that one.

Paul’s lesson is obvious to me: buy the best you can afford. It will save you money in the long run. As I said, while these principles certainly apply to copywriting, they also work in so many areas of life.

So how can I apply Mr. Bergeson’s  lesson to copywriting?

For one: don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth. Actually, Paul also taught me that but he also taught me a couple of other things. More on that in a moment.

Mr. Bergeson felt he was worth a fair but decent rate - and twice that for the first hour… and he got it. Not only that but he was always busy. And without advertising (ouch). So charge what you are worth. What else did Paul teach me?

Be worth what you charge. Paul always went over every car that entered his shop with a fine tooth comb. I’ve had mechanics who found “other problems”, but none ever instilled the confidence Paul did. He was one of the most honest men I ever encountered.

And as  you may know, I decided to seek out some copywriting projects in the next few months and that is what turned my thoughts to fees.

Ironically, if you follow my advice,  you may never hire me. I do not claim to be the best copywriter in the world, nor am I the most expensive… not even close. As a matter of fact, if I do my job well enough, I may never be able to charge what I’m truly worth… why?

Let’s say I quote a project for you. For the sake of argument,  let’s say I charge what some “A list” copywriters charge - $15,000 + a 5% royalty. (Shocked? Some charge more than that and have a waiting list!)

To make the math easy let’s assume you have a product you sell for $100 and make a 50% profit. You get 500 visitors a day to your site and it converts at 1%.

So you sell 1 in 100 visitors or 5 units  per day with a gross profit of $250 per day.

My new sales page doubles your conversion rate bringing in another $250 per day gross profit. At that rate it would only take 60 days to pay for my services. in 120 days you’ve doubled your investment and the profits keep rolling in. Here’s the kicker…

According to Google - a 2% conversion rate is about average for US websites.

Oh yes, that 5% (usually of gross sales) would cost you another $25 per day or $750 per month for as long as you use my copy. Would it be worth $25 to bring in another $225 in profits every day?

Even with this exercise I still  have a hard time charging anywhere near that kind of fee.  Maybe I’ll get over it at some point, but for now rest assured, I am much more affordable.

If you would like a quote for your project email to admin at this web address with the subject line “Quote Requested” or call me at 443.254.3703. For a limited time - because my own time is limited - if you ask, I’ll perform my own version of Paul’s car inspection for your business and present you with a “punch list” of what you need to fine tune your profits.

God bless,

Andy

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Hi,

For those of you who saw the video embedded in my last post - maybe you caught this. Maybe not.

One of Google’s top analytics experts states the average conversion rate for US web pages is 1-2%. Yeah. So what? Big deal. Well, actually it IS a big deal.

One of the questions I see most often is “What’s a good conversion rate?”. What these business folks are really asking is “Am I selling as much as I should be?” Are you? Consider this…

Paul Hancox in his book The Secrets of a Ten Percent Conversion Rate, says direct salespeople often achieve conversion rates of 20-40%. Do you think those salespeople are satisfied? Even those who consistently converted 40%? So why should you be satisfied with 2% or even 5%? You shouldn’t - pure and simple. So how do you improve upon your now totally unacceptable sales performance? Before I answer that I have a confession to make.

I’ve been an Idiot.

Yes, that IS with a capitol “I”. Though much of this not new to me - as a matter of fact I’m a “natural anti-salesman” - I, too, got tangled up in the “hard sales copy craze”. I bought and read 10% Conversion over a year ago. I bought and read Paul Hancox’s previous book “Small Changes, Big Profits” a couple of years before that. On top of all that, I’ve long billed myself as more of a marketer than a salesperson. What’s the difference?

As I usually say, a salesperson pitches until they make a sale or get thrown out. A marketer finds a need and fills it.

While this is simplified, you get the idea. So whats my point?

Recently I read a report that brought all this together and finally woke me up to the truth about sales and selling. I’ve been having a miserable run at copywriting lately only to find out what should have been so obvious…

Copywriting doesn’t “work” anymore!

Or rather, it’s getting harder and harder to make a living if you model yourself after the “carnival hawker”. It’s time for a better approach. It’s time for

Process Selling

What is process selling? Simply put it’s recognizing sales is a process and changing your approach to your prospects accordingly. I’ll delve into this more and more in the coming months… and then some.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a report I’d like to give you that explains all this very well. It’s called “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” by Paul Myers. Don’t let the fact that it doesn’t cost you a cent fool you - it’s one of the best reports you’ll ever read.

I’m not even collecting email addresses to give you this. My subscribers may cry foul because I usually reserve the best stuff for them alone. But this is too important to mess around. If you sell anything, you need this.

Right now the credibility for marketers - especially online marketers - is at an all time low. The sooner business moves way from “hypesterizing” and towards a more customer-focused, problem-solving win-win style of true marketing, the better things will get for all of us.

‘Nough said - get your copy of “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” here.

There is just one thing I’d like in return, if you would - please come back and let me know by adding a comment to this post.

God bless,

Andy

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Few things strike more fear into a marketer’s heart than an “over the top” guarantee. I mean Gutsy with a capital “G”. And yet few elements of a sales page exude more power. Why?

Because your reader doesn’t trust you. Not at all. Few marketers have earned enough trust to risk even a few dollars for something “unknown”. Not all marketers have this problem…

A few years ago I bought a high ticket item from a marketer - it wasn’t even his product - he was an affiliate. By “high ticket” I mean over $1500. Online. And I didn’t blink an eye. Why is that?

I knew the product. The company it came from is a leader in the field. The marketer who sold it has a way about him I find very trustworthy. He is always helpful. He gives a lot of good information away at no charge. And I’ve never seen a “hypey” sales pitch from him. In short - he has positioned himself far above many of those in his field.

So my first suggestion to you is to follow this lead. Take the high road. Avoid anything that hints of shady practices or shoddy products. Be worthy of trust and people will trust you.

Secondly, gather as much proof as you can. Social proof (testimonials, etc.), scientific proof, endorsements, anything you can gather to back up what you say. And don’t say anything you can’t back up.

Finally, offer the absolute strongest guarantee you dare. This is where things get interesting. You see, when it comes right down to it…

You Don’t Trust Your Customers!

Why else would you fail to guarantee an information product forever? Do you think hordes of customers are going to way 7.33 years and then descend on you at once for a refund?

The most common objection for strong guarantees is thieves. Yes some people will take your product and then ask for a refund. You will get that no matter what guarantee you offer. Think about the psychology of a thief for a moment…

They lie, cheat and steal… right? Do you expect them to be patient also? How long do you think a thief will wait to get a refund? A year? Not if they can get it in minutes. Or a week. In other words, guaranting your product for a year will make NO difference with thieves. So what does that leave?

Marginal customers. Customers who bought your product but don’t really want it because it doesn’t meet their needs or expectations. It happens.

The fact is you should be EAGER to give a refund to marginal customers. WHAT! Why?

Because these are the customers who will tell you what’s wrong with your product or your sales approach. Not only should you be able to cut down on future refunds but you should also armed to get more customers by refining your product and/or sales letter!

On the other hand the general rule is the more solid the guarantee the greater the sales. Yep more people will buy if you convince them they have absolutely NO risk if they decide to buy your product. Just make sure you honor this!

Now for that “Gutsy” Guarantee…

If you really want to “Go for the Gutsy” here one of the most daring guarantees going:

FREE If You Choose!

At firt it even chills me to the bone, but think about it…

You’re selling a digital product so what are the chances someone will get the refund and then delete your product from their hard drive? (I do but I think I’m the exception here.)

What are you going to do otherwise? Go to their house and check? Yeah, right. So why not take advantage of this and say “go ahead and try it if you don’t like it, I’ll refund your money”

I’ve seen others do this, most recently, Brad Callen for his SEO Elite product. I was impressed. If you get something different it’s because he’s testing and you’ve hit an alternate offer - it happens.

Other Gutsy Guarantees include offering to give back more than the reader paid - 10%, 20% even double your money back! Frankly, such offers scare me as a buyer and as a seller.

The bottom line is you should offer the best guarantee you can and still sleep at night.

One final note - is this rule written in stone? No. One very successful marketer comes to mind… Matt Furey.

Matt offers NO guarantee at all. Matt makes far more money with his products than I do. I’m fairly certain Matt tests his messages but I’m still not convinced this concept would be valid in most markets.

I’ve done this myself on occasion because I offer a product so cheap it would nearly cost me money to refund it. I’m not a fan of this tactic. I’ve come to believe you are better off offering value and getting a fair price for that value.

The best overall advice I can offer is to test your own market.  See what is acceptable to them. There’s no reason you can’t limit your tests in extreme cases to just a few hundred or even 1,000 visitors.  Even if you have a 5% conversion rate and your “double your money back” guarantee doubles this you’ve only risked 100 refunds.  If your refund rate remains  less than 50% and you’ll still make a gross profit.

God bless,

Andy

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Hi,

I know I haven’t posted so much lately. I finally realized I was posting too often. From now on expect 1-2 posts per week. If this doesn’t set right with you, feel free to let me know.

Other changes on the horizon…

I’m dropping the idea of video critiques. The fact is I’m apparently just too brutal. It takes a thick skin to write copy and have it reviewed by someone. I know. I’ve been there. And while I do make every effort to be gentle, I refuse to ignore the concept of “best practices”. What is that?

It’s is what is generally known and proven to work. Does that mean I’ll “attack” anyone or any ideas deviating from “best practices”? Ablsolutely not!

I’ll be the first to suggest testing just about anything. I do draw the line at the “vulgar” and anything that rings of questionable ethics. Other than that, I am all for pushing the envelope. Now for the third and final change…

I’m raising prices substantially for “Sales Page Makeovers” . I just finished a quote for a complete re-write of a sales page. I quoted it both ways - as a straight copy job (something I rarely do these days) and as a makeover. I was stunned at what I’ve been giving away!

No more.

I’ll post more on this next time but the figures justify much higher prices for this service. If no one is willing to pay then I’ll just have to focus on maximizing conversions on my own products.

Until next time…

God bless,

Andy

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Just finished a report on the 5 reasons people run from your website screaming in terror. Okay so maybe that’ s a little overboard. However if you look at your stats, you may find a large number leaving before the first 30 seconds.

If you want them to stay longer and maybe buy something then this report is for you. I do have one problem…

I’d like your help with the title. I narrowed it down to the two I like best but I’m open to suggestions.  Here’s the two I ended up with:

“5 Reasons Folks Flee from Your Website Like Extras in a Godzilla Movie”

or

“5 Common Reasons Visitors Flee from Your Website and How to Fix It”

Which one to you prefer? Please leave a comment below.

God bless,

Andy

By the way, if you want a copy of my report with my compliments, simply sign up for my blog alerts.

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Headlines are critical to any sales letter. Most copywriters and testers agree 80% of readers will take a look at your headline and then decide whether to read any more. I expect more marketers experience faster, more dramatic results from headline changes than any other element. All great information but what do you DO with it? Let’s take a look…

Right now, before you do anything else, get it in your head: No matter how good you think your headline is - you’ve got to test it. Don’t fudge here.

And that means you need to come up with at least two headlines - more is better.

We’ve already discussed the “hook” headline - where you take that unique, extraordinary fact and turn it into a sensational teaser. Think “National Enquirer”. Think “Cosmopolitan”. These publications live or die by attention grabbing headlines. When it comes to a “hook”, you just can’t beat the tabloids. But what if you don’t have a good hook?

Never fear, there’s other ways. Your headline should contain your strongest benefit. Think of the most powerful benefit your customer will get. Do NOT exaggerate! Make sure any claim you make can be substantiated with cold, hard facts. But it’s also acceptable to use the facts to your advantage also. How?

Let’s say you are selling a “gem dectector” that instantly reports what type of gem is in a piece of jewelry. You know one person used it to find a diamond ring that sold for $12,234 and she was able to buy it for $300. (Notice how this is ALSO a “hook”?)

“Soccer Mom Discovers Diamond Worth $12,234 at Rummage Sale Turning a $300 Invesment into a $11,934 Profit Using the Roncoid Gem Detective”

Subhead: “You too can find valuable gemstone jewlery almost anywhere for almost instant profits!”

Sometimes you can change a single word and see huge results. In the headline above I might change $11,934 into “3978%”

Famous Copywritier and Marketer Ten Nicholas  says he writes at least 200 headlines for every product he sells. These days you could test every one but you shouldn’t have too. Some headlines you’ll be able to weed out just by looking at them.

Do you have to pump out 200 headlines for every sales letter you write? No, but if you do you increase you chances of success exponentially.

One other tip: Look for “hidden” and “obvious” benefits.  Why obvious benefits?

For one thing what may be obvioius to you may not be obvious to your reader. And it may be just the thing your customer is looking for.  Many marketers, including your competitors miss this. What about “hidden” benefits?

These take a bit more to dig out but they are nearly always worth the effort. Hidden benefits often require you look at customer perceptions rather than the product itself.

Toothpaste marketers know this. Fighting cavities is fine. Whiter teeth is a boone, but the hidden benefit of transforming yourself from a goofy nerd to a magnet for the opposite gender is golden.

One other thing, don’t be afraid to reword and/or restate your benefits in the body of your copy. Reiterate them in you bullet copy too.

Now you know why I feel your sales letter should start by looking for benefits. Benefits are the meat of your copy and are used again and again. Your headlines should contain your strongest benefit or a hook. Keep in mind your hook should also offer a benefit.  While a good hook doesn’t HAVE to offer your strongest benefit, if to does, it is to your advantage.

Now go write that winning headline!

God bless,

Andy

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