On Copywriting

Product Launch Generates $6 Million in a Single Day... without a Product!

Product launches are exciting. It's always fun to see how much money can be made in a single day.

A product launch of historical proportions happened yesterday. But this one was different.

No product was for sale. No pre-Product Launch email sequence was used. And the launch had nothing to do with another expensive Internet marketing home study course.

Then how in the world was $6.026 million made in one day?

Simple. People were buying ideas. More specifically, the twin ideas of freedom and personal liberty.

That's what motivated over 58,000 people to donate to Ron Paul in a single 24-hour period.

Over $6 million was donated in one day (Dec. 16, 2007), shattering the old record of $5.7 million set by John Kerry in 2004.

So far, in the 4th quarter of 2007 alone, over $18 million has been donated to Ron Paul by over 118,000 Americans. That's a lot of support for a product launch without a product.

Now, if only Ron Paul would release a new free report titled, "The Death of Politics." ;-)

Kudos to John Manley for linking the Tea Party with the idea of a product launch.

They Call This Piggybacking...

Ron Paul's grass roots political campaign is brilliant.

He has already set the record for the largest amount of money raised by a Republican by "piggybacking" on Guy Fawkes Day, better known as the 5th of November.

Now he's going to raise even more money by "piggybacking" on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

I won't hide the fact that I want Ron Paul to win the nomination. So I share this with you as a great example of marketing... and to encourage you to participate on December 16.

This is history in the making, my friend.

P.S. I don't particularly like (neo-conservative) Republicans or Democrats. So if Ron Paul doesn't get the nod from the Republican Party, I'll just vote Libertarian again. Nevertheless, it sure is exciting to think what would happen if we wound up with a Ron Paul vs. Hillary Clinton election.

The Most Dangerous Emotion

This weekend I got one of John Manley's emails. As usual, it's brilliant. And he inspired me to write this brief post.

In the email, John writes: "Neutrality is worse than negativity!"

He uses a story to illustrate why it is better for prospects to be negative than neutral.

Said another way, it's better for a prospect to be angry at you than ambivalent.

Example: When he was on public radio, Howard Stearn offended thousands of people weekly. They listened anyway.

This reminds me of the danger signs of divorce.

What's the number one predictor of impending divorce?

Is it dislike?

Hate?

No. It's neither of these things.

Rather, it's indifference. This is the most dangerous emotion.

There's almost nothing you can do to save a marriage once a spouse has become indifferent.

The same is true with prospects and customers. If a prospect or customer is angry, you still have a chance of salvaging the relationship. But if they're indifferent, forget it.

You can't do anything to save a prospect or customer who no longer cares.

So, what's better? To be vanilla and never offend anyone? Or to have some personality and risk making a few people angry? You decide.

How Retail Stores Can Increase Sales

Here's a simple marketing tactic for retail stores: capture email addresses.

Funny thing. If I were to guess, I'd say fewer than 10% of retail stores do this. Maybe fewer than 5%. I don't know.

But yet this one tactic could be responsible for a retail store getting many more repeat sales.

Why?

Because by capturing email addresses, they will be able to promote to their best customers and prospects on a regular basis. Send them promotions. Send them coupons. Send them announcements. Whatever.

Some of the stores that are already doing this well include Borders, Barnes & Noble, Qdoba, and Einstein Bros.

So how do these stores persuade their patrons to turn over their email addresses?

Great question.

Some of the more sophisticated companies have created loyalty programs. So you get in-store credit at the end of the year (Borders) or a free burrito every time you buy 10 (Qdoba).

But it doesn't necessarily have to be this complicated. Take Einstein Bros. for instance. They're a bagel company that has done well in the Denver area. Here's the real-life copy taken straight off a small sign posted over a ballot box near the cash register:

"Give us your email and we'll give you a free cup o' joe. How's that for Fair Trade?"

There's a small stack of buck slips to write your name, email, cell phone, and birth date. Fill it out, show it to the cashier (to get your free coffee), then drop it in the box.

I probably don't have to tell you... the ballot box, which was made of clear plexi-glass, was filled with dozens of slips.

If you run a retail business, what can you do to start capturing email addresses?

P.S. A note about Einstein's copy. This is one particular case where I feel like clever copy works. Even if you don't know anything about Fair Trade coffee beans, you will still understand the message. But this is the exception to the rule. Usually, efforts to be clever only confuse the customer.

Radiohead's Brilliant Marketing Stunt

Radiohead is all over entertainment news right now.

Why?

Because they've created a new album called In Rainbows... and they're giving it away FREE starting October 10, 2007.

In fact, they are letting fans pay whatever they want for the album, including nothing at all.

As a result, Radiohead is getting tons of press. I imagine their fan base will grow by at least 50% from the exposure.

So how will Radiohead make money?

Of course, there will be some donations, of which they'll keep 100% since they don't have to split it with a record label.

More importantly, their live concerts will be more likely to sell out.

The precedent has already been set by Prince. He released a free album earlier this year and then proceeded to perform at 21 sold-out concerts in London.

In marketing and advertising circles, we call this "back-end marketing." Make the free or inexpensive sale first, then sell the customer a higher priced product on the back end--for instance, a concert.

Bravo to Radiohead for being willing to take a risk. Let's see how long it takes for other musicians to give this business model a test-drive.

Takeaway "Selling" in the Gospel of Mark

I read the Gospel of Mark a few days ago. In chapter one, there is a story of a man with leprosy whom Jesus healed.

After Jesus healed the man, he asked the man to keep quiet...

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:43-45)

Anytime you tell somebody not to do something, they feel compelled to do it. The clearest example can be seen with children. You tell a child to eat his dinner, and he refuses. You tell the same child not to eat his dinner, and he shovels food into his mouth.

Keep this in mind when you write copy. Suggesting that your reader abstain from taking action will produce a corresponding desire in him to act.

A $10,000 Gift?

Friday was an interesting day, mostly because I received an unexpected package at my door late in the afternoon. It was a big box.

I wasn't expecting anything, so I wondered what was inside. I opened it up... and discovered 100 copies of James Brausch's "Earn an Income by Creating Your Own DVD."

Honestly, I couldn't believe it. These DVDs sell for $100 a pop, which means James gave me a gift valued at $10,000! Incredible.

For proof, click here to see a photo in a new window.

Anyway, I mention this because I now have 98 copies to do with as I please. (I've already opened one, and I gave one to my brother.)

I've got a small promotion planned for later this week. I will only be selling 10 copies of this particular item. All 10 who decide to order will receive a free copy of this DVD, which is a $100 value.

I can't tell you what the promotion is for quite yet, but you will find out soon enough. Look for more information to come in the next two or three days. In the mean time, go check out James Brausch's Internet marketing blog. It's on my shortlist of blog reading material.

Riches in Niches?

Some folks have wondered, are there really "riches in niches" as some marketers have said?

It depends on what we mean when we use the word "niche." Do we mean a particular segment of a market? Or do we mean some tiny "micro-niche" where there's little to no competition?

So long as a niche is a sizable market, then niche marketing can make you wealthy, and the saying is true. But if a niche is so small that it's overlooked by most marketers, then playing in that niche will not make you wealthy, and the saying is false. You will have to be involved in multiple "micro-niches" to find your "riches."

Let's use the copywriting market as an example. It's not a large niche, not by most standards. And it has come nowhere close to making me rich. I write a blog for this market for reasons other than money, although I like to make money every now and again.

How does AWAI sell their Six-Figure Copywriting program? They don't market it to the so-called direct response copywriting niche. Rather, they persuade general writers (a much larger market) to specialize in direct response copywriting. So they're tapping a large niche to bring people into a smaller niche.

Ultimately, I would not say there are riches in niches. The statement is too broad to be of much value. I think a more accurate saying would be, "There are riches in many niches, but not all."

Nutrisystem: An Easy Way to Starve

Nutrisystem is an example of great marketing.

Not only do they demonstrate that their system works with dozens of powerful before and after photos, they also make weight loss seem exceptionally easy with perfectly-sized portions delivered straight to your front door.

All you do is plug-in to Nutrisystem, eat what they tell you, throw in some physical activity, and the pounds begin to melt away.

Of course, the marketing works. Tens of thousands of people have signed up. But the funny part is, in spite of all the marketing, Nutrisystem is still just an easy way to starve.

Ultimately, the formula for weight loss is fairly simple:

1. Consume quality calories (eliminate refined grains, sugar, artificial sweeteners, etc.)

2. Consume fewer quality calories than you burn each day.

3. Exercise (both cardiovascular and weight training) to boost your metabolism so that you begin to burn more calories each day.

Do these three things and you'll lose weight. Trouble is, I can't sell it for $50 or $100 a month. Neither can Nutrisystem.

An Unusual Market Niche That's Working

Every product needs a market, especially a tightly defined market niche. As a copywriter, I understand this... and yet I've never totally applied it to my own business.

Not that I don't have a market niche; I do. It's that I haven't whittled that niche down into a lean target market.

I was reminded of this oversight when I came across a Valpak ad for Chedd's--a restaurant that sells only gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Over 35+ types of Wisconsin cheese and 12 types of bread.

They specialize not in burgers or breakfast food or pizza... but grilled cheese!

Obviously, I have no idea how the restaurant is doing financially. But they've got two locations in Denver, have won 10 different awards, and are in the process of developing the restaurant into a franchise because of demand.

So it sounds to me like picking a tight niche like "grilled cheese" has paid off well for Chedd's. Something to think about...