Use the Power of Newsletters to Magnetically Suck Web Savvy Traffic Into Your Irresistible Offer!

People that use newsletters will tell you that it is one of the most powerful ways to stay in touch with their clients and customers.  

Whether you have an Internet based business or a regular bricks and mortar company, the newsletter can act as a viral vessel that can get your message into the hands of the people you already do business with.

There are two flavors of newsletters: One sent through your email service and the other through the regular postal service and into the mail box of your subscribers. 

Snail Mail VS Email – Which is Better?

As usual, some people will tell you that the email version is better than the snail

 

mail version, and vice versa. In my humble opinion, they both have their pros and cons. 

Email newsletters are obviously cheaper and easier to send.  You don’t need to spend money on postage stamps or spend gas going down to the local post office to drop them in the mail.  (Unless you can hand them to your postal carrier, and that depends on how many you have to give him or her.)

However, if you are going to use the email route, you’ll need to get a monthly subscription to an email service.  Email services of this nature are like any other business, so you should look around on the Internet to see which one you can afford. 

Most of the good services I've seen online will run you in the $30.00 a month area.  If you add up $30.00 a month times 12 months you’ll get $360 a year.  So much for it being as cheap as you probably thought.

TIP: Don’t get an expensive auto-responder subscription right off the bat. It takes time to build a list and there are plenty of cheap to almost free email/auto-responder programs that will get you started.  You don’t want to start your business with all kinds of money going out the door.

In the past I've used two businesses, one was called “SendFree” and the other is “MailChimp”.  Both of those businesses will allow you to use their services for free up to a certain limited number of email.  When I last checked, MailChimp let you send up to 1000 email addresses at once. So, you are better of getting started with a service like this.  

One Major Advantage of Snail Mail Newsletters

One of the big advantages of snail mail is that the people that you are sending your newsletter to will actually have it in their hands.  With email newsletters, you’ll have to compete with all of the other email and newsletters sent electronically.  One click and you’re gone. 

However, if you make your snail mail newsletter interesting and something your target audience looks forward to, then you’ll have a much bigger chance of them actually looking at it. Not only that, physical newsletters can be shared off line as well.   You can also use a physical newsletter like a business card and hand it out to potential clients. 

The Ultimate Newsletter Tactic

What’s better than sending a newsletter by email electronically or by snail mail? BOTH! If you so desire, you can send out your email using both methods, because there’s no law against it.  You can use the exact same message in both venues and you’ll have an even bigger chance of getting your message in front of your audience. 

TIP:  Use the material that you would normally use in your offline newsletter in your online newsletter!  Actually, if you have a Blog, you can use the material in your blog for your online and offline newsletter! Wow!  Now you’re a three-way winner! 

But Wait, There’s More!

If you write a blog regularly, you can not only use that material for your newsletters but you can compile all that information and use it to make an eBook too. Now you’re a four-way winner!   But seriously, you can easily leverage writing and information in this manner if you’re smart.  

When you do crank up your newsletter machine, there are two or three things to consider.  First, you need to think about whether or not your newsletter will be something that your readers will want to look at.  If you’re sending out newsletters and people aren't reading them, it may be a waste of time.  If your readers aren't excited to get your newsletter and eager to share it with others, it isn't worth writing and sending out.

Another thing to think about is whether or not it’s profiting you to put the time and money into it.  If you aren't getting more clients, prospects, or sales from it, chances are you are wasting your time.

The last thing you might want to consider before you even start a newsletter is to ASK or SURVEY your target audience on what they are interested in reading about. Come right out and ask them what they’d like to read about in your industry and how it would help them. 

This way, you’ll know for sure you are hitting subjects worthy of your time and your newsletter will have a much bigger chance of getting read.

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis
"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"
www.MarkEllisCopy.com
(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

How To Use This Google App To Set and Achieve Your Goals Fast!

I'm a big believer in creating lists.  I have whiteboards all over my house with lists of things I need to accomplish.  This was really helpful when I was working on rehabbing my house that was completely gutted from top to bottom.  I would list at least 2 weeks of work I needed to do at a time.  

The reason for doing this is two-fold.  For one thing, when you have really big projects like that, you need a list so you can prioritize the really important parts and get them done sooner.  Actually, I like to tackle the biggest parts of a project first because they are usually the most important.



The other reason for working like this is when you knock out the biggest and hardest parts of a project, you'll have a huge psychological advantage.  Your brain will automatically tell you that you are on the down hill portion of your work and you will feel a certain momentum in getting your goal completed.  Another advantage of doing work like this is you'll feel a huge sense of accomplishment.  Because you have completed the work in a much faster and more ambitious manner, you'll kill that dreaded Procrastination Beast and get more work completed and more goals accomplished.

Google's FREE Application - Smart Goals

Google has a great free Application on the Google Chrome Store called Smart Goals.  This is a very simple application that I use to list my goals and accomplish them quickly and efficiently.  

The best part about Smart Goals is that here is a very small learning curve.  It is so easy to use that it takes almost no time at all to learn how to use it.  It took me literally 3 minutes to sign up and start using it.

So if you want to start listing your dreams and pursuing them, this is the perfect way to get started.

Please try it out and leave a comment below.

To your success!

Mark Ellis

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

"When it comes to high response copy, I've got your back!"

 (859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

Portfolio Site: http://markelliscopyportfolio.blogspot.com/

How To Get The Ball Rolling In Your Business or Enterprise

Ken McCarthy is a name that has been around for quite some time.  He has been credited with coining the term "Internet Marketing".  His programs and  system seminars have been around for decades now.

He just posted this great video by the founder of Teespring, a custom T-Shirt company that is doing quite well on the Internet.  I found this video to be quite illuminating on how a company or business should acquire its first customers and then gain maximum trajectory.   

Here is the link to Ken's site where the shortened video resides:
Ken McCarthy - Internet Marketing and Beyond

  If you want to watch a longer version with other companies and entrepreneurs, you can see that here:

How to Make Sure Your Sales Page Coverts Before You Even Write a Word

I love going onto online entrepreneurial forums and reading posts about copywriting.  One of the things that encourages me to keep writing copy is when

people post things like:

“Easy Steps to Writing Converting Sales Copy”

Or

“The Simple System to Writing Ad Copy— So Easy a Moron Could Do It”

The reason why I love reading posts like this is because it makes my job far more secure than it already is.  The fact that the majority of people will take the easy way out and try to side-step the process of learning, writing, rewriting, studying, getting a good mentor, buying courses - using the tar out of them, while spending a copious amount of time writing some more, kinda makes me feel special .

Because the fact of the matter is, that writing advertising copy is like any other skill, it takes a lot of time, effort, patience , perseverance and good teachers to be world class, or at least good enough to lead a prospect through a sales process and convert him or her into a sale, plain and simple.

But, for those that are skeptical, let me point out a few for-instances that might convince you that I’m telling you the truth.  I know what you’re thinking, “He’s just saying this so I won’t write my own ad copy and hire him instead.”

If only it were that easy!

Yeah, I Fell For It!

While it is true I am a freelance copywriter, I would like to point out that I too, originally bought into the idea that you could take a single course and master the art.  I took a course from a reputable ad copy and marketing guru, fully expecting to “master” the skills and techniques by taking the one course. 

My first attempt at ad copy was anything less than spectacular, and looking back I can see that there were several reasons for this.  First of all, the product that I was selling online was in a niche that had a large audience and I failed to find a “niche within a niche” that would be far easier to target. 

But that wasn't the only mistake that I made.  The biggest mistake I made was not defining and understanding the difference between the benefits of my product and its features.    Without a clear road map showing prospects how my product would benefit them, I was dead in the water.  So, I clearly didn't have an understanding of my own product or how to benefit my prospective customers.

You need to know your product and service inside and out.  You need to read every bit of literature on the business, you need to use the product, and interview people that have used it as well as talk to people that work in the company (unless it is your own business you are writing about.)

Another fundamental and huge mistake I made, was I did not have a clear picture of what my ideal customer was like.  I forgot the marketing commandment of “Thou Shall Not Market To Everyone”.  So I had absolutely no idea what kept my prospects up at night or what they were afraid of.

To read an article on this, read, “Pain the Magic SalesButton – How to Use Discomfort on Your Prospects” . 

Take a look at how Dan Kennedy describes how criminals find their Target Market:

The bottom line of all of this is that before you even write a word of ad copy you need to do background intel on your prospects or customers.  

Without that, you can’t even get started!

Once you have all of that background you can actually start to craft your sales letter, and you’ll have a much better chance of writing copy prospects can relate to.

ELMO

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

Please send me a free copy of The Secret 7 -How to use advanced tactics in your adcopy to dominate your competition! 

7 Ways to Find Red Hot Niches That Prospects Will Jump On

The very first thing you need to do when creating an  information product is to just sit down and write your guts out.

That's right, grab your favorite computer chair, get out your laptop and start writing.  I would probably write for at least five straight days (taking time out for meals, of course) and just get it all out on paper.

 Then, after you have created your masterpiece, you should  probably print up about four....no wait....five thousand copies and start selling them, because everyone, and I mean everyone will want to buy your info course called,

"How to Raise and Race Gerbils in Your Bathtub for Fun and Profit!"

If Ed Wood were alive, he'd shake his head in amazement at your incredible accomplishment. (He was very easy to impress, at least that's the way he was portrayed in the movie.)

Unfortunately, this process is WRONGO- BONGO!

You missed a very important step and that step is: FIRST, FIND A MARKET AND TEST IT BEFORE YOU WASTE ANY TIME WRITING A COURSE NO ONE WILL PROBABLY WANT!

Think about it, if you create a product that has no appeal for anyone, you won't make a sale no matter how well written your sales letter is.  As a famous marketer once said, "If you want to sell hamburgers what's the first and most important thing you need?  A starving crowd!"

I love watching Shark Tank.  I never miss an episode and when reruns come on I watch the episodes again.  I don't believe that I am actually learning anything, but I love the show.   It always amazes me that a person will invest $500,000+ in  creating a product, only to find out that there is no market for it.

"I decided to craft clothing out of discarded apple peels." she says.
"I put $249,000 into this business." she says.
" I have $40 in sales" she says.

"For that reason, I'm out."  they said.

So,the first step in creating any product, whether it's an information product or something else is finding a market for it.

OK, Ellis, how exactly are we going to find out what there is a market for? Well, there are several different ways and they all require that dirty four - lettered word we all hate: WORK.  What type of work?  Research work, that's what kind of work.  There are a variety of methods you can use, but these are the one's I would recommend.

1.  Mailing List Websites -  Used to be you could go to the SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service) to look up periodicals and what magazines that are popular to find out what topics people buying and in what  geographical area.  It also used to be that you could find the SRDS in public libraries, but good luck finding one, or at least one in the library that isn't outdated.

The SRDS has an online service but it is very expensive. Your best bet is to go to one of the many online direct mail list companies to look at how many people are buying magazines and other items under different categories.  Here are a few I would recommend:
Mailing List Finder - Loads of categories to drill into and see what people are buying and how many people have responded to different topics.

2.  Google Trends - With Google Trends you can take a look at what people are interested in over time by looking at search volumes that this search engine has aggregated.

3. Google Adwords Keyword Research - AKA Google Keyword Planner - This is probably the best way to poke around and check to see what's hot and what's not.  By plugging in key words t will tell you exactly what ads people have been clicking on so that you will have a good idea if YOUR idea is good enough to sell. It's free but you have to get an account with Google's email system to use it.

4.   Pew Internet - This site freely gives out all sorts of demographic information a marketer might use to find a hot niche to sell to or a product to create.  The downside of this site is that it could take you a while to find the data you are looking for.


5.  Clickbank Market Place - Clickbank is the premiere digital information marketing site on the Internet.  You can create an info product, then market it by getting and paying affiliates to sell your info product for you.  However, you can also go there and peruse the products made by other marketers.  The people that made these products have more than likely done the market research for you, so you should be able to at least find a category that is suitable.  However, don't forget that if there are tons of people marketing a particular subject, then you will probably have a lot of competition in that field.  On the other hand, if there is low competition, then that subject may not be in too high of a demand.

6.  Amazon - You can use Amazon to see what people are reading.  Chances are, if people are buying books on a particular subject, then there is probably a market for that subject.  In the search field on the left, click the drop down menu until you see "books" and then select it.  Next, we would click search and then on the right hand side you should see a list of resources.  Scroll down until you see "Department" and under that will be all sorts of categories for books.  You can explore these all you want and drill down into all sorts of categories.  TIP:  When you find a book or a set of books in a niche you are interested in, take a look at the comments made by people.  If there are a lot of good, well written comments on that book then there is apparently a lot of interest in that subject, otherwise why would anyone want to write that much about it?

7. Articles Base - You can peruse through bazillions of articles on this site and even take a look at the most read articles to see what hot topics there are.

There are a lot of other ways to do market research, but these are seven of the cheapest ways I found to look around and get ideas.  You could also do cheap online surveys, or create a free report to advertise on the Internet and then build a website for people download it from.  If you get a good response, chances are you have a winner.

Mark “Elmo” Ellis is a freelance writer, able to write compelling direct mail pieces, video scripts, brochures, and website copy that will grab the attention of your readers, reel them in, and get them to increase your bottom line.

If you want to learn more about how to write and use ad copy in your business, please click the link below and I’ll send you a free report on how to write more effective copy for your business.

Please send me a free copy of The Secret 7 -How to use advanced tactics in your adcopy to dominate your competition! 

In the Gutter, Down and Dirty Tactics to Get Your Direct Mail Pieces Noticed

Next to the Valley View Ferry

Richmond, Kentucky

I got a call yesterday from a company that started something like this: “This is your second and last notice about a credit card that we will make to you….”  Now, that caught my attention big time because for a second, I thought I hadn't paid a bill or something like that. 

However, the message went on: “…to get an outstanding interest rate on our new offer, please stay on the line for this important message…..”  Also, a week ago, I got a letter in the mail that had a window on the envelope and it had my name on it, except the paper inside the window looked exactly like it was a check.  I eagerly opened it up, salivating over the idea that I would be able to take my wife out to dinner only to find that it was an advertisement and not a meal ticket.

My students at school would say that I was “dominated” and “owned”.

Even though this type of marketing and direct mail assaults are killer and sure to get me to open the mail, it is a two edged sword.  On one hand. I could just shrug it off and think, no big deal, on the other, I could definitely get mad about being deceived. 

Actually, I got mad about the call rather than the mail, because the call interrupted something important.

However, despite my reaction to both of them, the direct mail piece actually accomplished more than the call did.   The call was a one-step introduction whereas the direct mail piece required me to do at least two things, look at the envelope and then open it.

 (You can easily see which was harder to do.)

Anyway, I wound up opening up the envelope hastily, and of course, it was an advertisement.  However, no matter how disappointed I was, I started thinking, “What if they did this marketing right?”  I mean, what if they put some information of real value in there about their product or if they offered me something like a free trial or even an irresistible offer that I’d have to be crazy to pass up?

I’m here to tell you that it can be done the right way, and it has been done over and over again.  You can use these types of tactics just to get the mail opened, much like the direct mail ideas that I have told you about like three dimensional objects or the Doodleopes I wrote about previously.

Picture 1

The deceptive envelope trick isn't new but it is very effective and used by some of the best marketers on the planet. (see picture 1)

However, as I said before, if you use this tactic, you better make darned sure that you have something of value to say or offer them, otherwise this tactic could backfire and you could suffer a bad reputation. 

I would only use this tactic on first time prospects because chances are you won’t be remembered, unlike if you are sending out an offer to someone who already knows, likes and has been already doing business with you.

Picture 2

Anyway, you can get these types of direct mail pieces from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.  They have all sorts of great direct mail envelopes that you can order to help you get your foot in the door with potential clients or customers.  (See picture 2)  This company has all sorts of great envelopes covering almost every type of deception or occasion.  Check them out at the link above.

There’s a Chicken Foot Inside My Mail!!!!

Mark Ellis
Next to the Valley View Ferry

Richmond, Kentucky

   

How would you like to craft a direct mail piece that you knew for sure would get opened without a shadow of a doubt?   Not only would your prospect open the envelope, but they would read the cleverly crafted sales letter that you provided for them without question.  Would that interest you?  Would it, Bunky?   

   Well, this is where you can get creative with your direct mail pieces and actually get prospective clients to look at your stuff. (I am of course assuming that you have a specific target market, and that you know that your clients are hungry for what you have to offer them.  You don’t want to try selling shot guns to blind people or Dick Cheney.  Ha!)

   Anyway, in my last incredible blog post entitled “If You Don't Read This I'm Gonna Croak!!!” I talked about moving heaven and earth to get people to open your envelopes and some of the basic things you can do to move things along and get people to absolutely open your mail.  Today, I want to make you aware of a few more things that you can do to get people to really open your envelopes and read your incredibly researched, tested and retested message that you know will make them want to grab their credit cards, cell phones, or check book and buy whatever it is you are offering.  At least, that is the theory.  

   If you are old enough like me, you will remember back in the olden days, the wonderful snack, Cracker Jack had a dimension to their snacks that made kids go gaga.  As a matter of fact, many cereal companies picked up on the idea and before legal and economic reasons started to interfere, putting prizes into these packages was a big hit.  Anytime someone says “Free” you can bet there will be an immediate attraction to the item or event.  I can’t tell you the number of times my wife wanted to drive clear across town because she saw an ad in a newspaper that Joe’s Warehouse promised the first 100 people that came into their doors a free $5 gift card. (We probably forked over $4.99 in gas just to get there.)

OK, so let’s say that you have sent out your direct mail pieces and your prospect gets a regular, legal sized envelope and you have it addressed and prepared the direct mail piece just as we told you to in our last direct mail marketing blog post.  But, this time when your prospect gets the sales letter in the mail, the envelope feels like there is something inside of it!!!

   If you were your prospect, would you want to know what was inside of there???   So, placing an item like a magnetic calendar, a pen with your business name, address and phone number, or any three dimensional object, would get someone to open your mail.

Now, you may be thinking, yeah, but that is gonna hike up the cost of my direct mail pieces!  Yep, it sure will, but considering the usual cost of a direct mail campaign, the time or money it takes to craft the sales letter, the price of your list or acquiring it and all of the other expenses, YOU WANT TO MAKE DOUBLE DARNED SURE IT GETS AT LEAST LOOKED AT, RATHER THAN THROWN AWAY!!!!!

   So, consider the slim increase versus what you could easily lose, which is the attention of your prospect.