Business
Lyceum
e-Letter
Practical Instruction in the Arts and Sciences of Making
Money
JUNE 2000
Greetings & Salutations:
Nearly 20 years ago, I was a guest panelist at a seminar about "Writing
for Profit." -- All day long, the speakers had told the attendees all
about how to submit their written works to editors and publishers ... what to
expect in a publisher's contract ... how to prepare a writer's proposal ...
primarily focusing on how to "sell" what the attendees had written.
At the end of the seminar, a panel of five "successful writers" ...
including me ... was introduced, with a list of each writer's works and their
individual accomplishments given.
The first few questions from the audience were nothing more than a rehash
of some of the information provided during the day. Then, a young man
stood-up in the back and said ...
"All day long, you've been telling us how to sell our written works -
but - how do you learn how to write to begin with?"
After the other panelists finished recommending English composition
classes; espousing the merits of good grammar and syntax; and advising him to
"just keep writing, you'll get better," it was my turn.
My answer was ... as usual ... short and to the point ...
"Read!"
Then, I had to explain what I meant.
If you want to be a Science Fiction writer, read every science fiction
short story and novel you can find. Immerse yourself in the type of
writing you want to do. Spend 80% of your time reading and 20% of your
time writing "sequels" to the stories you have read.
Today, the young man who asked the question is a highly-paid writer ...
with a host of articles and books to his credit. -- Last time I spoke to him,
he thanked me again for my simple advice.
With that said, I am now going to answer those of you who have persisted in
asking me ...
How To Write Better Ad-Copy
Right now, you're probably thinking, "Now he's gonna tell us to read all
the books we can find on copywriting."
Wrong, paperback-breathe! -- The first thing I'm gonna tell you is -- after
you've read all those copywriting books for general knowledge; like learning
English composition, grammar and syntax -- throw away those books and ...
Read The Ads!
That's right. -- If you are going to write an ad to sell your "fancy-dancy
fishhooks," gather together every ad you can find that offers fishhooks,
fishing lures, fishing poles, or, even, fishing boats. -- Read them ... reread
them ... and read them some more. -- Don't even try to do any writing.
Just read the ads!
Again, you're probably thinking, "That's old hat. Everybody tells us
to keep a swipe-file of ads offering products similar to our own, then use
those ads to write our own ads."
Wrong, again, copycat-litter-breathe! -- If you only use your swipe-file to
makeup copycat ads, you will be committing ...
The Biggest Mistake Made By Beginning Ad-Copywriters!
Unfortunately, most beginning ad-copywriters take a successful ad ...
offering a product similar to their own ... and simply change a few words in
the headline, rewrite and rearrange the paragraphs, maybe put in an extra
"bonus" of some kind, and try to use it to sell their product.
Think about it! -- That would be like copying "Moby Dick" by changing the
whale to a great-white buffalo ... moving the action from the ocean to the
great plains ... and making Captain Ahab a Buffalo Hunter with a missing
arm. (Don't laugh. It's been done ... starring Charles Bronson, if
memory serves.) -- No matter how well done, it would still only be an
imperfect imitation.
In the business opportunity field, one of the most successful ads of all
time was Joe Karbo's "Lazy Man's Way To Riches" ad. -- Can you
imagine how many times that ad has been adapted, rearranged and enhanced to
sell someone else's opportunity information? -- Some of the adaptations may
have had some success but, just a few weeks before he died, Joe Karbo himself
lamented to me that none of his copycat-ads; copycatting his own ad, had ever
been successful.
Do the same thing I told the young would-be writer to do to learn to write,
spend 80% of your time "reading" ads offering products similar to your
own. Then ...
Spend 20% of your time writing "sequels" to those ads.
The dictionary says a "sequel" is "A literary work complete in itself but
continuing the narrative of an earlier work."
Where most of the ads that just copycatted Joe Karbo's "Lazy Man's Way
To Riches" ad were failures, or only had limited success, over the years I
have written no less than five "sequel" ads that produced significant revenue
for me. (One of them is the ad for my "How To STRIKE IT RICH" book.) --
I never tried to "copy" Joe's ad, just continue his narrative to a different
conclusion ... my product.
Use your swipe-file the same way. -- Read and reread those ads until you
have a complete story of the similar products being sold. Set those ads
aside and don't even think about looking at them while you write your own ad.
-- Don't try to "copy" the ads you've read ...
Write a "sequel."
Let your ad-copy continue from where the other
ads ended.
If you aren't happy with your first results, do it all over again ... read
the ads again ... set them aside again ... write your "sequel" again. -- Keep
looking for more and more ads offering similar products to add to your story
line ... immerse yourself in those kinds of ads ... to the point of drowning
in ad copy. Then, lay those ads aside and write your "sequel" ads.
As your "sequels" get better and better, your income will get bigger and
bigger.
Now, I'm gonna tell you ...
The Greatest Unwritten Secret to Successful
Ad-Copywriting!
Although I have read literally thousands of books, booklets, reports and
articles about ad-copywriting, I don't recall ever reading the "secret" I am
about to tell you.
When you write your "sequel" ads ...
Use The Words In Your Ad To
Attract The Kind Of
Customers You Want To Keep
The best way to explain what I mean is by illustration. -- Here are two
different headlines for an "opportunity" ad ...
Earn $10,000 Per Month
Get $10,000 Per Month
It may appear, at first reading, that both headlines offer the same type of
opportunity - but - read them closely.
The first headline begins with the word "Earn." -- To the reader, that
means some "job" or "work" must be performed in order to "earn" the $10,000
promised.
Compare that to the second headline which starts with the word "Get." --
That leads the reader to believe that little, if any, "work" is involved in
"getting" the $10,000.
Believe it or don't ... the readers don't even realize that they are making
that subtle distinction. Their reaction to the headline is ingrained in
their "subconscious."
Using the word "Earn" you will attract the kind of customers who don't have
a subconscious aversion to work. -- Using the word "Get" you will attract more
people who are looking for something for nothing ... by "getting" their share
of the "free lunch" that might just exist.
Which brings me to an observation about ...
Ad-Copywriting Books
Over the past 20 years, I have watched an ever-increasing proliferation of
books about ad-copywriting. Unfortunately, all too many of those books
are just compiled from older, well-written books on the subject - but - with
one BIG difference.
The compilers of those books believe that, in order to "sell" something,
you have to "trick" the buyer into buying. So, they take
legitimate advertising techniques and read into them an implied
deception. In effect, the assorted fools who compile books corrupting
viable advertising principals lend credence to the journalistic attitude that
advertising, by its very nature, is evil.
Although I am adamantly opposed to book burning ... any book about
ad-writing that espouses any use of misleading words, deceptive phrasing,
fictitious or nebulous testimonials, meaningless hype, or the egregious use of
meritless guarantees belongs in your backyard incinerator, not in your
business library.
If you have to "trick" your customers into buying from you, neither you nor
your product deserve anything other than my contempt.
Will you be the next Mail
Order Millionaire? -- click
here
Comments, etc.
Attendee Darryl Dean (darryl_dean@yahoo.com) says:
"Tell
everyone that the Internet is now FREE for everyone in the USA, courtesy of
Bluelight.com and K-Mart. They can pick up the FREE CD-ROM for FREE Internet
at your local K-Mart store."
Okay -- I told everyone.
Attendee Tim Yarbrough (Timyarbrough@aol.com) observes:
"I think your observation that the Internet is a 'buying' place and not a
'selling' place is right on point! I have noticed that most of the
information being sold on the internet, as far as what hits my box, is about
how to market on the internet. I only know two people who I can verify that
they are making excellent $'s on the Web-ONLY approach and they have unique
products.
"I appreciate the plug for sellers and finders in the Southeast. I am in
the process of closing 300K of energy deals this week. One of my finders is
going to pick up fees from two of those jobs that total over $6500 and he
introduced his contact to the only guaranteed and insured energy management
program in this part of the country."
Glad the plug helped. That's what I'm here for.
Over 99% of what you have read, or heard, about making money on the
Internet is pure, unadulterated Horse Manure! By and large, it is
nothing more than one big confidence game with the blind leading the blind ...
the blind one in front is making a fortune selling tons of
'how-to-get-rich-on-the-Internet' horse manure to the blind mooches following
them. Then, some of those blind mooches, in turn, break away from the
blind pack to make their own fortune on the Internet by doing the same thing
(selling more tons of the same 'how-to-get-rich-on-the-Internet' horse manure
to the blind mooches who will follow them). -- All of us ol'time direct
marketers have tried our hand at the electronic beastie and come away with
scorched fingers - but - we all knew that someday, somehow, someone (probably
one of us) would actually figure out how to really, truly & honestly make
a fortune on the Internet. -- It happened! -- My long-time friend Dean F.V.
DuVall seems to have conquered the electronic beastie. In his own words,
"Today, I can drag my still-pajama-clad self to one of our computers -
at 6:00 in the morning - or at noon, if I decide to sleep in - and before the
day is over KNOW that I can, starting from scratch, earn an honest $5,000 to
$10,000 or more! Period. And then, tomorrow, do it again.
Then the next day, do it again. Then the next day ... " -- How
does he do it? -- I dunno! But, if'n ol'Dean says he does it, I would be
willing to bet my bippy he does it. -- Anywho, as Dean is wont to do, once he
conquered the electronic (Internet) beastie, he put together a complete,
detailed course to teach other people how they can do it too. -- His course is
titled, "DAX Superior Cyber Cash Generator!" And, according to
the info I got from Dean, the "DAX Superior Cyber Cash
Generator!" will teach you "exactly how to make a MILLION DOLLARS
(or more) Per Year (for real) with virtually no cash investment. -- That's all
I'm gonna tell you about it ... except it ain't cheap. -- For all the awesome
details, Dean needs your mailing address & the DAX# below. --
Contact: DEAN F.V. DuVALL, Sr., DAX #701884, P.O. Box 14,
Williamston, MI 48895-0014 -- FAX: (517) 655-5208 -- Email:
DaxDoer@aol.com
Q&A
Q: Attendee Erick Starren
(buckmakr@pacbell.net) asked:
"I am working on your "Own Your Own Mailorder Business" and am
studying-up on Press Releases. This is a new field for me. -- My
question: The library books I have studied all use telephone numbers for the
Point of Contact. I work full-time and cannot use my employer's number
for my personal business. Nor can I afford an answering service.
All I can offer for a Point of Contact are a P.O. Box and E-mail address. Is
this acceptable to editors, or does the absence of a telephone number make
it not worth doing? -- Thank you."
A: Using a P.O. Box as a contact address is
"now" acceptable. As a matter of fact, even the biggest of companies now
use P.O. Boxes due to the ease and speed of mail access.
Instead of an answering service, you can use an "answering machine" - but -
make your message sound like "voice mail" instead of an answering machine. --
Instead of saying, "I'm not at home right now," say, "This is Eric
Starren. I am away from my desk. Please leave a detailed message
at the tone and tell me when would be the best time for me to return your
call. Thank you."
That should oughta do it.
Well ... that's it for this month. -- In order to make every issue
responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions; or tell me what
sources or resources you need to build your business; or give me any thoughts
you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I ain't a mind-reader. -- If'n you doesn't tell me
what you need, I may never touch upon the information, sources or resources
you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ... I am just your
moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
Ad Writer to the Stars
Thought For The Month!
Here's one for Alan Greenspan:
"Production is the only answer to inflation." -- Chester
Bowles
But, remember ... the Internet "produces" nothing.
Can you stump the old master? -- Betcha can't!
Over the past 40 years (man and boy), I have made bundles of money in
direct selling, service contracting, wholesale merchandising, entertainment (I
was a professional Trumpet player, vocalist & Radio Announcer), freight
forwarding, import/export, retail merchandising, warehousing, real estate,
electronics manufacturing, finder's fees, closeout merchandising, financial
brokerage, business consulting, steel fabrication, gold and coal mining,
offshore banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing. -- That being the case
...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just starting, well on
your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've probably been where you are, done
what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something in your
business - or - if you have any comments about anything I've said in
issues of this e-Letter; or if you want to add your 2 cents worth ... just
"ask" me or "tell" me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth to ...
eletter@businesslyceum.com
with "Question" - "Comment" - or, "2 Cents Worth" in the
SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you may ask, I will
contact some of the professionals in your field of endeavor (I will probably
know one or more personally) to get the real 'skinny' for you.
Making Money is FUN & EASY when you know how! Learning "how" is Fun & Easy too -- when you use the
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