Copy Tip: This Secret Is The Greatest Of All!
We’ll we’ve finished day one of Mal Emery’s Platinum2Mastermind intensive in Sydney … a great time to make a few re-connections, make a few new connections and get some great business “takeaways” to borrow and adapt.
It happens everytime. This is our 9th meeting — and there’s still plenty of value in every one of them.
In fact, I could have wrapped up by lunchtime and had enough value to go home very happy. But of course there’s a lot more to come!
I did have fun being on stage for the final hour’s “Q&A” session (with about 15 or so other Platinum members) to introduce what I do, briefly mention what I’m covering on Thursday and to even help answer a couple of questions … was great to be able to contribute.
Victorian Bush Fires
We also did see some rather up-close photos from the Victorian bush fires. There is a lot of concern at the event of course for what’s going on with the terrible blazes.
Corinne, one of the other Melbourne-based Platinum members, who is going from strength to strength with her wedding video business (or cinematography as she likes to describe it) was shooting a wedding at De Bortoli Winery in the Yarra Valley on Saturday — Melbourne’s hottest day on record.
At home it reached 47.3C/117.1F — which was 0.9C above the official Melbourne high.
Anyway, as the wedding progressed during the scorchingly hot afternoon, the smoke from nearby bushfires got thicker and the fire came very close, sending the happy couple, staff and guests into the winery’s cellar for safety. Corinne’s photos showed just how quickly the fire took over nearby hills and the vineyard area and sent the place into darkness, before a change of wind direction eased the problem — and then another changed forced everyone back into the cellar for protection.
Certainly much closer than you’d ever want to be. Thankfully I’ve never seen a bushfire up close — only the aftermath of a small one near Daylesford — most trees blackened, some still with flames, but the roads open to traffic.
I was saddened to hear that former Melbourne Channel 9 newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife were two of the (so far) 181 victims of the Victorian fires — the day Brian Naylor retired from newsreading was my last day in politics. Our thoughts are definitely with friends in affected areas, as well as every community and family affected by the tragedy.
Platinum members will hopefully be digging deep over the next few days to add our bit to the major appeals underway.
May it all soon be under control. I’m sure our Rotary Club will spend a fair bit of time focused on helping with the rebuilding of so many communities, there will be much to do over many many months.
But back to today’s event.
Mostly our discussion at Platinum2Mastermind was on the wonderful and profitable subject of copywriting. As Mal said during his opening presentation …
Copywriting is the greatest
money-making secret on the planet
for business owners.
I couldn’t agree more of course! Having the ability to put compelling, persuasive words on paper (or crafting a message into a number of other media) is what brings people to your door — and makes sales.
Know this, and you can use your copywriting skills to really get maximum attention and response to your messages.
A “quick” example
For instance, just last week, I was able to create two emails to clients that brought us in about 9 extra orders. For the campaign we did, and the price of the product, that represented about 40 percent extra response — from just 30 minutes of time.
I don’t have exact stats here (until I’m back in front of our admin computer), but watching fax after fax arrive from 85 minutes after sending the email (I do have that stat here!) was quite enjoyable!
There are lots more examples I can give you — however I picked this one to show you how quickly you can apply your skills to start making money from your prospects or customers.
For earlier runs of this same campaign, up to half of the orders received arrived after a reminder email … if we didn’t undertake this step, we’d miss out on half our profits!
And in the past it’s given us a net ROI (cost of the campaign versus net profit) of a whopping 1832% –
that’s more than $18 returned
for every $1 invested!
It’s great to have the skills to be able to do that quickly and at times very effectively to make sales!
So my Copy Tip for you today is this:
Remember that your copy skills are essential for profitable results your business. That’s even more important in tougher economic times — as your competitors retreat into their shells, you’ll be armed with the skills to lessen the impact on your bottom line.
Even if you’re not going to be doing all the copy yourself, you really do need to know good copy from bad.
Your commitment to read my Copy Tips, plus the resources I share from some of the masters of marketing and copy — shows that you do already recognise how important this skill is to you.
I congratulate YOU on your interest in copywriting!
It all leads to more profits, more quickly and more effectively.
So Mal’s right — that’s the foundation for the best money-making secret on the planet!
What Counts For Justice In 2009?
Somehow I think Melbourne’s record heatwave last week has melted whatever common sense and justice was left (if there was any left) out of sentencing those caught doing the wrong thing.
On Monday, this story about a first-time graffiti offender …
AN 18-year-old girl with no prior criminal history has been jailed (for three months) for writing her nickname on the wall of a Sydney cafe.
And then today, a 13 year old tortures a seal and is also charged with three counts of theft, and this is the result:
A BOY, 13, who tortured a seal – believed to be Hastings’ drawcard Solomon – has been fined $100 and given a good behaviour bond. …
The boy pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty and also pleaded guilty to three separate theft charges.
(the bolding is mine)
How is our justice system so out of touch?
Three months jail for writing your name on a wall, but a $100 fine and a good behaviour bond for animal torture and pleading guilty to three separate theft charges?
Our justice system is a disgrace. There is no justice here.
I’m not condoning graffiti by the way — however I think that case makes for a useful comparison.
What in the first place compels a young teenager to deliberately feed food laced with fish hooks to a seal? What belief system exists for that to happen? How does someone get to ANY age and think like that?
To be honest I’m surprised a lawyer didn’t blame some kind of “syndrome” on what happened, as it seems to be the case in more and more defence arguments.
I think the overall “disease” that is occurring is the lack of respect and responsibility … aside from this kind of act not happening in the first place, if it does — it should be dealt with more severely than a $100 fine.
This is certainly not the first example — and I’m sure it will by no means be the last — but our lawmakers have shirked their responsibilities in creating a system that delivers this kind of result.
Favorite marketing word of the month
I had to laugh today … reading the January 2009 Glazer-Kennedy No B.S. Marketing Newsletter, and this sentence in Dan Kennedy’s article …
Folks need to be alert for that sort of nincompoopism infiltrating their businesses!
(’twas about rushing a product to market that was going to lose $2,000 on every sale).
Most amusing!
A Real Life Movie Sequel
This news caught my eye today … a real life movie sequel, without leading Hollywood star Tom Hanks in sight!
Here’s part of the story from an earlier Yahoo! News report:
For reasons he can’t explain, (Hiroshi Nohara) has been in Terminal 1 of the Benito Juarez International Airport since September 2nd, surviving off donations from fast-food restaurants and passengers and sleeping in a chair.
Reminds you of The Terminal, doesn’t it! Except this is real life!
As it also states in the news report:
Now, he’s somewhat of a celebrity, capturing Mexico‘s collective imagination with nearly daily television news reports on his life at the food court.
Tourists stop to pose with him for photographs or get an autograph.
The latest reports are he finally left Mexico to return home on Sunday (after leaving the airport on New Year’s eve when invited to stay at an apartment).
That’s one way to get famous!
Already On The Supermarket Shelves
Crikey.
We’ve hardly recovered from hearty Christmas dinners and Easter eggs have already appeared in the supermarkets.
They claim in the article “they are just giving in to consumer demand”.
I’d LOVE to know how they figured that one out.
If the Easter products weren’t on the shelves, I’m sure consumers wouldn’t notice for at least a month or more!
Just who buys Easter eggs six days into the new year?