Every one of your customers is an untrustworthy, fraudulent, false-hearted, cheating, calculating, double-dealing… (deep breath)… crafty, duplicitous, disingenuous, untruthful, scheming… stinker. Well maybe not a stinker.

But liars they are. How so?

Such is the proposition made in All Marketers are Liars, by Seth Godin. Don’t be fooled by the title. Godin makes the case not that good marketers lie, but that customers do — to themselves. Even the smart ones. In fact, we all do it.

Everybody has his or her own “world view,” says Godin.

That sounds a little granola crunchy, so let me clarify: We all have something we believe about how the world works. For the sake of efficiency and security, we’ll reshape reality until it can accommodate those beliefs. Even if we’ve got to twist facts into pretzels to make it happen. The little fibs — stories — we tell ourselves make life easier. Sometimes, they make life even more enjoyable.

Example: Godin tells us, in the book, about a glass blower named George Riedel. George is a 10th-generation glass blower. He’s a nice guy. And he makes wine glasses. As well as scotch glasses, beer glasses, and just about any other type of beverage-specific glass.

See, George and his customers believe every single beverage needs its special glass, or it just won’t taste right.

A $100 St. Emillion Grand Cru is dishwater, for instance, compared to how it would taste in a proper Bordeaux glass. Meanwhile, if you’re going to use the same glass to sip a vintage wine from the Cote de Beaune, you might as well drink it from your shoe.

Robert Parker, the best-known and arguably most powerful wine critic in the world agrees. And the glasses George Riedel makes, he says, will give you the best tasting experience humanly possible. Millions of wine-drinkers around the world buy Riedel’s glasses. And in taste tests, expert and amateur tasters alike — when tasting identical wine in two different glasses — almost always pick the wine in the proper Riedel glass as the best.

Yet, in double-blind tests where the shape of the glass is perfectly hidden…

The predictability of which glass a taster will choose falls to zero.

Not only does the shape make no difference in these tests. The value of the glass makes not a difference either. A $1 glass and a $20 glass have exactly the same non-impact on the results of the taste test.

Please, if you’re about to write to tell me about how wrong this test has to be… don’t bother. Because I’m with you. Even though I know science can easily nullify my beliefs. Heck, I’ve got a dozen balloon burgundy glasses and a dozen Bordeaux glasses lined up in my own cabinet. Right next to the pilsner glasses.

Why perpetuate the self-deception?

Because, clearly, it’s something I want to believe. Even more, believing it somehow makes it so. Maybe I feel smarter when I use the right glass. Maybe I feel worldlier. Maybe it’s just an excuse to justify buying better wine. I don’t really know.

All I can tell you is, science be damned, the proper glass just makes wine taste right to me. Somehow believing that makes it so.

Is that so wrong? Not at all.

Godin points out that Riedel, who sells the glasses, is just as devout a believer in the different-glass theory as his customers. If he were not, he wouldn’t be able to sell millions of dollars worth of glasses per year. In fact, he’d probably end up working somewhere else. As it is, his belief in the importance in the shape and quality of the glasses is what helps him make such a good — and popular — product.

Godin calls Riedel an “honest liar.”

Scientifically, the glasses don’t do diddly for the wine. Until, the person using them believes they do, and there it is. Right glass equals better taste. Voila. Like we said, his family has done this successfully — and virtuously — for 10 generations.

So when is it wrong for marketers to tell a fib?

When the fib is an outright fraud, told to pass off a belief that nobody at the origin holds as true. A fraud works solely for the benefit of the marketer. And worse, when found out, alienates the customer.

Take Cadillac. Cadillac cars used to be, well, considered the Cadillac of American automobiles. “When the new Cadillacs come in,” was something you waited for. When you “made it” in business, you bought yourself a Cadillac.

Then Cadillac cut corners.

They cheapened their cars but still sold them under the Cadillac brand. But the new models weren’t as plush, as classic, or as authentically “Cadillac” as the old models. The new models betrayed the old promise. Cadillac quickly sunk in status. And scrambled for years to take the tarnish off their image. While other luxury cars like Lexus took up the slack.

The trouble with fraud, says Godin, is that besides being just wrong, it’s a self-dooming business strategy.

Fraud does more than put dents in a customer’s wallet. It’s also a body blow to the customer’s ego. They feel the fool for having trusted you.

The secret, then, to telling tales that sell is to tell the most honest and accurate stories you can — the most authentic stories — and tell them as well as you can too.

Godin has a test. Look at your product, your position, your pitch, he says, and imagine the customer asking you:

1) “If I knew what you know, would I still buy?”

and…

2) “Will I be glad later on that I did?

If you can honestly answer yes to both questions, you’re on the right track. If not, go back to the drawing board. You’ll be glad you did. And you might sleep a little better at night, too.

This article appears courtesy of the Copywriter's Roundtable e-letter of direct-response copywriter John Forde. John specializes in marketing financial and health information products. His copy has generated—directly and indirectly through junior writers—hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in tens of thousands of subscriptions. Subscribe to Copywriter's Roundtable on his website http://copywritersroundtable.com and get $78 in free gifts.

The other day, an aspiring copywriter asked me a question that I hear all too often: “How do I distinguish myself from other copywriters?”

The answer is not an easy one. It takes some thought, some time, and perhaps some inspiration.

But time after time, I have found that most people tend to overlook one of the most effective and frequently used copywriting and marketing tools. And that’s your “Unique Selling Proposition,” or USP.

(I prefer to call it a “Unique Selling Position.” If you’ve read my book, Power Positioning, or if you know my personal story, then you’d know that I’m a big fan of positioning rather than prospecting.)

Your USP is also your “hook.”

A USP is what distinguishes you from the pack. It increases perceived value, expertise, and credibility — without needing to state it outright.

But since I hear this question often, particularly from copywriters just entering the field, it’s because it’s never an easy process. You either have to dig deep to find your USP, or create one from scratch. And that’s why people need a little help in defining it.

I understand. So to help you, here’s a tip.

In marketing, every product or service has three levels. They include:

• The core product.

• The product itself.

• The augmented product.

What does this have to do with developing a USP? Before I share it [with] you, let me explain what these three product levels mean.

• The core product is the actual end-result, the benefits, that the product offers. It’s what the product does for people. As Theodore Levitt once said, people don’t buy quarter-inch drills. They buy quarter-inch holes.

• The actual product is what the product is and consists of. This includes the things that make the product a product. Those are the features, the components, the ingredients, even the packaging.

• The augmented product is what is added to the product or offer to augment it. Things like free shipping, guarantees, customer support, premiums, etc.

Now, in the context of copywriting (the business or the service of copywriting, that is), you can look at it this way (please note this is an example and not the example):

1) Core Product: Generate and/or increase response.

That’s the ultimate result, or at least the reason why most clients hire copywriters.

2) Actual Product: The copy itself.

Writing the copy includes research, writing the first draft, and delivering the final draft. It includes all the elements that help to achieve the core product: headline, storyline, bullets, product details, offer, response device, etc.

The actual product is also directly tied to the market. Therefore, it also includes the market you’re selling to, such as focusing on a specific industry or audience, or a particular kind of copy such as sales letters, direct mail, websites, etc.

3) Augmented Product: Whatever you add beyond the actual product.

Things you add to the service to “beef it up,” such as extras, value-adds, add-ons, bonuses, premiums, gifts, additional promises, and so on, which can vary tremendously from copywriter to copywriter, and industry to industry.

For example, it can include formatting, graphic design, layout suggestions, project management, market research, rewrites, guarantees, split-testing the actual copy before the final draft, exclusivity, rush service for quicker turnarounds, etc.

How do you use these three layers to define a USP?

Think of these three layers in the form of a bulls-eye, where you have three concentric circles. The center of the bulls-eye being the core product, the middle layer being the actual product, and the outer layer the augmented product.

Now, here’s the fun part. To develop a unique selling proposition, you can add, remove, change, or give a unique twist to any of these three levels.

The easiest way, of course, it to go from the outside in. (It’s easier to aim for the outer circle than the bulls-eye itself.) That is, find ways to augment your product that few do or that no one does. It may not be one single thing. It may be a combination of them.

Bulls-eye analogy aside, why is this the simplest way?

Because coming up with different angles or variations of the center of the bulls-eye requires a bit more creative thinking. It’s easier to add to the existing product or its market than it is to repurpose it, rebrand it, or redefine the market for it.

(Mind you, developing a USP from within usually produces the best “hooks,” the most prospects, and the greatest perceived value.)

Nevertheless, here’s an example of working with the outside layer.

You can offer design suggestions, layouts and mockups, additional tips on how to best use the copy, offer free revisions, writing copy for other parts of the sales funnel (opt-in page, order page, thank-you page, autoresponders, etc), and so on.

Here’s an extra tip.

Don’t offer these willy-nilly. Always place a value on these augmented elements or add-ons. Why? Because if you don’t, people will assume that it’s part of your original offering. It may even decrease your perceived value.

The idea is to increase the perception of higher value. And to do that, you must not only add value to the core offer but also make it visible.

For example, don’t say your copy comes with formatting and layout suggestions (or worse yet, assume clients will know the implication). Instead, say you will throw in formatting and layout suggestions, which are additional services, free of charge.

Plus, add a dollar value on those add-ons as if you were to sell them separately. Don’t say your copy comes with one or two revisions. Say your copy comes with an additional revision, free of charge, worth $500.

Aside from the increase in perceived value, this tactic also helps to prevent freeloaders and deal-seekers from asking for concessions. If they want “a good deal,” doing it this way will make them feel like you’re already making concessions.

If they start to haggle at any point, then you have tools to work with — by removing the extras and their associated dollar value. This is better than offering discounts.

(Never discount! Never.)

Next in the layers is the actual product.

What can you change, add, or remove from the actual product to make it unique?

For instance, how do you conduct your research? Do you interview the client or the client’s clients? Do you have a preparatory questionnaire they must fill out before work commences? How is your copy written and delivered, exactly?

While it is easier to work with the augmented product first, there is also an easy way to work with the middle layer. Which is, of course, defining the market.

Specifically, niche marketing.

Niche marketing is “to find a niche and fill it.” But with an existing product, it’s to focus on a particular audience segment, an industry, or a certain style of copy.

You could be a copywriter specializing in, say, health products. You could even hone it down to, say, nutrition and foods. You could even be a copywriter who focuses on diets and weightloss exclusively.

But don’t just focus on industries or niches.

Remember, it’s the "actual" product. What you choose to work on and deliver can also be specialized. You don’t have to add or change anything, either. You can simply remove something to make yourself unique.

They say that less is more. In fact, offering less or focusing strictly on a certain type of copy can create instant demand and credibility, because being a specialist creates the perception of greater expertise and skill.

I know a copywriter who focuses strictly on catalog copy. I know another who does email campaigns only. I know a third who writes for social media. I know some copywriters who specialize in a combination of niches and copy types — such as direct mail for the financial industry. And they’re doing extremely well.

But that’s not all. Don’t restrict yourself to the medium, either.

For example, you might be a copywriter who focuses strictly on headlines. As a result, you become known as the headline expert. When people (or other copywriters) need help with their headlines, they turn to you.

Or you might be one who only focuses on initial drafts in plain text. While that might seem like a lesser offering, you can say that this is a benefit since you’re entirely focused on the research and the content — unlike other copywriters who offer too much, overextend themselves, and dilute their value as a result.

A neurologist is still a doctor. But you wouldn’t have a general practitioner work on your brain, right? Much less a podiatrist or coroner. You want a doctor who specializes in the specific problem or area that needs attention.

Copywriters are no different.

Finally, the innermost layer, the center of the bulls-eye, is the hardest part.

Copy is copy. And copy has one principal function. And that’s to sell. But let’s say that your copy’s goal is to increase the client’s existing response, as it is with most copy. Ask yourself, what other benefits do you offer?

I don’t mean additional benefits provided by the augmented product. I’m talking about the copy itself. What else does your copy do for your clients? What else does your copywriting service specifically bring to the table?

Sure, the ultimate goal is to boost sales and profits.

But perhaps it’s to make the client look good [so] as to increase referral clients. Maybe it’s to increase visibility or generate more word-of-mouth. Or perhaps it’s to attract qualified staff or potential investors.

You can and should think of all the benefits your copy delivers.

Don’t just stick with the obvious.

Take some time (even write a list, if you have to) of all the advantages your specific copy offers. What kind of results have you achieved in the past? What other benefits (including unsought benefits) did your clients receive?

(Sometimes, asking for or re-reading client testimonials can offer some clues. If not, take some time to interview some of your past clients. Ask them what your copy or copywriting service did for them, beyond just increasing sales.)

Here’s [an] “off-the-top-of-my-head” example. Say your client is also looking for copy that “sounds like them.” In other words, they want a copywriter with a knack for writing in their voice, their language, and their communication style.

In this case, it makes your ghostwriting ability far more effective than other copywriters. That’s a USP right there. (As your “hook,” you might call yourself “The Chameleon Copywriter” or your copy service “The Copywriting Cloner.”)

What about you?

Again, you need to sit down and take some time to really think about this. It might not come overnight. For me, as an example, it took over a decade to find the various benefits my copy specifically brings to the table.

It won’t take a decade. The difference here is, you have a leg up because you have some tips in this article to give you a headstart.

In the end, there are so many ways to develop a good USP. There are so many variants, too. Each way comes with a plethora of possibilities. The idea is to be a bit creative, a bit of a contrarian, and a bit different.

Sometimes, you have to look at and copy from (and not just think) “outside the box.”

See other industries. Look at other services. Check out non-competing products. You never know. In one of them may lie the seed of something amazing.

And being amazing doesn’t have to require a massive change, either. Just by being 10% different, unique, original, or special is enough to make you stand out like a sore thumb in an overcrowded, hypercompetitive marketplace.

About the Author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, and consultant. Visit his blog and signup free to get blog updates by email, along with response-boosting tips, tested conversion strategies, the latest news, free advice, additional resources, and a lot more! Go now to http://michelfortin.com. While you're at it, follow him on Twitter. View all posts by Michel Fortin →

Some time ago, Best Software (which has since been acquired by Sage) came up with a really unique and creative marketing idea that I want to share with you. If you think it's hard coming up with new ways to sell prospects, and believe that every trick under the sun has already been tried, I think you'll get a kick out of this. This idea worked like a charm for Best (a BIG winner), and it just might work for you.

A little background.

One of Best Software's hottest products was Abra Suite. It's a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) that makes life easier for HR people and brings down HR administration costs.

Of course, Abra Suite isn't a $49.95 item that you buy on impulse. It can cost anywhere from $985 to a whole lot more. Another challenge . . . typically, one person doesn't make the buying decision. A bunch of people have to buy into the idea that a new and sophisticated HR system makes sense.

A challenging sales scenario indeed!

The problem.

If you've ever sold high-ticket software, you understand that you have essentially two choices. You can sell "top down" and try to get the CEOs to bring along their middle management. Or you can sell to middle managers (Human Resources executives in this case), and have THEM convince senior people that the purchase of new software makes sense.

Best Software was having success with the second option (selling to the HR crowd), but they weren't doing everything they could to support those folks as they made their case to their upper management bosses.

The solution.

Kathleen Litschgi, the Senior Marketing Manager on Abra Suite, wasn't content to let HR managers walk into the lion's den of top management without some help.

She wanted to support them with a variety of materials that could help them make a persuasive case for purchasing Abra Suite. So she created something really neat:

"The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit"

The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit gives the HR Manager the ammunition they need to sell their boss. The kit included:

• A brochure called "Building a Competitive Workforce," designed to provide management with a quick look at the benefits of an HRIS.

• An APA Employer Practices article titled "Determining the Business Impact of HRIS."

• An ROI Estimator that quickly estimates just how much money Abra Suite might save the company.

• An interactive CD that provides comprehensive product information including interactive tours of Best's key products.

• A "smart" pen that pops up answers to management's HRIS questions.

The Abra Suite Management Buy-In Kit was offered to prospects in ads, on a private web page, and via an opt-in e-mail campaign.

What's the best way to sell the Buy-In Kit to the prospect?

I think you have to do what I always suggest in The Levison Letter. You have to emphasize the offer, not the product—the Buy-In Kit, not Abra Suite. That's what I did in the e-mail. Here's how the copy started:

Dear Barbara:

You probably know that a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) can make your life easier and save your company money.

The trouble is, your boss may not know it.

That's why Best Software, the creators of Abra Suite, the leading HRIS for growing businesses, is offering you a powerful, practical tool . . . A FREE HRIS Management Buy- In Kit.

It's all the ammunition you need to provide your management with solid facts that can help them understand why an HRIS like Abra Suite makes sense for you AND your company's bottom line.

ETC.

If you want to see the complete e-mail, you can find it at www.levison.com/best

The take-away message this month?

Don't always settle for the tried and true fulfillment offer—the White Paper, the report, the free CD. Concentrate on how to solve your prospects' biggest problems, and the light bulb may light up for you!

This article is reprinted with the permission of the author. Ivan is a professional freelance copywriter with over 25 years of experience writing direct-mail, e-mail and advertising copy. His copy has built profits for Bank of America, Fireman's Fund, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, and several small companies. Visit www.levison.com to learn more about him and for a free subscription to The Levison Letter.

Yesterday [March 2, 2011] at TED in California, I spoke with a Radiation Oncologist – a cancer doc. (Fun job, huh?) She told the story of her patient.

An older woman found out her cancer had spread to her brain. She was terminal. Not a question of whether, just a question of when.

She and her 62-year-old husband hoped that she could make it long enough to celebrate their upcoming 38th anniversary.

The doctor found out she loved a certain violinist. She learned he was coming to town for a live performance. The couple didn’t have enough money for tickets so the doctor paid for them out of her own pocket.

I saw the pictures of them attending the concert. The concert itself had become a reason to live. And yes, this couple recently celebrated their 38th anniversary, just as they’d hoped.

The doctor says most of her colleagues think she’s crazy. “Why do you get all involved in the personal lives of your patients? That just gives you more emotional baggage to drag around. You need to focus on the technology.”

She described how students, as they move through medical school, get programmed to stop caring about their patients. I asked her: “In your profession, how many open up emotionally to their patients, and how many just focus on the technology?”

She said, “Maybe 5%.” She said, “I CAN’T shut myself off from my patients. That’s not who I am. Yes, it is harder to get to know a person who is struggling with a disease. But I’ve learned to absorb that. It’s so much richer than just doing medical procedures.”

I said to her, “I bet if you started a cancer clinic where ALL the doctors cared about their patients, people would flock to you. Even if they had to pay for it out of their own pocket.”

She replied, “I bet you’re right.”

I think it’s fascinating that after 15 years of the Internet finding its way into every nook and cranny of modern life, its #1 job is connecting people with people.

When you roll out of bed, stumble into your office and open up your laptop, it’s a real connection with a human being that you most seek.

One time my all-time favorite college professor, Dr. Knoll, told me that lots of pre-med students took his classes and you know what his #1 advice to them was, to prepare for a career in medicine?

“Read novels!”

He said, “Medical schools churn out technologists. But 80% of whatever created a person’s medical condition started in their head, not in their body. If you don’t understand people, you’ll never be a good doctor. If you read novels you’ll understand people and that will do more to make you a great doctor than anything you learn in medical school.”

Dr. Knoll’s advice is good for business too. You can get an MBA at Wharton or Stanford; you can know anything and everything about search engines and databases, but your #1 job is to be a student of PEOPLE.

Do you think that couple will ever stop talking about their doctor? Love your patients and they’ll never forget you.

Perry Marshall

About the Author
Entrepreneur magazine says: "Perry Marshall is the #1 author and world's most-quoted consultant on Google Advertising. He has helped over 100,000 advertisers save literally billions of dollars in Adwords stupidity tax."

He is referenced across the Internet and by The Washington Post, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune.

This article is reprinted with permission from Perry S. Marshall & Associates' PerryMarshall.com, the world's #1 website for independent advice on Google’s advertising system. The consulting firm helps members and clients develop marketing on autopilot . . . publishes marketing information . . . provides training, seminars and coaching . . . and conducts mentoring groups.

Years ago, I had a client who sold utility software for IBM mainframes.

He would send out a letter with a technical description of the software and its function. He would offer to send the software on magnetic tape for a “free 30-day trial.” That was (and still is) an industry standard.

One day, he made a minor change to his offer. Instead of “a free 30-day trial,” he said, “Use this software free for 30 days.”

Much to his amazement, response to all his mailings increased by 15 percent.

When he asked his buyers why this made such a difference to them, they explained that the word “trial” was a turnoff. It made them think of all the extra work they would have to do in order to try out the software for 30 days. They would have to come to the office late at night, take systems offline, interrupt service, and possibly lose files.

But being able to “use” the software at no cost was immensely appealing to them.

What can we learn from this?

1. The wording of your offer is important — not a trivial afterthought.

2. You never know which offer will pull best unless you test several different ones.

3. If you can’t understand the appeal of the winning offer, talk to some of your customers and find out what it is. You might learn something that will help you make your offer even stronger.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

To achieve something that you've never achieved before, you must become someone that you have never been before."—Motivational speaker Les Brown

Have you committed to personal excellence?

Do you strive toward it, but find obstacles in your way that leave you short of your goal?

These obstacles can be costly.

Because personal excellence is directly tied to how much money you make.

In his book Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, success expert Brian Tracy talks about the three main factors that affect your earning potential:

1. What you do – As a copywriter, you've got a leg up on most occupations as you directly contribute to a company's bottom line.

2. How well you do it – If you consistently write copy that results in more revenue for your client, your services will always be in big demand.

3. The difficulty of replacing you – The better you are at something, the less likely it is that you'll be replaced by someone or something.

All three of the above are directly tied to determining where you're at in your quest for personal excellence.

Because this is so important, especially to freelancers working on their own, I've put together seven steps to help you "be all you can be" (to borrow a phrase from the U.S. Army):

1. Evaluate your strengths and weakness – In Goals!, Tracy writes that every job is made up of five to seven areas. For instance, for a freelance writer, the seven areas might be: (1) prospecting, (2) establishing rapport, (3) building credibility, (4) identifying needs & presenting solutions, (5) asking for referrals, (6) writing copy, and (7) upgrading your skills.

For each category, give yourself a grade of between 1 and 10. Then ask your boss or a customer to rate you from 1 to 10 in each category.

According to Tracy, your weakest area is the one that determines your income and how fast you will advance in your career. For example, if you're an "8" when it comes to writing copy but only a "2" at prospecting, you will never make the type of money you desire until you raise up your prospecting score to a similar level. Tracy adds that you need to average a 7 or greater in each to be in the top 20% of your field.

2. Focus on areas where you need to improve – Once you've evaluated your strengths and weaknesses, focus with laser-like precision on improving your weakest area. Continue doing so until you score as high as possible in each area.

For example, if you rank yourself an "8" in the writing copy department, but a "2" in prospecting, throw all your efforts into devising a prospecting system for yourself that works.

3. Identify what you love to do – You may already know the answer to this, but you might not have committed it to paper or put together an action plan to turn what you love to do into your full-time career.

Take out a piece of paper and a pencil and write down a skill or a talent you would gladly do even if no one was paying you to do it. What topic do you love to read about in your spare time? What do you enjoy so much that time just flies by when you're doing it?

Maybe you'd like to write a screenplay for a blockbuster movie … write the perfect spy novel … become the world's best white paper writer.

Or perhaps what you're doing now is exactly what you want to be doing.

Finding something you love to do is so vitally important because, according to Tracy, "Many people make more progress in a couple of years doing something they love and suits their talents than working 20 years at a job that is not a good fit that they really don't enjoy."

4. Determine what your ultimate career goal in life is and then commit to it – If what you love to do and what you currently do are not the same thing, you need to put together an action plan to make them one and the same.

The first step is to write down the ultimate goal for your career. Let's say your ultimate career goal is to become a professional poker player. First thing you should do is determine how realistic it is – and how badly you want it. If you determine it is indeed a realistic and achievable goal, the next step is to put together an action plan. Your plan should include benchmarks and a deadline.

Now, here's the thing …

You still have to focus on and give your primary attention to what you do that actually makes you money. For example, if you're working as an executive assistant, you still have to focus on being the best darn executive assistant in the world. So you should still go through Steps 1 and 2 on an ongoing basis.

But you also have to find the time to focus on fine-tuning your skills as a poker player. Because if you don't, your poker-playing goal will more than likely remain a dream. And if that's the case, you might as well forget about it entirely.

When you're in the transition phase, you must be prepared to dedicate more time to your success if you expect to actually one day make the changeover.

5. Become a lifelong do-it-yourself project – In Goals!, Brian Tracy reveals his "3+1 formula" for mastering any skill.

The first step is to read about the area you want to become more skillful in every day – even if only for 15 or 30 minutes.

Next, listen to educational audio programs on the subject in your car. Average drivers today spend 500 to 1,000 hours each year in their cars driving each day. Tracy says you can become one of the best educated people in your field by simply listening to audio programs.

Thirdly, attend seminars and workshops on your subject. Many lives have been changed completely by attending a single one- or two-day seminar on a key subject.

The +1 part of the formula is to take action every time you hear a good idea. As Tracy notes, "The person who hears one idea and takes action is more reliable than a person that hears 100 ideas but takes action on none."

(If you're interested in more ways to move yourself closer to personal excellence, check out this article I wrote last year.)

6. Practice, practice, and more practice – No matter what you want to do in your career, there is no substitute for actually practicing your craft. The more you practice, the more competent and skilled you'll become. And the faster you'll start to experience all the benefits of being a master at your craft.

7. Keep a laser-like focus on the skills you'll need in the future – What additional knowledge, skills, and information will you need to be a leader in your marketplace in the months and years ahead? You should always be projecting yourself three to five years in the future. Determine what you need to be studying. Plan for both now and down the road so you'll be, if not the best, one of the best paid people in your industry.

The time to commit to becoming one of the top 10 percent performers and income earners in your profession is now.

Not tomorrow or the next day.

Today.

Right now.

Remember, all skills are learnable. Your potential in life is not genetically determined. You can realize your full potential in any area by committing to it and persisting at it.

Follow these seven steps to personal excellence and you'll find there really are no limits in life.

This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) The Writer’s Life, a free newsletter that gives you opportunities that enable you to live life on your own terms. Whether you’re looking for a new career, looking to make some extra money on the side, or looking for an easy work-at-home career, there is an opportunity at AWAI that’s right for you. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/the-writers-life/.

The author's website is www.johnwoodcopywriting.com.

[Eugene] Schwartz was one of the greatest advertising writers who ever lived.

Yet he eschewed the so-called creativity of Madison Avenue, and many of his ads were written using formulas.

Here are 10 of his favorite ad writing formulas:

1. Numbered lists.

Example: "The Seven Deadliest Crimes Against Yourself."

2. How-to headlines.

Example: "How to Make Anybody Like You!"

3. Secrets.

Example: "Secrets of Eastern Super-Men Revealed at Last!"

4. Question headlines.

Example: "Why Haven't TV Owners Been Told These Facts?"

5. Reason-why headlines.

Example: "Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!"

6. Make a big promise.

Example: "I'll Make You a Mental Wizard as Easily as This!"

7. Reference to a foreign or exotic location.

Example: "Doctors in Sweden Say There is a Cure for Arthritis."

8. Put a time reference in the headline.

Example: "One Day with This Man Could Make You Rich!"

9. Use the word "now" in the headline.

Example: "Now-Run Your Car Without Spark Plugs!"

10. "Don't pay one penny."

Example: "Don't Pay One Penny Till This Course Turns You Into a Human Computer!"

Note: Once Schwartz found a formula that worked, he would adapt it to many other ads for many different products.

Sincerely,

Bob Bly

P.S. You'll find more about Gene Schwartz and his great ads here:

www.100moneyblueprints.com

This article appears courtesy of Bob Bly's Direct Response Letter. To subscribe, visit www.bly.com.

On a recent gorgeous Saturday, I made the excuse to take my new Porsche 911 Turbo out to slay The Dragon.

Never heard of The Dragon? Most people haven’t.

It’s a humble, shoulderless, two-lane blacktop – officially designated US 129 – that snakes up through the North Carolina Smokies from Robbinsville … around the West end of The Great Smoky Mountain National Park … past picturesque lakes and cliffs with 100-mile views … to a mountain pass they call Deal’s Gap.

All the way to The Gap, you’re immersed in breathtaking scenery — and as the road winds up the mountain, increasingly radical curves.

Near the top – where US 129 collides with US 28 — you’ll find The Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort.

If it’s a weekend, you’ll see hundreds of GSX-Rs, Hayabusas, ZX 14s, ZZR 1400s and other scorching-fast sport bikes – and more Corvettes, WRXs, Austin Minis and Miatas than you could possibly shake a dipstick at.

You’ll also see The Tree of Shame – decorated with parts from the motorcycles and cars that “almost” made it through the next 11 miles unscathed.

 … Because this is where Highway 129 sheds all pretense of being merely a “challenging” road and becomes The Dragon.

The next few miles down the mountain into Tennessee boast 318 of the tightest, most vicious curves anywhere in the world. One-hundred-eighty-degree curves. Off-chambre curves. Blind, decreasing-radius curves.

Every 183 feet or so. For eleven heart-stopping miles.

And many of them run right along the edge of a cliff.

Entire sections of The Dragon are so treacherous, they’ve earned names like “The Switchbacks” … “Rebel’s Revenge” … “Gravity Cavity” …”The Chicanes” … and “Killboy’s Corner.”

Scary – right? You bet – which is why speed freaks all over the world dream about their first dance with The Dragon.

Since it’s less than one hour from my garage, I’ll betcha I’ve straightened out those curves maybe 100 times or more. And each time I go, I meet guys and gals who actually shipped their bikes from Great Britain … Europe … and even Japan – just to earn that little yellow dragon sticker for their helmets.

But some of the folks you’ll meet on The Dragon just shouldn’t be there. We call them “The Squibs” – with their brand-new bikes, brand-new leathers and maybe 100 miles of total riding experience under their butts.

Watching them is to the eyes what a fingernail being scraped across a chalkboard is to the ears …

They get into gravel at the edge and wind up sliding down the road as if it were coated with ice …

Or, they tear into a blind curve too fast and — blissfully unaware that the turn is about to tighten up on them – they wind up in a tree …

Then, there are the really, really dumb ones: The Squibs who cross the double-yellow to pass on blind curves.

With hundreds of bikes, sports cars, family cars and even trucks plying The Dragon on a weekend day – precisely half of them in the on-coming lane — those Squibs might as well be playing Russian Roulette with three rounds in the cylinder.

And so, day before yesterday, with the Porsche’s twin turbos screaming, I careened around one of The Dragon’s most infamous curves and pulled up behind a kid on a sport bike tailgating a Winnebago. The biker was understandably impatient – desperate to get around the creeping camper and get on with his curve-carving.

“Don’t do it … don’t do it…” I said to myself. And then, sure ‘nuff, he did it; he dropped two gears, nailed the accelerator and shot around the camper right on a blind curve.

I cringed, expecting to hear the sound of impact and shattering glass as the 450-pound bike met the 12,000 pound truck I was sure was on the other side of that curve.

Fortunately, it never came.

And so on the 50-minute drive home, I got to thinking about Squib Moves in general … Squib Moves I’ve made in my own life … and ultimately, the Squib Moves nearly all copywriters I’ve worked with are guilty of (yes, at times, even me!) …

5 Squib Moves Copywriters Make and How to Avoid Each One

The names have been changed to protect the guilty …

Squib Move #1 – Procrastinating: Fred has a reputation of being one of the slowest writers around. Ask him to give you a 24-page magalog, and you know it could be three months or even more before you see the first draft.

And so, although Fred writes killer sales copy, he doesn’t get nearly as many assignments as he should.

But the thing is, Fred isn’t slow at all. Once he gets going, he can crank out copy like there’s no tomorrow.

Fred’s problem is getting going.

See, Fred is one of those guys who’s easily overwhelmed. And so when the client’s research package lands on his desk – and when he contemplates the enormity of the task before him – he pulls a Scarlett O’Hara: He decides to think about it “tomorrow.”

It’s a Squib Move and Fred knows it. Because soon, the days turn into weeks … then months … it’s only a matter of time before the client calls and yells, “Where the @#!@ is my @#%$!ing copy?!”

At that point, to get the client off his back, Fred rushes through the project without giving himself time to fully immerse himself in it – and winds up delivering something that’s far weaker than it could have been.

 … So what’s the best solution for Fred – and for you if you can relate?

Here’s my advice …

A. Drop Everything: The minute a new job hits your desk, drop everything. Read everything the client has sent you. Take a full day if you like to Google everything and plump up your research package.

Then, go back to whatever you were doing.

That can give your subconscious a couple of weeks to chew on this new project while you’re finishing the one at hand.

You’ll be amazed at how many insights, headlines and other great ideas your brain serves up to you – and when you’re ready to begin writing, it’ll all be right there; waiting for you to use it to make your copy sing.

B. Compartmentalize: Procrastination is often born of intimidation – and intimidation comes from becoming obsessed with how massive the task before you truly is.

The best way I know to erase that intimidation is to constantly remind myself that I don’t have to write a promotion today. All I have to do is read the research … or create a starter outline … or throw a few thoughts down on paper.

Or maybe I’ve already done that stuff – and all I have to do today is sharpen those thoughts … or flesh them out a bit … or add transitions … or hone my word choices … etc.

Before I know it, I’m done, and I never once risked the intimidation that would have come from telling myself I had to write a complete promotion.

C. Bribe Yourself: I like quitting work early. I deserve it; most days, I begin working at 3:00 or 4:00 AM. By noon, I’ve put in more than a full day.

So if my pressing deadlines have been met, why shouldn’t I take the 911 out for a spin or hop on the Harley or go get my monthly scalping at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino?

And so I set manageable goals for myself each day. “Once I get XYZ done,” I promise myself, “I’m giving myself the rest of the day off.”

Ahhh … my favorite boss: ME!

Give it a try if you like. You’ll be surprised how rewarding yourself for accomplishing interim goals in your copywriting projects helps you keep stuff moving and get each project done faster.

Squib Move #2 — Overthinking: Wilma is a new copywriter who lives in Europe. By the time I met her at an [American Writers & Artists Inc.] event in Florida, she had studied literally thousands of pages of courses, books and e-zine articles about copywriting. She had all the fundamentals, philosophies and formulas down cold. She could recite Hopkins, Caples, Masterson and Makepeace verbatim.

 … And when I gave her her first paid assignment, she froze like a deer in the high-beams of an on-coming Peterbilt.

Wilma’s problem wasn’t that she knew too much. Wilma’s problem was that she was thinking about the stuff she’d learned – and all the stuff she thought she had to do in each promotion — instead of thinking about her prospect.

My advice to Wilma was simple: Forget everything you’ve learned about selling and especially about writing copy. Don’t worry — it’s still stored away in your brain and your brain will feed you what you need when you need it.

But instead of thinking about strategy and tactics, try focusing on your prospect – his fears, frustrations and desires. Think about how your product connects with his most compelling resident emotions – his dominant emotions.

Then lean back in your chair, close your eyes and imagine you’re in a room with him and just let your fingers do the talking.

If you had to make the sale, what would you say? How would you begin the conversation? What would you say next? What would you have to prove to him? How would you prove it? What would he say? What would he ask? How would he challenge your claims? How would you defuse his objections? How would you make not ordering feel like a major blunder?

Why not give it a shot? You’ll be amazed at how your brain feeds up dos and don’ts from your training to guide you as you work through the process.

Squib Move #3 — “Me-Too” Headlines: Whenever I saw a new project from Barney, I knew there was a better-than-even chance his headline would be little more than the recycling of a headline I’d seen a bazillion times before.

If he was selling a remedy for high blood pressure, I could expect his head would read “Got High Blood Pressure?”

Or … “Do you make these blood pressure blunders?”

Or … “The doctor laughed when I said I’d lower my own blood pressure …”

As Barney’s copy chief, these regurgitated, warmed-over headlines drove me nuts. And what really chapped me was, most of his promotions worked pretty darned well!

But when we worked together on new headline test panels, we almost always beat the bejeezus out of the originals.

Barney’s Squib Move was that he simply didn’t respect the power of headlines enough to spend quality time with them.

My advice to Barney? “Write your promotion as you normally would with whatever placeholder headline you like at the top. Then, when you think you’re ready to show me the copy – don’t!

Instead, take a day off. Then, since you’ve already spent up to four weeks on the copy, why not spend a minimum of four more days focused entirely on your headline, deck and lead copy?

First, ask yourself, “How can I better meet my prospect at the point of his need? What are the most compelling ways to begin this conversation? What can I say right up front that will make it impossible for him to look away?”

Try a story lead … an intrigue lead … a skeptical lead … a topical lead … a pure benefit or USP lead – and whatever other types of leads you feel might work.

Then, pick your two or three strongest approaches and write two or three different headlines, decks and leads for each.

Today, Barney is one of the two or three best headline writers I know.

Squib Move #4 – Buried Leads: Betty had a way of letting her eyes roll up in her head and just blathering on for pages before getting to the point.

Thinking she was activating her prospects’ dominant emotions, she’d presumptuously prattle on about how her prospects felt – or how they should feel — about the subject at hand.

She’d lecture them about practical benefits they needed before ever mentioning the product.

She’d circle around and back over the same ground over and over again, leaving the reader disoriented, confused, frustrated and convinced that this was going nowhere.

She’d give me page after page of this froth and fluff: More than enough to make the reader pine for the sweet relief of death — and plenty to make me wish I’d demanded combat pay for agreeing to copychief her.

Then, in what I can only assume was an obvious attempt to convince me that she’d given me more than my money’s worth, she’d deliver 70 pages of single-spaced text – more than DOUBLE what I could fit in the mailing piece.

Needless to say, more than half her copy wound up on the cutting room floor – and much of it got sliced out of her first eight to ten pages.

Because that’s where I typically found her real lead – back on page eleven or so.

Burying the lead is probably the most common Squib Move new writers make. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest one to avoid.

Just read through each draft with your feelers out. Mark the point at which you feel your attention, curiosity and excitement jumping off the scale.

Congratulations – you’ve just found your lead!

Take a big, fat, red grease pencil and draw a line across the page just above it. Then, surgically remove all the hot air that came before it and paste it into a separate document entitled YADDA-YADDA.doc.

Who knows? Some of that stuff might come in handy for sidebars or for later in the text.

Squib Move #5 – Leaving Prospects OUT Of The Conversation: Dino’s a great technical writer. He’s got a mind like a steel trap when it comes to the technology that drives the gizmos and gadgets companies sell to each other.

But bless his heart, when it comes to relating to people, he’s got one of the tinniest tin ears I’ve ever seen.

In a recent draft, he spent nearly 30 of the 60-some-odd pages he sent me - sigh - for a health product citing cold, clinical, impersonal statistics.

By the time I was finished reading, I knew precisely how many Americans suffered from the malady and how many new cases would be diagnosed this year.

Plus, I knew how many folks suffered side-effects from the drugs most commonly prescribed for the malady and what each of those side-effects are. And I knew how the proposed natural alternative worked in the human body.

Worst of all, Dino went on for pages documenting for his readers (most of whom have the condition) how it adversely effects their quality of life – facts every blessed one of them is painfully aware of.

It wasn’t a promotion – it was a doctoral thesis: Clinical, passionless, impersonal. Instead of talking with, empathizing with and advocating for the reader, Dino got up on his soapbox and talked AT him – about all those “other” people out there.

Frankly, I’m still working out the best way to help Dino with this. And again, I’m leaning towards recommending the use of a mental image to bring warmth and humanity to his copy.

Next time, I’m going to ask, “Does anyone in your family have this condition? Yes? Your mom? OK, here’s what you do …

“Start your copy with ‘Dear Mom’ and then write as if you were trying to help her personally.

Don’t talk about “other people.” If you cite statistics, personalize them “You know, Mom, as an over-50 American with this malady, you have a one-in-two chance of …”

If you refer to side-effects of drugs that treat the condition, empathize with her. Tell her you don’t want that for her. Tell her there’s a better way. Then take her by the hand and lead her through.

 … So do us both a big favor?

If you ever send me a draft, take a lesson from Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty and Dino?

You’ll save us both a LOT of time!

Well my friend, that’s plenty to chew on for this week. See you next Monday!

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often, 

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

Your prospect doesn’t want to be lectured to. He doesn’t want to read a scientific treatise. He wants to be spoken to in a convincing, conversational tone so he feels comfortable with you … and comfortable with buying your product.

So here are the last five of my 11 strategies for writing conversational copy … copy with that convincing tone. [Don’t miss parts one, two, and three of this series.]

Use "conversational transitions"

A nice conversational touch is what I call "conversational transitions." These are short connecting phrases that move copy from one idea to the next … or drive home a point.

Here are some that I use:

• HERE’S THE THING

• AS I SAID BEFORE

• LET ME EXPLAIN …

• BUT HERE’S THE BEST NEWS

• DO YOU SEE THE VALUE HERE?

• IS THAT FAIR? (or, FAIR ENOUGH?)

• I’LL BE BLUNT.

• HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE

• THINK ABOUT THAT FOR MINUTE

• WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT?

And here’s an example of copy without and with conversational transitions:

WITHOUT: "This stock has the potential to move 200% higher in the next six months. That means a $5,000 investment could be worth $15,000. And there are others …"

WITH: "Here’s a great example: This stock has the potential to move 200% higher in the next six months.

"Think about that a minute. This means a $5,000 investment could be worth $15,000. But here’s the best news. There are others …"

See how much more personal and conversational the one with transitions is?

Don’t get carried away, however. Too many, used in the wrong places, weaken your copy. They’re like manure. A little can green the grass nicely. But too much can stink up the town.

Don’t get bogged down on a single idea

One of the things Michael Masterson convinced me of early in my career was to never spend more than a single paragraph or two on any given point or idea. It’s important to make your selling point quickly and move on to the next. You don’t want to hear someone "drone on" in conversation – the same is true in copy.

Your reader wants you to convince him to buy

Here’s a point a lot of copywriters miss. They think they have to sell the reader on the product from square one. You don’t.

Chances are, your readers are getting your letter because they’ve bought or shown interest in a similar product. They’re getting your health promotion because they’ve bought health products before. They’re getting your financial promotion because they’ve bought financial products before.

If you’ve captured your readers’ attention with a strong headline and lead – and they’re reading your letter – you can assume they’re interested in what you’re offering. Now, they just want to be convinced. Your job is to make it irresistible for them – and answer any objections they might have with stories and track record and facts and so on.

What does this have to do with voice and tone? You’ll have a lot easier time if your letter is easy to read. And that only happens if your prospect’s comfortable with the letter’s tone – and he likes and trusts the person who’s writing to him.

Never talk down to or show up your reader

Every so often, I’ll come across a letter where the tone is boastful and the writer places himself above the reader.

Nothing will sabotage a letter faster. It puts your reader on the defensive. It may even make him dislike you.

I got one letter that said right on the envelope: "If you’re not following so-and-so’s investment advice – you’re off your rocker!

Is that any way to start a relationship? I’ll have to admit, I opened the letter – and it was jam-packed with boastful claims about how much money some guy made trading his system. There may have been some good stuff in it – but I was so put off and defensive that none of it connected with me.

Respect your reader. Don’t do anything to alienate him.

Read a lot of copy

Most of the stuff in your mail is there because (a) it works, or (b) someone in the business thinks it has a good chance of working. There are a lot of very good copy styles out there. Find a style you like and emulate it.

But to do that, you’ve got to read a lot of copy. If you’re not seeded on lists and getting at least five direct-mail letters every day (and the same number online) – get seeded now.

This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s The Golden Thread, a free newsletter that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on the best wealth careers, lifestyle careers and work-at-home careers available. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/.

It’s not always easy to know where technology will take us.

Still, you’ll want to do what you can to stay ready.

What happens, for instance, to copywriters in the digital age? Up until now, I’ve heard lots of people wax on about how different the online customer is from the customers you’ll write copy for in print. And for the most part, I consider that hogwash. People are people and bring their same desires and fears to the Internet.

But one thing that’s definitely true about the world of online marketing is that it has closed distances and allowed lots of small “niche” markets to come together. Something else that’s true is that the pace of exposure to those markets has exploded. So has the volume of exposure, in total products available.

So what’s that going to mean for you, the copywriter?

Quite a bit. If you want to survive, bottom line, you’ll have to make a few changes.

For instance, you’ll want to…

Write faster. With more markets breaking up into smaller segments, with more customers reachable online, and more niche products to sell, that means the demand for copy goes up.

So does the exposure to marketing messages. So does the competition for the customer’s attention. Marketing copy will get exposed more frequently, tire more quickly, and need more testing to find what ultimately works.

Demand for your copywriting skills should soar. But how quickly you can crank out a workable draft is more important than ever before.

Nurse your passions. The more focused, the more targeted the customer, the more easily he’ll spot a faker when he sees one. This is another reason why you should write copy, if you can, that sells to a special interest you already ‘get’ and get well… yourself.

Because when you’re passionate about what you’re selling, it comes across. You use the [right] lingo to talk about it, you have the right appreciation for the [finer] points. And more likely than not, you’ll already have the right connection with your target audience.

Know the niches. One-profile-fits-all is no longer the modus operandi of savvy marketers. To be honest, it hasn’t been for a long time. Breaking down markets into special interests has been the name of the game for as long as just about any of us can remember.

The only thing that’s changed now is that figuring out who those segments are and what they want has just gotten easier. Thanks especially to search engine tools, keyword tracking, online forums and user-run recommendations sites, and more.

But the better you ‘get’ what the niche customers care about, the better you’ll be at coming up with products or pitches that will sell inside of this increasingly narrow focus.

Know the products. Just like it’s going to make a big difference for you to better understand the niche customer, you’ll need to know the nitty-gritty details about the increasingly niche products too.

Not just because the products will be more specialized and therefore different from what you knew before, but also because niche customers are a lot more focused and educated too.

If you start talking about a product without fully understanding it yourself, the niche customer will spot your fakery from a mile off.

Discriminate better. No more taking on ‘sad sack’ projects, hopeless cases, or copy quagmires… ever again. In a world where the flood of products is rising, there are bound to be more duds out there than ever.

If you can’t sell it or it simply isn’t good enough to sell, most of the time, you’ll have to learn to say no. That doesn’t mean you have to shun every orphaned opportunity. Some might thrive, to the shock and pleasure of the client, with just a few unexpected tweaks.

However, other products are just duds. The reason they don’t sell well is because they don’t deserve to. If you’re absolutely sure this is the case with any new project, politely decline the gig and walk away. There’s no time for messing with these half-baked opportunities anymore.

Make sure you take your best shot. In archery, they tell you to aim twice before pulling the trigger. In copy today, do the same. That is, if you’re writing a new promo, keep an extra document page open at the same time. Call it “test leads.” Whenever an idea comes up for an alternate headline, jot it down in this second doc.

I try never to submit a package without at least one test lead. Sometimes, as many as four test leads and an original, all at once. In one recent case, I even wrote three entirely different versions of the whole promo. Without charging an extra dime. Why?

Because most of my copy gets tested online, where running alternate versions is cheap (nearly free). I get a royalty on every sale, no matter which promo wins. So I figure getting more than one iron in the fire more than takes up the slack.

Get savvy. Copywriting was always a gateway to other kinds of knowledge. List marketing, printing, design, even people management — you’ll know a little of everything before you’re through.

These days, it pays to get savvy about a few things copywriters didn’t even talk about just a few years ago. Like how search engines work, what a website should look like, email marketing and editorial, and so on.

You might even need to apply the same ideas to selling your own services. With an eletter of your own, for instance. Or a blog or website that shows samples of your work.

Expand your offer. The need to crank out copy faster is just one way to stay ahead of the “niche” curve. You’ll also want to look for other ways to monetize your talents.

Consulting on other people’s copy, for instance, for a fee. Or taking on student writers in a swap for some of their royalties. (I’m already booked up with writing students and mentored projects, for instance.)

The bottom line:

Be aware that you can’t just write for the big hits anymore. There’s definitely still a big “hits” market there. But you’d be passing up an explosion in niche marketing opportunities that’s just too lucrative to ignore.

Also be aware that the demand for good copy will soar yet again, as more and more products come to market. But that “good” copy will increasingly be defined not only by how clean it reads, but by how precise and narrowly focused it is on the niches that will see it.

Not to mention, on how fast you can deliver it.

This article appears courtesy of the Copywriter's Roundtable e-letter of direct-response copywriter John Forde. John specializes in marketing financial and health information products. His copy has generated—directly and indirectly through junior writers—hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in tens of thousands of subscriptions. Subscribe to Copywriter's Roundtable on his website http://copywritersroundtable.com and get $78 in free gifts.