Great Internet Marketing

I keep all kinds of things in my swipe file like direct mail letters, ads from newspapers and magazines, advertorials (ads that look like editorials), websites, emails, postcards and anything even remotely related to my selling efforts. I even keep things that aren't remotely related to what I sell because with a little switcheroo the same concept that sells vacuum cleaners may be used to sell videos.

I'm looking at my swipe file right now and I see another speaker friend of mine using a picture of himself with General Norman Schwarzkopf. So how does this help me? Well it reminds me to grab celebrity photo opportunities when I know I'm on the program with a big name person.

I look further into my swipe file and I see a book cover that has back cover copy that reads, "This handy, easy-to-use reference is your gateway to . . . " and then it lists the benefits of that book. I can easily use the same beginning and put my own ending to create advertising copy for my book, "This handy, easy-to-use reference is your gateway to grabbing the riches you deserve off the Internet" or something like that.

Don't feel bad about using a swipe file. You are not really stealing. You would be stealing if you used the advertising copy word for word for the exact same type of product, but I know you won't do that.

So start collecting advertising copy in your own swipe file. When it comes time to write copy to sell your products, you'll have lots of stuff to get your own creative juices flowing.

Just get yourself a box, bag, or whatever and keep it near the place you normally go through your mail. Anything that you used to throw away as junk might have some good examples of sales letters, inserts or lots of other things that have advertising copy on them. Rip them open quick. See if they qualify to be in your file and throw them in for later use.

You might start another file on your computer for good copy or techniques you find on the web. You can save entire webpages to your hard drive by opening the page in your browser and then clicking "file" and then "save as." Make yourself a swipe folder and you'll always have some good web copy to look at when it comes time to create your own sales piece.

If you need some help putting a sales letter together visit http://www.instantsalesletters.com/al/af.cgi?3556

Why Some Ads Fail Miserably
While Others Succeed Wonderfully
by David Garfinkel

The voice on the other end of the phone was tense and impatient. It was a new prospect calling. After we introduced ourselves, he got right to the point: "Our advertising isn't working and we need some help."

Who I was talking to doesn't matter very much, because it could have been almost any of my prospects before they start working with me. That's because, statistically, most advertising doesn't work - if by "work" you mean, bring in new business. Think about your own ads. Even if they already generate leads or create sales for you, don't you have the sneakin' suspicion they could be working a lot better?

Here are two reasons why most ads don't work at all - or if they work, why they deliver far less business than they could:

1. Most ads don't get the attention of your prospects. This is pretty basic. It is physically impossible for prospects to contact you unless they know about you, and if you're counting on them to find out about you from your advertising, then step one is for your ad to get your prospects' attention. Unfortunately, some ads actually do get attention, but…

2. These ads get the attention of your prospect in the wrong way. For an ad to generate a qualified lead or create an immediate sale, it must start off on the right foot. That "right foot" sets the right tone and invites a qualified prospect to call you. I just saw an ad in Newsweek that still has me wondering what it's about and why someone spent tens of thousands of dollars on it. (Bet it wasn't their own money.)

The ad shows a boy on a bicycle flying through the air, out in the wilderness. The headline, in a semicircle, says, "They will always fall before they fly." Since I'm not a kid and I'm not a parent, it doesn't do much for me.

But wait - even if I were a parent or a kid, I still don't think this ad is going to sell me on anything that would make the advertiser any money. If I were a kid, the only thing this ad could sell me on is taking these kind of risks to annoy my parents. And if I were a parent, the only thing I can imagine this ad would sell me on is making sure my kid never rides his mountain bike in hilly terrain - since, obviously, the kid in the picture is on a collision course with certain death.

I've got to hand it to this ad in one department - it's interesting. It got my attention. But that's as far as it got.

The Headline's The Thing

Let's get off this negative track and look at some ads that I am certain are making money. These are not from a glossy national magazine, but small ads from today's local newspaper. (By the way, small ads that run in the newspaper are usually paid for by the person who wrote them. And these ads get to the point and are likely to be profitable. Hmmm… I wonder if I'm noticing a trend here… )

All I'm going to show you are the headlines of these ads. But I promise you, the headlines are all you need to see. Tell me if you can guess what each ad is about, and who its target market is:

1. Lose 3-5 Pounds Per Week With The System Proven By Over 90,000 Successful Patients

2. Up To 40% Savings On Heating And Cooling Costs With A (Brand Name) Foam Roof

3. Men And Women - Remove Unwanted Hair Today!

Now, I know what you're thinking. Not very clever. Not very hip. In fact, those headlines are downright boring!

Hmmm. I have two things to say about that. First, if you have tried everything under the sun to lose 40 pounds and you are frustrated to the point of tears, then headline number 1 isn't that boring to you. (And I would say the same regarding people in the target market for headlines 2 and 3.)

The second thing is I want to say is, yes, and it's also pretty boring to stand in line at the bank waiting to make a large deposit into your business checking account. But you know what? Once you've gotten past that boredom barrier, it's actually sort of nice. You know?

And here's some interesting news: A good headline on your ad will get you 90% of the way from the agony of defeat to the ecstasy of advertising success - so you can deal with weighty issues like the boredom barrier and what to do with all that money.

David Garfinkel is a successful results oriented copywriter and the author of Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich, which shows you exactly how to adapt proven money-making headlines to your business. For more information about the book, and to purchase a copy, visit http://www.adheadlines.com .

Upcoming articles for this section

The ethical copycat technique
Creating Urgency
Creating Scarcity
Guarantees
The Reason Why technique
Sub Heads

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