Monday,
June 24, 2019
Bob Baker of
St. Louis, Missouri. He wrote Spotlight Magazine from 1987 to 1997.
Marcia
Yudkin
Marcia Yudkin, at least
to me, looks like the undisputed world champ when it comes to copywriting and
its instruction. Whereas Bob Bly sells only books. He's good at his
craft, so you'll definitely want to read everything he's written, but Marcia is
there with coursework. Better get on the ball, earn money, and take her
classes.
Learn to Write No-Hype Copy
Six-week self-study course, for $500, teaches you to wow people into buying through the power of well-chosen words. Includes challenging and varied assignments to practice on, with answers from the instructor and participants. Replace incomprehensible jargon with reader-friendly, motivating content. Copywriting course. Other courses that I am interested in are Marcia's
Sales Letters & Postcards for $97.
Fact-checking made easy for $37 looks excellent too. Find all of her courses here.
Post Card Marketing Course is $200.
Six-week self-study course, for $500, teaches you to wow people into buying through the power of well-chosen words. Includes challenging and varied assignments to practice on, with answers from the instructor and participants. Replace incomprehensible jargon with reader-friendly, motivating content. Copywriting course. Other courses that I am interested in are Marcia's
Sales Letters & Postcards for $97.
Fact-checking made easy for $37 looks excellent too. Find all of her courses here.
Post Card Marketing Course is $200.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016
This is right in your wheelhouse of interests.
Don't let time float. It's
a Web Consulting service offered by AWAI for $100.
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016
the link is here.
Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.
Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better.
When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy. You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.
But when
copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and
puffed-up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound
nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.
Here’s a 4-step procedure to get the information to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.
STEP#1: GET ALL PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL ON THE PRODUCT.
Here’s a 4-step procedure to get the information to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike.
STEP#1: GET ALL PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL ON THE PRODUCT.
For an
existing product, there’s a mountain of content you can send to the copywriter
as background information. This material includes:
·
Brochures
·
Catalogs
·
Technical papers
·
Copies of speeches
·
Audio-visual scripts
·
Swipe files of competitors’ ads and literature
·
Blog posts
·
Web site URL
·
Online ads
Did I hear
someone say they can’t send me background material because their product is
new? Nonsense. The birth of every new product is accompanied by mounds of
documents you can give the copywriter. These papers include:
·
Internal memos
·
Letters of technical information
·
Product specifications
·
Engineering drawings
·
Business and marketing plans
·
Reports
·
Proposals
By studying
this material, the copywriter should have 80% of the information he needs to
write the copy. And he can get the other 20% by picking up the phone and asking
questions. Steps #2-4 outline the questions he should ask about the product,
the audience, and the objective of the copy.
STEP#2: ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRODUCT.
1.
What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list, say, of Adobe
Photoshop.)
2.
Which benefit is the most important?
3. How
is the product different from the competition's? (Which features are exclusive?
Which are better than the competition’s?)
4. If
the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been
stressed by the competition?
5.
What technologies does the product compete against?
6.
What are the applications of the product?
7.
What industries can use the product?
8.
What problems does the product solve in the marketplace?
9. How
is the product positioned in the marketplace?
10. How does
the product work?
11. How
reliable is the product?
12. How
efficient?
13. How
economical?
14. Who has
bought the product and what do they say about it?15. What materials, sizes and
models is it available in?
16. How
quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product?
17. What
service and support does the manufacturer offer?
18. Is the
product guaranteed?
STEP #3:
ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE
1. Who
will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?)
2.
What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance,
reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency)
3.
What is the character of the buyer?
4.
What motivates the buyer?
5. How
many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? Two tips on getting
to know your audience:
6. If
you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazine in which the ad will appear.
7. If
you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study
the list descriptions.
STEP #4:
DETERMINE THE OBJECTIVE OF YOUR COPY. THIS OBJECTIVE MAY BE ONE OR MORE OF THE
FOLLOWING:
1. To
generate inquiries
2. To
generate sales
3. To
answer inquiries
4. To
qualify prospects
5. To
transmit product information
6. To
build brand recognition and preference.
7. To
build the company image
Before you
write copy, study the product—its features, benefits, past performance,
applications, and markets. Digging for the facts will pay off because in
business-to-business advertising specifics sell.
Bob Bly
Copywriter, Consultant and Seminar Leader
31 Cheyenne Dr. Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562, Fax 973-263-0613
email: rwbly@bly.com
Copywriter, Consultant and Seminar Leader
31 Cheyenne Dr. Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562, Fax 973-263-0613
email: rwbly@bly.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
2.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Make sure you get paid for your work.
Saturday,
January 16, 2016
This was
some pretty decent advice offered on a bungled copy/printing job. The
businessman made a misprint on his sales postcard, and instead of throwing them
away one guy suggested using them as discount cards for local businesses.
Here is what he said:
Try
using Copy
Doodles.
If you can think of a reason why, you might be able to use them by writing a message. For example, say your mistake entitles them to a free gift or extra thing or cut a deal with a baker for a donut or bagel if they bring in your mistake card and buy.
Or since once and done is always a bad idea, send the next batch and offer a premium or freemium if they mention anything they noticed about the first card they received. Employ the mystery aspect. They'll be wondering what they missed if they've already tossed it, and may pay attention to your next batch.
If you can think of a reason why, you might be able to use them by writing a message. For example, say your mistake entitles them to a free gift or extra thing or cut a deal with a baker for a donut or bagel if they bring in your mistake card and buy.
Or since once and done is always a bad idea, send the next batch and offer a premium or freemium if they mention anything they noticed about the first card they received. Employ the mystery aspect. They'll be wondering what they missed if they've already tossed it, and may pay attention to your next batch.
Thursday,
February 5, 2015
1. Here is a
decent ad on how to advertise your copy writing services.
Monday, January 12, 2015
What pain
is a company feeling?
1.
Increased workload placed on middle management.
2. Except in
the early years on the job, you must not sell your employer more than 40
hours of your week. If you do, you had better be compensated well. Your
employer is going to squeeze you. He is going to pay you as little as possible,
and he is going to squeeze you on work time. He is not going to give you a
raise; he's going to squeeze you. He is going to force you into reduced payment
per hour. You have to resist, and you have to resist after your first year on
the job. You have to dig in your heels. You have to find ways around this.
There will be no mercy shown to you. Employers will squeeze those employees who
allow themselves to be squeezed.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Bob Bly's
recommended sites. Here they are:
1. ContentMarketingUniversity.net.
$47
Friday,
December 26, 2014
1.
Make money writing letters.
Friday, December 19, 2014
3. Lead Generation.
4. Pricing. Brilliant!
5. Copywriting.
6. LinkedIn.
7. Dynamite Copy.
8. Blogging.
9. Clayton
Makepeace is the highest-paid freelance copywriter in the world
... earning more than a million dollars a year.
10. Fundraising.
12. Creative
Marketing Solutions, Marcia Yudkin. She's a site member at
Bill Myers' site.
16. Sample
Copywriting Landing Page for J Damico. Check out the services
that she offers.
17.
Marlene Jensen, Raise Your Prices.
18. SEO Copywriting,
Heather Lloyd Martin.
19. White
Paper Source.
20. 7 Step Process for SEO Writing, Bob Bly.
21. Plan an Online Marketing Campaign, Bob Bly.
22.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
1. How Setting Impacts Your Writing, Robert Rice.
2. The Surprising Connection Between Great Acting and
Copywriting, Robert Rice.
3. Powerful Performance Writing, Robert Rice.
4. Bob
Bly's Facebook page.
5.
"Problem Intensification" is a copywriting/marketing technique that
intensifies the reader's problem. You dramatize the problem in the copy.
Saturday,
December 13, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Learn
these copy writing tips:
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Bob Bly's YouTube Channel. Like everything
else he does, this, too, is indispensable. "How to"
in the title always works. People love "How to" books.
10% of non-fiction books are "How to" books. "The
Secret to Richer, Moister Chocolate Cake."
Here is Bob Bly's Viddler videos.
Bob
Bly's Testimonials.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Said to
be the easiest most efficient way to break into copywriting.
2. 6 Neglected Email Marketing Tools from
PinPointe. Here are more tips.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
"Take CopyWriting tothe Next Level," Bob
Bly. This is a great article. Bly provides the 4 steps you need to
create copy, using information and facts on a product rather than fancy
writing. Facts and information sells. Read this article and read it
regularly.
******************************************************
Sunday,
August 24, 2014
----------------------------------------------------------------
***3 ways to increase conversion on your blog***
1--Place an opt-in form at the top of your sidebar that highlights
your free content offer, and one at the end of your posts--add "Like this
post? You'll love our free report."
2--Add a graphic highlighting a free trial offer for your product
at the top of the sidebar and the end of the posts.
3--Have a contact form in your sidebar to inquire about your
services, and a graphic at the end of your posts that invites visitors to find
out how you can help them with the topic of the post.
Source: "Optimizing Your Online Content for Conversion,"
Pinpointe.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***How to use fear in your marketing***
The two primary motivators of human behavior are (1) to gain
reward and (2) to avoid punishment. Naturally, both work well in copy when
rendered correctly.
According to Professor Kim Witte, to use fear effectively, your
copy must include 3 elements, in this order:
1--First, the threat has to be moderate or severe. Make it
significant and vivid.
2--Next, the reader has to feel he is personally at risk.
3--Third, the reader must believe that preventative action
implemented with your product or service is simple and easy.
Source: Copyblogger, 3/20/14.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Follow your passion: not***
According to an article in Psychology Today, following your
passion when choosing a career or business often leads to the poorhouse.
That's because most people's passions lie in mostly creative
outlets (e.g., writing), worthy causes (e.g., the environment), entertainment
(e.g., movies), or glitz (e.g., decorating).
As a result, the number of people pursuing these interests is
overwhelming, so many companies in these areas pay employees poorly, and
entrepreneurs in these niches are pressured to lower prices because of too many
competitors.
Source: Psychology Today, 8/14, 9. 46.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Martin Edelston's 4 secrets of outrageous business success***
According to my colleague Brian Kurtz, Boardroom founder Marty
Edelston had 4 core principles for business and life success:
1. He outworked everyone.
2. He had insatiable curiosity.
3. He surrounded himself with people smarter than himself whenever
and wherever possible.
4. He always thought about what he could do for you first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***3 ways to get more clients with better follow-up***
Business coach Mara Glazer says everyone in a client-based service
business should spend 15 minutes a day doing the following 3 activities:
1--Pick up the phone, and call someone you met at an event but
haven't connected with offline quite yet.
2--Call an old lead that never turned into a client to see how
they are progressing (or not progressing) without you.
3--Call someone you maybe never met before but that you've wanted
to work with.
"I know for many it's uncomfortable, but it works," says
Mara. Her advice: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, pick up that phone,
and finally follow-up so you can start watching your client enrollment (and the
number in your bank account) begin to rise.
Source: Mara Glazer, Working Moms Only, 4/10/14.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Get more attendees for your webinars***
Most of us promote our webinars heavily to our house e-lists, but
Rally Point Webinars suggest using 3 additional lists: lists of affiliate
partners, rented e-lists, and best of all, the e-lists of the speakers you are
featuring in your webinars.
If the webinar is a free event, point out to your speaker what a
great benefit it is to offer to her valued subscribers. If there is a product
up-sell or a fee for the event, give the speaker an affiliate commission on all
sales made.
Source: "How to Market Your Webinar," Rally Point white
paper, p. 11.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Print books are not dead -- yet***
A study conducted at the University of Stavanger found that 10th
grade students had better comprehension when reading print books than when
reading books on a computer screen.
Researchers concluded that reading print texts improve
comprehension because of the greater ease of leafing back and forth between
different sections of the book.
Source: Galleycat, 8/12/14.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***The power of free***
It has been proven time and time again that the word
"free" turns more prospects into customers--for example, offering a
free bonus gift when the prospect buys. If you are building a list or simply
want a prospect to take a first action, offering a valuable free report is
often highly successful. Note: Dick Benson wrote this in 1991 and it is every
bit as true today.
Source: Richard Benson, "Secrets of Successful Direct
Mail," Passport Books.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***My new "swipe file" of self-promotions for
copywriters***
In my new e-book, "The Copywriter's Self-Promotion
Toolkit," I give you an exclusive swipe file of self-promotions from some
of today's top freelance copywriters including Richard Armstrong, Ed Gandia,
Chris Marlow, Peter Bowerman, Gordon Graham, Denny Hatch, and many, many more.
In this Toolkit you'll find the web sites, brochures, sales
letters, lead magnets, ads, e-mails, press releases, case studies, and other
self-promotions these six-figure writers have used to get all the clients and
projects they need to stay busy and profitable.
For more information or to download a 90-day risk-free preview
copy of "The Copywriter's Self-Promotion Toolkit," click here now:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***The annual report on social media marketing -- yours free!***
Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner recently released his
"2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report." To download a free
copy of Stelzner's 50-page social media survey and report, click here now:
This report has convinced even a social media skeptic like me that
I have to start paying more attention to social media -- and I am already
profiting from doing so. Based on a survey of 3,000 marketers, the report gives
you a big-picture, bird's-eye view of the growing effectiveness of social media
marketing and how marketers are using it to make more money.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Book of the month***
I've written a book on how to create an annual marketing plan. But
consultant Mark Satterfield may have done me one better with the weekly
marketing plain described in his new book "The One-Week Marketing
Plan" (BenBella Books, 2014).
Mark's new 303-page hardcover book lays out a step-by-step
marketing system you can put in place in just 5 days to get a consistent stream
of new business. The components of the one-week plan include: choosing your
niche market, creating a free offer, drip marketing messages, traffic building,
video marketing, blogging, social media, and more. Click here to order:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***And another Book of the Month....***
I am also reading "Hormegeddon: How Too Much of a Good Thing
Leads to Disaster," by Bill Bonner of Agora Publishing. It's a Malcolm
Gladwell style think piece against collectivism. Most of the text is devoted to
showing that when collectives (large groups) are formed to achieve a goal, they
often or even usually fail spectacularly--and why. Read this book, and the next
time you want to form or join a committee, you wisely won't. I have always
loathed and avoided committees, and now thanks to Bill I know why.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Quotation of the month***
"Do fewer things and do them well. Focus on the things only
you can do. Do the important things which must be done now." --Eric Barker
Source: Early to Rise, 4/10/14.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***Our 60-second commercial***
Bob Bly is available on a limited basis for copywriting of landing
pages, direct mail packages, video sales letters, brochures, white papers, ads,
e-mail marketing campaigns, PR materials, and Web pages. We recommend you call
for a FREE copy of our updated Copywriting Information Kit. Just let us know
your industry and the type of copy you're interested in seeing (ads, landing
pages, etc.) and if Bob is available to take on your assignment, we'll tailor a
package of recent samples to fit your requirements. Call Bob Bly at
973-263-0562 or e-mail rwbly@bly.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant
31 Cheyenne Dr.
Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562
Fax 973-263-0613
www.bly.com
Copywriter / Consultant
31 Cheyenne Dr.
Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562
Fax 973-263-0613
www.bly.com
If you liked this essay, and want to read 75 more just like it,
get my new book "Don't Wear a Cowboy Hat Unless You are a Cowboy -- and
Other Grumblings from a Cranky Curmudgeon," which you can order here:
Disclaimer:
The Direct Response Letter only recommends products that we've either
personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust.
For doing so, we receive a commission
******************************************************
Friday, October 24, 2014
BRANDING
Dear
Direct Response Letter Subscriber:
A classic
1960s ad aimed at getting marketing managers to advertise their company's
products in McGraw-Hill trade journals showed a picture of a dour-faced
purchasing agent:
The purchasing agent challenges the reader: "I don't know who you are. I don't know your company. Now, what is it you wanted to sell me?"
The increasing problem I see in much digital marketing today is pitches from companies and gurus who think I should buy their consulting services, seminar, boot camp, or training ... yet I have never heard of them.
So why would I think they know anything or have any interest in what they are peddling?
Obviously we are much more likely to buy from someone we know, like, and trust than from a total stranger.
Yet so much online advertising I see today is from total strangers making the arrogant assumption that I know who they are and have an interest in them and what they are selling.
In one recent e-mail, AS, a wanna-be guru, proclaimed himself to be "the world's #1 Internet marketing coach."
Well, unless he is Terry Dean, Fred Gleeck, Perry Marshall, or Rich Scheffren in disguise... he is most assuredly not the world's #1 Internet marketing coach.
The fact
that I have been in info marketing for decades but have never heard of him also
puts his claim on thin ice.
In this respect, digital and direct marketers can learn a thing or two from the branding people -- a group we direct marketers (me included) often view with contempt, because what they do seems to be all about image and not measurable.
But as Mary Ellen Tribby reminded her readers in a recent essay, brand advertising does have one powerful benefit: it gets the prospect to remember the product and the company selling it.
Intel and IBM made billions because they had built superior brands, not because they built superior technology. You trusted the brand. IT professionals have an old saying: "Nobody ever got fired for buying an IBM computer that didn't work."
Solopreneurs, self-employed professionals, consultants, speakers, and info marketers use a variation of Madison Avenue advertising some call "personal branding."
Personal branding is a combination of self-promotion tactics designed to boost your market's awareness of you.
These tactics can include but are not limited to: search engine optimization ... writing articles ... PR ... webinars ... white papers ... e-newsletters ... case studies ... blogs ... special reports ... books ... seminars ... speeches ... social media ... and many others.
The common thread of all these tactics is the central premise of personal branding, which is this: selectively disseminating how-to information on your area of expertise to your target market of potential clients or customers.
It is in
essence using content marketing to establish yourself as a recognized expert in
your field.
And it does work: Many of my copywriting clients have told me they had read my books and articles or heard me speak prior to hiring me. The vast majority of my info product buyers have read my articles in these twice-weekly e-mails, Target Marketing magazine, and other publications.
Sincerely,
Bob Bly
P.S. If you want to brand yourself, become known, and melt buyer resistance by being famous and respected in your niche, I immodestly recommend my best-selling home study course "Become an Instant Guru." Click here to find out more or preview the program risk-free for 90 days in the comfort and privacy of your home or office:
P.P.S. As
I have said many times in these e-mail essays, if you call yourself a guru or
Internet celebrity, you probably are not. If others say it about you -- well,
maybe you are. But just maybe.
Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant
31 Cheyenne Dr.
Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562
Fax 973-263-0613
www.bly.com
Copywriter / Consultant
31 Cheyenne Dr.
Montville, NJ 07045
Phone 973-263-0562
Fax 973-263-0613
www.bly.com
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