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PeteGodfrey.com

The Wizard of Words Copywriter & Sales Strategist

If Ever There Was A Secret To Success!May 28 2008

Wow, I got a lot of feedback from the last post and I appreciate it. Seems like a few readers have benefited from the advice by taking action and actually doing something with it. Well done! If ever there was a secret to success, there it is above.

Anyway, moving on…

The past couple of weeks have been one long slog. I felt like I was on a treadmill… jogging away and not getting any damn where. One job after another. Bang, bang, bang. Mainly seminar promotions. For myself and my clients. Frankly, I’ve barely had time to catch my breath.

But I made a vow recently about this blog.

I’m determined to get at least one post up per week. This way, every week you can tap into the power of Emotional Direct Response Marketing and Copywriting.

So I knew I had to get a post up today, not tomorrow.

But Monday is looming with two deadlines that have to be completed. And in the world I live in, you can’t get away with “the dog ate my lunch” kinda story, just won’t cut it.

Some deadlines are soft; meaning, they are not set in stone and you know you’ll have to make a few changes anyway.

Other deadlines are hard; meaning people are relying on you to get it done on that day and people are standing by, ready to implement. For Monday’s deadlines, my clients have got printers ready to print, web guys ready to upload my copy, and they are itching to launch their seminar

The Power of a Provocative QuestionMay 28 2008

You are just one sales letter away, heck, even one ad or headline away from riches. If you crack the code with a powerful headline the world truly can be your oyster. Because it’s your headline that will make the difference between a loser and an off-the-wall WINNER. And one way to come up with a dynamite headline and instantly hook your reader is by using a provocative question.

Years ago, I came across this headline in an old Dan Kennedy newsletter…

“How Much Younger Do You Want To Look?”

It was an ad for cosmetic dentistry.  Below the headline was a before and after shot. Powerful stuff.

And I’ve adapted that headline many times over the years with great results for my clients.

“How Much Better Do You Want To Feel?”
“How Much Energy Can You Handle?”
“How Much Happier Do You Want To Be?”

If you really know your market, their thoughts, fears, wants, desires and so on, these kinds of headlines break through the clutter. Instead of promising one over-the-top benefit after another, you are focusing on your prospect’s emotions. This gets past the “Yeah sure” response you get when you have merely benefit-driven headlines.

It also gets under your prospects’ BS detectors and hones in on their feelings.

Here are three more templates you can use…

Tired of the same old….?

Isn’t it time you….?

Isn’t it time you did something for yourself for a cha

The Fear of Loss is More Powerful Than The Hope For Gain!May 21 2008

The headline above has been drummed into my head since I first started writing copy over a decade ago. If you study guys like Kennedy, Halbert and Carlton, as I do, you know these guys really get it.

So if you’re a student of Emotional Direct Response, you know this.

You know in reality, people would much rather save something they’ve already got, than get something they want. It’s hardwired into our heads.

So if you’re a student, you know this already.

But do you really get it?

Is this undisputed fact of human behaviour permanently imprinted into your mind? If not, then this is my objective here. To show you how to always be aware of this fact, but also to show you how to craft compelling copy that targets this primeval emotion, what we call, the fear of loss.

(I hope by now, as an astute reader of this blog, you realise the BIG POINTS I make here, the ones I want to really ram home to you, are the exact same BIG POINTS  I keep reminding myself on. By reminding you, I’m reminding me. And being astute, I bet you’ve got a notebook beside you, a BIG IDEA book you’re writing all of these lessons down in. You are, aren’t you?)

Anyway, I was going through an old Jerry Buchanan newsletter the other day (Jerry was a famous old info marketer from way back), when I came across an example of fear of loss that really struck home.

Jerry was commenting on a

Do you really have to under-go a near-death experience to become a street-savvy Marketer?January 16 2008

Tuesday, 10.38 am, Mackay, Tropical North Queensland, Australia

G’day…

I was talking to a client on the phone a while ago and he said something that took me back a little and got me thinking. And I thought I’d share it with you here because it makes a good point and really rams home what this marketing game is all about.

Anyway, my client simply said: “I like the way you can nail my problems… you’re always thinking outside of the box.”

That’s it, that’s all he said.

So it wasn’t as if it was anything earth shattering. But to me it hit home.

Anyway I started thinking: “Well that’s because I’ve never been inside any box. I’ve always been standing on the outside looking in.” (And for all those Cold Chisel fans out there, what a song that was hey?) Instead, I replied to my client: “Well thanks… but that’s what you’re paying me for.” Or something like that anyway.

My point is; I bring a lot more to the table than just my copywriting skills. (And stay with me…this about YOU not me.) I packed a whole lot of living in my first 35-odd years. (Some would say too much… but hey, I can’t change history.)

I’ve tasted the extremes of emotions from despair to sheer and utter bliss. I tasted the adrenalin rush of fast bikes and have been just a fraction-of-a-second away from certain death on more than one occasion. Crazy but true.