Month: December 2018

Why spellcheck might be killing your sales

conorkelLeave a comment

Here’s a strange story for you.

A few years ago a company called Porter Stansberry Research used a plain Jane video sales letter to sell a whopping $200M worth of subscriptions to their Investment Advisory.

The video was called End of America.

(You can watch it on YouTube if you’re curious.)

I mean this thing is ghetto.

It’s black and white, and conspicuous by its lack of images…in fact, there are no graphics at all, just words.

The late, great Eugene Schwartz, the Granddaddy of the modern copywriter was famous for saying:

“The ugly thing in the world of beauty stands out.”

(The video also tells a great story, topic for another time…)

Similarly, when most businesses are sending slick-looking, branded HTML newsletters with fancy graphics, your plain text emails complete with typos and all stand out.

I’d go as far as to say that trying to make your emails ‘professional’ is the kiss of death.

For one, professional is common, drab and uninteresting.  And it screams corporate – a good way to ensure no one cares about your emails.  Finally, many of the newsletters I review are busy, click-baited hot-messes that lack a clear call to action.

The best emails are simple and personal.

Like a message from a friend.

And most people that are not corporate mouthpieces write in a conversational tone, use imperfect grammar, and can’t spell worth a dime.

As hard as it will be for the graphic designers of the world to swallow, looking good and making sales – sometimes – are competing ideals.

To learn more about how my simple email system can generate a flood of new clients for you, mosey on over here to book your stress-free brainstorm call:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Happy Misspelling,

Conor Kelly

“The Muscle” @Marketing Muscle

A better brain when you bite this bitter bean

conorkelLeave a comment

Say my title six times in a row, fast.

I had fun with that one.

Why stop there?

That is not all.

I shall go full nerd, and to Dr. Seuss call…

As for the brain benefits, they’re a result of THIS bitter bean.

Click to allow images and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Chocolate

This bitter bean is chocolate.  My favorite (pictured) much too dark.

At 100% cacao its taste is more like chewing to chew bark.

Its benefits are many, a food fit for kings and queens.

We now turn our tale to the brain and amyloid precursor proteins.

(Ol’ Seuss never had to rime that one.)

“Explain,” you say?

I will not delay:

Amyloid precursor proteins are agents of cell repair, abundant in the brain.  After the age of 25, bits of these proteins break away and form plaque buildup in nerve axons and the synapses between cells, impeding the flow of neurochemicals much like plaque in the arteries impedes blood flow.

Over time, as this plaque accumulates, it gunks up the machinery and leads to a loss in cognition and memory – even Alzheimer’s.

Polyphenols, found in chocolate (black tea is another source) have been shown to prevent this plaque from forming.  The best chocolate is organic, of course.  It doesn’t have to be 100% cacao like my Gratitude above, but the higher the better.

I recommend two squares a day of the highest percentage you still enjoy.

There you have it.

A simple brain tip – sussed out and Seuss-ed out.

Don’t forget…

When biting a bitter bean has a better brain as a benefit…

That benefit is a boon to any bright, bold believer that bites this bitter bean.

: )

Happy Chocolate Eating,

Conor Kelly

P.S.  Find out how I get my clients 3x-10x their email marketing results using simple, fun emails like this one.  Join the many that have already jumped and subscribe to my NEW newsletter with tips on how to make more sales from email (click the link below and you’ll automatically be added):

=>Click here to get The Conz’ email marketing tips.

The #1 most important line in any email

conorkelLeave a comment

What is the most important line in any email?

I’ll give you a hint.

It’s NOT…

*your opener

*your subject line

*your call-to-action

Or even your link.

Would you like me to tell you what it is?

Ok, enough suspense.

The #1 most important part of any email is…

The sender’s name.

That’s right.

WHO the email is from matters more than almost anything else.

It’s not that things like subject lines aren’t important.  Indeed, if you know your market well (and you should) there are ways to make your subject lines almost impossible to ignore – like an itch they simply have to scratch.

But if your subscribers know, like, and trust YOU…

THAT’s what ultimately gets them to open your emails and devour your words like freshly baked cookies.

You see, intelligent email marketing is about the relationship.

And relationships are like bank accounts.

Every time you send a funny, inspiring, or personal note with a story, a relevant tip, or an interesting fact, you make a deposit.

(And the great thing about email is it’s easy to make REGULAR deposits.)

If all you do pitch, pitch, pitch… or you’re (gasp!) boring…or if your emails are about your product or service and not your reader’s problems… you make a withdrawal.  Then you risk your sendee losing interest or worse, tuning you out altogether.

On the other hand, when the relationship account is sporting a healthy balance, the people on your list who vibe with what you do will be delighted to see your name in bold when it pops up in their inbox.  “More cookies, yay!” is what bubbles up from their subconscious.

Then, not only are you welcome to send them more emails, but you can sell them more of your service or product via said emails.

See how that works?

That’s accounting I like.

Remember, lead with a giving hand and you won’t go too far from the mark.

Before you hit send, ask yourself, “Will this serve in some way”?

Happy Depositing,

Conor Kelly

P.S.  Find out how I get my clients 3x-10x their sales by sending simple fun emails like this one.  Schedule your Email Income Consultation today by replying to this email or going here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Confidence secrets of a 6-time Mr. Olympia

conorkelLeave a comment

Today, inspiration from an unlikely place…

The sport of professional bodybuilding.

When I first became interested in it, the guy at the top was 6-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates.  Widely credited with ushering in the ‘mass monster’ era of bodybuilding, Dorian brought to the stage a combination of dense muscle and conditioning (which means little-to-no fat or water retention under the skin, creating a peeled, anatomy chart look) that had never been seen before.

I recently came across a great interview with Dorian on YouTube.

In the interview, he’s asked about 8-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney.  At the time Dorian was coming up in the sport, Lee Haney had a lock on the title.  A living legend, he was arguably the greatest Mr. Olympia ever.

In a very telling segment, Dorian discusses the mental shifts that needed happen in order for him to believe he could unseat the ‘unbeatable’ Haney, a man he considered his idol.

The first was to give up this idol-worship.

He took this opportunity when he won his first big pro show.  He started asking himself, “why not?”  “Why couldn’t I beat him”?  In any achievement, that’s step one.  You see, often we want things for our lives – big things – and we get hung up on the question of *how*.  But this only makes those big things seem bigger.

What you should ask yourself instead is *why not*?

Admitting, as a bare minimum, that your goal is possible releases the big R – Resistance – and frees you to entertain new *how’s* you didn’t previously see.

The second confidence shift was a by-product of his preparation.

In Dorian’s words:

One thing I can guarantee is he does not train as hard as me.  He does not dedicate himself as much as me.  How do I know that?  Because it’s not possible.  It’s not possible to be training harder, or more consistently, or more dedicated than me, because I couldn’t give a single ounce more to any aspect of this thing that I’m doing.  So that makes me feel pretty powerful and pretty confident.  Because I know other people are slacking – sometimes.

Here’s what I love about this:

It’s 100% PROCESS FOCUSED.

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the best way to reach your goals is to not have goals – at least not ones that are tied to outcomes.  Have an intention, or a vision of where you want to go.  Then, make your goals about things you can control.

You have zero control over what happens.

But you have at least some control over what you DO.

In 2006, when I finally ditched the fat suit I’d donned for ten years, losing over 30 pounds in four months, I didn’t once look in the mirror during that time.

Instead, I put my head down, attacked the process, and didn’t come up for air until four months later.

I made it my sole preoccupation to do everything I possibly could, training and diet-wise, and to leave no T uncrossed and no I un-dotted.

And boy did it work.

By the time I emerged from this deep dive into my plan I didn’t look like the same person.  And in only four months.  You could have stuck me on a conveyor belt that turns out lean bodies, if there was such a thing, and the effect would have been much the same.

I’m not saying what you want will happen in four months.  Whatever transformation you seek could take 6 months…two years.  Forget about the timeline.  Again, it’s counter-intuitive, but renouncing your attachment to outcomes often speeds up the result.

Instead, put your blinders on, and dominate your path.

This is not about perfection.

It’s about focus.

Simply give no time, attention, or energy to anything other than doing the best you can do – on the things you can control – at any given moment.  Do this moment well…and then the next…and then the next…things will turn out fine.

There is PEACE in the process.

There is POWER in the process.

YOUR CONFIDENCE is in the process.

Embrace it.

Dorian Yates never did beat Lee Haney.  He placed second to him in 1991.  Then, Haney retired.  Would he have beaten him?  We’ll never know.  But it was Dorian’s willingness to ask *why not* and his utterly ruthless dedication to the process that delivered him his own lock on the title for six years – and legendary status in the sport he loves.

Happy Process-Focusing,

Conor Kelly

P.S. You can check out Dorian Yates comments on Lee Haney here (very revealing):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVYIcigwPok

P.P.S .  According to McKinsey, you are 40x more likely to get a client with email than with social media.  For tips on how to get more clients with email, click here.