Tag: copywriting

Goofy’s entire family may be dead

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It’s sad to think about…

But according to a reliable source, i.e. the internet, it’s entirely plausible that Goofy – yes that Goofy, Disney character – suffered the tragic loss of his wife and most of the members of his extended family.

Why do I bring this up?

My subject line is the title of an article I came across a while back.

And I thought it was clever.

(The rest of the article is pretty amusing too.  You can find it via “the” Google if you’re interested.  It seems in cartoons during the fifties Goofy had a wife, but when Disney rebooted the character in the nineties with Goof Troop, he was found to be raising his son alone.  No explanation offered.  This prompted speculation online about her fate, and the fate of other family members who, similarly, are hinted at but never make an appearance.)

Back to the article’s title.

It implies tongue-in-cheek humor, curiosity…even a pinch of dread.

I mean, how does a cartoon character, let alone a Disney one, wind up with a biography like that?

Titles, like email subject lines, are meant to entice you to read on.

The best ones evoke an emotional reaction of some kind, just like you probably smirked a little or went “wtf?” when you read the subject of my email just now.

Anyway, something to ponder as you dream up your own subject lines, titles, and headlines.

If you’d like to go a bit deeper, I’ve included a brief article below (only about 500 words) that deconstructs this further by peering into deceptive media headlines.

And if you’d like a few simple formulas  for how to write subject lines and headlines that are almost impossible to ignore, my book Stealth Email Secrets is filled with concrete examples that can make your life easier (and more profitable) when it comes to marketing.

Get your copy here:

–>The Simplest System Ever Created For Writing High-Converting Emails On Command.

Until next time…

Happy Enticing,

Conor Kelly

 

A Copywriter’s Rules To Avoid Being “Duped” By Headlines

If you’d like to know a professional copywriter’s insider secrets to avoid being misled by the media’s headlines, then you might find this brief article fascinating.

You see, copywriters, like journalists, spend a lot of time breaking down, analyzing and learning how to write compelling headlines. This puts us in a unique position to understand what makes them “tick”.

The first rule is simply to not be confused about a headline’s purpose. Just like direct-response copywriters need people to read our sales offers, journalism is a business first and foremost. Media outlets need eyeballs on their content.

The headline’s job is not to inform. Rather, the job of any headline is to capture attention with the goal of getting you to read, watch, or listen to the story or message, nothing more. For this reason, there must be some important context which is left out; otherwise, why would you need to go deeper?

When you remember that headlines deliberately leave out details which are explained in the body of the article, and that these details provide necessary context, you’ll read openers with a more critical eye. The problem is most people don’t read whole articles; instead, they scan headlines, which can only give you an incomplete picture.

It’s also important to note headlines that do their job well typically pack an emotional punch. This often requires drama, a hint of the sensational, curiosity, wrenching on powerful emotions like fear and outrage, or some combination of the above.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples in health reporting:

One is from The Toronto Star, Just 60 Seconds of Intense Exercise Can Boost Your Fitness Level. Why is this a solid appeal? The idea of getting fitter with such a small amount of exercise sounds counter intuitive, for one. That contrast serves up a little curiosity already baked in. It also speaks to the fantasy people have of getting fit more easily, or faster.

In the article, the study compared 10 minutes of interval training with 45 minutes of traditional cardio for its effects on V02 max. However, V02 max is only one small parameter of fitness. Even the study’s author said that “60 seconds is all you need” was not the right conclusion to draw, contrary to what the article’s headline implies.

The second is a press release entitled, Exercise, More Than Diet, Key To Preventing Obesity. The attention-grabbing features here are (i) “Key to preventing obesity” is a dramatic claim. Most people know obesity is a big problem. Also (ii) “Exercise vs. Diet” is an ongoing debate, so it’s topical.  But guess what?  The study wasn’t an even an obesity study. It examined metabolic indicators in rats to determine the impact of exercise on metabolism…independently of weight loss.

It’s also wise to inspect the source of the headline. Do they have an agenda? Truly objective reporting is an endangered species in today’s business and political ecosystem.

Bottom line: there’s an art to writing headlines that seduce people away from other stuff they could be doing and effectively “steal” their attention. With the tips in this article you’ll be better able to resist their subtle persuasion tactics.

When a headline hits you in the gut, let that be your cue to have a peak beneath the surface and scan the article or content. More often than not, you’ll discover some detail missing from the headline that can lessen its impact.

The New Zealand Web Conversion Secret

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A while back, The Muscle got props from a client re: one of his website critiques.

This client went as far as to say, “I received more than 10X the amount of value from Conor’s 30-minute video than I did from 3 full days at the [insert guru name here] copywriting workshop.”

I remarked on how that wasn’t all that surprising given I’d had a similar experience.

Here’s how I described it:

******

About ten years back I hired a copywriter/web conversions expert to critique my website.  Unless I’m mistaken, I paid him all of $275USD.  And it was honestly some of the best marketing training I’ve ever received.

Many of its lessons have stuck with me ever since.

******

A big reason for that is having a set of trained eyes pick apart your webpage (and make suggestions you then have to figure out how to implement) is more concrete than broad strategies or tactics.

Which leads me to the punchline:

That copywriter’s name is…drum roll please…Bnonn Tennant.  Bnonn is also a copywriting coach and web designer who helps you convert more of your website’s visitors to customers.

And even though you’ve probably never heard of him, he’s 100% brilliant at what he does.

He’s quarantining currently in scenic New Zealand (about 30 minutes away from Hobbiton…no joke) where he resides with his wife Smokey The Magnificent (as he calls her) and his “indeterminate” number of kids.

Well, Bnonn and I recently reconnected.

See, I wanted to find a way to introduce you to his “attention-thievery”, if for no other reason than I think you’ll benefit from knowing him.

Here’s what we came up with:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

When you travel to the web address over yonder, you’ll be prompted to type in your email address to be entered into a draw for a free SCOUR audit (A $299 Value).

This is the exact same lovely service that Bnonn performed for me all those many years ago, and that I subsequently raved about.

According to the man himself:

“The audit will work for any page: a homepage, a landing page, an opt-in page, a sales page, a product page—the framework is specifically designed to be flexible enough that it will work on whatever page represents the biggest potential lift for you.  Your audit will be 15–25 minutes of clear, concrete advice on changes you can make to the page’s layout, look, and content, to lift your conversion rate.”

(Side note: Bnonn has a gift for presenting his tips in a memorable way.  Plus, the charming accent doesn’t hurt.)

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can watch an actual video of one such audit he did for a client.  Even if you don’t go for the draw I urge you to check it out; lots of marketing insights in that simple video.

Finally, when you enter you’ll also be added to Bnonn’s email list, which – listen to me now, believe me later – is a GOOD thing.

He’s one of the few marketers whose content I readily look forward to both ingesting and learning from.

Here’s that link once more:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

You’re welcome. 😉

Happy Auditing,

Conor Kelly

Naked Baby Doll’s gastronomic adventure

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All of this lately reminds me of a story.

At the time of the great Northeast blackout in ’03, I was renting a basement apartment from a Russian family in Richmond Hill.  They were sweet, red-cheeked little dumplings with much love for The Muscle.

Even had a pet name for me:

Pupsik.

It’s a Russian toy shaped like a naked baby.

(Don’t ask.)

Many stores were closed due to the power outage, so they insisted I come upstairs for a bite.   The family’s Babushka (Grandmother) brought forth a large crystal plate.  From what I could tell, it contained a gelatin substance with random floating chunks of mystery meat (which I later discovered is traditionally pig’s feet, cow’s feet, or chicken feet).

[Akwardly] Ah ha ha!  Yummy…

Being the Canadian paragon of politeness that I am, I powered through.  I took spoon to splotch, and went at it like a champ.  And with my eyes watering from suppressing the gag reflex, I politely asked for more bread, hoping to relieve some of the violent siege on my senses.

During this gustatory power struggle, I noticed the oldest son downing the meat-flavored jell-o like it was chocolate cake.  “What the…?  Is he enjoying this??”  I thought, as I nodded, forced a smile with high eyebrows, and flashed a thumbs up.

That experience drove home for me how varied taste can be.

Same basic DNA shared between us…but our amigos in other cultures will gladly shovel into their mouths forkfuls of fat which we’d normally discard AND vaporize with dish cleaners powerful enough to thin paint.

What does this have to do with you?

First, it’s just an entertaining story.

And we could all use more of those right now.

Second, the most common objection I get when encouraging business owners to up the frequency of their emails is,

“But I don’t want to annoy my customers.”

Here’s the thing:

It depends WHAT you’re sending them.

If you’re serving up the equivalent of ‘Mousse au animal-foot-fetish’ to North Americans, per above…then yes, more is not better.  But consider a different example:  Imagine your favorite food is chocolate chip cookies.  And every day I show up to your house in the afternoon with one freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, just how you like it.

How quickly are you going to love seeing me and hearing from me?

The point is to send them emails they like.

Then you almost can’t send them too many.

With that in mind, if you’d like a simple system for writing emails that your subscribers love reading AND buying from, then my new book Stealth Email Secrets might just keep you teetering on the edge of your seat.

It reveals no less than seven “magic” formulas to write emails that let you make more sales (and build more customer loyalty) at the push of a button. (HINT: I’m using one right now.)

And if you buy it now and turn to page 52, I show you a little-used secret that, if you do it correctly, can make your emails almost impossible to ignore.  In fact, if you’re not currently doing this, chances are good you are losing readers every time you hit ‘send’.

Grab your copy from Amazon to read about this secret today:

Click here to get your copy of Stealth Email Secrets.

Also, I just knocked 40% off the price of the paperback (Kindle is just $9.99).

Personally, I’d always rather have a physical book in my hands.

Call me old-fashioned.

I know you might prefer that too and understand many folks are tightening their purse strings right now so figured I’d help out.  I also know that for some this could be potentially business-saving information.  You can thank me by leaving an absolutely glowing review, should you feel so inclined. 😉

However, I won’t be keeping the price this low forever.

Don’t wait, get your copy now so you don’t miss out:

Order Stealth Email Secrets from Amazon.

And if you’re ever confronted with intestinal Russian roulette like I was, remember: loads of bread and water, minimal chewing, and SMILE…you can do this!

Happy Baking,

Conor “Naked Baby Doll” Kelly

Books to help you beat worry, anxiety, and stress

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Give the ol’ newsfeed a rest and feast your weary eyes upon these lovelies instead.

Here for your viewing pleasure are a few tomes that inform my own approach to managing stress, anxiety, and worry:

1. Grow Rich With Peace Of Mind by Napoleon Hill

This is my #1 Napoleon Hill offering.

His book Think & Grow Rich gets a lot more press (and is the best-selling personal development book of all time) but I like “With peace of mind” even more.  Hill was in his eighties when he penned this one, had lived through more ups and downs by then, and the hard won wisdom it reveals practically leaps off every page.

It’s also more concise, and his list of 43 characteristics of the ‘man who is consistently himself’ (Note it was published in 1967 – there’s good advice for the ladies here too) is one of the best things I’ve seen.

2. How To Stop Worrying And Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Again, Dale Carnegie is probably more famous for his How To Win Friends And Influence People, but I can’t get enough of this book.  I’ve given it to clients and they’ve made it mandatory bed time reading too.

Each chapter is easy to follow and it’s filled with great stories and examples of folks thriving by using these principles.

It was first published in 1944, so another one that’s stood the test of time.

3. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Speaking of being tested by time…

Now we go back even farther.

Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher and the emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD.  If you’ve seen Gladiator, he was the old emperor killed by his son Commodus at the start of the movie.

This one’s an outlier because it was probably never intended by its author to be a coherent whole.  It’s more like a collection of his notes that were compiled and published after his death.

Some say it’s cynical but I don’t agree.

Many of its ideas are based in Stoicism, and are all about practicing acceptance, not getting attached to things, and focusing on becoming the best version of yourself – all viewpoints which, if you embrace them as your daily MO, can make you almost “worry-proof”.

4. Biographies.

This one’s more of a category than a specific book.

One of the reasons I love reading biographies is they grant you such a long-term perspective.   You can read about a person’s life and all the setbacks they overcame.  And you can read about a life in another time.  Often reminds me there’s nothing new under the sun.

Every age has its shocks.

The world keeps ticking on.

In fact, Warren Buffet makes a practice of reading old newspapers for the same reason.  He says looking at long gone, sensationalist headlines about events that are now mere echoes in time keeps him grounded.

My favorite biography (and perhaps my favorite book) is Titan, the biography of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow.  I also loved Nelson Mandela’s autobiography A Long Walk To Freedom and the Walter Isaacson biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Something about getting lost in these amazing, epochal lives leaves me with a persistent sense of calm.

On a different-but-related note, having a solid plan for a free marketing channel (that more than 60% of business owners rate as their most profitable) could also give you a leg up on the next few months, as life burps and sways its way back toward normal.

Hence, I recommend my new book Stealth Email Secrets.

It reveals for the first time the complete email marketing system I use to increase sales and customer loyalty for my clients.  I honestly believe anyone can use this system to sell more of ANY product or service, in ANY economy.  You can read it in a single afternoon and start using its secrets to make more sales as soon as tomorrow, if you want.

(Plus it’s just an entertaining/informative read per my usual muscular style.)

Available in Kindle or paperback, you can grab your copy from Amazon:

Click here to get The Muscle’s NEW book.

Also, I just knocked 40% off the price of the paperback (Kindle is just $9.99).

Personally, I’d always rather have a physical book in my hands.  Call me old-fashioned.  I know you might prefer that too and understand many folks are tightening their purse strings right now so figured I’d help out.  I also know that for some this could be potentially business-saving information.

You can thank me by leaving an absolutely glowing review, should you feel so inclined. 😉

However, I won’t be keeping the price this low forever.

Be sure to grab your copy TODAY so you don’t miss it:

Get my Stealth Email Secrets book for 40% OFF.

Well, there you go.

Books to lighten the load, as it were.

I hope they’ll be as good to you as they’ve been to me.

Happy Stress-Busting,

Conor Kelly

[PHOTO] Are you missing this crucial piece in your marketing?

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IMG_1957

Take a minute and read the ad above.

This one caught my eye while riding the subway the other day.

Can you tell what’s missing?

Let’s come back to that.

First, the good (or at least decent):

Not a bad headline, although it could probably be better.  The “Did you know” with the statistic used is what I call a ‘catch all’.  It paints with a broad stroke how the ad’s content could be relevant to anyone on the train.  The amazon review is also a great way to do social proof.  And I like the “common causes of dehydration” as it supports the claim in the headline.

Subconsciously, riders are reading this going, “I travel, I drink…maybe I’m dehydrated.”

Now the bad and the ugly:

What’s being promised here?  There’s no real benefit.

For starters, dehydration can lead to fatigue, poor mental performance, higher toxicity, faster aging of skin, headaches, dizziness, poor digestion and…wait for it…a slow metabolism.  You can’t stop at telling them why they’re dehydrated.  You’ve got to connect the dots for them so they know precisely what it means.

Better hydrated they can:

Boost energy…

Look younger…

Think better…

They’re in dehydration ‘hell’ right now.

Show them heaven.

Heck, you might even drink more water today just based off my short paragraph of ‘harms’ above.  Those could easily be bullet points in the ad and would not take up much space.

No doubt you can see how any of the above might give this puppy an ROI-enhancing facelift.

But the simple 5-minute “trick” that will juice up the response from this ad without changing anything else?

Survey says…

Having a call to action.

What do they want us to DO here?

Not clear at all.

Sure, the Amazon review would suggest you could find the product there, but that’s simply too much homework to lay on people who are rushed, distracted by their phones, or merely avoiding making eye contact.  Even “Visit this website” with a URL would probably beat what’s there now.  A web address with a promo code to get a limited-time discount…even better.

And maybe a QR code so they could scan a digital coupon direct to their phone.

Which leads me to the rub:

If there’s any confusion about what action you want your prospects to take in your ads, your emails, or when landing on your website, guess what?  You’re that much less likely to get any action whatsoever.  Don’t leave it to them to put two and two together.  Tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do.

Spurn this advice at your ownrisk.

Those are just a few potential ‘upgrades’ that jumped out at me while staring at this ad for a few minutes between Ossington and Bay stations on Toronto’s Bloor line.

Imagine what I could do if I had two solid hours to spend on your marketing. 😉

With that in mind, if you’d like me to perform one of my signature Mini Power Critiques on your website (or your sales letter, or your email campaign) here’s how it works:

I spend a couple of hours on your website then I send you detailed notes, along with a screen capture video, that outlines every last one of my recommendations to help you get more conversions, leads and customers – and jack up the ROI you get from any advertising you currently do.  I’ll even throw in suggestions for taglines, headlines, bullets, or other hooks that’ll inevitably occur to me.

The cost for this goodness is just $275USD.

And if your pulse is not already a bit faster, here’s what I’ll do:

If you book (and pay for) your website critique before Friday March 6th at 6PM, and you end up hiring me to do a re-write, I’ll credit this amount toward my fee.  In that sense, you’ll have gotten to drink of the fruit of my knowledge for free.

If you’re interested, go to my calendar below and book a time to tell me a little about your business, your current situation, and the item you’d like reviewed and we’ll take it from there:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

That does it for today’s muscular installment.

Mind ye this hallowed rule:

Let no marketing leave the door WITHOUT a call to action.

Happy Commuting,

Conor Kelly

 

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“With just a few short questions Conor was able to come up with a marketing plan that’s perfectly customized to my goals and my strengths.  He’s very knowledgeable, and has great instincts!”

–Amirali Rahnamoon, Osteopath at IN and OUT Fitness

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#1 most common web copy mistake 90% of businesses make

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Here’s one you can really sink your teeth into.

When I first started my personal training business back in ’08 my tagline was The Most Complete Personal Training Program In Toronto.  I dropped this bad boy in the header on my website, on my business cards, and in my brochures.

It was also the theme of my “elevator pitch” if I cornered you face to face.

See I wanted prospects to know I’m not like other trainers.  I wasn’t just going to put you through a workout, I was going to coach you on everything you need to reach your fitness goals; weight training, cardio, nutrition, supplementation, flexibility work.

It was a valid sentiment.

That IS what most people need to get results, after all.

Trouble was, nobody cared how “complete” or “comprehensive” my program was.  They just wanted their clothes to fit better, to not break into a profuse sweat from climbing two flights of stairs, to not feel so lethargic all the time, etc.

All the other stuff I could do was nice.

But it didn’t speak to them (much).

Any time I lobbed across my humdinger of a tagline the most reaction I’d get would be a blank stare, a nod, or an “ok”.

Later, after I’d educated myself a bit more, I went this instead:

“Transform Your Body In 16 Weeks”

At the time I was doing a lot of google ads so I split-tested this one against “most complete”.  “Transform” more than doubled my conversions.  In conversation, it was night and day too.  When I’d hand someone a business card they’d read it and go, “Transform in 16 weeks…ooh, that’s what I need, tell me more about that.”

To my lovely point:

My tale today is a fine illustration of using BENEFITS vs. FEATURES in your marketing.

The ‘completeness’ of my program is a feature.

The transformation of your body (in 16 weeks no less)…that’s a benefit.

And it’s ultimately the benefit that your prospects are after.

Remember…

People buy outcomes.

They don’t care what fancy new laser technique you’re using…they want to know you can get rid of their plantar fasciitis.  It’s not all the different traffic sources you can teach them about…it’s getting more new customers.  They’re not thinking about how many ‘functional training’ courses you’ve taken, they want to lose body fat and feel more confident.

Now they may appreciate those other things later.

But they’re not generally walking around with them in their heads or staring holes in the ceiling at night thinking about them.

In all the website critiques I do this is probably the #1 most common mistake I see.  You can’t glance at the homepage without getting an eyeful of “what’s IN the product” but you’ve got to scroll through endless drop down menus before you find out “what it DOES for you”.

Let that percolate a little.

And if you’d like The Muscle to perform one of my Mini Power Critiques on your website (or your sales letter, or your email campaign) here’s what’s involved:

I spend a couple of hours on your website, and research your market.

Then I send you detailed notes – along with a screen capture video – that outline every last one of my muscular recommendations to help you (note these benefits) improve your web conversions, get more new leads and customers, and boost the ROI you get from any advertising you currently do.  This includes a few suggestions for taglines, headlines, bullets, or other hooks that inevitably occur to me in the process.

And the cost for all this making your life easier and more fun?

Just $275USD.

To make her even more of a peach, here’s what I’ll do:

If you book (and pay for) your website critique before Friday March 6th at 6PM, and you end up hiring me to do a re-write, I’ll credit this amount toward my fee for the rewrite.

In that sense, you will have gotten to drink of the fruit of my knowledge for FREE.

If you’re interested, saddle up and trot along to the enticing link below to explore my calendar and book some time to tell me a little about your business, your current situation, and the item you’d like reviewed:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

We’ll take it from there.

Happy Benefit-Highlighting,

Conor Kelly

P.S. Here’s what one client had to say about my Mini Power Critiques:

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“I recently attended a 3-day ‘copywriting workshop’ with one of the industry leading copywriters… not long after, I had Conor do one of his signature 30-minute copywriting evaluations for one of our clients and I can tell you with absolute certainty that I received more than 10X the amount of value from Conor’s 30-minute video than I did from 3 full days at the copywriting workshop.” -Matt Morse

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Use this ancient martial arts secret for writing persuasive copy

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True story:

Fourteen years ago I was a bouncer at the largest night club in Toronto.

Because of the sheer numbers of people we dealt with, the club had a reputation for hiring giant men to do security.  Which makes perfect sense; if most of your bouncers look like ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones, you’ve got yourself a compelling deterrent against would-be troublemakers.

Interestingly, our head of security was a relatively small Korean guy called Jung Ho.

At 5’8” and I’d guess 165 pounds, Jung was not very physically imposing…

But he could single-handedly clear out a room of roided-up college football players.

He generally didn’t get involved, but if he did, you understood pretty quickly why he was in charge.

You see, Jung had his own dojo.  He was a master of a martial art called Hapkido.  Hapkido is based on foot work, leverage, pressure points, and uses its opponent’s strength against him.  In this way, Jung overcame his size disadvantage.  In fact, the more you struggled, the more Jung was in control.

He was adept at steering natural forces.

That’s how I view copywriting.

Your prospects already have certain ways of thinking about their problems.

And specific words they’d use to describe them.

It’s the research you do that lets you hone in on and spotlight those key ideas, phrases, and emotions.  As email marketing grand poobah Ben Settle says about the market intel  you dig up: “Realize it’s energy coming at you.”  The trick then, is to reflect back this energy in a way that causes them to perk up, listen, and understand their own problem (and hopefully your solution) so clearly they’re compelled to do something about it.

When they do, the sales dynamic is entirely different.

You’re in the driver’s seat, baby.

They’re putty in your hands, like drunk sophomores are to Jung Ho.

You can have great punches, kicks, or throws (i.e. great at what you do), but as long as you’re the aggressor (out there “pitching”, bleh), you’re working too hard, and you’re not seeing enough new greenbacks marching through the door each month.

If you’d like my help with becoming the black belt that skillfully parries market demand into new prospects or customers, you may enter The Muscle’s dojo by requesting your Free Brainstorm Call here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Spot open for only 1 new client only this month – so if you’re interested, make haste.

Until then…

Happy Redirecting,

Conor Kelly

Kobe Bryant’s most underrated success secret

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Still processing this news.

My main reaction is shock.

Kobe was one of those larger-than-life entities that seemed to be almost omni-present.  At least to me.  It’s surreal to think that he won’t be around anymore.  Then there’s sadness.  We’re the same age.  I have a daughter.  That his is gone – so young – is heartbreaking.  I feel for his family, and the families of the other victims that have been devastated by this tragedy.

Honestly, I don’t know where to file this one.

It’s like the circuitry in my brain is missing the connections to make sense of something like this.

At the same time it’s so fascinating to hear all the stories about him.

Many reflect his kindness, his sense of humor, his curiosity, his intelligence.  Most exalt his work ethic.  And this is just my observation, but few reflect what I think was perhaps his most important quality that we all can learn from: his confidence.

In some of the stories this was even a knock on him when he first came in the league, because he kept saying what he was going to do, and people around him didn’t like that.

Our culture praises humility.

Until you do what you say you’re going to do, you’re cocky.

Once you’ve done it…well, now you’re confident.

But here’s the thing:

From everything I’ve heard, he just had this enduring faith in the process.  Without it, those 4:30am workouts of legend wouldn’t have been possible.  Trusting the process is the root of confidence.  It’s in the process that we develop skill and mastery.

It would do us all well to remember that.

(This is a “note to self” for me as much as I offer it to you.)

Harv Ecker once said:

If a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be ten feet tall!

Small thinking is a disease.

Kobe was one of the lucky ones born without it.  That, together with his intuitive understanding that time and encouraging the natural process of GROWTH to work its magic can win championships (and do many other great things) led him to have an unshakeable belief in what’s possible.

What an example to follow.

R.I.P.

Remember, great athletes don’t have a lock on this.

There’s no reason you can’t use this “secret” too.

I’ll leave you with what Kobe said to a young female sports reporter when she interviewed him at the outset of his career.  No one knew him yet.  And she wasn’t well known either and struggling for respect in an industry dominated by men.

He said to her:

“We’re gonna be ok.  And they have no idea what’s coming.”

To Your Greatness,

Conor Kelly

Legend of the chronic email under-communicator

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“With a prospect standing before him, would you confine [a salesman] to any certain number of words?  That would be an unthinkable handicap.  So it is in advertising.  The only readers we get are people who our subject interests.  No one reads ads for amusement, long or short.  Give them enough to take action.”  — Claude Hopkins, Scientific Advertising

Let me tell you a quick story about a client I fired last year.

This was not the reason for the firing.

(There were other factors in the decision.)

Anyway, here’s the gist of it:

He was the type who, in the name of not spending a lot of time writing emails (and in his case I think some of it was signaling he’s a big shot who has better things to do), would rarely offer more than short, sometimes one-word responses.

No punctuation, of course.

Perhaps you’ve encountered such a creature?

Ultimately he was shooting himself in the foot because no one could understand what he wanted.  And besides that it usually required multiple follow up emails to get that clarity, when it easily could have been spelled out with that first touch.

Indeed, some of his worst sins of under-communication included:

*Not making clear which project he was talking about

*Responding only partially to emails with multiple questions within them

*Never saying “please” or “thank you”

*Completely not responding to emails, even when you’re unable to move forward without his direction

I remember working with some other contractors and partners of his and them going, “What’s with the cryptic emails”?

Thus, the rub:

Confused people don’t take action.

I’ve often heard this imperative from clients, “It’s good but can we make it shorter?”  The problem with catering to short attention spans is you risk some of your point getting lost in translation.   To the right prospect, your copy can’t be too long, only too boring.

As long as you’re speaking to their self-interest, and sprinkling a bit of drama and contrasting ideas throughout, and entertainment, you want as many words as necessary to make the sale.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to be said for simple and concise language; especially in their inbox where ignoring you is a simple as hitting the delete button.  But don’t let the call to brevity cut off your sales message at the knees.

If you’d like my help with striking the right balance in your sales letters or emails, good news:

I have a spot open for a new client next month.

Ride the information superhighway over here to peep my calendar and schedule a time to talk:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

We can even keep it short.

Just not too short.

Happy Communicating-In-Full,

Conor Kelly

Polite Canadian protests politely

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A while back, one Canuck subscriber wriggled free of the bonds of decorum long enough to question my muscular ways:

“I noticed you go for a lot of US content, popular references, etc. but I’m in Thornhill [an area just North of Toronto].  Wouldn’t it make more sense to segment US vs. Canada so it feels more personal to me?”

Well spotted my warmth-deficient friend.

Here’s what that’s all ‘a-boot’.

Most of my clients and subscribers (about 70%) are US based.

Setting aside that to segment peeps by their IP address would be so highly impractical that it would scarcely be worth the time and aggravation…and the fact that the only folks still left on the planet that don’t understand what a broadcast email is are sequestered in remote tribes in Madagascar…

‘Tis a worthy intention to keep the feel personal.

To that end:

Always write to your main buyer.

Look, most businesses have a variety of buyers, it’s true.  But there usually is one main type of buyer.  And it’s a common mistake to try appeal to your various market segments by using general language.  Yes, you want it to resonate…with your most rabid customers.

They’re the target.

It’s one reason why I do a “customer prototype” with every new client and drill down on how old they are, their level of education, their gender, etc.  If most of the buyers are women, I’ll write in a way women would relate to – even if men buy too.  Or if I know my audience is older, I’ll avoid colloquialisms or popular references that might leave them scratching their heads and slow the momentum of our sales message.

And what if some buyers that don’t fall into this esteemed category?

If they’re otherwise qualified and interested in your offers I can assure you they’re not getting much acid reflux over it.

But thereby your main crowd…

Your lowest hanging fruit…

Your base…

…Is engaged.

There’s a lot more to this, but for now, thus is my muscular answer.

Take it for what it is.

Great news for those of you who have been asking:

I have an opening for a new client next month.  If you’re interested in my help with a website critique, some web copy, or an email campaign, no need to cross the border.  Simply visit this convenient link instead to see my calendar and schedule a time to talk:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

However, you can’t afford to drag your heels on this as I expect that spot to fill up quickly.

Until next time…

Happy Personalizing,

Conor Kelly