Tag: podcasting

How to make sales from stuff happening to you

conorkelLeave a comment

Alright, so this note is overdue.

I would have sent such lovely musings to your inbox sooner, but last week my thirty-eight-pound 1957 laptop finally up and died.

(‘Big Berta’.  May she rest in peace.)

Fine, she wasn’t quite that heavy.  Or that old.  But she did outlast many of her contemporaries.

Mercifully, I managed to pull off a daring rescue op to save my files from the brink of abyss.   So you need not worry; no client or personal content was harmed in the making of this email.

Anyway, the point of such shenanigans?

We’ve all been thwarted by technology.

And we understand what it’s like to have our grand plans mocked by the computer gods.

There’s an old saying that goes nothing bad ever happens to a writer.

Tales of woe like this one (and indeed better, more woeful ones) are relatable and can help frame almost anything your ambitious heart desires to sell.  One of the best ways to dream up stories to tell in your emails and your sales copy is simply to ask,

When did things go wrong?

Next, all you need to do is connect it to something you sell (like I’m doing here) and PRESTO.

You’re in business.

(And THAT’s turning a frown upside down.)

One of easiest examples of this is when I sold personal training and would tell of my own failures on the way to getting fit.  This story got main-stage billing on my website, in my emails, and in public speeches.  You’ve probably seen this done.  That’s because it works.

But don’t stop there.

All sorts of stories of things that happen to you can serve as fodder for emails and other sales copy.

Bottom line:

You almost can’t go wrong by keeping the conversation in your prospect’s ‘world’.

That means telling stories they can identify with.

And plenty of them.

When in doubt just use my handy question above and you’ll be well on your way.

That’s all for today.

GOOD NEWS for those who have been asking: I have an opening for a new client next month.  If you’d like to set a time to discuss having me write some copy for your website, or emails for your distinguished biz, shimmy on over here to book your Free Brainstorm Call:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

The standards of direct-response marketing would dictate I remind you it is urgent for you to take action on this today.

But I don’t know that.

I have no idea your current situation or whether it’s even a fit.

What I CAN say is I expect this spot to go fast, and I’m almost always booked several months in advance.

Therefore, if it be the case that you ARE interested, booking sooner rather than later would seem wise.

Until next time…

Happy Storytelling,

Conor Kelly

P.S. There is one particular story “type” which I’ve discovered (after testing it in about a dozen markets) that converts so well it gives you an almost unfair advantage over your competition.

Alas, I reserve such secrets for my clients.

To learn more, book your Free Brainstorm Call here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

I only have 1 spot open for a new client.

And time waits for no Sapien.

To hyperlink or not to hyperlink?

conorkelLeave a comment

That is the question today…

One interesting fact about the era we live in is how quickly the names of computer functions become verbs.

A point illustrated by my 7-year-old the other day when she misspoke and blurted out “Wait!  I need to backspace that” before correcting herself.

So in an attempt to remain cool in her eyes (although I’m reserving the right to make Dad jokes), we’re going to examine a question I got from a client about whether ‘tis nobler to ‘hyperlink’ your links vs. not hyperlinking.

If it’s not clear to you yet what I mean, here’s a conveniently self-promoting example.

A hyperlink would be if I were to ask you to:

Get Your Copy Of My Super-Cool, Outrageously Awesome Book Here.

(Which, ironically, is about selling with email by not using hype.  Ahem…)

VS.

Simply dropping in the real URL address, like so:

www.ConorKelly.com

Conventional wisdom would say that if you make your link a benefit-laden call-to-action, as in Get your free thingamajigger here, or Get the program at 96% off, or Double your sales with email, you’ve got a better shot at compelling the reader to take action.

Still others would argue that a plain old URL stands out.

It’s not congruent with the text of your email, and therefore weird or ugly or whatever other differentiating quality you’d like to ascribe to it.

Also, it’s possible that displaying the actual URL is reassuring.

If people know where you’re taking them, they might be more inclined to click.

However, IMHBMO (in my humble-but-muscular opinion) the point is somewhat moot.

It’s been my experience that once you’ve built trust with your list, neither one significantly affects clickthroughs.

See, if you have a healthy relationship with your list…and you have offers they want…you don’t need any fancy ‘tricks’.  They are clicking because you’re the one asking.  And part of building that relationship is consistently making sure what they see when they do click is what your email promises.

(That’s why I tend to lean toward not hyperlinking.)

Anyway, take such musings for what they’re worth.

If you’d like my help with an email campaign or sales letter, follow the yellow brick road below and add yourself to my email list to be notified when a client spot opens up:

https://conorkelly.com/from-leading-copywriter-conor-kelly/

Happy Linking,

Conor Kelly

Books to help you beat worry, anxiety, and stress

conorkelLeave a comment

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

“Best business email in response to the CV crisis I have received.”

conorkelLeave a comment

Question:

How well are you communicating with your customers during this time?

98% of what’s landed in my inbox as a response to the crisis from various businesses has ranged from pointless to inane, such as suggesting I sing the Happy Birthday song to myself twice when washing my hands (no joke, that was part of a real email a business thought to send me).

Most have had me running for the unsubscribe link.

With one of my clients this week we took a different tack.

Here’s just a sample of the responses we got:

====

“This is a wonderful message.  You will always have my business!”

“Thank you folks for reaching out and offering your generous support and good spirit to the community.”

“You are awesome.  So thoughtful!”

“That is the best business email in response to the CV crisis I have received.”

====

Now I have to give credit to this client because the initiatives were 100% his idea.  He’s good that way, and a smart marketer in his own right.  My contribution was knowing how to frame them effectively, and with a certain amount of flair.

Here’s the point:

You have an opportunity right now.  The word ‘crisis’ comes from the Greek krisis.  It literally means “turning point”.  So you have a choice; you can fall silent as some people will surely tell you to do.  Or you can use whatever platform you currently have to show leadership.

Now is the time to BUILD relationships.

Not let them go cold.

Think for a second about the relationship capital contained in responses like the ones above.

Case in muscular point: I started my personal training business in 2008.  Believe it or not the easiest and most profitable years, as far as marketing ROI anyway, were between 2008 and 2011.  One theory I have is when times are tight people clam up and stop marketing aggressively.  I was doing the opposite.  That meant less competition.  And indeed the business grew nicely during those years.

There’s no doubt about it, we’re headed for a recession.

You might need to make some sacrifices in the months ahead.

Don’t let it be your marketing, unless you want to fade into oblivion.

Alright, I’ll climb down off of my soap box now.

(And wipe it down thoroughly.)

If you’d like me to help you quickly grab more market share in the coming months while your competition is hitting the snooze button, go here to request your no-stress Free Brainstorm Call to find out if we’re a fit:

https://conorkelly.com/free-brainstorm-call/

But time is short.

My schedule is filling up.

And I’ll be marketing more, not less.

Happy Relationship-Building,

Conor Kelly

Copywriters who cheat on book reports

conorkelLeave a comment

Recently got this testimonial from leading coach, speaker, and podcaster Paul Reddick of Baseball Education Center:

====

“I’ve worked with various copywriters over the course of 20 years of being in business.  Some were expensive, some highly recommended, others had sterling reputations, yet at every turn I was disappointed.  It looked like they applied whatever cookie cutter sales system they had, and it would end up being this big pile of marketing hype and words.

Working with Conor has been a breath of fresh air.  Not only has the entire process been professional from start to finish, but it quickly became obvious that he took the time to understand, I mean really understand our product, which caught me by surprise because I wasn’t used to it!

For anyone who is thinking about working with Conor, I suggest you get on the phone with him.  You’ll have a different experience of a copywriter.  I certainly did.  And we’ll continue our professional relationship into the foreseeable future.”

====

This is interesting for a couple of reasons.

Paul said something in conversation after our first project together that stuck with me.  Not only was it obvious to him that I’d spent a lot of time on the product (in this case a video), but in his previous experiences of copywriters, when looking over their work, he was always waiting for that moment when you realize they didn’t watch the training.

That statement kind of blew me away.

You’re writing a sales page, how are you not going to study the product you’re selling?

It’s a bit like when we were back in school and had to do a book report.

You know there were always those who’d try to skip the reading part, get the crib’s notes – or ‘borrow’ a classmate’s notes.

It depends on the product and how much content is in there, but if it’s an info product and I’m writing the copy, I usually go through it MULTIPLE times.  And in various formats if I can (e.g. if it’s a book I try to get the audio version too).  It’s the only way to know the material.  It also lets me dig up a wealth of sales hooks and write dozens of badass bullet points that stomp all over a prospect’s indifference and get them leaning in, watering at the mouth and wanting to read more.

If you don’t put in this kind of effort, all that’s left is to follow a paint-by-numbers template or throw so much hype in there the ad becomes embarrassing to run.

Not saying I’m perfect.

But at least you can count on me bringing my A-game.

If you want copy that converts, there’s no two ways about it; you’ve got to shut the door to your room, turn up the Baroque classical music, and study your gluteus assimus off.

Them’s the breaks.

Or, you can legally and ethically “cheat”, and hire an honor roll student like me to geek out and write your book report for you. 🙂

Step 1 is booking your 15-minute no-fuss Free Brainstorm Call to see if we’re a fit.

Meet me after class here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

I’m booking projects three weeks out at the moment so best hurry if you’re interested.

Alright, that’s enough shenanigans for one day.

Muscle out.

Happy Studies,

Conor Kelly

Never show a prospect your naked rear end

conorkelLeave a comment

There’s a small Catholic Church in Murtosa in Northern Portugal.

What’s interesting about it is it’s the only Catholic Church where it’s acceptable to drop your trousers so everyone can see your naked rear end.  The reason?  The local saint, St. Gonacalo has a reputation for curing hemorrhoids.  All you have to do is show up at the church, show his statue where it hurts, say a prayer and according to the locals, the pain disappears.

Now I’m not saying it doesn’t work.

But it strikes me as being eeeeerily similar to the kind of blind faith many businesses display in their marketing.  Often, their copy is based on uninformed guesses made while drunk on personal projections and everything the owner wants to say vs. what their market needs to hear.

Again, it’s not that it never turns out ok.

Just keep in mind that getting inside your market’s head to a point where it’s downright creepy is much more profitable than playing the marketing version of pin the tail on the donkey, which is what you’d be doing in the first scenario.

If you want my help with your marketing plan for world domination in 2020 (you do have a plan, don’t you?)…or in profitably profiling your prospect…make the neither long nor perilous journey via the link below to be notified when a client spot opens up:

Instantly add yourself to The Muscle’s waiting list.

Best part?

You get to keep your clothes on.

(Although I mostly do consultations over the phone, so really…clothing optional.)

Happy 2020,

Conor Kelly

P.S. I’m so sorry.

I’ve neglected you.  Truth be told, my schedule is almost always full, so I haven’t kept up the muscular writings as well as I should.

No excuses.

And, no more…

I have some new additions to my vaunted “weapons of mass persuasion” planned for 2020 that – if put to acceptable use – will indeed help you grow your sales and profits.  I’m eager to share these with you.  Stay tuned.

I’ll also be letting you in on some things that have been inspiring me lately.

What can I say…

I’m just a really inspirational guy. 😉

2020 – here we come.

Andale!

 

 

The little-known email secret of the richest man in history

conorkelLeave a comment

It’s estimated that, at one point, John D. Rockefeller’s fortune exceeded $300 Billion.

Move over, baby Gates.

In fact, that’s enough to buy Bill Gates AND Warren Buffet several times over.

At 53, Rockefeller controlled most of the world’s oil.  But his health was failing.  He developed alopecia and shed all his hair.  Eyebrows.  Everything.

He could barely eat.

In a matter of months he’d lost 50 pounds from an already thin frame, and cut a gaunt, ghostly figure.  His doctors made it clear that if he didn’t retire now, he wouldn’t be around much longer.

See, John D. was a ball of anxiety.  He was slowly crumbling under the burden of his enormous wealth.  He once said, “I never put my head on the pillow at night without reminding myself I could lose it all tomorrow.”

Imagine the stress that caused.

So here are the instructions his doctor gave him:

1. Never worry about anything. Ever.
2. Always stop eating when you’re still a bit hungry.
3. Spend more time outside engaging in light activity.

Well, John D. took this advice to heart.

The senior Mr. Rockefeller was a different chap.

He never worried again.  Even when his life’s work, Standard Oil, was being picked apart by politicians for anti-trust reasons, Rockefeller stayed out of the office.

In his latter years he became the colorful, soundbite-worthy old codger he’s remembered as…the guy who, when asked by his driver why his son tips so much better than he does, replied, “he’s got a rich father.”

Alright, and secret #4 in this longevity protocol?

He started giving all his money away.

Medicine, science, education…so much of the progress we enjoy today can be traced back to Rockefeller’s generosity.  The result?  From one foot in the grave at 53, he lived to be 98.  That’s 45 years on borrowed time.  Not too shabby, wouldn’t you say?

Here’s what I’d like you take away from this:

(1) #’s 1-3 is pretty damn good advice.  If more doctors doled that out these days instead of anti-depressants, we’d be a much healthier society.

AND

(2) GIVE.  John D. Rockefeller spent the first half of his life trying to get, but wasn’t truly happy until he dedicated himself to giving.

This has everything to do with your marketing, btw.

And anything else you want out of life.

Tony Robbins famously said, “the reason you’re suffering is you’re focused on yourself.”  Giving shifts your focus away from you.  It allows you to be immersed in what you’re doing, in contribution, without the fears, doubts and anxieties that creep in when you’re overly self-conscious.  And most people are so busy trying to GET the result they want, they never fully GIVE themselves to the process involved.

Not coincidentally, the first principle of my email marketing system is lead with a giving hand.  If you’ll just keep what’s good for your best prospect at the top of your list you’ll never go too far from the mark.  That doesn’t mean you give away your secrets for free; what’s best for them is to hire you and solve their problem.  Get 100% clear on that.  Then, it’s about doing everything you can ethically do, using every tool in your arsenal to bring them into the fold….including engaging them with emails that combine content with promotion.

Bottom line:

Ask not what your customers can do for you, ask what you can do for your customers.

Damn.

A lot of value right there.

Hope you caught it.

I just told you WHAT to do.

For more on HOW to do it, go here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Live Long and Prosper,

Conor Kelly

P.S. One of my favorite books on this idea is The Go-Giver.  It’s a brief parable (you can read it in a single sitting), but it will re-frame how you do business.  I used to have it as mandatory reading for all my employees.

And to sweeten the deal, if you book your Free Brainstorm Call before tomorrow (Friday) at 11:53AM EST (serious inquiries only), I’ll send you a free copy of the book.  Here’s that exalted link again:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Consensual marketing

conorkelLeave a comment

I was recently interviewed for Your 20-Minute Podcast with host David Brower and he asked me to compare and contrast email marketing v. Facebook marketing.  I said the key difference is your email subscribers have agreed to get promotional offers from you.  In that sense, it’s “consensual”.

Both parties are in on the dance.

On Facebook, you’re INTERRUPTING whatever else it is they’re there to do.  Thus, folks are less likely to be open to it.  We’ve all been the subject of unwelcome marketing advances, be they ads invading our social media feeds, spam, or telemarketing.

Being a welcome guest in your prospect’s inbox is another beast altogether.  It flips the sales conversation.  Puts you in the driver’s seat.  When they’re ready to buy, you get fewer objections and a lot less price resistance.  At that point, it’s more of a question of “fit”.

Here a few more tasty morsels that dropped in this interview:

*The amazing true story about the time I discovered the transformational power of email marketing (2:30)

*Why you should NEVER attempt any marketing without doing this first (12:10)

*The simplest way to attract the exact type of clients you want to work with (5:29)

*A weird (but effective) tip for attracting more referrals (11:10)

*The single most-important “mindset shift” that almost guarantees you’ll be successful with your email marketing (9:21)

*An almost fool-proof way to make writing emails (and any other form of promotion) about a 100 times easier (13:33)

*The #1 mistake professionals like chiropractors, personal trainers, and dentists make with email (14:58)

*And more!

Enjoy them as Tapas, or devour the entire 19.36-minute enchilada here:

https://www.davidbrowervo.com/275-conor-kelly-an-email-marketing-expert/

And if you’d like your customers to warmly receive your entreaties to do business with you, learn more about all the weapons of mass persuasion I’ve got by requesting your “no fuss” Free Brainstorm Call here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

Happy Listening,

Conor Kelly

a.k.a.  The Muscle @ Marketing Muscle