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FITNESS PROS & ONLINE MARKETERS: Get a high-quality custom ebook w/ full resale rights & limited competition

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

I knack for writing really high-quality fitness e-books. Not the kind you can get written for a few hundred dollars from someone on eLance or one of those that you can get off resale sites for $50. My e-books are really detailed, accurate and informative e-books complete with photos, detailed exercise descriptions and layout. Good examples are Sure Victory and Secrets of a Turbocharged Metabolism.

The problem is that I find most fitness pros and many marketers don't have the resources to hire me to write an e-book of this quality even though they'd very much like to. The last time I wrote one of these ebooks I was paid over $3,500 and it was only 50 pages.

If you don't have a sure-fire online sales system set up to sell an ebook, that kind of price tag can be a big gamble. Yet fitness e-books sell great online and are a good way for fitness pros to get their business online. If you already sell info products online, then you're probably always on the lookout for another good product to bring in more profits--and, of course, the less you pay for that product the better your profits are.

So I started thinking; what if wrote one ebook and offered the resell rights to 10 people and customized the e-book for each person so they each had a unique product. By splitting the cost up, it would be more affordable for each person and yet they get an e-book of the highest quality that they can sell unlimited quantities of without paying royalties or anything like that. And by limiting the number of people who can buy it, the competition is limited so the market is wide open.

Now I don't have a lot of details right now, because I'm just trying to get a feel for how many people would be interested, but here's what I'm thinking so far:

• 75-100 page e-book with detailed exercise descriptions, excellent photos (use yours or mine), routines, nutrition information, meal plans
• Focused on weight loss and metabolism, which is a highly popular subject, and including heart health information. Depending on feedback, we could also go with muscle building or all-around fitness
• Each person would get a unique title and cover and customized inside pages that could include their own photo and business name (for fitness pros who want to brand themselves).
• Each person gets rights to resell as many copies as they want and even print it in hardcopy if they want to and sell it on Amazon or wherever.
• Includes sales letters, lead-generator report and follow-up emails, possibly some Adword ads
• Maximum of 10 people involved to limit competition and cross-over
• I'm thinking the price range would be around $800 to include everything and the customization.
  

I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Like I said, I'm just looking to see who is interested and get some feedback so I can offer a product that you all really want. If you even THINK you might be interested, send me an email at john@fikoppy.com and let me know what you'd like to see in such an ebook.

If I get enough people interested I'll put together a complete outline and complete package details based on feedback I get. Then you can decide for sure whether you want to participate. THERE'S NO OBLIGATION TO YOU RIGHT NOW . . . just email me and let me know if you're even remotely interested. I don't want to plan this whole thing out if nobody is interested.

Again, if you're interested, email me at john@fikopy.com.

Labels: Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Web, Writer, writing

posted by John E Fike @ 10:57 AM, ,

Social Media: Answered Prayer for Marketers?

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I'm finding social media marketing to be an interesting animal in the marketing kingdom. It actually allows marketers to do what they've always wanted to do: engage the customer in conversation. Of course the end goal of the marketer's conversation is to sell goods and services. But to achieve that, the marketer needs to understand the customers needs, wants and aspirations.

Until now, the marketer could only guess at his customers' needs, wants and aspirations. Surveys, test runs, and other tools helped the marketer get as close as possible to knowing those things, but there was still a lot of guessing going on.

Now that social media has come along, the marketer no longer needs to guess. He (or she) can go out and find out exactly what people are thinking by what they say to each other and what they say to the marketer. Using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other platforms, the marketer can search out and find people who are talking about his product or service or about issues that his product or service addresses. He then has the opportunity to make an appeal to those people in the context of problems they are facing and show how his product or service provides a solution.

The beauty of it is that by engaging in this conversation the marketer is not only appealing to the handful of people that he is talking to directly, but also to all the people connected to those people--those who follow their tweets or posts. And those people can also share it with all the people they are connected with if they find it helpful or interesting. So it combines the personal conversation with a sort of mass media distribution. It's far more efficient and effective than traditional mass media or mass mailing advertising in which the marketer hopes he's connecting with the customer but doesn't know for sure until the sale is made.

One of the famed copywriter of marketing lore (I forget which one at the moment) said sales and ad copy should join the customer in the conversation he or she is already having. With social media marketing you really get an opportunity to do that. Additionally, you have the opportunity to customize your message to each conversation--something that cannot be achieved to the same extent through traditional advertising venues.

However there are marketers that don't understand that the key value of social media marketing is the conversation. They're trying to use social media, but they treat it like television or radio. Every tweet or post is a plea to buy from them. Or they send out link after link hoping enough people will check their profile or web site and eventually buy from them.

Let's put this as plain as possible: The value of social media in marketing is engaging the customer in CONVERSATION.

Conversation is an interaction--a give and take exchange of information and opinion. You have to go out and look for the conversations. No one signs up for Twitter or Facebook in order to get a stream of advertisements. Search for people and groups who are having conversations about your product or a topic related to your product. When you join the conversation, add value to it. Don't just show up and billboard your business. Answer and ask questions. Engage them. It may seem like a waste of time to engage one or two people in a conversation that touches your business, but there are hundreds or thousands of others who are witness to that conversation.

The more conversations you engage in, the more people will understand your expertise and come looking for you when they need your product or service.

So get out there and have some conversations.

Labels: Advertising, Copywriting, Fikopy, Internet, Marketing, Multimedia, Social Media, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 8:20 AM, ,

Speak to Customers' Emotions--Allay Fears & Magnify Desires

Friday, August 28, 2009

Yesterday I was doing some research for a law firm client of mine. In visiting the sites of numerous law firms I noticed a key trend that many law firms fall into and probably causes them to lose many potential clients.

Most law firms feel they need to have a look and feel that reflects the justice system. They want to look professional and often give a feeling that they dominate the courtroom. You know the image. It's the image that comes to mind when you think of a good lawyer. And it's for that reason that lawyers tend to use that image--because it's one you recognize.

But hiring a lawyer can be an extremely intimidating event for most people. Most people don't interact with lawyers on a regular basis. And all that grandeur and posturing makes it even more intimidating. Lot's not forget the other image that comes to mind when you think of lawyers: money--lots and lots of it.

So people who are searching on the internet for a lawyer--especially those who are looking for someone to represent them in an accident case--are experiencing two negative emotions during their search: they are intimidated by law and lawyers and they are afraid of how much it costs. Many are probably also feeling hurt and betrayed by someone if they think they need to seek out a lawyer.

I think law firms would do much better on the internet if they address those fears and make an effort to allay them rather than play up the intimidating aspects of their industry.

One law firm, I thought, did a pretty good job of that. Take a look at www.lawyersgroup.com. The first words a visitor notices on their home page is "Injured in an accident? Get the money you deserve." This message does two things: 1) it identifies its clients--people who have been injured and 2) promises some relief from the financial strain of the injury. For some customers it may also connect with their sense of retribution if they thinks someone ought to ante up for their suffering.

But the site doesn't stop there. After you read the headline, your eyes immediately go to the column on the right where there is a simple form to fill out and a bold invitation to speak with a lawyer for FREE. That alleviates the concern about how much it will cost to talk to the lawyer--it's free. And it's easy; all you have to do is fill out the short form and click the button. Then the lawyer calls you.

Lawyersgroup.com immediately deals with two strong negative emotions their clients are dealing with: the intimidation (the headline effectively says, "We're on your side.") and the fear of high costs. The people behind this site are also smart marketers as they've included an automated way to add prospects to their lists. When people fill out the form, Lawyersgroup.com gets their contact info and can market directly to those people. And there is plenty of incentive to fill out the form because many people who have been injured want to know what their rights are and whether they have a case, and now they can find out without paying anything.

I think it's also a fairly friendly-appearing site, which makes it even more inviting to web surfers.

So the moral here is that your web site should be inviting to your clients. Who cares whether others in your industry are intimdated by you or whether you're the best at what you do if your client doesn't feel comfortable talking to you. Bragging and intimidation can give many people the feeling that you're likely to walk all over them even while trying to "help" them. Make sure your web site and other marketing materials are speaking to the people who are your customers and the emotions they are feeling when they first come in contact with you.

Labels: Copy, Internet, Marketing, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 6:20 AM, ,

Everybody loves to spam. I find it disgusting.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Social Media--the online phenomenon that was supposed to connect people on a real and personal level like never before--has become the new playground for spammers.

Most social media spammers believe they are doing what they're supposed to do. They believe they are supplying quality content by guiding their followers to useful articles and web sites.

That's fine--to an extent. When you come across a truly excellent article, tweeting about that on Twitter or posting a link on Facebook is fine. But make sure you do two things with it:

1. Give your opinion about it. Your opinion gives merit to the post or tweet and is the reason your followers follow you.
2. Do it OCCASIONALLY! If all you're doing is tweeting and posting all day long with links to other people's content, you're not displaying your expertise.

Posting links without giving your opinion, especially when you post 5, 10, 20 links a day, is just spamming. It's annoying and you're not adding any real value to it.

If you're using social media for marketing, you want to be perceived as an expert. To do that you have to add or provide value to your posts. Why should I read that article? Do you agree with it? What should I look for in it? What's the most important point?

Most of your posts should not be article links and retweets. If you're doing that, you're just an aggregator--not an expert. An expert provides his or her own content. Tell us what you know. Bottom line, that's how we know you're an expert.

Let's be honest; if you need a product or service, are you going to go to the person who sends you a link to an informative article related to what you need, or are you going to go to the person who actually wrote the article?

If you find a good article, go ahead and link to it, but write your own article that expounds further on it and link to it as well. This is a great way to showcase the depth of your knowledge and prove that you're an expert.

Labels: Articles, Content, Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 7:21 AM, ,

WANTED: Heavy Metal Soundtrack

Thursday, August 13, 2009

I'm in need of a heavy metal soundtrack to go with fight videos and exercise videos on this site: www.low-budget-warrior.com I provide content for the sight and we need some music that we can add to videos without infringing on copyrights. If you play for a heavy metal band and would like to promote your music we'll be glad to add a promo to each video for you in exchange for letting us use your music. We plan to post at least one video every week; hopefully two. Instrumental is preferred, but a good, heavy song with clean lyrics is also acceptable. Please send me an email at john@fikopy.com if you're intersted. Thanks.

Here's an example of how we'd like to use your music:

Labels: Content, Internet, Marketing, Multimedia, Video, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 6:10 AM, ,

Earn Your Social Media Following -- Great Content Earns Respect

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I've been on Twitter for just shy of two weeks now and I've noticed 3 main types of Twitterers (or is it Tweeters?):

1. People there to just have fun and get connected

2. People there to market their business and connect with potential customers

3. People there to annoy the (insert expletive of choice) out of everyone else by spamming links to blog posts and articles that provide no real value in hopes that enough people will click on their Google ads or buy their product.

Folks, if you're going to use Twitter or any other social media to market your business, you have to EARN your followers. Give them content that is of value to them. People will respect an occasional posting that useful more than they will respect hourly posts with links to re-hashed articles bought from an article factory that pays people in foreign countries $5 for every article they write. Who wants to read articles with English so bad you don't even understand what they're saying? Most of those articles contain erroneous information too, because the authors just dig up anything on the Internet to use as source material. These "writers" often copy/paste other writer's stuff into their own articles, which is why they seem so disjointed.

Take the time to craft relevant articles that reflect your personality and the kind of quality business that you do. You'll gain more respect, more followers and more customers by doing so. Plus, you'll respect yourself in the morning because you'll know that you've added value to the world instead of annoying the world.

*** SELF PROMOTION ***

If you need help crafting your articles or keeping your blog/social media posts going, shoot me an email at john@fikopy.com. I've written numerous articles that help marketers present a professional image of expertise and build a quality following they can market to again and again.

Labels: Articles, Content, Fikopy, Marketing, Product Quality, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 6:33 AM, ,

Info-Product Entrepreneur -- or Info-Product Huckster?

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Info-products, especially e-books and video courses, are everywhere on the Internet these days. A handful of them are excellent products in which the information is well researched, is very useful and is presented in a professional and attractive manner. Buying and reading one of these info-products is very rewarding, making you glad to spend the money and giving you confidence in the provider's expertise.

Unfortunately, most of the info-products out there are just junk. Research is minimal and usually limited to searching through internet articles. Information is often incorrect or not very useful. The writing and presentation is amateurish and sloppy. Purchasing one of these info-products is not only disappointing, but also leaves you feeling swindled.

The people who provide the first kind of info-product are true info-product entrepreneurs. They understand that a happy customer is a repeat customer. By impressing customers from the very beginning, these entrepreneurs create a huge market for additional products because their customers trust them and rely on them for good information. Their revenue streams continue to grow and grow.

The people who do a good job selling junk disguised as info-products are nothing but hucksters. They are like the snake oil salesman of lore who rides into town, sells all his bottles of tonic water disguised as a miracle cure, then leaves town never to be seen again. Info-product hucksters hire "writers" in India to write 50 pages on a topic for a $100 or so, then try to pass it off as the revelation their customers have been waiting for. They sell a few thousand copies, then move on to another popular info field and start again. They may or may not be around to dole out the many refunds that get requested.

If you're going to go through the trouble of creating a product and creating a market for it, you might as well create a quality product so that you don't have to start all over again to build your market. All the best info-product "gurus" tell you this: Most of your profits do not come from your first and main product; they come from the second, third, fourth, and fifth products. That's because it costs a whole lot less to market to a group of people who are already loyal to you than it does to reach out and find a new audience that may be interested in your product. Less marketing expense means more profits

The additional products are also more profitable because they can carry a larger price tag. When you've proven reliable on products with smaller price tags, your customers are less hesitant to buy more expensive products from you--because they know they can trust you. Of course, you have to prove yourself again and provide a product with the quality to support that higher price tag.

If you're in the info-product business--or want to be--plan to be a long-term info-product entrepreneur--not a short-term huckster. Life is easier that way, and more profitable.

***SELF PROMOTION***

I've written many top quality information products for entrepreneurs who are making excellent money online. Shoot me an email today at john@fikopy.com or call me at 419-371-2302 and we can talk about what it will take to make you a successful info-product entrepreneur with a reputation for being an expert in your field.

Labels: Content, Internet, Marketing, Product Quality, Research, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 7:43 AM, ,

Announcing: Our Who’s-Afraid-of-the-Big-Bad-Wolf-Anti-Recession Event to Celebrate 5 Years in Business

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Labels: Advertising, Articles, Brochure, Content, Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Fikopy, Internet, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, News Release, Press Release, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 2:53 PM, ,

Paying only for results makes sense in tight economy--and ANY economy

Friday, February 13, 2009

Marketing group Econsultancy just released a report stating that business-to-business advertisers are planning a significant increase in spending on performance-based online ads this year.

Specifically, about 78% of advertisers are planning to spend more on CPA (cost-per-action/acquisition) and 67% plan to spend more on cost-per-lead (CPL) ads. A smaller percentage (less than half) plan to spend more on cost-per-click (CPC) ads. By contrast, less than 30% of advertisers report a planned increase in online display advertising spending.

What I see here is a smart trend among online advertisers that should have begun long before the recession. CPA, CPL and, to some extent, CPC ads are forms of advertising in which the advertiser only pays for results. The advertiser pays only for people who respond to the ad, as opposed to display advertising for which the advertiser pays every time their ad is displayed.

In a tight economy, it makes sense to only pay for results that you can track. With this kind of advertising, you know exactly what your advertising dollar is giving you, so you can do more with a tighter budget. With display advertising, on the other hand, advertisers are left crossing their fingers and hoping they get enough responses to pay for the advertising.

But does performance-based advertising make sense only during a recession? Hardly. Whatever the economy is, advertisers should insist on performance-based advertising whenever possible. Especially in online advertising, where tracking response is simple and easy, view-based display advertising doesn't even make sense, except possibly for those advertisers trying to drive traffic to a brick & mortar store. Why would you pay for advertising with mystery results if you can buy advertising that guarantees results for every dollar spent? Performance-based advertising gives the advertiser more control and better results for every dollar spent.

Responsible media groups, who genuinely have their advertisers' interests at heart are moving more and more toward performance-based advertising opportunities. This is a good thing. As this trend continues, the media groups and advertising consultants will become more proficient at fine-tuning advertising to drive results, which will mean media groups can charge more, but advertisers will also get more bang for their buck.

This is a lesson that broadcast media needs to learn as well. Up till now, most broadcast and cable media have charged for air time regardless of how effective the advertiser's ad is. This means each advertiser is on his or her own to figure out what kind of ads get results. When traditional media finally starts offering performance-based advertising, as I think they must eventually do to compete with online advertising, those media groups will finally start paying attention to what gets results for advertisers and how to track those results. And then they'll help their advertisers fine tune ads for better results.

This would be a win-win situation for both media and advertisers. Media groups can charge more for each minute of air time and attract more advertisers who used to view traditional media as risky. Meanwhile, advertisers are guaranteed results for the money they spend.

Here's a link to the news story where I learned of this report: http://www.marketingvox.com/performance-based-ads-to-rise-in-09-043169/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mv&utm_medium=textlink

Labels: Advertising, Copy, Internet, Marketing, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 10:41 AM, ,

Direct Mail/E-mail Secret #4: Include a Response Mechanism That Tracks Response for Testing and Follow-Up Promotions

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

This component is highly critical in any promotion, but it’s the one that’s most commonly missed.

In this series I’ve been talking about essential components of successful direct mail and e-mail campaigns. But I’m going to expand this installment to include all promotions, because you can include a response mechanism with any promotion—even commercials and print ads!

So, what is a response mechanism and why do you need one?

A response mechanism is anything that allows you to tie the activity of your prospects and customers to your promotion. A response mechanism allows you to track which promotions and ads are working and which are not. This will save you money, because you can stop running promotions or ads that aren’t generating an acceptable response. You can also determine whether a certain mailing or e-mailing list generates better response so that you only spend money on the more successful list.

You can also improve your promotions by testing headlines, leads and other components. If you see that a new headline generates better response than your old one, then you can start using the new headline on all your promotions and, ideally, improve the return on all your mailings.

In a direct sales package in which the customer is asked to place an order via order form or phone call, the response mechanism is built in—it’s the order form or phone number. You can track how well your direct sales promotion does by counting the number of orders you receive. In a direct e-mail campaign, your response mechanism is the link they click on to place an order.

Outside of direct sales campaigns, including a response mechanism is a little trickier. Well, it’s not exactly trickier, but it’s less obvious. If you’re trying to get customers to come into your store or office, including a coupon or promotion code number directly tied to a discount or other offer is a very successful response mechanism. If you’re trying to drive traffic to your web site, include a unique web address that takes the prospect to a unique page on your site. In a commercial, you can include a phone number or a web address (make sure it’s one that’s easy to remember).

In order for a response mechanism to work, you need to have the following four components:

• A reason to contact you—This is everything from placing an order, to requesting information, to entering a sweepstakes. Make sure that your prospect or customer gains something of benefit or potential benefit by contacting you.
  
• A call to action—If you don’t tell your prospect to call, fill out a response card, or go to your web site, then they won’t. Your prospects won’t take any action that you can track if you don’t have a call to action.
  
• A method of contact—This is the phone number, order form, web link, etc. that I talked about above.
  
• A unique identifier—You need to be able to identify each promotion individually so that you can track results accurately.
  

Let’s talk about that last component a little more, because this is something that most marketers miss.

It is impossible to know whether a particular promotion is successful if you include the same phone number, web link, order form, or promotion code on every promotion. What if you want to test whether one headline works better than another or which publication gets the best response with your ad? If you place the same ad with the same promotion code, web address or phone number in five different publications, you won’t know where the responses are coming from. In direct mail and e-mail you could keep track of which addresses and e-mails you send different promotions to, but it’s a lot easier to track this information with a unique identifier of some sort.

A unique identifier is as simple as assigning a unique promotion code or web address in the advertisement, on the order form, or in the letter/e-mail. A unique phone number is particularly effective if you have the budget for it, because you can hide the unique identifier (most people won’t check to see if you are using the same phone number on each promotion, they’ll just call the number in front of them).

In an e-mail campaign or online campaign, most service providers who handle these campaigns will automatically include unique trackable links. If you’re handling the campaign in house, ask your web programmer set up trackable links in your e-mail, banner ads, or AdWords ad.

However, in print ads or snail-mail campaigns, it’s a little trickier. Many marketers solve the problem by using the company’s main web address followed by a slash and a unique page name or identifier code. Here are two examples:

http://www.proclaimstudios.com/Fikopy/johnefike.html
http://www.ironballwarrior.com/?affid=8434

However, your prospect may think it’s too clumsy to type in a long URL like that and either not bother or just type in the main web address without the tracker information. My favorite way to deal with this is to spend $10 on a unique domain name and forward that domain name to a campaign-specific landing page.

For example, I might use “www.FikopySolutions001.com” for a promotion that gets people to download my Marketing Solutions manual from my web site and I would forward that domain name to a special sign-up page on my web site. If I wanted to run a test and see if a different subject line gets better results, I would use something like “www.FikopySolutions002.com” for the test promotion.

Another way to handle long links is to use a short URL generator like www.tinyurl.com, which creates a short URL that forwards to a web address that may be excessively long. For example, I’ve shortened http://www.proclaimstudios.com/Fikopy/fikopy.html to http://tinyurl.com/5pajnk.

All right, that should give you a good idea of how to use a response mechanism in your promotion and get better results. Next time, we’ll look at Direct Mail/E-mail Secret #5: An Excellent Product or Service That Excites Customers and Offers Many Benefits.

Talk to you then.

John E. Fike
www.fikopy.com

Labels: Advertising, Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Internet, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 7:52 AM, ,

Direct Mail/E-mail Secret #3: An Outstanding Offer That Is Difficult To Reject

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

No matter how good your copy is, a bad offer will kill response rates.

Your offer is not just the end of your letter or e-mail where you tell the prospect how much the product or service costs. Your offer is everything you are giving your customer and everything you are asking your customer to give you or concede to you in return.

Don’t make the mistake that thinking the only thing your customer is giving up is their money. They are also giving you their trust and, in many cases, their time. Many customers, especially in the B2B arena, are also putting their credibility or reputation on the line when they recommend your product or service to someone else, like a boss.

Your offer includes both the tangible and intangible.

Most marketers do a decent job of including the tangible elements of an offer, such as price and features. But only exceptional marketers also include the intangible elements—the things that can’t be measured or counted.

The key to a good offer is providing more value than you are asking for in return. The mistake most people make here is believing that they have to slash their price point or give away the house in order to accomplish this. But that is not the case.

Fortunately for you the biggest elements of value are intangible and don’t have to impact your price point or cause you to give away more than you can afford to. Let’s take a look at the principle components of an offer:

KEY COMPONENTS OF AN IRRESISTABLE OFFER
Risk Reversal
How can you make your prospect feel that they have nothing to lose by trying your product or service? What are you willing to risk instead? The money-back guarantee is the most popular form of this, but you can eliminate risk in other ways as well. For example, my unlimited revisions policy states that I’ll revise your copy as many times as you require so long as it doesn’t constitute a change in assignment. It assures customers know that they will get what they want. The tangible benefit is that their money isn’t at risk, but the intangible benefit is peace of mind knowing that I’m not going to stick them with copy they don’t like. Don’t underestimate the power of peace of mind.

Price point
The price you’re charging for your product or service is a key point of value for many customers. But instead of lowering your price, show how you offer more value per dollar than your competitors or show how much lifetime value you offer and how small your price is by comparison. For example, a client of mine who is a coffee retailer sells coffee in 1-pound (16 ounces) bags while her competitors sell it in 12-ounce bags. Her price is higher, but only because she sells more coffee in a package. I recommended including this phrase on all her bags: “LOOK! FULL 1-POUND PACKAGES! Leading competitor only 12 oz. Pound-for-pound, KaffeeScape gives more value!”

Unique Selling Position
What sets you apart from your competitors? What will your customers get from you that they can’t get anywhere else no matter what the price? Sometimes just being different or having a name that’s associated with a particular concept is enough to ensure the sale—that’s part of a good branding. But if there is something unique about your product or service that addresses a real need creates even more value. A great example of this is Market Leader Solutions. This executive and sales headhunter takes a step beyond its competitors by guaranteeing the performance of new hires for an entire year instead of just 90 days.

Payment options
How many ways can your customers pay for your product or service? How can you make payment easier for your customers? Internet retailers usually find that sales go up when they offer purchase by both credit card and PayPal (or similar), but sales are pretty meager for Internet retailers that only accept check or money order—it’s a trust thing. Another option that works well for high-ticket items is offering a payment plan. If customers frequently turn away because they can’t afford a lump-sum payment, try breaking it into monthly or weekly payments.

There are many more ways to add value to your offer, but these are the key points to consider when working on your next campaign.

If you’d like to talk about ways to increase the value of your offer, I’d be glad to schedule a FREE, no-obligation 15-minute consultation. Just give me a call at 419-371-2302.

Next time we’ll move on to Secret #4 in the Secrets to Generating Huge Response and Outstanding Profits in Direct Mail and E-mail Campaign series. Secret #3 is A Response Mechanism that Tracks Response for Testing and Follow-Up Promotions.

Talk to you then.

John E. Fike
www.fikopy.com

Labels: Copy, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Direct Response, E-Mail, Internet, Marketing, Marketing Campaign, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 6:22 PM, ,

How to Get More Exposure in the News and Gain Top-of-mind Awareness Among Your Prospects and Customers

Monday, May 12, 2008

How many times have you just glossed over an advertisement in a newspaper or tossed away somebody's brochure that came in the mail?

Pretty frequently, I bet.

But if there was a news story or even a news brief on the same page as the ad, you probably read it. And if you received a newsletter or bulletin in the same stack of mail as the brochure, you probably at least looked it over and noticed who sent it before shuffling it to the round file.

Get in the news
Whereas people are often unwilling to spend time reading an advertisement or sales copy, they are perfectly happy to catch up on the news. That's why news releases and other forms of publicity and public relations are a vital part of your marketing program.

When I was a journalist, news briefs and articles about a business or event often got more response than an advertisement for the same business or event. That's because the news allows you to include more details and put it in a context that readers find interesting.

John E. Fike Copywriting Services has the journalism background to write news releases so that your business will get in the news and get more notice.

Maintain top-of-mind awareness
But public relations doesn't stop with sending an occasional news release to local media outlets. By sending announcements, news releases or news updates to your list of clients and prospects, you maintain a position at the forefront of their minds and they are aware of you and what you do when they have need of your services. Are you launching a new product or service? Are you holding a special event? Are you publishing a book or have you made a breakthrough on a new technology? Your clients and prospects want to know about anything slightly new or out of the usual, so get the word out.

Be in the spotlight
Promotional articles are feature stories about you or your business that might get published in a newspaper or magazine. The article highlights you, tells how you do what you do and how you've satisfied other customers. Promotional articles can be a profile about your business or a case study that shows how you solved a problem for someone else.

Increase your online presence
You can also publish announcements and news releases to a variety of online news agencies and include links to your web site to increase traffic to your site and boost your site's rankings in the search engines.

News topics for your business:

• Receiving or renewing accreditation of any sort


• Starting a new program


• Any event, program or promotion


• Education advancement


• Rankings advancement among peers


• New discovery or product launch


• Adding a new employee or partner


• New facilities or expansions


• Speaking engagement, clinic or public appearance
  

John E. Fike Copywriting Services can provide you with many kinds of public relations vehicles, saving you time and hassle. Call us for a free consultation on how to use news releases and public relations to build top-of-mind awareness among your target customers.

Labels: Internet, Marketing, News Release, Press Release, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 7:54 AM, ,

How to Make Your Web Site More Profitable

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Many businesses maintain a web site, but few make the most of that valuable piece of electronic real estate. For most businesses, web sites serve only as electronic brochures, listing their hours of operation, briefly describing services and giving some background on the professionals providing the services.

But marketing studies show that people visit web sites for information—not just to find out what the office hours are or to request a call from a salesman. For example, if you're a fitness professional, visitors expect to find out what your exercise or weight loss philosophy is and what kind of training program you recommend. If you're a pediatrician, patients who visit your site want to know how urgent their child's symptoms are or how much Tylenol to give their 2-year-old. If you're a technology company, visitors expect to find out what your technology does and how it will benefit them.

Credibility & Reputation
Your clients and patients want to know that you're an expert in your field, but a pretty image on a web page doesn't make you an expert. Having answers to customers' questions makes you an expert. Filling your site with a rich supply of articles, answers to frequently asked questions, tips and advice helps people to recognize your expertise. John E. Fike Copywriting Services uses your expert guidance to research and write articles that demonstrate your expertise and enhance your reputation.

Build Client Relationships
Increasingly, the web is about relationships. Good website content helps you build relationships with your clients by keeping them informed. Frequently posting new articles, event information or relevant news updates lets your customers know that they are important to you. Imagine a parent who heard that meningitis broke out at her daughter's school. She goes to her pediatrician's web site and finds a new article about the breakout, what it means for her child and what kind of treatment or precautions are appropriate. She is thankful for the information and her loyalty to that pediatrician grows, so she is less likely to change doctors. John E. Fike Copywriting Services can help keep your web site up to date without you having to take more time out of your schedule. Just let me know what you want to put up and I'll get it written and posted for you.

Help Prospects Become Customers
Imagine the person who's decided to lose weight and wants to know if Pilates is the way to go. If she has to choose between a Pilates instructor that has only a yellow-pages ad and an instructor with a web site that describes what Pilates is and what it can achieve for a person, which instructor is she likely to choose? Marketing studies indicate she will choose the instructor that demonstrates his expertise on his web site. John E. Fike Copywriting Services can provide you with informational website content that helps your prospects decide to be your clients.

Be Easier to Find
Having lots of good, relevant content on your web site can increase the number of prospective customers that find you. Search engines like in-depth content, such as informational articles that match key words for your site. So people searching the web for someone with your expertise are more likely to find your site if it's loaded with informational articles and other good content. This additional site traffic increases response to your offering of services and increases sales of any products you sell via your web site. Contrary to popular Internet lore, web content that is optimized for search engines does not have to be useless to site visitors. John E. Fike Copywriting Services can provide you with interesting articles that are also optimized for search engines.

Increase Word-of-mouth Advertising
Word-of-mouth advertising doesn't cost a dime, but you have to have something for people to talk about. Web sites with good, useful content get more word-of-mouth advertising. Think about it: are you more likely to tell a friend about a web site with somebody's office hours and biography on it, or a site with in-depth information about a subject you care about? The latter, of course. Increased word-of-mouth advertising is an added benefit that comes automatically with quality web content from John E. Fike Copywriting Services.

Types of Content You Can Put on Your Web Site

• Informational articles related to a service or product you provide, such as instructions for products or unique ways customers have used your services
  


• News and updates, such as notices about a new features or product lines available
  


• Multimedia, such as video product demonstrations or audio about how to solve common problems related to your business
  


• Blogs to keep clients up to date or to share your latest discoveries and revelations or talk about what you learned at a recent conference or program
  


• Reviews of products or books your customers may be interested in
  


• Answers to frequently-asked questions (FAQs)
  


• Detailed descriptions of services or products
  


• Your professional background and philosophies
  


• Calendar or schedule of events

All these types of web content are available from John E. Fike Copywriting Services and our network of service providers. Call us for a free consultation on how to make your web site more effective and profitable.

Labels: Articles, Content, Internet, Web

posted by John E Fike @ 3:10 PM, ,

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