Your
Daily Work Schedule
-Part
2-
This Makes a SUPER STAR Affiliate
out of An AVERAGE Affiiate!
One
of the “dirty little secrets” of our business is that you can NEVER achieve a
high income in Internet marketing unless you learn how to write effective
subject lines and sales messages…YOURSELF!
I'm sure you've
noticed that virtually every program on the Internet provides
their affiliates with, "sure-fire ads that are proven to
work." In this respect Big Dogs is no different in that
we provide the Big Dogs Ad Vault which contains a series of
pre-written, preformatted ads that are ready to plug into the
C.H.I.P. mailers. Where we ARE different is that we try to
tell you up-front that the Ad Vault does NOT contain
"ads-that-are-carved-in-stone-and-should-never-be-changed."
Rather, the Ad Vault contains ad CONCEPTS - generalized concepts
that are designed to make it easier for you to develop your OWN ads.
Think about it. The very idea that a certain ad “works,” by definition
means that it has ALREADY worked…for someone else!
Let me try to give you a
“dirt-world’ example of what I mean…
Let’s say that
Chevrolet comes out with a flashy new TV ad campaign, complete with the
stereotype handsome actor and gorgeous actress, driving happily down the
highway in a new Corvette. And
let’s say that sales for the Corvette skyrocket.
Obviously the commercial “worked.”
But would it make sense for Ford to now use that exact
same commercial, with the exact same actors, and simply change the name
of the automobile? Of course not. Their
ad campaign would fail miserably.
Do you see my point?
Ah, but, Ford may come out with a commercial with a SIMILAR THEME.
After all, everyone wants to think of themselves in the shoes
of that handsome guy or gorgeous gal. But
Ford's advertising agency will have to come up with a
“twist.” The same basic
concept (that appeals to everyone), but in a unique, new way that will make
consumers want to rush out and purchase a Ford and not a Chevrolet.
In the dirt world, you
don’t see different companies using the same ad or commercial over and
over again for years, do you? Of
course not! And remember, friends, the Internet moves a LOT faster than
the dirt world – an ad that “worked” incredibly well last week may
very well be “old-hat” THIS week.
Coca Cola, which is the
most recognized brand name in the world, has been around, unchanged, for
nearly a century! Yet the Coca
Cola folks are constantly “re-inventing” themselves, NOT with a
new PRODUCT, but with new ADS!!!
You, my friend, must do
the same thing, REGARDLESS of what you are promoting.
You must learn to write your OWN subject lines and your OWN ad copy. Is it easy? For
most people, it certainly is not! This is one of the reasons we
provide the Ad Vault in the first place. New folks want to get started
f-a-s-t, while they are working on their own, individual copy writing
techniques. But
if you aspire to earn an exceptional income online, it is an essential
talent that you MUST cultivate eventually.
"But,
Stan," you say, "I have no experience writing ads,
and I'm not very good at it. What can I do - where can I go -
to develop this skill?"
Copy-writing, the
ability to write effective ad copy, is not a skill that
develops overnight. BUT... with a little consistent, daily
practice you'll soon be able to extend your ad writing skills
to the point where "hitting home runs" becomes second
nature!
And
THIS, my friends, is the second
thing you do with those "other six
days" while you are waiting for your "twenty minutes at
bat."
You practice
writing ads!
This tutorial
gives three sources of educational resources that will assist you in
developing your own ads - ADS THAT WORK!
I.
The "How'd They DO That?" Interviews.
One complete
section of the Big Dogs Training Site contains several interviews
with successful Alpha Dogs. Each of these Alpha Dogs was
generous enough to include in his or her interview one or two ads
that THEY have used with success.
We recommend that
you spend some time reviewing these interviews with special
attention to these sample ads.
Now, it goes
without saying that you should never use an ad word-for-word for the
reasons we've outlined above. What we DO want you to do is to
especially note the FLAVOR and TONE of these
ads. You will find a number of things in common with virtually
all of them.
First of all, you
will find that all of these Alpha Dogs never fail to put their
personal contact information into their ads. You will find
that they invariably include their full name, phone number, email
address, and sometimes even their physical address. They also
make a special point to ENCOURAGE the prospect who opens the email
to contact them with questions or for assistance.
From the very day
that Big Dogs first went online 'way back in 2001, we have always
included this information right on our sales site for the
ebook. You have no idea how many emails and phone calls our
Home Office regularly receives from folks who want nothing more than
to tell us that they purchased the ebook SOLELY because that
information was there! Home Office receives calls every day
from folks who just want to see if it is a "real" phone
number. Thousands of copies of the
"Secrets of the Big Dogs" ebook have been sold simply
because, unlike a majority of other Internet companies, we don't
hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.
You buy yourself
a LOT of credibility with potential purchasers when you present
yourself as a living, breathing person instead of just another
nameless, faceless Internet hustler!
Secondly, you
will note that, although these ads are obviously effective sales
tools, their tone is not "sales-y" Rather, their
tone is similar to two friends sitting down to chit-chat over a cup
of coffee. It's like two buddies having a couple of beers at
the local pub to talk over a MUTUAL business venture, rather than a
used car salesman trying to high pressure a naive prospect.
In short, try to
make your ads CONVERSATIONAL and FRIENDLY.
Thirdly -
and perhaps most importantly - don't make the common mistake of
believing you have to be a roaring success BEFORE you have something
to write about in your ads. There are so many ads out there
that claim huge overnight successes - ads that are obviously
over-inflated lies - that prospects tend to disbelieve ANY sales
messages that claim success. However, you'll see that many of
our Alpha Dogs actually discuss at length their FAILURES prior to
coming on board with Big Dogs. This strikes a common chord
with just about everybody - we've ALL been in that boat, haven't
we!? Prospects will believe stories of initial failure and
GRADUAL success much more so than the ol' "I hit the enter
button once and made a million dollars."
II.
Your "Junk" Email Box.
One of your most
valuable, yet most under-appreciated marketing resources is your “junk”
email box. We all have one,
don’t we? This is where all
the confirmation emails and sales letters from other marketers go.
Based on experience,
Internet marketers fall into three categories...
Beginning
Internet marketers
(newbies) ALWAYS read their junk email because they think they're
supposed to.
Intermediate
Internet marketers NEVER read their junk email because they
"think"
they're not supposed to. Intermediate marketers can be likened to high school or college
sophomores. Do you know what
the term “sophomore” means? It
comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “he who knows everything.”
Obviously this is meant facetiously – it refers to a person who has
a LITTLE experience at something, but not ENOUGH to appreciate how much he
DOESN’T know.
Finally we have the experienced
Internet marketers, whether they are part-time or full time.
The folks who know what they’re doing CONSISTENTLY monitor their
so-called "junk" email.
Because it's so
important, I want to repeat that last statement... The folks who know what they’re doing CONSISTENTLY monitor their
so-called "junk" email.
You,
yourself, may already be doing this without consciously knowing why, but
there are very valid reasons, other than simple curiosity, why you should
develop a habit of STUDYING the veritable treasure trove that is contained
in that secondary email account of yours.
-
First of all, your
junk emails act as an accurate barometer of just what the heck is
currently going on in the field of Internet marketing.
THIS is where you are going to find out about the newest
programs, products, and services available online, and allows you to
accurately “take the pulse” of the Internet.
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Secondly, your junk
emails serve as your personal “mentor,” much more so than any person
can. After a few months of
surveying your emails, you become very experienced in separating the
wheat from the chaff – you soon learn what is garbage and what may
have some value. In fact, I
would recommend to any newbie that before they attempt to do ANYTHING
serious online, that they spend a half hour or so each day for their
first month doing NOTHING but using their emails to get an education. You’ll soon learn, for example, to disregard emails that
contain terms like “free,” “guaranteed,” and “pre-launch.”
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Thirdly, and most
importantly, your junk emails will teach you how to become a successful,
income-generating Internet professional.
How? BY
TEACHING YOU HOW TO WRITE SUBJECT LINES AND ADS!
Fortunately, your
“junk” email box makes this learning process a whole lot easier.
Here’s exactly what to do…
1. Spend 15 minutes or so
each day going through your junk
mail, SPECIFICALLY with the thought of looking for
interesting subject lines and ad copy.
2. When you come across a
subject line that causes you to open that particular email, consciously
ask yourself, “What was it about that subject line that intrigued
me?”
3. Each day, copy and
paste a half dozen or so of your favorite, new-found subject lines, into a
Word folder for later use.
4. Next, examine the
sales messages themselves, and ask yourself the same thing:
“What about that sales message interested me enough that I
would click to go to the seller’s website?”
5. Copy and paste those
sales messages into a Word folder. Take some
time and see how you can give them a “twist” to use in your OWN
promotional efforts, for your OWN program.
6. As important as the
GOOD subject lines and sales messages are, the BAD subject lines and sales
messages are of
equal, if not GREATER, importance!
Make
a conscious effort to ask yourself, “What is that guy doing WRONG
with his ad?” You’ll
surprise yourself at how many mistakes YOU'LL avoid by doing this.
(Just one word of
caution, however. You'll remember how we preached to you during the
course of setting up your CHIP programs to NOT get side-tracked when going
through each of the sites. Getting side-tracked is VERY easy to do
when going through your marketing email box to look for ad ideas.
Don't let yourself get caught up in investigating every site that sounds
interesting. You'll end up getting "informationed to death,"
confused, and frustrated. You'll find yourself spending 26 hours a day
surfing the Internet and NOT practicing writing creative ads.)
III.
The Program You Are Promoting.
Become familiar with
YOUR program, whether you're promoting Big Dogs, or another product or
service. In fact, become an EXPERT on it!
Ask yourself what
it’s strong
points are. Ask yourself just what it was that attracted YOU to it in
the first place. Then, develop your ads around those points that
appealed to YOU.
For example,
there are a number of key selling points about the Big Dogs
program. What was it that attracted YOU?...
WAS IT THE KNOWLEDGE?
Let's face it. For whatever reason, not everyone who purchases the
"Secrets of the Big Dogs" ebook goes on to become an Alpha
Dog. BUT!... even if you don't upgrade to Alpha, the knowledge you
derive from simply reading the ebook and heading the warnings we give in it
will save you countless frustrating hours of time on dead ends and
techniques that just, plain don't work. Merely studying the ebook will
make you a more educated marketer and a better informed consumer.
WAS IT THE LEADS?
The most cleverly designed website promoting the most exciting
product or service will not generate a penny's worth of income
unless prospects are directed to it in some way. Traffic is
the life blood of Internet commerce, and the C.H.I.P. provides
time-tested methods of targeted lead generation. The C.H.I.P.
provides thousands of leads per day at a cost that is absolutely
trivial compared to other promotional sources.
WAS IT THE
SAVINGS IN TIME? Scientific studies have shown that the
more time a person spends in front of a computer, the greater are
their feelings of frustration and depression. This is because
the more time you're at your keyboard, the more you realize that
there is just so much "out-there," you're NEVER going to
analyze it all. Most folks who have the desire to build an
online business end up spending all of their time "chasing
their tails" in unproductive behavior, and end up accomplishing
nothing. On the other hand, the Big Dogs program offers a
genuine, systematic method that enables a marketer to actually
complete their routine marketing tasks in just minutes a day!
WAS IT THE INCOME
POTENTIAL? For the first time in the history of Internet
marketing, the strategic design of the Big Dogs program actually
makes it feasible to effectively promote, not just one or two
programs, but TEN programs simultaneously.
Adding in the twice-monthly paychecks from ClickBank, that gives the
potential of receiving an incredible DOZEN paychecks a month - while promoting
just one URL!
WAS IT THE
"COMMONALITY OF EXPERIENCE?" We are often told by new
Big Dogs that the reason they purchased the ebook was because of my
own personal experiences that I relate on the ebook sales
page. In 2001, when I first wrote those words, I believed that
I was the only frustrated marketer that had made all those
stupid mistakes. I've come to find out though, that
apparently, what I referred to as my "year of horror" is
something that we ALL go through when starting out. This
"commonality of experience" is a huge factor in the
ability of the Big Dogs philosophy to strike a common chord with
just about everyone.
WAS IT A COMBINATION OF
FACTORS? The Big Dogs program obviously offers a variety of
benefits - many different "hot buttons." Were you
attracted by one key point, or a multiple of them?
Above, we've
briefly outlined a few of the "unique selling points"
about the Big Dogs program. However, ALL products or services
have their own, individual selling points. To write effective
ad copy you need to be knowledgeable about YOUR particular program.
SUMMARY
To improve
your skills as a copywriter, your next goal is apparent...
We
want you to devote just half an hour or so on each of those
"other six days" to writing
effective ad copy. At first, this is a task that may be
difficult for you. However, once you become used to it you
will find that this is the part of your day that you really look
forward to. It gives you the opportunity to be creative and to
challenge your imagination.
1. Are you
knowledgeable about the program you are promoting?
Only by
being an expert on YOUR particular product can you effectively sell
it to OTHERS! If you are specializing in the Big Dogs, for
example, ask yourself just what it was that attracted YOU to the
program, and design ads around those key points.
2. Have you
reviewed and analyzed the sample ads in the "How'd they do
that?" section of the Training Site?
Even though these
ads were designed to promote Big Dogs, the same basic principles may
be used to write ad copy for virtually ANY program, product or
service. Note especially the conversational,
"non-sales-y" TONE of the ads. Write your ads as
though you were talking with an old friend about a MUTUAL business
opportunity - a partnership. DON'T come across as a side
show hustler!
3. Do you
spend fifteen or so each day going through your
"junk" email?
Your marketing email box can be a
virtual treasure trove of ad-writing ideas if used properly.
Just beware of getting sidetracked! DON'T spend countless
hours actually visiting all these sites and fooling yourself into
thinking you are doing productive work when you're only surfing the
net out of curiosity.
4. Get in
the habit of writing your sales messages so they are 55 characters
wide (including all characters and spaces) and 60
lines deep (including all text lines and blank
lines). This size ad will "fit" into all of the CHIP
program mailers and will simplify your daily tasks considerably,
since you won't have to design multiple versions of the same
ad. In addition, you'll probably be doing some ezine
advertising in the future, and the "55-wide, 60-deep"
format is the most common format for solo ads.
5. Once
you've finalized a sales message and one subject line,
design four or five ALTERNATIVE subject lines.
Remember that it's the subject line that "sells" your
prospect on actually opening the email to read your complete sales
message. Many
times you will find that a really good sales message can be used
over and over, and it's just the subject line that needs to be
changed.
6. How long
should it take to write an ad? Geez, that's a tough
question because that can vary dramatically from individual to
individual. Personally, until I am completely satisfied with a
new ad, it takes me a few hours. On the other hand, I
know of folks who can design a dynamite ad in fifteen minutes.
But remember: You are going to be changing yours ads just once
each week - at most. You should have no problem coming
up with just ONE new ad a week, merely by spending fifteen or thirty
minutes a day at it.
Copy-writing,
the art of designing effective ad copy, is one of the most difficult
endeavors in the business world. That’s why professional copywriters are
so highly paid, and why offline ad agencies are BILLION dollar businesses!
Effective
copywriting is JUST as important ONline, and if YOU
desire an above average income from your Internet endeavors, YOU must master
this all-important area.
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