“The challenge of any organization is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another - because the question is not how well each person works, but how well they work as a TEAM!”

Your Junk Email Box
A Diamond in the Rough, IF You Know How to Use It!

One of your most valuable, yet most underappreciated marketing resources is your “junk” email box.  We all have one, don’t we?  This is where all the confirmation emails – the sales letters - from other Internet marketers go.

Beginning marketers (newbies) read their junk email because they don’t have enough experience yet (thank goodness!) to know they’re not supposed to.

Intermediate marketers NEVER read their junk email.  In fact, a lot of them have their junk email go to a “dump” account where it is automatically deleted.  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.  A little knowledge CAN be a dangerous thing!

Then 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.  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.

• 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.”

• 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!

One of the “dirty 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 ads…YOURSELF!

I am constantly asked by new Big Dogs for ad ideas – examples of ads that “work.”  I am always very hesitant to give out such information because I know that it is NOT in that person’s best interests to use an ad that “worked.”  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 the Ford Motor Company 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 Ford Taurus.  And let’s say that sales for the Ford Taurus skyrocket.  Obviously the commercial “worked.”  But would it make sense for General Motors 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, General Motors 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 General Motors’ 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 GM car and not a Ford.

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.  But if you aspire to earn an exceptional income online, it is an essential talent that you MUST cultivate.

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 folder for later use.

4.       Next, examine the ads themselves, and ask yourself the same thing:  “What about that ad interested me enough that I investigated the seller’s website?”

5.       Copy and paste those ads into a folder.  Take some time and see how you can give them a “twist” to use in your OWN promotional efforts.

6.       As important as the GOOD subject lines and ads are, the BAD subject lines and ads 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.

7.       Become familiar with YOUR program.  What are it’s strong points?  WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

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 if YOU desire an above average income from your Internet endeavors, YOU must master this all-important area.

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