Twitter is taking impersonation seriously and will be launching Verified Accounts. As it stands now, it violates their terms of service for someone to claim to be someone they are not and gives the company the power to revoke the account. First, Twitter will be testing public officials, agencies, athletes and well known individuals. They hope to extend this as time goes on. When an account is verified, there will be a logo that people can clearly see the person or company is who they say they are.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Making Your Sales Copy Sizzle in Four Easy Steps
"Sell the sizzle, not the steak!"
How many times have you heard this advice, and what does that even mean? It means that your prospects need to be absolutely salivating at what you are showing and telling them. You've got to make them ravenously hungry for what you have to offer - drooling at the sight, sound and smell of that irresistible sizzle.
If they're sold on the sizzle, they'll gladly pay for the steak dinner!
Now, the suggestions I'm about to make to you are for email marketing with an autoresponder, my method of choice for building an online income. The one that I use and recommend is TrafficWave and you can try it FREE for 30 days: http://www.trafficwave.net/members/rustyshelton
But whether or not you use email marketing, direct mail, print ads or even telephone scripts, these four basic steps will improve the quality of your sales message. In time, you will build on them and become better and better at this. It's not 'hard' or 'easy'. Like throwing and catching a baseball, you're either used to doing it or not used to doing it. Once you get used to it, you'll be just fine.
STEP ONE: Have and use a clean and uncluttered work space with no distractions (such as the television, ringing phones, etc.). You need a clear mind as well. Both of these are crucial, as you are going to have to THINK. You need to loosen up, relax and get your mind ready before beginning.
First of all, only write when you are at your best. For me, that's first thing in the morning before the sun comes up. Whenever that time of day is for you, that's when you should compose your sales message - but never right after a meal or after a few drinks. You'll be sluggish.
Have a Positive Mental Attitude at all times while writing. YOU must believe in the benefits of your products and service or your prospects never will. Your attitudes and beliefs come across in your writing. Did you know that? If it helps, play some soft but inspirational music such 'Chariots of Fire', 'The Rocky Theme' or even soundtracks from superhero movies like 'Spiderman'. Maybe some gentle classical guitar or light piano classics would be best for you - whatever puts you in the mood to dream and to have that critical Positive Mental Attitude. For some, this is easily accomplished by playing a little computer game or something first to just lighten up and loosen up. For others, a walk around the block or 20 minutes on the exercise bike does the trick.
Do whatever works the best for you - just do it. Now you can start thinking...
So now that you are mentally centered and ready, you can take a proven and time-tested approach to crafting your piece with plenty of 'sizzle'. The first thing you do is take a sheet of clean white paper and draw a line down the middle. One side of that line list every single feature of your product or service. On the other side, list every single benefit. Features and benefits are two different things. By the way, this might be a good time to mention that you should scribble down ideas whenever and wherever they spring to mind. I have shoe boxes full of post-it notes and other scraps of paper with headlines, key sentences, key phrases and such that just came to me at one time or another. When something like that comes to you, write it down! The famous song writer and entertainer, Willie Nelson, once said "I've forgotten more great songs than I ever remembered to write down."
The next phase is similar. Get another sheet of paper and divide it into two columns. In one column, write down every imaginable problem that you think your prospects might be facing. In the other column, come up with every solution that your product or service provides.
Now grab a third sheet and make those familiar two columns. On one side, list every objection that you think any prospect might have to buying your product or service. On the other side, list the answer to every one of those objections.
By doing this, you have accomplished two things. You have thoroughly educated yourself about what you are selling and why and you have also taken the first step in writing convincing copy that 'sizzles' because you understand and believe in what you're saying.
Remember, at this point you are simply producing stream-of-consciousness words and phrases that have feeling behind them. Don't worry about anything else right now.
STEP TWO: Now that you know your product (very important!), you need to know who your prospects are. In the advertising business, they are called your 'target audience'. The fact is, whatever you have to sell will only appeal to a portion of the marketplace. You must tailor your message for those most likely to have a problem solved by what you have to offer.
Think of it another way. What motivated you to buy, use and promote the item in the first place? What was going through your mind when you signed up for the program, bought the product, downloaded the software or whatever it is that you are writing about? What impressed you about it or otherwise convinced you to buy? This is vitally important because your target audience is a whole bunch of people just like you!
In short, don't write sales copy for a general audience. Write it for the target audience. As an example, what I use, teach about and promote are marketing tools, money-making programs and the strategies and overall philosophy behind them. Because the vast majority of Internet Marketers are new to the business, I tailor everything towards them. I don't market to the veterans of this industry. I have a target audience - it's the 'newbies'.
You may choose to specialize in marketing to a different audience such as college students, retirees, church-goers, military people, single moms or what have you. The KEY is to go back to Step One in order to get inside their heads, identify their problems and write copy that explains who your product solves those problems.
And when writing to any particular demographic or category of people, let your words flow from the heart and don't tell any lies. Always be sincere! If Step One is done properly, you'll never have to lie.
STEP THREE: OK, here are some sales letter basics that are equally applicable to website design, phone scripts, newspaper ads or just about anything else. Make sure to review this checklist as you start organizing your thoughts into an actual sales piece that 'sizzles'...
1) The headline is everything! The primary benefit to the reader MUST be contained in the headline. If you can't answer the question 'What's in it for me?' in the headline, then you've already lost them. Ideally, your headline must accomplish a second goal. It needs to force your prospects to stop and think about it. It must be what is known as an 'interrupter'.
2) The first paragraph, or whatever ad copy that immediately follows the headline, must be just as strong as the headline. A good tactic is to simply restate the headline in different words. If you got them with the headline, you must hold them with the first paragraph. Be bold in what you say and always appeal to emotions, specifically the emotions of your target audience.
3) From there on, keep the reader's attention with action-oriented copy that uses lots of picture-painting verbs like 'Create your own business' and 'Discover these age-reversing secrets'. Paint mental pictures that are exciting and emotional and you will keep the reader's attention..
4) Keep the copy flowing with simple, short sentences. Never use big words. Use sub-headers and white space to break it up so that your message isn't one long block of copy.
5) Keep the ad clean and professional looking. Avoid fancy borders, cute cartoons, rainbows and other visual clutter. Keep it clean and direct - and make certain that your grammar and spelling are correct! If your piece looks like an amateur created it, nobody will buy your offer.
6) Have a strong close with a Call to Action. People like being told what to do. Tell them to 'sign-up today' and offer a bonus if they do it now. In fact, some kind of a 'bonus' or 'free gift' is just about mandatory these days. think and be creative!
7) Always, always, always include a p.s. People have way too much competing for their attention as it is and many will simply skip to the p.s. to get the 'summary' of what they didn't feel like reading all the way through. So what you do with the p.s. is basically restate the headline and remind them of any bonus or free gift that you are including.
STEP FOUR: Whenever possible, tell a story - especially about yourself. Remember that you are painting mental pictures with words and your keyboard is the paintbrush. People are more likely to buy from someone they 'feel' that that they know.
Your entire sales letter can be a single, gripping story that merely serves to rivet the reader's attention until and including the brief sales blurb at the end. Do NOT underestimate the power of a personal story!
Alright, so let's review...
~ You want to become as familiar with your product as possible - i.e. an expert.
~ Put the biggest benefit up front and get the prospect agreeing with you early in the ad by saying something like, "You and I both know what it's like to face a bill collector' or 'I know you've believed the lies too many times to ever be fooled again'.
~ Tell your prospect how your product solves their problem, tell them how to buy it and then tell them what to do after that.
~ Educate your prospect and answer their questions in your sales copy.
~ Use words that trigger emotional responses and paint mental pictures of the prospect's problem being solved and keeps reinforcing it.
~ Be professional and keep it both visually clean and easy to read.
That's it. These basics are all that you need to know in order to start writing sales pieces that actually convert and get the results that you desire. Keep at it, keep learning, never doubt yourself and keep getting better. Very soon, everything you write will SIZZLE - I guarantee it!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Why You Must Read Biographies
"Don't worry, boy. It will be alright. I've took this road you are walkin' down. I've been in your shoes. It is just somethin' that you have to go through. I had this same talk with my dad."
Those were the words I heard from my dad at the age of twelve, when my heart had flushed my eyes with tears because the life of my dog was flickering out. Through the years, I have taken walks down the same road with my dad and I've heard different versions of the same speech when business was tough, friendships ended or I wasn't feeling my best.
Sometimes it's nice to know that what you're going through isn't unique to you. There is comfort in knowing that others have been there and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Often, when you are in the midst of the tunnel, the only thing that catches your focus is despair, discouragement and depression. Yet it can turn your day around when someone ventures into the tunnel, walks with you and grabs your hand to say, "I've been there. Hang in there. I turned out alright and you will as well."
Unfortunately, we don't all have someone who will tread into the tunnel and walk beside us with encouragement. This is why it is so important to read biographies! A biography is a unique way to have a successful person walk beside you as you examine the story of their life. You will often be suprised that the most successful people of all time experience the same struggles as you.
Einstein was divorced, Lincoln battled depression, Ronald Reagan had his heart broken by his first wife and Sam Walton went broke twice. Where did I learn these facts? From the biographies I read! Did it make me feel better because they had hard times? Yes and no. I never delight in someone else's pain. On the other hand, it is without question that Einstein, Lincoln, Reagan and Walton were monumental successes. It is refreshing and inspiring to read that they were also human and walked down the same road that you and I have.
What an encouragement it was when my business was struggling a few years ago to read Sam Walton's biography and my eyes halted on the page where I read that at the exact same age as I was, at the same time, he was in an almost identical financial spot! I put the book down and a smile spread across my face. If you don't know who Sam Walton is, he started a little company called Wal-Mart a few years ago and it turned out okay.
Reading Sam Walton's biography was a neat way to get inspired and reminded me that some pretty successful people have met discouragement head on and succeeded. In a sense, while reading that book, a message from the spirit of Sam Walton said, "Ron, I have been there. It is hard, but don't give up. The reward is worth it. Now press on." I did, and I will be forever glad that I did.
Now, go to the bookstore and pick up a biography. By the way, if you are in a rough spot or experiencing some heartache... "Don't worry boy. It will be alright. I've took this road you are walkin' down. I've been in your shoes. It is just somethin' that you have to go through. I had this same talk with my dad."
~ written by Mr. Ron White
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Free Quality Traffic
Free traffic and money: the two things every Internet Marketer wants.
Isn't that obvious? Of course it is. But what isn't so obvious to most people starting out in this business is that nothing is free. Even if your methods don't require money, such as surfing Traffic Exchanges (TE's for short), they require your time - and your time is worth something.
In the United States, the government says that your time is worth a 'minimum wage'. So it could be said that if the work you are doing online to establish and grow your business isn't paying you at least that much an hour, then you'd be better off applying for the minimum wage job. Now that isn't entirely accurate since the hardest and least rewarding part of your new Internet Marketing career is in the first year. If you can stick with it that long, it gets a lot better after that, trust me.
So anyway, if free (as in it costs no money) quality traffic is what you're after, then the first thing that you need to do is join Affiliate Funnel (AF) and actually use the programs and tools that are available there:
http://affiliatefunnel.com/?rid=20004
There are a wealth of resources at AF and quite a few of them require only an investment of your time in order to make use of them. But remember, when using time-intensive methods to generate free traffic, it is critical that you hold onto your dreams - every day, and at all times. Easy to say, not so easy to do.
Having a dream can change your life, but only if you hold onto it and keep it in mind as you work. It's the only way. If you are going to surf the TE's or read Safelist messages for credits, then that dream of freedom and financial independence needs to be at the forefront of your mind if you wish to succeed. What I'm trying to say is that getting free traffic to your site is a hell of a lot of work!
My suggestion is to do a little meditation to center yourself everyday before you start working and just keep those pictures in your mind - the images of your dream life. I'm not talking about living in the future, mind you (that's bad), I'm just saying that you have to stay focused. Why am I telling you this? Because that's what I had to do, especially during my first six months - the time period during which 19 out of 20 will give up and quit.
In closing, I'd like to share a quote from one of my mentors, Mr. Jon Olson: In my years of working with traffic exchanges, I have seen a lot of trends come and go, but something has remained the same. That same desire and dream that each surfer has when they start a session of surfing. They dream of a more fulfilling life. A chance to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. The dream of working for yourself. It's very empowering. Surfing a traffic exchange has never been glorious and at times it can be downright boring. However, the people that make up this industry all have a few things in common: desire, passion, vision and 'the dream'.
In short, if your goal is free traffic, then my suggestion is to join AF and keep your dreams alive. Do those two things and DON'T QUIT... and you'll be just fine.
Isn't that obvious? Of course it is. But what isn't so obvious to most people starting out in this business is that nothing is free. Even if your methods don't require money, such as surfing Traffic Exchanges (TE's for short), they require your time - and your time is worth something.
In the United States, the government says that your time is worth a 'minimum wage'. So it could be said that if the work you are doing online to establish and grow your business isn't paying you at least that much an hour, then you'd be better off applying for the minimum wage job. Now that isn't entirely accurate since the hardest and least rewarding part of your new Internet Marketing career is in the first year. If you can stick with it that long, it gets a lot better after that, trust me.
So anyway, if free (as in it costs no money) quality traffic is what you're after, then the first thing that you need to do is join Affiliate Funnel (AF) and actually use the programs and tools that are available there:
http://affiliatefunnel.com/?rid=20004
There are a wealth of resources at AF and quite a few of them require only an investment of your time in order to make use of them. But remember, when using time-intensive methods to generate free traffic, it is critical that you hold onto your dreams - every day, and at all times. Easy to say, not so easy to do.
Having a dream can change your life, but only if you hold onto it and keep it in mind as you work. It's the only way. If you are going to surf the TE's or read Safelist messages for credits, then that dream of freedom and financial independence needs to be at the forefront of your mind if you wish to succeed. What I'm trying to say is that getting free traffic to your site is a hell of a lot of work!
My suggestion is to do a little meditation to center yourself everyday before you start working and just keep those pictures in your mind - the images of your dream life. I'm not talking about living in the future, mind you (that's bad), I'm just saying that you have to stay focused. Why am I telling you this? Because that's what I had to do, especially during my first six months - the time period during which 19 out of 20 will give up and quit.
In closing, I'd like to share a quote from one of my mentors, Mr. Jon Olson: In my years of working with traffic exchanges, I have seen a lot of trends come and go, but something has remained the same. That same desire and dream that each surfer has when they start a session of surfing. They dream of a more fulfilling life. A chance to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. The dream of working for yourself. It's very empowering. Surfing a traffic exchange has never been glorious and at times it can be downright boring. However, the people that make up this industry all have a few things in common: desire, passion, vision and 'the dream'.
In short, if your goal is free traffic, then my suggestion is to join AF and keep your dreams alive. Do those two things and DON'T QUIT... and you'll be just fine.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
New To Social Media? 3 Sites To Get You Started
As someone who seeks out the most up to date trends and news on social media, I tend to feel a bit overwhelmed at the new sites that come up. I’m used to the sites that I use on a regular basis. If you’re just getting started on using social media, here are some sites to start with. I’m sure you will find them useful and enjoyable.
Facebook – It’s definitely a step up to MySpace, another popular social networking site. With Facebook you can connect with people you know already, and even people you may have lost touch with. Personally, I find it useful in keeping touch with friends who live all over the place, and without Facebook, I probably wouldn’t be able to connect with people I lost touch with. If you’re concerned about privacy, there are many ways to hide and limit people from seeing information you don’t want them to see.
Twitter – This site has gotten increasingly popular over the course of the year, mainly because more celebrities and news media outlets have been using it. I’ve found twitter to be useful in getting breaking news before the news outlets even get it, interesting information I wouldn’t know about if I wasn’t following certain Twitter users, keeping in touch with friends, and even meeting new ones. If you're new to Twitter, read The Beginner's Guide to Using Twitter for 10 steps on how to effectively use it.
LinkedIn – This site can be compared to your online resume, with a feature to network with other LinkedIn members online. At this website, you’re required to be more professional, but it could help you if you’re looking for a job or trying to find business connections.
The best thing about these sites are that they are all free, and you really can’t lose with them, except spending lots of time on them!
Facebook – It’s definitely a step up to MySpace, another popular social networking site. With Facebook you can connect with people you know already, and even people you may have lost touch with. Personally, I find it useful in keeping touch with friends who live all over the place, and without Facebook, I probably wouldn’t be able to connect with people I lost touch with. If you’re concerned about privacy, there are many ways to hide and limit people from seeing information you don’t want them to see.
Twitter – This site has gotten increasingly popular over the course of the year, mainly because more celebrities and news media outlets have been using it. I’ve found twitter to be useful in getting breaking news before the news outlets even get it, interesting information I wouldn’t know about if I wasn’t following certain Twitter users, keeping in touch with friends, and even meeting new ones. If you're new to Twitter, read The Beginner's Guide to Using Twitter for 10 steps on how to effectively use it.
LinkedIn – This site can be compared to your online resume, with a feature to network with other LinkedIn members online. At this website, you’re required to be more professional, but it could help you if you’re looking for a job or trying to find business connections.
The best thing about these sites are that they are all free, and you really can’t lose with them, except spending lots of time on them!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
How do you promote TrafficWave?
I recently received an email from a new referral who wrote, "Thanks for the welcome email and slide show. I joined TrafficWave after seeing your splash page on one of the TE's. What method of promotion do you recommend for TrafficWave's Matrix-Buster concept?'http://www.trafficwave.net/members/rustyshelton/matrix.html
Here is my reply...
Obviously, TE's do work. I admit, though, that they are sloooooooow. So patience is important. In fact, it's VITAL to this business in general because most people give up and quit way too soon. All of this takes longer than everybody thinks it does or should. Anyway, I'm upgraded in 6 or 7 TE's (I lose count) and I use them heavily.
I also have four hosted FFA pages with mailers that send out daily emails. One is at TrafficWave, one is at Monster-Traffic, one is at FFA Storm and one is at FFA Blaze.
I like Viral URL too and I like to keep at least 500 credits there at all times. The Free Traffic Bar is good. I also blog regularly and submit my posts to blog carnivals. I Tweet my posts as well. BTW, blog posts do (eventually) pick up search engine traffic. To that end, I use SpinSuccess to drive search engine traffic to my blog also.
Once a month, I buy the 50,000 Guaranteed Visitor package from TrafficWave for the main affiliate page, which seems to convert the best. That package comes with extra promotional goodies that they throw in as a bonus. To me, it's worth the cost.
I comment on other people's blogs and in forums and I just generally try to get as many back-links to my blog as possible out there. I also market with Pyrabang, Affiliate Funnel and other things through which I can send mailings and post links. Naturally, I mail to my list as well. Oh, and I also leave GDI business cards everywhere. You see, anyone who signs up for GDI, I send to my blog where they will be exposed to TrafficWave as well - and visa versa. I cross-promote, as most who join one will often join the other one too. That's what my '30-Day Success System' is all about.
And I've got some other permanent links and hosted pages out there too that, to be quite honest, I've forgotten about. About the only things I don't do very often are safelists and classifieds, although I am looking at some nationwide newspaper classifieds soon. It's just hard to be everywhere and do everything. I think it's best to find a few methods of advertising that work for you and then get better and better at doing those - and you have to be relentless! Another thing I like to do is find blogger.com profiles with the same interests as mine and become a 'follower'. It's kind of a sucker-fish strategy, but my face & link to my blog are on a LOT of other people's blogs out there!
As you know, that slideshow is up on YouTube now but since you are on my team I can send you the original PowerPoint to use anyway you see fit. Replace my picture and name with yours, change the wording - do whatever you want! The really great thing about the TrafficWave matrix is that we really aren't 'competing' against each other. Our efforts help each other as you will learn once you have your sign-ups and so on.
All told, I devote as much time as humanely possible to the laborious task of my promotions everyday (I'm also a full-time student!) and I spend about $300.00 a month on my program fees, advertising and advertising services - some months even more. One of my long term projects for '09/'10 is a viral ebook that will grow our matrix as well.
But all said and done, the single most important thing is to just stick with it and never, never quit.
http://www.website.ws/rustylshelton
http://affiliatefunnel.com/?rid=20004
http://www.pyrabang.com/go/rustylshelton
http://www.spinsuccess.com/affiliates/id/12247_1
http://www.monster-traffic.com/members/index.cgi?rustyshelton
http://www.ffastorm.com/p.cgi?rustyshelton/index.html
Monday, June 1, 2009
Despite Media Attention, Twitter Still Not Reaching Young Adults
Lately, it seems we can not turn on any news programming without hearing a mention of Twitter. As one would expect, most people would now be tweeting up a storm. This, however, is not the case for young adults aged 18-24. While a whopping 99% of this age group have social network profiles, only about 22% of them use Twitter.
Of the 18-24 year olds who do use Twitter, only 29% follow companies. The necessity to get this important demographic more involved in Twitter is obvious, as it is a huge opportunity. One way to get these young adults more involved would be to incorporate more applications into Twitter. A survey recently showed that 89% of social network users have installed apps on their profiles. Time to roll out the apps, Twitter.
Of the 18-24 year olds who do use Twitter, only 29% follow companies. The necessity to get this important demographic more involved in Twitter is obvious, as it is a huge opportunity. One way to get these young adults more involved would be to incorporate more applications into Twitter. A survey recently showed that 89% of social network users have installed apps on their profiles. Time to roll out the apps, Twitter.
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