Selling Lifestyle
Issue #2301
- WEALTHY: Will this man risk his future to become financially self-sufficient? (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: The weight-loss secret of apples and pears (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: John Ilhan on marketing
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- What comes first - the product, the promotion… or something else? (Bob Bly)
- 8 dollar-friendly travel destinations (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… about the Gulf Stream power plant
- Add "temerarious" to your vocabulary
What’s Wrong With this Picture?
By now, you could be forgiven for thinking making money online is akin to some kind of black magic! You’ve probably heard the talk about SEO, XML, PPC and ended up more confused than when you started.
But you know, it’s really very simple. Make no mistake, what I’m about to share with you (for FREE) is THE secret. It only fills a couple of lines but this is the truth you’ve been denied by so many of the so-called “gurus”.
Ready? Here it is (drum roll please)…
Dear ETR: "Should I cash in my 401(k)?"
"I want to thank you, Michael, for your frank and direct approach to the advice you offer. You are one of the few individuals that I have come to trust when it comes to acquiring the knowledge needed to realize my goal of becoming financially self-sufficient within seven years.
"I have two websites under construction. I am developing a product for one of them, and I am enrolled in the copywriting program from American Writers & Artists Inc. I also want to fund an investment account with an advisory service.
"I currently have $115K in my 401(k) account through my employer, and am very concerned with the future of these savings as it relates to our economy. I am aware that there will be taxes and penalties due if I liquidate this account. At 50 years old, I am in no position to make mistakes with these funds should I use them for funding the additional programs from ETR and Agora that I have in mind.
"My question is: How should someone in my position proceed?
"I am divorced with a young child, 28 years with my employer, and I come from extremely humble beginnings. To say I am very ambitious is an understatement.
"I appreciate any advice you might offer."
- Caleb Montes
Dear Caleb,
Don’t cash in your 401(k).
If you are worried about the dollar’s devaluation, you can make some appropriate adjustments in your investment portfolio. I can’t give you advice on what to do with that. I am not an investment advisor. I can tell you that I am affected by the dollar’s decline every time I visit one of my overseas clients. It hurts, but it hasn’t caused me to change my portfolio too much.
My personal crystal ball is predicting that the dollar will probably continue to fall. And the stock market will probably come way down in the next year or two. But I’m not worried. I’m mostly in bonds and cash. I don’t need big yields, because about 10 years ago I began to work with several partners to develop little side businesses. It took a while, but there are now about six that give me more monthly income than I could possibly spend. So if the dollar continues to fall and the market crashes, I don’t care.
I’m not bragging. I only followed the advice of people who know investments better than I do. All of these people are on the Agora investment advisory team. (The best in the world.) If you spend time reading a few their free e-zines (there are dozens of them), you will have a good idea of what you should do with your money. You might consider starting with ETR’s own sister publication, Investor’s Daily Edge.
The most important thing, though, is to develop second and third streams of income. You are already doing that with your websites and copywriting. Congratulations.
But if you are spending money on your websites and haven’t yet developed an e-marketing program for a customer base, you may need a little help.
For the ultimate program for Internet success, invest in ETR’s Internet Money Club when it opens up for the "class" of 2009. You can get on the hotlist right now. MaryEllen Tribby tells me this program is the best thing ETR has ever produced on the subject - by far.
But don’t dip into your 401(k) to invest in it. Instead, go out and get an extra job on the weekends. Earn the money to invest in the program. That way you won’t be depleting your nest egg.
Meanwhile, get a copy of my book, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, and read it three times. That will help you ratchet up your side businesses and start bringing in cash.
Start right away. And at the end of 2008, let me know about the progress you’ve made. I am looking forward to hearing a good report.
And don’t cash in that 401(k)!
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]
Praise for Ready, Fire, Aim : "This is powerful information unavailable anywhere else but the school of hard knocks."
"Ready, Fire, Aim contains vitally important, direct, and critically valuable information for any entrepreneur (or genuine wannabe who doesn’t know how to get going). It’s pithy, no-nonsense, pointed, easy to read, practical, and gets to the heart of the matter.
"The information is easy to understand, digest, integrate, and implement. Michael Masterson gives those of us starting out a roadmap of practical stages to look to and to understand along the way.
"This is powerful information available only from the school of hard knocks. Michael lets us learn from his wisdom and his mistakes, showing us a path through the (relatively) easy way instead of the hard way.
"He speaks in ‘main-street’ not ‘MBA-speak’ language that anyone serious about their business growth can understand and implement."
Will Dowell, M.D.
"This may seem simple, but you need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back."
John Ilhan
Selling Lifestyle
By Bob Bly
At last year’s ETR/AWAI Bootcamp, I was chatting with Michael Masterson before we were to give a presentation together. We were talking about what motivates people to buy the kind of programs that ETR and AWAI market.
"People, especially as the years pass, don’t just care about becoming a millionaire or making six figures," he said. "What they are after most," said Michael, "is a certain kind of lifestyle… and living that life on their own terms. Money for them is mostly a means to that end."
I am convinced he is right, and marketers who simplistically trumpet "get rich" in their ads are making a mistake. Instead of selling the obvious benefit, they could be reaching their prospects on a deeper and more powerful level.
I saw this principle in action in a series of TV commercials for ITT Tech, an institute offering career training for adults.
In the old days, ads for career-training places implied that if you took their program you’d make a lot of money.
One of my clients in the career-training field back then ran an ad featuring a student standing proudly next to his new Jaguar. What the ad failed to mention was that he bought the Jaguar with money he won in a personal injury lawsuit, not with money he earned as a result of his training.
Anyway, the new ITT Tech ads are different. They feature interviews with students who graduated and are now gainfully employed. But they don’t talk about money.
One of the graduates talks about how proud his kids are to see him put on a suit and tie and go to work every day. Another one talks about the overseas business trips his company sends him on, and says how he loves to travel, try new foods, see different cultures, and meet new people on the job. He says nothing about money. His mother is in the commercial, too, saying how proud she is of her son.
I have coined a name for this type of marketing. I call it "lifestyle promotion."
The marketing for the ROM Cross Trainer is an excellent example. The machine looks something like Santa’s sleigh. It costs $14,615. The ad claims it can get you fit in only four minutes a day. And the company has been selling them since 1990.
Given the $14,615 purchase price, I’m guessing the target market for this product is upper-middle-class people earning six-figure incomes. They want to look and feel better, tone their bodies, and lose weight. They are told by doctors and trainers to exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes - maybe even an hour - anywhere from three to seven days a week.
But these are busy people. "I don’t have time to exercise!" they say. So the ROM Cross Trainer is the perfect fitness solution for them: You can get all the exercise you need - a complete workout - in just four minutes a day!
Plus, for many of them, time is money. For an executive or entrepreneur whose time is worth, say, $100 an hour, the ROM Cross Trainer is, again, the perfect fitness solution. By cutting his exercise time by five hours a week, it will pay for itself in less than eight months - making it a good investment instead of an expense.
Instead of taking time out of your day to train at the gym, your daily exercise routine is over in less than five minutes - without leaving your home or office. Instead of going to work out at night, you can get home at a reasonable hour and have dinner with your spouse and kids.
It’s all about lifestyle.
Lifestyle promotions can be written for almost any product and any market. But I find they work best with "lifestyle products" that have been "reverse engineered." In other words, instead of starting with the product, you start with the lifestyle desired by your target market. Then you design a product that helps them achieve it.
You can even write the lifestyle promotion first, creating copy you are confident will sell like gangbusters. Then you design a product that delivers on the promises in the copy.
MP, a copywriter, tells the story of how he was hired to write a direct-mail package to sell a book on decorating. As MP tells it, when he handed in his copy, the marketing director told him, "It’s great - but the book doesn’t fit what you’ve written."
MP swears the publisher had the author totally rewrite the book to fit his promotion. (And it was a big success.)
[Ed Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter, the author of more than 70 books, and co-creator of ETR’s Direct Marketing Masters Edition program.
Sign up for Bob’s free monthly e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and get more than $100 in free bonuses.]
When the CAR gets stuck in a rut you can call AAA - But who do you call when YOU get in a rut?
Feeling like your life has stalled? Wondering where all the excitement has gone? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. All of us get dragged down in a rut now and then.
But you’ll get back out on the highway of life a LOT faster if you have a friendly “towing service” looking out for you 24×7.
So put on your seat belts, rev up those engines… and let’s get going with our motivational kick-in-the-pants program.
- Charlie Byrne
A Fruity Way to Lose Weight
Want to drop a few pounds? It may sound counterintuitive, but there’s a before-meal snack that can give your weight-loss efforts a boost.
A recent study published in the journal Nutrition divided women into two groups. One group got an apple or a pear before meals, while the other group got an oat cookie. Aside from that, both groups were on the same reduced-calorie diet for 12 weeks.
At the end of the 12 weeks, the fruit eaters had lost an average of more than 2.6 pounds, while the cookie crunchers had insignificant weight loss. What’s more, the fruit eaters had a greater decrease in blood sugar levels.
Researchers believe the weight-loss secret of apples and pears lies in their high-water, high-fiber, yet low-calorie composition.
Shape up your health with organic apples and pears. But make sure you’re conscious of your sugar intake. A medium apple has 14 grams of sugar (72 calories, 19 carbs, 3 grams of fiber). A medium pear has 16 grams of sugar (96 calories, 26 carbs, 5 grams of fiber).
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR’s free natural health e-letter.]
Travel Tip: 8 Dollar-Friendly Destinations
By Jason Holland
Planning a trip on a tight budget? Forget mainland Europe. The strength of the euro will have you spending a fortune on food, lodging, and entertainment. Cross the United Kingdom off your list too. One British pound will cost you $2. But there are still many dollar-friendly possibilities:
- Eastern Europe, including Croatia and the Czech Republic (cut crystal vases for $40)
- Hong Kong ($2 for an authentic Chinese meal)
- New Zealand (double hotel room with free Internet and flat-screen TV, $68 a night)
- Vietnam (a tailored silk jacket for $20)
- South America (custom-made leather goods at rock bottom prices, including made-to-fit jackets for $150)
- Mediterranean cruises (all-inclusive packages starting at $1,500)
- Mexico (locally mined and crafted silver jewelry starting at $5)
- The Bahamas (all-inclusive resorts for savings on food and lodging; high-quality cigars made by Cuban immigrants: $20 each)
For more budget-friendly vacation destinations, read Steenie Harvey’s recent article.
(Source: Travel and Leisure )
It’s Good to Know: The Gulf Stream Power Plant
At 8.5 billion gallons per second, the Gulf Stream is the world’s strongest sustained ocean current. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University believe it could also provide enough energy to meet one-third of their state’s electricity needs.
The energy would be harnessed by thousands of underwater turbines set 30 to 40 feet below the surface. Plans call for an offshore test turbine within months. Based on the results of that experiment, a larger system could be established.
(Source: Associated Press)
How to Get the Investing Cash You Need — Fast!
Today’s real estate market is full of great buying opportunities, but getting a loan from a bank can take longer than most sellers are willing to wait. That’s why smart investors set up their own "private banks" before they find a hot deal.
What’s more, some sellers are so desperate that cash in hand can put you in line ahead of other buyers… even if they’re willing to pay more!
Click here to learn how you can get all the money you need to fund profitable real estate deals… even if you have no credit, no job, and no money!
Word to the Wise: Temerarious
"Temerarious" (tem-uh-RARE-ee-us) - from the Latin - means recklessly or presumptuously daring.
Example (as used by H.G. Wells in The New Machiavelli): "I have confessed myself a temerarious theologian, and in that passage from boyhood to manhood I ranged widely in my search for some permanently satisfying Truth."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker … build your self-confidence and intellect … increase your attractiveness to others … just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR’s new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008