Issue #2517
- WEALTHY: Unloading your credit card debt (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: 2 reasons to stock up on olive oil (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: MaryEllen Tribby on making marketing decisions
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- If you think you know what your prospects want… (Bob Bly)
- Don’t let that potential customer leave your site (Wendy Montes de Oca)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the pumpkin capital of the world
- Add “stygian” to your vocabulary
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Getting Rid of Credit Card Loans
I wonder if I should be telling you this…
It’s perfectly legal. And it could save you thousands – if not tens of thousands – of dollars. Well, I’ll just tell you what my sister-in-law did and let you decide if this is for you.
My sister-in-law is starting her own business. Using her home as collateral (it’s paid off), she got a business loan. But before she started to spend that money, she called up several of the credit card companies she held cards with. This is what she told them: “I’m starting a new business. I’m going to be spending a lot of money. I can’t guarantee how much longer I’ll be able to make my monthly payments. But I have some money right now. And I’m willing to pay off 80 percent of what I owe you today if you’ll cancel my card in return.”
Every credit card company agreed. And she used nearly $40,000 of her business loan to pay off $50,000 worth of debt.
Keep in mind is that this could slightly lower your credit rating. But if you’re in a position to pay off 75-85 percent of what you owe on a credit card right away, maybe you should make a call. If they accept the deal, you’ll not only be saving by not paying half the principal, you’ll be saving all the interest that would continue to pile up in the account until you manage to pay it off. My sister-in-law is a fast talker, but not that fast a talker. If it worked for her, it should work for you too.
She wasn’t lying to those companies. She didn’t twist any arms. In fact, she told me that they jumped at her offer – and here’s why…
Card companies put a value on your debt depending on your credit risk. Could be 40 cents on the dollar… or 60 cents… or 80 cents. If it’s 60 cents and you offer to pay back 70 percent of your debt, that’s a good deal for them, because they would be selling your debt on the secondary market for only 60 cents on the dollar. If it’s 60 cents and you offer to pay back 50 percent, that’s a bad deal and they would refuse.
The worse credit you have, the better deal you can negotiate. It’s not unethical, it’s a business deal. What’s unethical is when a credit card company raises your interest rate by 50 percent even if you have a perfect payment record.
[Ed. Note: The corporate world is having a tough time these days, but you can still make money if you pay attention to the "red flags" - signals that could predict (with as much as 92 percent certainty) when a company's stock is going to tank. Know that, and you could make a bundle. Find out how to spot these red flags right here.]
“What you think doesn’t matter.”
MaryEllen Tribby
The Worst Way to Make Marketing Decisions
By Bob Bly
Recently “Betty,” one of my readers, sent me an e-mail very similar in sentiment to dozens of other e-mails I have received over the years.
“Why do marketers like ETR and AWAI send me 16-page direct-mail sales letters when the copywriter could have said the same thing in 1 to 2 pages?” Betty writes. “The prospect might even buy out of gratitude for not having to wade through those 16 pages, and breathe a sigh of relief instead of snarl a nasty expletive.”
But Betty is not through lambasting long-copy direct marketing. Her e-mail continues:
“My brother-in-law makes a hobby of going through those 16-page letters just for fun, red-penciling errors before he tosses them. He would never, under pain of death, buy from a direct-marketing sales letter.”
And it’s not just Betty’s brother-in-law who thinks direct marketers are fools.
“My sister just drops those 16-page mailings into recycling without even bothering to open them,” she reports. “Many of the people I know feel the same way. So why do copywriters persist in creating these massive multi-page mailings? Is it because they are paid by the page? Or because the client wants his pound of flesh from his writers?”
Finally, Betty turns to the Internet as the harbinger of doom for long copy, asking, “Isn’t the Internet killing off traditional direct-response copy?”
The answer to Betty’s question is fairly simple…
The marketers she complains about use long copy not because they love to pay their copywriters a fortune to write it for them… or because they enjoy spending more money on printing and postage.
They use long copy for only one reason: It works.
Does long copy always out-pull short copy?
Of course not.
But long copy often out-pulls short copy when:
You are marketing information products (or other products) that are sold by telling stories or conveying ideas.
- You are generating a direct sale… via mail-order… rather than just generating a lead or inquiry.
- The reader is unfamiliar with your product and its benefits.
- You are demanding payment with order. The prospect has to pay up front with a check or credit card. He cannot order the product on credit and get an invoice he can choose to pay – or not pay – later.
- The product is complex and, therefore, requires a lot of explanation.
- The product is something people want rather than something they need. It is a discretionary purchase.
- The product is expensive, representing an expenditure the prospect is likely to consider carefully.
As for Betty’s theory that the Internet is making traditional long-copy direct marketing obsolete, it’s quite the opposite: A product that requires long copy to sell it offline usually requires long copy to sell it online as well.
For instance, take a look at my website myveryfirstebook.com.
So… what does this long copy vs. short copy debate have to do with “the worst way to make marketing decisions”? Simply because it illustrates that the worst way to make marketing decisions – which is what Betty and her family are doing – is through subjective judgment.
Copywriter Peter Beutel advises marketers: “Don’t let personal preferences get in the way.” In other words, what’s important is not what you think, like, believe, or prefer… it’s what your prospects think, like, believe, and prefer.
One of the best things about being a direct marketer is that, unlike general advertisers, we don’t have to rely solely on subjective judgment. We don’t have to let our personal likes and dislikes cloud our judgment (like Betty’s brother-in-law is doing). We can put almost any proposition – e.g., headline “A” vs. headline “B” or long copy vs. short copy – to a direct test. And we can precisely measure the ROMD (return on marketing dollars) for our ads and commercials.
So, Betty, it doesn’t matter what your sister or brother-in-law do… or that they don’t like long copy. What matters is that, in a statistically valid split test, the long copy generated more orders than the short copy – and that’s why those long letters are in the mail.
I close with this quote from advertising legend Claude Hopkins: “Advertising arguments should only be settled by testing, not arguments around a conference table.”
[Ed. Note: Copywriting and marketing master Bob Bly came out of his self-imposed retirement from speaking to present his top 20 marketing secrets to ETR's 2008 Info Marketing Bootcamp attendees. Now, you can watch his presentation in the comfort of your own living room. He and an elite group of world-class marketing experts revealed their $100,000 strategies for building wealth last week. And we captured it all on video. Pick up your Bootcamp DVD Library today.
For expert insights into the world of direct marketing, be sure to sign up for Bob's free monthly newsletter, The Direct Response Letter. Do it today and get $116 in free bonuses.]
Rescue Me?
Have you ever been in the middle of an online purchase and, for whatever reason – pre-buyer’s remorse, second thoughts – decided not to continue with it and backed out of the sales page?
If you did, I’m sure you’ve seen those little windows that magically appear on your computer screen.
They’re known as “rescue pop-ups,” and many successful e-tailers use them in a last-minute attempt to save the sale. Some of these pop-ups ask you if you’re sure you want to end the purchase (in case you backed out of the page by accident). Others offer you an incentive to continue with the purchase, perhaps free shipping or a discount.
Recently, some sites have taken a multi-channel approach that encourages the user to “click here to speak to a live person.” In essence, you’re crossing from one marketing channel to another – going from click to call. This is especially attractive to customers who feel hesitant about doing an online transaction… or who simply need that extra human interaction before making the purchase.
Although some find rescue pop-ups intrusive or annoying, they definitely serve a purpose. And if even one sale is saved as a result, it’s worth it for the e-tailer. Hey, if your customers don’t want to see ‘em, they can always enable their pop-up blockers!
[Ed. Note: Using a rescue pop-up is just one marketing strategy you might want to test. Remember, the more channels you involve in your marketing mix, the better your chance of reaching your customer exactly when she wants to buy. Get the comprehensive guide to multi-channel marketing - and learn how it can make you a more valuable employee and a better businessperson - right here.]
Drizzle This Oil for a Flat Belly
Are last year’s pants feeling a little tight? You may want to add more olive oil to your diet.
In a recent study of overweight people, a diet comprised of 30 to 40 percent monounsaturated fats (primarily from olive oil) helped to thwart tummy expanding over time. What’s more, this Mediterranean-style diet helped maintain better insulin sensitivity – a key factor in the prevention of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer.
Keep in mind that you’re not going to cinch your midsection just by eating more olive oil. For serious tummy trimming, the equation is simple: a healthy diet plus extra exercise.
[Ed. Note: As nutrition expert Kelley Herring points out, you can find plenty of all-natural methods for staying healthy. Now, you can access the latest breakthroughs in weight-loss programs... healthful recipes... and other ideas for achieving optimal health - all from one of the largest integrative-medicine practices in the country. Learn more here.
Survive the holidays with Kelley's brand-new recipe e-books, Guilt-Free Desserts and Healthy Holiday Hors d'Oeuvres. You'll find 60+ healthy recipes you can easily make at home.]
It’s Fun to Know: The Pumpkin Capital of the World
If you’re a fan of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert, say thanks to the pumpkin farmers in central Illinois. They grow about 90 percent of the U.S. pumpkin crop. (In 2007, that crop was worth $117 million to them.) Central Illinois is also where the world’s largest pumpkin processing plant is located. It produces 85 percent of the canned pumpkin on supermarket shelves.
(Source: University of Illinois)
== Highly Recommended ==
Billionaires Are NOT Born – They’re Made
You might be thinking, “It takes money to make money.”
And that the only way to become filthy rich is to be born into it.
But you’d be dead wrong.
Four men climbed their way up the billionaire ladder. One was a factory worker… another began as a file clerk… and two others toiled as a grocer and a shop assistant.
They never based making their fortune on “luck” or connections.
Nor did they have “daddy’s money” to bank roll them.
And yet, they all went from zeros to heroes.
Now, you can crack the very same “wealth code” that put them on the path to massive wealth.
Word to the Wise: Stygian
The word “stygian” (STIJE-ee-un), which is sometimes capitalized, comes from Greek mythology – from the river Styx in the underworld. It has, therefore, come to mean hellish, dark and dismal.
Example (as used by Catherine Slessor in The Architectural Review): “The gleaming steel catches the sunlight, casting a play of sparkling reflections and shadows into the Stygian, subterranean depths.”
[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
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- The Worst Way to Make Marketing Decisions – Recently “Betty,” one of my readers, sent me an e-mail very similar in sentiment to dozens of other …
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- The Pumpkin Capital of the World – If you’re a fan of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert, say thanks to the pumpkin farmers in centra…
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Most credit cards will actually settle for .15 cents on the dollar and if you have a good enough story, they will do less.
You must remember that when a credit card company (and for that matter and other company) “lends” you money, they are creating it out of thin air, it is not coming from a depositors asset nor their own asset. So even if they get your .15 cents on the dollar, they are still making money.
The only drawback with settling is, it will likely ding your credit.
Chris