Issue #2528
- WEALTHY: Have you been ripped off by a “charity”? (Jason Holland)
- HEALTHY: Fast-food utopia (Kelley Herring) )
- WISE: William Pepperell Montague on skepticism
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Without this crucial element, your sales will slow to a trickle (Bob Bly)
- What do you think you’re too old to do? (Jon Benson)
- It’s Fun to Know… how to get in touch with the new president
- Add “vertiginous” to your vocabulary
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How to Avoid a Common Holiday Scam
“I bought some Girl Scout cookies last night,” Suzanne told me the other day. “And,” she added proudly, “I donated a box of cookies to the troops.”
“What troops?” I asked. “Did they tell you which branch of the military they would be sending the cookies to?”
“No…” she trailed off. “Come to think of it, the sign was really vague. Who knows? Maybe they put the cookies I ‘donated’ back on the table once I left!”
Did Suzanne get scammed? I hope not. The holidays are a time of giving – and not just to family and friends. Charitable organizations of all kinds receive a flood of donations at this time of year.
Unfortunately, scam artists take advantage of this situation to pose as charities… and then take the money and run. So before you write that check or pull out your credit card…
- Don’t pay bills or invoices you receive in the mail from charities you’ve never talked to.
- Ask for a copy of the charity’s financial report and a list of its activities.
- Find out how much of your donation will go to programs… and how much will go to “operating costs.”
- Pay close attention to the name of the charity. Often, scammers will use a name that’s very similar to the name of a reputable one.
- Never give cash (except to Salvation Army bell ringers). Always make your check payable to the organization – not an individual.
- Be wary of “emergency” appeals that insist they need the money right away.
- Never give out your credit card number or bank information over the phone.
For a list of reputable charities and information on their activities, check out these websites: www.charitynavigator.org, www.give.org, and www.guidestar.org.
(Source: Arizona Daily Star and Consumerist)
“Skepticism is not a denial of belief, but rather a denial of rational grounds for belief.”
William Pepperell Montague
5 Steps to the Perfect Guarantee
By Bob Bly
“Use a strong guarantee” is standard advice in direct marketing. Without a strong guarantee, your sales will slow to a trickle. Buyers are loathe to buy products sight unseen – over the Internet, by phone, or by mail.
But what, exactly, makes for a “strong” guarantee?
A strong guarantee has five defining characteristics.
1. It is good for a long period of time.
As a rule of thumb, the longer the guarantee period, the better.
Typical guarantee periods are 10, 14, 30, 60, 90, 180, and 365 days. Of these, 10 days is the weakest, because it requires the prospect to act too quickly for comfort. He is afraid that, if he puts the product aside, the guarantee coverage will expire and he’ll be stuck with something he can’t return. And so he doesn’t order in the first place.
Thirty days is a standard guarantee period, and certainly adequate. Sixty and 90 days are better. All the information products I publish and sell online are guaranteed for 90 days.
I don’t like lifetime guarantees, because they create a financial liability on the books that may be problematic when it’s time to sell the business. Six- and 12-month guarantees may be worth testing, but won’t work for some products. For instance, a one-year guarantee doesn’t make sense for an annual directory.
2. There are no strings attached.
A conditional guarantee might say: “Return the product in saleable condition for your money back.” A guarantee like this will make the prospect worry that you will quibble with him over “saleable condition.” That you may, for example, refuse to issue a refund for a book he returned because, say, the dust jacket has a smudge on it.
Another conditional guarantee that stops prospects from buying is the one used by many sellers of home-study programs. They say: “If you are not satisfied, send back the course for a refund. Just prove to us that you made some effort to follow our system.” Then, when you ask for a refund, they ask for more and more proof. And no matter how much proof you send, the seller counters with “You didn’t do what we said” (or enough of it) – and denies your refund on that basis.
Much better is to offer an unconditional guarantee. Tell the customer all he has to do is return the product for a full refund – no ifs, ands, or buts – without question or quibble.
3. Everything is clearly stated and spelled out.
Don’t use any wording that the consumer can misinterpret. For instance, a performance-based guarantee – “If you do not earn extra money trading options with our program, return it for a refund” – sounds good but raises a potential concern. Does it mean that if you DO make some extra money with the product, you can’t return it? Even if you only made 10 bucks?
Rewrite the guarantee so no condition or ambiguity is stated or implied: “If you do not make extra money trading options with our program, or you are not 100% satisfied for any other reason – or for no reason – just return the program within 90 days for a full refund.”
4. It is graphically emphasized within the promotion.
Don’t bury the guarantee in body copy or put it in an asterisked footnote in 8-point type. Print the guarantee in 12-point copy with a large, bold headline. Put a box or even a certificate-style border around it to make it stand out.
5. It is generous.
The best guarantees are unfair – but unfair in favor of the buyer, not the seller. That means if the customer takes advantage of the guarantee, the seller is, in a sense, getting ripped off.
Example. For regular books sold via mail-order, the guarantee is simple: “Return the book and we will send you your money back.”
But think about that same guarantee for e-books… Can customers really return the e-book? Do you expect them to send back the copy they printed out… or sign an affidavit that they erased the e-book from their hard drive… or shredded the printout? (Some online marketers have done just that!)
Most information marketers skirt the issue of returning e-books in their guarantees. They say: “If you are not 100% satisfied, let us know within 90 days for a full refund.” No discussion about returning or erasing or not using it.
In the landing pages I write to sell the e-books I publish (see, for example, myveryfirstebook.com), I go a step further. I turn the fact that the customer does not have to return the e-book into a benefit. I say: “If you are not 100% satisfied, let us know within 90 days for a full refund. And keep the e-book free, with my compliments. That way, you risk nothing.”
I’ve always suspected that this overly generous offer has boosted my sales, but never split-tested it. However, at a recent Internet marketing seminar, DP, who heard me make this point in my presentation, said that he too tells his customers to keep the e-book even if they ask for a refund. But DP has split-tested it. And he swears that “Keep the e-book free” increased his conversion rates on average by 21 percent.
The bottom line: Make sure your guarantee is…
- Long. 90 days is ideal for most offers.
- Unconditional. No strings attached.
- Clearly stated with no ambiguity or possibility of misunderstanding.
- Highlighted with bold typography, color, and graphics so it really stands out on the screen or page.
- Overly generous – so if the consumer exercises the guarantee, he is essentially taking almost unfair advantage of you, the seller.
The overriding principle of a strong guarantee is to take all the risk off the buyer’s shoulders and place it on the seller’s shoulders – where it should be.
[Ed. Note: Knowing how to put together an irresistible offer is one of the best ways to make money online - for your employer, a client, or even your own business. For more marketing tactics from freelance copywriter and marketing expert Bob Bly - and from nearly a dozen other world-class Internet marketers - pick up a copy of ETR's 2008 Information Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library. With their advice, you could learn how to make $1 million or more with your own Internet business in 2009. Get all the details here.
To learn more marketing secrets from freelance copywriter and marketing expert Bob Bly, sign up for his free e-zine, the Direct Response Letter. Do so today and get $116 in bonuses.]
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“Don’t Put an Age Limit on Your Dreams”
By Jon Benson
“Don’t put an age limit on your dreams.” That’s a quote from Dara Torres, one of my heroes and an Olympic champion. At the age of 41, she dared to enter the 2008 Olympics and swim a “kids’ race,” the 100 meter free. It’s an all-out sprint. One length of the pool. Winner takes the gold medal.
Dara lost the gold by 1/100th of a second. That’s almost too short to measure.
She won silver. She beat the American 16-year-old who was swimming just a few lanes over. She beat her personal record set when she herself was a teenager. She smashed the American record. She bested her last Olympics, and the one before that, with a time that, except for a slight start mistake would have won her a gold medal.
Let me put that into perspective: Dara lost by 1/100th of a second to a girl young
enough to be her daughter. In fact, ALL the other racers were young enough to be her daughters.
Dara is not “old.” She’s not even “middle-aged.” Those are terms that limit our ability to achieve. Dara is simply an athlete. A mom. A true woman of power. Someone who lives in the present. Dara is a champion, and there is no age requirement attached to the label “champ.” Even Olympic champ.
She beat her personal best, set almost 20 years prior, and did it in the toughest arena ever created. And Dara was not the oldest Olympian this year. John Dane III, 58, crewed a boat for the Olympic sailing team. Libby Callahan, 56, became the oldest U.S. female Olympian of all time. She competed with the shooting team.
So, I ask you: What do you think you’re too old to do?
[Ed. Note: There's no age limit on success. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You can start your own business, increase your income, and even start on the path toward real wealth. Learn how here.
Jon Benson is a life coach and nutrition counselor who specializes in helping individuals discover a life-altering mind/body connection. His work in the field of post-40 fitness and mental empowerment has helped countless thousands rediscover a youthful body and positive outlook. Discover how you can do the same by clicking here.]
Clean & Green Fast Food
If you’re having trouble hunting down restaurants that serve healthy, inexpensive, fast food, one option to try is Chipotle Grill. They currently have over 500 places throughout the U.S., and their Mexican food is top burrito. Not only do they get their meats from natural sources (including Niman Ranch) and slow-roast them to perfection, everything on their menu us made from whole foods and natural ingredients.
So when the fast-food craving strikes, consider Chipotle. And consider splitting your entree with a friend. The portions are generous. Opt for one of the restaurant’s salads. (Avoid the white-flour tortillas.) Top with pork carnitas and black beans, and ask for a side of guacamole, for a power-packed, low-glycemic meal in about five minutes for about five bucks. Ole!
[Ed. Note: Healthy food, as nutrition expert Kelley Herring points out, doesn't have to taste like cardboard. Simply make smart choices when it comes to what you eat, and you can live a healthier, fuller life. For tasty, good-for-you recipes - plus the latest health breakthroughs and easy to follow fitness techniques - sign up for ETR's natural health newsletter.
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: Hey, Prez, How R U Doing?
If you want to get in touch with the new president when he takes office in January, you’ll have to write a letter. Barack Obama will have to give up e-mail (and his treasured BlackBerry).
No, the president-elect isn’t worried about being distracted by instant messages or forwarded pictures of cute puppies from the Secretary of Defense. First, there is the concern of hackers breaking into the presidential e-mail account and finding sensitive information. And second, the Presidential Records Act makes all correspondence with the president – public and private – part of the official record. No doubt his friends and family wouldn’t want to be subject to such scrutiny.
(Source: The New York Times)
== Highly Recommended ==
Hey, Rat Race Runners… Need a Change?
If your soul has been screaming at you to get out of the never-ending rat race, here’s your chance. After all these years, don’t you deserve to live the good life? Get started making money for yourself instead of your boss.
Word to the Wise: Vertiginous
Something that’s “vertiginous” (ver-TIJ-uh-nus) – from the Latin – is (1) unstable, or (2) threatening to cause the dizzying sensation of vertigo.
Example (as used by Will Blythe in a New York Times review of What Can I Do When Everything’s on Fire by Antonio Lobo Antunes): “There are novels out there as vertiginous as the dread K2, steep with degrees of difficulty that put readers into the same position as mountaineers staring at a terrifying traverse.”
[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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This issue’s great. I really wish I’d more time to read.