Issue# 2708
- WEALTHY: Is the latest Web trend nothing more than a passing fad? (John Forde)
- HEALTHY: How to build lean, sexy muscle at any age (Shane Ellison)
- WISE: Euripides on giving gifts
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The problem with the traditional approach to giving business gifts (Bob Bly)
- Breaking out of old routines (John Carlton)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the Learjet repo industry
- Add “clamber” to your vocabulary
* Hightly Recommended *
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The Marketing Method With the 100 Million-Person Reach
By John Forde
One of the Web-tech trends that’s got the marketing world abuzz is the rise of online video.
Is it effective? Will it last? And, perhaps most important, is it yet another business tool you’ll have to master?
A report from the media research agency ComScore seems to prove this is no passing fad. YouTube just marched past the 100 million viewer mark. Some 75 percent of American consumers now watch online videos. And Nielson, the ratings company, notes that the average time spent on video sites is up by about 2,000 percent since 2003.
Sounds great. But is anyone making money from all those viewings? In many cases, no. Bizreport.com says online media fans are willing to pay for content. But few have figured out how to, for example, turn YouTube sensation Susan Boyle’s mega-popularity into mega-bucks. The same goes for many other so-called “viral” videos.
A big hurdle for marketers is that a prospect can’t just skim through a video looking for key points that catch his eye, as he can with a block of sales copy. Instead, marketers have to cross their fingers and hope their target customer is engaged enough to watch their video all the way through.
So what’s the conclusion?
The jury is still out. And there’s a lot of testing yet to be done. Some say the best marketing videos are under two minutes. Others are seeing videos as long as seven minutes outperform those at half that length. Some still believe online videos can take their cues from TV commercials. Others say that approach is pure sales suicide.
Some takeaway truths, however, have already emerged.
Video definitely has an edge when it comes to making the vendor-prospect relationship more personal. Video that gives away valuable content also seems to get better results than video that’s all tease and no substance. (No surprise there.) And it’s unlikely that you’ll get results just by posting marketing videos on YouTube. Video that’s integrated with supporting text packs much more punch.
One thing is clear: Online video is a marketing revolution with some staying power. At the very least, it’s worth studying while you can. If not to use it now, so you’ll be better prepared for the next wave of change heading our way.
[Ed. Note: To get more of copywriting expert John Forde's wisdom and insights into marketing (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable. Get a free report about 15 deadly copy mistakes and how to avoid them when you sign up today.
Whether or not you use video in your marketing, you need a comprehensive strategy to make sure all your marketing efforts are organized into an effective and cohesive campaign. That's what you'll get in Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business, the bestseller co-authored by Michael Masterson and MaryEllen Tribby.]
“It is said that gifts persuade even the gods.”
– Euripides
The Best Way to Give Business Gifts
By Bob Bly
Most businesspeople sweat over giving gifts to their clients and prospects. They worry about whether the gift is the right gift, how much to spend, and what the recipient will think.
Though they don’t know what to give, they do think they know when to give. But, as I will reveal in a minute, they really don’t.
I’ve never had the “what to give” problem, mainly because I like to give little gifts. I do that for relatives… friends… neighbors… as well as prospects and clients.
My gift-giving method, which has been very successful for me, is simple: When I stumble across something really cool or neat that I think a particular person would enjoy (and it doesn’t cost a fortune), I buy it, wrap it, and send it with a note.
I know what each of my clients (and friends and relatives) likes, because I have a near-photographic memory for that sort of thing. But you don’t need a great memory to keep track of what people like: Just make notes under their names in your database or address book.
The best business gifts relate to the recipients’ major interests. I learn about clients’ and prospects’ hobbies and activities by talking to them. Business conferences, for example, usually begin with the presenters and attendees meeting and exchanging pleasantries. During that time, I ask questions of these prospective clients to find out what they like. (I do this not for gift-giving purposes, but because I am genuinely interested. It helps us find a common ground, which is a great way to build relationships.)
If you are not comfortable having personal conversations with clients, there is another way to find out their likes and dislikes: social networking sites. Just check their Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace profiles.
For instance, reading one client’s Facebook profile, just out of curiosity, I found that she loves to play poker. So when I saw a nice poker set, I couldn’t resist. I bought it and sent it as a “thank you” for being so easy to work with.
The traditional approach to giving business gifts is to send them during the holiday season. The problem with doing this is twofold. First, your gifts get lost in the piles of other gifts your prospects/clients are receiving from all their other vendors. Second, it creates an instant expectation that they will receive gifts from you every year. Therefore, if you skip a year, they will feel cheated. You are “stuck” having to give all those gifts to all those people, year after year.
That’s why I give gifts spontaneously – when I come across an item I know a specific person would love – and not according to any formal schedule or annual milestone.
According to a research report published by the Bulova Watch Company, though most business gifts are given at Christmas, one-third of them are given at other times. Does all this gift giving pay off in terms of improved customer loyalty and repeat business? It would seem so: The Bulova report found that 7 out of 10 recipients buy from companies that give them gifts.
No matter when you give your business gifts, don’t make them too lavish, lest they be perceived as bribes. When I worked in the defense industry, there was a $25 limit to the cost of a gift we contractors could give to our customers in the federal government, and I think such a limit is still in force.
Business gifts do not have to be expensive to be appreciated. People enjoy receiving small gifts (even if they’re obviously self-promotional) that bring a smile to their faces. One of my favorite gifts to give clients and prospects is an autographed copy of one of my books – and it doesn’t cost me anything. (When you sign a contract with a publisher to write a book, you usually get 10 free author’s copies. Do what I do and ask for 25 so you’ll have extras to give away.)
The one occasion where I do deliberately time a gift is to say “thank you” for a favor. For instance, when I have a new book coming out and my joint venture partners are kind enough to promote it to their lists, I send them a short note, an autographed copy of the book, and a Starbucks gift card.
I wish I could say they appreciate the book more than the coffee – but I suspect it is often the opposite!
[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now. [link] ETRbusinessskills
Looking for a good gift to give your business clients? One of Michael Masterson’s bestselling books would be welcomed by almost anyone looking to build a business or grow their wealth. Order today, right here.]
* Highly Recommended *
How This “Dirty” Word in Real Estate Can Make You a Fortune
Why would you EVER want to invest in real estate these days?
The market is in shambles:
RealtyTrac reports that 860,000+ properties were repossessed by lenders last year.
5.4 million Americans behind on their mortgage payments, says the Wall Street Journal.
Foreclosure.com says that home foreclosures jumped to nearly one million homes in 2008 – a 64% rise from 2007.
Yes, the situation is bleak.
But the truth is, there IS money – BIG money – to be made in real estate.
Especially when it comes to that “dirty” word: foreclosures.
Charles Petty has made $3.2 million in the past few years. But he hasn’t done so using any real estate investing method you’ve heard of…
No, he found a little-known “loophole” in the foreclosure process… And now he makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, from his laptop, sitting by his swimming pool.
He’s not a realtor or a property buyer. He doesn’t sell. He doesn’t even visit a single property.
Yet in the past 3 months alone, he’s made over $80,000.
Find out what this foreclosure “loophole” is – and how you can use it to make your own fortune – right here.
The Bad Habit That Could Be Murdering Your Success
By John Carlton
I just spent three weeks traipsing across Australia. And during that time, I was forced out of every work-related (and personal-time-related) routine and habit I’ve built up over the past few years.
Back home after the jaunt, my first inclination was to settle back into the old groove – including the rituals of work, play, and eating. For example: I had watched maybe 20 minutes of TV while in Australia. But as soon as I was home, I started feeling the invisible pull of the monster plasma screen calling me…
… and I came face to face with an ugly reality: Before I left, I had been racking up an embarrassing amount of TV-viewing each night.
Good habits work FOR you. Like staking out a dedicated hour every morning to work on that book you’ve been promising yourself to write. (If you wait for inspiration, or just lollygag around hoping that an open week will magically appear in your schedule… the book will NEVER get done.)
But other habits just drain energy from you. And you probably don’t even know which ones they are. They’re invisible little energy leeches, rotting your pipes so slowly you don’t notice.
Take the time, today, to examine the mostly unconscious ways you’ve installed “set” activities in your life. Many – like watching TV just cuz it’s there – are robbing you of the joy of being alive.
Self-examination is hard. Your brain will resist at first… but you must keep at it, and go deep.
[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.
Having a tough time breaking out of your "bad" habits? ETR's Total Success Achievement Program will help you set goals and achieve more in less time than you thought possible.]
Is Oprah’s Fat-Loss Tip Making You Fat?
By Shane “the People’s Chemist” Ellison
In 2006, I sent out a nationwide media release insisting that Oprah’s fat-loss methods – which included walking as her primary exercise – were actually making her fat. Even worse, they were making the millions of Americans following her lead fat too.
Fact is, if you want lean, sexy muscle (at any age), walking is not sufficient exercise.
Sure, walking is better than no exercise at all. But it’s not going to help you burn the fat you need to burn in order to feel great and get noticed. Nobody ever walked themselves out of the Fat Cow Hall of Fame. I didn’t… and neither has Oprah.
When it comes to exercise, the old adage holds true: “No pain, no gain.” Why? Because you need to force the body to produce a family of fat-burning, beer-belly-melting compounds known as catecholamines. When released, these weapons of fat destruction bind metabolic receptors on the outer membrane of fat cells, causing them to be eradicated via thermogenesis and lypolysis. (That’s just a fancy way to say that the fat cells are being demolished.)
Getting rid of fat with exercise happens only when you attain 60 to 80 percent of your max heart rate. If you’ve forgotten how to do the calculation, here it is: 220 minus your age times .60 equals your maximum target heart rate.
Exercise by the numbers, and watch the numbers plummet on your scale too.
[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]
It’s Fun to Know: The Learjet Repo Industry
If you fall too far behind on your car payments, you’re likely to get an unwelcome visit from your friendly neighborhood “repo man.” Turns out there are similar services that specialize in repossessing such things as corporate jets, commercial airliners, and yachts owned by bankrupt charter airlines, former millionaire investment bankers, and others.
As with cars, these specialists must use a certain degree of discretion (i.e., expert-level sneakiness) to get the job done. In addition, they need ocean navigation skills; familiarity with flying several different types of aircraft; contacts with local airports, ports, and government officials; mechanical knowledge; and more.
(Source: Salon)
* Highly Recommended *
Your Personal Wall Street Protection Plan
Thugs.
It’s a b word. But how else would you describe a group that has stolen from you, your family, and friends without any trace of regret.
No, not the Mafia or a teenaged gang… I’m talking about the brokers and bankers who ripped us all off with smiles on their faces – and then blamed us.
Protect yourself from them today and get restitution.
Word to the Wise: Clamber
To “clamber” (KLAM-bur) – from the Middle English – is to climb with difficulty; to scramble.
Example (as used by Beryl Bainbridge in Master Georgie): “He dithered for a moment, during which time Mrs. Hardy, wailing like a banshee, rushed from the dining room and clambered clumsily up the stairs.”
[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 Words to the Wise CD Library.]
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When Shane announced, in one of his books, that he was a former pharmaceutical drug pusher (my words) and then found the truth, I greeted him with tremendous suspicion. It sort of reminded me of when a Christian goes Atheist or an Atheist goes Christian: they tend to throw out the baby with the bath water, so to speak. To the contrary, Shane’s research is meticulous and unfettered with biasness. He’s a straight shooter whose purpose is to get people healthy again by getting them to be critical thinkers. For the record, there are things I differ with Shane on. For example, I think buying anything at WalMart promotes some level of impoverishment. But in science, this guy is remarkable and I highly recommend you read everything he happens to pen.
How in the world do you come up with the idea that buying at WalMart promotes impoverishment?
James, it sounds like you have bought into the idea that because WalMart is successful they are “bad”.