About two months ago, I bought a pair of Doc Martens on sale at Zappos.com. They’ve got an extremely shopper-friendly website – and good prices too.

Last week, I received this e-mail:

“Just wanted to let you know, we’ve got just one pair of your shoes remaining in stock. After that, we’ll never have these again.”

I ordered them that minute.

It goes back to Michael Masterson’s concept of the “Buying Frenzy,” which he explained in his book Ready, Fire, Aim:

“If you want to maximize the lifetime value of your new customer, you shouldn’t let him cool off after that first sale. Instead, you should send him an immediate thank-you note, along with a bounce-back promotion that replicates the psychological trappings of the prior purchase and stimulates in him, once again, the desire to buy something from you.”

“This is not about high-pressure selling… but about putting the customer in an environment where he can do what he wants to do: Buy once and then keep buying!”

[Ed. Note: Learn more about Michael Masterson's concept of the "Buying Frenzy" in his bestselling book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat - plus, get dozens of powerful techniques for taking your business to the next level. Get your copy right here.]

Their home is tastefully but almost sparsely decorated with quality furniture, a few pieces of just-right art, household necessities, and little more.

The simplicity of Judy and John’s lifestyle made a big impression on us. It was even more striking in contrast to what we witnessed at the next stop on our road trip, the home of two other good friends.

Like Judy and John, Chuck and Laura are kind and generous people, but thousands of trinkets and knick-knacks overpower their home. There is “stuff” everywhere. You can’t even sit down without first moving a pile of something or other.

How does this happen? I can tell you from my own experience…

You begin by shuffling things around to make room for more things. Then you start buying duplicates because you can’t find the originals. (”I know it’s in here somewhere.”) At some point, you get so overwhelmed that you just stop trying to keep everything organized.

You don’t have to live that way.

Here’s how my wife and I got out from under the mess we’d created in our home several years ago…

We sat down and came up with a plan. We would do one room at a time, one each weekend. Anything we hadn’t used recently or that had no sentimental value was fair game. Big items would go to charity or a yard sale. Other things, I’d put up on eBay.

Soon thereafter, shelves and closets were emptied and space began reappearing.

The feeling of freedom was palpable.

[Ed. Note: Ready to take charge of your life and get your goals back on track? Check out Early to Rise's Total Success Achievement program. With success mentor Bob Cox, you'll learn how to set and achieve all you want out of life.]

For more of Charlie’s thoughts and insights, check out his blog at http://CharlieByrne.BlogSpot.com.]

No wonder it seems to be so hard to lose weight!

But, no matter what you have experienced in the past, losing fat can be fun and fast. It doesn’t require long, boring workouts. It can also mean making new friends by participating in fat-loss forums and group training or fitness classes.

If you are just getting started, here’s what you need to do…

1. Get a trainer or nutritionist for professional accountability. Research from Stanford University found that this improves fat-loss results.

2. Work out with a friend who is also losing weight. It will help keep both of you motivated.

3. Go online and get social support in a weight-loss forum.

4. Join a bootcamp and work out to cool music with new friends.

5. Get a nutrition buddy at work who will help you stay on track.

Combine the social support with good eating and proper workouts, and you’ll feel energized all day long. Soon you’ll completely transform your body and boost your confidence… and you’ll be living the fat-loss lifestyle forever!

[Ed. Note: Exercise doesn't have to be grueling or boring. Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne has put together a high-energy program that allows you to burn fat and build muscle in three 45-minute sessions each week. Learn more here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

But brother, was I disappointed when I got this e-mail from them last Saturday. Here’s how it read, more or less:

“Special Sunday Event – Several running experts speaking on various topics – $15.”

Ouch!

No specifics. No proof. All summary and generalization.

It’s a weak, weak, weak recipe for disastrous copy. Suppose, instead, their e-mail had looked more like this…

Coming This Sunday, Power Up Your Running to the Next Level!

• Four-Time Miami Marathon Finalist John Smith explains how to cut 15 minutes off your fall marathon time…
• Palm Beach Orthopedics Institute director Mary Jones gives you the 4 secrets to avoiding training injuries and getting in the best shape of your life in the next 6 weeks…
• Nike Shoes Director of Advanced Technology Jim Jackson previews their breakthrough new X-743 running shoe (on sale 25% off Sunday only).

Specifics… Proof… Details… Facts, figures, names, and places… Oh yes, and that little matter of Benefits!

Now that, I might pay $15 for!

[Ed. Note: Just by applying a few simple but powerful rules to your sales copy, you can grab more attention from prospective customers and motivate them to buy. Now, one marketing legend responsible for over $2 billion in sales can show you the sales copy secrets that could help explode your profits by more than 10,000%. Get all the details here.

And for more of Charlie's thoughts and insights, follow him on Twitter at http://CharlieByrne.BlogSpot.Com.]

It’s also home to a huge number of… drum roll, please.

Mango trees.

I mean, really. It’s almost ridiculous!

The trees rise to the sky on practically every street – in front yards, vacant lots, village parks, and any number of other accessible, public spaces.

Hundreds upon hundreds of mangos hang off every tree. Branches bend down from the weight, putting the succulent fruit within the grasp of any man, woman, or child who cares to enjoy one.

And it was on one of my morning runs last week that I realized there was something terribly wrong with this picture!

All this wonderful fruit right there for the taking, but none of it had been picked! I examined no less than seven trees, and couldn’t find a single stem missing its mango.

Why? Why, for example, hadn’t I taken one myself?

The answer, of course, was simple. It’s the same reason folks don’t take the coconuts that are falling off trees all over town.

And the same reason why I never went to the top of the Empire State Building when I worked in New York City… and walked past it every day.

Because I could do it whenever I wanted!

And that’s why Delray Beach’s overloaded mango trees are an ideal illustration of two closely related marketing principles…

Urgency and Scarcity

In marketing terms, urgency means that the supply of a product is limited by time.

Ever get involved in an eBay auction when the clock was running out? How about getting up at 5:00 a.m. to be one of the first customers in line for a day-after-Thanksgiving “Black Friday” sale? If so, you know the power of urgency.

Scarcity means that the supply of a product is limited by quantity.

Both urgency and scarcity arouse the human desire to want that which we can’t have.

Right now in Delray, we have an unlimited supply of mangos, and they’re going to be around for a long time. So there’s no scarcity… no urgency. As a result, you literally can’t give them away.

If you’re not tickling your prospects’ emotional impulses to buy NOW, I’m willing to bet your products are suffering from a similar fate.

When you apply the principles of scarcity and urgency to bring your marketing alive, your sales can increase dramatically. I’ve seen it many times – and I’m talking about increases of 100 percent to 1,000 percent. In fact, this is probably the simplest, cheapest way to multiply your revenues instantly.

Our colleague, “Product Launch” guru Jeff Walker, knows all about it. He’s brought in, and helped others bring in, more than $53 million in the past five years in all kinds of niches and markets. Virtually all of Jeff’s success is built around the mastery of scarcity and urgency.

According to Jeff, “Scarcity is probably the single biggest mental trigger there is. No matter how many times I’ve seen it used, it’s always breathtaking to see how it moves people to action. I’ve seen WAY too many people underestimate the power of adding a scarcity component to their marketing. If you fall into that trap, you will be leaving a huge amount of money on the table.”

So how can you pick up all that cash you’ve been leaving on the table?

There are plenty of ways, even if you are selling a product that is in infinite supply – an e-book, for example:

• Urgency: Add a bonus for a limited length of time.
• Urgency: Reduce the price for a special holiday sale.
• Scarcity: Add a bonus – but only for the first 150 buyers.
• Scarcity plus Urgency: With this “launch and retreat” approach, you sell a specific quantity of the product during a specific period of time, and then take it off the market. (”This Memorial Day weekend only, I’m offering just 100 of these information-packed e-books. Sale ends Midnight Monday or when the 100 are gone – whichever comes first.”)

Taking your product “off the market” at a specified date and time might sound scary. What if a bunch of prospects show up at your website the following week looking to buy what you just stopped selling? Wouldn’t you be kicking yourself over that lost opportunity?

Perhaps. But I can pretty much guarantee one thing. The overwhelming number of sales you’ll make during a scarcity/urgency campaign will make the number you might lose utterly insignificant. In addition, when you “re-open” your next campaign, you’ll already have a certain amount of “pent-up” customer demand providing fuel for your fire.

One Important Caveat to Keep in Mind…

You want to add scarcity and urgency to your marketing, but you want it to be genuine.

As Michael Masterson told me, “There has to be a legitimate reason for the scarcity. If you’re faking it, customers will see through it and it loses its power.”

He suggested a few ways to “make it real” for them: Explain that you had only 100 of the special reports printed up. (Why not show the actual invoice?) Or that the fire code limits the conference room to 75 people. (Why not take a photo of the actual sign in the room?) If you’re selling personal coaching services, explain that you have only so much time. If you’re selling an investment advisory service, explain that if too many people get the same recommendation, they can initiate a buying frenzy that artificially pushes up the price.

I’m just touching the surface here – but you get the idea.

Last month, I sat on a panel in New York City with Bob Bly for a discussion about the effectiveness of scarcity, urgency, and related techniques.

It was part of a retreat where Bob presented virtually ALL of his moneymaking marketing secrets for two DAYS.

We’re going to be releasing that information in the near future in a new program.

And guess what?

We’re doing it only in limited quantities. (Imagine that!) And for a limited time. (Surprise!)

Why? Well… now you know why!

How are we going to do it?

To tell you the truth, we haven’t figured that out yet. But come along for the ride and you’ll get to see exactly how this product gets launched.

If you want that experience… plus first crack at discovering what Bob’s breakthrough marketing program is all about… get on the no-obligation Hotlist now.

This will probably be your only chance to get this program this year.

Meanwhile, think about what simple steps you can take right now to add scarcity and urgency to your own marketing campaigns.

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But every once in a while I also see horrendous ideas that make me ecstatic that I’m not in another industry. Here’s one shocking example…

 The March 30 issue of TelevisionWeek trade magazine featured an article on how, despite the recession, the upcoming Major League Baseball programming season is expected to do well from an advertising standpoint. OK, fair enough.

But I almost fell off my chair reading a couple of lines in the piece…

Nearly Insane Comment #1:  “[Baseball is] DVR-proof, live, exciting, and localized.”

I can see why the quoted TBS executive would like his trade readers to believe TBS’s product (ad space during baseball games) are “Digital Video Recorder proof”. But his comment goes against my experience. As a baseball fan with a DVR, here’s how I watch a game…

1) Set DVR to start recording game at actual start time (say 7:30). 2) Do something useful (work out, cook dinner, write) from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. 3) Sit down and watch game starting at 8:30PM, fast forwarding through all commercials and thus watching a 2.5 hour game in about 1.5 hours.

Direct Marketing Principle Violated #1: Knowing the behavior of your prospects. But it’s understandable that 99% of TV advertisers don’t know this, because of…

Nearly Insane Comment #2: The new “MLB Network Channel” is already being piped into over 50 million homes, but “Nielsen won’t be ready to provide ratings for the channel until after the fourth quarter – after the 2009 season ends,” said the article.

Direct Marketing Principle Violated #2: Measure immediately; cut your losers, run with your winners.

Can you – as a smart Early to Rise reader – even imagine spending probably billions of dollars launching a new business, and not being able to determine your actual “size of your list” for nearly a year? This would be funny if it were not so sad.

One easy way to get good business ideas from other business niches is to think about how you can “migrate” techniques that are working in that niche into your niche – where perhaps no one’s using them yet.

But this example shows equally that keeping on eye on other niches can show exactly what you should NOT be doing!

[Ed. Note: Charlie Byrne is Associate Publisher of Early to Rise. Get up-to-the-minute ideas by following him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CharlieByrne.]

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Take a few steps away from the grim reality of “The Street”… past the offices that once housed Merrill Lynch… beyond the New York Sports Club, where finance managers now sit crying in their single-malts.

Stroll through historic Trinity Church, where investors are welcome to pray for mercy, and glance at the cemetery next door, a reminder of the ghosts that haunt this once-proud neighborhood.

Then, when you’ve had enough of Wall Street, walk north a block or two past Citibank and HSBC. And it is there, on the outer edge of New York’s financial district, where you’ll finally come to a brighter place: Liberty Street.

That is exactly where I found myself earlier this year. I was in downtown Manhattan on business, when I looked up and saw that street sign.

“What do you know,” I thought, “I’ve just traveled ‘off Wall Street’… and suddenly I’m on ‘Liberty Street.’”

The symbolism was too powerful to ignore. And that’s how “The Liberty Street League” got its name.

These days, most of us would like nothing more than to distance ourselves from Wall Street and find our way to “Liberty Street”… a place representing the desire for independence and personal freedom that’s deep in our hearts and souls.

Our forefathers envisioned an America where every man and woman could find success… where they could create a life of their own choosing and their own dreams. But now, culminating in this current economic crisis, our great country seems to have strayed off course.

That presents you with a great opportunity… to commit to taking a better route to attaining an abundant life for yourself and your family… personal financial freedom… and the pursuit of your own happiness.

In short, it’s the perfect time to go “off Wall Street”… and, instead, join nearly a thousand of your fellow Early to Risers on “Liberty Street.”

[Ed Note: If you’re ready to look away from Wall Street, ETR wants to welcome you to a different place, a place that promises a new, exciting, and fresh path to prosperity. Discover how fast and simple it is to join The Liberty Street League right now!

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Actual interview for a Customer Service Telephone Representative position!

Consider this the new Poster Child for how not to interview for a job…

ETR: Hi, thanks for coming. So, first of all, tell me… why are you leaving your current job?

Applicant: The calls. They are so stressful.

ETR: What do you find stressful about them?

Applicant: There are so many. And the people, they’re all unhappy.

As Dave Barry sometimes says, “I’m not making this up.”

Talk about sending the WRONG message.

NEXT!

Words do matter.

Make sure you’re sending the right message about yourself… your products… and your company.

[Ed. Note: Learn how to present yourself in the best light, and you'll double your chances of getting the job, making the sale, or impressing the customer. Discover how to command respect from your peers and take control of your own destiny right here.

Get more of Charlie's offbeat but useful ruminations and discussions on copywriting, marketing, new technology, and business process improvement right here.]

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Here’s what happened . . .

It was Saturday morning at breakfast. Patty and I had come to the realization that our life was getting way too complicated . . . starting with the “stuff” that was piling up. The closets were full . . . all kinds of bric-a-brac everywhere. We figured our house looked the way Chuck and Laura’s house probably looked a few years ago. That was an unsettling thought.

We knew that we had to simplify, but hadn’t yet come up with much of a plan to do so. That’s what we hoped to accomplish over the weekend.

But before tackling this major issue, we engaged in some minor small talk. And that’s when I made the mistake of mentioning that I wanted to renew my basketball season tickets. Understand that this is something that is important to me — one of the ways I promised to reward myself for working so hard. My mistake was that I’d “forgotten” to mention it to my wife sooner, and it didn’t get added to our budget when we set our yearly goals. Now payment was nearly due, and that’s when the crap hit the fan.

“You want to spend HOW MUCH?!” was my wife’s vociferous (see “Word to the Wise,” below), but fair, reaction.

So it wasn’t a good start to the weekend. I’d probably picked a bad time to bring up the subject in the first place. We weren’t exactly looking forward to the effort that was going to be involved in “simplifying our life.”

But then I got an idea.

“Suppose those basketball tickets don’t cost us anything? Then it wouldn’t be a problem, right? I can sell a lot of this old stuff. And whatever I make, I can put toward the tickets. We were going to throw out half of it anyway.”

“If it gets this mess cleared up, it’ll be fine with me.”

So it was settled.

I set some goals. I would do one room at a time, one each weekend. Anything we hadn’t used recently or that had no sentimental value was fair game. Big items would go to charity or a yard sale. Other things, I’d put up on eBay. I decided on a certain amount of money that I wanted to make each week.

That was about a month ago. The plan is working. By linking the unpleasant task of clearing out old junk to the reward of my tickets, I’ve become highly motivated.

We’ve already gotten rid of:

* last year’s cell phones
* reference books from an old hobby or two
* an awful but fairly valuable poster (temporary insanity — bought in New Orleans)
* various obsolete (to me) electronic gizmos
* about half a dozen horrible gifts, too tasteless to even pass on to distant acquaintances

Now my wife is getting ready for the yard sale we’re going to have in a few weeks. We’re going to take advantage of some good tips that she picked up from a radio program the other day: Only put out decent stuff, not garbage . . . sort things by category and set up separate areas (clothing, kitchen, toys, etc) . . . buy some donuts and offer them free to the first people who show up (”Free donuts, while they last!”).

Meanwhile, as a result of the eBay sales, our shelves are already starting to empty. Space is reappearing that we haven’t seen in years. My wife is delighted.

My basketball account rep called the other day to say my tickets would soon be on the way. I am delighted.

Having an emptier house gives it a lighter, fresher feeling. It almost seems to have more energy. Chuck and Laura will be down this winter to visit us. Maybe they’ll be inspired to make some changes themselves after they see our new, simpler life.

They are kind and generous people, who lead a very rewarding and enviable life. But what struck my wife and I when we visited them this summer is how remarkably simple it is.

Their home is tastefully but almost sparsely decorated with quality furniture, a few pieces of just-right art, household necessities, and little more. They have no cable TV and no magazines. They buy books (lots of books), read them, and then pass them along to others. And when they decide to take a trip (which they often do), nothing stands in their way. Their children are grown and they have no pets. So they can pack up and leave for a month, on a few hours’ notice.

The simplicity of Judy and John’s lifestyle made a big impression on us. It was even more striking in contrast to what we witnessed at our next stop, the home of two other good friends of ours.

Like Judy and John, Chuck and Laura are kind and generous people — and their children, too, are grown up and living on their own. But there, the similarities end.

Literally thousands of trinkets and knick-knacks overpower their entire South Carolina home. There is “stuff” everywhere. You can’t even sit down without moving a pile of something or other.

The dog seems to have some kind of psychological problem (I believe he thinks his tail is a cat) and requires almost constant attention.

They have five — five! — cars that are shuffled in and out of their narrow driveway on a regular basis, depending on . . . it’s not clear what. There are only two people here, yet some of their vehicles have enough room to accommodate the Von Trapp family.

We brought a “hospitality thank-you gift” for them, but after walking in, we realized that giving it to them would be a cruel joke. The last thing they needed, was one more thing.

The issue came into focus when the trip was over and we were back home.

Looking around our house after being gone for those few weeks made it distressingly clear that we were in danger of creeping into the scary territory we’d just left. We were getting very close to having “stuff” all over.

Back at work on Monday morning, I mentioned it to Michael Masterson.

“I’ve written about this before,” he said. “Your home should reflect who you are, what your values are, and the things that you feel are important in your life. If it doesn’t, neither you nor your guests will feel comfortable in it.”

I looked through the ETR archives and, sure enough, that’s one of the main points he made in Message #835.

Our home was starting to not feel like “us.”

My office was full of computer reference manuals and old entertainment equipment was piled up on shelves and in closets. My magazines were stacked in almost every available space throughout the house. A poster that my wife hated from the day I brought it home was still hanging on the wall (and I wasn’t really crazy about it anymore either).

It’s easy for things to slowly deteriorate — so slowly that you don’t even notice it at first. The toll it takes is subtle but very real.

You begin spending time shuffling things around instead of engaged in productive activities. You start buying extra things because you can’t find the originals. (”I know it’s buried here somewhere.”) At some point, you get so overwhelmed it’s tempting to just give up trying. You feel that you’ll never get out from underneath all the mess.

You don’t have to live that way.

About a month ago, my wife and I decided that something needed to change, because we didn’t want to live that way. We came up with a plan and have already started fixing the problem.

On Monday, I’ll tell you how we did it, and how I got a very nice “personal bonus” out of it to boot!