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WEALTH
"The
Billionaire's Secret"
If
you like lottery-style returns on your stock investments without
loony odds, consider Mark Skousen's advisory, the Skousen Hedge
Fund Trader. (Skousen refers to it as "The Billionaire's
Secret.") Its stated purpose is to "beat the market
by the widest margin in the shortest period of time."
Hedge
funds are like mutual funds in the sense that they are pooled
investments that can be liquidated on an individual basis. But
they are more flexible in terms of what they can invest in.
They can, for example, invest anywhere in the world. And they
can be very aggressive - even off balanced, if their managers
want - in how much they invest in any one position.
You
can't get into a hedge fund unless you are a qualified investor
(i.e., have a net worth of $1.5 million or an income of $200,000)
and are willing to put down at least $100,000. One big drawback:
You can't get out of them nearly as quickly as you can with
a mutual fund. Most allow only quarterly withdrawals. Another
factor to consider: The fees are very high.
All
that said, if I were interested in hedge funds (I'm not), I'd
subscribe to Skousen's Hedge Fund Trader. He is a serious guy
with 30 years' worth of solid experience in understanding finance
and recommending investments.
Skousen
doesn't recommend hedge funds per se (see "Word to the
Wise," below), but investment plays that in many ways resemble
hedge funds. Following his service, you don't have to worry
about being a qualified investor and there are no minimums.
He has teamed up with a pro who has been doing this sort of
thing for 20 years and has, by Skousen's account, racked up
very impressive gains recently. (180% in 2 weeks, 129% in 3
weeks, 329% in 4 months, 485% in 7 weeks, etc.)
With
every recommendation, Skousen provides both a conservative and
also an aggressive way to take advantage of it. As his promotional
letter says, "You can enjoy high returns or spectacular
returns... the choice is yours."
Again,
this service is not for everyone. It's not for me and it may
not be for you. But if you think you'd like to try it, you can
rest assured it comes with a refund guarantee. For further information,
click
here.
-
Michael Masterson
HEALTH
Exercise Guidelines You Should Live By, Part 1
So
you want to build a strong heart and powerful lungs, reduce
your body fat, increase your energy, and improve your overall
health in the shortest amount of time? Here are some general
guidelines that will help you choose an exercise routine to
make all of that possible:
1.
Engage in exercise that you enjoy. You're more likely to stick
to a routine if you don't dread the activity. It also helps
to have a workout partner.
2.
Focus on activities that challenge your heart and
lungs while building muscle. These would include sprinting,
cycling with resistance, bodyweight calisthenics, weight training,
and martial arts.
3.
If you lift weights, choose exercises that increase your functional
strength by working multiple major muscle groups. Exercises
that overly isolate the muscles and joints invite injury.
4.
Focus on the intensity of your exercise more than the duration.
Engage in intervals of intense activity followed by brief
periods of recovery. As you become accustomed to the activity,
gradually increase the intensity.
Tomorrow...
four more general exercise guidelines for improving your overall
health and fitness.
-
Jon Herring
WISDOM
On
the Difference Between Art and Entertainment
"There
has been an attempt, largely successful, to confuse what you
might call art and what you might call entertainment. I think
there's a very simple distinction, and it doesn't diminish entertainment
in any way, because we all want it and we all enjoy it. Entertainment
is that which you receive without effort. Art is something where
you must make some kind of effort, and you get more than you
had before."
(Source:
Charles Wourinen, composer, quoted in The New York Times)
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TODAY'S
MESSAGE
Want
to Beat the Competition? Take Your Customer Out for a Drink
by
Will Newman
The
secret of success as a copywriter or direct marketer? Make the
sale.
Plain
and simple. Make the sale.
And
what's the best way to do that? "Know" your potential
customer - your prospect.
After
all, if you don't know who you're selling to, how can you know
what to promise him? Or which core emotions to hit?
Getting
to know your prospect isn't difficult. It just takes a little
time and a good imagination. (And it's actually kind of fun.)
Start
by looking closely at the description of the product you're
going to be selling. Read everything related to the product
that you can get your hands on. If you're a freelancer and you're
working with a client, they should be able to provide you with
plenty of material.
Next,
look for demographic or psychographic data. If you're working
with a product that's already being sold, try to get customer
surveys, testimonials, and buyer information from your client's
marketing and customer service departments.
From
that information, develop a picture of your prospect. Notice
I say "prospect" (singular), not prospects (plural).
You want this picture to be as specific as possible, so you
want it to be the picture of a "real" person.
What
is your prospect's gender? How old is she? Is she married, divorced,
single?
Any
children? What type of house? Does she rent or own? What are
her hobbies?
Let's
say you're selling an anti-arthritis product. The client is
sending a promotion to a mailing list of 85% women, ages 55-75,
68% married, income between $25,000 and $38,000. The marketing
data says that people on this list also bought (by mail) Prevention
Magazine, Modern Maturity, "massage units", Knitting
Today, and Extreme Knitting Magazine.
Given
that, you picture your prospect as a 68-year-old woman whose
husband is retired (based on the age and income information
you have). She suffers from arthritis (good guess, based on
the "massage units" mentioned in the data), and she
loves to knit.
And
then you take this one step further and name her "Maude"...
because she reminds you of your Aunt Maude who lives in Oregon.
Next,
you consider Maude's hopes, aspirations, and fears. What makes
her happy? What makes her angry?
You
figure that she's concerned about her health (Prevention Magazine).
And that she is deeply worried and angered because her arthritis
is getting worse.
You
also decide that part of what's bothering her about her arthritis
has to do with the fact that she loves to knit. If she can no
longer knit, how will she be able to give her beloved grandchildren
the sweaters she always knits for their birthdays?
Of
course, you don't want to go TOO far with this and make the
picture of your prospect so specific that it excludes other
possible customers for your product. For instance, you wouldn't
say something in your copy like, "How are your husband
and your two grandchildren?"
But
if having grandchildren is part of the picture of your prospect
that's in your head, you do want to tap into that in subtle
ways to improve your sales... maybe by bringing in her concerns
about her grandchildren's future, health, and safety.
Do
you depend solely on your imagination and the information you
get from your client to create this rich, personal picture of
your prospect? Not at all. In fact, you shouldn't.
Instead,
you should learn more about your prospect by "becoming"
him.
Go
to the library and look through the magazines he subscribes
to. The articles in these magazines will give you tremendous
insight into how he thinks... what emotions motivate him...
what types of products he buys. The ads, especially, are a goldmine
of information. (Next time you're in line at the supermarket,
take a look at The Enquirer or The Star. From the ads alone,
you get a powerful image of the person who reads those tabloids,
don't you?)
Go
where your prospect eats. Do what he does. Unless you live in
a cave, you probably have someone among your friends and acquaintances
who represents your typical prospect... maybe even someone who's
actually bought your product.
Take
him out for lunch or a beer. Chat with him... but not about
the product you're selling. Chat about everything else. Take
the time to get to know him.
And
use the image you get from doing that to fashion a specific,
real picture of your prospect. Then talk to that person
in your sales letter, ad, or face-to-face sales pitch.
By
having this degree of detail and specificity about your prospect,
it will be much easier for you to speak directly, personally,
and meaningfully to him.
And
much easier to make your sale.
[Ed. Note: Will Newman is the editor of AWAI's student e-letter
"The Golden Thread." In his article today, he shares
just one of the many secrets you'll find in the AWAI copywriting
course. If you really want to understand your customer, your
role as a marketer, and the relationships between buyer and
seller, check it out. Click
here to find out more.]
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SELF-PROMOTION
Reader Feedback: Another Way to Get Noticed
After
reading "How to Get Noticed," my essay in issue
#1401, Rich Rawlins wrote in to share a similar
story of his own:
"When
I was a kid, I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal that
reported on AT&T's problems with their credit card. I had
a solution for their challenges, so I proceeded to write them
a letter outlining my idea and asking for a response from someone
to discuss the possibility of my involvement with the project.
"I received a form letter in return, which I was not satisfied
with. I sent many more letters and made many phone calls trying
to reach the CEO or someone on a decision-making level.
"Frustrated with zero results, I bought a handheld recorder,
dictated a message to the CEO, stuck a 'press play' label on
it, and Fed Ex'd it to him. (I got the address by sweet-talking
a secretary.)
"The next day, I got a call from the New York bomb squad.
After a lengthy discussion, they assured me that the CEO would
indeed receive the tape.
"While my idea never saw daylight, I did get it in front
of the CEO of AT&T. That was some kind of success on its
own." - Rich Rawlins
TODAY'S
ACTION PLAN
Rich
Rawlins got to the CEO of AT&T when he was just a kid. What's
your story? What have you successfully done to get noticed by
someone in a decision-making position who might be able to help
you? Let us know on Speak
Out.
WORD
TO THE WISE
"Per
se" (per SAY) is a commonly used Latin phrase
that translates as "of, in, or by itself."
Example
(as I used it in today's Wealth article): "Skousen doesn't
recommend hedge funds per se, but investment plays that in many
ways resemble hedge funds."
