Carl Galletti's Internet Marketing Super Conference Was Amazing » David Garfinkel

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“Concise vs. Curt: How to Keep Them Reading Your Copy Without Turning It Into Empty-Calorie Sound Bytes” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:14:53 +0000

You’ve seen ads that have maybe a sentence and a logo, at best; and if you’re an Internet shopper and/or marketer, you’ve surely seen those sales-letter Web sites that scroll on and on forever.

Why such a wide variation in advertising theory and application, between minimum words and no end in sight?

And, what rules of thumb should you keep in mind the next time you put together some copy?

Or, more specifically:

? Is shorter, better?

? Is long and laborious necessary?

? What’s a copywriter to do?

It all boils down to…

… keeping the reader reading… and keeping your prospect interested.

This rant was titled “Concise vs. Curt” because once you understand the difference, you are well on your way to writing copy that works — whatever the length.

“Concise,” by the way, refers to saying what you have to say in the most compact and effective way possible.

Not the fewest number of words, necessarily… but, the fewest number of words to get your message across and get the result you’re looking for.

“Curt” is not the name of a friend who happens to like long, rambling copy.

No. “Curt” is a word that refers to using too few words, and in an unpleasant way. The Merriam-Webster definition that applies here is, “marked by rude or peremptory shortness : BRUSQUE.”

So it stands to reason that your copy needs to be friendly, or at the very least, warm and personal (you can get heated in outrage, and while that may not be friendly, it can be effective in copy when you’re railing against an injustice that your prospect feels he or she is at the short end of).

The key word here is relevancy. You can go on for quite a while as you build your case for your product, but what you say needs to be both emotionally and mentally relevant to what the prospect is feeling and thinking, respectively.

Including:

? Testimonials that your prospect can identify with

? Descriptions of problems and frustrations that your prospect will recognize as authentic and believable

? Credentials and accomplishments of the person or people that put the product, service or info product together — credentials and accomplishments, that is, that show they know what they’re doing and are highly likely to deliver on your main promise or claim

The answer to the questions I started out with at the top, I think, is a combination of short-copy snappiness and conciseness, along with button-pushing, resonating detail so characteristic of successful long copy.

Me, I always write until there’s no more to say… and then, edit mercilessly until there’s no shorter way to say it.

But I’ve written sales letters that go on for as much as 15 typed (paper) pages… and they’ve made lots of moolah.

So don’t shortchange your reader. Say what’s got to be said to get the action you’re looking for. But brainstorm, experiment and edit until you’ve found the most lively, intriguing, readable — and streamlined — way of telling your story.

David Garfinkel is one of the best copywriters on the internet and was a speaker at Armand Morin’s Big Seminar Series and Carl Galletti’s Internet Marketing Super Conference. You can learn more about his books and training courses by clicking the links below.

David Garfinkel is founder of the World Copywriting institute and is considered by many people to be the best teacher of copywriting in the world. The stated mission of the World Copywriting Institute is to ?eradicate copywriting illiteracy in the world.? Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the world?s best selling series of marketing books, Guerrilla Marketing, says, ?David Garfinkel is the best copywriter I know.? Sign up for David?s free World Copywriting Newsletter. and you get a free one-hour downloadable teleseminar on copywriting. Also visit David?s World Copywriting Blog:

E-book Secrets Exposed
By David Garfinkel
This incredible ebook explains things nobody else has ever published before! This ebook explains the real way to make real money online with ebooks… Finally! Somebody gives people the truth about what it takes to make massive amounts of money with your own ebook… whether you wrote it or not!

KillerCopyTactics.com
By David Garfinkel
A fully interactive multimedia course by David Garfinkel, the man many call “The World’s Greatest Copywriting Coach.” David will show you “how to turn words into cash” in this groundbreaking tour-de-force. This course sets the bar for what Internet based learning should be.

AdvertisingHeadlinesThatMakeYouRich.com
By David Garfinkel
This ebook makes it unnecessary to write another headline ever again. David Garfinkel has been described as, “the world’s greatest copywriting coach.” He’s a successful results oriented copywriter and his new ebook shows you exactly how to adapt proven money-making headlines to your business.

“Emotion: 4 Ways to Use Emotion to Get Very Happy About Your Sales!” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 07:56:13 +0000

Two questions for you:

1. Have you ever gotten so mad about a situation that you finally got jolted out of indecision… and took strong action which resulted in a purchase (to fix the situation)?

2. Or… have you ever gotten so excited about a possibility that you made a decision, took action, and bought something?

You’re not alone. In fact, just saying “yes” to one of those two questions, above, qualifies you as a member of the human race.

The question for you as a marketer, copywriter, entrepreneur, is: How do you credibly and effectively stimulate motivating emotion in the people who read your copy, so that they will take action… and buy?

You got questions? I got answers.

Here are four ways:

1. Get in touch with the pain and/or frustration your prospects are feeling in their current situation.

Here’s an example from a sales letter I wrote for a product Jim Edwards and I put together:

“It’s enough to make you wanna puke!

“You see all these people talking about how well they’re doing on the Internet… almost like they single-handedly invented Internet marketing… selling “Internet money-making” products that promise the moon…

” … but when you get down to it, where the rubber meets the road, they can’t tell you a single damned thing that makes any sense for you. Know what I mean?”

This is how we open the Web page for our ebook “Immediate Money Immediately.” To see the whole sales letter, click here.

2. Get your prospects longing for the relief/peace of mind/excitement/happiness of what it will be like after they have gotten the result you are offering and promising.

TV commercials for diamond jewelry do a masterful job of this. What red-blooded husband wouldn’t want his wife to burst out in tears of adoration and emotion, after he gives her a special new ring.

Beats the heck out of arguing over who’s going to take out the garbage tonight, doesn’t it?

Word pictures in copy can work just as well, and the product doesn’t have to be diamonds, either.

3. Share your prospects’ anger about an injustice or frustration by voicing the same feelings yourself.

Here’s an example from another sales page I wrote for a mega-ebook package Jim Edwards and I put together. The copy is in Jim’s voice:

“It makes me MAD to see all the MISinformation there is about making money on the NET. And when David gets on a roll about all the fraud and deception being passed off as solid business information, the freaking PHONE starts to melt!

“So we’ve decided to set things straight. For a small fraction of what we could (and maybe will) charge. And you are the beneficiary.. if you act now! Click here!”

This is from the Web page for “eBook Secrets Exposed.” To read the full sales letter, click here.

4. Let your prospects off the hook. Relieve their guilt, and they’ll give you money.

Despite what they say, most people secretly blame themselves for things they can’t reasonably be expected to be responsible for.

If you didn’t know the right way to do something… if you’d been given misleading information… if you’d never been trained… if the correct information had been withheld from you… how in the world could you be expected to know?

When you bring up how badly most people feel about screwing up… and then show your prospects why it’s not their fault… but to avoid making the same mistakes in the future, they are going to need something that you offer… they’ll feel good about buying from you.

And they will.

“The Underwhelming Power of Logic: How Rational Copy Can Stop Sales Momentum Dead In Its Tracks” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 08:09:29 +0000

?Most of us, in our civilized society, rely too heavily on reasoning capacity to make things happen. We?ve been raised to believe that logic will prevail. Logic, in and of itself, will rarely influence people. Most often logic doesn?t work.?
- Herb Cohen, You Can Negotiate Anything

Perfect example: After the U.S. presidential election debate last night, the first news story out was an instant ABC News poll report. A large variety of Bush supporters said that Kerry won the debate (logic) but they were still voting for Bush (something else).

Bush may win the election, or Kerry may win… but what’s important here is the “something else” that kept Bush supporters with Bush, all the while admitting that Kerry demonstrated superior logic.

So what is that ?something else?? It?s the very heart and soul of copy that moves people to take action. It?s ?

… emotional connection and appeal, which occur, by the way, in your unconscious mind.

A quick dramatic example to instantly illustrate this truth:

Remember the movie A Beautiful Mind, where the Russell Crowe character makes a perfectly logical proposition to a college girl in a bar… and gets slapped?

There you have the limitations of logic in reality, with all its blazing glory.

Now… it’s uncomfortable for some of us to deal with the fact that, at the end of the day…

… we are not controlled by nobler (i.e. thinking, refined) aspects of mind….

.. but by those “baser” desires and impulses, from our emotional selves.

However… and what I’m about to say is crucially important… every successful copywriter knows this.

When you have to make something work, you lead with a believable yet intense emotional appeal, and then you make your logical case to justify the impression you’ve made on your prospect’s emotions… to keep the effects of all the good work your hot copy has done, from slipping away.

Negotiations master Herb Cohen says that before logic comes into your message, your listeners (or readers) need to…

* understand what you’re saying

* be convinced of what you’re saying by overwhelmeing, indisputable proof, and

* believe that what you are offering them will meet their needs

Next time you need to make something happen with your copy, think about that.

“When You’re Selling Information, Here’s Why A Good IDEA Is Never Enough How do you all but guarantee success in marketing information products?” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 07:59:48 +0000

Most people think it?s by having a good idea.

I?ve got some news for you. A good idea is a necessary first step. But it?s not enough.

I remember a marketing consultant ? a brilliant woman, gifted in many ways, but afraid to make mistakes ? who would craft beautiful ideas for people and charge them a lot of money.

There was only one problem. Often, her ideas wouldn?t work. People didn?t get the results she SWORE up and down they ?SHOULD? get.

I?m sure you?ve known bright and talented men and women who have had the same problem. Maybe you?re even one of them.

If you?re lucky, you USED to be one of them.

Here?s what I?m getting at…

… There?s the concept ? the idea ? and then, there?s the execution.

Great idea + flawed execution = mediocre result.

You need to have excellent execution to get excellent results.

Example: You need to focus on the details ? ALL the details ? of how your email teaser and sales letter Web page will be READ (execution). Don?t focus merely how brilliant your copy is (idea).

Recently a friend sent out an email teaser to a large list that got truly disappointing results. He was in fact confounded, because his writing had demonstrated his knowledge of the subject inside out. His writing was snappy. It really flowed.

In other words, his idea was great. Flawless, in fact ? as an idea.

He asked me what went wrong. After I studied it for a while, I found a few problems with the execution:

1) His subject line made his message look very much like spam (bad execution). So even if readers knew it was from him, they would start reading with a bad taste in their mouths.

2) His content was not about the reader and the benefits the reader would get ? his content was all about him, and the impression he had of the product he was promoting, and what he had learned from it (bad execution).

While he is a skilled and in fact an ingenious writer, not focusing exclusively and compellingly on the READER?s self-interest is a recipe for mediocre sales results.

3) His intention was, at the bottom of it, to obtain admiration and respect from the reader ? not to obtain sales (bad execution).

When you?re going for sales, your copy contains answers but one underlying question ? ?How is what I am talking about going to benefit YOU, the reader??

Here’s the bottom line:

When you have a promotion that?s working, take it apart. Isolate and identify both the good idea, and the good execution. Store that information away, for you will need it to repeat your success.

But? When you have a promotion isn?t working? now you have a simple two-step process to analyze and fix it.

STEP 1: Check out the idea. Is it sound? Is it something your prospect would want? How do you know?

STEP 2: Check out the execution. Is there ANY step of the way where prospects could fall out of your sales process? If so, FIX it.

Just by runnning your copy through this simple process, you can breathe new life into old successes, and turn abject failures into high-potential winners.

“Case Study: How to Use A Press Release To Generate Direct Response Here is a “sneak preview” of a press release scheduled to go out over the Web on Friday” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 07:57:42 +0000

Breakthrough Copywriting Seminar Reveals
Fast-Track To Results-Based Advertising

Now direct marketing copywriters can eliminate hours of preparation time, writer’s block and indecision with new methods pioneered at the Breakthrough Copywriting Seminar, February 18 -20 in Las Vegas. Small-group, hands-on program tailored to new and experienced copywriters seeking better results, more quickly, on the Web and in print advertising.

Bye, bye frustration.

For the first time in direct marketing history, techniques to break through writer’s block and indecision — along with with a proven “connect the dots” approach to creating powerful sales messages — have created a startling new system to generate high-impact copywriting.

David Garfinkel, founder of the World Copywriting Institute, San Francisco, is leading a team of top-grade copywriters in Las Vegas, February 18 – 20, to deliver “Breakthrough Copywriting,” a small-group, hands-on workshop.

The Web address is http://www.breakthroughcopywriting.com

“What makes this seminar a little different is Dr. Melissa Andersson, a peak performance coach who has developed special, almost-instant techniques for releasing writer’s block, increasing mental energy, and banishing hesitation, indecision and sagging personal confidence,” says Garfinkel, author of “Copywriting Templates,” a privately published set of fill-in-the-blank guides and formulas that dramatically speed up the process of writing advertising sales copy.

Also teaching will be high-powered specialists in Web site copywriting (Michel Fortin), email copywriting (Craig Perrine), Web-based audio and video copywriting (Mike Stewart), and press release copywriting (Randall Blaum).

“We will solve a lot of problems that keep copywriters, and their copy, from reaching full potential,” says Garfinkel. “Once you get the barriers out of the way, there’s really nothing anyone else can do to put a limit on how far you can go.”

# # #

I spent 10 years as a journalist before becoming a copywriter, so I have a bit of an advantage in writing press releases, although I never would have thought to do this without the suggestion of Dr. Harlan Kilstein, a reader of this blog and a superb copywriter in his own right.

I’d love your comments and questions on what I did and how I did it.

“Pinpoint: How To Exactly Present Your Business To Your Market? Here’s a Surprising Source of Information for You!” by David Garfinkel

biomans — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:51:07 +0000

“Pinpoint: How To Exactly Present Your Business To Your Market? Here’s a Surprising Source of Information for You!” by David Garfinkel

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
- Mark Twain, in a letter to author George Bainton

Sooner or later, you have to set yourself apart.

This is true whether you are you, yourself, and thou; you are a business; or you are method-acting as the client or business you are writing copy for.

The tightrope you walk is just about the biggest upside/downside risk that exists:

? Get your unique identity in the marketplace right (stay on the tightrope all the way to the other side), and huge rewards are yours;

? Miss it by a hair (fall off the tightrope) and you’re condemned to mediocrity in the marketplace — at best — or miserable failure at worst.

So how do you get your pinpoint identity identified and stay on that elusive tightrope?

There are many ways, but the easiest and most reliable is paying attention to the questions, comments, kudos and complaints of your customers.

This might sound like a big “duh” to you — and it would be, except for the fact that almost nobody does it.

Here are some examples of those who have:

? My friend, mentor and collaborator Jay Conrad Levinson wrote the world’s best-selling series of books in his field, Guerrilla Marketing. Jay spent a dozen years teaching an extension course at the University of California on this very subject before he wrote the first book. Do students who need to apply what you teach in the real world — in their businesses, where the difference between success and failure ripples through many aspects of their lives — do these students provide feedback to help you pinpoint your marketing identity?

Hello???

? My San Francisco Bay Area neighbor John Gray, who also created an empire with Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, based his initial book on years of couples counseling and seminars. I bet he heard plenty of questions, comments, kudos and complaints. To his credit, he listened and acted on them.

? Another nearby phenomenon, Richard Bolles, originally started the job-seeking bestseller What Color Is Your Parachute? as a church course. If things worked, he heard about them. If they didn’t, I’ll just bet people weren’t too shy pointing that out. Now look at him.

I can almost hear what you’re saying.

“Great. Best-selling authors. But how about a real person like me?”

OK. First, these are all real people who took an idea, put it out there, got feedback, and ran with it.

Check out businesses that have nothing to do with book publishing and you’ll find there is a pattern. Fred Smith and FedEx. Barry Gordy and Motown. H & R Block and taxes. Ray Kroc and Mickey-D’s.

Second, if your customers don’t know, who does? Think about it. The fastest way a client can get a forlorn sigh out of me is to say, “I just know that people need this. I can’t understand why nobody’s buying it.”

Of course, there is a way to find out why: Ask them.

Postioning, branding, developing your Unique Selling Proposition, crafting your marketing identity — whatever you want to call it — is not an instant process. Nor is it a pure science.

But there are some reliable steps you can take to narrow the choices and all but insure that sooner or later, you’ll make your way across that tightrope. Maybe not the first time.

When you do, though, your day in the sun has just begun.