The Copywriting Blog

Michael Masterson on Goal Setting

2009-01-08T05:11:00.001-08:00

The 5 Things Your Reader Wants to Know

2008-12-31T05:15:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share this great post that copywriter Michel Fortin put on his blog yesterday on The 5 things your reader wants to know. Answering these questions will establish your credbility in your copy like nothing else. Enjoy.

10 Advertising Words to Avoid in 2009

2008-12-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Copywriter Susan Gunelius of KeySplash Creative Inc. wrote this informative and timely post for Entrepreneur.com on the 10 advertising words to avoid in 2009. Among my favorites are:

Free This old standby will trigger email spam filters if used in subject lines. Gunelius recommends using the terms 'complimentary' or 'gratis' to sneak past the user's email filter. I recommend that you avoid using the word 'free' in the subject line at all and only use it in the body copy with a slightly altered spelling, such as 'fr*ee' or 'freee'.

Guarantee This was a surprising one for me, but I see her point. People don't trust guarantees like they used to. Gunelius recommends crafting a "more effective message that your readers are more likely to believe and act on."

Really A useless filler word, this reminds me of when we had to write papers of so many words in school on some mundane topic. So if we were clever we'd write "I really really really like chocolate." Gunelius also condemns 'Very' and 'That' as useless filler.

Opportunity "You're not helping anyone when you offer "opportunities" in your copy," writes Gunelius. I agree. Buying a timeshare is an "opportunity."

Synergy It's high time this one was kicked to the curb. Says Gunelius: "Leave jargon and 10-dollar words out of your advertising messages. There's no room in copywriting for buzz words and words that consumers need a dictionary to understand. Consumers don't care about your "unique value proposition." They care that when they pay for your product or service, it will deliver the results they expect." Amen.

YouTube Gems

2008-12-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love YouTube. And I've been scouring the site for marketing and copywriting videos to share with you. Here's the latest batch I've found:

Bob Bly on creating an effective elevator pitch:

Bob Cox on setting your goals for 2009:

I hope you enjoy these videos and get a lot out of them. For more of my faves, check out my YouTube page.

New Video: Recession Proof Copywriting Tips

2008-12-15T05:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a new video I just created on recession proof copywriting strategies. Enjoy!

They Mean Business

2008-10-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

I just discovered my new favorite show!

It's called We Mean Business, and it airs on A&E Saturday's at 10am. This 30-minute show features Bill Rancic, winner of the first season of The Apprentice, and a tech guru and interior designer as they revamp a struggling business each week for 30 minutes.

I caught it this morning by accident as the trio helped out a struggling chiropractor. It's good stuff from a marketing standpoint, and a refreshing change from all the home improvement and real estate shows that are usually broadcast during the morning hours.

James says check it out!

What I'm Reading Now

2008-08-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Your Internet Cash Machine: The Insiders’ Guide to Making Big Money, Fast! by Joe Vitale and Jillian Coleman Wheeler

I firmly believe that everyone, whether you work for yourself or someone else, should have their own side Internet marketing business.

If you’re eager to get started in this exciting field, I strongly suggest you check out Vitale and Coleman Wheeler’s book.

Your Internet Cash Machine walks you through all of the basics for starting your own online business, from deciding on what kind of products to sell, to how to deal with trademarks and spam issues. The book covers affiliate sites, Ebay, and creating your own videos.

As someone who’s been studying Internet marketing for the last several years, I found a lot of it too basic for my needs, though I really learned a lot from Nerissa Oden’s article on creating video, and there are a ton of links to other resources that I didn’t know about. But if you’re a beginner, this is the perfect book for you.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Joe Vitale is vital. Vitale and Coleman Wheeler have put together a dynamite resource for beginners. Go out and get this book to add to your marketing library right away. You’ll be glad you did.

I'm In a Book!

2008-07-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Great news. I am profiled in a book just out from Atlantic Publishing entitled The Complete Guide to Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale, by Vickie Taylor. It's a great step-by-step guide for copywriters and those who need web-based content on how to write great website copy. It also profiles several web copywriters, including yours truly (My profile is the first one in the book).

To learn more, go here.

Recession? What Recession?!

2008-07-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

All this talk about recession and layoffs has a lot of people crawling under their beds, fearing the worst. I know I was certainly in that category as I began a big marketing push. But I learned something interesting: the business is still out there. Business is still getting done. Companies are still marketing their services, and they need copywriters and marketing people like me to help them get it all done. Small businesses are starting up left and right, and people everywhere are hiring graphic designers, ordering material, and paying for all manner of goods and services. Just like old times.

Here's another thing I've learned: There are entire groups of people who will never feel the recession. They will never wonder if they're still going to have a job tomorrow, or worry about if they'll have enough money to retire. And they are buying things to, as witnessed by this recent article in The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Expensive Australian water and cell phones inset with Swarovski crystals appear all the rage among the well-to-do, even while others are cutting back.

I have a theory that there are money levels. Reach a certain high enough level, and you'll never sink below it. You'll always have plenty of money to do whatever you need or want, money that is tied up in safe investments. Donald Trump and Bill Gates are in this level.

There's also a lower level that is so low it makes it hard to rise to the top. For these unfortunate souls, times are always tough, no matter how well the economy is doing. But I believe that even these people can rise above this level if they will only realize that there is a way out for them.

So what does that mean for us copywriters? Well, check out this article from millionaire copywriter Clayton Makepeace on five ways to profit from these lean times.

So, how is the recession effecting you and your business? Do you have too many clients? Not enough? Are the people you're working with feeling the crunch? What are some ways you've learned to recession-proof your business? Post a comment and let me know! Let's start a conversation.

5 Success Secrets of the Copywriting Masters

2008-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

Want to know how the pros really create winning copy that sells? Try these 5 expert tips for starters, and you’ll be well on your way to writing copy that promotes your products and services—just like some of the greatest copywriting superstars of all time.

Focus on the Consumer, Not on Your Product. The question on everyone’s mind is, “What’s in it for me?” Answer that question about your product or service to the prospect’s satisfaction, and chances are good that they will become paying customers. They don’t care how long your company has been in business, or what you were doing that made you come up with the idea for your product or service. They only want to know how it will help them solve a problem that they are facing.

Use Everyday Speech. You’re writing about widgets to ordinary people, not an academic paper on Hemingway’s use of the comma. Avoid the stilted, high-falutin’ Corporatese that poisons many a marketing piece. Use ordinary, everyday speech, and avoid jargon if possible.

Start a Swipe File. This is the one thing that all successful copywriters do, and if you’re going to be writing your own copy, you should too! So start saving those pieces of “junk mail” that you get, and print out and save any web sales letters or emails you come across as well. They can be a fountain of inspiration for your next promotion. Why reinvent the wheel?

Read. You can’t be an effective writer—of any type of material—if you don’t read. Read magazines, newsletters, Web sites, and blogs relating to your industry. If you’re at a loss for industry publications, check out Tradepub.com, which offers free magazine subscriptions and whitepapers for dozens of industries. I get many of my ideas for my blog posts and this newsletter from reading marketing publications.

You should also read outside your industry and for pleasure. Not only is it a great way to pass the time, but it can teach you about language and sentence construction, which come in handy when you’re writing your next promotion. Read business books, as well as your favorite fiction. I like science fiction, but any genre will do, and it all helps you learn how to tell a compelling story, which works as well in marketing copy as it does in today’s bestsellers.

Test, Test, Test. Another thing all successful marketers and copywriters do is test. Run your sales letter or webpage against another, changing only one thing at a time, like the headline. Whichever one outsells the other, use that one as your primary sales message, then test again! Change something else about the letter, like the lead, or the offer, or the guarantee. Heck, even use a different font! Even the most seemingly insignificant element will make people more likely to whip out their credit cards than another. Keep testing and testing until you’ve got something that continues to pull better than anything you set it up against. This becomes your Control. Use it as the basis for everything else you create.

That’s it! 5 super copywriting secrets you can start using right now!

Getting Things Done the Benjamin Franklin Way

2008-06-02T03:33:00.001-07:00

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”—Benjamin Franklin

One of the best success strategies used by everyone who has become successful is called modeling, where you find a person who is successful at what you want to do, and then do what they do.

For example, someone who wants to be successful in real estate could model Donald Trump. For copywriting, there’s Bob Bly, Clayton Makepeace, and Peter Bowerman.

But you don’t have to model the success of only those people who are still alive. History is full of successful men and women who can still be an inspiration to us today.

For me, one of those people is Benjamin Franklin. A successful entrepreneur, Benjamin Franklin retired at the ripe old age of 40. He was a skilled writer, invented bifocals, charted the Gulf Stream, created the first insurance company, volunteer fire department and lending library, and was a statesman and U.S. ambassador to France.

He really packed in a lot of successes. Sure, he lived to be 84, but he still couldn’t have done all this without becoming a master of time management.

Fortunately for us, Franklin spelled out exactly what he did in his autobiography.

Rising at 5am, Ben would ask himself one question: “What good shall I do this day?”

Then he would get ready for his day and have breakfast, followed by four hours of work.

At noon he would eat while either reading or reviewing his accounts. Then back to work for four more hours.

At 6pm it was time to “Put things in their places, supper, music or diversion, or conversation; examination of the day.”

Then he was off to bed for seven hours sleep before doing it all over again the next day.

Yes, it sounds regimented, but it was necessary in order for Ben to get things done. Perhaps you can use this as a guide to come up with something similar for your life.

I believe that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish most anything you set out to do in life, whether it be to become wealthy, start a business, write a book, whatever. And a big part of that is becoming a master of time management.

So start today. As old Ben would say, “Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.”

The Myth of Permission

2008-05-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

Are you waiting to get started because you don't have a degree, don't know enough, or some well-established guru hasn't told you you're ready?

If so, you may be suffering from what I like to call the Myth of Permission.

You see, our culture has taught us that we have to get a degree and then work and slave for years, putting in long hours doing menial, thankless tasks until some glorious Expert looks down from his crystal mountain, points his wizened index finger and says, "You are worthy."

This, in short, is a crock. You don't need permission from someone on high in order to feel worthy. All you need to do is learn all you can about it, and then go out there and do it. Only then will you truly feel and be "worthy."

Remember, you don't need permission to be successful. You already are.

What is Your Verb?

2008-05-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

Alex Mandossian posted something very interesting to his blog entitled "What is Your Verb?" that I think is a very good exercise for us all.

What is your verb? What is it that you do that defines your very essence? For example, for Rene Descartes it was "I think, therefore I am."

Alex's is "I improve, therefore I am."

Mine is "I write, therefore I am."

What is your verb? According to Alex, if you change your verb you change your whole life.

Advertise on Your Laptop

2008-04-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

Now here's a real coffee house conversation starter:

There's a company called Schtickers that lets you create your own customized laptop skin. You can get everything from van Gogh's Starry Night to your company logo emblazoned on your trusty laptop.

These things are great for writers, copywriters and other solopreneurs who like working remotely. James says check it out.

Be Careful What You Wish For: Adventures with the Law of Attraction

2008-04-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

Although I didn't know it at the time, I attracted my laptop using the Law of Attraction.

Back in early November of last year, the Dell desktop my wife won at her company Christmas party died. Not with a whimper, but with a bang. Literally.

It had caught about nine viruses, including a particularly insidious form of spyware whose modus operandi was to pop up ads for phony antivirus software.

Well, in the course of trying to fix the problem, the Dell's power supply blew a fuse, and with a loud pop, a tiny flash of flame from the back, and the smell of burnt plastic, she was gone. And so was my livelihood, for the time being.

It was time to go computer shopping. We had to. There were projects to finish, and more yet to take on.

Here's where my first experience with the Law of Attraction came into play.

For months I had been wanting a laptop. I would sit and think about it during my less busy moments, imagining what it would be like. How I could write from remote, exotic locations like coffee shops and parks. How my wife could surf while I got some work done.

Well, I got my wish, but at the expense of our desktop. This wasn't what I wanted, I thought. My point in having a laptop was so that we could have TWO computers!

Well, long story short, but the Dell is all better now, and for the moment, virus free. And I am happily typing this missive on my Gateway laptop.

If there is a lesson on the Law of Attraction here, it is this:

Think about what you want. I wanted a laptop.

Act as if you have already received it. I imagined myself typing on that thing almost every day for months.

Feel what it would be like to have this thing. I imagined how great it would be and how much it could help me leverage my limited time every day.

Take advantage of opportunities as they arise. The "opportunity" here was that our desktop died, and we had to do something. I was a little angry that the fates had not given me the laptop in some specifically pleasing way, but it all worked out. But be careful here. You don't want to be too general in what you ask for, but you don't want to get hung up on specifics either.

In other words, be careful what you wish for and how you wish for it.

I'm studying the Law of Attraction in earnest now, and hopefully, as time permits, I'll be able to share more of what I've learned with everyone who reads this blog.

Best of Continued Success,

James

The Essential Copywriter's Bookshelf: Hypnotic Writing by Joe Vitale

2008-03-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is the first in what will be a continuing series covering books that should be on every copywriter's bookshelf within arm's reach. This time around I'd like to tell you about Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words by Joe Vitale.

I've just started reading this one, but I can't put it down. Joe Vitale really knows how to create hypnotic writing! In this book, he shows you step by step, including lots of real world examples, how to create sales copy that your customers won't be able to stop reading. I'm going to copy some of the sales letter examples he uses for my swipe file. This book is a must for anyone interested in copywriting.

How to Quickly and Easily Create Your First E-Book

2008-03-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Whether you’ve been promoting your business on the Internet for any length of time, or you haven’t even started, you’ve probably thought about creating your own e-book. After all, e-books are a great way to promote yourself, encourage people to sign-up for your newsletter, or sell on your Website for some passive income.

The trouble is where do you start?

Start with a problem your target market wants solved. This seems so obvious, but you’d be surprised how many would-be entrepreneurs skip this step, opting instead to sell something they themselves like and think everyone else should want.

Rule number one is: Sell what your prospects want, not what you think they want.

Next, outline it. There’s nothing worse than coming up with a great idea for an e-book, and then, when you sit down to write it, find out that you don’t have enough material.

How long should it be? When I write e-books for Bob Bly, his suggested word count is between 10-15 thousand words. Below that, he says, is too short. Above that is too long.

I know that sounds like a lot, but believe me, it really isn’t. And if you’ve got all the material you need, and have the project well planned out beforehand, those 10K words can go pretty fast.

And there’s no rule carved in stone that says it can’t be shorter. If your finished product is only around 10 pages, just call it a report.

By now you’re probably thinking, “I’m not much of a writer. Can I still create an e-book?”

And the answer is, “Yes. Absolutely!” Here are two great ways to create your own e-book without writing a single word.

1) Interview an expert.

You don’t have to be an expert on the subject you want to write about. Find an expert on your subject and interview them. Talk to them by phone and record it, then have someone transcribe it for you. Poof! Instant e-book!

The recording also makes a great companion to and bonus for the e-book.

2) Hire a ghostwriter.

A ghostwriter is simply someone who writes it for you, under your byline. You put your name on it, you keep all future profits.

When you should hire a ghostwriter:

When you don’t have the time to write it yourself. Running a business is a very time-consuming task. You’ve got to market your business, service clients, do paperwork, and any number of related things. If you’ve been holding off on your e-book because you haven’t had time to write it, it may be time to think about hiring someone to write it for you.

When it is more cost effective to hire someone else. Maybe you could take the time to write it, but your time is worth more than you could reasonably make back from the sale of your e-book. This is often one of the reasons many business owners outsource needs like copywriting and Web design.

3) Do you write articles? Bundle a set of related articles and create an e-book.

And there you have it, a guide to quickly and easily creating your own e-book, including 3 ways to do it without writing a single word. Now go do it! And have fun.

The Thought for the Day: Be Weird

2008-01-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

"Success is taking all the things that made you weird as a kid and getting someone to pay you for them when you're older."--David Freeman, Screenwriter

A Little-Known Source for Great Ad Ideas

2008-01-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Swipe files have been on my mind lately, and Ben Settles mentioned a great source of ads recently: old comic books.

As a recovered comic book geek, I remember those ads very well. Here are a few of my favorites:

Ah, good old Charles Atlas. These ads were great. Notice the little comic-style story in the left margin. Comics were the perfect place for these ads, comic book readers being a pretty picked-on bunch, after all. Here's a another version in all its four color glory:

These ads combined all the color, power and zap! of the comics with proven direct response principles. They don't run them like this anymore. Comics these days have gone to running image ads. To find some of these old gems, check out flea markets, antique stores, and the back issue bins of your local comic shop. Most comic books lose their value over time, so you can walk out with a box full of them for a few bucks, though many will run the same ads (many comic store owners protect their stock in protective plastic sleeves, so make sure it's OK with them to take a look at the inside back cover to see if there's an ad you want to take home).

Happy hunting!

Make it Happen in 2008

2008-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Will 2008 be your best year ever? Or more of the same? Will you go after your dreams this year, or spend next December 31st regretting the way your life is going?

The choice is up to you. I want to challenge everyone reading this to do whatever it takes to get their dreams off the ground this year. No excuses. We are all responsible for our failures and our successes.

So stand up, take a deep breath, and go for it.

And feel free to share your dreams in the comments.

Another Great Free Resource

2007-11-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

I love passing along great resources that have helped my business, especially if they're free!

This is one I've looked to from time to time for great informative audio content I load on my mp3 player and listen to in the car. I've gotten hours of great business-building advice from this one site alone.

Anyway, here's the skinny:

"Over 117 Hours of FREE Audio Interviews
With Sales, Marketing and Business Success Experts."

Michael Senoff's www.hardtofindseminars.com is the world's leading
FREE digital audio business library that uses the power of personal
interviews and storytelling to capture and relay the advice of
world-class business experts. Get free audio interviews of the
experience and guidance of business leaders on the subjects of
direct marketing, business buying, writing, effective
advertising, referral marketing, negotiating, product development,
marketing consulting, and the art of how to get free advertising.
Take the tour at now at - http://www.hardtofindseminars.com

Have fun, and let me know what you think

A Special Halloween Treat

2007-10-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

Now why didn't I think of this?

In honor of Hallowe'en, here's something marketing guru Daniel Levis put together for Clayton Makepeace, a marketing "seance" with late great copywriting legend John Caples.

James Palmer
http://www.jamesmpalmer.com
http://thecopywritinblog.blogspot.com

The Secrets to Headlines That Sell

2007-10-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

I just found this great YouTube video featuring Web copywriter Trevor Cook on writing headlines. Check it out.

I'll be featuring more videos in the future. You can view them here.

In the meantime, I also found this giant headline swipe file. A good swipe file is a winning copywriter's secret weapon. You owe it to yourself to take a look at this amazing resource.

To Be the Best, You Must Study the Best

2007-10-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to beef up your copywriting skills in a hurry is simply to study the promotions of some of the greatest copywriters in the world, both living and dead.

And the best source I've found for old ads by long ago copywriters is Lawrence Bernstein's InfoMarketingBlog. Each post features a classic, long lost ad and some details about the famous copywriter who created it. Go there, print them out, read and study them, and most important of all, copy them out by hand or type them into your word processor. You'll be surprised at how quickly you catch on.

You can sign up for updates to the blog by registering at Ultimate-Online-Swipe-File.com

6 Great Newsletter Ideas--When You're Out of Ideas!

2007-09-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

"6 Great Newsletter Article Ideas--When You're Out of Ideas!"

by James Palmer

For marketers, publishing your own electronic newsletter can be challenging. Between project deadlines and other things, you've already got a lot on your plate. Then you also have a newsletter to get out every week, month, or quarter. Then it happens . . .

You've run completely out of ideas.

What do you do?

Well, first of all, don't panic. Panicking will just make it worse. Secondly, follow these five guidelines and you'll find yourself coming up with more fresh ideas than you can fit into a dozen newsletters.

1. Think Timely
Is there something going on the world that you can tie back in to your business? Keep an eye on the local and national news, especially business trends. Is there something there you can use as a springboard for an article about your business?

2. Relate Your Subject to Something Else

Even a subject that has nothing to do with the focus of your newsletter can be fodder for an article. In a recent issue of DM News, copywriter Bob Bly wrote a copywriting article entitled: "Harry Potter and the Irresistible Offer", in which he talks about an interview that J.K. Rowling did recently where she mentioned having written the final chapter of the last Harry Potter book over 15 years ago. That way, she would know how the series ends and be able to tie everything that came before into that final chapter.

Bob deftly tied this into direct mail copywriting, stating how you can follow Rowling's advice by creating the offer first and then writing the other direct mail elements. Genius! Not only is it a great idea, but Bob was able to connect to something from popular culture (and what's more popular right now than Harry Potter?)into an informative, helpful article about direct mail. Now you try!

3. Answer Reader Questions

If you get a lot of questions from your readers, this can make for great articles.

4. "Invite" a "Guest" Author

I did this a couple months back in my own newsletter, when I posted an article by Ezine Queen Alexandria K. Brown. Many ezine writers put permission to reprint at the end of their articles. All you have to do is include their fully intact bio and contact information at the end. It's free, viral marketing for them, and a free article for you. So if you're stumped one month, just look back at the other newsletters you've received. Is there an article that you particularly enjoyed or identified with? Something that would be a good fit for your readers? Grab it and send it out. Just make sure you've gotten permission, or done whatever is required by the author for you to use their work legally.

5. "Classic" Reprints

If your newsletter has been around a while, try reprinting a "classic" article from your archives. New subscribers probably haven't seen it, and your longtime readers would likely enjoy a refresher course. Just don't make a habit of it.

6. Interview an Expert

In your business, you've doubtless made contact with other business people in fields complementary to yours. Why not interview them for your next newsletter article? People love talking about themselves and their businesses, especially if it means free advertising for them! Include their bio and website link at the end. You never know, it could lead to some joint venture opportunities!

I know it may not seem likely, but as any writer will tell you, coming up with ideas is easy, it's the writing that's hard! Ideas are all around us, but sometimes you just have to do a little digging to dredge them up. For example, my lack of ideas gave me the idea for this article! So just look around and take what you need from the world around you. Your next newsletter will go out on time, and will be a killer success!

James Palmer is a freelance copywriter, business journalist, and ghostwriter who creates marketing materials that help large companies, coaches, and entrepreneurs communicate their business in a way that is easily understood by their target audience. He also offers a newsletter creation service for those who understand the power of having their own newsletter but donâ€™t have the time to implement it. For more information, or to sign up for his free monthly newsletter The Write Stuff, please visit his website.

20 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating Your Next Newsletter

2007-09-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

20 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Creating Your Newsletter

by James Palmer

What will my newsletter be used for?
Will my newsletter by delivered in text or HTML format?
Which autoresponder service will I use to deliver my newsletter?
How often do I want to send out my newsletter?
How many words will it be?
What features will I include in my newsletter?
What will my newsletter do for my business?
What will I call my newsletter?
Will I be the only author or will there be guest authors?
Will I offer my products and services in the newsletter?
Will I offer third-party products and services in the newsletter?
Will people pay me to place their ads in my newsletter?
Will my newsletter contain graphics or pictures?
Who is my newsletterâ€™s target audience?
What major benefit does my newsletter give my target audience?
What personal information will I include about myself in the newsletter?
Will I give my target audience permission to reprint and distribute my newsletter articles?
Will I turn my newsletter articles into other information products like videos, audio books, teleseminars, workshops, ebooks, etc.?
Will I write each and every article, or use a ghostwriter?
How many newsletter subscribers do I want?

New Article--"Produce--Reuse--Recycle"

2007-04-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Since Earth Day has just come and gone, I thought it would be a good time to share with those online marketers and infopreneurs out there how to really profit from the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mantra. I call it Produce-Reuse-Recycle, and it goes a little something like this:

Produce

Produce your own information products. They can be ebooks, articles, autoresponder email courses, or teleseminars. Creating your own product puts you in control, and allows you to share your passion about the subject with your audience. It also puts you in the role of the Expert, a trusted advisor who knows the subject your audience is paying good money to learn about inside and out.

Reuse

Once you've created it, continue to put your stuff out there and keep promoting it. Every time someone new comes along, invite them to join your email list by giving them one of these products you've created.

Recycle

This is sort of the same as the Reuse element above, but different. When we're talking about recycling in this case, we are turning something meant for one use into something else meant for another. Here's how it works:

You can turn a group of related articles into an ebook.

You can record an ebook or article as a recorded teleseminar you can give away or sell.

You can turn that autoresponder course into an ebook or teleseminar series.

See how this works?

By Producing, Reusing, and Recycling, you are saving time and energy on your product creation. That way, you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you need to roll out another product. Just make sure your list is large enough that any particular group isn't seeing the same information all the time, and don't give it to your list as an article, then turn around and try to sell it to them in an ebook, unless maybe it's only one small part they've seen before in a sea of new
material.

There you have it, a way to profit from your information products, without having to go back to the well every single time you need another money-making product.

Time Management

2007-04-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

Due to recent tragedies both personal and public, I have been thinking a lot lately about getting things done. About making the time on this Earth you have count for something. About doing whatever it takes to do what you want to do most in this world.

Time management is a big issue, whether you're a regular working stiff or a stay-at-home freelancer. I'd like to open this up to your ideas on time management, and how you get things done in your life.

So please, give me your thoughs, tips, rules to live by in the comments section. I think everyone will benefit from each other's hard-won wisdom.

Are These Guys Crazy?

2007-04-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ordinarily, sticking a rake handle into a blender is a definite warranty-voider, but two businessmen have turned it into their bread and butter.

Featured in the latest issue of Direct Magazine, Blendtec's George Wright and Tom Dickson created a series of videos where they throw everything from marbles to cell phones to pickled pigs feet, and yes, even rake handles into their blenders, with profitable results. The videos have appeared on YouTube, and thousands of people have submitted their suggestions for what to throw in next.

Web 2.0 stunts like this are growing increasingly popular. While I am a bit leery of the trend--what is the point of taking time to download and view what is essentially a commercial?--I admire the company's creativity. Also, as is quoted in the article, the blender actually does what they are showing it doing, and aren't relying on the usual television FX trickery that make us believe a car and ride along the ledge of a building or some other outlandish though visually interesting claim. They are building brand identity, while also causing the viewer to think, "Man, if their blenders can grind up a rake handle into powder, just think what it will do to the ingredients of my next smoothie."

So long as young children don't see the videos and try to perform similar stunts on a competitor's blender, without safety equipment. Advertising is fun, until someone loses an eye.