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By the time you leave this page, you will learn at least one thing you must do in order to capture the undivided attention of your website’s visitors or risk losing each one in a crowd of yawns.We’ll have a lot more on that later, but first…

In the beginning of this year, I made a promise to you as a NicheBOT subscriber. And that was to help make 2007 your best year ever.And along those lines, this week’s issue strikes at the very heart of that promise.

If you’ve ever read an issue of The Keyword Informer and got some value out of it, today’s issue is like 20 issues packed in one.

Why?

Because THE most important thing on your web page is not just the keywords, but rather the power of how you express your thoughts, explain your product or service as an affiliate or a direct seller of your own products/services.

The way in which you present your web pages will either make or break your visitor’s decision to buy something through you as an affiliate, buy something from you or do any action you may even suggest at the site. And it’s not necessarily just your web pages that affect your visitors, but the email communications you send if you are following up.

Words are what throw people into action and make them whip out credits cards…

It’s the heart of the lead generating and sales cycle of any business, offline or online.

Your online business or brick and mortar store is either taking orders and shipping product, making affiliates sales, or it’s not.

The only other alternative to the above is making clicks from Google Adsense — and that may not be the most solid business model to rely upon.

If your website is not leading someone toward a profitable action the right way and is not the sales mechanism you’d hoped it would be, then this issue will give you the proper understanding of a key ingredient that may be missing. And…

May I so boldly say or claim that this issue of The Keyword Informer may just turn out to be a million dollar marketing lesson for you wrapped up on one single web page that you can print out.

Hard to believe, I know.

But. . . I promise you one thing.

By the time you leave this issue, web page, blog post, story, short form ebook or manifesto — whichever you wanna call it — I guarantee you will have learned or discovered at least one thing that you can then take and apply to your current online business(es) and dramatically increase your conversions of visitors into subscribers or customers.

Higher conversions can easily translate into increased profits to the tune of double or even triple what you’re making right now within the next 6 months.

However much sweat and the most effective effort you decide to put into your own site will determine (geometrically) how much your returns will be.

It can sometimes take one little tweak to skyrocket sales from the regular monthly take to over 3000% literally overnight (actual story revealed below).

In this priceless lesson, you will also get bare-bones real life case studies of people who have made and are making millions on the internet by being able to RELATE to people by simply writing like they speak. And it’s a LOT different from writing as you think which I will clearly decipher for you as we continue onward.

After over 6 years of study, the four individuals you’ll soon read about below are the ones I’ve got my radar locked on.

Besides the extra case study material you’ll receive for here free (and a homework mission if you so accept the assignment), the things you will learn here will make this issue of The Keyword Informer so paramount, it could potentially prove fateful for the future of your thriving Internet business.

Should you read and actually apply the lessons here and see some value in what is discussed below, I just ask you to do ONE simple favor in return.

Don’t donate any money to me or my charitable cause.

Don’t even attempt to ask me or my staff where to send me money for improving your business.

Just do me this ONE minor thing.

Should you see someone struggling along the way after reading this — just pay it forward.

Go to a copier and make a copy for that person and give it to them however you can.

In person, by mail, by fax, by Pony Express or send them the link to this article by email (hint: there’s a refer a friend link below). However you can do it, please do so because as you’ll see…

This IS that important.

Once you learn the stuff here and know the power it can bring your way, there’s no reason to keep it to yourself as it has already been passed onto you.

It’ll actually be natural to pay it forward to someone struggling.

So pass it like a hot potato to someone else.

There’s really no other way to gain some serious karma and feel better about yourself at the same time by enlightening someone else who may be struggling.

Let’s address a question that is probably still wandering through your mind.

Could this truly be a million dollar lesson?

Absolutely! If you truly go out and implement the examples given hear and adapt the model to your own industry, marketplace, niche sites and webpages, I should be hearing from a good number of people within the next 3-6 months that their profits are up sharply!

The sad part is that 3%-7% of the people who actually read this entire post will ever take any action whatsoever.

And a good portion of those 3-7% who try will fall out because of whatever reason.

This totally works out to your advantage because if you put this stuff to good use, you’ll be part of the elite squad that reaps the rewards.

And yes, this lesson comes to you completely FREE.

No strings attached.

Nothing at all to buy.

You can do with it what you like — and if you use it — use it only for good.

If you don’t use it at all — then no hard feelings.

Taking no action whatsoever cannot necessarily translate into results and profits. And I will readily admit there is definitely some elbow grease required here.

This is a plain, no frills, no magic zone.

This priceless marketing lesson does not come with magical fairy dust you can sprinkle over your website and make it automatically spit out money like an ATM as some will have you believe. However, if you put some mental effort into using what I share with you here, you could just have your website spitting out money like an ATM machine and record your first million dollars in online revenues in the next year to two.

And what I mean by what I just said about increasing your profits: I mean that I am hoping to assist you without having to add even a single extra visitor to the current flow of traffic your site(s) receive(s).

Now — if you are lacking traffic, there is no cure for that other than to go get traffic. Without traffic or people actually viewing your web pages (your offers), commerce can barely move and profits can hardly be expected in that type of situation.

No — today we will not be talking about traffic or how to develop it, but rather the flip side to that — what to do when the visitor arrives at your site and how to humanly handle them and lead them to an action that will be either immediately profitable or profitable at some point in the future.

In essence, we will discuss how to create web pages that are sticky and engage your audience and more specifically, the targeted visitor. (Those last three words are very important — read them again)

Without having a targeted visitor or a targeted audience, some particular person in your mind, a profile, some known characteristics, some description of who your buyer is that you are specifically speaking to, your web pages will only be talking to a more general audience. When you talk to a more general audience, it’s more than likely that type of language and message will not convert as profitably when you speak directly to your target market on a very specific level. The primary objective is to speak directly to the exact type of person who purchases the product or service that is being marketed.

I am amazed that most are still in the fog about how to create a high converting web page and are left to wonder why no one buys through or clicks their affiliate links, purchases products or services at his/her site, etc.

No one really can be blamed for this lack of knowing or understanding because none of this was a course of study in high school or college, as I know it.

To know how to communicate with people through your web page and talk to them in a way that allows you to suggest courses of action that a portion of visitors will follow does take some time to craft the skill. But before you even begin to craft the skill over time, you must begin at the very root and (I believe) have a true interest in learning what makes a person tick.

You gotta get between the ears and know what they (your targeted audience) think and how they speak before you know how to speak to them.

Here is one concept you absolutely must grasp to communicate effectively with the target audience in your niche market, industry, marketplace, whatever you wish to call it…

PEOPLE COME ONLINE TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AND INFORMATION, NOT WEBSITES

Before you can connect with your website’s visitors, it’s important to understand the primary motivations of why people come online.

Here’s a really good example of a primary motivating factor people come online (and note, this is just ONE example).

Just recently, Mark Zuckerberg, a kid at the age of 23, has a tiger by the tail with his FaceBook site that connects people on what he calls a “social graph.” Mark was featured recently in a Time magazine article and it’s like the MySpace craze happening all over again.

There is something really telling in this Time Magazine article about the growth rate of FaceBook moving along at the mild pace of 1 million users per week. Facebook all started out by sharing a place where students get together, share their daily life events/stories and is still still very popular among college dorms — but now it’s been opened up to a much wider audience.

Besides the fact that the Internet is a great source of information, this type of activity ultimately tells us that people go online to interact and connect with other humans and build their social network.

Here’s another example of online human behavior I think most can relate to that have purchased something online.

Do you usually skip the reviews about a product you’re interest in at Amazon.com or wherever you may shop? You know, those online retail outlets that give people the ability to post comments about products or services?

I know I don’t skip the reviews, especially about a product or service I am interested in.

Ask yourself this: When you read a review about a product or service given by a reader that seems semi-intelligent, has that ever changed or influenced your view (in a negative way) about the product/service you were researching? I know there have been a number of product reviews I have read, both offline and online, that have definitely impacted a buying decision.

Any type of human feedback or something that tells me something OTHER than what the company selling the product has to say is what’s important to me.

(POWER TIP: This is why it’s so important to use other people’s thoughts and testimonials on your web site rather than just the website owner talking by themself. We’re not going to get into this deeply, but this is EXACTLY why NicheBOT has 180+ testimonials on the site because testimonials offer social proof!)

People come online to read real human reviews on products they wish to purchase, not some cold, corporate jibberish put together by some guy back at headquarters who is barely even intimate with the product or service. It’s more believable to read messed up, lower case, type written English like you can find on some forum boards. They seem more genuine, more trustworthy because reading a cold textbook like description just really kind of bores us all. (well, maybe not some people)

In essence, what it ultimately comes down to, web surfers wanna see real traces and footsteps that show signs of human life.

This commands that we as marketers and online business owners must present a much more personal feel to our marketing message at our site.

We will discuss how to bring out that more personal feel here in our case studies as well.

SHORT RECAP OF LAST ISSUE

In the last issue of The Keyword Informer – Issue 10 – we had a discussion about “Marketing Awareness” and how important it is when planning your next marketing strategy for an existing project or a future one you intend to launch. (I even shared my own personal story in how I used my awareness of certain marketing ‘ strategies to position NicheBOT 2 in the most effective manner to enter the market as a premium product.)

The highlight of the last issue was a real world, offline marketing example of how Jamba Juice presented me with an special 2 for 1 coupon offer in a very, “outside the box” unique manner. (see pictures in last issue)

The underlying point of that issue was to basically raise awareness, “think outside the box” and be aware of the marketing processes around you so you can be more keen on making the offers at your site(s) more powerful. I even gave you a link to one of my high converting (43.3%) optin pages to dissect and study. So…

If you read that issue, I know that you will easily agree with the statement that. . . “The higher conversions are, the high profits will be.”

Agreed?

Good.

WHERE THIS WHOLE THING STARTED

This whole issue of TKI wasn’t even planned and sort of crept on in here. You see…

Today, we will be expanding on something Ted pointed out in a comment to Issue 10:

Jim,
Your statement, “marketing is the mechanism that flows from you or your vision” gave me goosebumps! I also can’t help but notice the various ways we are marketed to everywhere we go…”

The exact thing that gave Ted goosebumps (“the mechanism that flows from you or your vision”) is what we are going to discuss today.

And that is…

How To Write as You Speak, Not as You Think, and Create High Converting Web Pages that are Super Sticky, Seductive, Magnetic and Will Make You a Stash of Cash!

Now the “stash of cash” can make this sound sort of hypie or get rich quickie type — but I assure you, it’s not.

We’re talking about developing a skill that once you learn it, it becomes a part of you — NO ONE can ever remove it. It’s yours for life.

This is a skill that allows you to effectively communicate like you speak and thus, become a much better voice on your website that relates to your visitors and future customers.

Writing like you speak is not as easy as it sounds. I had my difficulties and battling my Critical Mind, a mighty force we’ll be discussing a little later on.

See…

You can do the BEST keyword research possible with the best keyword tool possible. (You can even pay a lot of money to have the keyword research professionally done for you.)

And it really doesn’t mean squat if your web page doesn’t convert into a sale or somehow generate a lead that you can follow up with by email.

Trust me…

I’ve come from the land of ignorance into the bright shining sun of reality and the wake up was not pleasant. (In other words, once I acquired the knowledge and understanding, I realized that I was leaving a lot of money on the table — and I know I still am!)

It all comes down to the fact that… if visitors are landing on your site and the visitor is not motivated to do what you want them to do, there is something somehow lacking in the way you are expressing your message on the web page. Or, the way you have structured your offer is not powerful enough for there to be a high enough demand in your marketplace.

What I hope to share with you will “wake your visitors up” and have them take notice, and do exactly as you guide them to do.

Whether it be to buy, subscribe, donate, etc.

INTRODUCTION

We’re going to chat right now about some of the key components of how to write web pages that stimulate visitors into action and convert them into more subscribers or customers than you ever thought.

And guess what?! We’re not going to be talking about keyword research.

Ha!

I know — a serious shocker!

Hey, look.

I don’t care!

No matter how good (or even excellent) your keyword research may be…

If your web page is not written in a way that speaks to your visitor in language they easily understand, empathizes with their situation, somehow relates to them and then convert those visitors into subscribers or paid customers, there’s really no real point in being in business. Now is there?

Now — that doesn’t mean you stop right there, quit and fold up shop if you’re not making anything or barely struggling to get by with your online concern.Later on, I’ll have an example of how someone made just one transition, one tweak and brought sales up overnight when it was applied!

There are generally two types of moods when it comes to website conversions of visitors into profits:

1. Low conversions mean low sales which brings really bad moods and sad feelings throughout the day.

2. High conversions mean higher sales yielding great profits and euphoric feelings all day long.

Which group would you rather be in?

DO YOUR WEB PAGES SOMEHOW RELATE TO THE VISITOR’S FEELINGS, WANTS, NEEDS AND DESIRES?

If there is one thing I see drastically missing from websites today in connecting with the actual visitor on an individual basis, it is… being able to relate to the specific targeted individual that lands on the site.

When a person interested in solving acne lands on a site about that subject, there should be a certain way the website should speak to the concerns of the acne market. And remember, the website copy should speak to the individual person, not talk outward to a group of people. In order to make the web page much stickier and more engaging, you should also use the Car Flyer Mentality (explained in detail below).

Quite often, while surfing the web, I come across various websites that read like a classroom textbook or speak in a stiff, non-conversational tone. (yawn)

Yeah — that was my head that just hit the table from even thinking of reading another boring web page.

I’m not sure about you, but with my A.D.D., I usually found myself asleep in a puddle of drool in between my history and trigonometry book when I was in school.In fact, most sites on the net actually have NO personality whatsoever. The site owners hide behind some corporate shell or the words on the page are so uninviting to someone interested in the topic, I can only imagine how poor those websites are converting its visitors into a profitable action. (I’m talking about quality content sites here — not junk automated type sites — just for the record.)

But we’re not here to have a pitty party or dwell on the negative.I’m gonna tell it to you straight.

The hard truth is. There’s really no real mathematical formula needed to determine whether a site is profitable or not. If an ecommerce store, affiliate site, Adsense sense, ebook site or ANY site for that matter is having trouble converting a website visitor into a loyal return visitor or a paying customer, profits can only be minimal if not scarce.

If you are not building a mailing list of any kind and allowing users to just leave your site without some way of interacting, this is the worst sin possible. The main reason being is that you are constantly having to generate NEW traffic because you you have no way to contact visitors and invite them back or send them some valuable content.

Now, don’t be offended.

But I’m going to now ask a very simple question — or what may appear to be a simple question.

So what the heck is a website anyways?

A Website Is Merely An Extension of Your Personality or the Vision of the Company’s Representative

A web page sits somewhere on a web server floating out in cyberspace.

Some people call it the “ether.”

The fact is, a website has no personality and cannot relate to other people, but you (or your company’s representative) have a personality!

But see, the hard part is that people can’t relate to a website that has no personality.

Hopefully that makes a little bit of sense, but I’ll expand on it.

Look — if you bring your site to life and truly inject your own personality into it — the unique way only YOU how to express yourself — I can personally assure you that you will make dramatic leaps and bounds in connecting with your website’s visitors, get more feedback, and the profits you are currently seeing in whatever you are doing.

When you inject your personality into your website with your enthusiasm and passion about the topic you are discussing , it’s easy to see just by reading the words how you feel about your product, service, affiliate site, whatever you build online.

It’s a natural thing I think that is contagious. People get excited when you’re excited about your site and your visitor then also has a deeper chance to relate to you, who you are at the very core, and begin to build a level of trust and rapport with you.

What’s so amazing is that the internet can make things so realistic, personalized, human like and put the prospect at ease that it’s possible to get loads of people wanting to do business or conduct a transaction at your site without every having any voice or email contact.

The most important rule of all, speak to your prospect as if you are talking to just ONE person, not a group or in the third person. Speaking to a prospect in a third person is very impersonal and just doesn’t come off warm at all.

I wouldn’t even recommend this for large corporations.

I would much rather have the President become the personal spokesperson for the company and add a personal touch to it.

Lastly, as Russell (Brunson) discussed in a workshop I recently attended, building a specific character of who you are so that people can instantly relate to you and remember you is extremely important. I have watched Russell completely transform his entire approach to how he built a character around him being a REAL person.

We will have Case Study Material that will show exactly how Russell structures the language and builds his public image as a warm, down to earth, blue collar, religious man that appeals to a mass a broad audience that trusts him and buys from his company.

Russell is on tracker to break over $3 million dollars this year and we’ll uncover some of the ways he’s writing as he speaks.

CREATE GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION FOR YOUR VISITOR WITH YOUR WEB COPY

Most often, when I’m reading other’s web copy, the webmaster has no clue on which direction to take their prospects in the web copy.

It does take a little skill in order to lead a web surfer by the hand (with words), provide an efficient solution to an existing problem and making the prospect feel comfortable in completing a transaction where money exchange hands.

There is absolutely no excuse for (1) not telling your visitor what to do in order an ebook or some software, (2) how much something is going to cost (3) what your guarantee or return policy is and, last but most importantly, (4) allowing a web visitor to leave without having them to take some sort of action. (Marketers call this a “call to action.”)

Some of these simple things are being left out by many.

Communicating with your visitors about how to gain the experience the visitor is after and explain to them how you can offer that THING to them by using normal every day words that keep people understanding exactly what you are saying.

Once you start to introduce very specialized words that your visitor may not be used to, you can confuse an individual leading to unanswered question. Unanswered questions turn into potential customers that click off and significantly never come back.

When you leave people to wonder what something means and don’t talk in plain English, you begin to narrow the actual number of people your site will be able sell your particular product or service. Thus…

We are going to talk about how to really HUMANIZE your web pages that speak to the visitor rather than sound like you are some robot reciting text from an English book. (yawn)

You see, quite often, I land on a web page after doing some search for a review or something.

And the page I land on after clicking through the search engine listing most often comes across either so cold or so boring, I’m yawning as I hit the “X” button on my browser.

When you can speak as you write to practically any level of education and still come across sounding educated and authoritative, you’ll reach a much broader audience and increase conversions.

In a short while, I’m going to share with you a story about a 17 year old kid from “the projects” who was struggling like most aspiring entrepreneurs (much like me), took a website literally OVERNIGHT from $300 – $500 per month in sales to $500 per day. All he did was tweak his website, write as he speaks and the conversions went UP. (I’ll explain more later on.)

Today, the now 23 year old young gentleman, Jermaine is on track to squeeze $1.4 million dollars this year out of a really small niche market.

You will get an inside peak into what he’s doing and the amazing things Jermaine is up to.

Once you finish reading this little lesson here, you may find yourself saying…

“Perhaps all my web pages need are just a little life, add some humanization, and inject some spunk right into them and bammo!”

I’ll give you a few samples along the way of ways to do it.

But one way to hold someone else’s attention is to…

TREAT EVERY VISITOR LIKE THEY ARE JUST ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP

 

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We’re not going to get into health issues, but I’m sure you’ll agree there are plenty of people walking around this planet yawning throughout the day and have to reach for some sort of caffeine based product to keep going.So…One of the ways I approach creating a web page that will get someone’s attention is by having the attitude that every single visitor could fall asleep from reading my web page. So if it’s going to be boring, then there’s NO reason to write it, build it or create it unless it’s gonna have a touch of excitement.This makes certain I create an absolutely exciting web page even if it’s a contact form. (I’m talking about the words here, not the graphics.)See, I’m totally into stimulating the senses and constantly ask you questions that make you think internally within yourself… and then I keep engaging you. There are other ways to engage your visitor on the web page as well such as audio and video (and one the case studies will have a bunch of videos to learn from).

I mean, if you’re reading down this far already — then I know you’re completely engaged.

So one of my primary focuses is to inject as much of my goofy personality into the copy much like I would be casually speaking to a friend.

And that’s how I treat you — as my personal friend as you are reading this.

The more personal I get — the deeper I drive you into my story (and we’ll get into this part which is very intense).

Don’t be afraid to be gripping and deliberately moving with your words! There’s nothing with sounding like you are truly concerned for the sake of your visitors! (Like you would be a friend). In other words…

BE BOLD IN YOUR HEADLINE

If you have read even a little bit about copywriting, the best place to be bold and courageous with your words is in your HEADLINE – or the very top introduction of a particular web page. (Generally, the headline should be in larger font, bold letters and clearly stand out from the body of your web page.) Back to the headline…

Give the visitor the ultimate promise of what they are going to learn on that web page.

And if you are selling something at the end of the web page, then that ultimate promise (headline up at the top) better be good enough to make my mouth salivate if I am in any way interested in the product or service you are selling. And if you read your own copy and it doesn’t get you excited, then there is definitely something wrong with the power of what you’re offering.

So your headline is where you want to be bold.

Statistics show that the headline accounts for 80% of the effectiveness of a salesletter or optin page.

I’m not here to teach you how to write copy, but…

Let people feel you and know there is a real person behind that website that is positioned as an authority on a given subject. You see…

Sad fact is — a lot of small businesses and entrepreneurs suffer from really flat web copy that converts but maybe 1 out of every 1000 visitors and some even worse.

And that — to me — is totally unacceptable!

This hits me from a personal perspective.

Why?

Because as I disclosed on the last issue of The Keyword Informer 10, I have written salesletters that have converted on a consistent basis at 8% – 12% and even higher. I vaguely spoke about one salesletter that was shown to a VERY limited number of people and converted at over 46%.

I don’t share these numbers to boast or even to offer a service (because you CAN’T hire me – I only work in-house for my own company).

For the newbies that may be reading — allow me to explain exactly what an eight percent (8%) sales conversion rate is. That means that for every 100 unique visitors that get presented an offer, on average 8 people chose to become a paid customer.

In the direct response industry — that is considered an extremely high conversion rate, while most people are suffering at 1% and below.
I can tell you this from firsthand experience having had a hand in writing copy that has now produced nearly $2.0 million dollars and processing over 40,000 subscription payments in the last couple years. So you might say that I have at least a basic understanding of what converts a visitor.

Along my way, I have “identified and aligned” myself with other top marketing professionals in other niche markets that seem to be using what the same techniques that are described here and discussed below.

As Mike Filsaime mentioned in his sold out $4,997 workshop on DVDs called The 7 Figure Code — “Identify and align” was modeled after the book Good to Great by Jim Collins — and Mike wrote a little paragraph on his Live Workshop letter that struck me (and should rightfully go in a swipe file somewhere), which said:

“You need to identify and align yourself with the person you wish to follow in their footprints through the field of landmines. Align yourself with a mentor who has been there before and you can accelerate your goals by quickly learning from their success… rather than your own failures.”

I’ve definitely identified and aligned myself with those I know who can accelerate my own goals, the question is, have you?

As I stated in the last issue, just one idea I got from Mike’s Butterfly Marketing Manuscript added another $100K onto the corporation’s revenues this year alone. I have the screenshot to prove it (but my contracts do not allow me to divulge corporate figures).

Which is why whenever I go to an internet marketing type seminar, I only look to walk away with just one or two good ideas or create one or two strong relationships to easily pay for my time attending the seminar in the first place.

All I need is just one or two solids ideas and the time away from the home office pays for itself.

As with every “humble as pie” person in our case studies here, they’ve all made over and some are making multi-million dollars in revenues yearly and live and breath this copy stuff on a daily basis.

I’m not saying that you need to earn as much money as they do, but if they are making the millions they are, why not identify and align with their marketing successes and speed up progress on the way to your own goals.

Let me give you another example of how to construct the entire presentation toward just the visitor in a conversational tone.

INTRODUCING THE BRAND NEW VISUAL REPRESENTATIVE NICHEBOT GIRL

Is the voice in your text much like your own voice, speaking directly to your visitor?

If not, then your site is not humanized.

Yes, you heard that right.

That’s right — I said living, breathing, humanized.

We are going talk about how to humanize your site by talking like you speak to your visitor, but showing you exactly how it sounds.

Just recently, I was in charge of creating the script for a 30 second spot for NicheBOT’s new visual representative that produced by http://www.live-face-on-web.com.

I personally wanted to add a human touch to NicheBOT and make it feel like there are real people behind this website, not just some robots.

So we chose to get 3 different — 30-second videos made for the tour, order and general pages. (Don’t worry — I’ll show you them in a second.)

When writing a script for someone that you have never met, this is obviously very important to create text that is written in a conversational tone or else the model’s speech will come across robotic or choppy if there is specialized terminology.

I’ll let you be the judge of whether Rachael suits well as the new NicheBOT Girl and whether her script sounds like it’s stale and boring or conversational.

Click here to see one of the visual representative videos I was in charge of creating for NicheBOT.

After you watch it…

Ask yourself: Did the video presentation sound like it was speaking directly to you as a website visitor?

Exactly — as it should be!

Okay — now when I usually craft a headline, I usually write out about 20-50 different ones and choose the best (most powerful) one I like.

But even after I pick one of the winning headlines from a bunch, I usually…

ALWAYS RE-THINK THE HEADLINE

I’m going to share something funny with you (no, not the video above silly).

This article was originally titled “Write Like You Speak – Not As You Think.”

But then something remarkable happened.

I went back to the same principles and message I have drilled into my head over and over again — and that is …

If my headline (or the subject line of an email) does NOT absolutely grab the reader’s attention and speak to their inner desires , then that somebody will probably never open that email or read the important stuff I’ve gotta say.

A powerful headline is the exact reason why those gossip magazines fly off the shelves at the checkout line of your local supermarket. Those headlines work and a sell a lot of copies of those magazines. The writers for People Magazine and The Enquirer put some serious thought into those bold headlines that provoke people to grab a copy as they head out the door.

And consider for a moment how large newspapers organize their newspaper. They alway have large bold headings (headlines) to start a story off — and if you end up falling for the headline of the story, you’ll begin to start reading the article and most likely finish it.

That’s exactly how web pages should be constructed and you will find most of mine are that way.

The headline is a considerable amount of your presentation — so you better think about it and then re-think it.

Headlines on gossip magazines, titles of books, software or anything that works or acts as a cover teaser is for the obvious reason, because . . .They want to entice you to look inside!

Everyone is vying for our attention, and that is why we online business owners have to do our best to get the attention we deserve.

And the best way to get the attention of your targeted visitor is to let them know immediately what the page they are on will ultimately promise them and the issues or problem you, your product or your service can solve for them.

And in order to get the ultimate promise out there, I like to use the . . .

THE CAR FLYER MENTALITY

Okay — this is really great frame of mind to put yourself under because I think we’ve all in our adult lives seen a flyer, or some sort of paper advertisement left on our vehicle right underneath the windshield wiper. Right?

Good…

Now, do you remember the usual frame of mind you were in when you found the piece of paper, especially after you were already inside the car?

This is how I usually react when I see flyers on my car’s windshield: “Oh for cryin out loud, now I’ve gotta go get out of my car and take that thing off my window. And why did they choose my car? Sheesh!”

Okay– you can kind of feel how my experience is already going there. Not very positive at all.

Right — so by the time I get out of my car and approach the flyer, my mind is nearly shut off to the message, and this flyer has about two seconds to say something really important or it’s gonna get tossed!

And if there are not some BIG BOLD letters that stand out on the paper and speak enticing words that interest me, and if I am forced to squint, it’s definitely headed for the circular (trash can).

Okay — that’s just dead honest. And I’m sure you could feel that.

With the speed and rate that technology is moving, we have SO many things to do, we just don’t have time to pay attention to everyone throwing a marketing message our way.

If a flyer on my car reached out and grabbed my attention and gave me an irresistible offer that created some desire within me, then I would have seriously kept the message.

And hold that thought because we’re going to pick back up on that when we close out here today.

However, the ultimate underlying point here is that a flyer put on someone’s car is very similar to presenting a web page in front of somebody in their living room on a computer monitor. If it does not speak to them like a human being, they can easily choose to tune you out, shut you off and close that window and begin their search again.

Most often, the website I see is often dry, boring, it’s basically just dead, creates no excitement or electricity, and thus, no sense of urgency for the customer to wish to conduct a transaction today!

Fact is, most people have such scattered minds, including yours truly, I may never go back to the same website if I do not complete an order that day. (There are some sites that I keep up in a browser all day so I make sure to purchase it because otherwise I know I’ll never get back to that site or find it again.) Nonetheless…

Today, we will discuss some live case studies about how to humanize your site, make it feel cozy and human like so that people are relating to who you are. I think the ultimate ideal is that your visitor actually feels you trying to relate to them.

We will also talk about how to seriously break the Critical Mind that destroys our chances of ever getting our personality busting out at the seams on the web page.

And that’s exactly what we need to do on our web pages — and that is… “WAKE THESE PEOPLE UP!”

Most will ignore what I have to say here because of what I call the “Critical Mind.”

You know — it’s the part of our sub-conscious — that voice that talks inside our heads that places all those limitations on ourselves…

“I can’t do this or that.”

The Critical Mind is always quick to judge things, creates doubts, double-guesses our decisions, and even worse, sabotages our career and backs out of career advancement things based on fear or lack of confidence.

The Critical Mind always creeps in while you are writing and edits your thoughts to make it sound like we were taught in school — according to the rules of English

Not only will this be a valued marketing lesson, but also a reminder to constantly do what can be done to squelch the devastating and limiting affects the Critical Mind can have to reaching our goals quicker.

Should you take what is presented here and simply apply it, you can create an endless supply of high converting web pages and opt-in forms by simply learning how to write like you speak.

But you see, there is the controversy.

THE CRITICAL MIND AND THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS IT POSES TO YOUR FUTURE PROGRESS

The way I teach and talk about this stuff alone is against every principle we learned in school as little kids.

Remember English class?

My English teacher would literally become ill just from my poor paragraph construction in my salesletters and web copy.

My fragmented and incomplete sentences.

But I would still pay NO mind to any such criticism.

Everything I do in my web copy defies the laws of grammar and good English.

And I do it for one reason and one reason alone. I can make my visitors feel like they ARE right here in the room with me just having a light-hearted chit chat.

And you can do the same.

Whoever you are.

If you can speak — you’ve got the power.

And you know what?

It was never really always this way.

You see, I was completely hell bent on the rules.

I even had a hate for English because I felt so bordered.

I’ll share a very intimate growth story with you. It’s very embarrassing and personal, so I don’t share it often.

Back in 2002, I was working as a law office manager for a law firm and the partnership was splitting up.

I had a great boss by the name of Emil who was just awesome and gave me two months severance pay. (Go Emil!)

Now, mind you, my wife and I had three kids to provide for and absolutely needed to have a backup plan.

The other thing to consider is that I already had another potential job lined up which was actually offered to me.

I flat out denied taking the job when it was initially offered because I was terribly confident that I would launch my online career with this salesletter I was about to write.

(Inner thoughts: Man, was I excited to go and do it!)

This now meant I had two months to try and launch some sort of online business that could allow me to stay home and watch my little girl grow up.

(As a side note here, it’s incredibly more powerful and meaningful when you know your WHY you are doing what you are doing with your internet business. In my case, my “WHY” was to be able to spend more time at home with my daughter.) Today, I live that dream!

Okay, so back to the issue at hand.

I got home back in May 2002 and had already decided I was going to launch a specialized hosting company (I know, don’t laugh!) Right — like the world needed yet another hosting company even back then.

Anyways, I set off to do the writing I knew had to be done and. . . . . . . . . . . CHOKED!!! Big time.

Oh man! It was bad (and sad).

After two months, NO salesletter posted, NO visitors yet to my site, NO content created for the site because I never got past Stage 1, writing the darn letter that would sell the hosting offer.

Today, there is nothing anyone can pay me to stop doing what I do best then have to put up with all the struggle it took me to break my grammar skills and humanize them.

This post may be written in the most awful grammatical English composition possible, but you know what?

I could care less!

And that’s basically how you have to look at it.

I mean — I’m not saying that you should mis-spell stuff and talk incoherent English.

Not at all.

Have you ever gone through a really well populated web forum online and look at how some people type online?

Yeah — that’s what I mean by humanize. Make it look professional, but somewhat human.

And I don’t mean being sloppy — but rather how you are mainly communicating with your visitors in the manner and attitude they are used to be spoken to.

Ask yourself: Are your web pages friendly or are they cold pillars of direction telling people what to do?

I personally want people to walk away from my web copy feeling fuzzy and getting goosebumps like Ted.

And how is an English teacher to argue or say anything when I can show proof that I’ve personally used my words to convert nearly $2.0 million dollars in online revenue in just a little over a couple years?

Eliminating the weight you give the voice of your Critical Mind will free your mind and unlock the skill to ultimate expression on paper or a web page.

And once you unlock this one skill, embrace it and master it, you can literally created web pages from streams of consciousness!

The Critical Mind will Stop You From Writing Like You Speak at ANY Cost!

You’ve heard it above.

The Critical Mind comes in, regulates your thoughts, makes you rethink and revise your writings according to the rules of grammar until it drives you so crazy, all action is stalled.

The Critical Mind wants to applies the logical thinking rules we learned in school, while our creative mind discovers new ways to express yourself and talk in a more personable tone.

You have my very own two-month embarrassing lesson I had to learn the hard way.

And what was the consequence of this embarrassing situation?

I had to go back to a 9 to 5 job.

And it if weren’t bad enough to think back on it. For two months, I couldn’t spit out the right words in front of my computer.

(I know, you must be asking what the heck I did there everyday — and I don’t blame you!)

Talk about feeling low.

The day I had to pick up the phone and call up the guy who offered me the job two months before was quite a somber day.

The natural human emotion at this point was to quit back in 2002 — but I kept forging forward and learning from my mistakes.

There’s no doubt I had some serious challenges with the Critical Mind limiting my ability to get my free flow expression out on a web page without all those rules about grammar intruding my mind.

I am certainly not here to offend the English teachers of the world and I have great respect for the foundation of education, but the real rules of grammar have little flexibility as applied to the kind of copy I write that converts visitors into buyers.

And that is why you must work on a daily basis to break yourself of the habit of not conforming to the rules of English grammar and write like you speak.

The best way to help yourself get out of this habit is by asking yourself these two questions:

1. Does this piece of content sound just like I speak to people in real life and does it flow from sentence to sentence?

2. If I were to recite the words on a web page live and in person to one of my friends — is that how I would normally express myself?

You must find a way to constantly remind yourself to ask these two simple questions. This will eventually form a naturally secondary habit to avoid writing as you think (because of the rules of grammar) and, instead, write like you speak!

NOTE TO SELF:

Write a sticky note for your monitor, write an Outlook reminder and make sure to make it clear on the note to remind yourself to ask the questions above whenever you write your content.

Before you know it, you’ll be writing like you speak, get twice as much content written twice as fast, you’ll be 10x more interesting and have ten times more to speak about because the words will flow and you’ll be converting 2 to 3 times the number of visitors.

But you have to form the new habit — which most people never do.

And by working that muscle of reminding yourself everyday, that will work out to your advantage one day.

Look…

If your web pages or opt-in forms or opt-in boxes have been feeling a little flat lately and low on life and profitability, then you either need to stick some high powered battery cables into them, or just hang in there for a minute or two and come right along with me on this million dollar discovery.

More and more people around the web are already coming along for the ride because people are letting their hair down and letting the words flow right out onto their web page.

COPYWRITERS REALLY GET INTO THEIR WORK

One thing I’ve heard continually discussed about copywriting in general is that after you write your headline, or the body of your copy for anything you’re writing, make sure to step back and revisit it after a few hours, even a day or two later.

Gives you a chance to step back and really process what you wrote.

Some professional copywriters study their product intimately, absorb a bunch of information and then sit around for a few days to week, or two or three, while the information processes through their mind. (I’ve done the same!)

Look, I’ve heard some amazing things that professional, high paid copywriters go out and do. One copywriter, Mike Morgan, apparently has gone out to sit in a beauty salon just to see what women chat and talk about throughout the day so he can get into the mindset of the prospect.

Being that Michael is a male, he had to go hang out somewhere where women freely expressed their thoughts in order to develop a sort of dialogue in his mind about the audience he’s trying to relate to. Michael knows that if he talks to women from a man’s perspective, the client’s product may not sell well and that just proves the point that you must profile and know who and what type of person you are speaking to within your web copy.

If you do not get the attention quickly of your target market and speak to them the way they want to be spoken, they will upright leave.

The biggest problem is that people need to be entertained and constantly stimulated, poked and prodded.

We as webmasters, online business owners, SEO optimization specialists, CEOs, keyword research specialists, we must get into the brain and the ROLE of the person or group of people who are buying our specific product or service on the Internet.

You see — the art of truly penning a web page, salesletter, optin page, article or whatever it is that requires words and a prospect to take action goes way beyond just the use of the keyword. In order to convert visitors into buyers, clickers, shoppers, whatever you want them to be, your web copy must relate to the main group of people that buy your product, service, affiliate product or join your mailing list/newsletter.

And the standard in copywriting I usually utilize is AIDA because it’s the easiest to remember:

Attention — First get the attention of your prospect in your headline (as we discussed above)

Interest — Create some interest in what is currently being discussed or something that is a nagging problem

Desire — Build some desire in the prospect for the solution you are going to offer that will solve their nagging problem

Action — Make certain to point out exactly how the person can cure the problem and get the person to take ACTION right away. This is known as a “call to action” and I use it on every piece of content I write.
When you know how to speak to people through your copy on the website that sells your product or service, people will like and trust you enough to take out of their wallet and hand over their credit card information and conduct a transaction, click a link, signup for your list, etc.

This may sound repetitive, but…

People want to relate to other people. People want to feel connected.

How deep are you getting into your visitor’s mind?

How deep is the connection you are forming with them through your sales presentation?

And what are you doing in attempt to grab their email address and follow up with them?

REAL LIVE CASE STUDIES OF PEOPLE WRITING LIKE THEY SPEAK

 

 

I told you I would give you some real live case studies of people who are actually writing like they speak and bringin home some serious bank.

And that’s what I intend to do.

But first, I’d like to talk about something real important.

When you first begin to look at the case studies I’m about to share with you and the Case Study Material that comes along, it’s real easy to start hearing your mind — ah hhhhh — rambling:

“Geez, Jim, this just sounds so easy. These letters sound like it’s just regular people speaking directly to me. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but this is madness. It’s gotta be a LOT more difficult than this!”

And see, this is where the Critical Mind comes in and tries to play tricks on you.

The CM messes with your mind because it judges the situation and really makes you think this is TOO darn easy. That hardest part is to overcome the mental block of this being so easy to do.

But there is where the illusion comes into play.

Sit down and try to write a 5-6 page or even 25 page salesletter (I’ve written one as large as 30 pages long printed out).

I can tell you it will more difficult than you know to write like you speak and have really good flow from one sentence to the. So it’s going to take some practice.

And the best place to start off practicing to learn how to write is to read other’s material until you have imprinted on your mind exactly what the copy needs to sound like.

Print the Case Study Material – Don’t Just Glance Over It

I still have salesletters, optin pages, and emails that I have printed from back in 2002 in my file drawer.

I keep what is called a “swipe file” — or a stash of salesletters, optin pages and whatever material I can find that will help me start off my next project.

I call it my brainstorm buddy (especially when I can’t call on anyone else in the company at this point to write my copy). Anyways…

Sometimes it’s not easy starting off writing a new piece of copy for a web page.

So I need some ideas to stir around inside my head to give me some fuel to brainstorm a good approach to a new web page I want to write.

And I never start off with nothing in front of me.

Instead of sitting in my chair with a blank stare on my face or a question mark above my head (wondering), I pull out my old salesletters that I’ve printed off, pull out my stash of proven headline ideas and I now have fuel to spark some ideas.

Or you can refer to this web page of the 100 greatest headlines ever written to give you a template to work with.

Study the Case Study Examples

When I first began studying the discipline copywriting (the art of writing like you speak), I would do exactly what I suggest above.

I didn’t care about wasting toner — I just printed out the salesletters, emails and optin pages that spoke directly to me and moved me emotionally. I especially printed out the salesletters where I actually purchased the product.

Have you ever done that?

I know that if there is an optin page that makes me subscribe or salesletter that made me buy (especially when I buy something lightning quick), I want to study the reason why that letter or optin page made me do what it made do.

Can you tell I am fascinated by this stuff?

What I would then do is read the salesletters that captivated me the most — and digest them over and over.

I did this for a number of salesletters and optin pages that were convincing and persuasive until those letters became a part of my own voice which slowly broke down my Critical Mind.

One technique I hear a lot by copywriters is to take a salesletter and actually handwrite it out two times. Although I have personally never done this (because I have carpal tunnel), I can see why this would benefit the person. Your mind is literally saying the words as you write them — and this is an enhanced way of learning something.

Repetition is the mother of perfection. I have heard this over and over from Tony Robbins.

And I can tell you that once you print out, study and put into practice writing like you speak, it will soon become second nature like it has for me and many others.

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty details in the following case studies so you understand and can study the mindsets of each of these “humble as pie” guys .

Case Study #1

Subject Name: Jermain Griggs of Nitty Gritty Marketing

Age: 23

Niche market: Teaching people how to play music from ear

Current years online: 7

Background and case history:

Jermaine started off like most niche marketers do… exploiting his own talents of being able to hear a song and then play it on the piano.

He was especially good with gospel music.

Passionate, he set out to sell a digital downloadable product (ebook) to teach others how to do the same.

Things were working out great for Jermaine while edging along and selling about $300 – $500 per month of his digital product.

At the time, I’m sure it was great for anyone just starting off on the net.

But then something happened.

Jermaine re-invested his money from his earnings into a course by the late Corey Rudl from Marketing Tips called the Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet (the company is now run by Corey’s partner he joined forces with by the name of Derek Gehl, the current President of the Internet Marketing Center).

That’s a picture over to the right of my very own 2001 version of Corey’s course which was my very first internet marketing course that got me started with the right skillset.

Note: Like an idiot, I left the course up on my shelf untouched until 2003 when I finally started using what was inside the book and applied it to my first digital product Ice Coffee Delight at coffeesecret.com (great example letter as well).

Nonetheless, from speaking personally with Jermaine, he got the 2000 edition of Corey’s Course and then went in and immediately did an extreme makeover of his site.

What was Jermaine Dealing with Before?

Much like my own innocence, as he described it before me, Jermaine had about 4 lines of simple text on a web page, a picture of his ebook and link to buy it.

That’s it.

Nothing too convincing.

So he went to work and did the necessary repairs to his salesletter, added some testimonials, and did as Corey instructed in the course, to write like you speak.

Now – remember that Jermaine was used to making $300 – $500 per month with this one product, so he wasn’t expecting anything outrageous at all.

Get this…

The minute he swapped out the short web page of 4 lines of text and a picture of the ebook and link to buy it with a full robust personal letter to the visitor, profits went through the roof.

He went from making $300 – $500 a month to making $500+ every day instantly (yes, overnight!).

Not a bad 3000% increase just for swapping out a small web page for a longer one, wouldn’t you would agree?

That’s going from part-time money on a monthly basis to a six figure product.

Case Study Material

You’re going to get a number of really great case study materials from just this case study.

First, you’ll see the letter for his Piano Home Study Guide course which is a 300 page home study course on how to play the piano by ear. This was obviously expanded on from his early ebook version.

URL for Letter Number: click here to see one of Jermaine’s personal letters that sells his product

PDF Download: right-click here and click “save target as” to download the PDF of this case study material

PDF Download for order page: right-click here and choose “save target as” to download the PDF of this case study material

As you’ll see when you open up the letter in either a browser or a PDF, the headline starts it off…

“Discover The Secrets to Quickly & Easily

Playing All Your Favorite Songs

On The Piano By Ear…

…Using The Same Exact System Thousands Of

Musicians Are Using To Play Anything They Hear

On The Radio In Just A Few Minutes!”

Now if that wouldn’t get someone’s attention who is interested in doing just what is promised, I don’t know what would.

He gives the visitor interested in playing music by ear the ultimate promise.

And that is what sets the tone throughout the entire letter.

The letter is done in a very professional layout, but you’ll notice the writing is like one would speak – not like one usually thinks.

There are basically a number of elements in this home study course letter that are being used:

1. Attention/Opening — headline at the top introduces it — notice that the introduction of the letter is very much leaning toward the reader and an existing problem?
2. Desire — there are some really good bullets up front that qualify the reader and builds desire for what a musician would want to do
3. Solution Presented (Build More Desire) — Jermaine lets jack out of the box and presents the solution to the visitor.
4. Empathize and Acknowledgment — probably one of the best forms of empathy and understanding for the visitor’s position. This really drives home a really true connection. Can you spot where in the letter this is happening?
5. Reality — I think it’s important to give a good dose of reality and let the potential customer know this is not a quick shot in the dark. Better let people know like Jermaine does in his letter that it’s not an overnight thing. Sometimes honesty like this can drive sales through the roof and keep refund rates low.
6. Testimonials/Proof — he gives more than ample social proof on this page that others are also getting results. And then he goes on to share his impressive stats. (Remember, his stats weren’t ALWAYS this way, but writing a salesletter like he speaks is what got him to where he is today.)
7. Web Surfer Integrity Seals — you’ll notice on the letter he also has a Hacker Safe logo much like NicheBOT does on the front page and our order page. He also has a BBB (Better Business Bureau) Online Seal as well. These seals let the general Internet public know that it’s safer to transact with your site and that sensitive data won’t be stolen. The BBB seal gives the appearance that the vendor is reliable, responsible and will answer to any customer complaints.
8. Real business — Jermaine shows a picture of his office to show he’s not just some online operation, but he actually has a true headquarters. Whatever you can do to make your online business feel and seem more real, do it.
9. More Proof — a bunch of success reviews — 15 to be exact where he goes over great results others have had with his product
10. Credibility boosters — Jermaine’s product and teachings have obviously been featured in a number of different magazines and he displays the ones where he’s appeared. If you have any awards, seals of approval, certifications that relate to your business and that can boost your credibility, use it.
11. Bonuses — notice that Jermaine does not stop and gives more than ample reason for the prospect who lands on this web page to take action TODAY! Any bonuses that increase the perceived value of the actual product. Throwing on top just any bonuses in the package can devalue the actual product. Pick your bonuses wisely and make sure they empower the main product itself, not taking center spotlight.
12. Guarantee — Jermaine makes it easy to do business with him. He offers a no risk, all reward type guarantee in plain English. If you’re not happy — you’ve got your money coming back. Make your guarantee clear, make it powerful, and try to make it different from everyone else’s.
13. Call to action and order button — notice that Jermaine makes it really to find where to click order and tells you exactly what to do. You should not leave your visitor guessing and wondering what is going to happen next. We may take these simple things for granted, but people need to be told. Remember, they are almost falling asleep. Describe things to the visitor in graphic detail and you’ll easily increase orders as well as the comfort level of buying from you.
14. Phone number — he really tries to go the extra mile and provides a toll free number for people in the U.S. Placing a phone number on your site has been shown to increase response rate because it puts the visitor at ease that there is actually someone to call if there is a problem. If the customer feels uncomfortable that they cannot reach the vendor, a sale could be lost. (I’ve heard this very concern from potential customers about potential software purchases.)

Those are the real important key elements in the letter we just reviewed together.

The order form that I gave you above than goes on to confirm what the person is ordering in the prospect’s own voice.

Notice I said in the “prospect’s own voice” — because I want to stress it.

Many people skip an order page, and I think that’s a mistake.

You’ll also see that Jermaine takes the credit card information right on the order form so he can avoid one more extra click to a payment screen.

He also has an upsell are on the order page where you can purchase another one of his products at a discounted price, but only during the purchase. You may call this a one-time offer.

This is just right along the lines of how McDonald’s doubled their sales by simply asking the customers whether they wanted fries and a drink with that.

I had the chance to meet Jermaine over at Russell Brunson’s Bonus 7 Figure Code Workshop just a couple of weeks ago.

Jermaine had closed the workshop and probably had another hour of material he wanted to share.

He talked at the workshop about all the advanced stuff he does like drop cookies to remember people’s information in opt-in forms, the upsells on the order page and some super customized autoresponders where he even injects geographical data from the visitor and really wicked stuff that blew my mind.

And Jermaine is not technical, much like me. He just has programmers do customized stuff for him.

He’s a hell of a nice guy and humble as pie.

With my departure flight being move from one plane another, low and behold, I ran into Jermaine was able to have lunch in Salt Lake City with him, his wife and adorable daughter.

 

Case Study Material

I actually saved the BEST for last.

This second letter of Jermaine’s really shows how he builds a character from his roots of where he came from and where he is now.

And this is what I think is a perfect example.

If there was one letter you want to print out right away and study is the one he just recently wrote about his Nitty Gritty Marketing tactics.

The salesletter is not live yet, but you can check out the preliminary PDF and watch the storytelling in action.

Click here to view the Jermaine Griggs Nitty Gritty Marketing letter of his story. (And no, this site is currently not even available, so consider this like a sneak peak a month before anyone has ever seen it or knows about it.

I think this letter is the perfect example of how to tell a story and write like you speak.

Read it, study it, and find ways to adapt this into your own web copy that sells a product, service or whatever action you are looking for the visitor to take

As we’ve covered a good mess of material above, we’re going to move the next 3 case studies along quicker.

Case Study #2

Russell Brunson was a struggling student and wrestler at Boise State University when he started to learn how to write like he speaks.

You’ll get to read about Russell’s entire story which is part of the case study material.

I got to meet Russell at the special The 7 Figure Code 3-day bonus workshop he threw in his hometown of Boise, Idaho, and snapped this pic while he was coordinating the event.

With all the content that was delivered, I almost felt guilty I was got the workshop for nothing.

This one workshop yielded me approximately 3-4 new ideas and I will be covering an overview of the workshop in a later update.

Sheesh! Talk about an event that really really really over-delivered. (I don’t think I’ve EVER said that about ANY event.)

Now, Russell discussed a number of things at his event, profit sharing with his employees, how to build a sales funnel, but the thing that fascinated me most and what I believe is so important that you develop a character of who you are.

You’ll notice in Russell’s Case Study Material that he is another really good story teller and weaves a lot of personal facts through his copy. This is what he describes that builds a character of who he is in the public eye.

Again — this is what we discussed earlier about injecting your personality and that means sometimes sharing some personal items .

You’ll notice that Russell does that very very well.

In fact, if there is ONE person that really goes the extra mile to make sure his communications and offers are incredibly powerful, Russell is the guy.

Big corporations would scoff at this kind of attitude and openness. And this is where people that write like they speak have 100 times the advantage and conversion power over a really dry, boring and stale presentation.

You’ll notice in the case study material that Russell also builds a very personal, intimate description of his life, his wife and how he got started in the business. This draws the visitor in and makes his business and the person on the other side of his salesletter more real. (Remember, there are a lot of cynical people out there.)

You’ll want to go ahead and download this material as well so you can study it later.

Case Study Material

PDF Download:

Click here to grab a PDF copy of Russell’s letter to his prospects about his home study course.

I particularly like how Russell creates his copy and the thought behind it.

It’s very powerfully presented and comes across with a lot of passion.

And this is just the kind of *stuff* I am talking about above — making your web pages feel human.

Case Study #3

Mike Filsaime was a general manager at one of the high volume car dealerships in NewYork. Struggling to get out of a debt and tired of the ceiling put on his income as a manager, he turned to the Internet to try and make things better.

Mike started out like Jermaine, like Russell and like myself. Brand new to the whole concept of writing like you speak.

It took Mike a good couple of years to put his head around the proper concepts and he began to realize that he could make more in one day than his yearly salary at the dealership.

I got to meet Mike over in Boise a couple of weeks ago and we’ve exchanged a number of emails prior to that. We discussed a number of things, but one which hit me the most was when he explained to me how he saw the first use of the OTO – or One Time Offer.

Mike is probably the one person who popularized the wide usage of the one-time offer. Mike also uses “Fast Action Bonuses” to motivate buyers to get in now before the limited time bonuses are gone (see case study material).

I accredit Mike with adding at least $100,000 to our bottom line through the marketing principles he teaches in his Butterfly Marketing course and his most recent DVD course from his $4,997 workshop called The 7 Figure Code.

Just two things I will be implementing in my own marketing strategies from his second DVD course The 7 Figure Code will bring in another couple hundred thousand dollars.

So Mike is definitely one person you want to keep a look out at what he’s doing (you may wish to sign up for his newsletter announcement lists to receive his great story-filled emails).

The Case Study Material I’ll be sharing with you will be a letter that pulled over $1.5 million dollars in less than two weeks.

You’ll notice, as with Jermaine and Russell above, Mike is also a master of story.

In fact, I have a very important, in fact, urgent blog post you’ll want to make sure and read.

It’s entitled. . .

Fish, Poles, Boxes, and Buttons… WTC?

(click the red letters above to view the blog post)

It’s an amazingly great example of write as you speak, it’s a great read and will definitely have you thinking about what to do with your next product or service.

I keep all of Mike’s emails in a special folder and reflect back to them to keep my own story-telling edge sharp as a Samarai’s blade.

Case Study Material

A proven letter that pumped out $1.5

million dollars in less than 2 weeks!

 

I always put salesletters that I know are proven in a special folder.

That way — I know to look at those letters first for some of the best ideas and language.

Mike’s 7 Figure Code Workshop DVDs letter is the case study material that you’ll be studying along with the other materials given here.

Mike is a master of giving Fast Action Bonuses to drive sales high in the first couple weeks.

PDF Download:

Click here to download the PDF of Mike’s 7 Figure Code Workshop DVDs letter to study.

(NOTE: The PDF is about 2.43 MB so please be patient while it loads.)

Most of what I discussed in Jermaine’s Case Study is applied to this letter with a lot more multi-media.

Mike likes to add severe realism and proof to his letters and you’ll notice that he likes to use video footage (you’ll need to study the online version of the letter to see the video).

There is a reason why Mike’s company brought in $4.3 million dollars last year.

He uses really powerful marketing techniques that work.

 

Case Study #4

 

 

 

Eban Pegan has laid low and just suddenly appeared as the pen name behind his $20 million dollar a year company that gives dating advice to men.

Whether you are a man or female makes no difference — it’s the strategies and tactics we’re after, right?

Going under the name of David DeAngelo, he has what appears to be a single page site with an optin page when you visit his site http://www.doubleyourdating.com — and that simple front page is the beginning of the core of his business where everything starts.

“So you’re saying this guy is making $20 million a year with a dating tips site and he drives his prospects to that front page?”

And I would flat out answer — “Yup!”

In fact, there is no Case Study Material for Eban because you’ll have to join the newsletter list to see EXACTLY how he does what he does.

If you ever wanted to learn how to write an autoresponder series with more than 100+ messages, the form on his site will definitely allow you to expand your possibilities. How one tiny page can create a company that makes as much money as it does.

From what I understand, Eban has over 80 virtual workers that manage the backend of his operations.

I personally do not have an appetite to manage anything close to that size, but you now have access to the sales process on the WAY it’s done.

The emails are very “write as you speak” and perfect material to save for new tip ideas you can easily adapt from the dating field into whatever your niche market is.

 

The thing is — he has over 100 pre-determined, pre-written emails that go out to people as they sign up on his list.

Each email is like a new article for men that are interested in increasing their dating and the quality of their dates.

I have the entire collection of 100+ emails on my hard drive and anytime I can’t figure out what to write about in an autoresponder series on my own topic, I can get at least 1 to 2 ideas as the fuel to kickstart new ideas.

This is why it’s very important to start collecting a “swipe file” or a copy of all the salesletters and optin pages that you found to be very appealing.

In fact, if you do not have a “swipe file” — you will have at least five pieces to instantly put in your swipe file from this post alone.

The point is to get started today and start incorporating little things that get the ball rolling.

Case Study Material

Since there is nothing to download, you will need to sign up for the newsletter at http://www.doubleyourdating.com and receive the emails from David DeAngelo (Eban Pagan) to see how he sells $20 million in informational products.

You really ARE only one product, service or affiliate promotion away from getting enough momentum to carry you into the next project and the project after that.

“BUT JIM, HOW THE HECK DO I TRACK STUFF AND TEST MY WEBSITE CONVERSIONS?”

And that’s a really important question, especially if you’re just starting out or even well into becoming a full-fledged beginner in the online business world.

Website tracking and conversion is such a technical field, I imagine that most might bump into several walls before coming to find a solution.

The nice thing is that nowadays, the Internet has advanced so much, that if something isn’t free, it will be soon if Google has something to do about.

Google Analytics

There was a paid tracking software which was bought by Google in the earlier 2000’s and they have now created a hosted tracking service that’s FREE.

They allow you to also create conversion goals which is just a fancy way of saying, a way to track the number of visitors to those who purchased and calculate a percentage rate.

I have some videos planned soon that will show how Google Analytics works, so if you are not subscribed to The Keyword Informer, you should do so right away by clicking this link.

You can simply sign up for a free Google Analytics account here ==========> http://www.google.com/analytics/

Aweber Email Systems

If you are wanting to track your opt-in rate without having to install any fancy scripts (web software that gets installed on your web server), then Aweber Email Systems gives you an easy cut and paste Javascript code you just place on your web page once.

Set it and forget style. You can even edit the form remotely from your Aweber admin panel.

By pasting the small line of Javascript code for a particular optin form, Aweber will automatically track your conversion rates.

You may have seen in the last issue of The Keyword Informer that I showed you screenshots of my conversion rates. That is the very screen you will see when using Aweber for conversion tracking.

Nowadays, as I become more and more advanced, I get more fanatical about testing and knowing my conversion rates.

If something is not converting properly, I know I can change the headline or something, punch up the text or do something else different and test it out.

Google Website Optimizer

The next step in the evolution of my own testing will be multi-variate testing where I’ll take one web page, test either two variables (called an A/B split-test) or I’ll test 3 or more variables on the page which is called multi-variate testing.

This is done in an attempt to increase the conversion rate by finding the one format of a web page that outperforms every other.

There are many things you can test. For example, you can test the headline, the way a guarantee is worded, long copy versus short copy, just to name a few.

The tool will allow you to finitely decide whether one (or multiple) variation(s) of content on the web page will work better and convert a visitor into a customer over another piece of content. (However, it does require an Adwords account for it to be free.)

Click here to see a video overview of Google’s Website Optimizer which actually even takes you through to show you how to set up a test campaign.

This is the next phase of improving my own conversions that will take place by testing different headlines, body text, guarantees, integrity seals, background colors of the web page, and anything else I can imaginatively test.

At first, I couldn’t find the URL for Google’s multi-variate tester, but that problem got solved when I saw Jermaine Grigg’s presentation at Russell’s bonus workshop in Boise, Idaho.

With absolutely no out-of-pocket costs here, there is no reason (other than time constraints) that you can’t put this to work in your online business.

We have it really good and we’re actually spoiled because it is SO easy to track clicks, URLs and visitor paths digitally that cannot be done offline. It’s much easier to have a higher degree of accountability when have these tools at your hands.

So if you have it available to you and doesn’t require you installing some web software script, do like Nike says and just do it!

There’s nothing more alarming when you find out how ineffective a web page until you test it.

Don’t be left in the dark about your REAL conversions. Set up a FREE Google Analytics account at least today.

YOUR HOMEWORK MISSION IF YOU DARE TO ACCEPT IT

You didn’t think this was a passive one million dollar marketing lesson, did ya?

No way!

You’ve shown me thus far that you’ve read up to this point and I have never heard about a one million dollar plan that required no follow through.

Since you’ve put a vast amount of effort into digesting this down the page and showing me that you truly want to OUTPERFORM your competitors, it is then my duty to help you fulfill on trying to reach your goals.

I realize my own competitors may be reading this right now, but that’s of no matter to me. This stuff will not come to most people naturally, and most corporate sites are too conservative to use such personalized tactics that we’ve described here.

QUESTION: “What will I need for my homework mission, should I care to accept it?”

ANSWER: You will need an existing website or, if you have none, at least an outline of a web page you have planned.

Step One

So – your homework mission if you dare to even accept it, is to go back over ALL the current web pages you have on the web, or the one you currently have outlined on paper or planned in your mind. Make sure to at least write out the outline.

You then need to actively ask yourself these questions of each web page you revisit:

1. Have I done everything I can that is available to me to HUMANIZE this web page and make it feel like a real person is speaking through the web copy? This could mean adding your picture on the page, and making sure to have a real scanned signature that you use in your closing at the bottom of every page.

2. Do I have a headline that is interesting, bold and powerful that gives the ultimate promise the page is about? It doesn’t matter even if it’s a “Contact Us” page, punch it up and make it feel human, especially if you are selling your own personal services.

3. Does the page sound like it was edited by my Critical Mind that makes things sound stiff like a text book, or does this web page sound like a real human is talking and have I injected my personality into the actual website copy? If you absolutely no to that question, then you must attend to your copy and add something to show a little personal side to you.

4. Is there anything I can add to my web pages such as a bonus or an additional report or something that adds value and further drives interest by the visitor? If you honestly can’t think of anything, then you’re not trying hard enough. Think again!

For each web page that is unsatisfactory according to the quality of your answers from above, make a note of all the URLs of the pages and prioritize the ones you will handle first by labeling them 1 through _____ (however many there are).

Step Two

Go back over this million dollar marketing lesson and review the Case Study Materials at least a couple of times and then take your first web page in line and make the page over. Give it just enough material that warrants the price or the free subscription.

In fact, I would make sure that your first makeover project be a short page, like an opt-in page page.

Make sure you have at least four things connected with the expression you’ll be hearing a lot of in copywriting — and that’s AIDA:

1. Attention — create an attention grabbing headline that instantly addresses the ultimate promise of that web page, your service, product or whatever interest you represent
2. Interest — create interest about your web page by addressing a common problem the target market currently has (this could require some research)
3. Desire — once you have addressed the problem, now it’s time to present your product as “the solution.” Tie the interest you created about the problem and build the desire through how your product solves the problems your target market has.
4. Action — while you have the attention of your visitor, you might as well ask him/her to take action before they forget about your site and leave forever. Fact is, most people that click off your site will never find their way back to your site unless you grab their email address or have them by something on the spot. That’s why it’s SO important to give the visitor a good reason to buy today if we are talking about direct sales. Action, action, action. Make sure EVERY single page has a required action the visitor must take before they do anything else.

Those are the basics I’ve given you there, but you can always test adding the more advanced elements that I talk about in Jermaine’s case study above.

Once you are done with your first page and humanizing it and making it sound like a person is behind the web copy, then go on to the next page and so on until your entire web portfolio has had a complete makeover.

CONCLUSION

I hope you’ve received some insight and felt a few pokes at your mind that lit up a light bulb (or two) up above your head.

Much like I’ve said in the this writing here, I will spend upward of $2,000 – $3,000 to attend a seminar and to only walk away with one good idea.

But the idea, once applied to the business model, it could easily recover the cost of attendance at the seminar in just a matter of hours, days, or weeks.

However, you must test everything — and never just guess that something might improve your results.

Nothing happens without first deciding to do it first — and that is why you have a Homework Mission.

If this stuff is new to you, then there will be a learning process. Much like learning to dance a different style of dance or even learning to dance at all, this stuff will take time.

You will have battles with your Critical Mind.

Pay no attention to it. Literally!

COMING SOON

I will have follow-up videos that will show more in-depth stuff about tracking using Google Analytics, Aweber Email Systems and Google Website Optimizer.

All NicheBOT subscribers will be receiving an email shortly about how they can possibly get two power links back to your site with your favorite keyword phrase absolutely FREE. So if you are not subscribed already, you better get a move on it so you don’t miss the email because this is ONLY happening once.

Right after that, we’ll have a complete series of videos that show you in detail how to get backlinks to your site and start ranking faster than you thought for your chosen keyword phrases.

And as a reminder of this lesson…

Never forget to write like you speak and your website will undeniably come across more friendly and humanized that other people can relate to.

Until next time, I am yours in success…

Best,

Jim Morris, President/CEO/Founder

NicheBOT – “Finds exactly what people search for”

A Full Throttle Enterprises, Inc., company

P.S. Are you finally going to take the action that needs to kick your conversions into overdrive for 2007? If so, this issue of The Keyword Informer is the one you want to follow through on. Good luck with whatever your online mission is!

P.P.S I almost forgot to give you a couple of copywriting resources that can help you become the ultimate at converting your website visitors into paying customers or subscribers. These are THE first two resources that popped into my head as the ones that will have the most effect in my own life. 1) The Ultimate Salesletter by Dan Kennedy — you can preview the book on Google here. 2) John Carlton’s Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets course which you can find more information out at http://www.marketingrebel.com… I do not get paid for either of those two links I am just giving them to you as they are truly the best resources to start you off on this topic of how to write like you speak.