If you understand the power of
direct marketing and what world class copywriting can do for an
organization, you'll probably find this story truly fascinating...
There I was... the youngest person
in the room... the only one with a marketing background... and the only
one who thought the conference we were planning would succeed.
In January of 2008, I agreed to chair a conference for a non-profit
dedicated to public speaking and personal development. Little did I
know how it would go down. And as you continue reading,
you'll hear why my pain could be your gain.
Our district had a membership of about 2200 people. The regular
attendance for a conference was 80-100 people and had been declining
for years.
Personally, I rarely went to
conferences myself because they were full of long winded, boring
topics... and we had to pay for that to boot!
I accepted the challenge of chairing because I knew that I'd been to
seminars before that were riveting, edge of your seat kinds of things...
The type where your mind is
buzzing with all the possibilities for days to come. Where you don't
sleep but you don't care because you're giddy with excitement. You
can't sit still because you want to get up and take action.
I knew it wasn't a motivation problem... our members were personal
development junkies.
They were already paying to get
good at public speaking. We simply had to deliver value. Not another
speech on how to make a good PowerPoint presentation.
We created a budget based on 120 attending. The top district leaders
were nervous because we'd never had that many before. They repeatedly
told me to make plans for missing our goal.
It seemed like everything was against this conference succeeding. I
wasn't allowed access to the list of our members to promote to. I had
to finagle a partial list of club and district officers.
Even though there were 2200 people
on the books, I was only allowed to promote to around 350 directly. The
rest would have to hear through the grapevine.
Next we went to work on our offer. Instead of charging $100-$125 for
everything (and loosing money), we were going to charge $30 for
education and $70 to include meals.
Our goal as a non-profit was to
break even. All the past conferences I'd seen budgets for had lost
money. Not just a little either... we're talking up to several thousand
dollars when the whole budget had been around $10K. My budget was
$4,000 and people were already sweating bullets.
I asked to send one email every other week to the district membership.
I was denied because "it costs too much."
How was I to draw
a crowd when I couldn't market to my audience? I got the partial list I
mentioned with unofficial permission and wrote up a series of emails
and a killer landing page.
They said the letter was too long and I was told to cut huge portions
out. I fought tooth and nail to keep my copy in tact. I was able to
salvage most of it.
They wanted a FAQ style page and
didn't recognize that marketing was going to be
bringing people in. I vowed to never write copy for free
again. Evidently people don't appreciate what they haven't paid for.
The registrations started rolling in.
I also kept a tight rein on who our speakers would be and their topics.
I brought in outside speakers to present on topics most of our
membership was unqualified to talk about. It was Tony Robbins caliber
stuff.
I had an assigned district public relations officer to help me. I spent
weeks trying to get him to understand our task. Every time we spoke, he
was throwing out new ideas when I just wanted him to help me backwards
plan our marketing strategy.
A month late we finally agreed to
a written plan. He sent out the first email and then proceeded to miss
every deadline following that. I had to pick up the slack.
And the registrations kept coming.
In one planning meeting, I realized I was tired of being told to plan
for failure. I asked what they thought would happen if we spent half
that energy planning for success.
The tones changed.
It wasn't life changing but those
leaders realized they were pushing toward a self-fulfilling prophesy.
They eased off.
What happens when you put an experienced persuasive marketer in a
committee with a group of scarcity minded resource-allocating experts?
Magic
We knew up to half our
registrations would come in the last week with more to follow as
walk-ins. One week before, we passed our break even point.
We went into our conference with
less fanfare than usual. The strategy I implemented had done its job.
When the dust had settled, we had
set a record for attendance in the history of our district at 209. We
made a profit of over $2,000. You're on top of the world
when we make that kind of thing happen.
No one else thought it could happen. It was only a wishful dream in
their minds. Marketing made the difference.
Did anyone congratulate me for breaking all the records? Not really. A
couple of past leaders complemented me. It was a footnote at the
business meeting 6 months later. People heard and shrugged... business
as usual.
Lessons Learned
What I learned was that life is
too short to spend it arguing with price sensitive people about how
much sending an additional email will cost.
Marketing makes money.
Specifically, compelling copywriting directed to a targeted audience
makes money.
Life is also too short to invest your life where it won't be
appreciated. And that's where you come in.
It took some time but I've completed all my commitments to that
organization. I'm now making time for more copywriting
clients.
Those are the fun ones, the
rewarding ones. I want to write blockbusters for paying clients so we
can celebrate our wins together.
What Sets Me Apart
You may be saying it's all fine
and well to want to write for paying clients but how good are you
really.
Clearly, that conference wasn't my first marketing attempt.
In fact, I've even written a 12 week course on hypnotic writing that
sells
on an ongoing basis. It was the end product of a solid year studying
NLP
Copywriting (Neuro-Linguistic Programing) beginning under Harlan
Kilstein.
I've also studied courses by many
greats such as Bob Bly, John Carlton, Clayton Makepeace and most of the
courses published by the American Writers and Artist
Institute.
And
there aren't many books on copywriting I haven't read including the
classics. I read more each year than the average person reads in a
lifetime.
What About NLP Copywriting?
What can NLP copywriting do for
you? I've been blogging on the topic for about 2 years now. Here's what
you'll get out of hypnotic writing:
- Gain good will through covertly writing from inside
your reader’s mind
- Allow prospects to lower their resistance while
accepting messages unconsciously
- Embed commands nudging readers toward a
predetermined outcome
- Notice where language would tick off your readers
and smooth the rough edges
- Compel prospects to resist incidental words as the
real message is accepted
- Distort time and perception minimizing drawbacks
and expanding benefits
- Fine tune their level of desire to where you want it
- Choose when to be more vague or specific (sometimes
readers can make a better picture on their own)
- See the different ways you can soften a statement
(multiple presuppositions are one)
- Reframe the meaning of objections into a reason to
buy (this is different from aggressive sales tactics involving
“overcoming objections”)
- Tell stories that include your choice of concealed
messages
And that's just scratching the
surface. There are 12 full lessons on understanding and integrating
patterns into your copy.
Another key component of NLP are the underlying beliefs (aka
presuppositions) that support the patterns.
For example, one presupposition is that behind every behavior is a
positive intention. Does the average salesperson believe that? Nope. In
many of the sales training courses I took over the years we were told
"buyers are liars." Another presupposition is that every behavior is
useful in some context.
Let that sink in. That's
every behavior.
Perhaps you can already start to see what kind of difference an NLP
perspective can make in connecting with your reader. Your view of
your readers shapes the way you communicate with them.
A Variety Of Experiences
You may want to know what my
professional experience is as well. If so, here goes...
- I've worked in face to face sales and telemarketing
selling knives, cars, insurance, B2B lead generation, business
opportunities and real estate
- Created numerous websites and blogs (this domain
being the most relevant one which I encourage you to explore later)
- Taught in a variety of settings - as a trainer for
a non-profit, a soccer coach and public school teacher (if you want
someone to educate your reader, I can manage that)
- Created a variety of information products -
written, audio and video (and so appreciate the effort you've put into
yours)
- Deployed to Afghanistan as an Airborne Army Medic
(clearly I can handle deadlines and "emergencies")
- Read over 60 books a year consistently for the past
10 years (if you have a new concept, I'll figure it out)
- Distinguished myself as a public speaker so I know
what conversational copy is (if you haven't had to prove your words on
an audience, you can't fully appreciate it)
- With the average attention span shrinking every
year, I've been meditating with brainwave technology for the last 5
years (an hour a day)
Be Your Customer
In my studies of NLP, I also
learned NLP modeling.
Simply put, experience has a
structure we can organize. If you find someone who's a master, you can
create a model based on their beliefs, emotions, strategies and
behaviors.
That model can then be installed
in anyone else. I've modeled top copywriters, a graphic designer, a
mathematician and a special forces-level fighting system instructor.
More importantly, I can model your customer. It's one thing to get
inside their head and wonder what their biggest concern is.
It's something else entirely to
find out what makes them tick through actually being them... wearing
their personality from the inside for a while.
Incidentally,
I'm also available for modeling projects if there's anything your
organization would like to learn or a product you'd like to create.
Other Successes
I've written for and installed a
number of websites and blogs. I've helped with start ups, small
businesses and non-profits.
I created the website for a non-profit club that had plateaued at
around 30 members for the previous 5 years. I then systematized their
recruiting and retention. Within six months of that it reached 45
members without any budget for additional marketing.
For another client, one email to a warm list got a 25.8% response for a
lead generation luncheon.
I helped launch a new job site
that's on track to be sold for a fat profit in its third year.
I've created presentations for myself and others. One presentation was
used to present an insurance product to an audience of hundreds of
community college employees.
What I've learned from giving numerous face to face speech evaluations
is that there's always room for improvement.
If you're thinking to yourself that you'd like to see samples... well,
you are.
This letter is the ideal sample
for you. It's directed to you.
Hopefully you're
getting excited just reading it.
Anything else I show you won't be
as targeted. And there's another
reason why samples aren't the best way to choose me for your next writing
assignment...
What Works The Best
You probably know that testing is
the only way to find out what works best for a particular product,
audience and timing. It's constantly changing which is why you're
probably looking for new copy to test.
No doubt, you're familiar with A/B split testing. That was the way to
improve in the 20th century. Today we test lots of variables all at
once with multivariate testing.
If you're sending mail out, you
ought to be multivariate testing every letter online first. That's the
way to maximize your efforts.
I can help you do that.
In fact, I would be multivariate testing this page too except there's
not a simple way to validate a page when you call or email me directly.
I'm not going to try to make you write down a coupon code when what we
really want is to get in touch without delay.
What Doesn't Work
As I continually build my swipe
file, I also make notes about what promotions could do to improve. Some
mistakes I repeatedly see in even the best promotions are:
- Making the reader feel bad for no good reason
(problem/solution gone arry)
- Trying to write conversationally in someone else's
voice (modeling solves this)
- Contrived scarcity and deadlines (Really? You only
have 17 e-books left on your virtual shelf?)
- Writers who are great at one thing but completely
neglect other essential components (bullets don't make a good story)
- Offers that don't embrace total authenticity (you
might be amazed what total congruency can do)
- Promotions that don't cover all the whys (and some
that don't offer any at all)
- Twisted logic smothered by emotional appeals (yes
emotion sells, but it also prompts quick refund requests)
And on and on...
Don't let your copy fall into these sorts of traps. I can help.
Who Ought To Find Me First
Obviously I can't write for
everyone.
In fact, once I've completed my
transition from non-profit marketing guru to freelance copywriter, I
might end up being fairly hard to hire.
I'm looking for long term
relationships... the kind where you're
continuously
making a lot of
money and can't wait to reserve me for your
next project.
Those who start small with me now will get first preference later on
when I'm charging A-List prices... and you'll be completely confident
that I'm worth it.
I'm not going to make up some contrived qualification about you have to
be in a legal or moral business for me to write your copy. Of course
that's the case. Is any drug dealer really hiring copywriters?
What I will say is that I want to work for companies that elevate
humanity. The value you contribute to the world must be sustainable and
increase life overall.
That includes all industries
(hypnotic writing and multivariate testing aren't niche specific). But
no credit cards, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, recycled
motivational stuff or fake business opportunities to name a
few.
You don't have to have a vision of
saving the world, just help people live better. If you're not sure,
just ask.
What Others Are Saying
And of course no letter would be
complete without testimonials so here are mine (so far):
"Louis understands that target
marketing is not just "the right words", but a clear understanding of
the identity and metrics of a complete business. He has a focused and
holistic approach to program design and is very professional.
"Louis has a keen ability to carefully identify and effectively target
a specific audience, and his methods are farther reaching than simply
marketing. Through his careful guidance, our business was able to focus
not only it's advertising efforts; we began to understand how to
streamline our complete business model, purpose and organizational
goals.
"I have and will continue to recommend Louis to anyone serious about
taking a business to the next level and realizing its potential through
organizational development and marketing. I certainly plan to continue
working with him on our ongoing projects as our business grows as a
result of his contribution."
Paige Hill
CEO, Urban Patchwork
"Aiming to become excellent
faster? Louis Burns is a fellow you'll want
to know. He's a connoisseur of human excellence with a gift for
discovering and simply communicating the differences between the good
ones and the great ones.
"His modeling projects have gently
challenged
me to revise my thinking on mastery in more than one area in my life.
Louis, thanks for speeding up my learning through your illuminating
work."
Tom Carroll
NLP Modeler/Corporate Learning Guy
"Louis is a modeler
of excellence. Because he interviews and
understands what experts do, he rides on the shoulders of
giants.
"Each
of his products reflects this deep understanding of his subject and
makes him an amazing teacher. And throughout the lesson, it is
like
having him right by your side making sure you learn together."
J.
Michael Bown
Acorn Coaching
“I worked with Louis in putting together the marketing materials for my
new job site. His input was invaluable and the results excellent. I
would recommend him to anyone wanting to use the power of NLP in their
copy."
John
Sadler
Sales Manager, NuclearCareersOnline.com
"Louis was a tremendous support in launching my new organization. He
helped me organize meetings and gave presentations. His demeanor and
knowledge of communication and public speaking gave me the confidence
to keep recruiting and organizing anyone who would listen.
"Thanks to his demonstrations,
people who attended left with the knowledge that this was the place to
learn to speak and lead... even when he was the only presenter.
"Louis is concise and to the point. He is honest and direct in his
presentations. I can honestly say that Louis is meticulous in his work
and I admire his acumen in communication. I truly enjoyed working with
Louis and feel fortunate to know him."
Guadalupe Q. Sosa
Community Organizer, Austin, TX
"Louis, How do you do that? Seriously, what you added made the letter
perfect, as far as I am concerned! Wow, I actually like it now! Can I
just copy what you did? LOL.
"How do I learn to do that... make
sense of
what I want to say and say it concisely? Well put. Thanks for your
help."
Virginia Smith
VCreativeHairConcepts.com
"I have known Louis for several years, and he
consistently surprises me by his creative ideas. I seek and enjoy
being around others who challenge my thinking and sense of traditional
parameters. Louis definitely fits the bill!
"Louis'
work is creatively unique and honest. Corporate America should
stand up and pay attention to his traits. Proudly, I can say
Louis is a man of his word and he will provide you with whatever he
promises."
Patrick Reznik
Attorney
"Louis did a great job promoting
and marketing the
conference. His focus on education at a low cost resulted in a doubling
of attendance over previous conferences. This shift in focus to
education was effectively used at the following conference and will
probably set a precedent for all future conferences."
Jerry Barrett
Retired IBM Project Manager
"Louis is very
detail-oriented and meticulous with his work. He helps
you to understand the goals of the group and motivates you to believe
in yourself to reach those goals and much more."
Reynetta DeVeau
Paralegal