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$19.99
How to Make Every Marketing Dollar Count
A Special Report from Ryan McGrath, direct response copywriter.
www.theryanmcgrath.com
© 2010 Ryan M. McGrath
Idea #1: Meditations of an Email Zen Master
I’ve been spending some time today studying the emails of martial artist Matt Furey.
If you don’t know Matt, he’s been called “undisputed master of short-form email copywriting.”
Besides that, Ben Settle, one of my fav email copywriters, counts Matt as a major influence.
So I signed up for Matt’s email’s…and found this in my in-box a few seconds later:
SUBJECT: One Workout That Changed My Life Forever
Hi Ryan,
Five years ago I knocked on the door of a 76-year old ‘Zen Master.’
His name was Karl Gotch, and all throughout Japan, he was revered
as ‘The god of pro wrestling’ – not only for his knowledge of legitimate
REAL pro wrestling – but because he was a fitness legend as well.
Despite the fact that he only weighed 250 pounds, he was the first
and only person to hoist the humongous Andre the Giant – who weighed
well over 450 pounds, and toss him through the air like a kitten.
Although Karl didn’t lift weights he was strong as a bear – and unlike
most ‘strongmen’ – he had no shortage of fuel in his tank. The guy’s
strength just would not quit.
For many years I wanted to meet Karl … and when I finally got my
chance I truly had no idea how much my life was about to change.
Notice how the first several paragraphs start-out with a rip-roaring story, as good as something you’d read in a good
beach novel.
Following the classic dramatic structure of storytelling, Matt takes us from knocking on a door to having his life “about to
change.”
How could you NOT keep reading with this kind of promise?
The email continues…
Prior to our meeting I was a national collegiate wrestling champion
and a world kung fu champion. So I THOUGHT I knew a ‘little something’
about exercise.
In fact, I thought I knew A LOT about exercise. Afterall, I worked as
a personal trainer in California for 13 years, where I owned my own
gym … and I had written numerous articles on the subject of weight
training.
But Karl just laughed at everything I thought I already knew.
At this point, you’ve hit the part known as rising action.
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Note that Matt hasn’t yet even tried to sell you anything yet! He just keeps on unfolding the drama: Karl, the antagonist,
is laughing at Matt. You know Matt is about to be inducted into a school of pain.
How do you know this already? It’s because you’ve already seen this movie: “Martial arts teacher teaches the arrogant
student a lesson in humility.” Yet, you’ll keep reading anyway. Why? Because as Seth Godin points out, “the best stories
don’t teach people anything new.”
Can you smell the drama building? Can you feel the story pulling you forward, driven by your own curiosity?
‘Let me see you do a set of Hindu squats. I’ll count for you,’ he said.
I got started doing them and was quickly aware that these squats, although
appearing simple, were quite profound in how they trained the body.
‘Let’s see how many you can do,’ said Karl. ‘I used to do 2000
of them in a row in 56 minutes. Used to set an alarm to make
sure I finished in time.’
Two THOUSAND. I thought, as my thighs began to ache around
the fortieth rep.
‘Once you can do 500 of these in a row, you’re on to something,’
Karl chimed.
Despite having powerful legs that allowed me to easily squat well
over 500 pounds, the Hindu squats Karl taught me knocked me on
my can in about a minute.
‘What’s a matter, college boy’ said Karl with a sarcastic grin. ‘I
thought you were strong. This can’t be hard. All you’re using
is your own bodyweight.’
‘These are unreal,’ I said. ‘Never thought anything could hurt
so good.’
‘Now let’s see how many Hindu pushups you can do,’ said Karl.
After being instructed on how to do them, I got into position and
started cranking them out. The first 10 were fairly easy. Then
around number 18 my arms, shoulders, chest and legs started
to cramp. This was strange because I could easily do 100 regular
pushups, practically in my sleep … and could clean a full keg of
beer to my chest and press it overhead.
At rep number 21 I was shaking like a Maple leaf on a tree in
Toronto.
And the drama continues to build. You’re about to get even more rising action…
‘What’s a matter college boy.’ said Karl again. ‘You mean to
tell me that all that education you have on fitness and you can’t
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even do 50 of these exercises that they’ve been doing in India
for thousands of years.’
Before I could comment Karl had me doing a bridge … something I
figured as no big deal being I wrestled since I was 8 years old and
had the best coaches in the world, including Olympic gold medalists
Dan Gable and Bruce Baumgartner.
But the bridge Karl asked me to do was not the same as the one I’d
been doing for years. I literally felt every muscle in my body working
like never before.
‘What do you think of that.’ said Karl. ‘Now you know why I say you
can get super strong using nothing but your own bodyweight. What
you’re going for is not just strength, but strength-endurance.’
At this point, Matt’s story moves to the climax stage…
From that day in April of 1999, I have practiced the bodyweight
exercises Karl taught me, as well as many others that I learned
throughout my athletic and martial arts career – and I have never
looked back.
OK. You’ve hit the climax. Matt’s learned his lessons well. The story concludes with a happy ending. Right out of the
Rocky movies, or The Karate Kid.
But wait…there’s more. Watch as Matt transitions right into his sales pitch…
As of today, I have passed my knowledge of these exercises onto
‘students’ in more than 100 countries. Many people started out only
being able to do a few pushups and squats … and a half-baked bridge.
But in each case, no matter how little the person could do in the beginning,
if he or she sticks with the program – results come, and quickly, too.
Did you see his Big Promise in this paragraph? He’s got a program to teach potential students (you) these fitness secrets.
In short order, Combat Conditioning beats the crap out of other
programs, and does so six ways from Sunday.
Whoa! Did you catch that amigo?
He didn’t diddle-daddle with a long-winded story about the origin of the product. I would have expected some sort of
transition like this…
“My meeting with Karl inspired me to create a product to pass along his secrets, so I wrote a book I call Combat
Conditioning, BLAH BLAH BLAH.”
No way. Instead, he just names the product (Combat Conditioning), and then instantly stacks on another Big Promise to
the reader (beating the crap out of other programs).
Now you’ve got to keep reading to find about this “Combat Conditioning thing.” What is it? How does it work? How
much would it cost?
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Today, Combat Conditioning is a program followed by men and women
of all ages and professions. It is used by the U.S. military, it is used by
many in law enforcement, by men and women in almost all sports as well
as the martial arts and combat sports fanatics.
Combat Conditioning works for weight loss and for increased stength,
endurance, flexibility and muscle. It is used to help eliminate back pain,
shoulder pain and knee pain … as well as an assortment of aches and
pains all over the body. Plain and simple, the program works.
OK, now he’s give us some proof to back up his promises. If it’s good enough for the U.S. Military, isn’t it good enough
for you?
Plus he’s also listed some of the benefits, including a few unexpected ones. Eliminate knee pain from teachings originally
gleaned from a professional wrestler? Interesting. I’m intrigued. And the curiosity continues to build…
But don’t just take my word for it. Get the program and use it. It WILL
change your life for the better.
Go to http://www.mattfurey.com/conditioning_book.html and order now.
Kick ass – take names,
Matt Furey
And he’s hit the all-important call to action. Click the link, order the product. Very important to include if you want actual
sales!
Finally, he concludes with a PS with some additional social proof…
P.S.: Here’s what an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps has to say about
Combat Conditioning: ‘Matt, I am a US Marine stationed overseas. I
am also a wrestler/judoka and the Marine who developed the Marine
Corps Martial Arts Program. I use your courses regularly. I like your
no-nonsense approach. Particularly as I get older, bodyweight exercises
are quick, flexible, all-encompassing and convenient. Keep up the good
work.’
Lt Colonel George Bristol
USMC
You can read Matt’s complete email — minus my DVD commentary track — right here:
http://mattfurey.com/one_workout_091204.html
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Idea #2: Super-Amazing Direct Marketing Courses By The Smartest Gurus – Only $12 Each!
You could drop $2997 for the next greatest direct marketing course or seminar…
Or you could spend a whopping $132 and get a whole bookshelf of them.
How?
Check out my top 11 favorite direct response books.
Each of these books will give you a COMPLETE education in direct response and copywriting.
Here they are:
1. Scientific Advertising & My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins
2. Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
3. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
4. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
5. Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
6. How to Write a Good Advertisement by Vic Schwab
7. The System Club Letters by Ken McCarthy
8. Cash Copy by Jeffrey Lant
9. Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
10. The Magic Words That Bring You Riches by Ted Nicholas
11. The Secret to Selling Anything by Harry Browne
In fact, I just scanned the used prices today on Amazon, and the average cost per book is about $12. You can even snatch
some of these for less than a dollar each…plus a few bucks for shipping.
Crazy, isn’t it?
A complete education in direct response for the cost of two Extra Value Meals.
So before you drop big bucks on a yet another expensive info-product…
Look these up on Amazon…you can buy them dirt cheap.
And a bonus hint: Check out the website www.bookfinder.com. It will help you find any book for sale, anywhere online.
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Idea #3: Two Killer Opening Lines for Your Next Sales Letter or Ad
Ask anyone. The worst way to start on a writing project is a blank page.
That’s why top copywriters always suggest starting with a “swipe file” to generate ideas, and get something on paper to
start the process…
Now, take a quick search online of “headline swipe files” and you’ll find a boatload of headlines to borrow form.
But what about opening lines? The first paragraph of your ad or letter…the sentence immediately following your
headline/sub-headline/Dear Friend combination?
Remember your opening sentence (alternatively called the “lead”) is the second most important of all the other
sentences you write. In fact…
Only your headline is more important!
Your opening line’s job is to help convert attention to interest. Most importantly, it needs to get the reader to read the
NEXT sentence.
Lose the reader in your opening line, and you’ve lost them for good. They’ll toss your letter in the wastebasket, or click
away to another website.
And if you lose the reader then, my friend…
You’ve just lost your sale! (Da-oh!)
Yup, your opening sentence is that important.
So check this out: Here are two powerful openings to swipe for your next sales copy project.
Read on to get ‘em.
The “I Don’t Know How You Feel About” Opening
Here’s one I recently got from direct mail writer Mike McCormick. It goes something like this:
“I don’t know how you feel about [picture of benefits], but to me, …”
Here’s an example written by Mike for a letter promoting the Tourism Ontario board…
“I don’t know how you feel about walking on a chilly dawn beside a stream with scrappy trout you can see, but to me,
that’s a pretty good definition of perfect.”
Why does this one work? I’m guessing it works because it’s honest and empathetic. It goes along with the rule of…
Writing to one reader at a time!
Remember, exactly one reader will read your copy at a time. This is true even if thousands read it. They’ll all read it
individually.
And it’s impossible to know how your reader is feeling at any given moment. So you’re being honest! You don’t know
how they feel about the benefits you’re describing. But you can tell them how YOU feel with sincerity.
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Right away you are communicating to the reader you’re a trustworthy and caring person, who doesn’t TELL them how
they SHOULD feel. This already sets you apart from 90% of your competition, who will rattle on to the prospect on how
they’re supposed to feel about something.
But here’s the twist: You’re also painting a vivid picture of the payoff they’ll get from reading. (In the above example, it’s
this part: “…walking on a chilly dawn beside a stream with scrappy trout…”)
And, you’re also making a promise to the reader. (In Mike’s letter, the promise is here: “…to me, that’s a pretty good
definition of perfect.” The implicit promise is: You can expect to feel the same — that this is a perfect dawn to experience
— after you read the rest of the letter.)
Let’s give it a spin for a different market…
“I don’t know how you feel about having a ‘crystal ball’ to accurately time the financial markets better than any analyst
on CNBC, but to me, it’s been my secret to nearly 20 years of consistent trading profits.”
Oh boy. Here’s another I just pulled out of a hat:
“I don’t know how you feel about getting to choose whichever job you want in any industry and economy, but to me, it’s
resulted in life of deep fulfillment and financial security.”
See how easy it is?
OK. Moving on to another killer opener…
The Famous “If-Then” Opening
The next opening line is famously advocated by John Carlton. It’s widely used by many other top copywriters too,
including Scott Haines and Ben Settle.
Why do the big names use it? Simple. Because it WORKS…!
The basic template for this opening is as follows:
“If you’d like [specific benefit] then I believe this will be one of the most important messages you’ll ever read. Here’s
why…”
The reason why it works? It makes a BIG promise. It promises the reader will gain insight into how to get specific
benefits, just by reading the message.
Here’s Ben Settle using it for one of his recent sales letters…
“If you’d like to beef up your sales by as much as 100%, 200%, even 300% (or more)… using simple little emails you can
type out in 15-20 minutes (or less), then this letter will show you how. Here’s the story:”
And check out this one from Scott Haines…
“If you’d like to have the ability to write ultra-profitable advertising copy… and… you’d like to have it in the fastest
amount of time humanly possible… then I believe this will be one of the most important messages you’ll ever read!
Here’s why…”
And lastly, one I wrote:
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“If you are interested in ‘fast tracking’ your way to becoming a top person in your profession by eliminating your fears of
public speaking forever, then you’ll want to read every single word in this message. Here’s why…”
But don’t forget, your copy must then fulfill upon these promises…otherwise the reader will feel “ripped off” — not a
good idea when you’re trying to sell something!
And that’s why you need to immediately follow this sentence with a “here’s why” or “here’s the story”…and then start
making good on your promise.
Remember: You’ve just made a fantastic promise. The reader is skeptical. He’ll read on maybe a few seconds more…if
just to see if you’re full of it. Meanwhile, he’s holding his breath, in desperate hope to see if you can really give them
what you’ve promised…
So don’t disappoint them. Don’t diddle-daddle. Get right into your pitch!
(See how Ben Settle does it in this letter here: http://www.streetsmartemail.com).
The bottom line is: Try the “If-Then” opening the next time you write sales copy. It’s done the job for the best, and I
know it will work for you too!
Idea #4: How to Lose Customers and Confuse People With Your Advertising
Have you ever heard of the term “Dada Ad”?
According to one definition found online:
A Dada Ad is when some people forget they were hired to sell a product and instead create ads that just confuse
potential customers. Not only do they not know what’s going on, but when (or if) the product is finally revealed,
they may be confused even more.
How many times have you watched or read an ad, or even visited a website, and wondered…
“What the heck is this all about?”
Let me ask you: Did you even bother to stick around to find out?
I’m guessing you found a better use for your time than trying to figure out what some “creative marketer” was trying to
say.
One of my favorite examples of a Dada Ad is from the TV show The Simpson’s.
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In the “Mr. Plow” episode, Homer hires a fancy-schmancy ad agency to try to save his small business from a competitor.
The ad firm produces a TV spot about a woman singing opera in black and white, and then smashing a snow globe to
create the words “Mr. Plow” in wisps of snow. That’s it. Nothing more about Mr. Plow and his plowing services, just a
singing women smashing a snow globe.
Homer’s reaction in seeing the ad for the first time…
“What the hell was that?!”
Lisa: “Dad, was that your commercial?”
Homer: “I don’t know!“
This page lists even more examples of what I’m talking about:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DadaAd
The Cialis commercials where, for some reason, there’s an old couple sitting in bathtubs outdoors. It’s never explained
and has no apparent connection to erectile dysfunction.
Those Sprite commercials where the flowers have mouths, green sumo wrestlers hit each other, and other strange things
occur. It doesn’t really make you want to drink Sprite.
One Levi’s commercial consisted of a guy and a girl standing in the middle of a city, while a herd of bison stampeded
around them.
Confusing yes. But do these ads even qualify as “creative”?
Let’s ask an original Mad Man himself, someone even the most hardcore “Madison Avenue fan” will usually give a little
respect to…
“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative” ~ David Ogilvy
Let me ask you a simple question: How can you SELL something when nobody knows what the HECK you are selling?
So here’s what I want you to do on your next advertising project. Try to step into the shoes of whoever is going to
actually watch or read your promotions. Will your ad at least make sense to them? Will they understand, within a few
seconds, the gist of what’s being sold? Or will they sit there, scratching their head, completely obviousness to what
you’re trying to sell?
Even better, find a random person, someone unfamiliar with your company or product, and just ask them to tell you, in
their own words…
What the ad is trying to sell!
If they can’t express what you’re trying sell, in simple terms, your promotion is likely in real trouble, and it’s time to
abandon ship and find a new idea.
And remember, fellow marketer, this advice from Mr. Ogilvy: “We Sell or Else!”
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Idea #5: Here’s a “Magic Formula” For Instant Persuasion
If you’ve ever been stuck hunting for the perfect words to use when you’re trying to convince someone to do something,
then you simply must read on.
Here’s what this is all about:
You might be familiar with the “Five Ws” — a technique used by journalists. It’s an easy formula used to convey the
“full” story on something.
You know them as the famous Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. And if your message is going to make any
sense, it usually must answer all these questions.
Here’s who else should use this technique: Marketers and copywriters. You must, in every message you send out, give
your prospect the “full story”if you expect them to take any sort of action in response.
In fact, you should even include the words in the 5Ws in your headlines and body copy. (Think of how many legendary
headlines start with the words “How to” and “Why.”)
Now if you’ve been around the block in marketing, especially direct response marketing, this is an old hat.
But here’s how to really turbo-charge your message, using a “secret ingredient” to double, or even triple, the
effectiveness of the 5Ws…
The secret:
Slip the word “Here’s” (or “Here is”) before a 5W…and you’ve got a winning combination.
Here’s why this formula works: It helps conduct the power of “Reason Why” copy.
If you’ve studied any of the direct response masters, you’ll know the power of simply telling your readers the reasons
why they should be reading your copy. The reasons why they should be buying from you and not someone else. The
reasons why your product will make their lives better.
“Reason Why” copy has worked since the days of Claude Hopkins, and it continues to work today.
But jumping back to our simple formula, here it is again: The word Here’s plus a Who, What, Where, When, Why or
How…
So here’s how you can use this formula: When you are fishing around for the right words to tell someone the “Reason
Why” — such as a reason why to buy your product — grab one of the 5Ws and a “Here’s” and…
Inject it into a sentence like a hypodermic needle!
Here’s why people are choosing our product. Here’s why you need our product. Here’s what this message is all about.
Here’s who else is using these powerful techniques. Here’s when this information will be useful. Here’s where to
purchase. Here’s what else you need to know. Here’s why you need to know this. And here’s why this is so important.
Here’s how to order. Here’s why you need to order right now.
The result will be your prospect eating out of your hand like an enthusiastic puppy.
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Make sense? You’ll also notice I packed this post “chock full” of this formula, to give you further illustrations of how to
use it.
So next time you are stuck trying to find the right words to persuade your reader, remember this “magic formula” and
you’ll instantly know what to say.
PS: Rudyard Kipling gives you an easy way to remember the 5Ws in one of his “Just So Stories.“ Ready for it? Brace
yourself for bit of poetry…
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Idea #6: How to Find an Endless River of Copywriting Ideas
If you’ve ever been stuck with writer’s block, then this message might be the key to saving yourself from disaster.
Here’s why:
You probably know the best way to get ideas for your ads and promotions is to go through your swipe file of ads written
by other copywriters. Take a headline from one, a lead paragraph from another, a “PS” from one more, and bang! Your
ad is written, right?
Well it’s not that simple. First off, if everyone is using the same classic ads, wouldn’t your “swiped” ad look just like all the
rest?
Also, there are times when even your swipe file can’t save you from dreaded writer’s block. You’ll look and look, but
nothing seems to “jump” into your subconscious as it should.
Luckily, I recently discovered a site which might cure your writer’s block forever.
The site: Google News Archive Search. Using this site you can search newspaper and magazine stories going all the way
back to the late 1800s. Here’s a direct link to it: http://news.google.com/archivesearch
For example, if you are looking for classic ads from Eugene Schwartz for your swipe file, you can find them using this
search engine. Same with Gary Halbert’s famous ads and Joe Karbo’s classic “Lazy Man’s Way to Riches.“
But why stop with just looking up direct response space ads to swipe from?
You can also try looking up articles on your topic, giving you valuable background research. Some of the headlines in
these editorial articles are pretty good too.
For example, I was doing background research for a public speaking product I’m working on, and found an article titled
“Speak Up! It’s Easier Than You Think” from 1981. Not a bad headline actually, it would probably work just fine on a
promo written today. (The lead paragraph happens to be solid gold too.)
Now keep in mind this story isn’t even “copy”…it’s just a regular newspaper story I just happened across during a search.
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And here’s the kicker: Like most everything else Google offers, it’s completely free!
There’s a ton of swipe-able ideas buried here. Just spend a few minutes sifting through keywords, and you’re bound to
pan some gold for your copy. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find acres of copy diamonds to mine on your latest project.
To find more articles such as these, visit…
www.TheRyanMcGrath.com
(Or Google “The Ryan McGrath”)
And to get your free 30-minute phone consultation with Ryan McGrath, please call 616-706-5417, or email
[email protected] – Don’t wait, contact him today!
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