I was in London last week, visiting my mum.
While lounging around and watching a little TeeVee (I don’t have one at home), I couldn’t help but criticise the vast majority of what’s supposed to pass for advertising.
My younger brother, a lawyer and much more intellingent than I could hope to be, couldn’t understand why.
You see, like too many people, my brothers have the notion that if an advert looks good and wins awards, then it’s a success.
So I asked my brother one simple question…
“Assume you’ve just paid an agency to create an ad for you. It’s looks good; it entertains its audience; and it even wins awards. But… it fails to get you any sales. You make no money from it. Basically, that agency has just used your money to improve its own profile. How would you feel?”
He replied he wouldn’t be too pleased.
Then I asked him if he understood the difference between a good ad and a bad one. And he replied he did.
A good ad is one which makes money for the advertiser. A bad ad is one which doesn’t.
End of story.
Filed under advertising by on Apr 10th, 2010. Comment. 
The missing word in all the discussions I’ve ever
seen about success is – honor.
Yet, honor is a basic principle which underlies all
success.
For instance:
To be a successful human being you must first
honor yourself. You can’t honor anything or anyone
without the deepest respect and honor of yourself.
To succeed as a human being, you must also honor
your loved ones. Your friends and your family.
As an entrepreneur it’s crucial to honor your
employees, suppliers, and your customers.
In fact, honor plays a significant role in all
your actions.
As with all great things in life, it occurs in
very simple ways.
Here are some examples of the role of honor:
* You honor and keep your word to those with
whom you interact
This means your dealings with all humans is based
on honor
* You honor your product or service, and make
sure it is at least 10 times better than your
advertising promises
It’s not always an easy path. But the rewards for
living a life of honor are huge
How?
Your inner feelings of self-worth and self-esteem
will rise to a whole new level
* Your growing reputation will help you attract the
most outstanding people in all the important areas
of your life
* Your business will attract customers who respect
you at the very highest level and become raving
fans for life
* You’ll become a magnet which will enable you to
attract any amount of financing you’ll ever need or
want
* You’ll enjoy your relationship with children and
grandchildren who will respect and honor you
* Most importantly, you’ll attract the most
desirable and appealing romantic partner you could
ever want
Now let me ask you this.
Do you feel the foregoing benefits are worth the
discipline involved in living a life of honor?
If you honestly feel the answer is yes and act
accordingly, you will determine any level of success
you choose in business. And in life.
Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas
—————
“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/
Filed under Ted Nicholas, business by on Feb 25th, 2010. Comment.
I Already Feel LIke A Failure
Sonia and Johnny Truant speak about being ‘cool’ on their blogs.
What if I’m not cool?
Okay, I’m not cool and I just don’t come across as cool on my blog.
What do I do?
That’s the thread I started on a new membership site about how to blog.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much of a response… you know… being a rather uncool guy myself.
What a response I got.
Wow!
In just over five hours there’s four pages of replies.
The guys and girls on that new forum are certainly cool.
There are so many theories on what exactly is cool. A few I never really thought of, but they do make plenty of sense.
And I was just wondering what YOU think. What is cool to you?
I don’t mean what as in a physical thing, but the idea. Do you think you’re cool? I mean that in a nice way, of course.
Do others think you’re cool, and in what way? Do they tell you? Do they say what they think makes you cool?
And, if you think you’re cool – and if others think you’re cool – how do you feel about that?
I’d love to get your opinion on this surprisingly popular subject.
Filed under Motivational, Self Improvement, Uncategorized by on Feb 2nd, 2010. 6 Comments.
How responsible is the headline for the success of any piece of copy?
At least 90%!
I have proven over and over again the indispensible role a headline plays. How? By testing every style headline I could possibly create.
I’ve also invested over $100,000,000 of my own money on refining copy strategies along the way. Besides headlines, these include sub-headlines, opening sentences, closing sentences, the all-important P.S., and the offer.
But headlines are in a special category of their own. The fact is, without a strong headline, the copy simply will not work.
I have run numerous split tests, testing one headline against another. And it’s so important, presently I continue to run comparative headline tests.
Powerful headlines are, in fact, a big reason why I’ve sold over 6 Billion Dollars worth of products and services online and offline.
The fact is, I never “roll out” with an offer without several headline tests. Reason? With exactly the same body copy, the winning headline alone can pull 8 to 15 times compared to the losing headline.
But, in spite of all the evidence and proof demonstrating the crucial importance of a powerful headline, most completely miss the mark.
The majority of headlines are woefully inadequate. And, most surprising, many are written by experienced marketers and copywriters.
Like shortcuts? This article is about a real shortcut to creating perhaps the most powerful headline you could prepare.
I call it “the fill-in-the-blank method.”
I believe if you apply the simple steps which follow, you will increase your sales many fold.
There are 11 major headline types which I’ve identified. Each type, properly implemented, is extremely potent.
They are:
1. How to (Blank)
2. Secrets of (Blank)
3. Stacked Benefits
4. Problem/Solution
5. How to/Guaranteed
6. Get Benefit Fast, Regardless…
7. Solve a Problem…
8. Visualize it…
9. Ways To/Reasons Why
10. Problem Solver…
11. If…Then
Today I’m focusing on Problem/Solution. This method surprisingly is seldom used. But as you’ll see, it is extremely effective.
Here are several examples of a Problem/Solution headline:
*****
No More Butterflies! No More Fear! Learn the Tricks Pros Use to Speak with Ease to Any Size Audience!
*****
No More Wet Beds! An Amazing Technique from Europe for Training Your Child in Just One Week! Try it Risk Free – a 98.7% Success Rate!
*****
No More Bad Hair Days! Here’s a Proven Way to Maintain the Perfect Look Any Day of the Week!
*****
No More Lost Sales! Here is an Automatic System for an Effective and Timely Follow-Up
with Every Prospect!
*****
No More Job Worries! Here is a Proven Guaranteed No-Risk System to Earn Big Money in Your Spare Time Beginning Without Capital!
*****
No More Confusion About Vitamins! Here is a Proven Doctor Approved System that Provides an Individualized Program Just for You!
*****
Tired of Small or Sagging Breasts? Finally, a Natural Remedy for Stimulating and Tightening the Bust – Guaranteed!
*****
Are you beginning to get the idea?
The strategy behind the Problem/Solution technique is this.
No more (major pain or anxiety.) Here’s a quick and easy (remarkably simple, little-known etc.) way to (achieve the ultimate benefit.)
Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas
—————
“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/
Filed under Ted Nicholas, copywriting by on Jan 31st, 2010. Comment.
