Donnie Bryant is a direct response copywriter and marketing consultant. He helps small businesses and solo professionals connect with and convert their “should-be” clients with unusually effective marketing messages and systems.
An incalculable number of forces conspire to prevent your should-be customers from buying from you.
The purpose of marketing is to neutralize all those obstacles preventing a potential customer from acting in his own best interest (that is, doing business with you).
But before it can do that, there has to be some compelling reason why anyone should buy from you. That is not a marketing function, per se. It’s a matter of creating an outstanding product or service.
“Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it…No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist.” ~ Bill Bernbach
Compelling copy is extremely important. But most copywriters will admit…if they’re knowledgeable and honest… that presenting a great product to the right audience is MOST of the work.
– Great messaging for a worthless product won’t accomplish much in the long run.
– Strong marketing aimed at the wrong crowd will miss the mark.
On the other hand, if you offer a product that scratches a specific itch in that hard-to-reach spot on the back of a specific audience, any marketing message you create has inherent persuasive power. The Unique Selling Proposition itself grabs the attention and interest of the potential customer.
“This is EXACTLY what I need!” he might think to himself. That’s when he starts selling himself on the idea of buying from you.
That’s why it’s so critical for entrepreneurs, salespeople and marketers to discover their own USP and articulate it with clarity.
The point of marketing is not simply to sell whatever you’ve got. Marketing starts with making sure you’re selling something people want and need. Then you find ways to help your target audience experience the advantages of buying your product or service.
P.S. “A gifted product is mightier than a gifted pen.” ~ Gary Bencivenga
As people become increasingly savvy when it comes to weeding out ads, we have to get increasingly adept at communicating valuable messages about things that matter to people. That starts with having a gifted product, not being a wordsmith who uses flowery words to describe his crap.
By now you may have seen the Tesla “insane mode” video. It shows the reactions of unsuspecting passengers when the driver of the electric car takes the car from 0 to 60 miles per hour (96.6 kph) in just over 3 seconds — with no engine noise.
Your business has an insane mode, too. If and when you press the button, your sales can leap forward without warning. Profits can skyrocket. Marketing materials and sales pitches that used to fall flat start to perform like crazy.
I’m not the kind of guy who would present a “one size fits all” solution for success in business…but the one thing that can most consistently, most radically transform a business’ results is the discovery, articulation and integration of its unique selling proposition (USP).
“Yeah, I’ve heard this all before”
Fair enough. If you’ve been in business any length of time, you undoubtedly have heard about how important a USP is. You’ve probably even spent some time thinking about what your USP might be.
When you found out that the kind of thinking you have to do is hard work, did you press forward or quit?
When it seemed like there was nothing truly unique about your business, did you decide the only competitive advantage you have is quality and customer service? Did you really think that was a good enough answer?
You’ve heard it before, but how far did you go to enable your insane mode USP?
The right USP can change an entire industry. (Just ask FedEx or Domino’s Pizza.)
It can reverberate around the world for decades. (Everyone knows which candy melts in your mouth, not in your hand.)
Jack Welch famously said, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.”What gives you the right to step onto the field to play with the big boys?
If you haven’t figured that out yet, you have some work to do.
The early bird catches the worm, as the old proverb says.
Sometimes I think that’s a rather destructive piece of advice.
Earlier this month, I shared a few of my most useful productivity tips with Carey Green. We were talking about my contribution to his new book Entrepreneur Mind Hacks Part 1. The dual volume series is a compilation of tips from some of the brightest entrepreneurial thinkers in the game today (like Seth Godin and Cal Newport), as well as powerful insights from thinkers of the past (like Winston Churchill).
Somehow I sneaked into the roster.
During this interview, Carey and I talk about:
why “early to bed and early to rise” isn’t always best
one of the many business lessons I extracted from sermons of an itinerant 18th century preacher
generosity versus greed in business
why humans need to stop treating their brains and bodies like machines during the workweek
how two different Schwartzes (Gene and Tony) forever altered the way I set up my schedule — their advice will revolutionize your productivity if you listen and apply
step-by-step instructions to discover your unique rhythms
how God made you different — and what you need to do to make the most of that fact.
We also got into copywriting and marketing a little bit. I talked about how important persuasive copy is, but there are two things that have far more impact on the punching power of your sales messages. Most decent copywriters are aware of this. That doesn’t mean they’ll talk about it in public.
Carey was a great host. He’s also a top-notch businessman and MAN. The world could use more like him.
Get more details about Entrepreneur Mind Hacks books. Book 1 addresses productivity and creativity. (That’s the one I contributed to.) Book 2 dives into connections and success.
If you’re in business or thinking about going into business, pick em up. You’ll definitely learn something.
Selling is a transfer of enthusiasm from one person to another.
This is one of the common definitions of selling — and it’s a good one. It’s the job of the salesperson to connect the inherent benefits of a product or services with the needs and desires of the potential customer. For the buyer, getting what they want is something they can get excited about. The person doing the selling oftentimes has to find the enthusiasm-inducing elements and bring them to the top. And the more impassioned he is about those benefits, the more persuasive his presentation will be.
We’re all selling something. We might as well get good at it.
Last month, Ash Patel over at ClearSales interviewed me about big lessons I’ve learned selling products and services face-to-face and through the written word. I answer sales-related questions for people who find themselves in selling situations but don’t always think of themselves as salespeople.
The interview lasts 40 minutes:
You can take a look at the raw transcripts in the ClearSales blog.
Ash delineated 11 separate takeaway lessons:
Personalize sales message (generic is BAD; any sales conversation should feel one-to-one)
Focus on the customer, not on yourself, your company, or even primarily on the product itself
Keep following up
Sell the outcome, not the tool itself. This sounds obvious, but I’m constantly surprised by how many entrepreneurs, marketers and salespeople revert to selling their “thing” rather than the transformational results it produces for the buyer
Avoid jargon and corporate talk, unless that’s the language your customers speak. A conversational tone usually works best
Educate your prospects. It’s a great way to share value and position yourself as an expert at the same time
Be strategic
Spend at least as much energy converting and retaining clients as you spend on chasing new ones. The best new customer is a satisfied old customer
Recognize your own value. Confidence is a huge factor in successfully transferring enthusiasm
Communicate that value. It’s not bragging if it’s true, right? Plus, you’re not bragging — you’re helping potential customers see all the ways you can make their lives better. Don’t be shy about making the world a better place in your own unique way.
Email marketing results are measured in a few different ways: open rate, clickthroughs, revenue, etc. Open rate is one of the most widely-used and probably the one we have the most control over as marketers.
Emails that don’t get opened don’t accomplish much else, so it’s a good place to start.
I wanted to share the best email subject lines I used in 2014, as measured by open rate. These results are from my own email newsletter. Subject lines from my client work went as high as 81%, which is more of a testament to the quality of the client’s relationship with his audience than my copywriting abilities, all the way down into single-digit percentages. I don’t like to talk about that part.
Here are my top five from last year, and why I think they worked so well. There is also a quick summary at the end with key takeaways you can use right away.
#1: Kindle Book Giveaway from Two of My Favorite Marketers – 47.3%
No matter how overused it seems, “free” still works. But in a time when there’s so much information available for no charge, even free stuff needs to be sold.
Because I’ve earned the trust of my subscribers, and they know I won’t put anything in front of them unless it’s valuable (or fun), they listen to my recommendations most of the time. Pointing to a helpful free resource sounded like a good idea to them.
Note: the 3rd highest open rate I achieved in 2013 also pointed to a giveaway, also a Kindle Book. “One of the World’s Most Trusted Email Marketers Wants You to Have This” got a 48.6% open rate.
#2: Why You Should Stop Thinking Big – 45.7%
Taking a position opposite what is popular also gets attention and generates curiosity. Common advice is almost always to think big. Saying that someone thinks too small is an insult.
Bigger isn’t always better, as Volkswagen has proven.
Subtly, this subject line also implies that the reader is doing something wrong, something they never even thought to question. Curiosity and self-interest practically force him to open the email to find out if he’s making the mistake of thinking too big, and how he can fix it.
#3: <First Name>, This Is Probably the Main Thing Holding You Back – 44.2%
This subject line also speaks to the reader’s self-interest. If you’ve felt held back at all…if you you haven’t made as much progress as you had hoped…you want to know why. And how to fix it. This wording implies that there’s “insider information” as to what’s preventing you from being as successful as you want to be and offershope that there’s a solution close at hand.
I believe the body of the email offered some darn good insights that helped my readers move forward.
Adding the recipient’ first name to the subject line may have also had an impact. I rarely do that, so this subject stood out as extra personal.
Taken in isolation, this is the most profitable single email I wrote all year.
A lack of assertiveness is a major pain point for me. A good portion of my list share some of my personality traits, so quite a few of them have the same problem.
On the other hand, many entrepreneurs, leaders and people in sales positions (who make up the majority of my audience) have no problem with being assertive, but they may worry about coming on too strong. I wasn’t aiming this email at that crowd, but I’m sure some were drawn in anyway.
In fact, I wrote this email because of how much havoc my passive disposition was causing in the way I managed my time. Because a lot of my readers are a lot like me, I researched and wrote for myself, knowing it would help them as well.
A lot of your readers are a lot like you, too. Or, they’re a lot like the persona you’ve created for your business, brand or spokesperson. That perception of interpersonal similarity and shared values goes a long way. Make the most of that resonance.
#5: Writing Copy to Sell Your “Crazy” Offer – 44.1%
My newsletter supposed to be about copywriting. Most of my readers connect with me for that reason. So it makes sense that subscribers would open an email that explicitly states it’s about writing copy.
Also, everyone on my list would like to get more sales. I’ve made a promise in the subject line to help them out in this area.
This subject also connects this email to the previous one. Anyone who had read the previous newsletter (which was the 7th most-opened email of the year) would see a connection and probably want to follow the “continuing saga.” The tie back to the last email opens a loop that can only be closed by reading the current email.
Speaking of crazy offers, have you heard about this one from Art Van Furniture?
Who wouldn’t like free furniture?
This store is driving action (sales) by making a crazy offer: if it snows more than 3 inches on Super-Sunday, anyone who buys furniture during the promotional period will get a full reimbursement.
Key Takeaways for Writing Subject Lines that Get Emails Opened
— Freebies still work. But just because they’re free, doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard to sell them.
Speaking of free, Creating Business Growth, a book I’ve co-authored, is available on Amazon Kindle for no cost until January 5th. It has already reached bestseller status in several countries. Get your copy here.
— “Curiosity is the strongest human incentive.” Claude Hopkins
— Appeal to the self-interest rather than the coolness of the thing you want to talk about. (E.g., this email is about email subject lines that have worked well for me, but I’m writing it because I know you’re looking for ways to continually improve your email marketing results.)
— Solve problems. Offer hope.
— Remember the values you share in common with your subscribers. More than we tend to realize, people are looking to connect with people who are like them. When they see themselves and their values reflected in others, it’s naturally attractive. As C.S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…'”
— Email series work well. Leaving open loops from one message to the next increases readership. Talking about your chosen topic more than once also helps drive the point home.
— Make big offers. You can’t bore people into opening your emails.
For exclusive training to help you write better emails, faster than you may think possible, check out Inbox X-Factor.
Boiling 12 months of brain activity down into a few hundred words is an intimidating task. But rather than giving a full-on commencement speech as you “graduate” from this year and move into the next, we might as well get straight to the point.
If I was forced to share the 3 ideas that had the biggest impact on my thinking in 2014, it would be these:
The Immense Importance of Identity in Decision Making
One morning in January 2011, I was standing in a cell phone store when there was breaking news story came on the radio. A mysterious 13th zodiac sign had been discovered — and with Ophiuchus (as the new sign was called) squeezing itself into the calendar, every other sign was shifted. Scorpios became Libras and the world was all out of wack.
Half the people in the store freaked. The man playing with the laptop display searched to find out the new dates, and a small crowd gathered around him, wondering who they were supposed to be now…
(Do you remember that day?)
I share that anecdote to illustrate a point. Astrology falls into the fairy tale category, but people’s reactions were very real. Some people think about their identity largely through the lens of their zodiac signs. They had seen themselves in their horoscopes for years. What happens with that is called into question?
The way we perceive ourselves affects almost everything we do. As a marketer, copywriter or salesperson, you MUST understand the way your ideal customers see themselves. It goes deeper than just features and benefits…even deeper than problems and desires.
This incident happened 4 years ago, but I am coming to understand the power of identity more fully as time goes by and experience mounts.
We’re going to spend a good deal of time fleshing out this idea and applying this concept in my upcoming training/coaching program. In the meantime, you can read about this incident in greater detail in The Ophiuchus Effect.
The Gargantuan Difference Between Prospects and Buyers
There is a world of difference between someone who reads your free material but hasn’t sent you any money. I advise you to check out the link to the article, because I’m going to be brief here.
Interestingly, when someone becomes a paying customer, their identity is altered a little bit. As they become accustomed to being a customer, they may come to think of themselves in terms of your product or service. There are Pepsi people. There are Apple people. There are Chicago Bears fans (we’re a depressed bunch these days).
Some of us are as loyal to our preferred products as to our political affiliations.
Do what you can to convert your prospects into buyers. The relationship you build with your buyers is arguably the most valuable asset you have.
The Enormity of Leadership
If this sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because leadership has been one of the Big Ideas that Impacted me in 2012 and 2013. The topic is both important and compelling.
I do not speak of leadership in the superior-subordinate sense. I’m talking about something closer to “I’m taking my flashlight in this direction; who’s headed this way?”
Even if you’re not giving orders, you are a leader if you have an audience. And as a leader, you have a responsibility for the well-being and progress of those walking with you. You have to
Teach them. Help them develop a worldview that will serve them well
Warn them. You see danger they can’t see yet. You’re aware of pitfalls they need to know about. Have the guts to stand up and protect them to the best of your ability
Encourage them.
Inspire them. Share your successes and the successes of other members of the group. Never miss out on a chance to give them good news.
Exemplify the philosophy you espouse. Walk the walk.
Happy New Year. May this be your best year yet. Let me know how I can help you achieve that.
P.S. Have you registered to get your copy of Creating Business Growth yet? It’s going to be available for free on Amazon Kindle from January 1-5.
Weighing in at more than 300 pages, this book shares expert insights on
– Google Adwords
– Getting Referrals
– Neurolinguistic Programming
– Networking
– Search Engine Optimization
– Email Marketing
– Public Relations
– Unique Value Propositions
and plenty more.
This will very likely be the most useful book you read all year. What’s more, you’ll get to know nearly 2 dozen of the smartest marketers I know…men and women who have earned my admiration and trust over the past couple years.
If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you may recall the story I told about the four-day power outage I endured during the summer. Four sweltering days with no power, no air conditioning or fans, no internet.
The more prepared people in town used generators to keep the electricity flowing. My father-in-law was able to reserve one before all the food in his refrigerator spoiled. He needed my help getting it to his house. While we tried to figure out how to make the thing work (which took much longer than it should have for people of our intellectual abilities), I couldn’t help but notice the Danger sticker:
This is the sort of warning I usually ignore (I am a man, after all…), but I couldn’t dismiss this one so easily. The message was too strong.
“Using a generator indoors WILL KILL YOU IN MINUTES…”
Tell me those words don’t hit you right in the gut. I was shocked by their power — and inspired at the same time. The copywriter hired for this project was pretty darn good!
No Good Excuse for Wimpy Sales Messages
A danger sticker like this one covers a lot of ground, and it only takes two sentences. I see four big reasons why those twenty-one words make such a strong impact on the reader.
1) Unambiguous meaning. There is no question what’s being said. No alternative interpretations are possible. Clarity and specificity create vision. If you don’t heed the warning, you know exactly what’s going to happen.
Are your sales and marketing messages THIS clear? Do you address the problems your potential client is facing this plainly? Are the benefits of your product/service laid out this specifically? Are your calls-to-action simple to understand and easy to follow?
2) Tangible results. The label leaves no doubt about what will happen is you don’t pay attention to its warning. Anyone who reads it knows precisely what he’s dealing with.
When promoting your product, do you leave prospects wondering what’s in it for them? Do they have to put the pieces together themselves? Does your message talk about YOU or the buyer? Do you describe the physical components of your product or the specific ways it will change the customer’s life?
Again, clarity and specificity create vision.
3) Forceful language. Some people may call this kind of language hype or sensationalism. But it’s not that at all, is it? It is a matter-of-fact statement of impending danger. The cost of disregarding the warning is high. Using strong language in this manner is the responsible thing to do.
All sales messages should contain a measure of warning. If you truly believe what you’re selling can help your customers, there’s a little bit of danger if they don’t take action. They’re going to miss out on something good…or experience something bad. You are duty-bound to help them see that.
If you solve a big problem, remind your listener/reader how serious the situation is. If it’s more serious than he knows, educate him.
On the other hand, if you have a bold promise that you can deliver on 100%, don’t water down the message. There’s no better way to get ignored and forgotten than to under-promise. (You will probably never get a chance to over-deliver.)
4) Appeal to existing desire and fear. In this case, the desire to stay alive and the fear of death. In the case of the generator, undetectable poison gas is a genuine concern. It is not fear-mongering to warn people of the risk.
What is it that your potential clients desire that you can help them get? What problems that they’re afraid of facing can you help them eliminate? Those should be major components of your message.
Did I Say Duty-Bound?
I said it and I meant it.
If you provide a product or service that improves people’s lives, and if you care about people, doesn’t it make sense to activelypersuade them to purchase your product or service? Doesn’t it also make sense that you remove every possible barrier that may keep them from buying from you?
Selling makes sense.
As I said in a recent newsletter, “selling is not putting external pressure on people. It is creating circumstances where targeted prospects feel internal tension caused by the disparity between where they are currently and where they want to be. A strong sales message heightens that tension as the listener feels the desire to take you up on your offer.”
Selling isn’t something you do to people. It’s something you do with people.
You can tell I’m pretty fired up about this topic. I believe that a majority of business owners and service providers, especially those who primarily operate online, need to re-think the way they sell. I also believe that a smart approach to selling will revolutionize their businesses.
For that reason, I’m starting a training program in January to help entrepreneurs, marketers, and salespeople
discover why your should-be customers turn you down
My international secret society is officially coming out of the shadows.
Twenty-one of us have collaborated to write what’s sure to be one of the most useful books you’ll read in 2015. Creating Business Growth is focused on effective lead generation, but you’ll learn a ton of information that can be applied to other parts of your business.
This isn’t an ordinary marketing book written by academics. Some of the smartest entrepreneurs I know reveal the secrets they’ve used to grow their own businesses and make their clients very happy people. My co-authors include a TED speaker, contributors to the Washington Post, CNBC and BBC World Services, a Clinton White House speechwriter, several best selling authors… the list goes on.
Because we feel passionately about marketing and we want to help as many people as we can, we’ve decided to give the book away gratis. Amazon will only let us do that for a short period of time. So from January 1-5, the Kindle version will be free.
Remember: you don’t need to have a Kindle device. When you download the ebook, you can pick up a free app for your phone, tablet, laptop or PC. Easy as apple pie.
A couple weeks ago, Jeff Zelaya and I did a Google Hangout on Air to talk about “How to Write Content that Sizzles and Sells.” There’s a ton of mediocre content out there, both online and in print. We talked about getting ideas, honing your craft and writing stuff that doesn’t suck.
Because you’ll never bore anyone into buying, subscribing, or even reading your next paragraph.
Check out the replay:
Jeff also wrote a terrific recap of the Hangout at 13 Tips to Make Your Content Sizzle and Sellon Triblio’s blog, distilling the interview down into 13 actionable (and tweetable!) steps. Smart writing on his part, without a doubt.
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does.” ~ Steuart Henderson Britt
Marketing your business using the same methods everyone else is using isn’t much better.
One of the biggest problems any business has these days is getting and keeping the attention of their should-be clients and customers. Another problem that many of entrepreneurs and solo professionals have is that they have no idea what to do to stand out from everyone else who’s trying to get attention (not just the competition).
Many also fear doing something they’ve never done before or something that seems risky.
During times like these, being bold enough to take risks and step outside of your normal comfort zone may be what it takes to make your marketing work. A lack of courage may leave you unnoticed and under-appreciated as the expert you are.
In his constant quest to share practical marketing insights, tactics and strategies, Steve Lahey invited me to share a few “outside-the-box” marketing ideas with his audience. Check out the 30-minute interview, Creative Marketing Ideas for Solo Professionals.
In the half hour, Steve and I spoke about 3 proven tactics that are rare enough to be ridiculously effective:
direct mail
“best buyer”/influencer outreach and
a unique kind of live, in-person event.
If an injection of fresh thinking might rekindle the spark in your promotional efforts, I think this is a pretty good investment of your time. Even if you don’t use the techniques mentioned, the thinking behind them and the reasons they’re effective are sure to be thought-provoking and inspiring.
My personal philosophy of business and marketing comes out pretty strongly here, too.
I’d love to hear your feedback on the interview. I’d also love to hear about your favorite outside-the-box marketing ideas in the comments below.
