Donnie Bryant

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.

Worst of Signs, Pt. 2

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Here are a couple more instances of crummy signs in my south Chicago neighborhood.

Teeth Sign Chicago

This is a billboard for a dental practice just off the highway. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems terribly offensive, or at least insensitive. But it’s been in the same spot for several months, so maybe it’s working better than I think. Of course, since the sign isn’t keyed to produce trackable leads (in direct response fashion), it’s hard to know for sure, even for Dr. Atcha.

Pops Sign Lansing

If I have to point out what stinks about it, you need some help, too.

If I ever sign up for Pinterest, I’ll be sure to have a board dedicated to the good and bad advertisements I see around Chicago. There are plenty of both.

Did you see It Was the Best of Signs, It Was the Worst of Signs Pt. 1?

It Was the Best of Signs, It Was the Worst of Signs

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dad highest rank

This billboard by the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and the Ad Council is one of the best advertisements I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t qualify as direct response or direct marketing, but it is promotional.

More than that, it’s emotionally powerful. For proud dads like myself, for those who are saddened by the lack of father figures in our nation, and particularly for military families, these 7 words speak volumes.

It’s among the best of signs because it’s targeted, which makes it laser-guided towards specific emotional responses. The imagery aims right at the heart.

Does your advertising evoke the right emotions in your target audience?

support

I mentioned this sign in an interview I did last year as being one of the dumbest signs I’d ever seen. I went back to take a picture of it in the window of a shop in south suburban Chicago.

The handwriting is nice, but that’s about as far as the positives go. And if I’m not mistaken, that shop is no longer open.

This is among the worst of signs because it is wrongly focused. Businesses cannot walk up to would-be customers and say “Hey, give me some of your money.” Businesses only stay in business because they provide value to their customers.

The business exists for the customer, not the other way around.

The sign doesn’t offer any reason whatsoever for the reader to support the business. I could understand a sign that says “Support American Businesses.” That’s asking the customer to do something that is in the best interest of the economy of his country. That means it’s good for him in the long-term.

This particular sign comes much closer to panhandling than marketing. It’s just asking for support without promising anything unique or valuable in return. What reason does anyone have to support them?

Are you giving your audience reasons why they should do business with you in your advertising? Are you telling them what’s in it for them? If not, you’re completely missing the point.

How to Earn All the Twitter Followers You Deserve

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Last time I Googled “how to get more Twitter followers,” 579,000,000 results came up. This is clearly a topic on many people’s minds.

First, a question: Would you rather have thousands of followers who never interact with you or your content, or 100 raving fans who retweet regularly and click all your links? Do you value quantity over quality?

All things being equal, bigger is better. But the point is that the size of your audience isn’t the only factor you should be concerned about developing.

Real Life Matters
Your personality outside of Twitter has a huge impact on the size and type of following you attract. Just ask Tim Tebow or Ashton Kutcher. Celebrities get massive numbers of followers instantly because of who they are, even when they break all the “rules” of Twitter etiquette.

I believe the foundation of creating the audience you deserve is actually being someone worth following. Do you have something valuable to share? Do you offer unique perspective to the people reading your tweets? Are you actively brightening their day in some way? If not, you probably won’t attract or keep the kinds of followers you want.

Now you have to let the world know what you can do.

Get the Bio Right
They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. In many cases, your profile picture and 160-character bio will determine what potential followers will think of you. It can make the difference between gaining attention and getting ignored.

You’ve experienced it yourself; when you see a profile that doesn’t have a photo, you second-guess whether it’s even a real person. With all the fake accounts, spammers and bots, you never know.

Beyond that, you have a few lines to tell everyone who you are, what you’re about and what they can expect when they click the Follow button.

If you have a website, blog, portfolio, etc., you should always include a link. That let’s you demonstrate how awesome you are without the character limitation. You can link to a free valuable resource to get followers to start consuming your content right away.

There’s an App for that
Your profile and your tweets should always be appropriate, appealing and applicable.

Appropriate: Know who your audience is and who you’d like to be in it. Share content appropriate for that audience. It wouldn’t do much good for Nike to share a video about pulled pork sandwiches.

Appealing: On the other hand, Nike’s followers want to know about sports, sports gear and health/wellness issues. What does your audience care about? What are they worried or excited about right now. Tweeting on those subjects, adding your expertise and sharing resources are powerful ways to you grow and nurture loyal, attentive followers.

Applicable: As much as possible, members of your Twitter community should be able to do something with the content you share. They can open hilarious videos that make them LOL. They can click links to help them fix them save on car insurance. Or they can see the world through your eyes for just a minute.

For the most part, no one wants to know all the intimate details of your daily routine. Tweet stuff that matters to your followers.

Are You Talking About Yourself…Again?
Some how-to articles tell you how often to send out different kinds of tweets. What percentage should be links? What tweet/retweet ratio should you use?

I don’t know if any of these figures can be proven to work better in every instance.

You’ll probably agree that high-quality content is always welcome. Good jokes go over well, no matter what percentage of your tweets they comprise.

If you create content for the purpose of educating, entertaining or otherwise improving your follower’s day or life, why hold back? You could probably get away with 100% of your tweets being links to your website.

That being said, interacting with your followers and your colleagues is usually a really smart thing to do. Everyone likes @mentions. Replies and retweets can only strengthen the bonds you have.

Developing a great Twitter following is less about learning techniques than most social media gurus would like you to think.

For example, a widely-taught tactic for growing a big audience is to follow people who you’d like to follow you, then unfollow the ones that don’t. Sure, you will get about half of those individuals to follow back, but think about it: you don’t follow them because you care about their tweets. You just want them to read and respond to yours.

If everyone on Twitter followed all the people they wanted to sell to but had no interest in listening to, what would that look like? It would be horrible. Everyone talking, no one listening. That’s not what social media is supposed to be about.

Naturally, knowing how to operate in any environment (online or off) is important. But if you don’t start with value creation, you’re neglecting human nature. People exchange their time for things that are more valuable to them than other things they could be spending their time doing.

Become a reliable source for those kinds of things and you’re on the right path to growing your ideal audience.

Raise the Bar on Your Value Proposition

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What is Rolex’s unique value proposition (UVP), really?

What do they do that no other watchmaker does? Do they make the world’s most accurate timepieces? The most durable? Nope. The most aesthetically pleasing? I’d give that a “no,” but I guess that one is debatable. Do they offer special features that can’t be found in other watches? Not really.

So what is it that makes Rolex so special? If we think about that for a moment, we may gain insights that will immediately impact the way we run and market our businesses.

Two Unique Conversations

apple vs. samsung marketing war

I’ve long been an advocate of finding your uniqueness. If you’ve been reading my stuff for any length of time, you’ve heard this conversation on numerous occasions. But my thinking about how uniqueness works out in the real world is evolving. Two conversations have really sparked my changing perspective.

My first inspiration came during a conversation with a brilliant marketer, my good pal Chuck McKay. He was explaining to me how there’s really no way for products to be truly unique anymore — at least not for more than a few months. Companies that create technological advancements that customers get excited enough to pay for usually see copycats coming up right behind them almost immediately.

Exhibit A: The multi-billion dollar global battle, Apple vs. Samsung.

Jack Welch said that “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” So what do you do in an environment where your advantages can be ripped off so quickly?

Well, the force that creates loyal, enthusiastic customers (ones who don’t make price the the primary factor in their buying decisions) for companies like Apple, Rolex and Harley-Davidson can work just as well for you.

Boiling It All Down

You may point to the way that strong brand positioning is propelling companies like Rolex forward, and you’d be correct. But what really lies behind this branding thing? More importantly, how can you use it to build of loyalty and top of mind awareness like a Nike.

The second conversation I mentioned earlier was more of a conversation I had in my own mind after reading an article written by Kimanzi Constable. When you boil it all down, business is about relationships and experiences. Branding is about relationships and experiences, both real and imagined.

unique relationship as value proposition

Have you ever seen images of fans at a Michael Jackson concert? People went bananas! Security personnel and paramedics were always on hand to handle people who whipped themselves into a frenzy and often passed out.

Good music was only part of the cause. You can bet these folks didn’t pass out every time a Michael Jackson song came on the radio. But at the concert, perfectly rational, even-keeled people became emotional, delirious fanatics . Their relationship with Michael may not have been personal, but it was very real.

Your favorite musicians may have a similar effect on you. Music creates powerful emotional experiences and, in a way, we have vicarious relationships with musicians (and other fans) through the art they perform.

Those experiences and relationships are where true uniqueness can be found. Even in a commodity business where unique value propositions are hard to come by, you can create unique experiences with customers. Just like famous musicians, you may never see them face to face, but the unique relationships you forge can be very real.

Years ago, I had a manager who told me that “every man should own a Rolex.” Rolex represents success, refinement and even masculinity for those who own them and those who desire them. This is the unique relationship Rolex has with its customers. The brand is capable of providing them with a highly-esteemed status symbol, one that draws both admiration and jealousy, in a way no other timepiece can quite replicate. The brand is an extension of the owner’s self-image, the self he wants to portray to others. He will gladly pay thousands of dollars to accomplish that.

Building Your Unique Value Relationship

Even if you have an established USP/UVP, you should start to think about your marketing and branding in terms of relationships instead of propositions. There are countless ways to build your unique value relationship (UVR). Since it is unique to each individual, I can’t tell you the best way for you to put everything together. But here are some principles to get you started.

1) Make and keep bold promises. Inspire, excite and challenge potential or existing customers. Most of your competitors will never do anything to shake people up and make them take special notice. They’re too busy playing it safe.

2) Provide remarkable customer service. Treat the customer like royalty (note how royalty and loyalty rhyme, at least in English). Give ridiculous guarantees and take away as much of the risk as possible from your customers. Make it easy to buy, easy to ask questions and get answers. Go further than your competitors are willing to go to take care of your customers’ needs. Live the Golden Rule. Don’t just say you care–prove it.

3) Stand for something. Or against something. Be a hero, an advocate. Champion the cause of your audience. Few things build and strengthen relationships like a shared goal or a common enemy.

4) Create an exclusive clique. Starbucks initiates customers into a whole new world of coffee enjoyment. I worked there for years, so I’ve seen the effect firsthand. These people are forever ruined to Folgers. But it’s more about being a member of an elite class of coffee connoisseurs than the quality of the drink. I had plenty of people tell me that Dunkin Donut’s brew tastes just as good.

If there’s anything in the world that’s a commodity, it’s coffee. Starbucks still found a way to become unique. It’s all in the experience.

5) Make the most of your location. Be THE neighborhood auto body shop. Or accountant. Claim your territory and dominate it. To steal a popular slogan, like a good neighbor, you should be there.

I believe the only way to free your business permanently from the commoditization rat race (a.k.a. the economy of today and tomorrow) is to develop and maintain a uniquely valuable relationship with people you can truly help. That is something no competitor can rip-off or destroy.

Go get started. Today.

Authenticity, Awesomeness and the Red Herring of Altruism

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Greetings, good people.

An apology before I get started.

This may turn out to be a little bit of a rant. We won’t be discussing a particular marketing concept or copywriting technique. There are a few ideas “out there” right now that I want to talk about. I still think you’ll be get some good information and insight from this conversation, but I apologize for going off-road.

Be Yourself, Doggone It

“Authenticity” is a huge buzz word these days. That’s both a good and a bad thing.

Many of the gurus and would-be teachers online now are pumping the message of authenticity. Be yourself. Speak with your authentic voice. Don’t try to be anyone else, no matter how much you admire them. Nothing wrong with being that unique individual you were created to be, right? Right!

In a copy-and-paste world, I guess that advice is necessary. When everyone seems to be winning but you, it’s tempting to start mimicking what others are doing. Besides, most of our instructors have told us at one time or another not to “reinvent the wheel,” as it were. Find something that works, and model it.

One the other hand, a 27-point list on how to be myself may be counterproductive.

Hear me on this: don’t chase authenticity. Being yourself is simple, even if it isn’t easy. Anyone who makes a big production out of this idea is sending you on a snipe hunt. That includes me. Check out this quote from American president, Woodrow Wilson.

“If you think about what you out to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a by-product, and any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will become a selfish prig.” The same is true for authenticity.

By all means, be yourself. If you’re not sure what that means, it’s time for some introspection. Write in a journal, spend some quiet time in deep thought, turn off the TV or radio and pay attention to what’s really going on inside. You’ll probably learn a lot.

We are all imposters and copycats anyway. To an astounding degree, we figure out who we are and who we’re not from the people around us. From infancy forward, we imitate our parents and role models and build our personalities on the scaffolding they set up.

Is that Awesome or What?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I’ve seen a dozen articles, blog posts and other references to “being awesome” in the past two weeks. Gotta admit, all the chatter is starting to bother me.

What in the world does that statement even mean? It’s fairly arbitrary and generic. What is the standard for awesomeness? How do we measure it? Who’s the final judge when there’s a disagreement over levels of epicness (another word that’s hotter now than when Homer penned the Iliad)?

Here’s a thought. Don’t worry about being awesome. Now, it’s important and praiseworthy to pursue excellence in your field. But that’s more concerned with the pursuit of technical expertise or specialized knowledge. There’s a subtle difference.

I don’t think you can just write an article that says, “Be Awesome or Die.” But there is material out there right now that says exactly that. I don’t see anyone telling me “How Win the Kentucky Derby Right Now!” There’s no way you could sell that idea. On top of that, would you be frustrated if you read the article, and when you woke up the next morning, you weren’t ready to compete in the Derby? Would you wonder what’s wrong with you that you couldn’t get it to work? Do you need any extra frustration in your life?

“How to Become a Solid Marathon Runner in 8 Weeks” makes more sense. Specific, realistic, quantifiable.

My advice? Whatever you’re doing, do your best every day. And every day, try to get better. If you keep getting better, you’ll be pretty epic by the time you’re through. How awesome it that?

Altruism

According to legend, one day Pablo Picasso sat in a restaurant in Paris drinking a cup of coffee. A woman recognized him, approached him and asked him to draw sketch of her. Being the gentleman that he was, Picasso obliged. When he was finished, she took the drawing, and asked “How much do I owe you?”

“$5,000,” was Picasso’s reply.

“$5,000?!” she exclaimed. “But it only took you three minutes!”

“No,” he answered, “it took me all my life.”

What do you think Picasso would say about this romanticized notion of the starving artist? The one who creates masterpieces for the love of the craft, and would never commercialize his art. He will suffer poverty before “selling out.”

The question of art versus commerce is ridiculous. I’ve loosely labeled this idea altruism, that is, doing for or giving to others without seeking anything in return. Not looking for any benefit for yourself.

What does altruism have to do with anything? I’m glad you asked.

Honestly, not very many people are talking about being altruistic nowadays. Everyone seems to be telling you more and easier ways to become one of the rich cool kids. But I know for a fact that a lot of people feel guilty for charging what their services are worth. Or they’re scared to ask for it. Or they question whether it’s right to make people pay them to do what they love to do.

Get those thoughts out of your mind.

It is not greedy to charge what you deserve. If your plumber loves fixing pipes, should he charge you less to do it? Of course not.

Be as bold as Picasso in the anecdote above. Know the value you provide, and ask for pay commensurate with the value you bring to the table.

I’m not sure true altruism exists on planet earth. There is some degree of self-interest involved with every action. But in business, the question is a red herring. Thinking about it is nothing more than a waste of time. Stay focused on doing the best work you can do, creating as much value as possible, and earning what you’re worth for it.

Generosity is good. In most cases, I recommend being charitable on the back end. Earn as much as you can, then give as much as you can (in the words of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church) to deserving causes.

Feet on the Ground

Wow, that really did turn into a rant. I violated my own principle of talking about one thing, but then again, the overriding topic was getting your mindset right and protecting yourself from time-draining thought processes.

We’ll get back to the regular format next time. Thanks for letting me get that out. If you have any thoughts, disagreements, or whatever, feel free to let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

(originally published May 10, 2011)

 

When Is Being Clever Inappropriate in Advertising?

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Is it wrong to try to be clever in your marketing?

Most direct marketing experts and teachers will tell you that attempts at humor or cleverness are a bad idea. Most of them have experienced reality firsthand: people work hard to earn their money. Deciding where they’re going to spend or invest it is something they probably take seriously, not playfully.

On the other hand, most multimillion dollar image ad agencies can’t resist conjuring up the slickest ideas possible. Some of them will quote statistics “proving” how effective those 7- and 8-figure campaigns have been. Maybe they’re right, in some cases.

While I can’t state categorically that cleverness will ruin your the effectiveness of your marketing message, know for sure that you’re taking a pretty big risk.

Bacon-What?

A few days ago I saw a TV commercial advertising what seems to be a major event at Denny’s: Baconalia.

Being the dreadful nerd that I am, I realized that this was a attempted play on the word bacchanalia. Knowing the kind of person who reads this blog, there’s a good chance you noticed it, too. Wikipedia defines bacchanalia as “wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus (or Dionysus), the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.” Just replace the wine with bacon and you have a good time waiting for you at Denny’s.

Here’s the problem: How obvious that play on words? What percentage of Denny’s average customers get it?

You know what probably happened. Some bookworm adwriter (who never had the responsibility to actually sell something with his ads) saw a chance to flex his creative muscles and he couldn’t help himself.

Granted, this advertisement may not hurt sales, but does the name Baconalia capture the attention and crystallize the desire for salty pigmeat in the minds of the people who see the commercial? More likely, it causes a moment of confusion. And as I say so frequently, confused people don’t buy.

Maybe I’m more upset about this than I should be. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive. But it seems like this happens way too frequently. Marketers and entrepreneurs think puns fill cash registers. They put too much emphasis on being clever.

Like Barefeet Shoes. Does that even make sense as the name of a shoe store?

Kill The Cleverness

Bill Bernbach, widely regarded as one of the 20th centuries most influential advertisers, said this: “Our job is to sell our clients’ merchandise … not ourselves. Our job is to kill the cleverness that makes us shine instead of the product. Our job is to simplify, to tear away the unrelated, to pluck out the weeds that are smothering the product message.”

Another of the greats, David Ogilvy said that “A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”

This is where so many marketers get it wrong. The advertisement isn’t about the marketer — he shouldn’t be trying to win awards or show off his brilliance. The ad isn’t about the company selling the product, or even about the product itself. In the final analysis, the ad must be about the buyer and how his life will be changed for the better by purchasing the item advertised.

Marketing should be a spotlight in a darkened theater; content to be unseen, focused solely on creating the proper perspective for the product, enabling an audience to see the benefits available to them.

The copy you write should be transparent, invisible. If a potential client reads your copy and says, “Man, that was a great advertisement!” you’ve failed. You succeed when he asks urgently, “Where can I buy this product?”

The Most Important Exception

Cleverness is a great characteristic for a copywriter or marketer to have. Coming up with unique ideas and new ways to communicate them is essential. But that quick wit must be subjected to self-control and humility. All of those clever ideas have to take a back seat to selling power.

In your ads, you may need to be clever. But your cleverness must be invisible. Kinda like Seal Team 6, doing its job without being seen and disappearing into the night.

Here’s the short version: don’t sacrifice clear, effective communication in an attempt to be witty. Unless you’re selling tickets to a comedy show.

Cialdini Agrees with My Persuasion Theory

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Conversion is always an internal change. To borrow the words of Jeff Sexton, “all persuasion is self-persuasion.”

You use your words to paint vivid, evocative images in the minds of your prospects…their response will correspond directly with their desires, motivations and priorities…

You base your marketing messages or sales pitch on the quest they’re on, the vision they have for their lives and the way they see their place in the world…

You do your best to be convincing…but those who become your customers are those who convince themselves that you can deliver the results they want.”

Other than Jeff Sexton, I haven’t heard any other expert say that persuasion is always ultimately self-persuasion. But I tell you, it’s the truth.

And whether he knows it or not, Robert Cialdini agrees with this assertion. If you analyze the 6 principles from his book Influence, you’ll see what I mean. Check it out.

Reciprocity – When someone does something for you or gives you something, you feel indebted to them. You want to pay them back, because you don’t like to feel like you own anyone anything. Reciprocity is the desire to rid yourself of that feeling.

No one makes you feel the need to reciprocate, but when they take the first step by giving you something, they start the process.

The outcome is pretty predictable.

Consistency – We all want to stay true to the statements we make. We have an inner desire to maintain consistency to things we say or write. We convince ourselves that it’s important to do what we say we’ll do. We have an even bigger problem deviating from what we proclaim ourselves to be. If I say I’m an art collector, I better start acquiring some nice pieces!

Our desire to be consistent with the positive things other people think about us (or what we want them to think about us) can be even more compelling.

Social Proof – Everyone wants to be seen as an individual. But at the same time, we have a deep-seated desire fit in somewhere. There’s safety in numbers, right?

A lot of times, we really want to do something and all we need to gain the confidence to pull the trigger is the knowledge that other people (just like us) have done the same thing safely and with satisfactory results.

Liking – I like you. It gives me pleasure to buy from you. I enjoy the feeling of supporting you or your cause, feeling like I’m helping you succeed, etc.

So, naturally, I can persuade myself that doing business with you is a good idea. Even if I don’t really need what you’re selling. Or, if I have to choose between two vendors, I’ll often pick the person I like better instead of the cheaper choice or even the one with higher quality.

How many times have you done that?

Authority – We’re designed to trust people in positions of authority. It starts when we’re kids obeying our parents and believing everything they tell us. Even as we get older and gain autonomy, we never fully get rid of this disposition.

We protect ourselves from making bad choices by defer to people who know better than we do. Self-preservation is a powerful desire.

Scarcity – Missing out on something you could have had is a horrible feeling. We don’t want to feel that. We’ll jump through all kinds of hoops to avoid that feeling. That’s why scarcity or urgency works in marketing.

Sometimes we make a choice more to protect ourselves from this feeling of missing out on an opportunity than from the desire for the object itself.

The evidence is plain. Persuasion is always, at its root, self-persuasion. And although he’s never said it, Robert Cialdini agrees with me (and Jeff Sexton, of course).

Funny Thing About Yearbooks…

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Funny thing about yearbooks…

No matter who you are, there are pictures from your past that you consider embarrassing, if not downright horrifying.

Maybe you had goofy glasses, or a terrible haircut.

Maybe you were wearing hideous clothes or just acting stupid, as “kids” often to do.

(For example, I’m absolutely certain people will look back and feel intense shame that they were ever involved in “planking”)

There’s no way around it. That’s how life is. That’s the nature of fast-fading fads and the process of growing up.

But that was you. Being who you were then is part what made you who you are now.

There’s a very similar similar reality in marketing. When you look back at some of your early efforts, you may laugh and shake your head. Was that really you? Were you really that clueless? 

Yep. That was you.

And that’s okay. Who you did back then has created business you have today.

Here’s the point. Everyone looks like a beginner when he’s just getting started at something. Don’t let the fact that you’re not perfect yet stop you from getting started. You don’t have to know everything about everything to do something.

There’s a good chance you’re going to look back at your old blog posts and wonder how those words ever came from your mind. I know I do. Your first efforts are probably going to look like first efforts.

And that’s okay. That’s how you build the business you want to be in the future.

So get started ASAP. Write that sales letter. Announce that seminar. Prepare to launch that product you’ve been sitting on for the past 5 years.

In 2020, you’ll either look back and see that the actions you took in 2014 (even though they may seem amateurish in hindsight) moved you toward in creating something great… or you’ll look back and regret waiting for the “perfect moment.”

What will you see when you look back?

Struggles and Success as a Marketing Copywriter

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Michael Zipursky interviewed me the other day about the struggles and successes I’ve experienced as a copywriter and consultant for his Business Consulting Buzz podcast.

We talked about:

  • the power of guest posting to build credibility and find an audience (instead of having to build one from scratch)
  • the crucial mindset you must have to sell anything, in any medium — it’s a simple switch, but human nature makes it a perpetual struggle
  • some of my early inspirations as a copywriter (I still love all of ’em)
  • how I got my first clients
  • one thing anyone can do to automatically boost the persuasiveness of their sales copy.

The recording has vanished, but here’s where you can check out the transcript of the interview to Direct Response Copywriter and Consultant: Interview with Donnie Bryant (thanks to the Wayback Machine).

Thanks!

Mousetraps and Snow Shovels

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Falling snow can bring all kinds of thoughts to mind: Grandma’s hot apple cider, Saturday morning sledding or tackle football at recess in 4th grade.

Snow always makes me think of opportunity.

You can go to bed on a clear night and wake up with a foot of fresh snow on the ground. Suddenly everyone has an urgent need. Cities and towns that aren’t prepared for it shut down altogether. (No chance of that happening here in Chitown!)

But those who are ready with shovels, plows and rock salt can become neighborhood heroes. Some build businesses specifically for times like these.

My shovel saw action for only the second time this winter on Friday. In honor of my poor, neglected tool, I’m going to contort Quote of the Week 65 as follows:

“If a man can make a better snow shovel, the world will make a beaten path to his door.” (On his freshly shoveled sidewalk, no less.)

As you probably noticed, this statement is no truer than Emerson’s quote about mousetraps.

Here are a few things to think about. No matter how good your shovel is

  • People who live on tropical islands aren’t going to buy from you. Inhabitants of desert-like climates will never be your customers
  • Many people will purchase a snow blower instead of your shovel
  • Those who don’t have sidewalks or driveways won’t be very interested in buying from you

… regardless of how strong your marketing is.

Are you concentrating on creating shovel innovations? Or are you focused on helping people handle their snow problems?

Which do you think is the better path to take?

The only thing that compels people to buy snow shovels is snow. The only people that buy snow shovels are people who know they have or will have snow piling up in their yards.