Direct Marketing

How to get really rich in sales and marketing

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I was sitting at the beach yesterday, eating my empanada and trying to mind my own business, when I saw an Indian guy selling beach blankets.

He was talking to a group of women who were interested but not yet decided on buying.

He sweet talked them a little bit.

He answered some questions.

He applied a bit of pressure at the right moments.

Eventually, he convinced them to buy.

He was about to close the sale when the women decided that they wanted another pattern of beach blanket after all.

The guy hung his head.

“No problem,” he seemed to say. And he jogged across the beach for a few hundred yards to get the other pattern from his stash.

He jogged back, handed over the correct blanket, and finally closed the sale.

While I was watching this, all I could think is how much work and skill it had taken for this guy to close this one sale, which probably netted him a profit of a dollar or two.

And it’s just about the same level of work and skill that it would take for a million-dollar deal.

Well, I don’t know about million dollars, but definitely he could be making much more money if he were just selling something else.

And this reminded me of something I’d heard from Craig Clemens.

Craig started out as a direct response copywriter.

He was successful writing in the relationships and dating niche for Eben Pagan (aka David DeAngelo).

Even though Eben and Craig’s dating stuff grew big — around $20 million a year — Craig realized he could be making much more money if he were just in a different market.

So he partnered up with his brothers, and they started Golden Hippo, one of the biggest direct response supplement businesses out there today.

I’m not sure how much Golden Hippo is worth. But I imagine their yearly revenues are in the high hundreds of millions of dollars.

If I see the beach blanket seller again today, I’ll tell him about Craig Clemens and why choosing your market well is key to getting really rich in marketing or sales. And maybe that’s a pointer that you too can benefit from.

On another topic:

If you are looking for advertorials or pre-sell pages that can help you sell supplements or even physical products (perhaps even beach towels), then you might be interested in my upcoming guide on how to write these suckers in ways that convert on cold Facebook traffic:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

Flushing your email marketing down the toilet

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A few days ago, I read about a girl who was forced to flush her hamster down the toilet.

She was traveling with the hamster — her emotional support animal — on Spirit Airlines.

From Miami to Baltimore, Spirit Airlines allowed the hamster on board.

But for the flight back to Miami, Spirit changed their minds when the girl was checking in at the airport. No rodents on the plane, they said.

The girl tried negotiating, or booking other flights, or renting a car.

But nothing worked out.

Finally, according to the girl at least, one Spirit Airlines agent helpfully suggested she either let the hamster run wild in the parking lots surrounding the airport…

Or flush the poor beast down the toilet.

And so, frustrated and worn out and needing to get home to take care of an urgent medical issue, that’s what the girl did.

The lesson being:

There’s simply no arguing when a behemoth corporation, which has control of your life, says no to your small, individual, even reasonable requests.

I bring this up because marketers, copywriters, and anyone else who relies on email as a marketing channel, might face a similar situation soon.

That’s because of some big technical changes that are coming in the newest versions of Apple’s iOS operating system.

Some of these changes, having to do with telemarketing, will be kicking in as soon as this September.

Others, which will be more relevant for email marketing, will be phased in over the next several months.

And in the worst case, this could mean that the traditional online sales funnel — you sign up for a free lead magnet, I send you some promotional emails — will no longer work.

Not just on Apple devices.

In general.

Now maybe you’re skeptical this is really real.

Or you want to know what the actual technical details are before you make up your mind.

Or you are already scared, and want to start taking some action steps to prepare.

In any of those cases, I can point you to the latest episode of David Garfinkel’s Copywriter’s Podcast, where I heard about this issue just this morning.

David’s podcast has the full details, as well as a free opportunity to help you prepare for this transformation.

So if you wanna take a listen and maybe even prevent your valuable email marketing from getting flushed down the swampy and slimy bathroom toilet at Apple International Airport, here’s where to go:

http://copywriterspodcast.com/index.php?podcast=925

The quick and easy marketing lesson hiding under Harry Potter’s robes

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A few days ago, I watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for the first time.

Odds are, you know all about Harry Potter.

But just in case, let me summarize the first 20 minutes of the movie for you:

Harry is an unloved and unlovable dork. He’s 12 years old and the most distinctive features about him are his John Lennon glasses and his Ringo Starr haircut. In other words, this kid ain’t going nowhere.

And then he gets a letter in the mail.

“You are a wizard, Harry Potter”

Within a whirlwind few days, Harry suddenly comes into talent, money, connections, plus he’s famous and good at sports. Oh — and he gets to wear some snazzy black robes.

So what’s the lesson hiding under all this?

Well, this Harry Potter fantasy is the human condition.

We are all unloved and unlovable in different ways.

We trudge on through life, smiling and putting on a brave face. But deep down, we all keep a bit of hope that we too will get a letter in the mail saying:

“All your problems have been solved, starting NOW! By a magical accident, you are now beautiful and talented and admired and by the way all your money problems have been solved from here to eternity!”

Admit it.

That would be a sweet letter to get, if you could at all believe that it’s true.

Trouble is, Hogwarts is full up for the year.

And probably next year too.

And that’s where direct marketers come in.

Because the best direct marketers will send you just such a letter, promising to take away your biggest problems, starting now — and in a perfectly quick and easy way.

So if you’re trying to sell something, think of poor bespectacled Harry Potter living under the dusty stairs in his aunt’s house, and imagine him receiving your sales pitch.

Will it transform the little dweeb into a magical wizard overnight?

Will it get him excited enough to scrape together his meager allowance so he can send for your “From Weirdo to Wizard” course?

Because if not, you’ve got some work to do, fashioning a better offer or some better marketing.

I can’t help with the offer. But if you want help with the marketing, then I’ve got a quick and easy solution for you:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

Stalker girlfriends and email personalization

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I saw a sexy email marketing question today:

“How do you personalize your emails?”

The email marketer who was posing and answering this question did his darndest to offer value.

“Insert the first name”

“Use dynamic content”

“Recommend personalized products”

All reasonable suggestions.

And if you’ve got an email list, it might make sense to try them.

But you know what?

Odds are really good that this is not something you should be worrying about.

For one, clients aren’t dumb, and you won’t fool them long by inserting their first name into an email.

For another, it’s very possible to screw up personalization and to just appear creepy instead of helpful or friendly.

It reminds me of a story that I’d read about a late-20s guy who was in a relationship dilemma.

He had a new girlfriend and things seemed to be going great.

And then one night, she mentioned something like, “You know, like that time you broke your arm in high school.”

Trouble is, he had never mentioned anything about breaking his arm to the girl.

And after a bit of questioning, she broke down and admitted she had been stalking him for years, including befriending all his friends as well as his sister, just to get close to him before they were even introduced.

You don’t want to be this crazy stalker girlfriend.

So what’s an alternative?

Well, we all have this thing in our heads — unless we are sociopaths — where we mirror each other.

So if I tell you something personal, you feel like there’s a personal bond there. It’s almost like I knew you and I had personalized the email with your info.

So let me tell you something personal.

I was 10.

And along with my dad, I was taking a day trip to a sleepy little coastal town in Sweden.

We were walking on an abandoned street when I saw a colorful storefront.

In the window, a rubber mask-like thing was smiling at me. It was an elephant, with large ears and a lengthy trunk.

“Look at that mask!” I told my dad. “Can we get it?”

My dad took a step back and looked at the shop. He had more life experience than me.

“It’s not a mask and you don’t need it yet.”

“Why? What is it?”

My dad sighed. And then he explained a few things about life to me.

That day was the first time I saw a penis extender.

Anyways, if you’re looking to stretch out and extend your ad budget and you want an effective way to convert more leads to buyers, then I might have something to help you out.

It’s a guide I’m putting together, detailing how I write advertorials that sell (even very generic) ecommerce products to cold Facebook leads.

In case you’re interested in getting notified when it’s out, you can sign up here:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

Donald Trump and the facts about B.A.R.F.

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My adopted home town, Baltimore, is in the news today because Donald Trump called it a “rodent infested mess.”

A bunch of Trump haters took to Twitter to complain and call Trump a racist.

But you know what?

I lived in Baltimore for many years, and I remember an organization there called B.A.R.F. Here are a few facts about it:

It stands for Baltimore Area Rat Fishermen, and it was established around 1992.

Basically, these guys go into urine-soaked alleyways at night, bait a fishing hook (more on this in a second), and actually go fishing for rats. Once they catch a rat, they reel it in and club it to death with bats.

There have been yearly contests of rat fishing, with the prize going to the biggest catch (1 pound, 7 1/2 ounces).

Now, about the bait.

You might think it’s cheese.

You might think it’s meat.

You might even try to lure a rat with something sweet, like a donut.

But that’s now how expert B.A.R.F members operate, because they know what Baltimore rodents love.

So they bait their hooks with a mixture of peanut butter and glue.

And in case you’re wondering where I’m going with all this, it’s simply to bring up the age-old metaphor comparing (rat) fishing and marketing.

Whether you’re going rat or customer fishing, you have to have the right bait. And if you want a simple process for coming up with bait that’s attracted many customers for businesses I’ve worked with, check out the following:

Why I no longer wear my prices on my sleeve

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I learned a pricing lesson at the local market today.

This market is a large open terrace, with about 100 stalls, each of which is packed with similar goods:

Nectarines… watermelons… potatoes… lettuce… grapes… zucchini…

At each stall, a different fruit and vegetable peddler holds court.

I went up to one of these women today to buy arugula. But she was in the middle of a heated discussion. A customer had commented her cucumbers were expensive, so she was explaining all the reasons behind the price.

When the customer walked away, unimpressed, she turned to me, and continued her rant.

“Last week, I had a woman come and buy figs for 20 brass guilders. ‘Oh they are so expensive,’ she complained. The next day, I had no more figs. But I saw the same woman buying figs from the next stall over at 40 brass guilders! When I asked her about it, she said, ‘What can I do, I really love figs!'”

She paused to give me time to react. I had nothing to contribute. So she continued:

“That f****** mother of a c*** and snake w****! And she was complaining about my prices!”

Yep, my arugula peddler, pricing is a mystery. And you’ll never make everyone happy.

That’s why for a long time I simply wore my prices on my sleeve.

“7 emails? 900 silver florins. Take it or leave it.”

I had this attitude for a long while, and it served me well. But I’m slowly starting to change this policy.

Not because I want to start haggling with clients, or charging them 40 brass guilders when I would also do the work for just 20.

Instead, I’m trying to do away with prices altogether.

I’m starting to realize that, whether I am cheap or expensive, whether I deliver a great service or not, most clients will still see me as an item in the “expenses” column — even if my copy makes them good money.

That puts a cap on how much money I can make.

And it puts a cap on the kind of relationship I can have with clients.

That’s why I am maneuvering the services I offer out of the “expenses” column and into the “profits” column.

And if you too offer services or products in exchange for money, then this simple shift in thinking might create a breakthrough in your business.

Anyways, if you’re looking for some other breakthroughs in your business, specifically on the front end, before you’ve even converted somebody to buy your own brand of arugula, then you might like the following offer:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

The 4 pillars of a pee-worthy relationship

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Tony was happy to see me back.

I had just returned to Baltimore to stay at my friend’s house for a few days.

My friend’s large German shepherd, Tony, was so excited to see me back that he ran to my room, jumped in my lap, jumped out of my lap, and then peed on the hardwood floor.

That’s excitement.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you too could create a similar reaction in your customers or clients?

Well, it might be possible.

To show you how, let me refer to an interview that I listened to recently. It was with multi-millionaire Internet marketer Travis Sago.

Travis has been in the marketing and copywriting business for close to 20 years. He has sold everything from Little Giant Ladders to business coaching.

But his first really big success came from selling relationship advice — specifically, “how to get your ex back” guides for suddenly single women.

So when a guy like Travis talks about creating a bond that lasts, it makes sense to listen.

​​According to Travis, it ain’t hard to do. A strong bond requires just 4 ingredients:

#1. Frequency of interaction. Think of your closest friends, most of whom you’ve probably known since high school or college.

#2. Depth of shared emotional experience. Think of the attachment that kidnappees form for their kidnappers.

#3. Vulnerability. Think of Tony and me. He almost tore my head off the first time I met him.

#4. Proximity. Think of Jim and Pam in The Office.

Maybe it’s not immediately obvious, but all of these real-life relationship pillars can be imitated in the cold world of  digital marketing.

And if you want to see just how to use principles #2 and #3 above to make your front-end marketing pee-worthy, then check out the following:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

Claude Hopkins and Gary Halbert meet over a barrel of whiskey

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Back in a village in 19th-century Michigan, there lived an influential man.

He was the leader of his community.

Head of the school board.

Couldn’t read or write.

Here’s his secret to achieving influence in spite his handicap:

Following a ship wreck some years earlier, a large barrel of whiskey washed ashore Lake Michigan.

This man found the barrel, and he put it in the corner of his living room.

He was generous with the whiskey. Folks started dropping by his house. They would sit on soap boxes next to the barrel and discuss local gossip.

In time, his house became the headquarters of the local community. And he became the leader.

I read this story in My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins.

It made me think of something I’d heard in a long-lost recording of another influential marketer, Gary Halbert.

Says Gary: marketing is a process, not an event.

In other words, when businesses buy (or luck upon) a big barrel of whiskey…

They often use it to throw a one-day party for the whole village.

The next day, everybody’s groggy, but a few villagers say, “Bro, that was awesome.”

A week later, however, nobody remembers or cares who threw the big party. And all the whiskey’s gone.

It’s better to keep the drip of whiskey coming, evening after evening…

All the while listening to what folks are saying as they sit around your living room…

While gradually gaining their respect and trust, and nudging them towards seeing you as the village elder.

That’s a process.

Of course, you need to start somewhere. Such as by sending out invitations to your whiskey barrel that get the attention of whiskey lovers within a country mile of your living room. And if you want to see one effective way of doing this, check out the following:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

The 2019 Nobel Prize in email marketing

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Two years ago, a bunch of smart guys got the Nobel Prize for discovering how the circadian rhythm works.

As you might know, that’s our body’s internal clock.

It’s what keeps you awake during the day, sleepy at night, and in a zombie state after you change time zones.

These scientists wanted to figure out how this happens.

They found that there’s a protein that builds up in our cells during the night…

And gets depleted during the day.

It’s kind of like an hourglass. During the night the sand gets put in at the top, and during the day it runs out. When it runs out, you’re knocked out.

This is pretty similar to the classical view of email marketing.

“You don’t want to mail sales pitches too frequently,” the conventional argument goes. “If you do, you’ll deplete your ‘goodwill hourglass’ and people on your list will unsubscribe.” It sounds reasonable, just like the circadian rhythm story.

But it’s contradicted by a new discovery.

Just look at the work of email scientists like Matt Furey, Ben Settle, and Travis Sago.

Their attitude is not, “How often can I sell something to my list?”

Instead, they focus on selling something every day — and having their list love them for it.

It’s a super powerful change in perspective.

Worthy of a Nobel Prize in email marketing.

If you have an email list, then this “sell every day” approach opens up grand vistas of untapped profits.

And if done right, it also creates better, longer-lasting relationships with your customers and your audience.

But this won’t be much use to you unless you have an email list. Filled with people who are in your target market. And hungry for what you sell.

There are lots of ways to build such a list. If you want to know a fast way, here’s one option:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/

The foolish tale of two cities

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Today I am in Bucharest, the 1.8-million-soul capital of Romania.

From what I’ve seen so far, Bucharest is the same as every other place.

The same Irish pubs. The same kebab shops. The same escape rooms.

Yes, it’s a bit more run down. A bit cheaper. And free of the hordes of beautiful women who plague other eastern European destinations.

But otherwise, it’s the same. Which makes me not want to travel any more. At least here.

Not that I have a special gripe against Bucharest.

Last year, I was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Minsk is NOT the same as everywhere else.

There are very few if any bars or restaurants. The locals are polite but not interested in dealing with foreigners. The main attractions are large socialist monuments, which you can see in a day and a half. All of which makes me not want to travel to Minsk again, either.

Maybe you think I’m just a spoiled tourist. And you’re probably right. But I bring these two cities up to illustrate a marketing point.

Lots of gurus out there advise one of two things:

1) Be yourself and find your quirky and unique voice, or

2) Follow a proven marketing process, and just fill in the blanks

It’s almost always one or the other. Either you need to be doggedly unique… Or you need to follow a proven, cookie-cutter approach.

I think this is foolish.

It’s the marketing equivalent of Minsk and Bucharest, both cities that are unlikely to draw a lot of my repeat tourist business.

The answer, at least as I see it, is you need both.

You need to have your own unique ideas and voice…

And you need to follow a marketing approach that’s been proven to work for many other people.

Maybe you already do this.

If so, good on ya.

But maybe you need some help to make your business the hot attraction that you know it can be. In that case, here’s one place to start your marketing efforts:

https://bejakovic.com/advertorials/