Product Launch Formula

Sideways webinar

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This morning, I was preparing for the PCM hot seat, which is my main task within Shiv Shetti’s PCM mastermind.

Each week, I get on a call with a different copywriter. I advise the copywriter on a new email promo he or she is writing on a performance-only basis for some client or another.

The guy I’m talking to today has managed to bag a great client — a 41k-subscriber email list, lots of success stories, a high-priced offer, and marketing that’s already working, including a front-end webinar.

This is the first email promo the copywriter will be writing for this client.

So one of my suggestions to him was to minimize his work, and maximize the odds of success for both himself and his client. For example, just take the existing webinar, which is already working, and turn that into an email promo.

That’s hardly a new idea.

It goes back at least 20 years, at least back to Jeff Walker and his Product Launch Formula.

I can’t say for sure, but PFL might be the most successful and influential Internet marketing training of all time? At least if you look at the number of customers, the sales generated by those customers, and the resulting money that Jeff has made from it.

At heart, PFL is based on a very simple idea, and that’s the “sideways sales letter”:

​Take a working sales letter and turn it on its side, so it becomes a series of emails that you can send out as a time-limited promo. Chan-ta-ta-chan! Money in the bank, where yesterday there was none.

Of course, it doesn’t just have to be the sideways sales letter. It can be the sideways webinar, like I told the PCM copywriter today. Or it can be the sideways 1-on-1 sales call. Or the sideways stage presentation. And so on.

If you have a sales message that’s working for you in one long-form format, odds are good it will work as an email promo as well. In the words of Jim Rohn and John Bejakovic:

1. Have something good to say
2. Say it well
3. Say it often
4. Say it in a new format
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Now let me ask you:
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Do you have a working webinar?

​​Does the idea of turning it sideways, and making extra sales sound attractive?

​​Do you have zero interest in doing this work yourself?

​​If so, hit reply, and let’s talk. Maybe I can get it done for you.

Sophistication, awareness… what’s missing?

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Last night, I was walking around my neighborhood, listening for the third time to a talk by Internet marketer Jeff Walker, of Product Launch Formula fame.

Jeff’s talk is incredible. Each time I have come at it, I’ve found new valuable things inside. Such as, for example, the following oddity:

Jeff once created a completely new offer, unlike anything else in his market.

He first launched this new offer to his own list.

He opened that launch with a video of himself in the woods, on his property up in the Colorado mountains. He has a private tennis court there. Every Friday, he and his buddies play tennis there and drink margaritas afterwards.

This campaign opened with zero promises and zero hype. The implied message of the opening video was simply, “This is how life and business are really meant to be.”

​​This first campaign was a big success.

Later, Jeff launched that same offer to JV lists.

Again, he opened the launch with a video of himself in the woods. Except this time, there was no tennis court, and no margaritas. Instead, straight away, Jeff jumped into hype and promises, about making a ton of money without a list and without a product.

This second campaign was also a big success.

Strange, no?

Because back during the Cold War, direct marketing legend Gene Schwartz told us there are exactly two factors for figuring out how to position and open up a marketing message.

One is sophistication — how many ads/claims people have seen before in your market.

The other is awareness — how much time people in your market have spent thinking and researching this particular problem or desire.

But these two Jeff Walker campaigns say different.

Both of these campaigns sold a completely new offer, unlike anything else in the the market.

​​Both went out to audiences of fiending internet marketing junkies.

​​In other words, the sophistication and awareness were exactly the same for the audiences of both campaigns.

And yet, one campaign opened with zero hype or promises… while the other opened with 100% hype and promises.

My point being:

Sophistication and awareness are not the only two factors for figuring out how to position and open up a marketing message.

There’s a third, equally important factor. You can probably guess what this factor is. I won’t belabor it here.

​​I’ll just say:

Get this factor working in your favor, ​​and not only will you be able to make marketing messages that are less hypey… but your sales will come more easily… and price resistance will largely fly out the window.​​

And if you want some help with that:​​
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https://bejakovic.com/sme/

Teach a man to fish, and he will pay you for framed photos of the lunkers you have caught

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Over the past days and months, I keep mentioning an old talk given by IM guru Jeff Walker. At one point in the talk, Jeff says something that sounds perverse:

“Teach a man to fish… and he will ask you for a fish sandwich.”

This only sounds perverse until you realize Jeff is speaking from experience.

Specifically, he’s talking about all the business owners who bought his Product Launch Formula, realized it would take too much work to implement, but also realized the value it would bring to their businesses. These many business owners came back to Jeff and said, “Can’t you just do this for me, Jeff? I’ll pay you.”

Also over the past days and months, I’ve seen a lot of discussion in my inbox about the problem of moving the free line. Giving away your best stuff for free, instead of charging for it.

And I can imagine there really is a problem. That is, if you just sit there, wishin’ and hopin’ for people to pay you for more of what you just gave them for free.

After all, who wants to pay for the same thing that they just got for free?

On the other hand, like Jeff says, people might be ready to pay for something very much like what you just gave them, only stuck in between two slices of white bread.

That’s what Jeff did, and he did it the smart way.

First, he sold his audience a fishing guide, called The Product Launch Formula. And then he sold it to them again, repositioned as a fish-sandwich-making franchise, which he called Product Launch Manager.

I also did it. But I did it in an unsmart way. I only sold my thing once, instead of three times.

Specifically, I showed people how to fish, in different ponds, rivers, and seas, and I did this for free.

Then I made a video presentation about the best fishing strategy I have personally found. I gave that away for free as well.

Then I made a framed collection of the most impressive lunkers I’ve personally caught using that strategy, and I put that up for sale.

In case my fish metaphor is running away with me, let me bring this back into the marketing plane:

I’m talking about my Most Valuable Email presentation, which I gave last Wednesday. That free presentation was based on a bunch of emails I have sent to my list over the past few years.

At the end of that presentation, I sold a swipe file of some of my best emails, which I had written using my Most Valuable Email strategy.

A surprising number of people took me up on this offer.

That’s because I turned those emails into something new and (additionally) valuable, by doing the work of collecting all those emails… by bundling them together… and by adding in relevant explanations, some red and yellow highlighting to point out the MVE strategy in action, as well as any fun or interesting context.

So there you go:

Beware moving the free line.

Or don’t. And simply make an attractive new offer.

Speaking of which:

If you registered to watch my Most Valuable Email presentation, then I sent you a recording. You have until end of day today, Pacific time, to watch it and take me up on the offer at the end.

I will be taking both down both the presentation and the offer at 12 midnight PST tonight.

​​Based on the positive responses I’ve gotten to the presentation, and the surprising number of people who took me up on the Most Valuable Email Swipes offer, I’ve decided to bundle this up as an attractive new offer and sell it down the line.

And if you didn’t register for the MVE presentation, then you will have to wait for that attractive new rerelease. Nobody gets into this particular aquarium after the doors close.

And of course, I still have to end this email today with an offer.

If you want to catch more fish, I mean, make more sales, in the ponds and streams of your email list, then I might be able to help. You can start the process by filling out the form below. Just don’t ask me for a fish sandwich. Here’s the link:

https://bejakovic.com/consulting

You are a copywriting god… in the making

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Today is June 21, which means that in 10 days, the second issue of my Most Valuable Postcard is going out.

I am preparing to write it by watching a popular Ted talk about classical music… researching the motivations of men who like to go to strip clubs… and revisiting an old Jeff Walker presentation I mentioned a few weeks ago.

Today, I want to share with you a fascinating moment from that presentation. A bit of background:

Some time in the late 2000s, Jeff Walker was offering a business opportunity called Product Launch Manager. The basic idea was:

No list, no product, big money.

HOW???

By managing big companies’ launches using Jeff’s Product Launch Formula.

This was ideal for the most rabid of Jeff’s customers, the people who bought all his products, maybe even consumed those products, but never did anything beyond that.

Now comes the fascinating moment. ​​

At the end of this five-day event, speaking from the stage to a small segment of this group of hyper-responders, who had each agreed to pay $25k to attend, Jeff raised his hands up in the air, lowered his head to his chest, and said in a soft yet penetrating voice:

“You are marketing gods. If you can speak Internet marketing, you are in a separate class from the rest of the people walking the face of the earth.”

Jeff says this set the room on fire.

People jumped up from their chairs. Others started rolling around in the aisles. Still others were tweeting to let the whole world know. “Jeff says we are marketing gods!”

The implied message was that, by paying a lot of money, by attending an event and hearing a bunch of stuff, and finally by getting Jeff’s benediction, these folks had achieved true success.

And who knows, maybe some of them did go on to achieve true success.

After all, Jeff’s program was a step-by-step roadmap for what to do to manage big launches for big clients.

Put one foot in front of the other, while looking at the map, and you will get to your destination, sooner or later.

Still, the thing that struck me was simply the audacity of the claim — marketing gods! — and how much it resonated with people.

I feel it’s something to keep in mind when you are crafting your own promises… and the promises behind those promises.

Anyways, today, being June 21, is also the last day that I will email inviting you to register for my Most Valuable Email presentation, which happens tomorrow at 7pm CET.

At the end of that presentation, I would like to raise my hands, lower my head, and say in a soft and yet penetrating voice:

“You are now copywriting gods… go ye forth and use your new daily email knowledge to line your pockets with many shekels.”

And sure, I will give you a step-by-step roadmap. I will tell you how I write the one kind of email that has been most valuable to me in the history of this newsletter.

This one kind of email has allowed me:

1. To get in the heads of my readers, including some of the most successful and sophisticated direct marketers and copywriters out there…

2. To pump up my own authority, even when I don’t brag about all the successful and sophisticated marketers and copywriters who read my stuff every day…

3. And maybe most importantly, to drastically improve as a copywriter and marketer.

So there is that promise in the air, “… and you can do it too!”

Well, about that:

Attending tomorrow’s presentation, learning all the stuff I will share, and even having my benediction at the end will still only make you something like a copywriting god… in the making.

In other words, it won’t do you a damn bit of good unless you do the moderately hard work of putting one foot in front of the other, and not just once, but many times over.

So the close to this email is not as fire-generating as Jeff’s talk from the stage.

But it is a fact of life, and it might lead you to success sooner, rather than later or never.

Whatever the case may be:

If you would like to get the info inside my Most Valuable Email presentation, you will have to sign up to my newsletter before 7pm CET tomorrow. And once you get my confirmation email, you will have to hit reply, and let me know you’d like to attend, at the last minute, this fearsome email revival meeting.

A shark in blowfish’s clothing

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A few days ago, as research for the next issue of my Most Valuable Postcard, I re-watched an old presentation given by Jeff Walker.

You might know Jeff as a big-time Internet Marketing guru and the inventor of the Product Launch Formula, which has been used by tons of businesses to make tons of money online.

Here’s what got me:

Jeff’s whole aura during this presentation was very gee-shucks, how-did-I-wind-up-here-on-stage.

He had a kind of Woody Allen delivery, constantly correcting himself, backtracking, stammering, stumbling, and apologizing.

His outfit confirmed the impression. Jeff wore a ballooning blue shirt, which looked a size too large for him, and which was crimped at the chest by a microphone.

Of course, you won’t make tens of millions of dollars, which Jeff had already done by the time of this old presentation, by being a naive nincompoop.

But if you look like a naive nincompoop, it can certainly help you out, particularly if you are actually shrewd and calculating at heart. It pays to put on a oversized and poorly fitting blue shirt, and turn yourself into a harmless and goofy blowfish, when you are really a shark underneath.

Anyways, at one point, Jeff said the following about product launches using his PLF:

“I don’t just teach them, I’m pretty good at them. That’s actually self-deprecating. I’m REALLY REALLY good at them.”

This reminded me of a valuable mantra I heard from Chris Voss, the FBI negotiator who wrote the book Never Split the Difference.

“The last impression is the lasting impression,” says Chris.

You can see that in the structure of how Jeff talks about himself and his skills and success.

And if you meditate on this example a bit, you can hit upon a very clever way to sneak giant, even unbelievable claims into people’s heads.

If you’ve been through my Copy Riddles program, you might know what I’m talking about. It’s there in round 6B.

And if you haven’t been through Copy Riddles, you’ll have a chance to do so, starting in a few weeks from now, and to find out about this clever technique.

But Copy Riddles isn’t open yet. And neither is my Most Valuable Postcard. So my only offer for you is to sign up for my email newsletter, and read what I have to write about copywriting and marketing topics.

Of course, I don’t just write about them. I’m pretty good at them. That’s actually self-deprecating. I’m REALLY REALLY good at them. So in case you’d like to get on my newsletter, here’s where to sign up.