Your unwelcome invitation to the AI communication Drop dru.g zone

Here's what's desperately MISSING from most marketing and business communications, especially now that the AI content and copywriting drug worm has entered the frontal brain lobes of many a business person or marketing exec - depth, connective sincerity and good old fashioned honesty and authenticity.

In other words... BEING DAMN REAL.

Most communications are NOT that.

You can't get AI to be that for you.

What most communications try to do is to try to be something the business owners, the entrepreneur, the entity... IS NOT.

And believe it or not, you certainly don't need an all-intelligent, highly expensive, analytical swot team to swoop on in to tell you that; you can figure that out on your own.

And it's not hard to do. (Don't listen in and believe the nitwits who tell you this is all too complicated and you'll bloody your knees and mangle your business if you all but attempt it.)

Because look, you can automatically sense the polished disconnect the moment you set your eyes on it.

You can flatly SEE the Photoshop touch ups on the communications.

It's like there's a personality makeover going on that has you and your business be, who you're not.

And when that happens, guess what; you've just psychologically and monetarily, lost a goodly number of your audience. They've mentally departed from your planet, even though they may still be customers, patients or subscribers on your books.

Now don't get them wrong or get mad with them. It's not their fault at all to behave like that.

They do, as we all do. We intuitively know when there's a stage performance act being put on, and we know when there's real authentic conversation going on. We can sense and feel it.

"We proudly serve our customers and exceed their expectations due to our concerted and diligent efforts to leave no stone unturned"

YAWN! Haven't you fallen asleep yet from reading that unflattering canned twaddle?

Now the trouble with that approach is businesses of all stripes and size, try to emulate that same type of thinking and language, believing their customers and clients are also a lot more sophisticated, who would be impressed and captivated by such proclamations. And so because of that, will be more inclined to want to read and hear such things, over and over again.

(THINKING POINT: You haven't got a similar version representing your business, have you?)

Now yes, there may be certain individuals who actually do want to read those kind of messages and who do want their egos massaged, and who do want their brains to be soothed, courted and romanced by such approaches. No question about it.

Though, what's probably true is the fact that most humans, affluent or non affluent, are normal people. What that means is we all (mostly) want to be communicated with genuine sincerity and authenticity. No personality disfigurement, needed.

Around 10 years ago I was in conversation with Steve Sims, CEO of a luxury concierge firm, Bluefish. He has clients who pay him a lot of money, a LOT of money -- for example, how much would you pay to have someone arrange it for you to be married in the Vatican, to have  private dinner for 6 of your best friends at the foot of the marble statue of Michael Angelo's DAVID, to play with your favourite rock or pop band? -- well, Steve looks like a bouncer, rides a Harley Davidson, has a goatee beard, primarily wears black t-shirts and an earring... yet, is 100% authentic. His clients LOVE him. His communications are as his personality - warm, rugged and deeply sincere. But get this: when Steve previously hired copywriters for his communications, he told me they made him sound all Rolexy and Champagney... and that was OUT of character to who Steve was. And, in fact, he began LOSING money when he was portrayed as being someone, he wasn't.)     

Sobering, no? 

Want to shine like a bright warm light in the lives of your customers and prospects?

Want them to connect and a deeper relationship level with you and therefore, will want to buy more and more from you?

Then, send them bright warm messages on a continual basis that actually DOES lift their lives... that DOES inspire them to want to take some type of action... that DOES connect and draw them closer to you on an ongoing basis.

And certainly, do NOT have your communications and promotions be deliberately uppity or polished. Don't have them be a photoshopped, photocopied, AI drug version having little to zero empathy, energy, passion or authenticity. 

You don't get to be your true authentic brand that way.

[HELPFUL RESOURCE]

My Never Blank Writing Programme. It won't ever have you being who you're not. It'll never have you be out of sincerity. It'll never deliver canned, off-the-rack communications on your behalf. Your customers and clients will only ever receive remarkable communications from you to match your remarkable products or services. Email for more information- raja.hireker@gmail.com

Your marketing and sales results are created by YOUR system

Very few people like hearing that THEY are the reason for their poor marketing results, poor profits, poor morale, poor anything.

Oh, they of course love the celebratory din and back slapping when things go well. When sales are up, when profits are rising. 

But...

When there's low morale, low sales, low profits, high misery?

Then quite naturally, everyone else is to blame for that!

The marketplace's erratic nature is to blame.

Rising costs are to blame. 

Poor marketing advice is to blame.

Competition is to blame.

Government red tape is to blame.  

Customer hibernation is to blame.

Higher taxes are to blame.

...

And yet.. 

Despite all the above happening...

The core central message remains: 

You created a business and marketing system that takes into account, or doesn't take into account, all those external happenings.

Want different money results?

Then create a different marketing and business system that'll solve those problems for you.   

Now what you can't do is just pray and hope that what you're currently doing from a marketing, lead generation, lead conversion, customer referral and customer retention system, will some how magically produce a different set of results for you than it's currently producing.

Can't happen.

Won't happen.

Trying to force different results with the same operating system is not going to end well for you or your business.  

Like hearing it or not.

That kind of thinking is reserved for non-adults. For the wandering, unfocussed mind. 

Because each system is PERFECT for producing the results it gets. 

And that's a productive framework question for you to apply to any aspect of your business that's coughing and spluttering. (Major hat tip to Steve Sanghvi, Chairman of Microchip for that insight)

Best thing you can do for your business at the start of 2023 that'll spread throughout the entire 12 months ahead?    

Put your business principles, your strategies, your tactics, your marketing systems, your ads, your emails, your promotional campaigns... everything... through the SS framework --

"is each system I'm currently running and operating for the above elements of my business, is it producing the kind of results I want?"    

And when you do that and when you apply that simple one-sentence process, you'll find in some areas, you'll get a definite and categorical NO to the question. 

The good news about that is now you've got something to work with. 

You've got a system that needs to be tweaked, tightened or even, overhauled and recreated.  

And that's how you begin to create different results.           

And 2023 is all about producing different results. 

Stay the same, and you'll soon be yesterday's news. 

So, let's hear the core message again - 

YOUR marketing and sales results are created by YOUR system. 

And EACH system is PERFECT for producing the results it gets. 

Hint: Begin creating a NEW set of systems if you don't like the results you're getting!

[Want to create the kind of systems and communications that compel, inspire and sell? Then sign up here and find out how to do that. And, you'll also get your FREE BOOK on how to write emails that get read, opened and bought from]

Join Mr X for drinks on his Superyacht?

An interesting email headline just flopped into my email inbox.

And, probably for the right person, a somewhat intriguing invitation on the face of it. 

Who would that RIGHT person be?

• Most likely someone infatuated with the super yatch person in question -- (Mr X represents a real person) 
• Most likely someone who is infatuated with high value material possessions. 
• Most likely someone who WANTs that type of lifestyle.
• Most likely someone who wants to run with the big dogs, to be linked and associated with them.
• Most likely someone who likes people with big show-off egos.
• Most likely someone who automatically drools and salivates at glossy luxury pictures of the inside of a luxury super yatch. 
  
  

However...

The lead in invitation email does a rather poor and pathetic job of framing the invitation as something other that's private, elite and invaluable. 

All they've lazily done is to think and believe that those on the communication list receiving the communication, will be all googoo and gaagaa about the whole thing, who'll be mesmerised and boggled eyed over the yatch picture interiors and as such, will wrestle and hair pull in order to snap up the invitation for drinks with Mr X.

Let me add something however... 

That the conditional pre-requisite for even being in a position to accept the invitation, is to buy and enrol in one of the courses and training programmes Mr Super Yatch owner promotes and sells.

Nothing wrong in that.

However...

Simply believing that joining Mr X on his super yatch for drinks is a compelling enough reason to want to go, demonstrates you could have the highest value products and services in the world.

And yet...

Without having the proper thought out communications and copywriting, the whole thing can fall flat on its face.     

The BIG Key: (no matter what you sell and promote) 

You want to give people enough compelling reasons as to WHY it is they should buy what you're selling, take you up on the proposition, invest in what you're presenting, request the information you're offering. 

Without doing that, you're asking people to decide on something simply based on thin air.

Join Mr X for drinks

Why?

• Because he'll share some insights and info you won't get in any of his courses. 
• Info and insights that'll make you a lot more money in the next X days than anything he's shared before.  
• You'll get to meet a few of his secret aides who've inspired and helped him become a multi-millionaire, and they'll give you their most prized information that'll help accelerate your thinking and future business activities. 
• You'll get to ask Mr X any questions you want about how he's doing what he's doing, and how you can do the same.

Let's think about the difference here:

Are those reasons why above, more interesting and more compelling than the reason they've given in the PS in their promotional email for the drinks invite - 

PS. You can find more pictures of the boat here:

They've, of course, (ahem!) missed the boat here.

Don't let that be what you do with your communications when selling and promoting your products and services.

Give them REASONS WHY.

Want to create the kind of emails and communications that compel, inspire and sell?
Then sign up and find out how to do that, here.  

The marketing wheel gets another spin (pointer 6)

The marketing wheel is up for spinning. 

Let's SPIN!

And it's landed on...

Okay, so before I give you the actual wording that describes the strategy, the pointy pointer on the wheel has landed on, let me give you a specific way I'd like to introduce it.  

"Creeping separateness"

That's the phrase, or the two word sentence, that perfectly describes many relationships, both personal and in business. 

And that creeping separateness occurs mainly because there's only a little amount of talking or communication going on. And that's spread over a long period of time.

• There's only small doses of happy, encouraging, uplifting conversations going on.
• There's little amounts of fresh, new, invitingly open subject matters being talked about.
• There's very little truth telling going on.
• And there's definitely a whole lot of 'I don't know what to say' going on.

And so there's a strategy that'll fix plenty for you.

If you haven't clocked on already, the strategy is called...

Continuous Conversations. 

Now the way to have this demonstrated in a clear and constructive way, is for you to think about your closest friends.

Let me ask you this about them; do you only speak and communicate to them on the off chance, or in an out the the blue moment when something smacks the side of your head to do so?  

Or, are you more likely to connect and speak on a more frequent basis. And I mean, like nearly almost everyday, or even multiple times a day! Or if not that, at least once a week? 

And yet, for your business, your interactions with your customers and subscribers (for the majority of businesses) are most likely left to chance, or to when the feeling is right, or to when you have to sell something.

That's not right, is it?

Communications aren't only reserved and made when you want money.

Yet most owners act and behave exactly like that to the people who are actually the key assets in any business. 

The customers! 

Now we all love to be sold, that's because we love to buy and own things. 

Material things. 

Fancy things.

Non fancy things.

Other things we probably don't even need, or will use to any great degree or length.   

You name it, we probably want it.

And yet, we still want to be pleasurably sold to and have a good experience about it all. 

What we don't want is we don't want to be beaten mercilessly in the head via every single communication that leads with -- sales, sales sales. 

And like hearing it or not, but that's the mad mantra of the deluded Owner who's probably got some interest in creating a flourishing business based on deep connected relationships with their customers, but... act and behave in the most absurd and opposite ways to that. 

So let's make this pragmatic and practical so you can see that there's no particular magic or mystery to any of this:

What can you communicate to your customers and subscribers, about?

How about...

• The latest news happening in your business
• The latest thoughts and ideas going on in the minds of the business and owners
• Stories in the news that you can link and transition back into your business.
• How a customer got a fabulous result with your product or service
• Announcement of a free gift
• Search out what they are, then communicate about the different 'days of the year', around the world. For example 'be kind day, meat free day, grandparents day', take a child to work day, bike riding day, etc. Why not create your own 'day' of the year for your own business!
• Talk about the various sporting events of the month, and pick a theme that you think will be of interest to your audience.
• The new competition you're running.

Frankly, and the good news about it is, the list of things to talk and communicate about is... literally endless. It's EXACTLY THAT.

And something else...

Whether you realise it or not, whether you believe it or not, all businesses are in the relationship building and entertainment business. 

A diabolical assumption?

Not at all. 

Because think about the businesses you buy from. 

I'm primarily talking about the one's you like the best, or where you have glorious good things to say about them. Those are the one's that most likely have a good relationship with you, and that they do things in a way most others, don't.

And what I should also say that there are probably very few businesses that make it on that very short list of yours because frankly, majority of businesses are plain vanilla mediocre and lack personality, both in person and in print. 

Now what all this means for you is if you want long term value and stability, a business that's embedded with certainty based equity... then... what you must do is to map out a continuous communication programme for your business.

Plan for a week. Then the month. Then, when you're in the groove, plan out your year's communication plan.

Because no matter what's going on with the economy, with your marketplace, with the regulations and red tape, the evidence and facts are that if you've a strong relationship with your customers and subscribers, they'll see to it that you'll never be suffering from a money and cashflow point of view... all because you've shown a continuous and sincere interest in them.

Now that's what continuous communications will do, for both you and your customers!

Okay. The deadline's up. 

Tune in again for your next marketing money wheel goodness. 

Don't ever be lost😵in the marketing and business maze, ever again. Get the Continuous Communication route finder for your business, right here

        

Why Bother creating boring limp ideas and marketing?

The marketing madness and idea stupidity, continues.

Let's see why that is.

All thanks to a company called Bother. 

(And the name itself 'Bother', is, as you'll soon see, rather dim and unoriginal on the choice and selection scale.)

BOTHER.

In essence, their angle is...

We bother (about taking care of the shopping) so you don't have to.

And what was the genesis of the thinking here?

Of many being bound together by an unrelenting burning, yet basic irritation of running out of this and that around the home, so wanted some solution to that. 

Is that a burning marketplace desire for a problem that needs solving that hasn't already been solved? 

There's a business with 57 people.

There's mention on the website of the business being backed and supported by a few well known businesses. 

To what capacity, that's not clear. 

Whatever proportion has been invested by the owners piling their own money into the business, or if it's loan or VC backed, there could be a long waiting game in the money being returned, based on the communication and marketing evidence. 

Whatever the case, there's a lot that needs re inventing and recreating. 

Let's touch on a few ideas.   

Take the promotional flyer to do with their business that's popped through the letter box today. 

What's the opening thrust here?

"£15 off your first shop"

Hmmm...

Anything to do with the rise in the cost of living? 

Don't know. There's nothing on the flyer to say that. (Tis a good idea to address the current conversation going on in the minds of one's audience) 

And below that money off your first shop...

There's an image of a list of products.

And... that's it.

Nothing more. 

No compelling story.

No personality.

No reason why. 

So let's see what's on the other side of this promotional piece.  

Mercy me... A headline!

Wow!

Let's dig in.  

"Finally, an eco-friendly way to shop that doesn't cost the earth" 

Now how many times have we heard a version of that cost saving thrust? Nothing new or exciting.  

And below that, a Here's how this works sequence of images along with some copy. 

Nothing mind blowing about it.

Nothing earth wobbling or amazing.

Nothing immediate or instant to have you get your mind racing or to want to make you whip out your money to be part of it.  

How could they apply some proper intelligence to the flyer without resorting to no thinking?  

There are multiple angles to choose from.

One angle is to take a leaf out of David Ogilvy's masterpiece book on ideas and advertising.  

Cleverly named... OGILVY on ADVERTISING! 

Now there are many ideas and angles you can be inspired by in that masterpiece book, if you care to look.   

One such inspiration is an ad to promote Guinness beer.   

And, it was masterfully done via promoting a guide to oysters. 

More specifically...

GUINNESS GUIDE TO OYSTERS!   

 

Now what's that got to do with anything?

Well, by educating and informing people about the various kinds and types of oysters, and by positioning Guinness as the Beer of choice, the connection between the two made people buy more quantities of both beer (Guinness) and oysters!

Oh, and here's what's said about the direct connection between beer and oysters:

Oysters and beer are a remarkable pair. The brine from the oyster not only complements and highlights aspects of the beer, it's washed clean by the beer's crisp carbonation, inviting you to eat another oyster (and another oyster and another oyster and…)      

So how can we transition the idea and employ something similar to Bother and their offering?  

Bother's Guide to The Most Run Out of Popular Products at Home

And then...

Listing 9 or 12 popular products, giving each one a diagram and a real life story and reasons why they run out quickly, etc. And, the different target groups of users can be represented in each different 'square or block'. 

That's not the only idea.

It's an angle.

And it's way better than the £15 off your first order version on the flyer.   

It's informative.

It's entertaining.

It's engaging.

It has personality.

It'll have some people who'll keep that flyer up on the fridge where they can see it.   

Clever, creative, intelligent marketing thinking always outperforms lazy thinking marketers and owners.    

Spin the Strategic marketing wheel and bank the dough (pointer 2)

It's spin the marketing wheel time.

And, the lucky ducky strategy the pointer plops on just now, is...

Continuous Communications.

Tada! 

Yawn.

Well guess what?

Yawny and unsexy it might seem, yet... when you mail more, when you're in constant communication, when you're connected to your subscribers and customers...you'll get more eyeballs on your communications.

And that generally means...

You'll make more dough.

But don't count your money yet because I said it generally means you make more dough.  

It's this generally word I want to poke into a little more.

Because here's what WON'T bring in the dough for you when it comes to your communications: (And that's irrespective if you send one communication a day, a week, a month) 

• Making the whole communication as dry as toast to read. (there's zero personality being shown) 
• Not being at all entertaining. (i.e. being a dull, drab bore in print)
• Not having a different point of view to all others in your marketplace. (aka -- being a samey samey)
• Only selling, selling, selling and having nothing else of value to share or communicate. (We all like to buy, but not when a torrent of emails are only (and desperately) focussed on getting our money) 
• Making your offers as limp, unenergetic and uninviting as a pooped out marathon runner who hasn't brushed their teeth for days, yet wants to join your banging, late night house party.
• Having little to zero creative inventiveness and story telling prowess, thus making your communications sound and read almost exactly the same... each and every time. 

So if you're going to communicate, and regularly, do it in a way that makes it a joyful delight for your recipient. 

To tie this all together:

There's a creeping separateness that naturally happens when you stay out of the communication loop for too long.

And we all know that. 

In personal life and, in business.

And in business... 

The money numbers don't lie.

You don't want to let that lack of continuous communication happen, especially now that you have a little list to work from to fix things, where you simply... do the OPPOSITE.     

Let's spin the marketing wheel again tomorrow and see where the marketing dough making pointer, lands next.    

    

Want a regular dose of the kind of emails that'll do Taj Mahal wonders for your business?
Go Here. 

If there's NO JOY OR FUN in selling what you sell, then your ads and marketing communications are going to be as dry as toast (and yes, you'll sell way less than you think)

Do you really LOVE what you sell and promote? 

I don't mean that you say you love it on the face of things, but then on the other side of it all you know that you don't have many good things to say about your products or services that has you convinced and convicted that your product or service is truly valuable, that it makes a significant and measurable difference for those that buy or invest in it.   

Are you a TRUE BELIEVER that what you have to sell, that it has the absolute benefit and wellbeing of your clients and prospects right at the centre of it? 

Whether or not that's true for you just now here's what's super important: 

- it's hard to have a fun business and it's hard to create the kind of inspiring and joyously created communications and sales writing when you're half-hearted and half convinced about what you're promoting and selling. 

And no, you can't flat out lie and hype up your products or services to be something they're not. Because guess what, you'll soon be found out. You'll soon have multiple people banging on your doors asking for their money back. 

Be alarmed or not, but there'll be a few who'll want your head and will heckle for your business to be barred and banned!

We as a collective, are sick and tired of hearing and seeing the same dry boring communications and marketing efforts, all across the board. The kind of efforts that make us indifferent and unwilling to want to find out more. 

Frankly, the problem isn't that a product or service is boring or tepid.

(Because I'm convinced that if you look hard and deep enough, you'll discover and unearth unique fresh distinctions and advantages about your products and services it'll stand you so far apart from those selling and promoting what it is you do, especially because of how you tell the story about it).

The REAL problem is the lack of ideas and the creative application in selling what you sell.

The REAL problem is refusing to bring an element of fun, joy, happiness and real entertaining excitement to your marketing, advertising and communication efforts.    

And I don't mean you hype up your products and services in such a way that it creates some kind of mass hysteria or false buying frenzy. I'm not talking about doing any of that. 

I'm talking about creating the kind of communications that people love to read and inherently love to buy from.

And if you're like the majority, we want our experiences, the service we receive, we want that to be something that knocks us down because of how incredible and exciting the whole experience was for us. 

We're silently dying for that to happen. Even if we have to wait for 3 blue moons for that to happen.

But we don't need to wait that long. 

Because in steps Walt Disney to slap us into 100% attention mode. Here's what he DID with Disney, in every which way that was possible for him to do so:

Do what you do so well that people can't help but talk about you. 

There's the MIRACLE formula right there...

And when we apply that formula to our communications and our sales messages, when we make our communications and sales efforts fun, joyous, engaging, entertaining... your customers, clients and prospects who see and read your communications can't help but talk about you. They can't help but pass around the stories about you and your products and services to plenty of others. 

No one delights in passing and referring the bland and the boring to others.     

Now's the time to fix things so that never happens to you and your business. Ever.  

  --------------------------

(If you'd like to see further examples of what I'm talking about (you've already see a number of them in the pages of this blog) when it comes to creating fun and joy in your sales and marketing communications, then send an email to me at the following address: raja . hireker @ gmail . com )        

     

Email Asset makeover - (because they sincerely DON'T really care about you, they only care about filling their pockets)

Cancelled a product, membership or service recently? 

So what did you get back from the company by way of a follow up communication?

Well, depending on the company or business, you've probably not received anything at all as most are firstly unware about the lifetime value of a customer. 

And secondly, most are unaware of the various impact points throughout their customer communications funnels and sequences and so can't actually do anything to fix them. 

You can't fix what you can't measure, see or know about.  

Or, you'll have gotten something that sounds like they want to bribe you back into their arms, without really ever sincerely digging in and finding out why it is you cancelled.

Of course, many people don't want to give any reason at all why they've cancelled and simply ignore any communication they receive that's designed to enquire - and that's whether or not the follow up communication is sincere or not. 

They, we, just want to be left alone and carry on with our day.   

And in case you're thinking that it's the smart, switched on and customer centric, marketing savvy companies who've got all this sorted by way of their customer communications and follow ups, then think again. Because they're not immune to creating communications that smell of desperation.

Let's get into a follow up communication email I received from a big company in the motivation and productivity space.

To give you some context, the following email was generated because I cancelled a trial membership to one of their service based products.      

--------------------------------------------------------

Why Raja? Why?

Raja...

Maybe you can help me out with this?

Here's the deal ...  Two things:

1.  You cancelled your membership a few days ago.

2.  I think you're crazy :p

See, I'm pretty sure xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is amazing.  But you seem to disagree.
Or maybe there's some other issue?

See, I don't know.  But I want to  ...

So, if you take a second to tell me what's up, I'll give you a course
of your choice on the house (up to a $97 value).

Just click here:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Then I'll immediately send you a coupon code for the course.  Easy :-)

----------------------------------------------------------

So let's see where things could be improved. 

Subject line is good. It got me to open the email, especially because I was unaware who it was from. It's curiosity based. 

Next...

Maybe you can help me out with this?

The can you help me out with this rings as if they're coming to you for advice, yet it's really all THEM centered and focussed, and not customer focussed. 

How could that opening line be improved?    

Something like...

I'm troubled that we've let you down in some way yet I know it seems silly but we don't quite know what we've done to mess things up. 

The next line of their message -- 

Here's the deal ...  Two things:

What deal? Where's the negotiation? Why that language? And why the quick, curt, Two things line? 

Not sure who their writers are but they're not really thinking in alignment with normal human conversation. It's as if there's an urgent on their part for a response, along with a  demonstration of how cool and smart the writer is..., rather than giving full attention to the reader/recipient and focussing on their wants and needs.

So how could that all be improved? 

I've noticed you've cancelled your trial membership and that's really okay. I wanted to get in touch with you to understand what I can do to help you, to figure out how we can make the product work for you so you can benefit from it in the way we'd promised it would.

Moving on to the next piece of copy in their email...

1.  You cancelled your membership a few days ago.

2.  I think you're crazy :p  

I've touched on the first part in my version of things above, as well as the second part in a way, but the second bit of the second part is quite interesting. I think you're crazy, along with a colon and the alphabet p. I'd no idea what that was so googled it. Turns out it's the equivalent of sticking your tongue out in a playful way in real life.   

I don't know the person in the email so would I be speaking and doing that in real life to someone I don't know. No. Not really. Yet in email and with online communications, it seems nearly everyone has given themselves the freedom and license to replicate real life scenarios and conversations online, buck them, and not think anything about it. 

Big error in thinking.

The next part -- 

See, I'm pretty sure xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is amazing.  But you seem to disagree.
Or maybe there's some other issue?

What's wrong here?

The person doesn't even know if the product is amazing. They're 'pretty sure'? They're not certain. They're hedging. They're riding on a possibility. There's no evidence that says they've used it at all and can speak with any kind of credibility. So why use that line at all? 

Next piece in the same sentence assumes I disagree that the product is not amazing. Where did they get that factual info from? From nowhere except out of thin air because of their sheer laziness and guesswork.   

How to improve their line of thinking?

By replacing it with the following:

We've 3,459 (or whatever their real customer number is) people who are thrilled customers who swear by the product and think it's amazing. And of course, we'd love for you to be number 3460 but we know that that can't happen at all, until and unless we know how to help you solve whatever problems you might be having.   

-------------

Now in that email there's a link to a questionnaire where the language and thrust is all about "what can we do to win you back?" It's as if bribing osmosis is being dealt, ethical or not, and yet all of that won't do a jot of good if there's no clear understanding and connection regarding why the cancellation. 

I can tell you one thing, no matter how good the product or service, trying to plead and get people to buy and invest by offering a price cut, will get you a specific type of customer with a specific type of mind. And you can be sure there'll be a mad high percentage who won't use the product or service. In some cases it works, but price lowering is never a good idea if you want quality customers who invest and consume. 

Right now I could go on and complete the email and have a completely refreshed and revamped version. Which in turn would bring a number of cancelled subscribers back as full paying customers.    

Now let's step back a little and think about the numbers here.

The monthly membership is $47. 

Compound that out over the year and it's over $500. 

Multiply that by 5 years (and that's being conservative because just like electricity or gas, you're going to keep on paying for it if it brings you ongoing constant service, usage and value. You're not going to disconnect)...

So that's a $2500 amount. 

Factor in the suite of products and services they'll ascend people up to, you can see there's a huge amount of value stored inside one customer who buys and invests in a front end product. 

And by fixing one email in the cancellation sequence, you'll find that each month there'll be a number of $2500+ customers coming in who wouldn't previously, excusing themselves and never to be seen again. 

Tot that up over the year and you're looking at an email asset that'll continue to pay you... over and over again.  

Lesson?

Three of them.

1. Don't be casual in your communications.

2. Emails, copy, sales messages, they ARE the money bringers. Value them above anything else in your business. Because without them being the best they can be, you ARE losing a stream of income. Continually.  

3. And so now look through your entire suite of marketing and sales communications and ask this simple question -- "how can we improve this?" 

 Do the above and you'll find you'll add plenty to your bottom line. Plenty.

 

Creating value based follow-up emails are worth an ongoing mint. If you want to know about 20 other WAYS you can retain your customers and clients, pick up this handy one page guide here that'll help you do exactly that.    

    

 raja . hireker @ gmail . com 
07903 905 802 

Come from communication spirit

No.

Not the kind of spirit that's delightfully sold to you as a beautiful drug that supposedly makes you human and relatable.

Not that kind of drug infested spirit.

I'm talking about the animating force that's inside us all. That pure abundant spirit of self expression that makes us uniquely us. That toe tapping, finger clicking, soulful yet rocking rhythm that has us rise up and BE that force.

That's the kind of spirit I'm taking about.

And we've ALL got it.

Because when you come from that place and you put that un-chainable force you've got inside all your written marketing communications, in your audios and videos, you'll find you'll have a natural electricity flowing through your communication veins that it all becomes... irresistibly infectious.

And as most marketing communications, campaigns, and promotions are visibly and viscerally dull, tepid, flat out boring, devoid of almost all spirit and self-expression, there's no better time to bring forth that spirit and unleash it. 

When you do, you'll see a stark difference in not only how much energy, fun and spirit you bring to creating your communications and marketing pieces, but you'll see a significant difference in how your customers, clients and prospects respond to them. (Translate that into also meaning more money in the bank for you.)   

There's nothing to write home about if you've had an average, lukewarm, so so kind of experience. That's true for all of us, no matter who we are, no matter what the experience. 

And there's definitely nothing to write home about for your customers and prospects if they are constantly faced with the sea of communication sameness you see presented almost everywhere.

Time to change it. Time to reinvent. Time to have new communication spirit be the order of the day, every day.           

Want to experience what kind of transformative difference coming from spirit, makes?

Let me give you an example. 

And you don't need to necessarily like tennis or be overly connected to sports to get the difference making transformation at work here. Simply transfer the lesson over into your communications and presentations. 

Engaging irresistible commentary (radio or tv) makes a real difference in the readers and listeners experience. 

The difference maker that makes the difference? 

The commentator. 

You'll note there's a stark difference in the commentary style of someone like John McEnroe, than that of someone like John Lloyd or Martina Navratilova. Lloyd and Navratilova are run of the mill at best. Their styles, language, word choice, all mixed in with a monotone drone, makes the listener or viewer experience, a forgettable one.  

On the other hand, McEnroe brings his unique perspective, he takes a definite stand one way or another, he's incredibly intelligent in his understandings and his ability to communicate that understanding in a connected and engaging way is what brings a smile, joy, increased viewership and listenership, and... a happy visceral experience.

He comes from pure spirit and unbridled self-expression.      

Lloyd and Navratilova?

They're audibly and visibly limited in spirit, self-expression, knowledge transference, word choice, creative juggling with language.

As such...

The experience is COMPLTELY different for the listener or viewer. 

That's the kind of measurable difference you can create in your communications when you come from full spirit and unbridled self-expression. 

What do you want YOUR communications to be filled with?  

 

      

Don't BORE... Entertain! (marketing samples galore)

It's easy to be a lazy bones, boring communicator and copywriter.

Simply look around at what everyone else is doing, and do something incredibly similar. 

The danger in that?

When you consider almost 80% to 90% are wrong in almost everything, in all professions, businesses and industries, you're onto a losing game. (Especially in marketing and advertising) 

The numbers are stacked against you.

Take a look at the email subject lines/headlines below I've created for various businesses.

What strikes you about them?

Where's the 'sameness' in them compared to others you see in the respective marketplaces? 

Where's the "oh yawn, boring" factor in them?

Now most importantly for you, after you go through them, ask yourself or your team how can you now adopt, adapt, and apply the ideas an concepts above for use in your business, to have your business communications become more reader friendly, entertaining, non salesy... and yet at the same time... bought from?

Strength programme -- Your t-shirts won't be able to contain your new bulging biceps and rock solid triceps

Self development business/coach - Are you still listening and watching your way to personal development doom, gloom and non-success?  

Diet product - You can't hide those Olympic sized belly fat pounds anymore - because you've only gone and lost them all! 

Meat Grill Restaurant - Eat all you want tonight. In return? Your incredible shrinking bill.           

Memory training - The only memory training course that'll help you make so much money that you'll keep forgetting how much you now make!   

Independent Optician - "Mirror mirror, I think you see; those are the glasses that'll look perfect on me!"    

Dentist - White as snow teeth, comes as standard. Optional extra? A pack of Wrigley's gum.

Cooking recipes - Mother-in-law left in a huff because HER cooking was THAT good!

Derma logical cream - There's no hiding your acne filled face anymore, thanks to this age old wonder cure from the garden

Marketing training - We'll make you a  notoriously despised (yet wild hog profitable) marketer if you follow our unconventional plan   

Pillow manufacturer - "Sorry we opened late, our night watchman fell asleep on one of our pillows and had to be shaken awake"

Tyre seller - Our tyres don't protest at any of the road muck, debris or other gunk on the road. They eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

Coffee seller - Late for work again!! That's what happens when you start sipping on a mug of Coffee Maniac  

Dog walking/day care - Don't blame us if your beloved pet dog doesn't want to come back home!

Tennis instruction - Tennis balls in mass protests after beginners begin smacking the covers of balls at 30mph faster

Email copywriting services - Eminent Doctor says hospital beds bursting with marketers having severe entertainment by-pass malfunction 

(If you're keen, astute and you look for it, there's a whole marketing and copywriting education inside the above) 

Look, you don't have give in and throw your hands up in wild despair. You don't have to let your business continue with a communication 'mee too, same as everyone else' tag dangling from your neck.  

Because once you start injecting all your communications with the entertainment serum factor, the kind threaded throughout the examples above, you'll see that it's only the beginning of what's possible for you. 

Because what do you think will happen when you begin injecting captivating, enticing, compellingly entertaining, reader friendly copy into the following money creating strategies for your business?

• Client reactivation programmes 
• Short term cash flow surges
• Introducing an obscenely priced product or service option
• Upselling to additional services or products
• Follow up communications and campaigns to non-buyers/enquirers
• Building a continuity element to your business
• Creating Premium based product or service alternatives
• Creating a programme of ongoing communications to increase client retention and referral value

Thread the entertainment factor throughout the range of communications and marketing assets required to facilitate the above, and you'll have a business you simply won't recognise. 

Test it and see for yourself.

Want help?
07903 905 802 / raja . hireker @ gmail . com   

  Want to be subscribed to the "Bowlarks and Boolseet" e-Letter for Owners, e-Preneurs & Professionals? Get in touch. 

The core of it? Ongoing fresh ideas freshly baked and pumped out of your idea creation factory is what'll give you the adoring long-lasting patronage and unbroken umbilical cord link with your existing, and soon-to-be, audience who'll only be too happy to give you their money because guess what; you're really the only one that'll listen, that'll share, that'll help them see themselves in a brighter happier light, who'll bring them a daily potent burst of happy citrus that kicks their day into happy productive action.

 

Boring quack professionals create boring quack communications

Number one SIN, in marketing, in life in general? 

Being B-O-R-I-N-G.

Nothing makes the mind, body and eyes to want to part company with each other than having a near daily dose of  the mundane, mediocre, non entertaining drivel trying to pass off as 'cool marketing and communications'.

Nothing sends businesses crumbling, than a consistent dose of communication foolishness and quackery.    

Nothing will send your customers scarpering to the hills than the next ho hum boring gargle flooding  their sense doors (aka, deliriously running into the welcoming arms of your competitors)   

And no, you do NOT need an MBA or a string of fancy pants academic qualifications to tell you if something bores the living daylights out of you, or... whether it lights you up and raises your interest, curiosity and lifts you up inside. 

Nothing or no-one can convince us otherwise. We internally know. No advanced science or technology needed. 

And yet...

You don't need to look far to know and notice that we're continually bamboozled with communications and presentations that are stuffed with uninspiring nonsense produced by unthinking minds.  

We're still bored senseless by marketing messaging and sales communications prepared by expensively paid humans who are pretty much following a lazy robotic factory line of un-creativity and un-charming non-entertainment.      

The good news?

I've got 20 ways for you to spark your creativity and writing muscles, into delirious ecstasy. Whether it's your emails, your video posts, facebook messages, blog posts, your articles... it doesn't matter. The creativity and communication techniques and ideas easily transitions across into all media formats.

And that's what you really want; to have your communications spark life and loyalty into those reading your communications and messaging. 

A famous direct marketing copywriter use to say - delay is the death of a sale. I believe that. I also believe boredom is the death of a business and the death of continual stream of happy paying, on-going customers. 

So let me give you one of the 20 ways (number 12 of 20) to spark life and electricity into your communications, right now.

(12.) Give the opposite to what’s considered popular convention and tradition - when most are doing one thing, or believing a popular idea or thought, or are heading in one direction, the best thing you can do is to do the opposite. Head the other way. Think a contrarian, opposite thought. The majority are almost always wrong, about nearly everything. Wedded to tradition. Unshakeable in the dogma and beliefs handed down to them. Putting personality in emails? "Gawd no, that's low and unprofessional. Can't do that. We've a standard and image to uphold…" They're saying that and clinging onto those ideas and beliefs that they’ve no doubt heard somewhere and most probably by someone lauded over in the public eye who has some kind of influence and stature, yet is flat out wrong. Yet, most believe it as the truth whilst at the same time, the mortgage is overdue, the car payment hasn't been made for a few months, debts and bills are mounting...

Now if you like the above, and if you can see a direct correlation and transition into your or your client's marketing and communications by using the above, then you might like the entire 20 creative communication ideas to help fuse and fuel your communications with. 

If you would like that valuable document at zero cost, then send an email to: raja.hireker@gmail.com with "FBM 20" in the email subject line, and I'll send over the pdf to you right away.      

Unconvincing communications means unthinking writers and marketers

Here's the bleeding obvious.

Ever felt yourself drawing farther and farther away from a communication piece, and not always knowing why that is?   

Of course, it could simply be that you're not in the marketplace for what's being promoted and communicated and so the ad or communication will be of no value to you. 

But what if say, you WERE in the market for said product or service, what would have you draw back and not get into the communication piece? 

Here are a few reasons:

No heart or soul in the communication. 

No real connection being made between you and the product or the business.

No emotion coming out of you, and therefore no emotion inside the writer who created the piece.

No one to one conversation. It doesn't feel like there's a real conversation going on, just someone bleating and blabbing out at you.

No personality. Same as the above.

No authentic self expression. 

No flow.

No signs of joy. 

No entertainment

Which all adds up to...

...unthinking communicators being in charge of the most important element of your entire business operation - THE WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS... in all its forms.

And that could spell disaster. 

Because the difference in an ad or communication piece can mean up to 18 times the difference in results and response  -- all because of the choice of words and the order they're put in. 

So here's how you fix that.

You take your last advertising or promotional piece and run it through the above checklist.  

And when you do that, if you find that your communication piece is actually dull, flat, average, then start making the changes to your written piece based on what comes at you from carrying out the above exercise.

And yes, if that's a video, a webinar, am email, a presentation that you're applying this checklist to, then guess what, they're written pieces -- they've all been scripted out, they've all been written, all have been out through some kind of writing process.

What happens with most marketing and ad pieces is they're written to some kind of holy grail medicinal formula, (and there's a lot of that short-cutted nonsense being preached and proclaimed throughput internet land) with many words, phrases, blocks of copy, even,  plucked out of the template graveyard and then overlaid on to the communication piece in question.      

That's not creative emulation. 

That's actually sloth like non intelligence, intellectually lazy human beings who are deliberately and specifically looking for quick fixes, short cuts and ego filled hacks to pump up their finished creations.       

And generally, they're employing this nonsense at the direct expense of their clients, most who actually do not know any different and so haven't the foggiest notion of what's the underlying structure to the work being presented to them.

Welcome to rip-off copywriting and marketing land where entrance is free, dim witted thinkers abound and where proper application and thinking is reserved for those who diligently apply proper, proven, and profitable copywriting and marketing concepts, principles and ideas. 

Struggling to get your communications opened, read, responded to and bought from?

Then look at how inspired and thoughtful your marketing and advertising sales writers, are.

 Because in that way, you'll be able to tell how much joy, personality and emotional wallop they're packing into your communications selling your products and services, or, not.

http://rajahireker.com/email.book.html

     

 

  

Write more offers and communications, you'll create more revenue

Why slave over an ad or a communication piece that either ends up on the cutting room floor or, ends up with dozens of iterations that the time you've wasted in getting it perfect, you could have sent several other promotions out into the marketplace, bringing back money for you. 

I could have spent an age, investing hours, days, weeks in producing a post that has deep roots and masses of valuable content integrated into it, yet decided to write this post in probably half and hour and send it out into the marketplace.

Why?

It's better to be on the prolific side than on the constant perfection side. (And yet, that  certainly doesn't mean there's corner cutting or you don't put out your best effort. You put in the best you've got within the time frame you've got)  

Frankly, the death and demise of many businesses lies inside their own ideas and thinking about either getting the 'best' communication out there. 

Or, they become deeply crippled with non-activity-itis because of fearing what others will say and think of their efforts.

What do successful owners and entrepreneurs do?

They create.

And, they get their work and their messages out into the marketplace and they do that in a regular and consistent way.

Whilst many online business owners are fretting about sending 1 or 2 emails a month, there are others sending out regular daily emails, and they couldn't be happier.  

And guess what? 

The more you message and the more you connect and communicate with useful ideas and helpful messages that your audience can use and benefit from... the more money you'll make.

And yes, just because creating consistent communications are the money making key, that doesn't mean you can simply cannot bore your readers or audience into compliance or submission via your  communications. 

Do that and they'll boo you off the stage.

The more you engage and create the kind of creative communications filled with emotional useful content, and you communicate it all in a way that has your audience gripped, curious, eager and madly anticipating your next communication...

...do that and you'll get your business to the place you want it to get to. You'll get the results and outcomes that you want your customers and clients to get from using your products and services. 

But how do you bring new life into your communications that has your audience wanting more?

You inject.

You inject your communications with your unique personality and charm...

You inject your communications with engaging stories...

You inject your communications with news of the day told through your unique lens...

You inject your communications with interesting facts and figures...

You inject your communications with controversy and contrarian thinking...

You inject your communications with unique angles and appeals for your product or service...

You inject your communications with the kind of entertainment value not seen in your business category...

You inject your communications with intrigue, interest and emotion...

--

Consistently send our regular communications and inject your communications and offers with ample helpings of the above, and it won't be too long before you'll have a rabid audience... not only for your products and service, but for you and your business and all that you stand for. 

Whether you like hearing it or not, we're all in the communication and entertainment business.

And the quicker you can latch onto and adopt and adapt that way of approaching and communicating your business, your products and services...the more longevity you'll enjoy and the more people will want to stay connected to you and buy from you.

Set an immovable deadline and get your next communication or offer, out.

Repeat that process each week and you'll be thrilled with what happens next.

http://rajahireker.com/what.pdf