Monday, 16 May 2016

Scrap the Elvis-look-a-like marketing

The mad lookalike Elvis leaped on the judges table and started gyrating his hips and voice - just like Elvis.

Or so he thought.

It was only when the Britain's Got Talent Judges - led by Simon Cowell, told the fellow to politely get the hell off the stage, did the Elvis non look-a-like and non sound a-like, know to hit the road, Jack.

That's the problem trying to ape and mimic someone else - unless you get it ditto awesome, is that you'll be in for both ridicule and... a severe pasting. 

Not only that; you'll have given up all that was personal and unique to you and your business - your own identity and uniqueness.

And yet, on that same show, another contestant applied his Elvis spin, and his Michael Jackson spin, and his Justin Beiber spin and guess what... not only did his performance have the judges thrilled that they came to work that day, but the audience were left breathless and in awe at what they'd seen - they literally had their breath, taken away by what they'd seen.

And yes, I did, too.

One fellow got the boot for trying too hard to be a copy cat authentic... who won over, no-one. (Read that again)

And the other, found a way to create a unique identity by reinventing the existing authentic.... and had all on their feet in one collective applause (Read THAT one again... multiple times)  

Most marketing - most communications - most copywriting is...for most businesses in most industries in most countries -- are nothing but copycat versions of mediocrity.

For example - most communications are soaked in oodles of the 100 most boring verbs in the English language - repetitively.

Oh, and how interesting, because what do you think the NO.1 most committed marketing sin is, everywhere?

Being boring!

Numero Uno Elvis impersonator above got the boot because of (among many things)... being devastatingly boring and un-unique.  

He came a cropper because of overlumping too many of those desperately dull, dry-as-toast communication moves in his drab repertoire.   

He became a commodity no-one wanted, instantly. 

He had ZERO personal unique narrative. He stood for nothing. He became nothing. He got nothing. (Except, the boot)  

The same kind of marketing and communication strategies are being employed by too many businesses who have brains, but aren't directing them in a way that has their audiences (target market, current customers and clients) to sit up, wag their tails and demand more of that unique style and experience they crave.    

Most are Elvis-ing their communications and service in the same way most do in business. And, they're doing it wastefully and badly.  

What about you, your business?

What's your personal authentic narrative for your business, for your service, for your occupation?

You got your collars up like Elvis and strut around in that white studded leather jacket? Or, you shifting and reinventing and making yourself memorable and unique?

If you intend to sing it like Elvis, collars, jacket and all the trimmings... sorry, this old Hound Dog can't help you.

However, if you want to be the King or (Queen) Creole of the business or industry or business category you play in, then let's see if we can't have your competitors Crying in the Chapel.

It's Now or Never.


Want customised communications specifically for your business? raja.hireker@gmail.com

Saturday, 6 February 2016

If he can sell bottled AIR at £80 a pop, what's possible for you?

You may have seen or heard the recent news about a 27 year old who sells bottled air from Somerset, Wales, Dorset - and - he gets £80 a pop for it

And before you scoff at the absurdity of it all, know this; there's a fat happy market for pure quality air. (No, I didn't know that either)

Those with the money, and a desire for 'premium air' don't mind spending money for a few seconds of sniffing pure quality air.

And that's the key; there's a ready-to-buy market for it.

Sure, you and I may think... who on earth would spend that amount of money on AIR?. 

Well, he ships it over to polluted cities Shanghai and Beijing, where the wealthy elite pay a hefty sum for a few seconds of inhalation - THEY'RE the ones who buy.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/man-sells-british-fresh-air-to-wealthy-chinese-elite-for-80-a-jar-a6857461.html

And when you break it down, what's being sold here is a story. Nothing else. Leo De Watts is telling his story of bottled water and the benefits and merits of it - and, a certain segment of the world's population have bought the story and so, hand over their money for the results of what the story can do for them.  

Reading that should be nothing but beautiful music to your ears because if someone can package up a story of bottled air and how it'll do the recipient good, then what can we do with your tangible goods and services that'll give the beneficiary a whole lot more value than a few seconds of sniffing the bottled up air of certain places in United Kingdom?

Now here's what's really instructive;

If all Leo De Watts did was to plaster and blast out the following selling message  - "...buy my bottled air at £80 a bottle and I'll ship it to you first class anywhere in the world.." if all he did was scream out his goods - well guess what; no matter how well he tries, he's not going to reach inside the psychological mind of his ideal customer and have them part with their money. He had to first tell the story of how pure their air was in certain parts of UK and how, by inhaling such quality air it'll have wonderful knock on health benefits and will enhance the quality of thinking and the quality of life of those who buy it.

What's your bottled air story... and... does it move enough qualified prospects to want to take you up on your proposition... because that's the ultimate test here, isn't it -- what you say and what's written in your marketing and communication messages - (your bottled air story) and.... the response you get because of it... that's what matters most. 

Now... if you've no real story and you're still getting a good amount of business, imagine what would happen if you created a wonderful story about your products and services and the benefits they provide, and you used that in all your promotional messages and materials, what do you think would happen? Ask Leo De Watts. Ask him what his story of his bottled air has done for him and his business? Ask him about the additional free business and free publicity he's managed to get and... what it has meant to him from a pure profit point of view.

His conversational copywriting, his written copywriting message about bottled water is making him well known and rolling in the money that's...rolling in.  

Some may think Leo De Watts is pulling a fast one, that what he's doing is nothing but a sophisticated scam.

To all of us who cannot see the value in what he's selling, who aren't prospects for what he's promoting, who cannot see the merit in his proposition whatsoever... maybe that's true.

However, the instructional message here is to know that there's a market in the world for almost anything and everything and... that we all buy based on stories, on a message that represents a product, service or idea.

What story do you want to be told about what you sell, ? And, for it to be told in a captivating, engaging and truthfully exciting way?  
 

www.RajaHireker.com 

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Say nothing, get nothing ( plus...90-page sales letter making money, hand over fist)‏


I thought this was smart.

To put up a single webpage of copy to advertise my writing services with the following headline;

Yes, A Writer With Not Much To Write!

I then went on to say why, if you're looking for a writer, you don't want to be burdened with information overload, and so that's why I'm keeping this short.

All in all, if you were to print the webpage out, it would be less than a single A4 page of copy.  

The result?

Nothing.

I mean, literally - NO THING.

For months.

Deathly silence.

We all experiment.


And that one was bad.... really BAD.

And out of those experiments, we either carry on doing what we think is good (based on ego and wanting to look good) or... we adjust because things aren't working.

Since that time, I've learned that the kind of people I attract and whom I'm interested in working with and sharing my ideas with, are those businesses and entrepreneurs who want solid information... who want to dive deep into something they're interested in... who have an expansive brain and want to go over (re-read) things - once, twice, several times.

You'll rarely get a few lines of copy from me.

Why?
Because I've things to say and share.

And... I make sure that what I'm saying has some kind of actionable usefulness to you and... that what I write isn't boring, or a chore for you to read.

Some of my emails have been 3 to 4 solid pages of text.

But I've seen that they're getting opened, read and hopefully for them, has them taking some kind of action based on what's written in the emails. 

For a writer, silence (take that to mean being skimpy with words and explanations) is the kiss of death. (See the stark difference between one ad that has minimal words, and... my Honda CRV ad that's packed to the rafters with interesting, fact based copy) 

For a business, sending out the same kind of communications an audience is used to seeing -- because every other business is sending them the same versions of neutral, plain Jane offers, promotions and information - is pretty much the same as being silent. 


Majority of your audience will glance, dust their hands off together, and pass it by.

Your business can't afford to keep doing that.

"Oh, but I can't write all that copy, no-one's going to read all that... they're going to be bored and turn away from it all... my audience is different"

Of course, we ALL turn away from anything, if it's boring. Short copy. Long copy. Doesn't matter. 

If there's one thing we can't stand, it's being bored to death.

Ed Miliband - ex Labour Party leader, was absolved of all blame for the Labor Party's recent UK election collapse, according to a recent Labour Party investigation into what happened.

Unfortunately for the deluded souls who led that investigation and came to the conclusions they did, Ed Miliband is the most boring politician you could meet - visually, verbally and in all other ways.

Lack of inspiration, lack of leadership, lack of like-ability - he WAS the number one reason Labour failed. Yet, his business (his party) could not see it, still cannot see it.

Many were bored with Miliband's brand of consistent boring-ness.

Want to know about a sales letter that's 90 pages in length that's selling a business product that has tens of thousands of buyers and made the company millions a year... and... it ISN'T boring?

And something else, has genuine, sincere fans of the product because it's turned their lives around?

What you need to know about the letter is it contains everything a person needs to know before making a purchase.

There's no question that's not answered.

There's no lack of proof that'll have you quizzical or befuddled.

And get this, there's NO hard sell going on, though... it sells.

Zen like?

No.

The business has done a MASTERFUL job in selecting and qualifying their particular client and making the best, most irresistible proposition they can.

It's copywriting and sales story creation at its best. And it's really only for serious students of the craft of direct response communications and who are growth obsessed, who'll benefit from looking at it.  

Why aren't I leading you to the page and having you go make up your own mind about it?

Because if you're not already putting out the kind of communication and information that your audience and customers love, then this'll be too dramatic a shift for you. (If the letter is of interest to you, get in touch) 

And exactly who'll buy from that sales page?

Those who read it and raise their hands to buy.

The other 99.999% of people on the planet - it won't even reach their eyeballs.

Where are YOU being silent in your communications? 

How OFTEN are you showing up silent and blank, again and again and again?

If you want to fix that, then there are options.

Here's one of them.

-- don't forget - say nothing, you get nothing... say nothing different, you get nothing different. 




www.RajaHireker.com

Saturday, 23 January 2016

How to Drive More Cash-flow Into Your Business Without Spending Any Additional Money on Advertising

"SPEND SPEND SPEND on more advertising to drive more cashflow into your business!" 

No!

You don't do any of that.

You can drive more cash flow into your business without spending any additional money on advertising.

How is it done?
Stick around, I'll show you how to do it.

1. First way; gather all those names of people who have inquired about your business or service but, haven't yet bought. 

Then, what you do with the names is send those people a communication and ask them what you can do to help them. They raised their hands for a reason in the first place, but it doesn't mean they've had their problem solved. It doesn't mean they're still not interested. It doesn't mean that they've found a provider they're happy with.

You don't know any of that.

Find out. There's plenty of money to be made in those who've enquired but didn't buy.

What else?

2. Those past customers of your who haven't bought in x months or x years. Send them a 'we miss you'... 'we want you back' reactivation letter.
We don't necessarily go back to a place of business, and it's because of a few reasons.

However, if we're contacted or communicated to about a special deal and the communication is sincere and it's respectful and it's from the heart, we'll more than likely check out what's on offer. 

Same is true for your business and services. You've got past clients and customers who haven't been in touch with you because... you've not been in touch. 

Get back in touch. Fast. You'll be surprised at what happens.

3. Done great work for your existing clients or customers? 

Then don't you want the same kind of customers as those, the kind you've already helped and served? 

If you've agreed, then put a formalised, systematised referral system in process. 

There's a ton of money waiting for you inside the relationships associations and connections of your existing customers. Tap it.Work it. You'll get more business.

4. Already spending fixed cost money on advertising and marketing?
Then don't spend anymore. Just fix your current advertising and written communications and you'll get better results.

What should you look for when making those changes? 

Begin with the following;

>>> Does a potential customer know the ad or communication is targeted to them? If not, ensure your target prospect is precisely mentioned in the  pre-headline, headline or sub-headline. 

>>> What's the biggest benefit your customers will get? Specify, demonstrate, put that in your ads.

>>> How stilted, stunted and jargonified are your words in your ads and promotions? Very? Then change them. Use simple clear words and your communications will connect better with your reader and in turn, lead to a better response in terms of sales and profits.

>>> Prospects know explicitly what to do to make an order? If not, spell out the ABC steps. Be clear. Be specific. Be unambiguous. 

5. What other, non-competing business has your specific customer as their customers, also?   

Make a list. Send the owner of the other business a communication about a possible joint venture between you and them where you get to access their existing customer database. 

They've already done the hard work. They've built their business. They've got the customers who are perfect prospects for your products or services - and - for the cost of an email (zero cost) or a letter (very little cost) you'll have the opportunity to access a new pool of customers, a number of whom will turn out to be new paying customers of yours.

Let me repeat again; 

You do NOT need to spend heaps and heaps on getting new customers and spending MORE money to get them. (You will however, find an increasing number of consultants and agencies who'll tell you anything to get you spend spend spend on new advertising... anything.)    

When you begin employing the above, low to zero cost strategies, you'll see how you can grow your business, get more cash flowing in... all with a little bit of action, agility and ingenuity.

And, importantly, you can do it all without you ever needing to break the bank.

Don't simply read about these strategies - employ them - they'll make you money and in turn, I'll get to hear from you.

www.rajahireker.com/whythehell.pdf 


Thursday, 29 October 2015

What's wrong with this ad?

What's wrong with this ad?



Well, nothing. If I'm selling white space, this ad is perfect for that.

Oh, but see, there's some teeny tiny image and something in the right hand corner.

Now we're selling, baby!

Now we're getting our message out there.   

Now we're getting traction.

Now the money is going to roll in.

And, our marketing and ad people, well... we can't say enough about them.

Just like this ad, really.

Can't say enough because there isn't enough in the ad to talk about it!

Sheer utter madness.

Yet, professional 'marketing and ad' people (educated people?) are being employed to create such masterpieces... people (decision makers in the ad agency or marketing consultancy) are agreeing and signing off this drivel, giving reasonable and justifiable explanations for such ludicrous foolishness.

How different the dynamic would be if the ad agency were (GASP!) on paid on results and... if they were put their own money up first to test their whacky-filled ideas and unproven nonsense.

You can see it now, most marketing pros would be jostling on the unemployment scrap heap, trying to get anyone to give them another shot at their invented, white-space foolishness.  

Yet, look around, you'll see big brand advertising as well as...no brand advertising... many having their adverts with splashings and lashings of free white space (or... any other colour, really).

If your business life depended on it, (and many businesses do depend on their ads and marketing) would you want oodles of white space to sell for you... or... would you want curious, interesting, fascinating facts and pictures and stories and happy delighted customers singing your product or service's praises.... would you want THAT to sell for you...if your business life and your company and your family economics depended on it? 

www.rajahireker.com/neverblank.html

Oh, and if you're looking for an advertising writer who loves white space rather than content and information, then you won't like the ad I've written below.











Tuesday, 7 October 2014

If you want to CONNECT with a potential customer, try not being fascinated with your own self-importance!

I received a yawnfully boring communication from a company 
wanting me to switch over to their insurance services.
 
There was the usual mention of a commitment to caring, an unrivaled 
service, we're cheaper, we're blah blah blah.
 
The typical, nonsensical, waste-of-money communications.  
 
And how was it signed?
 
The Customer Acquisition and Brand Manager.
 
Oooh la bloody la.
 
Instead of bonding, connecting, finding out more about me and 
how important I was as a potential customer, the egomaniac here was 
intent in advertising her fascination with her own importance.
 
The big desk with the big title does NOTHING for the customer.
 
Because, how exactly was I being SERVED here?
 
With heaped helpings of bombast and self-importance.
 
I wasn't given any kind of demonstration as to how I would benefit,
how I could sample the service. Reasons as to why it was in my best
interest to switch.
 
All I received was a demonstration and sampling of hierarchal 
superiority and jargon filled insanity that obviously meant much
more to the company and to the person signing the letter, than it did to me. I'm only a
possible customer who has now been forever turned off by the pomp, the preening and
deliberate show of self consumed importance.
 
Oh dear.
 
How much monetary waste can be tracked back by such foolishness
across the land, is a project that doesn't need much thinking about.
 
Look in your post box, your email inbox, the ads in the magazines,
newspapers and publications everywhere and you'll get your answer;
 
MAMMOTH AMOUNTS of waste!!
 
This bragadocios, self-importance communication disease, is...
EVERYWHERE... across the breadth and depth of the land,
across almost all businesses, industries and categories.
 
Across almost all professions, leaders, communicators and marketers.
 
When you break it down, the customer doesn't really give two hoots
about your credentials or your certificates or your ability to
please and impress.
 
Here's the one question your customer or potential customer
wants to know - "...can you or your product or service
help me solve my problem and bring me the promised benefits that accrue
because of solving it! "
 
What's beautiful about that question is that it leaves no room for 
one being fascinated about themselves and who they are.
 
 
 
(No pompous, self-important or big desk title, here. Just a simple -- would you like
my communications to help make you more money and have you
connect more with your existing clients?)

Monday, 21 July 2014

What if your 50k Customers, PAID newsletter subscribers or members, were ZAPPED?


How would your life be if you had 50 thousand PAID subscribers to your publication, subscription services or membership?

With huge deposits of cash pouring in each and every month.

Absolutely like clockwork.

Life would be pretty rosy, right?

But, what happens if your subscriber rate, tanks, crumbles, suffers a heart attack... what then?

More...

And what happens if you resurrect the publication, but now, the subscriber rate and the publication is perceived as just another commodity amongst a bunch of commodity publications?

Bummer.

The Rosengarten Report had, in it's peak to 2008, over fifty thousand paid subscribers to its restaurant and food guide publication.

FIFTY THOUSAND!

It was the bees knees.

The publication was hailed by James Beard (Google him) as the best written food publication in the world.   
If you were lured into the publication, you'd want to eat it the page it was printed on.

The publication was THAT good.

But why?

Here's the secret ingredient.

The recipe for their success.

Now I'm not 100% sure of this but much of the content was written by Gary Bencivenga, the best copywriter (salesman in print) in the world at that time - he's retired now.

Some of his special reports and written pieces for the company were devastating masterpieces in persuasion, gluing you to the spot, making your tummy rumble and your taste buds drool. 

David Rosengarten suffered major health problems and the publication closed down for a number of years.

The RETURN;

Now, with health of the owner better, there's an online version of the non paid for newsletter.

It came out late 2012.

Sadly, It's NOTHING like the original publication.

It's weak.

It's lacklustre.

For me, it's instantly throw-away-able.

How so?

The writer.

They've gone cheap.


They've slayed the golden goose and have not replaced it with the same money producing, customer attention readership magic that a communication-in-print-specialist like Bencivenga could create.
Instead, they've hired some 3rd or 4th rate communicator whose skill is in creating a 'so so' experience for the reader. 

What tells us the experience isn't a great one? 

A few examples; 

I'm not raving about it.

I'm not hailing the positives.

I'm not drooling over the screen, not googling the recipes, not hunting down the recommended suppliers, not becoming a member, not itching and eager to to wait for the free online newsletter publication version to drop into my inbox. 

And look, we all know good writing, incredible persuasive and compelling writing when we read it.

The difference in the quality of writing in this newsletter probably amounted to some really sizeable numbers.

The Rosengarten people didn't do much except hire mediocrity with a CAPITAL M.

What kind of written communicators have you engaged? 


www.RajaHireker.com