Marketing Professionals

Public Speaking part 10

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:51:00 +0000

Hello again,

Today, a few tips on structuring your presentation.

You probably know about the old 'tell them' advice.

Tell them what you're going to tell them
Tell them
Tell them what you've told them.

It's good advice, and as long as you show a bit of originality in your presentation, it is guaranteed to work.

But you don't just have to use it for the overall framework - it works just as well in each section of your presentation, so your speech can be a series of mini presentations, topped and tailed by a 'tell them what' introduction and a 'tell them what' summary.

Remember that most people will forget most of what you tell them unless it's:

a) Extremely memorable, or

b) Extremely relevant to them, or

c) Repeated several times.

So don't be afraid to repeat a point, especially a crucial or difficult point, several times if necessary. But to make it memorable, why not make your part 1's contentious, funny or seemingly impossible? Then set about demonstrating how that can be for your part 2, and part 3 then becomes something like 'So you see, the moon really is made of cheese', or whatever.

The purpose is to get people to pay attention by grabbing their interest with your 'headline' version of what you're going to tell them, then you entertain them as you explain how it can be true. Finally, you remind them what you've just told them, drawing attention once again to how unlikely, funny or controversial it sounded. Then they might remember!

Do this on a smaller scale with each section and you might get people to remember more than one or two points, but don't be surprised or offended if they don't - at least some element of public speaking is reminding people that they can't remember or do everything and they might just need an expert's help! Actually educating people is another skill entirely.

Most information products include a disclaimer to the effect that the product is for 'entertainment purposes' only - that's not a bad way to look at your public speaking. Although you're imparting good information, most people listening won't actually retain much of it, and they'll almost ceratinly apply even less.

Bear that in mind and it suddenly takes a bit of the pressure off, does it not?

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Sign up for Roy Everitt dotcom and get regular updates from the site, PLUS extra news, offers and special members-only deals. Just leave your name and email top right on this page.

PPS Still to come - MI.7 have managed to stay under wraps, despite the break in, but I promise my members will be the first to know when they finally break cover...

Also, 'Information Products Made Easy' will be made available to my members first - so sign up now!

WRITING FOR RESULTS HAS MOVED HOME!

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:53:00 +0000

You'll find me now at www.royeveritt.com where I add new content most days.

There's plenty of archive material here and at my old blog www.poemsforprofits.blogspot.com but all the new stuff will henceforth be on the new site.

Why? Well it's due to some feedback I received at Britpack Live and a decision to start using my name as a brand. Hiding behind a company name or an obscure website URL is not the way to raise my profile in the copywriting and marketing firmament.

So, Roy Everitt dotcom it is, at www.royeveritt.com

See you there!

Roy

North to South - a run and a long walk

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Well, it could have been a long walk, what with our car expiring en route to Coventry and the Britpack Live event. On my birthday, too. In the end, the faithful RAC got us there.

A week earlier, I was at the Great North Run with my son, supported by his girlfriend and her parents. Hampered by the crowds, we ran quite slowly, and that's all you need to know, except that we finished feeling quite comfortable and we raised about a thousand pounds or so for our chosen charities.

So, to Britpack Live. What a fantastic weekend. Top quality speakers who turned out to be top quality company offstage as well. Absolutely loads of networking opportunities, dozens of potential JV partners and enough breakthrough information to leave all the delegates' heads spinning for days.

We're still catching our breaths and catching up with the contacts we made. And , of course, we're busier than ever taking action!

We'll be telling you all about the exciting events in Coventry and posting some pictures of Britpack Live on the new MI.7 blog very soon.

You haven't heard about MI.7?

It was the talk of Britpack Live. And you'll be hearing a lot about MI.7 in the next few months, just as soon as we're ready to let the secret out.

Just remember you heard it here first.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

So Much For That

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:49:00 +0000

Well, so much for the travel blog. I did manage to keep a diary of my time in the Pyrenees (see previous post) but I didn't find a lot of internet access, not surprisingly.

Nor have I found time since I got back to write up the diary into any legible form.

Still, the mammoth ride was a success. I had a great time supporting the Le Knees team for the first week or so, and my replacement did a stirling job in week two. The ride culminated in an unexpectedly hard last couple of days, battling bigger hills than I thought, plus strong onshore headwinds.

They made it, though. I have to admit I shed a small tear of pride more than once while I was with them, and another when I got the call late on Friday afternoon to say the celebratory champagne was being opened.

This week has been busy, busy, busy, but I finally found time to blog!

I will find time for the Great North Run this Sunday, too.

It's not too late to sponsor my efforts for MS Society at www.justgiving.co.uk/royeveritt

Roy Everitt, Running for Results

Let's Try Some Travel Writing, Shall We?

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:40:00 +0000

Nothing to do with either business or writing, except that I'll be trying to do a bit of both while I'm there, but I'm off to the South of France this Friday, 7th September.

One thing I may have mentioned here before is that I'll be doing the Great North Run, on Tyneside, on 30th September. I probably also mentioned that my brother in law John will be cycling the length of the Pyrenees, in the company of three other madmen, in the two weeks from the 9th.

John called up, sounding a bit anxious, a couple of weeks ago, to say that their support driver had had to drop out and could I please help?

One of the things that Suffolk lacks is big hills, and I gather these are more plentiful in the Northeast, so the Great North Run was promising to be quite a shock. A week or so running in the Pyrenees might be enough to put those Geordie hills in their place, though. So, of course, I snapped at the chance to join 'Le Knees', as they're calling themselves, for the first week or so.

I'll be taking my laptop, a camera and my running shoes, along with plenty of work to be getting on with while I wait for Le Knees to drag themselves over yet another Tour de France col.

So, I'll be trying to post the odd blog entry while I'm there, t'Internet connections permitting.

And while I'm here I may as well give you the inevitable sponsorship links. I'm running the Great North Run for MS Society, and my site is www.justgiving.com/royeveritt . John is cycling the Pyrenees for the British Heart Foundation and he's at www.justgiving.com/johncarrel and you'll find Le Knees at http://web.mac.com/jeremy_rushton/iWeb/Le%20Knees%202007/ with links to the other riders' sponsorship pages.

Roy Everitt, Running For Results

My Knees on tv - AND in the Pyrenees?

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:11:00 +0000

Two of the blessings I'm fortunate to be able to count amongst many are my health and fitness. A bit of work goes into the fitness and a little care into my health, but not everyone is so lucky.

My father wasn't. For the last 30 years of his life he suffered from increasingly disabling Multiple Sclerosis. Too many people still suffer from the varying and unpredictable effects of what is still an uncurable disease.

Research goes on to find better treatments and to isolate a cure, but meanwhile the families and carers of MS sufferers suffer too. MS Society was created to help everyone who's affected by the disease to cope better, thanks to the help and support of strangers and supporters.

That's why I'll be doing the televised Great North Run on 30th September, four days before my 51st birthday. My father could barely walk after his 45th birthday and not at all by his 6oth.

I've set an ambitious sponsorship target but you can help me reach it. You can sponsor me by clicking on the button below.

Roy Everitt, Running For Results

PS I've just heard I'll be supporting some more great causes earlier in September. Due to a last minute hitch, 'LeKnees', who are cycling the length and height of the Pyrenees on 8th-21st September, found themselves without a support driver for the first week. Luckily, one of the 'LeKnees' team is my brother-in-law, and I was able to step in. They're riding in aid of some truly deserving charities, and of course they're looking for sponsorship too!

You can read all about their plans, including details of some of the truly terrifying climbs they'll be making, HERE.

Seeing The Light

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:04:00 +0000

I've been doing a lot of reading lately.

One of the advantages of working for oneself, and working from home, is the ability to devote whatever time we wish to whatever we choose to do.

It's also one of the disadvantages, but more on that in a moment.

One of the books I finally got around to reading is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Another is Rich Dad Poor Dad andyet another was a more recent book called How to Get Rich, by Felix Dennis.

While Dennis talks very openly about the disadvantages of becoming rich, he is also gracious enough to tell us how we might do so, so we can find out for ourselves.

And while each of the authors of the above books has his own own slant on it (what marketers sometimes call a 'unique technology'), they all ultimately converge upon a few essential ideas:

1 Identifying a market or a need or a hunger

2 Sourcing, creating or reinventing a product to meet that need or hunger

3 Taking action

Which probably means - once we've truly got the message on board - reading fewer books when we could be acting on the advice within them!

Now, for each of us, there might be a particular book, maybe even a particular passage in a particular book, that will tip the balance within us, finally compelling us to act.

Maybe it's a matter of reaching a critical mass - a mass of information, knowledge, wisdom or ideas. I suspect it's a combination of both these, plus outside circumstances that finally tips us into our new way of life.

Whatever; whenever we finally take action, the results of that action often seem as inevitable as sunrise (and almost as illuminating)...

One way I know to hurry the sunrise is to move towards it. The faster we run (or fly) the sooner we get to see the light.

Or, the faster we act, the sooner our sky brightens.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

Hey - I finally found time to Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:13:00 +0000

And realised it's two weeks since I posted here.

Telling everyone else how important it is to blog regularly obviously had no effect on my memory - it just added a tiny bit to that vague feeling of guilt we all have about our 'to do' list...

Anyway, we've been busy in the world of ecommerce (more on that soon) and networking like crazy, so it was fitting that a quick look at 1-2-3 Reg this afternoon revealed their new ecommerce facility. Ranging from £8.99 to £39.99, they offer what looks like a fairly simple method of setting up an ecommerce site from scratch.

Methods of payment their ecommerce sites can accept range from Paypal to HSBC bank, plus Google Checkout, depending on the package you opt for.

We've not had time to try the service yet, but we might test it out soon. Meanwhile, if you have any experience of 1-2-3 Reg's ecommerce service (it's only a few days old), let me know.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Networking like crazy is a bit of an understatement - four events in the past week, plus some informal meetings, plus another major event booked for three days in October... If you're not networking and making contacts, but trying to do it all alone, I've just one word: Why?

Not only is networking helpful to your business, and almost always educational, it's also great fun. Even the parking ticket we received yesterday didn't take the gloss off an excellent day of learning, networking, socialising and sharing time with people who actually understand what we're about. You won't find that sitting at home alone or even down the pub.

Mission Impossible?

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:00:00 +0000

This message will not self-destruct, neither will any real harm come to anyone if you totally ignore it, but...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to (pause, drum roll...) read a few emails.

Yep, that's it. And you'll get paid for every one you read, it won't cost you a penny, and you'll even be credited with ten dollars before you start.

That's it. The object of the mission is to take the internet back (from whom is 'need to know' only, I'm afraid).

So go here, get paid and, who knows, maybe even save the planet!

Roy Everitt, Writing For (Big) Results

PS Disclaimer: No, you probably won't save the planet but you really might help to take the internet back!

Sometimes even big business thinks too small

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:43:00 +0000

A couple of days after doing a presentation on pay per click advertising I awoke annoyingly early, with a sudden realisation. It was something that had been staring me in the face for almost a year, actually.

It was this: there are companies in every major town, and probably most minor ones, that do very well thank you, serving a local market that knows who they are, where they are and what they do. And which are almost totally unknown, even in the next town.

Many of those firms produce excellent and unique goods or services, or deliver them in a way that beats the opposition - at least in their 'patch'.

So why aren't they delivering them further afield? Mostly, there's no good reason, except that they're doing very nicely thank you, selling to the people who know who they are, where they are and what they do.

And if they don't want to sell even more and do even better, that's fine.

But how many of them would like to be bigger, more profitable, more successful? How many are simply complacent or assume their business has reached its natural, optimum size?

Find a few - they're in every town - and help them market to the wider world, even the next town, and they should be happy to pay you royally.

You and I know that it's fairly simple to sell a good product to a waiting world. Our jobs as marketing copywriters is to connect the two.

Or, in entrepreneurial terms, our job is 'to satisfy a need, profitably'.

Go to it!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Naturally, I offer this very service to firms in my local area and beyond. I tell you more about the service I offer, HERE.

Free: Your Key to Freedom - IF You Know The Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:29:00 +0000

Don't you love secrets? At least, when you're the one 'in the know'.

(It's a bit different being on the outside.)

My problem is, I'm terrible about keeping secrets, especially when the knowledge can be so helpful. I just love to help, so I give away stuff I should really be charging for far too often.

It's good to know I'm not alone, though. If even Jim Daniels feels compelled to spill the beans, to the tune of giving away a $97 product to a select few, then who am I to stand in the way?

Jim, as you may know, is the expert on building a business from home. He's made his fortune that way and thinks others should get the chance too. So he's let me pass on the secret to getting hold of his New Age Work at Home Plan for absolutely nothing.

(I've got my copy, so grab yours too, before he changes his mind!)

Just go Here and scroll to the bottom of the page (to the box where most people will be paying $97 for the product) and click on the golden key. It's that easy.

But, as I say, do it now before Jim changes his mind.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS If you were paying $97 it would still be a bargain, but Click here and it's yours for FREE.

More Revelations From the UK Entrepreneurs' Convention

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:47:00 +0000

It seems that Gary Vurnum, one of the speakers (who was every bit as interesting off-stage as he was on) has followed some of fellow presenter Peter Woodhead's advice and example, and rescued a classic text from obscurity.

Peter told an enthralled audience exactly how to find lost manuscripts, long out of copyright, and turn them into valuable resources for the modern age.

You've probably heard of Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich', and most people believe that was the volume that made his name and his fortune. In fact, despite numerous financial misadventures along the way, Hill was making a very good living before Think and Grow Rich was even published, through copywriting and speech writing.

What I didn't know was that he also published another major work, almost a decade before TaGR where he first espoused many of the thoughts and ideas of the later book. It was a much bigger work, which might explain why fewer people have read it, but it's probably his masterpiece.

Napoleon Hill called his work 'The Law of Success', and now it's been successfully republished and it's as pertinent as ever. Gary Vurnum puts a lot of his own success down to working through it 'about ten times'.

Gary has converted the work into a course, so it's far more digestible, and added some amazing bonuses, worth more than he's actually charging for the course.

You can find out more about it here.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS There's even a 'public domain' (out of copyright) edition of Think and Grow Rich and several people (including Gary Vurnum, I believe) have republished their own versions of the classic work.

In the Land of Millionaires the Wannabe is King

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:16:00 +0000

Just back from the UK Entrepreneurs' Convention at London Heathrow, organised by serial entrepreneur Steve Foley, where we mixed and mingled with the stars of the show in the intervals and during the evening, and even over breakfast.

One thing soon becomes very clear at these events: most of the stars are nothing of the sort, and most very successful people are just people who've been very successful.

(Actually, that's not quite true and doesn't do them justice. There is a characteristic that all the most successful people share, and which I don't think has ever been isolated before - but I'm not about to reveal it here!

In fact, I'm going to study the subject, test the hypothesis, and then write and publish a book on it...)

But what these people are not is 'starry'.

Anyway, there we were, chatting happily with these millionaires, multi millionaires and soon-to-be millionares, and one other characteristic revealed itself as being applicable to most of them, if not all.

Remember, we've met and made friends with most of them previously, so we're relaxed and comfortable chatting with them - but they're mostly quite happy to spend a bit of time with anyone who'll listen, and even to accept advice and opinions on their presentations and even their business ideas.

But what most of them seem to share is a desire to spread the word, to help those who want to follow their example, to advise people on their own ideas and to see more and more people gain the financial independence that they've attained.

In short, for them, the wannabe really is king.

That's because they understand what so many less wealthy people don't seem to understand - that there's plenty of wealth to go round. Your becoming wealthier won't make them less wealthy and whatever you achieve they can continue to make as much money as ever. In fact, they can still make as much as they want.

Plus, just helping other people can be a tremendous reward in itself.

So we were really pleased to see our friend Paul Gunter of http://www.domainprofitguide.com/ do so well with his presentation, just as we were pleased to meet Ron Holland, David Anderson and fellow copywriter Michael Silk for the first time. Long chats in the bar with Gary Vurnum, DJ Ray and other delegates were equally fascinating. A few wise words from Andy Shaw and Greg Ballard over coffee were invaluable.

But perhaps the best thing about events like the UK Entrpreneurs' Convention is to be surrounded by positive people for eighteen hours a day for three days. That's not positive in the 'Rah-rah, fake optimism, everyone say "Yeah!"' kind of way, but in the quieter 'can-do' or, even better, the 'am doing' sense.

Everyone is there to learn and to share the secrets of success, to share ideas and maybe to find new business partners and it's a gently intoxicating mix, which I'll be writing more about in the coming days. Meanwhile, you can read a speaker's eye view on the event on Paul Gunter's blog.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS It's easy to forget sometimes that business is done between people not corporations. The fact that we can meet and get to know some great people with whom we might share a business plan and make a lot of money gives us a head start on those who stay away and try to make it alone. Plus, it's great fun.

So the next time you get a chance to network at any level, but especially at this level, take it!

Fathers' day - when the kids just have to listen to me

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 18:14:00 +0000

If you're a dad, I hope you've enjoyed fathers' day.

I have, because both my grown-up children came half the length of the country just to see me.

They probably didn't expect to have to listen to me, as well, but they will ask leading questions...

As always these days, we got to talking about the life-changing decisions I've taken in the last few years, culminating with my total career change earlier this year. I couldn't help but enthuse about what a difference it's made to me, just deciding to go from 'employee' mentality to self employed.

Of course, there are new 'pressures' to consider, like choosing the best clients and deciding when to take a break in town. Whether to attend this networking event or that one. How best to present our business to an eager audience. What to write about in this blog.

I'm amazed I cope with it all really, but back to the point. Both son and daughter have their own lives with their own complications, but they're both fascinated by mine. I've never been so interesting.

And when we got to talking about the aforementioned 'employee mentality', my son groaned quietly (he still has a 'job') and we moved onto discussing what his ideal business would be, and how he's going to go about starting it. He has some great ideas and a real passion for his 'thing' that I've no doubt will help him find a way through the sometimes tricky business of starting up.

We talked about how some of the most successful people are simply (or simply became) unemployable. About how you can make a leap of faith or you can take tiny steps to safely ease yourself from employment to a self-employment or entrepreneurial lifestyle, without remortgaging the kids.

Both my children are very bright and I'm totally confident they'll each choose the lifestyle to suit them.

And they'll both do it a damn sight quicker than their Dad did!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

Announcing UKBusinessInstitute.co.uk

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:58:00 +0000

Okay, a blatant advertisement today.

Briefly, UKBI is a new resource aimed at start-ups, new businesses, entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners who want to grow their business. It's packed full of information and resources, expertise and ideas that will help you start, grow and develop your business, whatever type of business that is.

It's not expensive, but it's not usually free either. But...

How would you like your UKBI membership for free?

You can – just by referring two people to UKBusinessInstitute.co.uk

How would you like that forever?

You will, or for as long as they stay a member.

In fact, for every member you refer to UKBusinessInstitute.co.uk, we’ll send you a generous 50% of their membership fees for every month they remain a member, forever.

So, just referring two members will pay for your continuing membership.

But there’s more:

Membership of UKBI is set to grow and grow. There’s no limit to the number of members you can refer to UKBI, so you could almost build an entire business around your UKBI referrals!

Imagine: half of everything they pay us goes straight to you!

(While we do all the work...)

In fact, you don’t even have to join before you start earning – you can simply recommend UKBusinessInstitute.co.uk to people and still take 50% of their membership fees once they sign up.

Of course, we think you’d be crazy not to sign up right away too, but it’s your choice.

You really can’t lose. Apply now for your FREE advanced membership newsletter AND for our affiliate referral scheme by clicking HERE.

Pay nothing now and start earning very soon!

NOTE: We won’t always be offering this generous scheme, but we will continue operate YOUR referral scheme, and to pay YOU 50% of all membership fees for every member you successfully refer, forever, so long as you sign up now.

But you’ll need to sign up soon, while the offer still applies.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS How can we do this?

Well, we’re keen to grow UKBusinessInstitute.co.uk as quickly as we can, to help as many new and growing businesses as possible.

And, much as we’d like to keep 100% of the fees for ourselves, we recognise that we need people like you to help us grow UKBI fast. As long as our generous affiliate scheme brings us at least twice as many members as we could do ourselves, we’re not out of pocket.

PLUS, a thriving, growing community is much more likely to RETAIN members in the longer term, too. Meaning an ongoing income for us to reinvest as well as a continuing passive income for you!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN NOW

It's not the day job that kills you...

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:51:00 +0000

… it’s trying to fit your LIFE into the evenings!

If you’re lucky, you might get weekends, too. Maybe, once a year, you’ll get a week or two away. And you’ll probably enjoy the respite, but the other fifty weeks?

· If, like most people, you spend fifty weeks a year doing something you don’t really enjoy…

· If, like many people, you look forward to the evening, then fall asleep in front of the TV…

· If, like a lot of people, you live for the weekends, then feel awful for most of Sunday because tomorrow’s Monday…

· If, as I do, you’d prefer to live your LIFE during your productive, waking hours…

Then isn’t it about time you did something about it?

· Because no one can make you work fifty weeks a year at something you don’t enjoy…

· Because no one says you can only have the evenings to relax…

· Because nobody can insist you have to ‘go to work’ on a Monday morning…

· Because it’s your LIFE you should be living, not someone else’s…

And it’s time to do something about it.

You’ve no doubt heard about the money people are making by marketing information products online. You might have looked into doing something like it yourself.

It’s a great business that lets you work in your own time, from almost anywhere, earning good (even great) money.

It could give you your life back.

But maybe you’re still unsure where to start – or if you should. In which case, I’ve just the thing. It’s a FREE ebook that I’ll send you, with my compliments and no obligation, that will give you the basic facts you need to decide whether information marketing is right for you.

It’s a simple word document that you’re free to copy or pass on (just keep my contact details intact please).

Just follow this link to my website or send me an email here and I’ll email it to you as soon as I read your mail, usually the same day.

Roy Everitt, Writing for Results

PS. You'll find plenty more on my website, including articles and details on our copywriting services. For even more services and articles, more free ebooks PLUS news of a brilliant new project we're really excited about (and proud of), go straight to our other website www.cinnamonedge.com

The Real Secret of the Gurus' Success

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:42:00 +0000

By Alan Goddard

Are you the world's best writer? Maybe the best website designer on the planet? Can you claim to be the best face-to-face salesperson, or the ultimate networker? Maybe you just create or invent the products the whole world has been waiting for? Are you such a gifted money manager that you can't help but get rich?

Maybe, but can you claim all of those accolades?

I thought not.

So why are you trying to do all of the above, and more?

Join the club. Most of us have tried to 'save a bit of money' by doing the stuff we're not so hot at. And we all know, deep down, that it's a big mistake. Do you want to save a few hundred pounds on designing your site and get no business from it? Do you want to do your own accounts and 'lose' thousands in fines? Maybe write your own sales copy and not sell a thing?

None of those is a good idea unless you want to be an also-ran. Using the expertise of people who are good at the things you're not good at is a much better idea.

Investing to accumulate. An old idea that never goes out of fashion.

Outsourcing is just that. Getting ahead by using other people's brains, and getting rich by other people's efforts and talents, not getting stuck on our own pride and stubbornness.

Most importantly, it's what the wealthy, successful gurus do.

And for me, wealth and success trump pride and failure every time!

Brought to you by Roy Everitt, writing for results.

Money For Nothing? Apparently So!

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:38:00 +0000

The primary concern of any business is probably cash flow - or it should be.

Second, though, is return on investment. Assuming we can 'cash-flow' the investment, any positive return is good. A few percent is acceptable, if the scale of investment is large enough, 100 percent is very rare but can happen (in property, for example, given time), but 1000 percent is phenomenal.

What about infinite returns, where the initial cost is totally recovered and subsequent investment is self-financing? Again, property can do that, if done well, but advertising?

Apparently so. One New York doctor has managed to get 87 million dollars worth of free pay-per-click advertising, earning him (when he last counted it) over 314 million dollars in sales.

Exactly how he's done it, and how you or anyone else can do it too, is explained here.

He really does let the cat out of the bag on this one. Quite what Google think about it is not yet in the public arena!

But I'd strongly suggest you get onto this quickly, before they close whatever loophole the good doctor has uncovered.

He'll explain it all here.

Roy Everitt, Writing for results

The Biggest Mistake in Copywriting

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Tue, 08 May 2007 15:42:00 +0000

Well, there must be a few candidates, right?

Right. There are.

But number one, and the one that's so hard to avoid and which marks out the novice from the experienced pro, is falling for the idea that you can 'create a desire'.

You can't. Not really, or only very, very rarely. Bob Bly doesn't, Dan Kennedy doesn't.

What really successful copywriters and marketers like them do is find an existing desire and show people how they can satisfy that desire - preferably easily, quickly and cheaply. What that requires is for the marketer to tap into the conversation the 'prospect' is already having with themselves, however subconscious that conversation may be, and engage with that. They simply 'join in'.

Once that's been achieved (and that's the job of the headline copy, reinforced by the first part of the body copy) the writer can then start to steer the conversation towards what should be an inevitable conclusion: that the product is exactly what the prospect has desired all along.

If it is the right product - and it always should be - then demonstrating that that's the case should be a piece of cake.

So now the only course of action that makes any sense at all is to buy.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. For help in crafting your sales copy, for advice and assistance in any aspect of marketing (or to just have us do it all for you!), visit www.cinnamonedge.com or email us at win@cinnamonedge.com

We'd be delighted to help.

PPS. Plus, we're still offering our generous referral commissions, here.

I Think We All Know The Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sat, 05 May 2007 12:01:00 +0000

I'm sure most of us have heard of it (the book, the movie), by now.

And I'm pretty sure we all know that it works, if only for other people, and we know how it works, too.

The Law of Attraction, The Cosmic Ordering Service, The Cosmic Dinner Lady, are all versions of the power of positive thinking, and we know that that works for those people with the mental strength to maintain a positive attitude, a 'can do' approach and an ability to see opportunities ahead of problems. These are the people who thrive in difficult times and prosper during recessions.

The secret, then, is to develop that ability for ourselves. Whether that is as simple as learning what we need to do from a book or film, or a longer-term project for some of us to unlearn all the negative attitudes accumulated over decades is another matter. I'm inclined to think that people who achieve quick results were on the threshold anyway, while those who struggle probably had further to go.

One thing is critical to most people's success, though, and that's a peer group of people who allow them to believe what they need to believe. Being surrounded by those who pooh-pooh every idea they're not comfortable with, or who try to hold their 'friends' down to their own level, is certain to make real success harder to achieve.

Once we've found a new way, a new group of people to help us go there and a route map we know will get us to our desired end result, we often, sadly, have to say goodbye to a few old friends along with some old ideas, our old limitations and our failure 'comfort zone'.

Usually, it's essential to move on if we're to move up.

If we can't bear to do that, we're simply not ready to succeed. It's as simple as that.

It's really No Great Secret.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. For more ideas and information on how you can create, build and grow your business and achieve genuine success with the encouragement, assistance and resources of your own ready-made peer group (or mastermind group), go to www.cinnamonedge.com and follow the link to UKBI, or go directly HERE.

The Point Is (when I finally get to it)

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:06:00 +0000

One thing all writers must try to do is read a lot. As should all marketers, especially but not exclusively about marketing. (It's amazing what inspiration we can find in other disciplines). So it's hardly surprising that copywriters, much of whose work revolves around marketing copy of one kind or another, read a hell of a lot.

Even so, there are thousands of good books out there, probably millions of ebooks by now, and maybe a billion or more articles, so it's amazing that any two people ever read the same thing.

But canny marketers read each other. For all the books, ebooks and articles that there are on marketing, there are only a limited number of themes and principles to combine, recombine and repackage. Even the Internet is just a medium for transmitting mostly the same messages and reapplying proven ideas to new technology, products and services.

And all of it is aimed at making businesses profitable. In fact, more specifically, it's aimed at finding and retaining customers willing to pay for the goods and services a company offers.

But what's the company there for? To sell what it wants to make or provide, or to provide what its customers are willing to pay for?

It's clearly the latter - but I don't want to make widgets and nor might you. So we need to find our area of expertise (and interest) and then work out what product or service we are able and willing to provide that customers will buy. Then we must establish a competitive advantage if we want to sell enough, by being the best, the fastest, the cheapest (not recommended) or the nicest to deal with.

We can't all be the best at the same thing, so we may need to narrow our niche. We can often be the fastest just by being the nearest, ie local. Cheapest is usually a bad choice, unless we've found a new way of mass-producing at lower cost than everyone else. Surely, though, we can all be nice?

My thing happens to be words. In some spheres I'm the best there is, so I concentrate on those areas. I try to be obliging when urgency is necessary but I won't cut corners and I won't do cheap. But I can be very nice and my wife and partner is even nicer - and that makes business much more pleasurable all round. In fact, it makes business fun.

And the point is, business is supposed to be fun!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. I had intended writing a bit more today about profit and cash flow, but more on that another time.

PPS. To find out where our areas of expertise are, go to www.cinnamonedge.com and see the list of writing and marketing services we offer. Also, keep an eye out for the new venture I told you about recently. I've been working hard on the front page copy, sales letters and a press release, and it will be ready for launch very soon.

Do What I say, Not What I Do

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 14:16:00 +0000

About a week ago, Darren at Blogged Out asked me to write a short article on copywriting for your blog. I was very flattered, so naturally I obliged. One of the things I distinctly remember mentioning was 'post regularly'. Ahem....

Anyway, it's been a busy week, what with writing book proposals and sales letters and running an Adwords campaign, and so on, but I really should have found the time to practise what I preached.

So I've grabbed a few minutes to give you the heads-up on a new resource that will be up and running in a couple of weeks or so. It's designed for owners of small businesses, start-ups and people planning to take the big leap into self-employment, and there will be information, resources and opportunities for bigger business owners, too. You'll find some other posts on encouraging people to consider 'the big leap' in my archives.

Now, I know that many of this blog's readers are business-owners, freelancers or wannabes, so a lot of you will be interested to see what's on offer. Striking out alone for the first time can be lonely and scary, but here's a brief excerpt I've 'borrowed' from the website's description of its contents that might encourage you:

Welcome to our oasis. A place of calm, confidence-building and continuity. A one stop site where you can find out all you need to know about business, ask stupid questions without feeling stupid, and ‘meet’ experts in every area – one to one, question after question, month after business-building month.

We don’t claim to know everything, here at ..., but we do know an awful lot of people who between them have answered every question we’ve ever thrown at them – so we’ve signed many of them up to .... Now they can answer all the questions you want to throw at them, too.

It goes on to list some of the resources and exclusive content and specifically emphasises the encouragement and ideas that will be forthcoming for new business owners - from specialists in every minefield you'll ever encounter! It will also be very good value - probably a fraction of the price you might expect.

The unabashed aim of the site is to become 'the best one stop business resource the UK has ever seen'.

I'll keep you informed about its progress, and bring you sign-up details just as soon as I have them.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

It's the word of the moment, but who knows what it means?

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:47:00 +0000

Chatting this morning with the manager of our favourite local restaurant, I was recounting a story I read in Geoff Burch's blog a couple of days earlier. It clearly struck a chord, especially when I mentioned the buzzword of the moment.

He's had plenty of it, too, according to his senior managers, and so have his staff. Or at least his managers have been liberally distributing their version of it, especially in their many written missives...

Personally, I found the best way to get it was by not being managed by anyone. That is, by leaving my job and opting for self-employment.

It strikes me that 'empowerment' is something you can only give by preparing and training someone and then standing back. Leaving them empowered to do what you pay them to do, and with a sense that at least some of the decisions they make are their decisions, freely made.

They'll feel better about themselves and their role, and you'll get better results as a consequence. If your training and preparation is any good, you should be delighted to let your people get on with things, not be paranoid that they might do things a little differently to the way you would do them. Either you trust them (and thus yourself to pick them) or you don't.

That's not quite the way our restaurant manager's management think, apparently. And Geoff Burch found to his bemusement that some of his would-be clients don't think that way, either. When asked by Geoff what they wanted their staff to be empowered to do, one of them answered, 'To do as they're told'...

Not everyone wants to be self-employed, but not many people enjoy being micro-managed, either. It's a waste of training, a waste of time and money and a waste of thousands of people's hard-won skills and talents.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Visit Cinnamon Edge and sign up for our free newsletter for unique insights and tips on business, marketing and writing for business. You'll find some great offers, too, and the chance to grab the services of some of the most talented business writers around.

Why ask you a favour when we can offer you a bribe?

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:57:00 +0000

Or, help yourself to some cash...

One of the very best ways to promote any business is by referrals. Not least because they're usually free and one enthusiastic referrer can send you countless qualified leads.

But why should they? Well, you might have done some great work for them recently, so they can't wait to tell all their friends. Or they might have heard about the great work you did for someone else, so your name just pops up in conversation with a third party who's looking for someone just like you.

Or, you can encourage them with a bit of cash, a few readies, maybe enough to buy themselves a really special treat.

As for us, we're quite happy with the results of methods one and two. But number three sounds like a good idea too: for all concerned, especially when we're offering to pay you twice.

Ten percent of the value of the first two deals we do with anyone you refer to us will be yours just as soon as they pay us. Bearing in mind our invoices range from about a hundred pounds up to many thousands of pounds, that could be quite a useful cash injection for your business or your holiday fund. Two injections, if you think about it.

And don't think about it for too long, just get over to the Cinnamon Edge website, or send someone else our way. Email them and ask them to forward your mail to us (so we don't get done for Spamming) at win@cinnamonedge.com.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Or ask us to email or post you a referral form if you prefer. Whatever way we arrange it, ten percent of each of their first two orders will be yours as soon as we get paid. Email us yourself at win@cinnamonedge.com for more information.

PPS. Take a look at the many other services we offer at www.cinnamonedge.com

Promoting Your Business Through Press Releases

noreply@blogger.com (Roy Everitt) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:01:00 +0000

A press release can be something of a hit-and-miss affair. Finding a story that the press will want to pick up on, then creating something they'll want to print that doesn't seem too much like a sales pitch but still promotes you or your client... All too often, they just don't get published or they simply don't work.

Still, the kind people at 10yetis have put together a very useful set of guidelines that should improve your chances of success the next time you do a press release.

It's free, and it's right here.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Of course, you may feel that you need help with actually writing your press release. Contact us at Cinnamon Edge if that's still a problem. But if you have the 10yetis' guide as well, you'll at least have a better idea of how we do it!

www.cinnamonedge.com