I'm Not Sexy

I'm not talking about my appearance, attitude, or state of mind. So, please don't e-mail me asking to expand on those things. I'm talking about my method in teaching my clients how to build and promote their online business.

Uhhh... what?

Look at some of your favorite marketing sites... those you've bookmarked because the writer of the ad promised to teach you how to become successful.

"I'll show you how to increase the number of your opt-in subscribers without paying for leads, using worthless free services, ad swaps, etc."

"Get more traffic to your site quickly with my super duper 1-2-punch method that's easy enough for even my legally blind, 91 year old grandmother to pull off!"

"Learn how to whip up sizzling ad copy that will increase your sales and have visitors begging you for more!"

You read over these magic pages with drool sliding down your chin, and excitement in your heart. You whisper under your breath, "This is definitely the solution to boost profit for my business!".

You download the material (or access the membership site) and as soon as you get your burning eyeballs on the product, you shout in anger, "This is a scam! I'm not getting what I thought I was getting. I better get my money back!".

(Maybe you're not all that dramatic and just quietly feel like you keep seeing the same old information that's not exactly for you...)

Sound familiar?

PEOPLE... these sales letters are *NOT* lying to you!

* You CAN increase your subscribers for free. * You CAN get more traffic to your site quickly and easily. * You CAN write copy that will greatly increase your sales.

Yes, You Can!

"But, but, but... those ebooks and courses say I have to: write articles to show potential customers I really know what I'm talking about... team up with other webmasters... practice writing copy by rewriting an already proven copy on paper by hand... put subscription boxes and pop-ups on my sites... Conduct a split-test for all my marketing material... research my market... participate in forums..."

Why, you are absolutely correct!

It ain't sexy, is it?

That's because you were hoping that...

Revealed inside the product is the address to a secret website where hundreds of thousands of people gather and wait for you to find them so they can all subscribe to your newsletter and make you a millionaire.

Or maybe someone will finally confess that those "guaranteed hits" programs can really work, and the traffic you get from them are really targeted to exactly what you're selling, and there really is a place where you can spend just $10 for a gazillionbillion "hits" that will convert to a bazilliontrillion new customers anxious to throw their life savings at you.

How about a magic word, number, or whatever else you fantasized about... that you simply insert into your existing site or copy, transforming it into a wild and uncontrollable money machine without having to put any effort into learning how to write...

Whoa there, hot stuff! Take a cold shower and come back in 10 minutes.

Look through your hard drive and see just how many marketing products you own. Have you read through them all? Do you put into practice, split test, and fine-tune all that they teach you?

How many articles have you written for the market you're targeting? Are you testing different pay-per-click techniques? Do you split test your web and sales copy? Name 20 webmasters or online business owners you've contacted to possibly team up with.

What inspired me to write this is an e-mail I received from someone who asked to cancel his Internet Marketing Support Network membership.

"Cancel my account and refund my money [$1]. I need to make money ASAP, but, what you teach in there is how to find and create products and instructions on how to sell it on the Internet. That's not what I'm looking for."

So, what were you looking for? To pay a buck and wake up the next morning to find thousands of dollars in your bank account just for being a member?

It's an inevitable fact. No matter what those sales letters say, you must be prepared to sweat. It takes effort, testing, persistence, perseverance and constant improvement and fine-tuning to be successful.

No matter how boring a technique or strategy may seem, give it a try. You won't find it so dull once you start seeing the orders come in : )

I'm SO not sexy. I'll leave that to JLo and Ben.

Carmen Maranon :: MarketingChick.com Subscribe to my ezine for weekly Results-Only Internet marketing action plans delivered straight to your inbox... I'll show you how to squeeze out *Every Last Drop* of PROFIT from your marketing efforts, no matter what your experience level, or how much traffic you're currently receiving. http://www.AimDIRECT-Ezine.com

Tales of the Touareg....Charles Warnock

Tales of the Touareg and other adventures in branding

By Charles Warnock

Youre not likely to see a Volkswagen in the winners circle at Daytona or Indianapolis. But if there were a competition called the Brand-Building 500, you would find a VW in the winners circle, year after year. Everyone knows the touchstones of branding visibility, value, consistency and loyalty. But few companies are more skilled than VW at putting these pieces together.

VW owners become emotionally invested in their cars, invent pet names for them and treat them like extended family members. In addition to automobile enthusiasts, many marketing professionals are fans of the brand. VWs irreverent image and clever television ad campaigns speak to young buyers today with a message thats consistent with the one that spoke to their parents 30 years ago. If youre a free-spirited kind of person who wants a car with personality, come join us. Among marketers, the companys promotional prowess is legendary:

The final VW Bug, forerunner of todays Beetle, rolled off the production line in 2003 the last of more than 21 million sold worldwide since the 1930s. In addition to dozens of books about the Bug, several compilations of VWs award-winning print ad campaigns have been published.

A Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany features glass walls that enable residents to see firsthand how VW luxury sedans are manufactured. Finished vehicles are displayed in a glass tower before being delivered to their new owners.

In 1973-74, the company sold 30,000 VW Things a re-badged German military vehicle that looks very much like the love child of a jeep and a dumpster to enthusiastic U.S. buyers.

And now comes the Touareg, VWs entry into the luxury SUV market. The Touareg is apparently a first-rate SUV with what USA Today calls style, grace and growl. But Touareg? Come on. Passat is an odd name, but Touareg sounds like something that needs calamine lotion.

Worship me or die

Perhaps Americans will appreciate that the Touareg gets its name from colorful bands of Saharan nomads known for their endurance and striking appearance. On the plus side, its a pretty safe bet that Touareg doesnt mean wont go in Spanish. Perhaps Volkswagen thought that all the rugged-sounding regional names, like Tahoe and the Santa Fe, were taken. The VW Peoria or Levittowner just doesnt have the same cach.

Its a good bet that if you looked through enough sci-fi novels, you would encounter an evil warlord called Touareg the Terrible who aims to enslave a galaxy or kidnap a lovely Empress. Whats next? Ming the Mercury? The Plymouth Vader? On the other hand, a Worship Me or Die! ad campaign for the Touareg would be a refreshing change of pace from those friendly, self-deprecating Beetle commercials.

Or perhaps the industry is simply running out of good car names. Most of the good predatory animal names are already taken, along with mythical beasts like the Thunderbird and Phoenix. But will buyers spend their hard-earned cash on nameplates like the GMC Grackle, Mitsubishi Gerbil or Toyota Trout? Automakers might consider working with corporate sponsors who already have well-known brands. Can the Nissan Nike or Plymouth Viagra be far off?

Another option is for automakers to trade on the success of celebrities who already have winning brands. I would expect that the Cadillac Sinatra would be popular with both older buyers and younger fans of the legendary singer. The Mazda Beyonce would be sleek, fun to drive, have a great sound system and a built-in celebrity endorsement. And its hard to imagine that a limited Elvis edition of a luxury pickup or SUV wouldnt drive sales in the South.

Whatever the approach, automakers will have to get creative or well be seeing a spate of distinctly second-rate model names:

Volvo Vanilla
Nissan Eeyore
Oldsmobile Earlybird
Lincoln Pimpmobile
Chevrolet Groin
Kia Uvula
Pontiac Schmontiac
BMW Strudel
Subaru Musty
Honda Pretense
Isuzu Achoo
VW Vin Diesel
Mercury Mongrel
Plymouth Scrota
Hyundai Albundai (for drivers who are married with children)

Passat? Bless you!

Elvis and evil warlords aside, it probably doesnt matter what the Touareg is called. Even if certain models have names that sound like a sneeze or a rash, VW owners seem remarkably loyal to the name and brand.

Mere marketing mortals should probably assume that VWs positioning and promotion for the Touareg is right on target. The vehicle probably will garner its own cult following, and Touareg clubs, meetings and Web sites will follow.

But its not because of the name. Its because the company has consistently excelled in creating the awareness, recognition and customer loyalty that makes a premium brand. After all, a company that can transform the purchasing decision from Which car should I buy? to Which VW should I buy? deserves the checkered flag.

###

Charles Warnock is a South-Florida based editor and Webmaster specializing in marketing
communications and online content. He can be reached at cw@businesstechknowledge.com.

Web copy that counts:Charles Warnock

For some marketing communicators, making the transition from print to online media is like packing for a trip to destinations unknown. Before you venture, its important to know what to bring, what to leave behind and something about the online culture. For example, long lines of text and certain typefaces dont belong online, but strong headlines and tight, benefit-oriented writing are always welcome. Here are some guidelines to help you create online copy that counts:
1. Before you begin, know the readers goals, your goals and how they successfully come together.
Looking at many corporate Web sites is like peering through the wrong end of a telescope. Content thats focused on the companys vision, history, or organizational structure is of little value to most readers. If you cant draw a direct connection between organizational goals and your readers goals, your content is probably off the mark. It may help to outline the audience needs, your solutions and the successful outcome youre promising. Then write the story so your reader is the star and the company, products and services are supporting players.
2. Clearly define your success criteria.
Writers who begin with vague goals usually achieve marginal results. Your purpose may be general, such as building brand awareness, but its likely that you want readers to take some action as a result. Broad goals such as building brand recognition can often be measured by more specific results - capturing 100 new e-mail addresses, 25 requests for additional information or 10 new orders.
3. People dont read online, they scan.
Keep in mind that many people wont read all of your copy, and some wont read it at all. Many will scan your pages to for something eye-catching and move on if its not there. Take the time to craft an attention-getting headline and use subheads and bulleted lists to break up blocks of text and move readers onward. Think in terms of chunking information because people may begin reading at the beginning, middle or end.
4. Edit mercilessly.
Usability guru Jakob Nielson says that reading from a computer screen takes 25 percent longer than reading from a printed page. He recommends giving online readers about 50 percent less text than print readers. Listen to Jakob. Think of your words and sentences as individual workers, each with a specific role in creating successful copy. If its not the best word or sentence or its not bolstering your messages effectiveness, its fired!
5. Let your words do the work.
Identify the strongest benefits of your product or service and present them in clear, convincing language. Dont try to grab attention with loud colors, excessive bolding, capitalization or punctuation. In addition to compromising your credibility, it makes for a spotty, unattractive page on the readers computer screen. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, overusing exclamation points is like laughing at your own jokes.
6. What is it? Whats in it for me? Whats my next step?
Readers should be able to answer these three questions about your product or service after reading your copy. Answers these important questions quickly, along with another one if its appropriate - How much does it cost?
7. First the horse, then the cart.
Have you written to share ideas and insights, change behaviors and build relationshipsor to close a single sale? In writing copy for Web sites and e-mail, many marketers make the mistake of trying to jump from introduction to sale too quickly. Building customer trust is a powerful, but fragile process. Asking for a sale before you have clearly established trust and demonstrated value is a sure way to alienate potential customers. Know where your readers are in the process, set realistic goals and target your words accordingly.

Charles Warnock,
Editor/Webmaster, BusinessTechKnowledge
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
cw@businesstechknowledge.com

Charles Warnock is a South-Florida based editor and Webmaster specializing in marketing
communications and online content. He can be reached at cw@businesstechknowledge.com.