Entries from January 2008 ↓

Most good marketers and copywriters have heard of Agora. It is an information publishing business that grosses more than $200 million a year, and that number may be dated.

But far fewer people have heard of William Bonner, the founder of Agora. He is also called Bill and Will, depending on where his name appears. Bill Bonner is, in my opinion, one of the sharpest minds in the world today. His writing is par excellence.

When I recently read Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets, his latest book with co-author Lila Rajiva, I underlined dozens of passages and nuggets of wisdom. One was this statement on page 254: “Nothing fails like success.”

This is classic Bonner: putting a unique spin on an old subject.

But what does it mean?

It means that success often leads to failure, especially if the foundations of the initial success have been built on fraud and deception. A dishonest man who succeeds is likely to believe in his own success. Then, in the pursuit of greater success, he is undone; he inevitably stumbles and falls.

It is like a bank robber who pulls off a stunning heist. He will be encouraged, and he will want more. So he sacks another bank, and another, but eventually his luck runs out. The police catch on to his methods and put him in the slammer. Hence, nothing fails like success.

Applying this to business, you might credit a certain strategy with recent growth. But causes and effects are often quite deceptive. They are often only correlations and not directly related at all. Nevertheless, we all want to believe in something. We all want to be told what to do, or at least know what to do. And so it is easy to believe in what we think is the cause for our success, even if that cause is no cause at all.

Another way to interpret Bonner’s quip is this: When you are number one, there is only one direction for you to go… down.

It’s nice to be number two.

If you are number two, you still have room to go up. But being number one is a vulnerable place to be. Everybody is gunning for you. How long before somebody usurps your position? Again, nothing fails like success.

We might also say this: Every success is destined for failure. It reminds me of how cocky people had become in the early 20th Century. They built the Titanic and boasted, “Not even God could sink this ship.” A word of wisdom: Do not test God like that. We all know how the story ends.

Nearly 100% of businesses fail in 10 years or less, no matter how successful they were during those years. Every world empire eventually collapses. Fiat currencies are almost as transient as wealth. And today’s millionaires are tomorrow’s paupers.

Recently I read somewhere that if you get on the first page of Google, it’s best to hover in spots 3-10. If you hit spots one or two, then everybody will begin analyzing your web site to see how they can knock you off and crown themselves “King of the Hill.”

So why do I share all this with you? Because it’s important to have the right priorities in business. Don’t focus on outcomes, like being #1 or grossing so many dollars a year. You don’t have any control over outcomes. If you measure success this way, you’ll be headed for disappointment sooner or later.

Better to focus on behaviors.

Focus on what you can control: what time you wake up in the morning, the daily activities you perform in your business, how you treat your customers, etc. Jim Camp says it this way…

“Chasing a performance goal over which you have no final control is a tragic waste of talent and energy.” (No, p. 49) Many other peak performance experts (like John Eliot, Ph.D.) will tell you the same thing.

Everything moves in cycles. Failure precedes success; success precedes failure. It is the natural rhythm of life. So instead of focusing on some numerical target or quota and calling that success, focus instead on you. Success happens right now, every single day you’re alive. What can you do today to be a success? What behaviors are good and right for you to be doing? Do those; everything else will fall into place.

Your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment below.

-Ryan M. Healy

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One reason I wrote The Eight-Month Letter was this: it is much harder to persuade a person to a new belief than it is to get them to part with money. This is because we value our beliefs much more than we value money. In that respect, writing the letter was a monumental challenge for me. I asked myself, “How can I communicate in such a way that a person would reconsider their core spiritual beliefs? How can I do it so they will adopt new beliefs contrary to their old ones?”

As I wrote the letter, I re-learned a few lessons about copywriting. These are lessons I already “knew,” but hadn’t deeply absorbed. I’d like to share these copywriting lessons with you.

Lesson #1: Your tone matters.

I completed the first draft of “The Eight-Month Letter” in the summer of 2007. I thought I had really nailed it. So I began to share it with some close friends and family members. I wanted to get their feedback.

Guess what?

The response was nothing like I expected. One person said it was succinct and well-written, but didn’t say much beyond that. Another close friend literally ripped the letter to shreds. After he was done telling me all the things he didn’t like, I asked him what he liked about. He said, “Nothing! I don’t like anything about it!”

Whoa. I’ve got thick skin. But that comment really hurt, especially coming from a friend.

After that conversation, I had to put the project on hold. Not only did I need some time to process my emotions, I also needed time to reflect to see if what my friend had said was true.

Ultimately, I concluded my friend was right. The tone of my letter was all wrong. It had been written in a spirit of aggression rather than a spirit of love.

This is one reason it took me months to rewrite the letter. I had to get the tone right. I had to find the right voice. And now, looking back at the old version, I’d be embarrassed to show it to anybody. So I’m glad my friend called me to account, even though it hurt at the time. It forced me to focus on a single issue for months: saying the right things in the right way for maximum effectiveness.

Lesson #2: It’s not a sales letter; it’s a legal case.

Time and time again, I’ve heard about the importance of proof in making the sale. I totally agree with this. It is not wise to stop with testimonials. You also want screenshots, videos, credentials, etc. Whatever you can present to support your claims should be presented.

It’s one thing to preach the importance of proof; it is quite another to view your entire sales letter as a legal case.

This is the shift in perception that happened to me as I wrote “The Eight-Month Letter.” I realized I couldn’t toss everything together willy-nilly like a 10-minute meal. Rather, I had to methodically present the evidence in a logical sequence such that the “jury” (my readers) would issue the verdict I wanted.

How does a court case work?

Loosely speaking, you first introduce the problem. (What crime has been committed? What wrong needs to be rectified?) You then present your case, including all the evidence and a proposed solution to the problem. The defense then presents their case, which includes all the objections. You address those objections with all the possible evidence, logic, and emotional appeal you can use.

In the end, you hope the outcome (verdict) of your case is that your audience (the jury) takes the action you’ve prescribed, whether it be signing up to a list, buying a product or service, or requesting more information.

So why should you view a sales letter as the proceedings of a court case?

Simple. It takes the focus off of the promise you’re making, reduces hype, and refocuses your attention on the structure of the case and the evidence you present. Not that you should spend less time on crafting the promise of a letter. The promise you make and how you get attention is critical. But it’s far too easy to overlook the importance of how your letter is structured and how the evidence is presented. These greatly influence the success of a sales letter.

Said another way, where there is a sloppy letter and a paucity of evidence, you will not get the verdict you desire.

Lesson #3: Spend time away from your letter after you’ve written it.

Most of the projects I write for clients involve fairly tight deadlines. Rare is the client who calls me with a two- or three-month lead time. Usually, the client wants the copy ASAP, but no later than some date three weeks away.

I won’t say this is a recipe for bad copy, but working on an extremely short deadline has the potential to produce copy that is not as strong as it could be.

I view the writing of a sales letter in three stages:

1. Research
2. Writing
3. Editing

I feel it’s imperative to have “down time” between each of these stages. One day at least. Preferably, two or three days between research and writing; and another three or four days between writing and editing.

Why do I say this?

One, because after digesting a large amount of information, your brain (particularly your subconscious mind) needs time to process. Lacking time, you will probably struggle to come up with the hook. But give your brain some rest and the ideas will begin to flow effortlessly.

The same principle applies to the the time you should give yourself between writing and editing. After writing a letter, you will often be too involved to see anything objectively. You need time away to pull your mind back… to quite literally forget what you’ve written.

After you’ve had time away from what you’ve written, you’ll be able to see the copy with “fresh eyes.” You’ll quickly and easily be able to spot errors, weak sections, bad transitions, and more.

Lacking this time away from your copy, you might end up calling a colleague in a panic because you “can’t see the forest for the trees.” You might need somebody else’s eyes because yours are too tired–and you haven’t given them any time to rest. Sound familiar?

Obviously, since “The Eight-Month Letter” had no deadline, I was able to spend a lot of time away from it between rounds of editing. After a month or longer away from the letter, I was amazed by the holes in the letter that all of a sudden seemed so “glaringly obvious.” If I had not spent time away from the letter, I would probably have never seen these holes.

Wrapping Up…

Of course, if you read “The Eight-Month Letter,” I hope you got some value out of it. But if you didn’t, I hope these copywriting lessons I’ve shared here will be of value to you and your business. I figure, at the very least, you can benefit from the lessons I re-learned through the writing of that letter.

So the next time you’re faced with a copy project, remember these three things: find the right tone; build your letter like you would a legal case; and give yourself sufficient time between each stage of the copywriting process. Your bottom line will thank you.

-Ryan M. Healy

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want this blog to represent, what kind of articles I want to publish, what kind of schedule I should use for blogging, and a bunch of other things.

One thing I’ve been thinking about is how to share some of the best information I come across each week. You’ll notice I don’t currently have a blogroll (that’s on purpose), but I still want you to benefit from the best articles I’ve benefited from.

So I’ve come up with a concept/schedule for a new feature on this blog. I’m calling it “Five on Friday.” It has a double meaning.

Each Friday, I will share five of the best blog posts or articles I’ve read during the week. The second meaning is more subtle: The posts I share are what you should read before (or at) 5 p.m. on Friday. I’m a bit of a literary nerd, so I like these double meanings.

Hopefully this explains the title of the post. And from now on, you’ll know what my “Five on Friday” post is going to include.

Also, I will be providing comments about each post to help you decide if you should read it or not. I’ve seen a lot of fellow bloggers recommend posts and articles before, but the recommendations usually only consist of a title/link. I think my comments will make these recommendations more valuable to you.

So which posts did I enjoy the most this week? Here they are…

Search Engine Ranking Factors - by Fred Black

I’ve been reading about SEO theories since 2003. Eventually I just stopped reading because none of the theories seemed to work consistently. The only thing that has stood the test of time is the importance of links: what others say about you AND what you say about yourself. In this post, Fred takes a critical look at some recent SEO theory.

Do They Love You or Hate You? - by Terry Dean

The core message of this post is: Make yourself heard. It is more important to be loved or hated than to blend in. This is what I had in mind when I recently publicized my Eight-Month Letter. I knew it would polarize my readers; I promoted the letter anyway.

The Law of 250 - by Robert Phillips

Joe Girard is recognized as the greatest salesman in the world. He sold thousands of cars every year to his clients. How did he do it? He recognized the Law of 250 and used it to his advantage. Good news: You can use this “law” to grow your own business, too.

Free Swipe File - by John Newtson

This swipe file was actually published around Thanksgiving 2007, but I only recently discovered it while reviewing what’s “Hot in My Communities” in MyBlogLog. Here you’ll find sales letters written by Jim Rutz, Gary Bencivenga, Dan Rosenthal, and more. Very helpful if you write copy for yourself or clients.

10 Computer Shortcuts - by Timothy Ferriss

This is a great resource for learning computer shortcuts that allow you to do simple, routine things faster. Some of these I’ve known of before, but forgot. So I’m really glad to have them all published in a single place. Want to know how to instantly move your cursor to the address bar of your browser window? Find out here.

-Ryan M. Healy

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I’m a service provider. I write copy for people who want to sell products and services using the written word. Perhaps you are a service provider, too. Or perhaps you sell products of some kind. Either way, it doesn’t matter. This post will still be relevant to you.

Based on a number of posts I’ve been reading on friends’ and colleagues’ blogs, I’ve been thinking a lot about how important it is to treat people right. It does not matter if you’re trying to sell something or not. It just makes sense to follow the golden rule: treat others how you would like to be treated.

One time a lawyer challenged Jesus by asking him what the greatest law was. He wanted to see which law (of hundreds) was more important than all the rest. Jesus’ response was interesting…

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

How many times do we actually love our neighbors as we love ourselves? Usually, we are interested only in loving ourselves. But this is a recipe for failure. As King Solomon wrote, “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

It is interesting to me that total freedom is held up as a desirable goal for a business person. I take a different approach. I enjoy helping people. I think my life would be diminished if I were not contributing to other people’s lives in some way… if I were not being of service.

Almost everything you do is a form of service–both to yourself and others. This blog post is a service to my readers. The copy I write is a service to my clients. The special report I sell about how to get copywriting clients provides a service to aspiring copywriters. Etc.

I encourage you to think in terms of service–even if you sell a product. How are you serving others? How can you demonstrate the heart of a servant? How can you treat others the way you would like to be treated? Something to think about.

-Ryan M. Healy

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Ratatouille is the latest movie from Brad Bird and the folks at Pixar. Toward the beginning of the movie, Remy (the main character) is hungry and reaches for a piece of bread. The ghost of Gusteau (a famous French chef) appears out of nowhere and tells Remy not to steal. He then says…

“Food always comes to those who love to cook.” –Auguste Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille.

This quote really stuck out to me. I thought, “Of course! I’d give food to a great cook if he or she would cook for me. They could share the meal, too!”

The same goes for any person with any skill. You might say…

“Copy jobs come to those who love to write.”

Or…

“Money comes to those who love to invest.”

Or…

“Human resources and financial resources come to those who love to grow businesses.”

It’s this idea that you will naturally attract whatever you need to do what you love to do. Just as you wouldn’t mind giving a good cook food for a share of the meal, neither would you mind giving a good copywriter a sales letter to write for a share of the profits.

Are you having trouble attracting what you need into your life? Are you sure you love doing what you do? Is there something else that might be a better fit?

On the flip side, who do you know who is passionate about their work? Might this person be valuable to a goal you’re trying to accomplish? If so, get in touch with that person and see what you can work out.

-Ryan M. Healy

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There has been much speculation about this letter since I announced it last Friday.

One person suggested it might be political; that perhaps it promoted Ron Paul. And while I have promoted Ron Paul in the past, that is not what the letter is about.

Another person suggested it might be religious. This guess was closer to the mark, but the letter is not religious at all. No organized religion believes what I believe. In fact, what I believe is a threat to organized religion and the traditions of men.

The fact is, the letter is about my spiritual journey over the last five years. It is about questioning long-held beliefs and discovering new ones. This is one reason it was difficult for me to write the letter. It is also a reason why I’ve been hesitant to share it with you. (Fact: I’ve been thinking about sharing it with you since last July, but it has taken months of writing and rewriting to deal with some of my own heart issues.)

Nevertheless, I believe the timing is right. So, finally, I’m going to share this letter with you today. If the discussion of spiritual matters disturbs you, then I politely ask you to refrain from clicking the link below. But if you do have an interest, and can tolerate some viewpoints that may be different than your own, then I invite you to click the link below and read the letter…

==> The Greatest Love Story Never Told

Be blessed.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. Another comment came in this morning. “Awesome letter dude!  I just sent your URL to a list of friends.  I hope they all read it! Thanks!” –T.M.

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Among the many comments I’ve received about “the eight-month letter,” there have been numerous suggestions. In fact, one reader dug up the letter on Google, read it, and then sent me an email asking me to refrain from publicizing it. This reader wrote me by email saying…

After reading your letter, my personal suggestion and sincere hope on the matter of it’s public posting is this: please reconsider.

This reader’s email was so sincere and heartfelt that it did give me pause; I once again examined my reasons for wanting to share the letter, and its possible repercussions.

For a moment, I considered creating a private email list to which people could sign up if they wanted access to the letter. I thought this might have been a prudent course of action.

But based on the direction I received today, I plan to publicize the letter here on this blog on Monday, January 21. The title of the post will be “The Eight-Month Letter Revealed.” There will be a link in the post to the letter.

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 33% [?]

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Since January 7, 2008, exactly 561 480 people (see comments for explanation) have already read the letter I referenced in my previous post. It’s generated quite a bit of feedback. Here’s a sample (I’ve used initials of names only since I did not ask permission to publish these comments)…

“I want to thank you for putting together such a phenomenal letter. [...] Would you be okay with me providing the info and link to others to read your letter? I would think yes, but wanted to be respectful of your efforts and would like to receive your permission to do so. Thanks again Ryan for sharing so thoughtfully, carefully and most of all lovingly and truthfully for ALL to read.” –P.F.

“As for the actual writing: I think it reads VERY good and you definitely make a case.” –B.S.

“I just finished your letter. I will try to get a response to you as soon as possible. You put a lot of effort into the letter and you deserve a decent and thoughtful reply. Talk to you later.” –D.R.

“RYAN … what an excellent and concise letter. I will be sending a short note with your link to those on my distribution list. Thanks for sharing this with me.” –B.E.

“Thank you! It’s a great synopsis of what the truth is regarding ___________. I am always looking for something clear and succinct to give to friends and family to introduce them to this wonderful message.” –J.L.

“i read your article and you have done a very good job of conveying what you are trying to teach.” –M.H.

“I am D.B. from Laurel, Mississippi. I saw your article this morning and loved it! I have taken the liberty to take an excerpt from it and put it on the home page of my website.” –D.B.

“Ryan, do you have your article in a printout form? We’re always looking for many different ways to express _________. You did a fine job with your article.” –G.A.

“We have read your letter that _______ had posted on his website. What an awesome job you did sharing your story and clearly explaining ________. Thank you for the time and effort you spent writing [it].” –M.W. and K.W.

“I just posted a link to your letter on the web log. Very good and well written.” –S.J.

Finally, a personal friend and fellow copywriter read the letter and wrote, “A rather inspirational letter from my friend and colleague Ryan M. Healy. It may interest you, it may not…” –J.R.

Update 01/19/2008: The comments keep coming. Here’s one I just got today… “Thank you so much for writing ______, It was such a blessing to me, and I have forwarded it to many and will continue to do so.” –D.B.

If you have already left a comment, I sincerely thank you. I’m reading all your input and weighing it before I make a decision.

-Ryan M. Healy

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On May 17, 2007, I began writing a “sales” letter. I’ve only recently completed it. Let me tell you a few things about this letter…

• It doesn’t sell a product.
• It doesn’t sell a service.
• I wasn’t paid to write the letter.
• I don’t plan to ever earn anything from the letter.
• The letter will not be used for profit of any kind.

Despite all this, I would say that this letter has been the most difficult letter I’ve ever written. It has been emotionally exhausting… and deeply gratifying… at the same time.

Why do share this with you?

Because for a long time I’ve been thinking about sharing the letter with you. But I’ve had my hesitations though. By making this letter available, it could jeopardize my relationships with certain people. It may even compromise my business.

Furthermore, from a business perspective, the only benefit you would receive would be from studying the structure of the letter, the flow of the copy. From an intangible perspective, you may benefit far more than that, although not in a business sense.

Curious?

Should I share this letter with you or not?

I want to hear from you on this one. You tell me. Leave a comment expressing your interest or lack thereof. Thanks.

-Ryan M. Healy

P.S. In case you missed it, I revealed the eight-month letter here.

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Ben Settle is an amazing copywriter. Which is why you should know he’s offering a 24-hour special on his new book called The Copywriting Grab Bag. This is not a digital product, it is an actual physical book that will be mailed to you. Until tomorrow morning, you can get the book for only $19.95 plus shipping. After that, the price goes up to $49.95. Complete details are posted here…

==> Ben Settle’s Copywriting Grab Bag

-Ryan M. Healy

Popularity: 37% [?]

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