It’s been a fascinating couple of weeks…and despite still being home most of the time, I feel more connected to the outside world than ever before.
Zoom is one reason. (I know I should have bought stock in that company.)
But it’s also how starved everyone is for connection, knowledge, idea exchanges…and doing business.
Despite not being able to hold any live events, the virtual world has given us more than we can handle.
I hope you agree.
And if you are not thriving during these chaotic times, check out the P.S. for an offer to ignite you.
Kim Walsh-Phillips, a marketing superstar and good friend, held a “Live Cast” to launch her new book on Social Media (and she is a true expert on the subject).
I was one of 30 guests (maybe there were more) holding court for 15 minutes (and I’ve never done anything that short!).
Side note—I am the epitome of this famous quote:
If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter
And if you think it was Mark Twain who said it (which I did), there are many others who can take the credit.
I tend to quote a lot of people–and checking if they really said it is a compulsion for me.
Another one:
“If you’re the smartest person in the room you’re in the wrong room”
I sometimes get credit for that one (and I shouldn’t).
And if you took my journey into The Google on that one you will see many “thought leaders” (hate that term) taking credit for it.
I traced it back to Confucius.
I figured going back as far as 500 B.C. wouldn’t get me into any arguments.
So…I’m not taking credit for it…and you better not either!
But I digressed, probably because I didn’t want this post to be too short. 🙂
During my 15 minutes of fame on Kim’s Live Cast, I spoke about how I use social media–and it came down to simply “getting them on my email list.”
And then, rather than “romancing the stone,” I realized I was “romancing the sand” because once someone is on my list, they are far more reachable, porous and open to new ideas.
Anything but a stone.
And…even when I say “my list,” I cringe a little bit, because lists are people too (I’m sure you agree with that)…and so I refer to you as my “online family” so I never forget that premise.
Consider us dating…for as long as you like… (talk to my wife about that—4 years—yikes!).
All you need to do is sit back, read my long posts, and when you’re ready to engage more with me via email, buy some educational materials from me (or someone I endorse with no affiliate commission), or dare I say, unsubscribe–every choice is available to you anytime.
I coined a phrase—I believe it was from the great Dean Jackson (the “father of the squeeze page” and the “9 word email”)—which is “Fishing Without Bait.”
Dean spoke at my Titans Mastermind a couple of years ago and I explained it like this:
Imagine you are in a boat on a lake “fishing for new customers.”
And instead of catching fish (i.e. new customers) , they are jumping in the boat on their own when they are ready to engage with you…or order your product…or join your mastermind…or whatever you might want to do together.
And when they jump into your boat on their own, they also have a much better chance of staying in the boat longer (i.e. longer lifetime value) assuming they can breathe outside of water.
I’m taking the metaphor too far–sorry. But I hope you see the distinction:
They jump in your boat when they are ready–assuming you have reminded them regularly you are always there for them–and occasionally letting them know what you have to offer.
This replaces fishing in a traditional sense, pole in hand with an effective hook and delicious bait at the end of it (i.e. an irresistible offer)…and of course an elaborate funnel waiting for them when you reel them in.
Therefore, instead of sprinkling in content in-between one sales message after another, you shine a spotlight over the lake all the time (i.e. communicating regularly and powerfully without selling), creating a relationship over time on their terms and not on your terms.
I guess we can say when the fish (i.e. students) are ready, the fishermen (i.e. teachers) appear.
I’ll repeat another oldie but goodie which I got from copywriter and good friend David Deutsch and I use this one often because it’s so good:
There are two times. Now and not now.
And I will add another personal favorite on top of that one:
Not everything we do, in marketing (and life) is a revenue event…but everything we do is a relationship event.
I am by no means saying that we should be completely passive with our marketing messages—urgency and deadlines and timed launches and making offers at live or virtual events are all important to have in our tool box.
And I am also not saying I am a non-profit enterprise.
But it’s clear that in today’s competitive (and distracting) marketing environment—which has way too much noise, is full of overflowing In Boxes, and exposes us to way too many pictures of food and vacation spots on Facebook-–patience is a virtue.
I know this sounds counter-intuitive (e.g. “don’t ruin a great offer with a call to action”) but it is fascinating how much this theme keeps coming back as a “Click on my dial.”
You’re selling all the time whether it’s a product, service…or just yourself.
After the Live Cast, I was asked to teach a group of copywriters (who are members of the Ultimate Copywriting Clinic–UCC) over two sessions covering 5 hours.
One session was critiquing my own copy (things I am proud of, controls, big winners) and the other session was critiquing the student’s copy (sales letters, websites, email series etc.).
The latter I can do easily…I do it for my Titans Xcelerator members regularly and I have enough copy sense to get myself in all sorts of trouble. 🙂
I always have an opinion on other peoples stuff.
But it was the former (i.e. showing my own copy and teaching from it) that I thought would be a bit of a stretch…after all I’ve spent a lot of time and effort in these blogs telling you that I am not a copywriter and more of a copywriter wannabe.
I recalled the latest post I wrote about that and came to the conclusion (once again) that I am not a copywriter (by the definition I had grown up with)–but I definitely write copy.
And I needed to follow my own rule that often you are own best copywriter.
It was time to put my big boy pants on.
What copy could I go over with these students?
My blogs–like the one you are reading right now.
I did it by chronicling the origin of this now weekly blog/email (which has consistently come out every Sunday morning like clockwork—consistency was one of the “rules” for me).
Plus I would show (not tell) my philosophy of fishing without bait, and only using the P.S. if I wanted to offer something in a bigger way.
And sometimes I use the P.S. for something else because you don’t have to sell something to deepen the reader’s desire to open your email.
And there was a lot more in this lesson from my blog posts:
- From my first offering, The Titans of Direct Response event in 2014 (which was an example of using a powerful feedback loop to get that sales page done).
- To the present when I offered Titans Xcelerator
- And everything in-between (Breakthrough Advertising, charity:water donations, Read This or Die,Muppet Guys Talking)
- And I’m doing just fine never taking an affiliate commission without stating it would go to charity or to someone else besides me
It’s not a definitive model—that’s for sure—but it’s my model.
And the UCC heard about the entire story in a fast-paced 2 ½ hours.
If I had more time I would have made it shorter.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. In the spirit of not taking affiliate commissions—but using the money for additional education for you–I’d like to give you another opportunity to order master copywriter Stefan Georgi’s RMBC Method for Writing Winning Sales Letters.
As a speaker and now a member of Titans Mastermind, he’s constantly sharing his secrets and techniques—freely–but in a safe room.
He’s recently decided to pull back the curtain a little more, to share his genius with select industry leaders– by putting together this landmark course—and he’s including you, my online family, as those industry leaders.
Lots more details in the P.S. of my blog post last week. Click here for that and also why I have chosen to endorse it.
And if you join from this link, at full price, and send me an email letting me know that you signed up, I will give you a $500 discount on an annual membership to Titans Xcelerator, my virtual mastermind that is affordable (even more affordable with the discount)…and has so many other benefits for you as well.
The collective wisdom in Titans Xcelerator comes from the Titans themselves, on calls and in the private Facebook Group.
There are calls with me (live), once a month (and now once a week during “COVID 2020”)…plus additional content including a live interview with a special guest every month, a selection from the Titans Vault (i.e. a previous presentation from a Titans Mastermind meeting) and a “swipe of the month” from my extensive archives.
All of the content every month is recorded and then put on a USB that is mailed out to you (yes, physical product!)…as well as access to the digital recordings.
On the weekly calls recently we’ve had Perry Marshall, Ben Settle, Doberman Dan, Kevin Rogers, Kim Krause Schwalm, Chad Collins (and you can get the recordings of these calls if you join under this special offer).
Next up: Webinar wizard Joel Erway on June 4th …and none other than Jay Abraham on June 11th.
You should join now with this special offer—this is a deal that will not be available again.
When you click on this page, you’ll see all of the modules in Stefan’s course, swipes, ability to connect with Stefan etc….plus a video from Stefan letting you know what you can expect.
I know you’ll like him, and will want to learn from him, as much as I do.
P.P.S. And don’t forget to email me after you order–so I can send you the special link for your $500 discount to a full year of Titans Xcelerator—we’ll get you up and running immediately with a full welcome package plus you can immediately enter the private Facebook Group to introduce yourself to all of the other Xcelerators.
If you want to take a look at everything Titans Xcelerator has to offer go to:
But don’t order there…I need to give you the special link for the $500 discount.
Just email me directly from this blog post.