Bill Bonner is the Founder of the 1.5 billion dollar Agora Companies -- the 800-pound gorilla in the world of direct response marketing.
As you see in this email thread, Bill urges marketers to focus more on designing "products that sell"... rather than just copy to sell products.
HERE'S WHAT HE MEANS:
Starting with an ordinary product... with an ordinary hook... and an ordinary mechanism... and trying to make it sound enticing and compelling with better copy makes your job of marketing much, much more difficult.
It almost always leads to hyped-up campaigns built on fluffy words with little to no differentiation or reasoning for why a prospect should spend money with you over every other option.
And this is exactly why most entrepreneurs end up frustrated with marketing campaigns that produce meager results.
When you engineer a compelling product... present it with a Big Marketing Idea and Unique Mechanism... marketing becomes infinitely easier for you and much, much more effective.
Here, the copy becomes the easiest part.
This is what legendary copywriter, Gary Bencivenga meant when he said, "A gifted product is mightier than a gifted pen."
While you may be offering an information product or training or course or coaching program -- something others are also offering -- you still have the ability to engineer a "gifted product".
Because engineering a gifted product is all about packaging, positioning, and offer presentation.
Meaning: No matter what you're selling (relatively), you have the control to engineer a "gifted product", a Big Marketing Idea, and a Unique Mechanism.
And that's what Bill is saying.
When you do that... marketing is easy and you will enjoy lots of sales.
PLEASE... ponder this, recognize it, accept it.
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If you'd like my help making this happen for you, your product, your business; schedule a time to chat with my team.
(But, only if you're serious about growing your business and willing to follow my instructions.)
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MY FAVS THIS WEEK
- The Flywheel: How It Drives Business Growth & Customer Delight
I'm a big advocate of the Flywheel Model for business strategy modeling.
It's the approach we've used for several years now. And is the approach I teach to my higher-level coaching students.
This article gives a superb overview of what the Flywheel Model is and how to use one. - Nothing Breaks Like A.I. Heart
Teddy Garcia, our Chief Technology Officer, shared this article with me. He's a big proponent of Artificial Intelligence.
In fact, for some time now, Teddy's been testing various AI tools and systems for different areas of our marketing.
This is an interesting article about AI and Emotional Intelligence. - Collecting, Managing, Developing, & Deploying Ideas
I say it all the time: We're in the idea business.
Mark Ford shared this idea (no pun intended) with me many moons ago. Quality ideas should be at the foundation of all the marketing we do.
So having a system for collecting, organizing, and using those ideas is essential.
This article gives a great overview of a similar system to the one I use for sifting, sorting, and managing ideas.
🚨SWIPE OF THE WEEK
This week's Swipe File is another oldie but goodie. Circa 1988.
It's a full-page ad. And if you can handle the oddball topic, you'll see it's packed with great copy.
In fact, I'd say... the first two paragraphs alone are make this worth reviewing.
As you read it, pay attention to two things: (1) the future pacing, and (2) the benefits, benefits, benefits. Both, right out of the gate in this promotion.
Also, look at how much proof and support is offered throughout for all the claims presented.
While, today, this kind of promotion wouldn't likely perform nearly as well, there's still a ton you can glean from the copy and style.
WHAT I'M TELLIN' MY TEAM
This week on our internal Team Marketing Training...
I put a few of our own Facebook ads on the hot seat... and critiqued one key part -- the headlines. Specifically, the differentiation, or lack thereof, communicated in each headline.
Differentiation in marketing is critical. Especially with ad copy.
If the theme, hook, or idea behind an ad comes across as ordinary, common, or just more of the same... you'll see meager response.
Have they heard this before? is a question you should ask before publishing any ad. Really, before publishing any marketing campaign.
If the answer is yes, make changes.
No matter what you're presenting in an ad, you want prospects to see it as unique and fresh, as something they haven't heard before, as a new perspective, angle, or insight.
TEAM TAKEAWAYS IN THREE BULLETS:
- Never underestimate the task at hand when it comes to grabbing marketplace attention. This is a tall feat which requires an understanding of what prospects have and haven't heard from others already.
- We don't ever want to present a solution or promise with the same copy, same angle, or same language as they've already seen. We want something different. Different gets attention.
- When offering a solution to a problem which has yet to be addressed by competitors, we don't need a Big Marketing Idea or indirect lead. In this case, wee should bring our solution right upfront and let it shine.
🤦🏻♀️ "Are you not getting these? CRAZY!"
Get the full unedited recordings of Todd's INTERNAL Marketing Team Trainings every week. See and hear everything Todd shares with this team -- every conversion tactic, copy hack, AOV booster, hook method, and more!
MY ADVICE
A question posted inside the E5 Nation Facebook Group...
Below is my response:
Effective marketing is equally about repelling the wrong people as it is about attracting the right ones.
In this context, the "right ones" are the people you consider good prospects (i.e. high-end people with money).
To better target them with your marketing message you want to make sure the "bait" you're dangling out to attract prospects is one which appeals to your ideal audience and repels everybody else.
Bait, in this context, being the idea and/or promise behind your marketing message.
Let me give you an example.
Let's take the following headline...
"How to add another million dollars in revenue to your business."
Said this way, with the word "another", this headline is intentionally designed to attract entrepreneurs who've already generated at least a million dollars.
It's also intentionally designed to repel the entrepreneurs who haven't.
Let's look at another example...
"How to grow your business from one million in annual sales to two million in the next 12 months."
This is, obviously, intentionally designed to attract entrepreneurs who are already at the one million-dollar a year mark, and repel the ones who aren't there yet.
Now, compare both of those headline examples to the following...
"How to double your business revenue in the next 12 months."
Notice, the bait isn't specific or qualifying. There's no repelling of any segment, nor is there any attracting of any specific segment.
Instead, it's a general promise trying to appeal to every entrepreneur.
Not good.
Your job is to attract the right people with your marketing message which requires you also repel the wrong people.
Again, it's not just about attracting.
It's about attracting and repelling.
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NOTE: If you're not in the E5 Nation Facebook Group with us yet, you're missing out on the opportunity to have me answer your questions. Not too mention, some killer content and live streams only shared inside the Group.
Go here and join us inside the E5 Nation Group (it's FREE!).
ROCKSTAR RESOURCE
The quality of the questions you ask -- whether to yourself or others -- determines the quality of the answers you get.
This is something I talk about often with my TOP ONE Mastermind™ Members.
Better questions can help you see better options, solve more impactful problems, uncover deeper issues, and see things from a fresh perspective.
Better questions can also help you engineer more impactful marketing. Because they can be an effective tool, when used correctly, for leading prospects to come to a buying conclusion on their own; which is far more powerful than you trying to push a conclusion on them.
Power Questions gives lots of examples of fantastic questions, and different ways and circumstances to use them.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
PIC OF THE WEEK
My babies, my world!
Along with my wife, the reason why I do everything.
Tuesday, my youngest graduated from high school. I now have two in college.
Both have excelled academically. Both have earned massive scholarships. And both are growing into generous, caring, respectful, and faithful young ladies. (Just like my wife.)
They are my greatest source of pride. And I can not wait to see the lives they touch and impact as they continue on their journey.
Today, as every day, I am one proud papa.
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