Spammers are Getting Even More Clever

Today I received a spam message that made it through my filters that I thought was pretty clever. 

There's always been a limitation to what you can say to tease people to click into your email because you're only allowed so many characters in the "From" address and the "Subject" line. 

This clever spammer broke this limitation by combining the From line with the Subject line to create a longer message.  Pretty clever.

Headlines, Headlines, and More Headlines

This ad caught my eye the other day as I was thumbing through the newspaper.

It reminded me just how important headlines are in the fine art of marketing.

This headline SCREAMS at you!

If you've got hemorrhoids, you WILL see this ad...no doubt about it.

Did you notice that this headline takes up 50% of the ad space.  These guys know how important headlines are!

And it's a good us of space.

If you're a marketer...you really DO have to know how to create good headlines.

Headlines....

1. Start radio ads.

2. Start television ads.

3. Start letters.

4. Start postcards.

5. Start newspaper ads.

Headlines are really the workhouse of your marketing message.  Anyway, just seeing this ad reminded me of just how much we use headlines in marketing and how important it is to know how to write them.

Have a great weekend.  I'm taking my son on a Dad / Son outing to New Braunfels, Texas to go to http://www.schlitterbahn.com/.  It's been voted America's # 1 water park.  :-)

A Saturday Night at Barnes and Noble Bookstore

Saturday night my wife and I got a babysitter and went out on a date. We had a wonderful meal at a local seafood restaurant called Tommy's.  We try to have a date night every week.  Sometimes we go to the movies and other times we just have dinner and go walking.

Well, this night we didn't have anything planned for after dinner so we decided to go to the local Barnes and Noble bookstore to look around.  It's always amazing what you can find at a good bookstore.  I think bookstores give a real good glimpse into our society.

Here's 6 insights from my Saturday night at Barnes and Noble.

(Note: You can click on each one of the images to expand them)

1. Wow, I couldn't believe just how busy the place was.  Apparently, a lot of other people like to spend their Saturday nights and Barnes and Noble too.  The place was packed.  As we walked up there were about five other couples walking into the bookstore as well. And look at all the people at the checkout line.  Who says that bookstores are dead because of the Internet.  NOT TRUE!

2. Weight loss is still king!  We Americans are obsessed with weight loss (it's probably because we're so fat.  Hey, I admit it...I'm worried about weight loss too!  I've been fighting the battle of the bulge for years.  Every one is trying to cash in on the weight loss industry.  Even Sylvester Stallone.  You can see his new book in this photo.  And he even has a new health magazine out as well.

3. There seems to be no end to the highly successful "Dummies" series of books.  If you want to know what America is really thinking about, look at what Dummy books are on display at your local bookstore.  What's on display is what is selling.  In this photo you'll notice that topics such as anxiety, sex, stress, depression, dating, and addiction are all displayed prominently. It's probably because these are very common problems that a lot of people want a solution for.

4. It's amazing...."Think and Grow Rich" has been getting prime shelf space for so many years. You know a book is selling well if it gets the top shelf and it's cover is facing you.  When the average book only has a couple of months life, this timeless gem from Napolean Hill continues to live on. I think the title of this book is one of its primary success factors.  Who wouldn't want to just "think" and then start getting rich?

5. When I think about the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series I just shake my head.  How can someone create a series of books that has sold over 84 million copies and never have to write a single one of them.  It continues to blow my mind.  For all you infoproduct marketers out there, by analyzing the Chicken Soup for the Soul business model you can find SO MANY useful strategies for building your own info-empire that I can't even begin to name them.  What series of books gets their own private rack in the biggest bookstore chain in the world?  Only Chicken Soup for the Soul. My hat goes off to Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen.

6. Here's a photo of the new non-fictions table.  Notice which book has the smallest pile.  Yes, it's none other than Kevin Trudeau's, "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About."  If any of you watch infomercials (like I do) you've probably seen Kevin selling his new book.  Kevin is an infomercial megastar that has sold millions and millions via infomercial.  Well, this time I think Kevin is hitting a home run with his Natural Cures product.  By law, he can't sell health products (a result of his recent run in with the FTC) so he's selling information about health products.  He sells his book up front and then he back ends people with with membership website, NaturalCures.com and his monthly healt newsletter.  And if what I saw on this table is any indication of his success...I'd say his strategy is working!

Now What Do You Think Me and Misses Were Interested In?

Here's my beautiful wife Ingrid reading a book.  Click on the photo to see the title of the sign above the books.  Yes, it's "Yoga."  Well, my wife isn't into yoga but she is into health and fitness.  She loves running so she spent a lot of time in that department.  I'm so proud of my wife for being so well rounded.  She is very smart (she's my trusted financial advisor for my company), she is very spiritual and compassionate (she works tirelessly in our church helping other people), she is health (she just finished her first marathon this year and works out every day), she is a GREAT mother, (she loves our two children to death and works hard to raise them well....she is a voracious reader of parenting magazines and books), she is a wonderful wife (hey, if she can put up with me...she should get the award for "Wife of the Year").

So what do you think I was interested in?  Well, it should go without saying...I love marketing and business.  And one little book that caught my eye had me entranced.  It's called, "It."  And it's written by Paula Froelich, who is author of "Page Six" of the New York Post.  Basically, she's a gossip columnist, which well qualifies her to write this book.  Paul gives you 9 Rules of Success to becoming "It."  It really is a fascinating look into what makes a famous person famous and the powerful PR machines that drive famous personas into the minds of people like you and me. I stood there for about 30 minutes reading this book.  I couldn't put it down. 

Well, that's what I discovered in Barnes and Noble on a Saturday night.  I always enjoy visiting the bookstore.  I'm one of those people who could be there all day long and enjoy every minute of it.  On your next date night, why not visit the bookstore. If you're single you'll probably find out a lot about the person you're dating just by following her / him around.

Have a great day!

The Copywriting Chiropractor

The other day I received a letter that used a small paper bag as an envelope (see photo - click the photo to enlarge it).  I must admit, when I received in the mail, I was intrigued.  It's not every day you get a paper bag in the mail.

After looking at the return address I noticed it was from Dr. Greg Nielsen (a.k.a. "The Copywriting Chiropractor).

Dr. Nielsen is a master copywriter (and could probably make a whole lot more money copywriting than "chiropracting.").  Earlier this year I purchased his marketing course for chiropractors. 

It did NOT dissappoint.  I contains some of the best copywriting samples I've ever come across.  And the cool thing is that sometimes he'll put you on his mailing list so that you continue to get his copywriting gems as he sends them to his prospects and patients.

When I opened the letter I found it to be one of Dr. Nielsen's famous "Staff Memo" letters.  Dr. Nielsen has experienced huge success with his Staff Memo letters.  They're actually letters that are positioned as being written by his staff members.  They're not only a hoot to read....but they are very effective.

Click here if you'd like to see an example of one of Dr. Nielsen's famous Staff Memo letters.

If you'd like to find out more about Dr. Nielsen's Chiropractor Marketing Program then zip on over to http://www.DocNielsenStuff.com

Small Business Success: A Case Study In Successful Listbuilding

This past week I was on vacation in Utah.  My family and I attended a few family reunions and did some sightseeing.  On the 4th of July we attened the famous parade in Provo, Utah (apparently, it's one of the best in the U.S.).  We had a great time.

After the parade we walked over to the local town 4th of July festival.  At the festival there were a lot of local small businesses and vendors along with people selling some very cool stuff.  After getting some lunch we noticed a local merchant advertising "Dream Dinners."

Dream Dinners

Immediatly it caught my wife's attention (see photo at right).  She walked over and talked to the lady's about what they were selling.  I already knew what Dream Dinners was after reading an article about the franchise in a trade magazine.

Dream Dinners is a businesses that helps you create meals for yourself, in bulk, that you can take home and eat.  So rather than going to say, Sam's Club, to buy bulk meals, you would go over to Dream Dinners and make bulk meals for a lower price and take them home to eat.

Smart Marketing: Building Your House List

What I took notice of was that these ladies weren't selling anything.  They didn't even have the business set up yet.  All they were doing was telling people about Dream Dinners and starting a mailing list of interested prospects. 

Notice in the photo at the left, the list on the table.  (My sister is the person in the red and white striped shirt...she signed up on their list)  From the looks of it, they had already amassed a pretty big list of interested prospects just from one day at the festival.

That list will be GOLD to them.

Before they even open their doors, they'll have a group of people that are interested in hearing about their business and potentially buying their services.  How good is that.  That's smart marketing.

Always, remember...."the money is in the customer list."