Category Archives: mailshots

Act first, think second, regret third!

If you take a look through the settings on Gmail, there's a feature which allows you to "undo" the sending of your email and stop the email being delivered.  This feature has been so popular, that last week they announced it has been extended and improved.  It seems a huge number of people ...

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Dead trees and a powerful copy writing lesson!

Writing marketing copy or sales copy that really works can be a challenge, especially for people with little or no experience.  One of the best ways to learn how to write great copy, is to read great copy and then study what you have read. Why did that particular message compel you to ...

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Not all spam is created equal!

I was just thinking how the term spam is being used right now, for a lot more than unwanted, unsolicited emails. For example: If someone sends you an unwanted sales message via a social networking site, we call them social media spammers. When they leave comments on ...

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So, you want to write more, great blog posts?

I regularly get email from people, asking how I manage to write blog posts most days and still keep the ideas and content flowing.  It's easy to see why, when you consider that a regularly updated blog with useful content is more commercially valuable, than one with fewer, valuable blog posts. So, here are a few ...

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Are you sure you do it often enough?

I have 2 quick questions for you today, which can help you massively increase your sales: What is the single most powerful form of marketing that you use? Why don't you use it more often? 2 million in extra sales, with 1 simple idea! Back in 1997, I ...

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Marketing messages: It’s all about THEM!

All too often, small business owners market their services based on what is most appealing to them.  They make offers that they think are great.  They focus on benefits that they think are important. Here's the challenge with that approach: It's very ineffective! Your prospective clients buy for their reasons, not yours.  If you want them to ...

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How would you cope, if this happened to YOU?

How well do your business resources match your marketing goals or sales targets? You may want "more business" right now, but if it came, if your marketing was so effective and compelling that all the extra business you want actually arrived, how well could you service it? Many people say that this is a "great problem to ...

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He made me an offer that was easy to refuse!

Yesterday evening, I received an unsolicited email from someone I don't know.  What follows is his entire email, other than his name and address: "WOULD YOU CONSIDER Doing a 30-minute webinar for real estate agents on Monday, August 2, at 10 a.m. Central time U.S., 4 p.m. London.  And talk about marketing in today's world!" The email ...

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It’s only useful, if you use it!

It's a fact: The best marketing ideas in the world will not work, unless you use them. Over the years, I have discovered that small business owners can be divided into 2 groups, when it comes to marketing. Group 1: Those who find marketing interesting, but just dabble and ...

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Don’t push your marketing on people!

One of the reasons that you get targeted with so much unprofessional marketing, is that small business owners never view what THEY do as spammy or unprofessional.  They know that their intentions are good, so as far as they are concerned: It's OK for them to add you to their mailing list without your consent, because ...

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Just because Bob can, does not mean he should!

One of the great things about being in business today, is that we can get an idea, write it down, click a mouse button and get it in front of thousands of people in seconds.  Better still, we can reach all these people for little more than the cost of our time.  However, instant communications ...

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Keep clear!

One of the primary reasons that so many small business owners miss out on sales, is that their marketing messages lack clarity.  When it comes to sales, clarity is king.  In fact, one of the oldest sayings in the business is: "A confused mind always says NO!" In other words, if ...

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Are you marketing with a hammer, an axe or a chainsaw?

How would you describe the way you market your business? When I used to speak with marketing students, I would explain the three basic small business marketing approaches like this. Marketing approach 1: Chopping down a tree with a hammer Yes, you can chop a tree down with a hammer but it ...

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Get to the point!

One of the fastest ways to improve the effectiveness of your marketing messages, is to get to the point as soon as possible, in as few words as possible. For example, I recently helped a new client increase the conversion rate of a page on his website by 450%, after reducing the number of words on ...

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How to make better marketing decisions

If you want to make better marketing decisions, you may find today's post really useful.  It's all about something I call bad numbers. Allow me to explain! Bad numbers = Bad data Imagine you wanted to know what the average small business ...

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Your marketing has a sell by date!

How up to date is the marketing information you use?  I ask you this, because it's extremely easy to be working hard implementing ideas or using tools, which are so outdated that they have very little potential to help you achieve the bankable sales results you need. Marketing ...

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2 steps to improve your marketing messages!

Did you ever hear that old saying; "You can't keep everybody happy"?  Well, when it comes to marketing messages, you shouldn't even try!  When you embrace this idea, it can provide a massive boost your sales figures. It's all about using a more targeted marketing approach. Targeted marketing messages A targeted marketing message consists of 2 ...

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It’s all about them!

Why do so many marketers focus on what THEY want in their marketing messages, rather than the needs of their marketplace? I was looking through my inbox earlier, and found several emails from people, who have been hounding me for business.  Not only have they been emailing me too frequently, but the tone ...

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Some signs to help you to the top!

This post is designed to help you advance further, faster - by helping you spot some warning signs, before they become a major issue.  You know what's great about this?  When you spot a warning sign and act on it correctly, it is transformed from a warning sign, to a highly positive leap forward in ...

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Say it like you MEAN it!

Have you ever noticed how powerful it is, when someone talks to you about something they are passionate about?  It makes a massive difference to the effectiveness of their message and the energy created can be really infectious. So, why do so many business owners totally fail to inject REAL passion into their communications with people?

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