Daniel Levis

WIN a copy of TERRY DEAN’S massive Internet Lifestyle Retirement System — No Purchase Necessary!

By Daniel Levis | June 19, 2008

139
Comments

I sure hope you’re as excited about attending the upcoming teleseminar training class with Terry Dean as I am. Terry is an online marketing legend.

information marketing & resultant lifestyleOver the past 12 years he’s helped literally hundreds of people to experience the Internet lifestyle — enjoying life on their own terms, free to work as much or as little as they like.

What if you could do the same? What if you could completely systematize your online business… creating multiple income streams flowing automatically into your bank account month in, month out…

Imagine the freedom!

On this one-time-only call Terry will be pulling some of the most powerful time and money leverage secrets out of his Internet Lifestyle Retirement Course and laying them out on a silver platter for hundreds of Selling to Human Nature members.

If you’re one of them, you could win a FREE copy of the full Internet Lifestyle Retirement course!

Terry’s full training course shows you step-by-step how to build your own internet lifestyle retirement business and INCLUDES the complete systems and tools to automate that business.

This course is HUGE, and sells for $495…

Get it for FREE!

Product

Here’s just a tiny sampling of the “how to” meat you’ll receive in the entire set of 6 full length CDs and 11 DVDs …

Plus, 41 Business Building Procedures captured on video — look over Terry’s shoulder and see the exact steps he uses to build a lifestyle business with the help of “work for training” interns. Load these videos up on your website and let Terry train your team of interns screen by screen, click by click, amazing!

Here’s just a small sampling of what’s covered …

Plus 24 Video Lessons that mow down the roadblocks to getting an army of hungry affiliates promoting for YOU!

Most affiliates will sign up to your program and do nothing. The reason is simple. They don’t know what to do. Let Terry turn them into a crack mercenary force with these powerful videos that train them to:

PLUS, 30 More Video Procedures For Your Virtual Assistant, so you can finally get out from behind your blasted computer and ENJOY LIFE!

Holy Crap Batman! Is that sensational or what? And remember, that’s just a tiny sampling of what you’ll receive. If you want the full story, click here.

Here’s a bold claim: Terry Dean, one of the most admired, respected, and TRUSTED names in online marketing says this package can completely systematize YOUR entire business in 48 hours or less! That is freakin’ INCREDIBLE!

And the best part is, you could WIN a copy of the entire course. It can all be yours, totally FREE!

Here’s how to win …

Just tell us why you need this course in the comment box at the very bottom of this post!

Important Tips: Terry wants to feel he’s making a good investment in giving you a FREE copy of his $495 course. Be sure to share your passion. Be specific. Convince us you’ll actually use the material. Tell us how it will change your life. Show us how you’ll make a difference in other people’s lives. WE WANT YOU TO SUCCEED!

Now here’s the catch …

The winner (the person with the most convincing submission) will be announced at the teleseminar next Tuesday. You can sign up for the teleseminar here.

If you’re declared the winner, you must contact us immediately to claim your prize. We’ll tell you how to do so on the call. If you’re not on the teleseminar, and you don’t respond when we call your name, the prize goes to the runner up. If that person is MIA (missing in action), the prize goes to the next runner up, and so on until the prize is awarded.

Remember, there’s no purchase necessary. It’s totally free. All you have to do is tell us why you need this course. And be on the call to claim your prize.

Are you ready? Go for it! Tell us your story in the box at the bottom of this page …

 

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Topics: Uncategorized | 139 Comments »

The Info-Marketing Apocrypha — 9 Forbidden Keys To Success — Part 2

By Daniel Levis | April 13, 2008

9
Comments

Apocrypha: “writings kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound, too sacred, or too heretical to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated.”

Forbidden Success Key #5 –

Sell Them What They Want,
Then Sell Them What They Need

John Maynard Keynes — the father of modern economic theory — formulated his policy recommendations to government upon the idea that as people become richer, they spend smaller and smaller portions of their income.

Keynes believed that people are much more strongly motivated to fulfill their basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing than they are to purchase luxury items after their basic needs have been met.

Back in the 1930s, Keynes gazed into his crystal ball and foresaw a day when the average American would own a four bedroom home and a car, and warned President Roosevelt of the grave dangers that lay ahead.

He said that once people had seized The American Dream and made it their own, they would become less productive, curtail their spending, and start squirreling away a large portion of their increasing incomes. And naturally when people stop spending, recession or even depression ensues.

Keynes encouraged the introduction of interventionist monetary policies like deficit spending… progressive taxation… and the manipulation of interest rates… all designed to “regulate” the economy by keeping the more productive people in society working, and preventing them from hoarding too much of their excess income as their affluence increased. Indeed, these monetary policies survive to this day.

There’s just one problem with all of this. Keynes was totally wrong. He had no clue about human motivation and the real reasons people spend their money. Even sadder, is the fact that his ideas have been hijacked by political parasites the world over to embezzle the wealth of hard working people. But don’t even get me started.

The simple truth is this …

People do not spend to meet material needs, and therefore do not curtail their spending as their wealth increases. The more they earn, the more they spend, and the more they acquire, the more they want. Upscale consumer demand is insatiable. And the reason is simple…

People buy because they’re looking to fill an emotional void in their lives. All of us hide behind a social mask. We pretend to be surer of ourselves than we really are. We don’t want people to glimpse our doubts, fears, insecurities, and feelings of lack. So we shroud ourselves in symbols that express the identities we wish to portray.

No matter how affluent or satisfied people appear to be on the outside, they are always suffering from a sense of incompleteness at some level on the inside.

All copy should not be a bed of roses. You must identify the dominant emotional weaknesses within your target market and ever so gently bring those doubts, discomforts, and anxieties to the surface of your prospect’s awareness with your sales copy and your marketing.

No one will follow you until you can get them to reflect on themselves first, and become aware of their failings. Sometimes it’s necessary to draw their attention to their inadequacies briefly, even twist the knife a little, stirring feelings of tension, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with their circumstances and with themselves.

Everyone deep down is insecure at some level. Bring their fears and insecurities to the surface, then come to the rescue, and people will follow you. Make them feel the pain, and they will appreciate the solution.

To my knowledge, there’s no such thing as a perfectly satisfied person.

God help marketers everywhere if such a person exists, reads this article, and comes up with a kick-ass how-to information product.

Forbidden Success Key #6 –

Indirection and Soft Suggestion

It’s human nature to revolt against criticism. We don’t generally like to be reminded of our fears, faults and failings. Often, we put up walls against those who try to point them out to us.

You, as an information marketer, may not wish to put yourself in such a position. You may want to build a bridge of rapport, not a wall of alienation. Fortunately, there is a proven formula that allows you to slip in under the radar and accomplish both goals.

Ironically, this method flies in the face of what you may have been led to believe…

One of the first things you learn in copywriting 101 is to write predominantly in the second person. The great copywriter Ted Nicholas has a little litmus test that goes something like this: Go through your copy and count the number of times you see the word “you” and derivatives thereof, and compare that with the number of times you see the word “I” and derivatives thereof, and then eliminate as many of the latter as you possibly can.

The thinking behind this little exercise is sound, at least in theory. It is based on the truth that we are all self-absorbed creatures who love to read about ourselves.

And of course, the word “you” and its derivatives satisfy that need quite nicely. But in practice, writing in the second person can backfire when you’re trying to intensify your prospect’s awareness of a problem.

Suppose you want to open a wound and twist the knife a little in order to focus your prospect on an emotional void in her life that she desperately wants filled. Is it wise to say, “Feel like you’re ready to break down and cry, because no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to keep the weight off?”

Or would it be better to tell a story about yourself and how you overcame the same struggle? Like this …

The Amazing Diet Secret
Of A Desperate Housewife!

My name is Nancy Pryor. I am 39 years old. I am a housewife and mother of three children. I would like to tell you something personal about myself. One day last September I just broke down and started to cry.

I couldn’t help it. I had reached my breaking point. I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown.

It happened one Monday morning right after I got on the bathroom scales to weigh myself …

In these few opening paragraphs, Gary Halbert used the word “I” or a derivative thereof 13 times, and the word “you” appeared just once. Yet this ad was enormously successful. Why?

Because the prospect projected herself into the story. She wasn’t thinking about Nancy Pryor when she read Gary’s ad. She was thinking about herself. Gary didn’t come out and tell her how to feel. He used the gentle arts of indirection and soft suggestion to make her fully aware of her sadness and frustration before coming to her rescue with a solution.

Forbidden Success Key #7 –

Matching, Mirroring, Pacing and Leading …

It’s human nature to be self-obsessed. We are all narcissists, absorbed in self-admiration a good deal of the time.

Have you ever noticed how you and people you’re close to have similar tastes? You dig the same music… enjoy the same foods… share the same beliefs and ideologies… maybe even dress alike. If someone were to video tape two of you together, you’d probably be amazed to see you were actually mirroring each other’s body language and speech patterns while you were together.

When it comes to magnetism between people, like attracts like.

Persuaders have known this for centuries and used the art of matching and mirroring to build a blinding rapport with those they wish to persuade. The way to entice people out of their shells is to become like them, in fact a mirror image of them. People truly love themselves, but what they love more is to see their ideas and tastes reflected in another person.

Hypnotized by their mirror image, they relax, and become open to you. Soon it becomes easy to begin leading the dance, and taking them in the direction you desire.

The same dynamic holds true in copy and graphic design. The words and images you use should echo back to your ideal prospects their own pre-existing ideas, biases, and opinions. You must appear to be one of them, communicating with them in their own words, and portraying them in ways that are complimentary and comfortable to them.

Only by meeting your target prospect on this common ground, can you begin to build upon their existing pre-conceptions and self-perceptions, molding them gradually to where you need them to be.

Forbidden Success Key #8 –

The Forbidden Fruit

Most of the time, people maintain their self-control and a certain degree of discipline when it comes to the satisfaction of their myriad desires. It is a great myth that people do not want to spend money. They love to spend their money on things that make them feel good.

But if they were constantly giving in to every attractive exhortation they would come unglued. They usually win the struggle. But it doesn’t come easy. Temptation is everywhere!

They read about people who have more than they do… see others having adventures they’re not… and hear about people who’ve achieved more than they have. Naturally, they’re envious, and this creates a constant tension. It is hard for them to repress their desires.

What people secretly want is to throw off the shackles of prudence, and give in to temptation. Your task is to hold forth a unique kind of enticement, something particularly potent that allows them to throw caution to the wind.

And one of the most powerful ways to do that is to hold out the promise of forbidden fruit. People are perversely excited by what they cannot or should not have.

Tell them someone (a common enemy) is trying to keep them from something… or that they will have to somehow qualify to become worthy of obtaining it… or that it is normally outside of their reach for whatever reason… or even that it may be somehow dangerous for them to have it… and they will want it all the more.

Forbidden Success Key #9 –

Fascination and Surprise

In my hand, I hold an ancient book. It is a family heirloom at least 100 years old. The leather binding is worn, the pages are brown, particularly around the edges, and when I open the book to read it, there is a slight mustiness that wafts up into my nostrils. Its contents were compiled over a thousand years ago from stories even more ancient.

Inside this book are 1001 tales told by a beautiful young woman. With the telling of each story, her life hangs in the balance.

The book is called The Arabian Nights. The story begins with a king who discovers his wife plotting with a lover to kill him. He has the pair executed and decrees all women unfaithful. Each night thereafter, he takes a virgin as his new bride, and has her executed at dawn.

Eventually, the King’s Chief Minister cannot find any more virgins, and so he must offer his own daughter. Her name is Scheherazade.

Scheherazade escapes her fate by telling the King a story that culminates in a cliffhanger at dawn so he will postpone her execution out of a desire to hear the rest of the tale.

She does this night after night, keeping the King in constant suspense. When one story ends, she quickly starts up another, and keeps this up for 1001 nights. On the final night she presents the king with three sons. He is convinced of her fidelity, and her life is spared. She becomes his Queen.

As an information marketer, you are like Scheherazade. You must continually titillate the curiosity of the marketplace. The moment people think they know where are you taking them, their interest is lost, and you’re dead. Mystery is what pulls us into the unknown.

Every business transaction involves this kind of anticipation. Indeed every business relationship demands it from one transaction to the next.

Thanks for reading this little series. As always, your comments are appreciated.

This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

 

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The Info-Marketing Apocrypha — 9 Forbidden Keys To Success — Part 1

By Daniel Levis | March 28, 2008

14
Comments

Apocrypha: “writings kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound, too sacred, or too heretical to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated.”

Information marketing and copywriting is my life. I’m in the thick of it, day in and day out…deep in the guts of at least two to three of my client’s info-marketing businesses at any one time, and watching dozens more at a distance.

Some of these businesses are extremely successful. The reasons why are almost always largely invisible to outsiders, and often fly in the face of accepted dogma.

One of the most beneficial things about being involved with these businesses – and helping them to become even more successful – is having an opportunity to peer into their otherwise invisible inner workings.

While obviously I can’t name names, or reveal any nitty-gritty specifics that would be deemed proprietary, what I can do is share the advanced success keys that make these businesses tick.

Forbidden Success Key #1 –

First Things First

Almost everyone who gets into this business initially puts the cart before the horse. They arrive at the erroneous yet logical conclusion that the product comes first, and that if you simply build a better mousetrap and market it well, the world will beat a path to your door.

This is very dangerous thinking, because people are not looking for better mousetraps. They’re looking to fill an emotional void in their lives. Your first order of business should be getting to know your customer, and identifying those voids.

Only when you understand what remains unfulfilled, will you be in a position to design a product that hits the sweet spot of the market. Remember, happy people make lousy prospects, particularly for front end products.

The second fundamental sequencing error fledgling info-product marketers often make is to create the product first, and the copy that sells it second. To the outsider, they appear to be separate, but in reality a successful product is merely an extension of the marketing that sells it. The product is born from the copy’s correlation with the emotional vulnerabilities of the market. Ideally, the product is also a carrier for the sales copy that sells the next product in the ascension ladder that defines the business.

Third, there is an overwhelming tendency to try and be too many things to too many people. Your cost of sales, and the amount of money you will be able to spend to attract a new customer are impacted greatly by the narrowness of the appeal.

People want things that are created specifically for them, and are willing to pay substantially more for such items. A book on dog training might sell for $19, while a book on training Doberman’s will sell for two or three times as much — and cost half as much to sell.

Forbidden Success Key #2 –

Make Them Come To You

A spider never wants for food. It finds a harmless looking little corner to build its web, and while busying itself with other tasks, awaits its prey.

Highly effective info-product selling works the same way. You make yourself visible in the places your target prospects are likely to find you, and lure them into your web with free content.

Like the spider, you personally attend only to the very best prospects that have fully ensnared themselves, while automating your interaction with the rest.

Once inside, your systems draw each prospect/customer deeper and deeper into your web in a series of graduated steps, each one increasing the level of commitment.

To make them come to you requires a soft sell. You haunt the periphery of their existence, appearing in different places, never approaching them, but continually teasing them to betray their interest by requesting specific information from you.

To them, this information is just what it seems, information. To you, it is copy, carefully designed to subtly communicate the various benefits of your solution… install buying criteria… overcome objections… and intensify their desire to fill the emotional void in their lives that attracted them to you in the first place.

Info-marketing Success Key #3 –

YOU Are The Product

Your mission — should you choose to rise to the challenge — is to execute continuous and gradual improvements to the stickiness of your web.

At the front end, this means increasing your effectiveness at converting prospects into buyers, lowering your cost of sales, and reinvesting your gains to widen your net.

In the back end, it means developing additional products and services that hit the sweet spot of desire, thus keeping your customers in a perpetual ascent to ever-higher levels of commitment and spending.

And in the greater scheme of things, making things so tight, systematic, and measurable that you can confidently start reinvesting a portion of your back-end profits in front-end marketing, until you’re spending more than anyone else in your niche to attract and acquire a new customer.

Extreme profitability and business equity comes from the small group of customers who make it all the way to the top of the ascension ladder. This is the elite inner circle that buys everything you put out, sight unseen, no matter what it costs.

Building a core following like that requires more then mere products. It demands your customers develop a strong personal identification with you. At a certain point, they stop buying your products, and they start buying you.

You become the product. And you must be interesting enough as a person to maintain their curiosity.

It is crucial that you reveal your personality, ideals, opinions, and ideologies, and it doesn’t hurt at all if they are extreme, controversial, unpredictable, or even a little paradoxical.

Keep them guessing, and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand.

Forbidden Success Key #4 –

Become An Object Of Desire

We are all social creatures, influenced greatly by the people around us. We want what other people want.

Imagine walking down a busy street and looking for a place to dine. On the left is a steak house with a long line of people snaking around the building. Why are they waiting to get inside? There must be a reason.

On the other side of the street is a Seafood House. There are just a few cars in the parking lot. Why are there so few people inside at the dinner hour? There must be a reason.

In both cases, there may be no reason at all. Or the reason may have nothing to do with the taste of the food, the quality of the service, or the ambiance of the decor. The Chef and Maitre de may be standing at the ready inside the Seafood House to give you the finest culinary delights you have ever imagined — supposing you were to go inside. But alas, you probably won’t.

Desirability is a social illusion.

Your own reputation may or may or may not be that alluring. Regardless, you must find ways to suggest that many others, or at the very least those in high places have benefited from your counsel. There’s nothing like a restaurant full of empty tables to persuade us not to go in.

Desire is both imitative, and competitive. Not only do we want what other people want, we want to take it away from them.

Limit the space in your inner circle. Force your customers to compete for your attention. Make them see you as a scarce and sought after commodity, and you will become shrouded in an aura of desirability.

That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed these tips. Keep your ear to the ground for Forbidden Success Keys 5 through 9, coming soon. As always, your comments are welcome, and appreciated.

This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

 

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Like Handing A Monkey A Loaded Gun …

By Daniel Levis | January 15, 2008

8
Comments

Marketing is really pretty simple.

Just find out what people want, and give it to them. Too simple, right? So simple, few do it… preferring to play blind target practice with their marketing dollars — the financial equivalent to handing a monkey a loaded gun!

Instead of interacting with their prospects to zero in on the sweet spot of desire, these companies hide from them. And end up blowing their brains out on failed marketing campaigns, victims of their own advertising shrapnel …

My prediction?

Those who insist on continuing this monkey marketing — simply aping their competitors without care or thought for the real wants and needs of their prospects — will crash and burn over the next 12 to 18 months… while savvy marketers who understand the importance of applied research leave them in the dust.

Why?

Because in today’s brave new world of copious information supply – far outstripping demand – consumers are naturally gravitating toward businesses who display unusual empathy… who listen to them… and react.

So to set a positive example, I’m doing something highly unusual today.

I’m taking you behind the scenes… dissecting my recent database survey where I asked, “what do you want?” I’m even sharing a little bit of my proprietary data with you …

If you sell information of any kind, you should find this instructive.

Shall we begin?

I surveyed you because I want to add a continuity component to my business. There are clearly those among you willing to pay for priority access to my training on a regular and recurring basis, and this survey is designed to help me to create the most beneficial program possible.

So I asked “how do you learn best?” The responses surprised me. With all of the buzz about multi-media and interactivity I wouldn’t have expected the lowly ebook and printed manual to have scored so highly …

Here are the results:

Next, I wanted to know where on the continuum you are with respect to implementation. No matter what kind of information you happen to be selling, this is an important question.

It gives you clues as to how deep the content you deliver to your subscribers should be. I felt the best way to get to the root of this question was to ask about business revenues. Here are the results:

As you can see there are a lot of new market entrants. This is a very healthy sign. It means the market is growing… and quickly.

Next, I asked, “If you were to subscribe to a paid program of ongoing training and advice, which of the following types of content would you find most valuable?” If you sell information of any kind, again, I think you’ll find these results interesting …

So far, my little survey has given me a feeling for the kind of media you find most useful, and a general sense of the kind of content you want.

Now here’s where I was mining for gold. The next question went free form and asked you to “please describe the training (both the content and the format) that you feel you need most to quickly take your business to the next level in 2008.”

The answers I got to this question (too numerous to show here) go way beyond simply telling me what you want. They hold clues about the way you think about your business, and how you need to be communicated with. Embedded within your comments are words and phrases that will end up in my sales copy.

The next question was “how much would you expect to pay for training such as you just described?” Naturally I’m taking your answers with a grain of salt. I’m not so much trying to fish for a price point, but rather an idea of the relative value you place on different kinds of content and training.

I also wanted to see where else you’d be spending your money in 2008, so I asked, “in which of the following areas will you be investing in 2008?” Out of a long list, more of you said copywriting courses than anything else. Smart!

And I was dying to find out how old you are. Knowing the demographics of the market you’re communicating with matters BIG TIME. Each generation wants different things, has different needs, and thinks differently.

The generation you belong to has shared imprints that color your view of the world. These experiences impact your beliefs and your attitudes.

Based on the below survey results, it’s a safe bet you grew up during the cold war, listening to The Beatles, and watching the original Star Trek on TV.

Some of the emotionally charged events that are seared into your memory are the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968… the Apollo 11 moonwalk in ‘69… the assassination of John Lennon in ‘80… and of course 9/11 in 2001.

And because you experienced those events at a particular stage of life, they impacted your thinking in very specific ways.

That’s why knowing the demographic make up of your database is so important. It allows you to write sales copy that keys in on the specific mindsets that age and experience create.

Finally, I asked you to rate me against other sources of similar information. I asked this question for two reasons. 1) I was fishing for potential testimonials. I got a ton. And 2), I thought there would be a lot of emotionally charged content here that I could use in my promotions. And I was right.

Many of you took this opportunity to rant about our industry’s habit of selling you things while pretending to teach you things.

Actually I have mixed thoughts on this. On the one hand I think it’s silly for someone who wants to learn about marketing to be offended by genuine teaching that doubles as selling. Personally I love to watch or listen to a masterful pitch.

On the other hand, it’s true that far too many internet marketer’s “lessons” are pretty hollow – some all pitch and no teaching – pure fluff. To my thinking, that makes for a lousy pitch. The biggest grand slam home runs teach and sell at the same time, don’t you agree? If you’d like to discuss, post a comment in the form below.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed getting a wee peak under the kimono today. I am a huge believer in market research. In my opinion it is the absolute bedrock of productive copy. The insight you can mine from open ended questions when you take the time to classify and quantify them is truly amazing.

I’m far from an expert. In fact, before preparing my little survey I poured through Glenn Livingston’s market research course, and actually interviewed him. You can listen to the interview for free. Just click here and sign up for it. As soon as you do, you’ll be directed to a page where you’ll be able to download my interview with Glenn for FREE!

And as a special bonus, Glenn will send you other valuable materials on this important subject that he compiled in interviews with Perry Marshall, Jonathan Mizel, David Bullock, and Fred Gleeck. Awesome stuff!

Glenn’s work is utterly incredible.

Not only does he show you step-by-step how to mine insights from an existing database, he shows you how to systematically research new niches to determine how profitable they’ll be… exactly what kinds of products prospects within those niches will go crazy for… and precisely how to communicate with them to get them to buy.

Click on this link, download all of the great market research related content Glenn has prepared for you, listen to my interview, and post any questions you have in the form below. If there are some good ones, I’ll invite Glenn to stop by and join the discussion.

Until next time, Good Selling!

 

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Confessions Of The $5 Billion Dollar Man …

By Daniel Levis | November 30, 2007

262
Comments

Can You Tell A Break-Even Ad From A Blockbuster?

Ted Nicholas (pictured at left) is one the most successful and revered copywriters and information marketers alive today. His copy, and marketing brainstorms have been directly responsible for more than $5.7 BILLION in sales over the span of his 50 plus year career.

Ted’s remarkable copywriting skill allowed him to turn his first information product, a book called “How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $50″ into one of the best selling business books of all time. He wrote literally hundreds of ads that appeared in national newspapers and magazines to sell the book… split tested dozens of different appeals… and scrupulously tabulated the results.

Since I’ll be interviewing Ted shortly, and digging deep into the story behind one of the most successful of these ads, I thought it would be fun to run a little quiz beforehand …

Below, you’ll find the headline and lead from two ads that Ted used to sell “How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $50″. One of the ads broke even, and the other was a blockbuster money-spinner that made Ted millions. Can you guess the winner just by looking? If you can guess correctly, my assistant Sangeeta will send you a link to the mp3 recording of the live interview I’ll be doing with Ted this coming Thursday.

Are you ready? Go ahead and study the headline and lead from both ads. Then post a comment telling me which one you think was the blockbuster winner, and why. Keep in mind that results were tabulated across a wide variety of general interest business-oriented magazines and newspapers.

Only Way Left For
Little Guy To Get Rich…

Here is the uncensored message my wife
asked me not to write

 

“I love my wife. And I understand why she wants me to keep my mouth shut. She wants to protect me from the IRS.

But I can’t be quiet any longer. I’m angry. We are really getting jerked around. And I’m tired of it.

The government says one thing. And then does the opposite. Especially Bush. And I even voted for him. One of my biggest mistakes.

First the Feds talk tax cuts. Then they increase taxes. Remember the “read my lips” promise. Who are they kidding?

Average tax payers, you and me, are getting screwed.

The new law doesn’t bother the rich fat cats much. They still have loopholes galore. Let’s face it. They always will.

But recently I ran across a workable angle. It’s cheap. And it’s legal. It’s meant for the rich. But it’s perfect for us little guys. You don’t need any money. And we can get the same breaks the rich get.

I can hardly believe it. Get this. I formed a corporation. Of my own. For peanuts.

It’s my way of fighting back.

Now I have a small one man corporation. I operate out of my apartment. My work? I’m a commercial designer. Brochures, fliers– stuff like that. On my income I didn’t think I could save much. But I’m paying almost zero taxes. And it’s legit. Just like big business does it. I have no guilt. Uncle Sam already gets plenty. Too much from all of us.

One thing the feds didn’t bother much under the new tax laws–corporate tax goodies. Guess they figured right. Burden business too much. Result? No jobs for anybody. Including them. Not to worry. They know better.

From a buddy, I heard about this unusual book. It’s called HOW TO FORM YOUR OWN CORPORATION WITHOUT A LAWYER FOR UNDER $50, by Ted Nicholas. Damnedest book I’ve ever seen. Has the forms right in it. Pages are perforated. You just fill in some blanks, rip ‘em out, and mail them in. A couple of days later you’ve got a corporation. No wonder it’s a best seller. (They tell me over 650.000 copies have been sold.)

OK, so you get the gist of it. Homespun, buddy to buddy. The main appeal is tax savings. The dominant emotion is anger.

How do you think it stacked up against the one below? Same book, same offer. Totally different ad…

DANGER

All Your Personal Assets
Could Be Wiped Out Overnight

There is only one completely safe way to protect your car, home, cash, and other personal assets from business risks

 

It’s downright scary.

As a self employed individual, your home, car, stocks, and other personal assets are always at risk.

The big fear is that a business disaster, which is beyond anyone’s control, could happen to you. An accident, lawsuit, or financial loss… events which happen every day… could wipe you out.

A major problem is that we live in a ‘litigation-happy’ society. It’s often a dangerous and naive assumption to believe that no one will ever sue you. A law-suit could be filed by a customer, supplier, relative, or disgruntled employee. In fact, there is a strong probability you will be sued in the near future even if you are very careful. You could lose, often on some technical point of law with which you are unfamiliar. If so… boom! Just like that you could lose your business. In addition, your home, cars, cash, stocks, bonds, and other assets could also go down the drain without proper protection.

Fortunately, you personally can avoid this risk. How? Incorporation.

The only way to separate business from personal assets is by forming your own corporation. Almost no amount of insurance can protect you from all kinds of risk like incorporation can. And you can do so even if you’re the only employee. In this way, if the worst happens, you lose only what is invested in the business itself.

Incorporation is also important for the doctor, dentist, or other professional. Unfortunately, many are dissolving their professional corporations because of the new Keogh rules. However, many are unaware of the risks they are taking.

An incorporated physician does not avoid personal liability in conducting his profession, during surgery for example. But he/she does protect personal liability just like any other business person when it comes to debts incurred by the practice, non medically related lawsuit judgements, leases, investments which go sour etc.

But a word of caution. Misinformation about incorporation abounds. If any of your advisors have recommended you not incorporate or dissolve your corporation… whether you have employees or a one-person corporation… you’d be smart to consider the facts. Only then would you be in a position to make an informed decision.

Myth - Keoghs have been…

OK, that should give you the tone and flavor of this one. Here, the dominant emotion is fear. And the ad is selling protection.

Post a comment, and give me your answers to these three burning questions:

  1. Which ad is the million dollar ad?

  2. What’s your reasoning?

  3. What specific copywriting, information marketing, and business related questions would you like me to ask Ted on Thursday, December 6th, at the teleseminar training. Anything goes.

Remember, pick the million dollar ad correctly (the winning ad will be identified on the call), and you get a FREE mp3 recording of the teleseminar. Click here now, and lock in your spot right away. This call will fill up fast. Ted is a legend. To post your opinion on which ad was the winner, and/or a question you’d like me to ask Ted on the call, click on “comments” right here on the very next line. Thanks!

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A Valuable Reward For Your Thoughts …

By Daniel Levis | November 10, 2007

213
Comments

Thanks for attending our recent teleseminar on how to grow your customer and prospect lists up to 7 times faster using the 5R system. This post has been specially prepared to collect your feedback.

Please share your biggest “AHA” moment — the juiciest morsel of moneymaking knowledge you picked up from this particular session — and even more importantly, what you plan to do with it.

Glowing testimonials and constructive criticism are also welcome.

My assistant, Sangeeta, will monitor this post, and email everyone who submits a comment a private link, where you will be able to download “How to Attract a Lusty Swarm Of Credit Card Wielding Buyers To Your Website With FREE Publicity”, as my special thank you for helping to make these live learning events a huge success!

Post your comments in the below form …

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