By Jhon Cody
I can sit here all day giving you tips and hints on headlines and phrases that sell. But none of it will do you any good if you just plain hate sitting down at the keyboard. If you can't stand writing, you're in good company. Most of us feel the same. I once asked a high school English teacher how many of her 300 students liked to write. "Oh, about 9 of them," she said. Everyone from Mark Twain to Bart Simpson has faced a blank sheet of paper for hours with no idea of what to put on it.
Well let me give you a few ideas from my office of professional writers. In the world of non-fiction writing, being a professional doesn't necessarily mean being a great writer. It does mean you have to be able to conjure up great copy every single day, even when you don't feel well or aren't in the mood you can visit www.sales-page-rapid-fire.com. The first step is just to get something on paper — anything! And I do mean anything. Just start writing down whatever comes to mind.
If you can't think of anything, write "I'm sitting here and I can't think of anything to write.” Yes, that sounds pretty stupid. But it's exactly the technique a lot of top writers use to get the creative juices flowing. Next you'll find yourself typing "I need to write a sales letter to promote my new software. It’s a software to help people gets organized. Most people have lots of information, but they can't remember where they put it. This software has people organize their information in a system that makes it super easy to find, in just seconds.”
Wow! You're writing, you're telling your story, and best of all, you're not worrying about being bad because you know you can go back later and change it all. One top writer copies and pastes favorite lines from other sources (like the client's web site.) Then she rewrites those sections in her own words so that they are completely original. That's enough to get her going. Next she fills in additional fresh copy between the blurbs she has already completed. Even on days when she would rather be anywhere but behind a computer, she cranks out first rate copy in record time.
Another method is to just start talking or visit www.sales-letters-creator.com. Talk into one of those little tape recorders you get at Radio Shack. Pretend you're telling your best friend, your mother, or Paris Hilton all about your big idea. Go into all the details. Talk it all out. Later, go back, listen, and take notes. Your notes will be the start of your email message.
Don’t type very well? 60 percent of North Americans can't type. Hunting keys often makes writing frustrating if not impossible. Follow in the tradition of a great many very famous writers. Pick up a cheap ballpoint pen and write down your ideas with the good old handwriting you learned in second grade. Then have someone type it up.
The key is to just get something, anything, on your computer screen or on paper. Once you have that, start to edit. The copy will take on a life of its own and the writing will come easier. Or, simply hand your first attempts to a professional writer. Most can churn your notes into polished copy faster and cheaper than they can write entirely new copy.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
(my own article directory)
www.killer-sales-letters.com www.web-sales-letter-supreme.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Small Businesses Need Market Research Too
By Article Specialist
Before venturing into a business, one of the important phases is to have the necessary information on your prospective target market. By doing market research you can determine and find out exactly what your potential customers need, what they want and don’t want and why to put you in a better position to make the necessary adjustments to market your product.
The three common methods of market research are surveys, questionnaires and focus groups. You can also obtain specific information and data by visiting competitor’s websites. Your business’ marketing and product development plans should be the end result of an exhaustive market research.
There are additional factors that have considerable impact on your marketing plan such as budget, type of products or services, geographic market (local or global), turnaround volume, methods of distribution and lead time, and personnel.
By doing a comprehensive market research you can gather and study important information about product pricing, market movement and competitor’s strategies that allows you to develop a competitive and customized pricing scheme based on scientific data. You can then decide to undersell, offer volume discounts or provide value added services and strong after sales support if your product price is higher.
Market research helps you gain a better knowledge of the actual value of your product or service in the marketplace. Make sure to perform ongoing market research as your business goes forward in order to have a clearer heads up understanding of what changes occur in the market that affect your service or product, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time.
You can either use primary or secondary research methodologies to gather your data in performing your market research. Primary research is gathering data based on surveys, focus groups and through other means. Primary research data includes information about customer inclination, buying behavior, feedback of current and prospective customers. On the other hand, secondary research is gathering data from available reference books, industry and trade periodicals, local chambers of commerce and government agencies. Information available from these sources include specific industry sales trends and growth, demographic profiles, regional business statistics including the number of businesses with the same products or service that you plan to offer. Most businesses, big or small, use a combination of primary and secondary research methods to compile a realistic data base of their markets.
Although good instincts, business acumen and intuition play important roles in successfully managing a business, these are not sufficient to minimize risks and improve chances of business success in today’s highly competitive business world. Market research has become a necessity not only to gather objective data about a business but also to be able to secure capital funding loans from banks and other lending institutions. Market research is the process of collecting and analyzing information and data about your projected target market. The data and information you gather allows you to make informed decisions about your product and target market. Doing a comprehensive market research helps you formulate a comprehensive, realistic and marketable business plan.
The results of your market research puts you in a better position to penetrate your primary target market and take the necessary steps to make your company grow and succeed.
The process of finding and studying potential customers for your business is extremely important and should not be overlooked. Customer patronage is the backbone to success of any business venture. Briefly, you have to find out everything and anything you can about your customers demographic, geographic and lifestyle information. Once you have all the data and information, you have a better chance of cornering and maintaining customers for your business and expanding into other related markets. These factors are highly important in putting together a focused market profile for a successful business.
Before venturing into a business, one of the important phases is to have the necessary information on your prospective target market. By doing market research you can determine and find out exactly what your potential customers need, what they want and don’t want and why to put you in a better position to make the necessary adjustments to market your product.
The three common methods of market research are surveys, questionnaires and focus groups. You can also obtain specific information and data by visiting competitor’s websites. Your business’ marketing and product development plans should be the end result of an exhaustive market research.
There are additional factors that have considerable impact on your marketing plan such as budget, type of products or services, geographic market (local or global), turnaround volume, methods of distribution and lead time, and personnel.
By doing a comprehensive market research you can gather and study important information about product pricing, market movement and competitor’s strategies that allows you to develop a competitive and customized pricing scheme based on scientific data. You can then decide to undersell, offer volume discounts or provide value added services and strong after sales support if your product price is higher.
Market research helps you gain a better knowledge of the actual value of your product or service in the marketplace. Make sure to perform ongoing market research as your business goes forward in order to have a clearer heads up understanding of what changes occur in the market that affect your service or product, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time.
You can either use primary or secondary research methodologies to gather your data in performing your market research. Primary research is gathering data based on surveys, focus groups and through other means. Primary research data includes information about customer inclination, buying behavior, feedback of current and prospective customers. On the other hand, secondary research is gathering data from available reference books, industry and trade periodicals, local chambers of commerce and government agencies. Information available from these sources include specific industry sales trends and growth, demographic profiles, regional business statistics including the number of businesses with the same products or service that you plan to offer. Most businesses, big or small, use a combination of primary and secondary research methods to compile a realistic data base of their markets.
Although good instincts, business acumen and intuition play important roles in successfully managing a business, these are not sufficient to minimize risks and improve chances of business success in today’s highly competitive business world. Market research has become a necessity not only to gather objective data about a business but also to be able to secure capital funding loans from banks and other lending institutions. Market research is the process of collecting and analyzing information and data about your projected target market. The data and information you gather allows you to make informed decisions about your product and target market. Doing a comprehensive market research helps you formulate a comprehensive, realistic and marketable business plan.
The results of your market research puts you in a better position to penetrate your primary target market and take the necessary steps to make your company grow and succeed.
The process of finding and studying potential customers for your business is extremely important and should not be overlooked. Customer patronage is the backbone to success of any business venture. Briefly, you have to find out everything and anything you can about your customers demographic, geographic and lifestyle information. Once you have all the data and information, you have a better chance of cornering and maintaining customers for your business and expanding into other related markets. These factors are highly important in putting together a focused market profile for a successful business.
Friday, November 7, 2008
How Much Are You Researching?
By Colleen Davis
In order to have strong marketing you first need to lay down the foundation of research that your marketing is going to be resting on.
This is one of the most important steps of marketing and what so many different people do everything they can to avoid if at all possible. The reason is because research can be a very lengthy process, and it is viewed by many as something a little more boring than they feel like bothering with.
Well, you can avoid research if you want, but I wouldn’t expect to get a lot of strong marketing pushes if you’re doing something like that.
How can you possibly write or design something that appeals to people if you don’t even know what it is that they want because you never bothered to research it? That’s the problem with having no research: you have no way of knowing what your customers are really looking for.
Sure you can guess about it. You decide the next time you print brochures that people are looking for good savings and that’s it. Or you have one specific product you’re just positive that they want, and so if you design a color brochure talking about it people will naturally come right in and give you business.
You might even be right some of the time. This is what often leads to a business mistakenly believing that they don’t need to do strong research. They do one or two marketing pushes where it was rather obvious from the outset what their customers were looking for. They print brochures focusing on one message or another that happens to ring true, and they generate their sales because of it.
Yes, this can certainly happen, but are they going to have sustained success? If their competition is thoroughly researching the market while that company isn’t, how long before they focus on a marketing push that doesn’t work like they were expecting it to. Suddenly they find their business faltering because they aren’t right about what they think their customers are after, and it starts to quickly show.
Opinions can shift quickly among your customers. The needs of one moment might be meaningless in the next. The only way you can be certain that your focus is accurate is if you’re being sure to actually research what it is that your customers are looking for.
Marketing without research will only last so long. Never let yourself be fooled by a few brief successful marketing pushes that research isn’t need for your company or your industry. Research is and always will be the foundation of marketing whether you’d like to believe it or not. Without research, no company is going to be able to remain on top forever. Eventually your luck is going to run out.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
For more information, you can visit this page on print brochures
In order to have strong marketing you first need to lay down the foundation of research that your marketing is going to be resting on.
This is one of the most important steps of marketing and what so many different people do everything they can to avoid if at all possible. The reason is because research can be a very lengthy process, and it is viewed by many as something a little more boring than they feel like bothering with.
Well, you can avoid research if you want, but I wouldn’t expect to get a lot of strong marketing pushes if you’re doing something like that.
How can you possibly write or design something that appeals to people if you don’t even know what it is that they want because you never bothered to research it? That’s the problem with having no research: you have no way of knowing what your customers are really looking for.
Sure you can guess about it. You decide the next time you print brochures that people are looking for good savings and that’s it. Or you have one specific product you’re just positive that they want, and so if you design a color brochure talking about it people will naturally come right in and give you business.
You might even be right some of the time. This is what often leads to a business mistakenly believing that they don’t need to do strong research. They do one or two marketing pushes where it was rather obvious from the outset what their customers were looking for. They print brochures focusing on one message or another that happens to ring true, and they generate their sales because of it.
Yes, this can certainly happen, but are they going to have sustained success? If their competition is thoroughly researching the market while that company isn’t, how long before they focus on a marketing push that doesn’t work like they were expecting it to. Suddenly they find their business faltering because they aren’t right about what they think their customers are after, and it starts to quickly show.
Opinions can shift quickly among your customers. The needs of one moment might be meaningless in the next. The only way you can be certain that your focus is accurate is if you’re being sure to actually research what it is that your customers are looking for.
Marketing without research will only last so long. Never let yourself be fooled by a few brief successful marketing pushes that research isn’t need for your company or your industry. Research is and always will be the foundation of marketing whether you’d like to believe it or not. Without research, no company is going to be able to remain on top forever. Eventually your luck is going to run out.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
For more information, you can visit this page on print brochures
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