Self-Interest is the #1 motivator behind all human action. Our job as marketers is to manipulate this self-interest.  It all starts with the prospects emotional desires seeking fulfillment…

The post Ruthless Marketing Tip #259 appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

The path of least resistance leads to a life of mediocrity. But, when given two choices - most people will always take that path. They almost always take the easy way. It’s human nature.

The post Ruthless Marketing Tip #792 appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

You have probably already heard about the “assault umbrella incident” including the several hours long chase, complete with HELICOPTERS, to question the suspect 42-year-old Michael Di Marzo. A teenage tipster described Michael as “wearing black clothes and a ski mask”.

Schools even went on lockdown all around town.

Why? Because he was carrying an umbrella.

I’m not joking.

The Bartitsu Society & Assault Umbrellas bartitsu.org

Michael was harassed in a citywide manhunt while visiting his mother, who had been suffering from complications with diabetes, and doing errands around town. For carrying an umbrella. And the alleged “ski mask” was actually a black turtle neck sweater paired with a black cap.

As a society are we really that paranoid?

If so, the media has done a great job putting fear into our hearts. From a Ruthless Marketing standpoint – GREAT job on their part. From a common sense standpoint it’s a completely different story. How many innocent lives were put in danger and how many thousands of dollars were wasted in this “manhunt”?

But no worries, the local police are saying “at the end of the day, there isn’t a much better training exercise”.

The thing to really consider is this: Washington is an “open- carry” state. That means a person may openly carry a firearm (pistol, rifle or shotgun) in public without a concealed-pistol license. It makes you wonder what the response would have been in Micheal had been exercising his legal rights to open-carry?

If I had to venture a guess, it would be that we would probably be reading about his death…

And while Washington state citizens all cower in fear of the next rainstorm, I’m sure Washington (DC, not state) is drafting a knee-jerk reaction 5,000 page document to recommend we ban all black umbrellas “because they can look scary”. I eagerly await their forecasted genius recommendation to “just wear a poncho”.

In the meantime, let’s hope it doesn’t rain much in Washington…

Let me know your thoughts below!

Here are a few stories I found about this “assault umbrella” incident:

Umbrella mistaken for assault rifle sparks manhunt in Olympia – The …

A typical Tuesday morning for 42-year-old Michael Di Marzo quickly became a citywide multi-jurisdictional manhunt for him and what witnesses thought was a assault rifle in his hand. Three schools were locked down and …

Manhunt For Man Armed with “Assault Umbrella” Takes Hours …

A tipster called in a man in a ski mask and carrying what they thought was an “assault rifle.” Turns out, tipsters can be completely wrong, putting innocent people in police crosshairs: A typical Tuesday morning for 42-year-old …

And here is a “real life” assault umbrella I found at Real-Self-Defense.com:

The post Assault Umbrella AU-15 Here’s the Real Story appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

One way to share your Instagram photos are by linking your social media sites to your Instagram account and broadcasting them that way. But what about the people that just happen to stumble upon your website or blog who have never heard of you, really like your stuff and want to know more about you?

Adding an Instagram Widget to your sidebar is a super simple way of doing that.

Here are my two personal favorites in reverse order.

#2 Simply Instagram

This is a Plugin through WordPress, is really easy to instal and offers several display options for your sidebar including:

Display Profile Picture w/follow button and follow stats
My Followers Thumbnails
Users I’m Following Thumbnails
My Latest Feed (Pictures)
Include Photos I Liked

That’s a lot of options. You can put them all on your page if you like, but I would suggest only doing one or two because that takes up a lot of space on your sidebar. Simplicity is always best. I prefer to display my profile picture to make it easy for people to start following me and my latest feed so people can see what kind of pictures I like to take throughout my day.

Here is what it looks like:

#1 SnapWidget

My personal favorite way to install Instagram to your site is through SnapWidget. It’s a simple website that you customize how you want your Instagram photos to appear on your sidebar, copy the code and paste it into the text widget. No installation or download required. It shows up clean on your site too.

Here is what it looks like:

They even have a how to video that shows you step by step how to add it to your site.

Hugs,
Natalie Wheeler
TheNewRawYou.com 

The post Add Instagram To Your Website or Blog appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

The simple answer: Multimedia is quickly becoming a necessity to the sustainability and future of online businesses.

Very soon, all online business owners and marketers without exception will need to incorporate multimedia into their marketing strategies to maintain the continued existence of their online presence.

Communicate better with people…

By using multimedia, you can also communicate better with people, specifically prospective customers, allowing you to get your point across much easier which all leads to one end result- MORE SALES!

There are many others benefits to speak of which include the following:

• 1. Explain selling-points much more easily and clearly to captivate your potential buyer.
• 2. Describe your product or service and the benefits of using it clearly and concisely.
• 3. Video and Audio conveys PROFESSIONALISM and most importantly it provides you with something that is essential in any business- CREDIBILITY. With credibility, you can sell more of your product or service, build that sacred opt-in list much more quickly and convince visitors to click on a link to an affiliate program you are advertising.

Therefore, as an increasing number of online business owners and marketers recognize the competitive advantages of multimedia and its power as a communication vehicle, multimedia content will become an integral part of the web experience.

Think about it…

You can convince your prospect to buy your product or service or subscribe to your ezine or newsletter much more easily with a 3 minute video as opposed to a long winded sales page that doesn’t convey your passion for your product, service or publication.

The human voice has the power to influence, motivate, and persuade prospects to take action with much less resistance and reluctance.

Finally, my question to you is: do advertisers on TV try to sell you their products and services only by using written text?

Heck no! I rest my case.

The post Why Do I Need Video and Audio on My Website? appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

He wants to integrate direct mail into his business but believes he is stuck at step 1.

Here are a couple of the ideas we shared with him:

1. You can hire a direct mail expert to help you

That’s one way.  An expensive way maybe – but it’s a direct way to step into the world of direct mail and work with someone who’s been there, done that, and sold enough t-shirts that his was “free”.

If you can’t afford to do that, the easiest way is to…

2. Check your own mailbox.

It is absolutely one of the best learning facilities for direct mail. It’s like higher education.

Every day you get new samples and new ideas.

You should collect them and make one separate file just for your competitor’s mail.

Most direct marketing agencies, direct response writers, and people that design direct marketing  keep piles of all of this direct mail information.

==> INSIDER TIP: These collections of other people’s marketing materials has a name – they’re called “swipe” files. We have dozens and dozens of binders with thousands of pages that we use when we brainstorm ideas for a salesletter. It helps us in a couple of ways: 1) if we’re “stuck” looking for a direction we can go through the swipe files and come up with ideas, and 2) It helps us keep track of what is working for other people.

What types of things should you look for when creating your swipe file?

You want to look for ideas for headlines, effective design, attention getting inserts, and copy that is written very effectively and gets your emotions going.

We recommend a different binder or a different section for each item.  Headlines in one binder, bullets in another binder, PS’s in still another binder – that way when you’re assembling YOUR salesletter you don’t have to hunt all over the place for that awesome bullet point you read weeks or months ago.

That’s what we’re going to talk about as we continue to explore hybrid marketing and creating repeat profits. How to create these different variables.

A large collection of samples will help you get the juices flowing when you’re ready to create a marketing campaign for yourself.

There’s an old headline that says, “Do you make these mistakes in English?”

That caught everyone’s attention and they read the ad.

You could say,

• “Do you make these mistakes when hiring a carpet cleaner?” Or
• “Do you make these mistakes when hiring a plumber?” Or
• “Do you make these mistakes when going to your favorite restaurant?” Or
• “Do you make these mistakes when buying a diamond necklace?”

You starting to get the idea?

Sort your samples by those that are aimed at businesses and those toward consumers.

Look for ways to save money.  Look to see which campaigns are in full color and which are not – the decision is rarely made on cost (except by amateurs who don’t know any better).

Read newspaper and magazine ads as well and see if you can spot those ads that are created to get you to take action. You’ll see that you can use this type in your own business also.

You might want to go ahead and request some of the free information and see how they mail to you.  (We do this ALL the time.  We subscribe to offers just to see how the marketing process works, so we can model successful campaigns and processes in our own business!)

Not all direct marketing is effective and there are a lot of pitfalls to avoid.

By the time you finish with this hybrid marketing course, you’re going to know what to look for and be able to review all your samples and distinguish the good ones from the bad.

One real key to knowing whether something is working or not is if you keep getting the same things in the mail. One could presume that this means they must be making money because they couldn’t afford to continue sending to you more than a couple of times.

But if you’re seeing the same ad running in multiple places, or if you’re getting the same mailing 4, 5 or more times then you might want to grab those and put them aside.

And don’t think this just applies to OFFLINE, although that is the way the discussion was geared today you can do the same thing ONLINE with your emailbox.  Stop being frustrated by SPAM and use that information, study that information to determine what’s working so you can use it in your own business.

I hope this gave you some ideas.  If it spawned more questions, leave a comment and we’ll get you an answer.

The post Where Can I Find Good Direct Mail Ideas? appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

Like you, I had avoided live events for well over 2 years while “playing” at business, but it only took ONE seminar to show me the error of my ways and literally change my life. (Yes, sounds cliche but it’s true.)

So, whether this is your first or you 100th live seminar, here are 5 helpful tips that, when you TAKE ACTION will help you make the most out of YOUR time while at the seminar.

Tip #1) Take LOTS of notes. By hand.

Trust me, when you go back to your room at the end of the day, your head is gonna hurt and you WON’T remember a third of what you heard.

(A recent study actually suggests that you retain as little as 10% of what you hear at a live seminar!).

So, take notes and be sure you understand what you were talking about in the note. And write them by hand. It’s a known fact that you learn better and remember more when you write on paper rather than typing notes into your computer. You really don’t need more e-Junk do you?

Take notes by hand and see the different it makes in your understanding AND retention!

Tip #2) Don’t sit in the room and surf the web.

Laptops are cool, if that is how you insist on taking notes. But I have seen people playing solitaire instead of listening to a speaker and then heard that same person complain about not learning anything while at the seminar! Of course not, you were playing flippin solitaire!

Please DO NOT waste your time by doing something you can do at home. You paid to be at the seminar – probably with time or money – or BOTH. Don’t waste either yours or the speakers. Put away the laptop.

Sidenote: you can keep your virtual friends updated on event highlights and goings-ons (like on TWITTER… you should follow me = @leecollins) using your smart phone if you insist on not being separated from technology for a few days.

Tip #3) Participate in all Activities.

If there are group happenings, make yourself part of that group. Period.

Do the group lunch. Find the group going out to dinner together (there are always several). You will make more strides in your business just hanging out with other folks, talking about the day’s happening, and brainstorming.

And that brings us to NETWORKING…

Tip #4) Networking is THE key to successful business.

Come on, you know this.

And if you are at a seminar, you are already with a crowd of like-minded folks. Part of your job is to WORK IT! This means mingle with attendees and speakers alike.

And remember to LISTEN. I know you are important, but other people like to share too – give them their turn to do just that.

Don’t reinvent the wheel, folks. Just listen when those who are doing what you want to do speak. and my final tip for today…

Tip #5) Walk away with ONE big idea.

Write down just one thing that you will take action on from the seminar.

JUST ONE.

So many times you can become overwhelmed with all the information and ideas and this can PARALYZE you. Don’t let that happen. Take one step. One action. Once this is done, just do another.

So, what else can you share with your fellow readers to help them get the most Bang for Their Buck when attending live events?

Leave a comment and we will pass along the tip. Remember – keep in mind how you can serve your fellow human being. If all it takes for you to do your one good deed today is to leave a helpful comment, well – then, you just got off easy.

Ruthless Twist:

If you really want to make an impression on a speaker and want to have an opportunity to pick their brains – offer to BUY THEM LUNCH (or a drink, or two). Sounds like a DUH moment, doesn’t it? But many don’t ever do this and the golden nuggets you miss out on can cost you thousands of dollars.

When I first considered starting my own business, I would invite speakers to lunch and then just listen. (They love to talk about themselves.) The ideas that came to us during these lunches literally developed my first business model. Nowadays, when an attendee invites me to lunch, they know I am going to pour out my soul during those 60-90 minutes to help them in any way I can.

The post How to Get the Most Out of Live Events appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

In fact, we can usually boil the success of either successful marketing or religion down to 5 critical factors:

1. The story must be emotional
2. It must make BIG promises
3. It must appeal to fear (and/or greed)
4. It must offer hope
5. It must promise people the opportunity to rise above others – and be superior to them

Let me give you a few examples to illustrate the point…

“Jesus died for your sins”

How could the story be more emotional than someone else dying so we could be cleansed of our sins? This statement is simple – positive – compelling. And most people agree the ultimate sacrifice is death. So the emotions flow pretty quickly when you tell people that someone DIED so they can be cleansed and forgiven of knocking off that Piggly Wiggly last week, or stealing Aunt Becky’s famous pecan pie recipe.

Apple is probably the best in the world at this. Almost all their marketing is focused on making you believe that owning an Apple product will make your life better. Take a look at this Apple commercial and see how many emotional cues you can pick out:

“Salvation now”

It must make BIG promises. Religious salvation is a pretty big promise. Right?

Let’s consider two examples of big promises from the Apple video. A deaf person communicating with their significant other when traveling suggests that without Apple this would not be possible. A new graduate showing her grandparents her cap and gown – sharing a once-in-a-lifetime moment together, even when apart. The BIG promise of connectivity and sharing. The salvation from separation.

(Not exactly salvation, but inside the right framework plays well to our example.)

“If you are not saved you will burn in hell forever”

It must appeal to fear (and/or greed). Fire. Huge fear for people. Especially when it’s an eternal fire that never goes out and is searing everlasting pain down to your soul without possibility of relief. Ever. Scared yet?

How’s this to elicit fear: “If you don’t have an iPhone you may die before you ever see your unborn child”. Remember the soldier in the barracks? Wow.

“Repent now and have eternal life”

I mean who wants to burn in hell forever? Nobody I know. So now that you scared the bejeezus out of them you gotta give them hope, otherwise what is the point? They both must offer hope. “Sure you can burn in hell forever, or you can repent and instead go to the land of milk and honey.” 

Duh. I don’t even like milk but that sounds better than burning in hell forever.

Buying an Apple product may not be repenting, but they do encourage you to lay aside all other technology. If not you will forever be stuck with second-rate technology that is not engineered to their exacting standards. “Sure you could have a Droid, but wouldn’t you really rather have an iPhone?”

Technology heaven or technology hell. You decide.

“The meek shall inherit the earth”

And now that they have hope, turn it up a notch and give them the opportunity to rise above others – and be superior to them. If you’ve been picked on or teased your whole life then this is the ultimate payback. “Sure you win here on earth but while you burn in hell I’ll be eating grapes in a city made of gold!”

That’s powerful.

When a brand creates this “religious” feeling it transcends the transaction and becomes part of their customer’s identity. Apple, Land Rover, Rolex, Porsche, and many other luxury brands are all examples of this.

Do you have the guts to incorporate this concept in your business?

Let me know your thoughts below…

The post Marketing and Religion – Your 5-Point Strategy for Success appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

Let me guess, it probably says something like this – Cold Blooded Murder, Sex Scandal, Corruption Charges Laid, Innocent Victims Sued or something equally grizzly and sensational.

Do you know why most of the main articles in newspapers start with headlines relating to disasters, murders, sex and corruption?

Well, I am going to tell you anyway.  It’s because that’s what sells newspapers.  It attracts people who read newspapers (and sometimes even those who don’t) and they buy it.

The only purpose of a headline is to target the person you
want to reach and to sell them on wanting to know more.

If you want proof, look at the magazine racks in the newsagents.  Magazines aimed at young women such as Cleo have articles headlined – “What You Always Wanted To Know about Men, 4 Signs To Look For If He’s Cheating On You, 8 Tips On Looking Great This Summer.”

Magazines for homeowners and renovators such as Lifestyle Kitchens and Bathrooms have articles headlined – “12 Tips To Help You Renovate On A Budget, New Fashion Colors For Your Bathroom…”

Let’s face it, who would buy a magazine or a newspaper with Efficient Publishing Company as the feature story.  Followed by the Ron Smedley and Sarah Bushwhacker reports.

So why is it that most businesses keep sticking the company’s name and logo on top of their advertisements or in the first paragraph of everything they do?? Or the other kind of headline that is a favorite with advertising agencies and many so-called experts.

This is the “Guess what I am all about – see if I can trick you headline.”

These headlines are aimed at testing the reader’s intelligence and ability to guess.  (They are usually the result of endless corporate meetings and advertising agency think tanks.)

Here Are My 5 Essential Rules
for Writing Effective Headlines:

Rule #1: Headlines should promise the reader a benefit.

Rule #2: Don’t worry about the length.

14 word headlines get almost as much readership as three-word headlines.  It is more important to get your message across than worry about the length of the headline.

Rule #3: Put news into the headlines.

The news can be an improvement of an old product, the announcement of a new product, or a new ay to use an old product.  We are always on the lookout for something “new”.  Something that will benefit us.

Rule #4: Never use headlines that are tricky, confusing or incomplete in their message.

You are competing with an average of 350 other headlines in a newspaper or magazine.  And most people are busy and read too fast to figure out what you are trying to say.  They will simply move on. Make sure your headlines are easily understood.

Rule #5: Never use headlines that need readership of the rest of the advertisement to be understood.

You will lose four out of five readers at that point.  Most people are too busy and read too quickly to be bothered to keep on reading to find out what you are trying to say.

What it all boils down to is simply this… The main purpose of a headline is to pick out the people who will be most interested in your product or service.

Any other approach is wasting their time and your money.

Thoughts? Questions? Need help with headlines?

Let me know… (I left some room for you below).

The post 5 Essential Rules for Effective Headlines appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.

But I always get people asking me what to do or look out for when doing printed advertising. Since many folks have NEVER done printed advertising this checklist should be helpful. Enjoy!

General things to consider:

• Was adequate care and time taken in producing the final material?
• Was it prepared to the specifications of the publication where it will appear?
• Is the material suitable for quality reproduction?
• Will placing the ad in a special section such as Sports or Business sections increase the chances of the ad being seen?

Checklist for the layout of the ad:

• Is the layout well organized?
• Is it easy to read?
• Does it provide eye relief?
• Is the visual format attractive and distinctive?
• Is more white space needed to enhance readability without taking away from the message?
• Does the illustration or visual attract attention?  Does it fit the theme of the ad? Does the visual have a caption?
• Does the ad look professionally produced?
• Will using color increase the impact of your ad?

Checklist for the copy:

• Does the headline grab attention and stimulate interest?
• Does the headline communicate the strongest message about your product or service?
• Does the copy work with your headline(s)?
• Does the message come across clear and understandable?
• Does the copy list the benefits that you wanted to communicate?
• Does the copy create urgency?
• Does the copy tell the reader how to act? What to do? The call to action? Should they call? Should they write?
• Has the final copy been checked before being released for publication?
• Does the copy contain all the vital information you want it to include? Your name, address, phone number, prices, and copyright symbol for your ad? Plus other relevant information for your business.

And finally…

• Have you set it aside and let it rest for a day or two and then come back and proofread it?
• Has someone else looked at it?

I hope this checklist helps you better leverage the amazing power of printed advertising, and if you have any questions of comments about using Hybrid Marketing^TM just let me know below!

The post Quick Checklist for Printed Advertising appeared first on Ruthless Marketing by Lee Collins.