Hi all,
Yes I know, I know it's been a while... but I really have been very busy.
First off I still have to keep my large client base happy, plus I've taken on several new clients this year. I've also been testing some marketing products and... I'm working on my copywriting course.
So... what new clients?
Okay, well there have been a number of enquiries recently from people in the gambling business, resulting in my taking on two casino owners and a horse-race tipster.
There have been enquiries from a number of new Internet marketers, five of which are now my clients.
I have also taken on a client based in Saudia Arabia, but I can't really say what kind of business they are in except that it is government related.
My most recent new client is involved in spread betting and forex and will be holding training seminars all over the country early next year.
So you see, I've been busy with my copywriting service.
Then I have been testing some of the so-called automated blogging software programs. My verdict? Leave well alone... they are frustrating to set up and most of the time they don't work.
The principle is good but the software and support leaves much to be desired. I'll keep testing them as they become available and I'll keep you all posted.
Ones to avoid are, CB Predators and Stealth Profit Machines. My verdict? Useless!
Okay, and the last thing that's been keeping me awake at night is my copywriting course. I've been working on this now for what seems like years, although it's only been months.
Problem is, every time I think I've covered everything in one of the lessons I think of something else that needs to be mentioned. Anyway, I hope to make this available some time next year. It will be a monthly subscription and I'll provide all the support myself.
I can only offer this to a limited amount of people, purely due to time constraints, and yet I have more than 30 people on the waiting list already!!!
Well, I'll keep everyone posted on this soon.
Okay that's the end of this update and I'll be back asap.
In the meantime... have a great Christmas... by doing just one good deed for someone in need.
Regards to all,
Bill
www.knight-writer.co.uk
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
In Memory Of The Long Sales Letter
Hi Again!
You know... there was a time, long before the Internet, when most people looked forward to getting mail. I mean real mail like letters from friends and relatives. Letters that were written personally, in ink, using a fountain pen and later the more convenient ball point.
Then as time went on, marketers realised that people liked receiving letters, and so they hit on the idea of writing letters to people to tell them about products and services they were offering. These letters were quite generic in layout and although they were a little impersonal, people responded positively to them.
This became known as the Direct Response Sales Letter.
Later, marketers and copywriters realised that if they engaged their readers by tapping into their thought processes and then tweaked at their emotions, the responses to their product offers could be increased. And very soon marketers were making millions from their mail order businesses.
Now, like everything in marketing, if you can get one step ahead of your competition then you can make a small fortune virtually overnight. And that's when the mailing list broker was born. It soon became obvious that if you had a large list of names of people who were interested in buying certain products, then you too could make a lot of money.
A list like that was very valuable. A list that contained first and last names, postal addresses and details of previous purchases was like gold... and to the same extent it still is.
The list broking business soon became almost as big as the marketing businesses and list-building eventually became part of the marketing process.
Marketers started to look at ways that they could find prospects who might be interested in buying their particular products rather than just blindly sending out mail to random names and addresses.
It became obvious that marketers needed to focus on particular niche interest groups, and offer them products that would be more suited to their wants, needs and desires.
To more closely target specific markets, the 2 step process was deployed.
The first step was to place a small ad in a magazine that the likely prospect might buy, or to place an ad in a newspaper classified section. The small ad would always end on a call to action, which would either be to ask the prospect to write for further details, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope or call a telephone number.
Once the marketer had the name and address of the prospect, this became hot property because the prospect responded to the ad and was therefore interested in the product.
The marketer would then send the prospect a long sales letter explaining the benefits of the product, the features of the product and why the prospect should own the product. The letter would include an order form for the prospect to send back together with their payment.
Some switched on companied like Reader's Digest went one step further and personalized their mailings. This had a dramatic impact on response because it appeared that the letter was specially written for them. It would also appear as though the writer has personally signed the letter.
Many millionaires were created from direct mail, but today it has much less impact.
Today we all get far too much junk mail and don't bother to read hardly any of it. One reason is we simply value our time more. And the other reason is the Internet. If we want to buy something we'll just go online and find out all about it first. And compare prices.
Marketers still use some of the old mail order tricks, only now they are much more focussed on delivering their sales pitch via a web page. And that's a whole different story that I'll save for another day. Suffice to say that the long sales letter is dead or at the very least... terminally ill.
Ah well C'est la vie!
See ya soon.
Bill
Knight-Writer
eMarketingToolkit
License2Profit
MoneyHarvest
You know... there was a time, long before the Internet, when most people looked forward to getting mail. I mean real mail like letters from friends and relatives. Letters that were written personally, in ink, using a fountain pen and later the more convenient ball point.
Then as time went on, marketers realised that people liked receiving letters, and so they hit on the idea of writing letters to people to tell them about products and services they were offering. These letters were quite generic in layout and although they were a little impersonal, people responded positively to them.
This became known as the Direct Response Sales Letter.
Later, marketers and copywriters realised that if they engaged their readers by tapping into their thought processes and then tweaked at their emotions, the responses to their product offers could be increased. And very soon marketers were making millions from their mail order businesses.
Now, like everything in marketing, if you can get one step ahead of your competition then you can make a small fortune virtually overnight. And that's when the mailing list broker was born. It soon became obvious that if you had a large list of names of people who were interested in buying certain products, then you too could make a lot of money.
A list like that was very valuable. A list that contained first and last names, postal addresses and details of previous purchases was like gold... and to the same extent it still is.
The list broking business soon became almost as big as the marketing businesses and list-building eventually became part of the marketing process.
Marketers started to look at ways that they could find prospects who might be interested in buying their particular products rather than just blindly sending out mail to random names and addresses.
It became obvious that marketers needed to focus on particular niche interest groups, and offer them products that would be more suited to their wants, needs and desires.
To more closely target specific markets, the 2 step process was deployed.
The first step was to place a small ad in a magazine that the likely prospect might buy, or to place an ad in a newspaper classified section. The small ad would always end on a call to action, which would either be to ask the prospect to write for further details, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope or call a telephone number.
Once the marketer had the name and address of the prospect, this became hot property because the prospect responded to the ad and was therefore interested in the product.
The marketer would then send the prospect a long sales letter explaining the benefits of the product, the features of the product and why the prospect should own the product. The letter would include an order form for the prospect to send back together with their payment.
Some switched on companied like Reader's Digest went one step further and personalized their mailings. This had a dramatic impact on response because it appeared that the letter was specially written for them. It would also appear as though the writer has personally signed the letter.
Many millionaires were created from direct mail, but today it has much less impact.
Today we all get far too much junk mail and don't bother to read hardly any of it. One reason is we simply value our time more. And the other reason is the Internet. If we want to buy something we'll just go online and find out all about it first. And compare prices.
Marketers still use some of the old mail order tricks, only now they are much more focussed on delivering their sales pitch via a web page. And that's a whole different story that I'll save for another day. Suffice to say that the long sales letter is dead or at the very least... terminally ill.
Ah well C'est la vie!
See ya soon.
Bill
Knight-Writer
eMarketingToolkit
License2Profit
MoneyHarvest
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Web Page Sales Letter Has Evolved
Hi All,
It's been a while I know but I've just been soooooo busy!
I've been working on a number of new projects with my team, and with a hefty number of new clients coming on board this year it's all been a bit hectic.
Now, although I've been beavering away I haven't been too busy to notice a definite trend in the way web page sales copy is currently being presented.
Basically it's getting shorter!
Five years ago a typical web page sales letter might consist of more than 5000 words... today it's around half that. But where these letters might be lacking in word count they more than make up for with the use of images and... video.
Yes... video.
If you go to Clickbank and browse the landing pages in the Marketplace under categories: Business/Investing and E-business and E-marketing you'll see just what I mean.
It all started about 4 years ago...
First there were images of Clickbank cheques and PayPal accounts being used to prove incomes. Then came audio files... then the web designers were let loose and the landing page templates became part of the story with intertwined header graphics, which were usually dark and mysterious.
Even the product titles were becoming more "Explosive"... "Turbo"... "Killer"... "Assassin"... and "Predator"... and well you get the picture.
And then came Powerpoint presentations recorded with Camtasia... ah! Camtasia... wouldn't be without it.
And now we are seeing video footage of the product owners who tell us, in no uncertain terms, why we should buy their products.
And I think it's all great!
I love video and I'm going to be recording myself and putting my video on my own websites very soon.
So... what's the point I'm making here?
Well like it or not the online sales letter has moved on in leaps and bounds, pushing the printed sales letter a little further into obscurity. But that doesn't mean that direct mail is totally dead... oh no... far from it.
The one-page invitation letter is thriving. If used as a vehicle to get prospects online to see the real presentation on the web page, then the one-pager will live on and flourish amongst the pile of printed junk that falls on our door mats virtually every day.
There's absolutely no doubt that the web page sales letter has evolved and will continue to absorb the benefits of video presentation until it becomes a complete video ad.
Heck!!!
I'd better brush up on my script writing quick... otherwise I could soon be out of a job!
See ya soon!
Bill
Knight-Writer
It's been a while I know but I've just been soooooo busy!
I've been working on a number of new projects with my team, and with a hefty number of new clients coming on board this year it's all been a bit hectic.
Now, although I've been beavering away I haven't been too busy to notice a definite trend in the way web page sales copy is currently being presented.
Basically it's getting shorter!
Five years ago a typical web page sales letter might consist of more than 5000 words... today it's around half that. But where these letters might be lacking in word count they more than make up for with the use of images and... video.
Yes... video.
If you go to Clickbank and browse the landing pages in the Marketplace under categories: Business/Investing and E-business and E-marketing you'll see just what I mean.
It all started about 4 years ago...
First there were images of Clickbank cheques and PayPal accounts being used to prove incomes. Then came audio files... then the web designers were let loose and the landing page templates became part of the story with intertwined header graphics, which were usually dark and mysterious.
Even the product titles were becoming more "Explosive"... "Turbo"... "Killer"... "Assassin"... and "Predator"... and well you get the picture.
And then came Powerpoint presentations recorded with Camtasia... ah! Camtasia... wouldn't be without it.
And now we are seeing video footage of the product owners who tell us, in no uncertain terms, why we should buy their products.
And I think it's all great!
I love video and I'm going to be recording myself and putting my video on my own websites very soon.
So... what's the point I'm making here?
Well like it or not the online sales letter has moved on in leaps and bounds, pushing the printed sales letter a little further into obscurity. But that doesn't mean that direct mail is totally dead... oh no... far from it.
The one-page invitation letter is thriving. If used as a vehicle to get prospects online to see the real presentation on the web page, then the one-pager will live on and flourish amongst the pile of printed junk that falls on our door mats virtually every day.
There's absolutely no doubt that the web page sales letter has evolved and will continue to absorb the benefits of video presentation until it becomes a complete video ad.
Heck!!!
I'd better brush up on my script writing quick... otherwise I could soon be out of a job!
See ya soon!
Bill
Knight-Writer
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Future of Online Marketing
Hi All,
I've said it before and now I'm going to say it again... loud and clear. Video is by far the best way to market your products, your websites and your announcements. As the Internet becomes more and more popular it seems to be gradually taking over from the humble TV, at least in terms of advertising.
And advertising on the Internet is steadily increasing, whilst ad spend on TV is decreasing. It won't be long now before we all start to see high quality visual advertising on the Internet as standard.
Now here's the big opportunity...
Media and advertising companies who create TV ads for their clients charge exorbitant fees, and are generally more concerned with winning awards for themselves rather than helping their clients increase brand awareness or sell more products.
To create a video ad for the Internet can cost peanuts compared with these TV ad agencies and just about anyone can create them. All you need is a camcorder, a video editing software program and perhaps a soundtrack.
So let's compare the costs...
A TV commercial can cost anything from $100,000 to around $400,000 for a 30 second final edited, ready to go version of the advertisement. Of course production does swallow up a large percentage of the costs but ad agencies do like to make BIG profits too. Either way you look at it, that's a lot of spondulics for a half minute presentation.
Now let's look at the alternative...
A decent camcorder with accessories will set you back £300-£400 and a good editing software suite should cost around £150. So let's say around $500 in total to get started. Now you're ready to start making commercials for the Internet and you could charge anything up to $10,000 for a 30 second production... and still be a heck of a lot cheaper than the agencies and still make huge profits.
Start off by making 3 minute videos for your own products and post them on YouTube. Here are a couple we created for our own products...
eMarketingToolkit
License2Profit
We used our website templates in Powerpoint for the backgrounds and recorded the presentations in Camtasia Studio. We added soundtracks for the backing, which we purchased online... but we have since bought a synthesiser so we can make our own. I would say all in all it cost around $70 in time to produce and it is available 24/7 to a worldwide audience.
Here are couple more we created for a client...
Thai Massage
Self Defense
Again these video ads were created using MS Powerpoint, Camtasia Studio and readily available backing soundtracks.
We're now experimenting with high definition video, new state-of-the-art video production software, and as mentioned previously, we are creating our own weird and wonderful audio soundtracks.
If you're trying to promote your own products or affiliate products, the why not try creating your own video ads and posting them on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and link back to them from Twitter. It's video marketing on steroids!!!
Till next time.
BFN
Bill
Knight-Writer
Money-Harvest
Anglox
I've said it before and now I'm going to say it again... loud and clear. Video is by far the best way to market your products, your websites and your announcements. As the Internet becomes more and more popular it seems to be gradually taking over from the humble TV, at least in terms of advertising.
And advertising on the Internet is steadily increasing, whilst ad spend on TV is decreasing. It won't be long now before we all start to see high quality visual advertising on the Internet as standard.
Now here's the big opportunity...
Media and advertising companies who create TV ads for their clients charge exorbitant fees, and are generally more concerned with winning awards for themselves rather than helping their clients increase brand awareness or sell more products.
To create a video ad for the Internet can cost peanuts compared with these TV ad agencies and just about anyone can create them. All you need is a camcorder, a video editing software program and perhaps a soundtrack.
So let's compare the costs...
A TV commercial can cost anything from $100,000 to around $400,000 for a 30 second final edited, ready to go version of the advertisement. Of course production does swallow up a large percentage of the costs but ad agencies do like to make BIG profits too. Either way you look at it, that's a lot of spondulics for a half minute presentation.
Now let's look at the alternative...
A decent camcorder with accessories will set you back £300-£400 and a good editing software suite should cost around £150. So let's say around $500 in total to get started. Now you're ready to start making commercials for the Internet and you could charge anything up to $10,000 for a 30 second production... and still be a heck of a lot cheaper than the agencies and still make huge profits.
Start off by making 3 minute videos for your own products and post them on YouTube. Here are a couple we created for our own products...
eMarketingToolkit
License2Profit
We used our website templates in Powerpoint for the backgrounds and recorded the presentations in Camtasia Studio. We added soundtracks for the backing, which we purchased online... but we have since bought a synthesiser so we can make our own. I would say all in all it cost around $70 in time to produce and it is available 24/7 to a worldwide audience.
Here are couple more we created for a client...
Thai Massage
Self Defense
Again these video ads were created using MS Powerpoint, Camtasia Studio and readily available backing soundtracks.
We're now experimenting with high definition video, new state-of-the-art video production software, and as mentioned previously, we are creating our own weird and wonderful audio soundtracks.
If you're trying to promote your own products or affiliate products, the why not try creating your own video ads and posting them on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and link back to them from Twitter. It's video marketing on steroids!!!
Till next time.
BFN
Bill
Knight-Writer
Money-Harvest
Anglox
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