KyleTully.com » Copywriting

Land More Clients with “The 5-Step Process” Technique

Kyle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:13:56 +0000

by Pete Savage, co-author, The Wealthy Freelancer

“If you’re selling a professional service, you need a five-step process. I don’t care what you’re selling, your buyer needs to know that when they do business with YOU, they’re in the hands of someone who’s done this before.”

I learned this from Jim, a former Executive Vice President at the largest bank in Canada. As a bank exec big shot, Jim was a seasoned and discerning buyer of professional services from solo consultants and firms. When he offered free advice like this, I listened.

I promptly created my own five-step process for my freelance copywriting practice. And sure enough, I promptly began closing more business.

Over the years, I’ve honed my five-step process into what is truly a “battle-tested” version that helps me land clients. (I like the description “battle-tested”, which I thieved from Kyle’s recent blog post Starting a Consulting Business.)

Why This 5-Step Process Works Like a Charm

Why does the 5-Step Process work so well? Well just listen to how it sounds…

You’re on the phone with a new prospect. He has just recited to you the requirements for a project and is now preparing to shut off his brain and hang up. His ears are about to toggle over to half-listening mode, as he expects you to say, “Well thank you, I’ll be in touch very shortly with a quote,” just like every other freelancer always does.

But you don’t say that.

Instead, you say, “Well this sounds great, and I have a five-step process that’s designed to get this project started off on the right track AND limit your time involvement to critical items only.”

You’ve just woken him back up! This is music to every client’s ears. In my experience, upon hearing this, 8 out of 10 clients will then ask to hear your five steps.

You’ve just set yourself up to end the call on a high note. Not only that, you’re very likely the only freelancer he’s talked to in recent history who’s said anything remotely like this. Points to you. Big points.

Get Your Pen Out. Anyone Can Do This.

Every freelancer, consultant or other type of professional service provider can communicate what they do in five steps. Try this yourself:

On a pad of paper, write down all the different steps you go through when servicing your client.

You may come up with 13, or 113, at first. That’s fine, on your first pass. But then you must do whatever you can to group, categorize, push, pull or force all of these pieces into five main steps.

Five is the magic number because a four-step process appears to lack substance and a six-step process gets too cumbersome to explain concisely.

When you have your five steps named, write a one-to-three sentence description for each step.

And you’re done.

The next step, is to use your five-step process on every call, with every new prospect. Hone it, perfect it, battle-test it, until rolls off your tongue like a verse from Killer Queen.

Now you’ve now got a powerful and succinct script that will help you differentiate yourself and win the confidence of prospective clients on your very first call.

–

Pete Savage is co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle. Order Pete’s book this week from Amazon.com and get up to $300 in free instructional materials to help you attract more clients and better paying projects. Click here for more info…

Daniel Levis Interview – List Building Secrets

Kyle — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:16:47 +0000

Just wrapped up a killer interview with Daniel Levis — all about how to grow BIG, responsive email lists up to 7 times faster than average.

Daniel is a world-class copywriter and marketing consultant who gets paid $17,500 for ONE marketing campaign…

… he has worked with MAJOR direct marketing powerhouses such as The Motley Fool, Safe Money Report, Stealth Stocks Online…

… helped promote well-known authors like Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen and Dr. Stephen Sinatra…

… collaborated with top-flight online marketing talent like Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver and Dan Kennedy…

And on this call he reveals a simple step-by-step system that he says, anyone, regardless of experience, can use to begin growing online sourced customer and prospect lists 4 to 7 times faster.

This interview has TONS of actionable information you can use right away.

Listen in (or download) the replay here:

www.KyleTully.com/DanielLevisReplay

The Great Copywriting LIE

Kyle — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:05:40 +0000

Ever heard this one?

“Your copy is the most vital part of your business.”

BZZZZZ… Wrong!

Copy is NOT the most vital part of your business.

In fact, it’s not even the most important piece of your marketing…

… not even second.

Believe it or not, copywriting is a distant 3rd on the list of things that impact your marketing success.

Here’s something most copywriters either don’t know, or won’t tell you:

Your list and your offer have a MUCH bigger impact on your marketing campaigns than any copywriting wizardry ever could.

For example:

You can write the most technically perfect salesletter ever crafted…

… filled with emotion…

… backed by steel logic…

… laced with subtle persuasion devices…

But if the offer is a dud — or the market doesn’t want your product — then you won’t sell a thing.

Case in point: Most of the salesletter critiques I do have nothing to do with copywriting. It’s nearly always the offer that needs work. No point fixing the words until you’ve got something that people want.

On the other hand, if you DO have a hot offer. And you DO have a starving crowd of hungry buyers. Then even average copy will get the job done.

(Check out some of the top products on Clickbank if you don’t believe me — the copy is average at best, but they are in red-hot markets and are completely offer-driven.)

Now, let me be perfectly clear.

Under the right conditions copywriting IS a sales multiplier.

And you should focus on improving your copywriting skills.

But it’s not nearly as important — or as difficult — as many copywriters would have you believe.

Focus first on choosing a proven market, building a list of buyers, and making irresistible offers.

Kyle Tully

P.S. When you sign up for the product-creation bootcamp you’ll learn how to build a list of rabid buyers and how to craft irresistible offers that make even average copy pull sales like crazy.

(I’ll even show you how to write “good enough” copy in just 2 days.)

This is a once-off event and places are strictly limited.

Check your email tomorrow for full details on how to sign up.

Hangin’ With Pro Copywriters

Kyle — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:35:17 +0000

The death (suicide?) of Michel Fortin’s beloved Copywritersboard left bored, restless, procrastinating copywriters with waaay too much time on their hands.

With the risk of getting work done imminent, Bruce Wedding stepped up to the plate and created a new forum… The Copywriting Board.

Many of Michel’s members (including some of the top pro’s) have already made the transition, the vibe is friendly and welcoming, and for a limited time Bruce is giving free video critiques for anyone brave enough to ask.

(They’ve all been quite tame so far so don’t be afraid!)

One of the complaints people had about the old forum was it felt like an old boys club — if you weren’t there from the beginning then you were an outsider. Personally I never really felt that and just barged my way in…

None the less, if you were at all intimidated by the old forum then now is the time to get on board the new one. No doubt it will get “cliquey” again as a new dynamic develops, but at least now you have a chance to be on the inside.

I don’t get to post as much as I used to but will be stopping by as often as I can, so click the image below, register your details and say g’day!

Build Your Copywriting Business – Q & A

Kyle — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:49:00 +0000

More free copywriting material for you…

Last week it was Makepeace and Flores with their solid copywriting conspiracy report, now it’s Healy and Angel with a free training video.

This video answers some of the most common questions newbies have about how to build your copywriting business. It’s only 23 mins and all solid content, no pitching or anything like that.

I highly recommend anything these guys touch, they’re the real deal and each have had a big impact on me and my copywriting — and they’re two of the nicest guys you’ll meet.

Get your free video now, then make sure you sign up for the next training videos — there’s 5 all up, the others are… getting clients… a 40% response letter breakdown… getting higher fees… and the copywriting lifestyle — all your most burning questions answered by two top copywriters.

Check it out now.

The Great Copywriting Consipracy

Kyle — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 07:12:12 +0000

Awesome free copywriting report from Clayton Makepeace & Tony Flores:

The Great Copywriting Conspiracy.

And it’s about a LOT more than just copywriting. The 7 marketing diagrams are priceless for anyone marketing information products online, and the “product laddering” info is usually reserved for high-priced courses.

Download your copy now.

Copywriters: $64,000 From 77 Prospects

Kyle — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:23:17 +0000

DAMN!

That’s all I could say when I heard this story.

1 unknown copywriter. 1 self promo letter. 77 propects…

$64,000 in 12 months.

That one letter pulled an average of $831 per prospect. At about $2 per piece mailed you’re looking at a return on your investment of 41,558%

That’s the power of direct mail.

The copywriter’s name is Pete Savage, but what I haven’t told you is…

He paid thousands of dollars in consulting fees for one of the top copywriting coaches in the industry to work with him to put the package together.

Plus, it took more than 200 hours to build the package from scratch.

So while the numbers look awesome (and they are) this wasn’t some raw rookie writing his first letter.

Let’s face it, while there are plenty of people out there selling the dream of copywriting — writing one letter and becoming rich — for most of us it’s hard work, expensive coaching, and trial and error.

But Pete has gone a little nuts.

Rather than keep that letter to himself (and quietly rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars) he’s making the salesletter available — along with a 16-page, line-by-line analysis — so other copywriters can benefit.

And it’s already getting praise from industry heavyweights such as Bob Bly, John Forde and Peter Bowerman.

As far as I know this is the first time a winning direct mail package for freelance copywriters has been made available, so as you can imagine it’s causing quite a stir around the industry.

If you are looking to start a freelance copywriting career — or are already a copywriter and want to add direct mail to your lead generation bag of tricks — then this is a must have resource.

Click here to get your copy.

How To Grab Your Prospect’s Attention

Kyle — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:42:59 +0000

Do you know John Ritskowitz?

John is a great copywriter and the brains behind Copywriters Toolkit, easily the best resource available combining web 2.0 technology and oldskool direct response copywriting.

I’ve been a member of Copywriters Toolkit for over 6 months now. The response-boosting scripts John provides to members — such as the iTrack, Web 2.0 Dynamic Sales Letter tool, and Interactive Johnson Box — are some of my not-so-secret copywriting weapons.

They are also used by many of the top copywriters online today.

In fact, you’ve almost definitely visited a site with his tools in action and been subtly persuaded by them… and never suspected a thing!

Bottom line: When John talks about web 2.0 and copywriting, I listen.

When I heard about John’s latest project — a nifty script specifically designed to grab your website visitor’s attention — I knew I would snatch it up in a heartbeat.

But when I actually saw this thing in action… I was blown away! So much so that I bought the rights to the product so I could offer it to my own clients.

It’s called Easy Web Effects and you can see the script in action right here. There’s also a video on that page showing exactly how it works. As you’ll see, it’s super simple.

Basically, what Easy Web Effects does is allow you to quickly create attention-grabbing effects on your website, without having to do any programming or use complicated graphics programs.

With so many marketing messages hitting your prospects every day, gaining their attention is becoming harder and harder. In fact, it’s probably the hardest job we have as marketers. Thankfully tools like this make it just a little bit easier.

A warning before you get the script and start using it on your own website: It’s best to use the effects subtly and sparingly. It’s easy to overdo it and create a page that’s more wisecracks than wisdom, especially when you’re experimenting with all the cool features.

Implement one effect at a time, keep it subtle, test and track everything you do and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Get the script for yourself and see how it improves your own response rates today.

30 Seconds To Super Email Response Rates

Kyle — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:45:41 +0000

Do you want to know a real direct marketing secret?

A secret that, when applied to your emails, can… dramatically increase your response rates… drastically lower your unsubscribe’s… and have your list begging to read your next email.

Interested? Great! More on that in a second.

But first, let me tell you a story. It’s about a Persian king named Shahryar, his wife’s infidelity, and the daily execution of virgins. The story dates back to AD 800-900 and contains a profound marketing lesson you can profit from today…

The king Shahryar discovered his wife’s infidelity and had her executed, declaring all women unfaithful. So as not to be betrayed again, he marries a succession of virgins… and has each one executed the next morning.

Eventually there is only one last virgin remaining, Scheherazade.

Scheherazade is a wonderful story teller and devises a plan to save her life. On the night they marry, she tells the king a story… but does not finish it. In order to hear the rest of the story the king is forced to keep her alive. The next night she completes the story, and immediately begins another. This goes on for 1001 nights, until the king is finally convinced of her fidelity and spares her life.

So what has this got to do with your email response rates and what’s the big secret?

I’m glad you asked. You see, the technique Scheherazade used is still in play today in movies and television. Writers use it to keep audiences glued to their seats. It’s called a cliffhanger and, thanks to the zeigarnik effect, when you use them in your copy it forces people to keep reading.

Our brains are literally hard-wired to work this way.

Cliffhangers are one of the reasons “24″ was such a hit t.v. show. Each episode ended right at a crucial turning point in the story, the only way to find out what happens next is to tune in next week.

You can use the same techniques in your emails to create the same effect.

You simply end your emails by starting an open loop — the beginning of a thought, story, or idea — that you don’t complete until the next email.

Here’s a quick example from an email I wrote for my Unlock Your Niche course…

Then we’ll start looking at how to model other successful businesses… how to legally steal their market research, marketing campaigns and credibility… and how you can quickly establish yourself in a niche, even if you have no previous experience and know nothing about it!

See how I’ve just teased the reader with five different things — specific benefits this market wants, and an answer to a common objection — and they have to wait until the next issue to find out how we’re going to do all this.

The zeigarnik effect kicks in and somewhere in their mind they’re unsettled… they need to know how these ideas play out… it will play with their subconscious mind and they’ll be looking for the next email to resolve the tension I’ve created.

So, readership goes up. Unsubscribes go down. And response rates increase.

Did you notice I also used the technique at the beginning of this post?

I started telling you about a secret that can increase your response rates, and then said “Interested? Great! More on that in a second”, and then went on to tell a story.

If you wanted to learn the secret you had no choice but to continue reading, and before you know it you’re sucked in and have read the whole post.

Try it for yourself and let me know how it works for you.

Free Copywriting Resources

Kyle — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:38:56 +0000

If you’re an aspiring copywriter or even a seasoned pro looking for some inspiration you’ve just hit the free resource jackpot. Here are the newsletters, blogs, and websites you must make a part of your daily reading:

The Total Package – Clayton Makepeace’s free newsletter is quite simply the best copywriting newsletter around, if you only have time to read one newsletter make it this one.
Michel Fortin’s Blog – Michel pumps out quality content at an unbelievable rate and his blog is an absolute goldmine for the aspiring copywriter.
Copywriters Board – Another Michel Fortin site, this time a dedicated copywriting forum where some of the best in the biz regularly post. Got a burning question or need a nod in the right direction? You’ll get your answers here.
Copywriter Catalog – The quickest way to find the right copywriter with the right skills at the right price. And it’s free!
Copywriters Library – Yet another Michel Fortin site, Copywriters Library is an online collection of books, reports, and courses including classics like Claude Hopkin’s “Scientific Advertising”.
Copywriters Blog – A communal blog featuring around 20 well-known and aspiring copywriters, direct marketers, and direct response experts. Brought to you by Michel Fortin.
Boost My Response – Gary Halbert, John Carlton, and Michel Fortin on copywriting. Featuring 6 hours of audio plus transcripts.
CopyWritersInstitute – Stephen Davies brings us hours of interviews with top copywriters like Clayton Makepeace, Ken Calhoun and Marcia Yudkin. Requires sign-up.
Bly.com – Bob Bly’s personal website with free articles and reports.
Beyond Marketing – Dr. Joe Vitale’s Blog, you might have seen him on “The Secret”.
Hard to Find Seminars – Over 117 hours of audio interviews with guys like Dan Kennedy, Mark Joyner, John Carlton. This is brilliant.
The Gary Halbert Letter – Gary Halbert is one of my favourite marketing guys and one of the true greats, if you havn’t read his complete archives you don’t know what you’re missing.
John Carlton’s Blog – another copywriting genius with a ton of great content.
Peter Stone’s Blog – Not a name that gets thrown around a lot but this guy knows his stuff.
Bencivenga Bullets – Sign up for Gary Bencivenga’s Bullets now. Simple.

That should keep you busy for a while.

KyleTully.com » Copywriting

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