http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/2011/07/

In case you missed it, it’s well worth three minutes of your time to check it out.

On this particular episode I shared three tips for helping your improve your business and marketing.

Resource #1

The first was a little, classic book by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones called “Life is Tremendous.”

This book is less than 100 pages and over 2 million copies of this book have been sold since it was first published.  It’s full of positive and actionable leadership strategies relevant to everybody reading this article.

While you may not have heard of Charlie Jones, who passed away in 2008, don’t let that stop you from reading this book.  You can grab a copy for under $10.00 on amazon.com.

Resource #2

Would you like free access to a number of must-read newsletters from the late, great copywriting and direct marketing expert, Gary Halbert?  Then check out

www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

If you don’t know who Gary Halbert was, you should.  He was one of the most successful copywriters who ever lived before passing away in 2007.

Starting in the late 80’s, Gary wrote The Gary Halbert Letter, a monthly print newsletter full of marketing wisdom and Gary’s unique style of writing and wit.

Fortunately, you can access many past editions of Gary’s newsletter at the web site above.  And while it’s not the easiest site to navigate and it will take you a few clicks to get to them, but its well worth the search.

Resource #3

My last resource is a proven direct mail strategy and one I’ve used many times in my own business. It’s a format that practically guarantees the piece will be opened.

Think you know what it is?  It’s making your direct mail look like a personalized greeting card.

Who can resist not opening up something that looks like a birthday or greeting card?

The key for a successful mailing is to make it look exactly like a card envelope you would buy at a greeting card store.

You want to handwrite the recipient’s name and address or use a handwritten font at a minimum.

Personally, I put my name and return address on the envelope and depending on the context of the mailing, I may use a CopyDoodle on the outside as a teaser.

You should also use a live stamp.  The point is to make it look like you’re sending one card to one friend.

8 times out of 10, I will put in a greeting-card style mailer inside the envelope.  It could be a thank you card, an obscure holiday card or you can even make up your own holiday reason for mailing like my friend Charlie McDermott did with his recent National Web TV Day mailing.

So if you want to create a direct mail piece that begs to be opened, create your own greeting card-style mailer.

You can check out past episodes of my 3 in 3 web TV show (the only web TV show guaranteed to give you three valuable business resources in only 3 minutes) at

http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/3-in-3

One of the critical mistakes made by copywriters and marketers who don’t understand the importance of what I call “copy cosmetics” is creating copy that is hard to read. Not because what it says, but because it’s physically hard to read.

Think about this for a moment. You either spend your time or hard-earned dollars on a professional copywriter to craft a unique and compelling direct marketing message. When the last period is added, you breathe a sigh of relief, and consider your job done.

Not so fast….

Now comes the important task of making your direct marketing copy:

- attention-grabbing
- personal-looking
- and easy-to-read

If you can accomplish these three goals, you’ve definitely increased the chances for a higher response rate versus not spending the time on the look of your copy and direct marketing.

Let’s look at a few direct marketing examples that came across my desk recently and study where they fall short in the copy cosmetics department.

This first example is an ad for a local restaurant in Philadelphia Magazine. Sure, there’s a classy-looking black and white photo to grab your attention, but can you read the copy? Not only is the font too small it’s also “reverse copy” meaning light colored type on a dark background. Knowing the demographic for this high-end restaurant probably doesn’t have the best eyesight, does it make sense to make the ad so unreadable?

Imagine spending the money on creating this direct marketing advertisement and running it in a high-priced magazine, only to fall short on readability.

This is a classic advertising blunder made by advertising agencies who don’t understand copy cosmetics. Their big goal is a nice-looking ad, not response (if you don’t believe me, look at this ad closer and tell how this ad could be measured).

Reverse copy is a definite response-killer and should be used only in certain ways and sparingly at most.

Here’s another example of a nice-looking “special report”, complete with the buff gym owner, but because of the heavy use of reverse copy, it makes the copy very hard to read, even for a younger target market.

Using full background photographs in marketing sure does look nice, but be very careful when placing copy on top of them and if you’re going to try to make somebody read the copy, keep it short and simple and as readable as possible.

Finally, here’s another classic, “let’s make hard it for the reader to read” mistake. This time it’s a direct marketing postcard I received in the mail from a local printing company (you’d think they would understand how to make a postcard easy to read, wouldn’t you?).

Besides not following proven direct marketing principles, check out how the font choice for their five “fresh ways.” Can you read them? Even with the actual postcard in front of you, you would have a very hard time. I have no idea why they decided to use a red, script font for these very important items for their postcard, but their selection of font definitely kills response. Make sure your font choices are readable to your target market and based on the media you’re using.

Not wanting to end this article on a negative note, this postcard does use one or two direct marketing techniques correctly. The black on white paper contrast helps make the overall piece much more readable and their use of a serif font for the body copy is a smart choice, since serif fonts (like Times New Roman, Courier, etc.) make offline direct marketing much easier to read.
The bottom line is the right use of copy cosmetics can make or break your direct marketing piece. Online or offline, it doesn’t matter. You must understand what increase readability and response and what decreases it.

If you want to know the right way to improve the response of your copy and direct marketing, check out my CopyBoosting Profit Secrets home study course. This is the recording of a one-day workshop where I focused on showing the right way to use more than 20 copy cosmetic techniques to improve the attention-grabbing power, readability and response of your direct marketing and copy. Grab your copy at http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/special

If you’re like me and enjoy food, you naturally understand the value and importance of enhancing the taste of your food with various spices, accents and flavorings. Personally, I am a huge fan of hot and spicy food and I have a new-found passion for the Bhut Jolokia pepper or ghost chili as it’s sometimes known.

For my two daughters, it’s not ice cream if it’s not covered in chocolate syrup and rainbow jimmies.

My point is, when applied correctly, spices and flavorings make something that is good, taste even better. Add too much salt, hot pepper, or even chocolate syrup for that matter and you can ruin a perfectly good dish.

The reason the smart marketer and copywriter uses CopyDoodles (and other copy cosmetic techniques) is to take something that is good and make it better by knowing when and where to add these powerful copy enhancements.

Keeping with the food analogy (remember, I’m Italian) CopyDoodles add S.P.I.C.E. to your marketing or “Super Personal Instant Copy Enhancements.”

The KEY to unlocking the power of CopyDoodles is in knowing which “spice” to add, where to add it and how much to add.

Unfortunately, this is where a lot of marketers make fundamental, but preventable mistakes.

When I am working with private clients or mastermind members, I constantly start with three basic questions:

• Who’s your “who?”

• What’s the context of your relationship with your “who?”

• What’s the one thing you want your “who” to do?

The beauty of CopyDoodles is how fast and simple they are to use, but before I even consider adding a single CopyDoodle to any marketing piece, I give careful consideration to the three questions above.

The answers to these questions tell me what spice to add, where to add it and how much I can add.

Over the years, I’ve seen sales letters that looked like a wall of graffiti. I’ve seen advertisements where CopyDoodles were haphazardly thrown on. And I’ve seen newsletters, emails and other marketing materials where CopyDoodles were incorrectly used, resized, or looked terrible when printed because the person using them didn’t understand the fundamental concepts, techniques and psychology behind the proper use of CopyDoodles.

Truly, there is an art and science behind using CopyDoodles and copy cosmetics in general, which is why for the first time in 3.5 years, I am hosting a four-part, six hour CopyDoodles Best Practices Webinar Series for individuals interested in understanding the best ways to maximize the use of CopyDoodles.

Never before have I covered the A to Z theories, strategies, technical tips and short-cuts in such a concise, easy-to-attend and easy-to-understand way as with this series of webinars that you can attend from the comfort of your home or office.

This will be the most complete, advanced, with “insider secrets” training I have ever done on the power and use of CopyDoodles in both offline and online marketing. Even if you’re an experience CopyDoodles user, you will learn new ways to improve the look and response of your marketing.

The fee to attend the live webinars (and get access to the video replays) is downright cheap. I hate to use that word, but it’s a fact. For the level of training and insights I am going to deliver on these webinars, you’ll be kicking yourself for missing it. Just one, simple idea or strategy taken from the six hours of training could provide a phenomenal return on your investment.

Check out http://www.copydoodles.com/training for all the details, including my risk-free guarantee.

Today, unfortunately, many marketers thumb their noses at the timeless and proven strategies used by the legends of direct response marketing like John Caples, David Ogilvy and others in favor of the shiny-object-du-jour.

And while technology and improvements in marketing and advertising a business are always welcome, it should not come at the expense of studying, understanding and applying the strategies that have worked in the past.

One such marketing strategy, often used in the 20^th century, was the use of comics and cartoons to grab attention and increase marketing response.  Many of the most successful brands relied on the attention-grabbing power of cartoons when promoting their products, though it is one of the best ways to advertise.

In his classic book “How to Make Your Advertising Make Money,” the famous copywriter and marketer, John Caples said,

“For more than 50 years readership studies have shown that comic strips are among the best read features in publications.  Making an ad look like a comic strip can greatly increase readership.”

So why aren’t more marketers and those advertising a business using cartoons and comics today?

Is it because they no longer work?

Or, we’ve become too sophisticated?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I believe there are several reasons, but one of the biggest is that with all the technology advancements we have, we all tend to forget the more basic and fundamental strategies for boosting response (this is the reason all smart marketers and copywriters use CopyDoodles®).

Tapping into the emotional connection of cartoons is an example of this oversight and it leaves the smart marketer with a huge advantage.

Advertising Age magazine had a huge advantage with the success it created with their personalized cartoon campaign back in the early 1990’s.   By using a cartoon with a personalized caption on the envelope, letter and response form, Advertising Age created a super successful marketing campaign.

Now you too can tap into the power of personalized cartoons and I show you exactly how to do it in the 12 minute video on Mike Capuzzi TV.  The techniques I show on this video could be worth thousands of dollars to you when you’re advertising a business, and best of all, anybody can use them to create attention-grabbing marketing.

I have used these strategies successfully and so have many of my students and I believe so much in the power of cartoons and comics, I have created almost 500 (and the number is still growing) customizable CopyComics, which can be found on our CopyDoodles Access Club site.

CopyComics are copyright-free cartoons that you can quickly and easily personalize.  You can use them either for print marketing or Internet marketing and in both cases, when used correctly, they will boost the attention-grabbing power of your marketing when advertising a business!
Want a more in-depth lesson so you can discover how to effectively increase the attention-grabbing power of your copy with comics and cartoons? Check out my Home Study Course and Cd-Rom: How to Boost Response with Cartoons

What others say about you and your products and services is much more compelling and powerful than any marketing copy you could write for yourself.

The important lesson here is the word “real.”

Lately, I have seen an increase in a practice I personally detest and one I believe has no place in a business built on integrity, authenticity, quality and service.

It’s the use of canned, pre-written testimonials or what is more appropriately called a “testiphonial.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I know fake testimonials have been around as long as there has been authors and copywriters writing ads and sales letters.  What  I am talking about is different and it’s done with the guise of being an acceptable way to market in this age of “too much to do and too little time.”

It goes something like this.  A marketer has a new product or book that has yet to be released.  In an effort to build up their testimonials they will send out a slew of requests often with an incomplete product or the first few chapters of the book.

Due to the nature of product marketing, this is often a necessary practice, but here’s where it gets slimy.

Also sent is a list of pre-written testimonials about the product with a wink and nod that “these are being sent to give you ideas for your testimonial.”  All you need to do is pick which testimonial sounds like what you would write and put your name on it and send it back.

Ask the marketer why they do this and they’ll tell you nobody really has time to read the book or check out the product, so why not just write it for them.

BOLONEY!!!

This kind of marketing is an example of the epidemic of low quality, no-relationship, do-whatever-it-takes-to-make-a-sale mentality that is rampant out there.

Personally, I would not use a pre-written testiphonial. In fact, I know others detest this practice and refuse to endorse  products or services they cannot experience first-hand themselves.

The really interesting fact is, in my experience, whenever a customer writes a "real testimonial" it sounds SO MUCH BETTER than anything I could have written for them.  There’s a sense of authenticity and realism that cannot be duplicated by even the world’s greatest copywriters.

Folks, today when skepticism and cynicism are at an all-time high and when, via the Internet, ill-will can spread like wildfire, it’s more important than ever to market with integrity and true value.

So with this in mind, I want to offer you a few strategies I've used with much success over the years for getting real testimonials.  Many of these were developed back when I did consulting for software companies, where it was common practice for me to implement testimonial programs for every single client.

Interestingly, we had little problem getting top-level executives to give us their feedback and endorsement in writing or often times on video (this was back before the Flip camera so we had to go through the major effort of sending a multi-person crew to capture their words).

Strategy #1: Believe you can get the testimonial.  Many times getting a real testimonial is as simple as asking.  Of course this is based on the notion you have a relationship and proven track record with the person, so why wouldn’t they give it to you?

Strategy #2: Let them know why you are asking for the testimonial, who you are ultimately marketing to and how you intend to use the testimonial.  This is a critical step and gives your testimonial target a chance to say no if they feel it’s not a good fit. (If you are targeting V.I.P. “celebrity” testimonials, this is very important).

Strategy #3: Ask them to write you a testimonial.  If they are a current satisfied customer again this should pose no problem.  However, if you are requesting a testimonial for something that has yet to be pre-released, give them as much background information as possible.  If you are writing a book, send them a pre-release version that is at least 75% complete (when I published my first book, “Dream, Inc.” I waited until the book contents were written before sending out requests).

Strategy #4: There will be times when you send a request the person will push back and tell you to “write it for them” and they will edit and send back.  At this point explain why getting a testimonial from them – in their own words – is so important to you and if they could take the time, it would really help you (remember, more times than not, people like to help one another).

If they continue to push back, you have two choices.  Forget trying to get this testimonial or try strategy #5.  Either way, I would resist the temptation of creating a testiphonial for them.

Strategy #5: Conduct a five minute phone interview.  I’ve used this with much success over the years and you will be surprised how easy this strategy is.  What I will do is request a five minute phone call (I state this exact time right up front).  I will get the person on the phone and let them know I am recording the call so that we can transcribe the call later and create their testimonial from the actual conversation.

When you’re on the call, make sure you get all their contact information as they want it and then ask them some probing questions about your product or service. You’ll be amazed just how much people appreciate this type of interaction and how much they will open up.  The sound bites you get on these calls are invaluable.

Strategy #6: In the event the product is not complete yet, try to get a testimonial based on the overall idea or theme of the product or service.  Or one based on their personal experience with you and your abilities.

Yes this will sound different than if it was specific to your actual product or service, but it can still be extremely valuable in your marketing efforts.  When I created CopyDoodles®, I sent a number of marketers a small collection of CopyDoodles that would eventually be only a small portion of the final product, but it gave them enough to test.

I hope this article gives you a few practical ideas to help you collect real testimonials as you continue to grow your real business.

I would love to hear your thoughts about all this and if you have any of your own proven strategies for collecting testimonials!

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One of the smartest copywriting strategies is to use lists, such as bullet, check, and number lists when writing about your product or service, however 98% of copywriters and marketers overlook the critical importance of how their lists look and what they can do to make them stand out and grab the attention of their reader.

It’s a fact… how your copy and marketing LOOKS is critical for getting maximum readership and maximum response and conversion.  I am currently putting together a book that describes all the unique techniques you can use to improve the cosmetics of your copy and today I want to look at technique # 25 – lists.

If you look at successful advertisements, web sites, sales letters, they typically all use some type of list within them to air out the copy and create short, visual nuggets of information.

One of the smartest strategies for writing lists is to think of all the “reasons why” a prospect should invest in your product or service and use them as the basis for your list.

Once you have your lists created, the next step is to add copy cosmetics to spice up the look of your copy and grab the attention of your reader.

Use several unique strategies, including the use of CopyDoodles® to replace your word processor’s generic black round dots and numbers.  You can easily import a CopyDoodles into your program and create the look of a handwritten list.

If you’re printing in color the double impact of a hand-drawn checkmark in red really stands out and magnetizes the reader to your copy.  Watch the video to learn how to do this.

The other neat technique I like to use is to add CopyDoodles around my lists with phrases like “Check these out!” or “Don’t miss these” and then add a CopyDoodles arrow to point to my list.

By adding CopyDoodles you are creating eye-magnets which allow you to selectively emphasize key points within your copy.  This allows both skimmers and readers to instantly see what it is you want them to see and take the action you want them to take!