Hopefully you know who Dan Kennedy is and if you don’t, and you’re an entrepreneur of any sort, you’re missing on his extraordinary wisdom and business insights.  I suggest you seek out a few of his books on amazon.com.

If you’re familiar with Dan and his genius, you already know about the positive influence he’s had on thousands of business owners around the world over the past several decades.

Given Dan’s current consulting day rate is $18,800, you’ll immediately recognize this is no small decision and I one I prepared for days prior to our meeting.

To say the day was amazingly powerful, would be an understatement and while I cannot go over everything I received that day, I thought I would share three important takeaways that are applicable to all entrepreneurs.

Takeaway #1

I went to Cleveland focused on the business of CopyDoodles®, and Dan made it abundantly clear to grow my business, the passport (as he called it) is not about the thing (in my case CopyDoodles), but instead about me, my years of experience in helping entrepreneurs and the relationship I have with my CopyDoodles members.

As a matter of fact Dan said and I quote, “Your growth will have less to do with your talent, your skill, your expertise or your deliverables than it will your ability and willingness to create and exploit your own status.”

To some that may sound offensive, but if you truly understand what Dan is saying, it’s a truth to amazing income breakthroughs.

Takeaway #2

The second gem Dan Kennedy helped me see was the need for a price strategy that consistently yields a high-quality “who.”

You see one of my questions was about creating a low-priced front end offer for CopyDoodles membership and Dan made it crystal clear why he thought this would be a mistake for my business.

I realize for many folks, in the current economic environment, it’s a natural reaction to lower the barrier of entry to do business with you, but if you consider the potential ramifications (like I did), you’ll see there are better ways to grow your business.

On a side note, I would recommend reading Dan’s recent book he co-authored with Jason Marrs on pricing strategy.

Takeaway #3

The final kick in the pants I want to share is important for any entrepreneur who relies on email and the web as a primary media for their marketing.

Dan was insistent for me to figure out a way to start using offline marketing for both new business and keeping current members longer.

Yes, email and online marketing is cheap and easy, but if you talk to anybody who does a lot of online marketing you will see that it’s becoming very challenging get people to open and read their emails.

I am going to start using direct mail immediately and current CopyDoodles Access Club members are in for a big treat in the coming months so stay tuned!

Bottom line, make sure you’re doing offline marketing!

So there you have it… a brief glimpse into a consulting day with one of the living legends of direct response marketing.  With over 15 pages of jam-packed notes, the investment in a consulting day with Dan Kennedy is going to pay off for years to come!

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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

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Not familiar with GKIC-Philly?  GKIC-Philly is a group of over 180 business owners, sales and marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, and professional practice owners interested in learning more about the direct marketing strategies and techniques taught by marketing gurus, Dan Kennedy, Bill Glazer and Michael Capuzzi.

GKIC-Philly offers you a unique opportunity to learn about direct marketing that goes against traditional, big, dumb marketing you see around every day.  Our type of marketing is measurable, affordable, and effective and yet we are not right for everybody.

GKIC-Philly is a resource for entrepreneurs who believe in "outside-the-box" thinking and ideas.  We are completely different than business referral groups and nothing like your local Chamber of Commerce. 

We are 100% focused on learning about marketing that works.Learn more at http://gkic-philly.com

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