Plain Words/'Ace Tips' :: Copywriting & Web Marketing

Paypal is now available in New Zealand dollars

Chris Mole — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 07:09:00 +0000

Paypal has finally added New Zealand dollars to its list of currencies. This is great news for anyone selling online in New Zealand. If opens up a whole new world of possiblities, freeing us from the expensive fees charged by the established banks for their merchant accounts.

More than 114 million people worldwide now use Paypal and it is growing rapidly.

PayPal is the #1 e-finance site on the Internet, according to PC Data Online, and one of the fastest growing websites, according to Media Metrix. PayPal now constitutes over 10% of all Internet traffic in the financial services category, more than Citibank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America combined.

Recommended by CNET as "the most reliable personal payment service," PayPal is also being increasingly used at e-commerce sites. PayPal's service, free to consumers, can be used from PC's or Web-enabled mobile phones.

PayPal is owned by eBay. PayPal was recently named one of the 50 Most Important Private Companies in the World by Red Herring, one of the Top 25 New Companies by Fortune Small Business, and a Forbes Favourite Website in the magazine's latest "Best of the Web" issue.

You will find more and more sites using PayPal. If you are a business selling online ... or thinking of selling online, it's well worth checking out Paypal. There are no monthly fees and you can also link Paypal withe the excellent Mal's e-commerce shopping cart, which also has a free version.

The future belongs to the trusted few

Chris Mole — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 20:35:00 +0000

I have just read a thought-provoking article by Nick Usborne, a copywriter and web marketer I greatly respect. I would like to republish it here in full. I agree with Nick 100% ... in view of all the shonky, get-rich-quick websites out there on the Internet today. Nick talks about building long-term trust by offering genuine, honest content. Here is his full article:

"This last week I have been reading a few articles about how readers are feeling less and less trust in the information they find in blogs, forums and social networks.

That’s a shame. Blogs and forums in particular used to be the places where people could trust the writing as being non-commercial and honest.

And I think things will get worse. Companies love the idea of getting their messages into these channels. More and more ads and videos are finding their ways into blogs. More and more marketers are creating blogs, forums and social network pages specifically to promote their products or services.

The future? Levels of trust will continue to decline as more and more marketing messages flood every aspect of the web.

All bad news brings an opportunity…

Yes, I think it’s bad news. I think it’s unfortunate that there is so much "advertorial" out there. I think it’s a shame that hundreds of thousands of MySpace pages don’t belong to individuals at all...but are created by companies which pretend to be individuals.

But there is an opportunity. And it’s an opportunity I like.

As levels of credibility and trust sink lower, readers will seek out the gallant few. That is to say, if you deliver honest, useful content on your site, with no sneakiness, then people will get to hear about you.

They will be hungry for information they can trust.

Does this mean no advertising?

Not at all. There are some excellent, trustworthy sites out there which support themselves through all manner of advertising and sponsorship deals.

The trick is not to remove the advertising, but to separate editorial from advertising. Just like they used to do, and sometimes still do in the world of print.

People understand that information media need to support their existence through advertising. And that’s OK.

What isn’t OK is when you try to trick your readers.

It’s not OK when you write content that is thinly-veiled advertising.

It’s not OK to try to make people think a certain page is editorial they can trust, when in fact it is there to deliver a marketing message.

It’s not OK to write a blog entry that appears to be editorial when you are being paid a fee by a company to write it.

It’s not OK to write rubbish content simply to attract readers in the hope they will click on an ad or an AdSense link.

These are the practices that dilute trust and make web users skeptical about the next blog, forum or web site they visit.

It takes time to build trust...just like when you are making a new
friend.

Online every marketer is in a hurry to make money. But if you just slow down a little, and defer you income expectations, you’ll do better in the long run.

Create valuable, useful and honest content, whether it be in the form of articles, reviews, guides, white papers, blog entries or posts in forums.

Keep marketing messages out of your content. Add them separately, and keep them separate.
Over time, people will come to trust your site and the information you provide.

Trustworthy content will win in the end...

As the web and all of its channels become flooded with untrustworthy content, those who build and maintain trust with their readers will be the long-term winners.

People are not stupid. They quickly learn which sites are trying to "play"
them.

So while we are in the midst of an explosion of sneaky marketing right now, the smartest marketers will be investing in sites, blogs and forums that are genuinely trustworthy.

They will be the winners in the end.

By Nick Usborne - www.excessvoice.com

A brand-new sales letter website

Chris Mole — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 02:14:00 +0000

I have just launched a new website for a client in Auckland, selling a nutritional product called Omega Trio - organic flax seed and borage seed oil, which is loaded with omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids.

Have a look at the sales letter at www.omegatrio.com and you'll see I have tried to spell out the benefits of taking Omega Trio in a clear but no-hype way.

The acid test, as always, will be how many sales the client makes from the site. I'll be watching closely over the next few weeks as he markets the site using Google adwords.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

Does this site make you want to buy?

Chris Mole — Sun, 28 May 2006 23:32:00 +0000

I've just rewritten the copy for a website selling fresh, healthy, delicious gourmet meals, delivered to your door. www.metabolize.co.nz

These meals are particularly designed for health-conscious people who work hard ... and work out hard ... and when they come home tired they need a quick, healthy meal they can put in the microwave and eat quickly. they also want to know they are doing something good for their body rather than eating junk, like most instant meals are.

The original copy on the site was not inspiring many visitors to buy. It was getting plenty of visitors but few sales. The acid test of this new copy will be how the sales conversion rate improves during the next few weeks.

I will keep you posted on this blog. Check out the site at www.metabolize.co.nz.

How Colours Affect Your Marketing

Chris Mole — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:33:00 +0000

I've just been reading this article from Mitch Meyerson, in the latest issue of his Success Strategies Online Newsletter.

It's about the importance of colours on your website and other marketing materials.

Here's what Mitch says about colours and the emotions they communicate in a business context:

Red evokes aggressiveness, passion, strength, vitality. In business, it is great for accents and boldness, stimulates appetites, is associated with debt.

Pink evokes femininity, innocence, softness, health. In business, be sure you're aware of its feminine implications and associations.

Orange evokes fun, cheeriness, warm exuberance. In business, it's great to highlight information in graphs and on charts evokes positivity, sunshine and cowardice. In business, it appeals to intellectuals and is excellent for accenting things. Too much is unnerving.

Green evokes tranquility, health, freshness. In business, its deep tones convey status and wealth; its pale tones are soothing.

Blue evokes authority, dignity, security, faithfulness. In business, it implies fiscal responsibility and security. Plus it is universally popular.

Purple evokes sophistication, spirituality, costliness, royalty and mystery. In business, it's right for upscale and artistic audiences.

Brown evokes utility, earthiness, woodiness and subtle richness. In business, it signifies less important items in documents.

White evokes purity, truthfulness, being contemporary and refined. In business, it enlivens dark colors and can be refreshing or sterile.

Gray evokes somberness, authority, practicality and a corporate mentality. In business, it is always right for conservative audiences.

Black evokes seriousness, distinctiveness, boldness and being classic. In business, it creates drama and is often a fine background color.

Fascinating stuff and worth thinking carefully about when planning your site.

Say Goodbye To Google

Chris Mole — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 19:56:00 +0000

I've just come across a thought-provoking new e-book by Harvey Segal.

It's free ... and Harvey doesn't even ask for your name and email address before you can get it. (You'll discover in the e-book why he doesn't need to. He's worked out a brilliant new method of viral marketing.)

The e-book is called Ultimate SuperTip. It's easy to follow, written without hype and not littered with annoying links.

There's also an ingenious twist at the end, which is designed to send your traffic rocketing and let you make money from the e-book itself.

If you want to step outside the square and learn a brilliant new marketing idea, check out this free e-book now.

Free Download - The Ultimate SuperTip

Need a laugh? Read these bloopers

Chris Mole — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 23:10:00 +0000

Here's some classic advertising copy bloopers that I just read in Clayton Makepeace's newsletter. I'm sure Clayton won't mind me sharing them.

A housekeeping service:
Tired of cleaning yourself? Let ME do it!

A used car dealer:
Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first!

A swimwear shop:
Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the tops.

A mortgage company:
Ask about our plans for owning your home

A dry cleaner:
We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand.

They're good for a laugh ... just make sure you don't put any bloopers like this in YOUR ad copy!

Who's the top Internet marketing guru?

Chris Mole — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 07:30:00 +0000

There's a fascinating site called gurudaq.com, which lists the world's top Internet marketing gurus ... rather like the sharemarket ... they go up and down according to what they're doing, how many visitors their sites are getting and how much profit they're making.

It's a novel way of showing who's who on the Internet Marketing Scene... and I've been going back there regularly for several months.

John Sikora, who runs the site, posts a daily Gurudaq index at
http://www.gurudaq.com/internet_marketing_guru_index.php

Number 1 for as long as I've been visiting is Ken Evoy, founder of Sitesell.com. Ken is way out in front with an index of 432.72. Next is Derek Gehl on 174.32 ... as you can see, a long way behind Ken Evoy ... and third is Alan Gardyne on 44.70. Take a look at the index, you'll be fascinated. If you're looking for a 'guru' to follow, this is a good place to start.

I can understand why Ken Evoy is rated so highly. His books and products are absolutely brilliant and he is one of the most ethical guys in Internet marketing circles. I have read several of Ken's books, including Make Your Site Sell, Make Your Words Sell, The Service Sellers Masters Course ... and several others. I have also studied the user manual that goes with Ken's SiteBuildIt, which is a website buildinging software and marketing package all in one. At just $299 a year, it includes everything you need to get a website up and running and making money. For a beginner at Internet marketing who wants to get into profit as fast as possible, there's no better way than to invest in SiteBuildIt.

I have not used SiteBuildIt, simply because I have pretty good web design skills myself and don't need the website builder part of the package. But I have studied the SiteBuildIt user manual thoroughly and tried to apply its guidelines with all my own websites.

I have a page on my site dedicated to SiteBuildIt: http://plainwords.co.nz/how-to-build-a-website.htm if you're interested in going down this track.

It's hard to see anyone challenging Ken Evoy for number one spot on gurudaq.com for a long time yet. So if you're looking for a genuine guru to follow, he is my number one recommendation.

Special Report - SEO Predictions 2006

Chris Mole — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 07:32:00 +0000

If you're serious about understanding what the search engines are doing ... here's a special report I picked up today ... and I'd like to share it with you.

It contains the predictions to 14 top SEO experts about what they foresee happening during the next 12 months. You really must read it. It looks at vital questions such as:

- What technology is Google planning on introducing and how may it affect you?

- How will Google and Yahoo filter duplicate content in the future and will this help or punish content site owners?

- What changes can be made to private label articles to avoid duplicate content penalties and is just adding a little content to the front and back of an article really enough to fool Google?

- What is the future of sites that have been created using site generation software and what can current generated sites do about it?

- What about buying inbound links from other sites? Will the search engines penalise you for this in future?

Hurry and get this free SEO Predictions Special Report now while it's still available...

at www.aceofwebs.com/seo.pdf

Have you heard of PayDot Com yet?

Chris Mole — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 04:15:00 +0000

I just signed up for PayDotCom today and want to tell you what a brilliant marketplace it is if you're selling anything online ... or looking for products to promote as an affiliate.

All the top Internet marketers seem to be going to PayDotCom as an alternative to Clickbank.

I'm a member of Clickbank, too, and they are a great marketplace ... but they have certain limitations and restrictions ... and it also costs $49 per product to sell at Clickbank ... whereas PayDotCom is free for your first product.

The way things are moving so fast with PayDotCom, it looks like it will really give Clickbank a run for its money. Within 3 months every singleonline marketer will have an account with PayDotCom.com ... you can guarantee it.

So get yours now and see how much they offer...

What are you waiting for... it rocks!

Get your free account now...http://paydotcom.net/?affiliate=18034 (yes, that's an affiliate link, I hope you don't mind. You can sign up at the paydotcom.net direct if you want ... but if you use my link I get a small percentage.)

Thanks,

Chris
http://paydotcom.net/?affiliate=18034

You'll be interested in this story ...

Chris Mole — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 07:20:00 +0000

I'd like to share a brief story with you.

About six months ago I bought a book called 'Revealed: The Hidden Truth About Web Design' by Dave Alston.

I'd never heard of Dave before but I was blown away by his book. Packed full of up-to-the-minute information about marketing on the Web. The latest facts about how to use audio and video on your website, blogs, RSS feeds. Cutting edge stuff, written in a refreshingly frank way. I devoured the book hungrily. I couldn't put it down.

I emailed Dave to tell him how much I enjoyed his book and how much new information I had learned. The next morning about 7.30am my phone rang. It was Dave. (He had forgotten the time difference between New Zealand and the UK.)

This was the start of a friendship by phone and email.

About two months ago, Dave offered me his web design business www.aceofwebs.com and his autoresponder business www.aceautoresponders.com . This is because he wants to focus on copywriting, at which he is brilliant.

So, within six months I have not only bought Dave's e-book but also two of his businesses.

Now, the purpose of this story is to encourage you to check out Dave's book. The one that has dramatically changed my life as an Internet marketer. 'Revealed: The Hidden Truth About Web Design'.

Head on over to http://www.davealston.com/truthaboutwebdesign.htm and check it out now.

You won't regret it. It may change your life the way it has changed mine.

Regards

Chris

P.S. I'm not getting any affiliate commission for recommending Dave's book. I'm doing it purely because I believe it's a great book and you need to read it. http://www.davealston.com/truthaboutwebdesign.htm

Offer a strong money-back guarantee ... and watch your sales soar

Chris Mole — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 02:16:00 +0000

Are you offering your prospective customers a genuine money-back guarantee? If not, you are leaving a lot of potential money on the table.

Research shows customers are much more likely to buy ... particularly on the Internet .. .when the seller is offering a money-back guarantee.

You can go even further, if you have the courage, and offer a more powerful money-back guarantee that puts all the risk back onto you and none on your customer.

Here's a great example I just came across ... Joe Vitale's guarantee for his book, "The Seven Lost Secrets of Success". Joe says on his website: "Use the seven principles for six months. If you're out work, you'll find a job. If you're employed you'll get a raise. If you're in business you'll see a whopping 25% jump in revenues ... or return this book with your recept for a full cash refund!"

How's that for a guarantee? After reading that guarantee, wouldn't you be more inclined to buy Joe Vitale's book rather than all the others out there that are essentially saying "give me you money"!

Unfortunately, most business owners are afraid to make such a strong guarantee. They worry people will take advantage of them and they'll lose money.

The reality is, research has shown very few customers will take you up on your money-back guarantee. And if they do, you have an opportunity to find out the reason why and perhaps rectify their complaint.

Even if you get a few people asking for their money back, this will be far outweighed by the extra business you will do as a result of offering a strong guarantee.

So why not go out on a limb? Offer your customers a powerful money-back guarantee. And watch how your inquiries and sales will grow!

Words and Phrases that Trigger Some Spam Filters

Chris Mole — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 06:22:00 +0000

I found this fascinating article by Dr Ralph Wilson, editor of Web Marketing Today, on the key words that trigger spam filters in email and autoresponder messages.

Take a close look if you're involved in sending out a lot of marketing emails. It may explain why a lot of your mesages are not getting through the spam filters.

Here is Dr Wilson's article:

" I built this list of some 250 words and phrases from two spam filter lists. It is not complete. I have left out porn trigger words. Most spam filters work on a point system, so that the occurrence of just one "spam phrase" probably won't trigger rejection -- except some which the filter considers notorious. SpamAssassin 2.43, for example, assigns default points for these top offenders, as follows:

Reverses aging	3.37
'Hidden' assets	3.28
stop snoring	3.26
Free investment	3.19
Dig up dirt on friends	3.12
Stock disclaimer statement	3.04
Multi level marketing	3.01
Compare rates	2.83
Cable converter	2.75
Claims you can be removed from the list	2.70
Removes wrinkles	2.69
Compete for your business	2.57
free installation	2.51
Free grant money	2.50
Auto email removal	2.36
Collect child support	2.33
Free leads	2.29
Amazing stuff	2.26
Tells you it's an ad	2.21
Cash bonus	2.20
Promise you ...!	2.15
Claims to be in accordance with some spam law	2.11
Search engine listings	2.09
free preview	2.07
Credit bureaus	2.03
No investment	2.01
Serious cash	2.00

If you're using any of these trigger words in your emails, you may want to think again.

How To Get Your Email Messages Through Spam Filters

Chris Mole — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 06:22:00 +0000

Just want to let you know about a great report I've found by Dori Friend on how to vastly improve your chances of getting your email marketing messages through spam filters.

If you've been involved in Internet marketing for any length of time, you'll know how frustrating it is when your messages ... particularly autoresponder messages ... never make it to your list because they get treated as spam.

Here are Dori's '21 Deadliest Spam Filter Violations'

1) Don't ever send more then 250 emails concurrently to AOL

2) Don't EVER embed an image in an email

3) Don't use caps anywhere in your email, especially in your subject line

4) Don't send an email without checking your Spam trigger word content**

5) Don't use the word "remove," use "unsubscribe"

6) Don't start your subject line with "Dear..."

7) Don't use Spam software to send email

8) Don't use your PC as a server

9) Don't forge headers

10) Don't put ADV in your subject line

11) Don't send an email without checking to see if you or your ISP is on a Blacklist**

12) Don't over use punctuation (just one !)

13) Don't leave headers blank

14) Don't use BCC to send emails (and certainly not CC)

15) Don't over use Marketing Phrases**

16) Don't use the Priority option

17) Don't change the time on your server so your email stays on top of the heap

18) Don't overuse HyperLinks

19) Don't use a fake IP address to send email

20) Don't use HTML (sorry)

21) Don't waste time sending email without using e-filtrate;
e-filtrate is an automated system that makes sense of all this. You can check it out at Dori's website

Dori also has 10 "Do's" to get your email through the Spam Filters

1) Do put a date in your email subject line

2) Do be a newsletter

3) Do send your email from a trusted source

4) Do look and be legitimate

5) Do use the word FREE and not F*R*E*E

6) Do send regular text emails

7) Do have an unsubscribe link

8) Do say 'go here' instead of 'click here'

9) Do get on your customers' white list

10) Do personalize your email with your customers name.

I'm checking out e-filtrate at the moment and will keep you posted on how I find it.

A Fascinating Interview on Email Marketing ...

Chris Mole — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 20:06:00 +0000

Here's some brilliant advice on email marketing, including using autoresponders effectively. It's from a recent interview with Stefan Tornquist, Research Director for MarketingSherpa.

Tornquist advises email marketers to follow these four steps:

Step #1. Focus on the beginning of the relationship

People who have been on a list for less than 90 days -- better yet, under 30 days -- show the highest rate of response. And, 'welcome' messages get nearly twice the response as regular email.

"Welcome messages don't get fully utilized," says Tornquist. "Very often it's just, 'Welcome to our list, look for our next issue.' That's really punting."

Consider including the latest issue of the newsletter as the welcome message, or use a coupon or specific offer upon which they can act immediately.

Or try autoresponders for that first period of interaction:

When somebody becomes a member of your list, send a series of emails once a week for the first 60 days with the best content from the last couple of years.

Step #2. Selecting the best email frequency

Email marketers have known for years that only email with "useful" content will be opened and read. They have spent money on copywriters, and invested energy discovering what type of content their consumer wants to read.

But consumers want more than just good copy. They want control over how it is delivered to them. Marketers with the best response rates focus on the following:

a. Frequency -- are we mailing too often?

Top marketers are working with their readers to discover the optimal frequency.

That doesn't mean allowing them to choose a specific frequency (once a week, twice a week, once a month, etc.), because you run the risk of a reader missing something truly relevant if they’ve already reached their email limit.

Rather, allow consumers to choose how often they are contacted by letting them identify what is relevant to them: offer lists of topics so they can choose the amount of communication in terms of relevancy, not frequency.

Interestingly, those email marketers who offer a high level of control actually send emails more frequently than those who don't.

Tornquist explains. "If I'm given a list of topics, and that list is extensive and interesting, then I'm going to click and ask for more emails on a variety of subjects."

So are we emailing too often? Most marketers are, but only because they're not delivering the right content to the right people.

"The whole thing about frequency is that it really depends on segmentation. The whole list is not a monolith that should get one same thing every month."

b. Information blast vs. newsletter – preferences centers

"One consumer might want to see one email a month with a 'laundry list' of all the articles they can choose from," says Tornquist. "Another person might want one article a week."

Find out what your readers want through surveys, segmentation, and testing, then deliver it.

c. B-to-B marketers are not exempt

While frequency is not as big an issue for these marketers -- they tend to mail less often -- good copy is still a problem. "We see that a lot of the content itself is somewhat dry, especially in the b-to-b companies that have been doing them for five years or longer. They're having a hard time coming up with new things to say."

For ideas on what your customers are really interested in, take a tip from your b-to-c counterparts: check your search logs from your site to see where their interest lies.

B-to-b companies that mail very infrequently, less than once per quarter, are seeing a drop in open rates because their mail is going unnoticed among the noise. Tornquist recommends getting on a regular schedule of mailing. You don't necessarily have to mail more often, he says, but mail regularly.

Step #3. Getting past filters – avoiding false positives

False positives -- when a company's legitimate message is blocked -- are a big deal today, says Tornquist. "A recent Pivotal Veracity study found that 54% of retail marketers were affected."

In the retail world, you know it's happening, because you can see that all your Hotmail addresses, for example, aren't going through. It's harder in the b-to-b world, because the filtering happens behind firewalls, and you don't know it unless someone tells you.

If you see marked changes in open rates or clicks, try testing a text message and see if that increases your stats. If so, your HTML emails are probably being blocked.

Shockingly, a recent study from Silverpop shows that 78% of companies are not asking people to whitelist, yet whitelisting remains a top way to ensure you won't be labeled a spammer and filtered.

Tornquist suggests including a link, with instructions, in every email. "Usability studies show that if you provide instructions it increases response, even when the instructions are very simple."

Step #4. Test landing pages

"Landing pages are a huge part of our interaction with consumers," he says. And, by testing and tweaking email landing pages, you can impact conversion rates by 40% on average. Classic A/B tests as well as multivariate tests are being conducted by sophisticated emailers. Key tests include:

o Matching the headline copy to the email link and offer copy more precisely
o Matching the “submit” button copy to the headline copy.
o Matching images, especially product or offer “hero” shots, from the original email creative as precisely as possible
o Simplifying layout to remove extraneous links, multiple column formats, raise typeface point size, and generally “dumb it down” for the easily-distracted eye.

Useful links related to this article:

'Behind-the-Scenes in the Booming Email Service Provider Industry: Why Are Some Clients Complaining?' http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3132

MarketingSherpa's Email Benchmark Guide 2006 http://www.sherpastore.com/Email-Marketing-Benchmarks-Conversion-Data-2006.html