Wow! The festive season came so fast and before too long will be way past…

Now is the time to sit down and start working on a plan for the New Year – don’t know about you but I think 2007 is going to one of the best years ever.

I’ve got many things up my sleeve for this coming year but before I can reveal too much it’s time to take a step back in time. Look back at the past year and see what worked, what didn’t and what really sucked!

I had a slow start, but changes and strategies I made started to take shape toward the end and, more importantly, started to pay off – financially.

I urge you to take a little time for yourself and your business – remember you need to treat the Internet like a business – in the next few days and work on starting 2007 with a bang!

Go on sit down and take a reflective look at the last year and see what you can do to capitalise on all events, good and bad, that happened – every cloud has a silver lining but sometimes you have to look a little to discover it.

One of the keys to success in any form of business is a great sales letter, if you haven’t mastered this simple but vital skill yet then put that right at the begiinning of your list – here’s a free report to help you on your way.

Wishing you a wealthy, healthy and extremely exciting New Year.

Stuart

Write your sales letter in simple English – you are not writing a thesis on the theory of quantum physics that only a nuclear physicist needs to understand.

But…

You do need to use a level of English that your target audience would expect.

You are writing to a ‘normal’ audience and need to address them in simple terms, remember too that many of your prospects will be non-native speakers of English. Can you understand their language? No! So, don’t insult them by using highly convoluted words and phrases that only an Oxford professor will understand!

Professional business people are especially prone to using technical jargon and high level words that only another professional in the same field would understand. If you are in this field you should take extra care to simplify your sentences and avoid the jargon.

However, having said that, sometimes if you are writing to a specific niche where the readers would expect it targeted Jargon is OK.

If any of your prospects have to look for a dictionary to understand your sales message – Goodbye! – Remember, there are no distractions allowed!

Once again – Know your target market and address your sales letter directly to them in the manner that they are most likely to respect and understand.

Make it simple for them to understand your message and use whatever tools you need to convince them that your product is the solution to their problems. If you need to add a before and after photo – Do it. If you need to add audio to emphasise a point – Do it. If you need to add a video message – Do it!

“Whatever it takes to get the sale is what is necessary to do!” – But don’t use illegal or back hand methods… You want repeat, long term customers…

By the way did you get your Copywriting Power Guide yet?

It’s easy, just fill in your name and address in the box to the right and as soon as you’ve confirmed you want it, the power guide will be winging it’s way to your mailbox.

Take care,

Stuart.

Hi there,

I’m always being asked what is the quickest way to learn the secret triggers and buttons that the ‘pros’ use in their copy.

The thing is, there is one way that doesn’t cost a dime, and that will implant these things in your brain as surely as a sledgehammer will crack a wallnut… but most people simply ignore it.

You may even be the same…

But you know what? There is no surer way to get the little triggers… understand the psychology of the emotional hot buttons and learn how a good sales letter flows than by simply finding a master sales letter and copying it out word for word onto a piece of paper by hand.

I was doing just that the other day – something I’ve made into a routine – and it’s amazing the little things that I’d not noticed when I’d read the sales letter…

Simple but ‘Oh-so-effective’ things like the choice of one small word, the use of the hyphen to join phrases and make the copy ‘move quicker’ or simply changing an adjective for a verb to add more punch and impact… the ‘copywriting language’ that your English teacher couldn’t teach you at school… The list is endless.

When you read a sales letter these things affect or move you but you are not always sure why. However when you write it out longhand you have time to see and understand exactly what the smallest changes can do… and what’s more these ‘tricks become implanted in your brain by the very act of writing.

It’s almost as if they jump off the paper and run up your arm before settling inside your brain. It’s one of those strange things, I don’t know how but it works.

Not doing something as simple as this costs you two ways,

1. You don’t get to learn the secrets – Period
2. It costs nothing… Yet you probably buy courses and DVD’s that don’t teach you these things… And they cost you money.

So why is it that people don’t make a habit of doing something as valuable as this? Is it because it takes too much time?

It could be, people do tend to want the quick way out which is a little shortsighted…

I know that time is valuable but so is education.

So… if you make a habit of doing it the time spent writing out becomes negligible. You’ll even find that as you copy out a ‘pros’ sales letter your own sales letter will begin writing itself in your head….

And as soon as you’ve finished your little homework task you’ll be steaming full speed into writing your own killer sales letter

Another benefit of this that is crucially important to those who are non-native speakers of English is it teaches you English at the same time…

Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the results.

And if you’re not sure where to find some good copy to practice with, have a look at some of Gary Halbert’s work thegaryhalbertletter.com or Clayton Makepeace’s makepeacetotalpackage.com

These are two guys whose work you should be devouring daily.

By the way when I say copy a sales letter I don’t mean plagiarise it, I mean write it down by hand so you can learn from it.

To you success, always.

Stuart.