The Art of Persuasion

Another interesting piece from the Makepeace Total Package people. Today Michael Masterson delves into an example of persuasion in advertising. It's a definite art copywriters must master but most of us stumble because we are focused on our own needs - versus addressing what our readers will gain.

One of the big questions I keep in mind when writing is the "What's in it for me?" - everyone is asking this as they're reading sales promotions. Some of us do it consciously while other do it unconsciously. Either way that question is prominent.

For more read Michael Masterson's piece here: http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/michael-masterson/the-case-of-the-disappearing-copywriter.html

Enjoy!

Self Promo Package

So I have decided I have been setting my sights too close to home in terms of clients.

I've also been barking up a small fruit-bearing tree. I love my local clients and love to help them grow their businesses but few of them have the money to afford me in an on-going arrangement.

With those experiences in mind, I decided to branch out. I'm going after bigger clients and have been creating a self promotional package. Woo wee!!!

One of the greatest lessons I've learned in life is that if we're going to do anything noteworthy in life we have to tackle things that intimidate us. And this package sure does intimidate me. My ego has a nasty habit of cropping up at times like this and nagging me about my (perceived) lack of experience and my own internal doubts about whether or not I can really write.

Both of those nags are complete crap (pardon my bluntness but that's the best word: crap). I write for one of the most well-known alternative health doctors on the web! And his staff loves me and tells me so regularly.

Being in marketing it's easy to lose sight of the fact that I study this stuff almost daily (ok sometimes I like to take a break on the weekends - it's necessary) and by doing so, I know more about marketing than 85% of the population.

I lose sight of this fact because my ego likes to compare me to the greats - Clayton Makepeace, Drayton Bird, Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton and one of my all-time favorites, Carline Anglade-Cole. My ego likes to tell me I know about 1/1,000,000,000th of the info these people know.

And while that may be true (ok it's probably more like 1/1,000,000th) what is also true is that they gained their knowledge by being in the playing field. They learned by DOING - not by just studying, reading and talking.

As my favorite man in the Universe would say (James Arthur Ray): you've got to get in the water.

And he's right. It's time to get in the water. With my self-promo package it's time to get into some deeper waters. I'm aiming for deeper waters where I have no idea how to swim and I have every belief that I will learn how to jump into, how to navigate and how to gracefully swim those waters. :)

Then it will be onto the next, even deeper waters. Here's to enjoying the journey!

What's Your Reality?

This is an interesting and completely accurate discussion regarding reality - how we shape it, how we change it and how we create it. Hopefully it will provide you with some additional insights:

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/daniel-levis/find-your-flow-state-for-more-effective-creativity.html#comment-6074

You've got to check this out...

For the last several weeks Clayton Makepeace has given his Total Package readers some terrific info (all for free).

Each Monday he's been sending us articles on how to freelance copywriting is dead in the water and strategic marketing partnerships are the only way to go in today's economy.

Whether or not you agree with him he always has great advice & insight.

Here are links to two of his articles. DO read the comments sections on both as there are avalanches of information.

The most recent article:

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/content/view/493/161/1/0/#comments

Where it all began:

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/clayton-makepeace/six-figures-is-chump-change.html

It's well worth the investment of your time. Enjoy!

Another Great Total Package Article

Here are some great marketing tips for copywriters everywhere!

Enjoy.

Midweek Mover

It's been a long week already. I've spent my nights packing and my days at a temp job. Granted this temp job was pretty easy - my only responsibility was to answer phones. They rarely rang so in essence I simply had to show up.

Anyway, the move is underway. The first big step is to spend a week in Chicago and I booked my flight today. I'll be there from July 23rd through July 29th. Wish me interviews!

I'm continuing to expand my network and asking people to contact their friends for me. So far I've been introduced to one woman with Leo Burnett - that is exciting! I'm thrilled to talk to her and hopefully her contacts as well.

Enough about me, it's time for another brief educational tip! In this article, Clayton, the Man, Makepeace shares his thoughts on fully utilizing copywriting techniques. Enjoy!

Can you be a copywriter?

Clayton Makepeace is arguably one of the best out there...he's definitely one of my teachers. He took some time to discuss advice and tips for any of us interested in pursuing copywriting as a profession/career/vocation.

Since he is one of the masters, it's worth your time to read (and re-read as I did today).

Enjoy it here.

Moanday Monday

It is pretty tough to work all day, take care of a house and then find time for job searching/apartment living/figure-out-what-I'm-going-to-do-in-the-next-few-weeks-type planning as well. Not to mention updating this blog for you!


I met with a local freelance copywriter to learn more about his career path. He worked for a few of the biggies (JWT, Leo Burnett, etc) and spent almost a decade in Chicago. Currently all of his clients are ad agencies he has worked with in the past (or has become acquianted with over the course of his advertising tenure). He doesn't solicit clients, he just picks up overflow projects from a variety of agencies.


He also recommended I consider a semester or two of school at a specialized advertising school so I can build my portfolio...that or I find a young art director to team up with and conceptualize spec ads.


Great input and insight on his part and I'm exploring both the school and the team concept options.


My next step is to contact more agencies, talk to a few other friends and get things in place for my visit in late July. I'm planning to be in the Windy City from the 19th/20th til the 28th. Hopefully I can find a place to stay and can meet with some acquiantances as well.


Exciting times!!


That's my update but I wanted to take the focus off of me for a moment and share some copywriting knowledge with you. Straight from The Man himself, here's today's newsletter from Clayton Makepeace.

Clayton shares some tidbits on online marketing, copywriting, web traffic and all the other good stuff we love to hear him rant about!!

Enjoy.

Create a nice day,


Lara

Quick Update

Just a quick update - not feeling very good at the moment.

I spent the day looking up ad agencies in the Denver area and sending my information to them. I've got another 30-40 on my list so that is exciting. Next week starts the follow up and hopefully the interviews. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Tomorrow I'll send more emails to the agencies and more thank you notes for the giveaway gifts. There is plenty to do and it's up to me to do it!

Enjoy the Clayton Makepeace article below and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Create a nice day,

Lara

I'm A Thief!

Yep that's right, I steal. And I steal good stuff...now I'll share it with you.

Here's another brilliant article by Clayton Makepeace as it originally appeared in The Total Package. Since I haven't figured out how to repost the article, I'm just providing the link.

Enjoy!

Mind Games: How To Program Yourself for Total Success!

Decision Time

Well we've come to a crossroads of sorts. This month hasn't produced the results I needed. We've definitely made progress which has been wonderful and I'm thankful for that. Now it's time to make a decision.

It's been a tough call for me. I've felt as though I've failed because this wasn't my vision. My vision was to be fully and gainfully self-employed by June 1st. Because I became attached to that vision I've caused myself some misery the last few days. So instead of being down on myself, I'm choosing to see this as a hurdle. Choosing to work for someone else full-time is simply a new path to follow that will one day lead to bigger and better things.

In the mean time it will keep a roof over my head.

Honestly many copywriters work for other people as employees before going out on their own. The greats like Clayton Makepeace, John Carlton, etc. Who am I to argue with their paths?! If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

Keep your fingers crossed for me - I've got about 30 (ish) days to find a job and get a new place to live. Lots of possibilities and opportunities but somewhat stressful.

Which means it's time to focus on what I'm thankful for and what I appreciate in my life because gratitude helps me keep things in perspective.

Today I choose to be thankful for the day, for my willingness to explore possibilities and options, for my family, friends and loved ones, for bright, beautiful skies, for love, peace and joy, for all the wonderful people in my life who are here to help and guide me, for every challenge and hurdle I face because as Napoleon Hill once said: Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.

Isn't that a wonderful quote to remember? I'm thankful for that quote! And for Hill's priceless book "Think and Grow Rich". I'm so grateful for the teachers in my life in all their forms and influences. I'm also grateful for the optimism I find in wondering what lies ahead. Even though events may not unfold exactly as I had hoped for there is always education in every experience.

And so I am off to enjoy the day in all its splendor! I hope you will do the same.

Create a nice day,

Lara

Slow Turtle Sunday

Today was another slow day...another steady stream of reality droplets hit me and I took care of personal matters around my house. And I did it slowly, very slowly. Much like a turtle carefully plodding along towards its goal with no sense of time, space or urgency.

Yep, I'm still moving myself back from turtle mode (aka island living) into full working mode.
Tomorrow will be another step in that direction! Hopefully a very big one.

While I get back to my tasks, enjoy this interview with Gary Bencivenga. It's a treasure trove of goodies for anyone interested in copywriting. Enjoy!

Are Wishes Really Granted?

Yet again I am faced with a day full of more tasks than I accomplish! However the things I don't finish give me something to prepare for the next day so I'm not complaining.

This blog entry was going to be about how to make money as a blogger but I ran out of time yet again. That entry will appear tomorrow because I have simply more on my plate then I could completely tackle in one day (at least by myself..when my apprentices get up to speed we'll have plenty of hands on deck and hopefully a much bigger boat or fleet of boats to manage! Did you follow that analogy?!).

Instead I'm going to share a little story along with a quick recap on how I spent my day.

If you've read my previous entries you know I've discussed The Secret and the Law of Attraction (or Law of Vibration as it's also called). And I've talked about my Holosync meditation ritual.

So last night as I was meditating, I decided to send out this intention: I wanted someone to give me something for free today, Tuesday April 17th.

I didn't say what it was exactly, just something for free without a request on my part.

So I said the intention a few times and felt the happiness and joy I would feel when I received the freebie and then I let the thought and the feeling pass on and went back to meditating.

During one of my sessions in my Gmail account (lloest@gmail.com if you want to reach me), my friend popped in a message window. He is testing a new product and wanted to make sure his Paypal processing was all set up properly.

He asked for my Paypal email address and said he was going to send me some money to test his processing procedure. I gave him my email account and logged in to help him check everything out.

It went smoothly and I received a bit of money from him.

He thanked me, I thanked him and said it was my pleasure to be of assistance and we went about our days.

It wasn't until a short while later that it struck me I had received my previous night's request. I had asked for something free and I had gotten it.

When I realized and understood what had just happened, I smiled from ear to ear. And I did feel as happy and as joyful as I had imagined I would.

I'm sure many people would pass this off as a coincidence and that's fine. I prefer to believe we can create our worlds...scratch that, we DO create our worlds.

I'm aware enough to know I don't know everything about creating the world I want otherwise I'd already have everything I want. But I do know enough to sit quietly and observe..and to believe in my wishes.

The more I study and the more I learn, the stronger my belief in myself and my ability as an Infinite Creator becomes. And that's where it's fun!

I'm not naive enough (or in the least bit lazy) to believe I can sit on my couch and meditate to receive millions but I'm already doing the work behind so many great ventures that when I add belief to the equation I think it will speed up the creation process.

So that was my story for the day. :) I'm sure there are lots more where that came from!

Here's a recap of what I did today when I wasn't receiving money for free:

*Morning update call
*MSN AdCenter ads - rewrote 26 (took 20 min)
*MSN AdCenter ads - uploaded more keywords
*emailed our traffic assistant person
*called our other traffic assistant contact
*emailed 4 apprentices
(2 of these emails were welcome emails and the other 2 were for actual tasks)
*hung out in Warrior Forums...turns out I have to be a contributing member for awhile before I can post in the special offer forum (the offer I posted here yesterday)
*met with my Payroll company so I can start paying myself. YIPEE!
*reviewed material by Clayton Makepeace, Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton and Gary Halbert
*Solo ad emailed to Listdotcom.com
*Emailed friend's friend about a type of web site building program

Things to do tomorrow:
*Blog entry on making money as a blogger!!!
*Networking luncheon (FUN!)
*Check on MSN AdCenter campaigns
*Go to directresponsejobs.com

And a litany of other things I am sure!! Actually I have made a daily habit of writing down the top 6 things I will do that day to move me closer to my goal.

If I haven't told you my goal yet, here it is:

My goal is to have 10 world-class copywriters working with me by April of 2008 and to generate a 100K salary for myself in the process...and to help them create whatever salary they desire as well.

I write this goal every day on a little slip of paper..usually a Post-It and I carry it with me.

I like that goal so I review it at least twice a day but usually more often.

There you have it, my day in a nutshell. Wasn't that fun?!!

Til tomorrow...