What's Your Net Worth?

Okay, so what is your net worth?

If you're a financier or banker, or you have money matters on your mind, you might well be thinking that's none of my business.

If you're a deep sea trawler skipper, you might think differently.

And if you're a trawler skipper who's especially aware of his or her finances, you might have read the question both ways...

But, if you owned the Internet, you'd probably be able to answer, 'As much as I'd ever want.'

All of which goes to show that we need to understand what we're being asked before we can give a useful answer. From there, we can draw all kinds of lessons about finding out what people want before we try to sell them a thing; about how communication is a two-way affair, and how the best answer in the world may be totally irrelevant to the person asking the question.

Sometimes, though, an unexpected answer to a question we've asked gives us a wonderful insight into a world we would never otherwise have known.

On a more mundane level, a product designed to solve one problem may actually be a perfect solution to another problem we didn't know existed. Apparently, chewing gum was 'discovered' by scientists trying to create synthetic rubber.

Do you have a product that just won't shift? Is it a great product, but without a great demand? If so, could you market it as the solution to a whole different problem - even one you didn't know was a problem?

Maybe; maybe not. But bat around some crazy ideas anyway - you never know. After all, who would have thought people would pay for a food you have to chew forever without it ever being ready to swallow, that has no nutritional value whatsoever and which, as far as I know, is totally indigestible?

Well, all over the world, people buy chewing gum.

And remember, even something that only ever sells to a small minority can make you a fortune if you can spread your marketing 'net' across the whole world.

So I wonder; what's Wrigley's net worth?

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. What? All this talk of 'nets' and not a mention of networking? Well, you ought to know by now that I think that's priceless. But rest assured, I'll get back to it!

World Internet Summit - Sold Out!

I did say the World Internet Summit at Earls Court was the place to be - and it seems too many of you listened!

Well, ok, I was hardly the only one promoting it, but whoever shifted all the other tickets, it seems we did too good a job between us. The event is actually over-sold.

Which is the kind of problem Tom Hua and Brett McFall, who are organising the event, probably dreamed of. Now, though, they have to ask everyone who's bought a ticket to confirm they'll actually be there. So, although the event is sold out, it is possible there may be a few unconfirmed seats to be snapped up at the last moment.

I'd suggest, if you haven't booked yet, that you keep an eye on the World Internet Summit Webpage to see if you might still get lucky.

Otherwise, if you have booked, you'll have an email waiting in your inbox, asking you to confirm you still want your seat.

I've confirmed my place, so I hope I'll see you there!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Remember, you might still be lucky. So confirm your booking or get on whatever waiting list there might be - and quick!

'But What if I'm Too Busy?'

Hi there,

It's a question I was asked recently, to which I answered, 'Doing what?'

But it's one thing giving advice, and another taking your own!

Which is why I almost forgot to blog today.

Because the question, 'What if I'm too busy?' was in response to my point, that if you're going to have a blog as your website, you just have to keep posting - every day or at least as often as your readers are used to.

The purpose of having a blog is to provide frequent, useful content for your readers and, let's face it, for the search engines. Your blog is a fundamental part of your business marketing strategy - a crucial part of the whole enterprise.

And if you're too busy to take care of your business, what exactly are you doing?

Well, I was busy doing other things, including, ironically, tweaking this site; getting the sign-up box in the right place and changing some of the settings.

None of which will be much use if I don't supply some content to make it worth your while dropping by...

So here it is - today's tip from me: keep blogging!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS And keep networking, too. I think there are still some places left for the Earls Court extravaganza that is the World Internet Summit UK, but you can click here for more information

Back on My Soap Box

Just a relatively gentle reminder, really, of the absolute necessity to get out there and network if you want your business to grow exponentially. And if you want to meet the people who can help you to the next stage, even the next five or six stages, you have to get to the biggest events you can.

Because that's where you'll not only get the best information but also get to meet the biggest names - the people who can help make people like you rich, with nothing more than a few well-chosen words or a single deal.

So, knowing what I know about the importance of learning and networking, I'd be negligent if I didn't tell you about a massive opportunity to network like there's no tomorrow...

AND to learn from some the BIGGEST names in Internet marketing

AND to profit from some amazing bonuses - easily worth far more than the ticket price

AND to witness a live experiment in online marketing

ALL at the WORLD INTERNET SUMMIT UK, at Earls Court, London on 15-18 November.

I'll be there. Most of my JV partners will be there. You can meet Ewen Chia, Tim Brocklehurst and Sean Roach there too, along with Tracey Repchuck, Tom Hua, Brett McFall and others.

Fancy networking with those kind of people?

If you really want to make it big in Internet marketing and you can possibly make it, you must get to Earls Court on 15-18 November. In fact, just cancel any other plans you had!

Because it's not called the World Internet Summit for nothing.

Want to know more? Click here for more information

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. It's a massive event; everyone who's anyone in the world of online marketing is going, so just click here to see who you'll meet. Don't delay too long, though - I've no idea what the capacity is, but I do know it's filling fast.

PPS. Excuse me getting excited, but this really is massive. I only just heard about it yesterday and I snatched up one of the remaining tickets. It's just too good to miss.

'Does a lot for charity...

... doesn't like to talk about it.'

Well, not too often, anyway. But here's a chance to blow my own trumpet that I just couldn't resist, since telling you might just persuade a few more of you to put your hands in your pockets.

Some time ago, before I seriously dreamed I'd be a professional writer, I used to contribute a lot of poems to a BBC website called Get Writing. After a while, in friendly competition with the other writers, I started writing some very short stories, too. 'Worders' are stories of between 60 and 250 words, so they're very short indeed.

Other writers did very similar things on other websites, too, including the successor to Get Writing named More Writing, Writer's Dock, editRED and MySpace. Between the various sites, probably thousands of stories were written, many of them very good.

And now, thanks to the enthusiasm and energy of Irish writer Jenni Doherty, many of those stories have been assembled, assessed and published by Derry publisher Guildhall Press.

Wonderful World of Worders is the end result. Containing no less than 525 very short stories, the volume is being sold in aid of registered charity Action With Effect, which helps destitute children throughout the world, some afflicted with leprosy, others 'merely' homeless.

At £6.95 direct from Guildhall Press' website http://www.ghpress.com/ it's a perfect gift - to yourself, to someone you love and especially to the children the charity works so hard to help.

If you got the Smashy and Nicey reference, well done. Award yourself first prize and get online to Guildhall Press http://www.ghpress.com/ right away!

Go on - you deserve it!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Just the beautiful opening story, written by eight-year-old Saoirse Doherty, would make Wonderful World of Worders worth your £6.95, even if the other 524 weren't the brilliant and thought-provoking compendium they are. So don't wait, don't think about it, and don't forget I'm in there too!

PPS On the subject of charity - it's not too late to donate to MS Society following my modest success in the Great North Run (I finished!) on 30 September. The link for that is www.justgiving.com/royeveritt

Thanks

Blame Dating Direct...

... and Jon McCulloch for this post.

I'm unashamedly borrowing from Jon's excellent newsletter today because he reminded me of an analogy I'd almost totally forgotten.

Now, Jon not only writes a mean newsletter and blog (at http://www.jonmcculloch.com/), he is also a damn fine copywriter, although you probably can't afford him.

He'd say you can't afford not to hire him, but then he's very picky whom he works with and has a long waiting list, so the point is moot, you might say.

Anyway, Jon met his partner Sarah through an online dating site, and I met my wife Jacqui the same way.

Jon's point, to get to the point, is that when you post your profile on a site like Dating Direct, or any of the dozens of others, the last thing you'd think to lead with is your name, unless you're Brad Pitt, or Angelina Jolie, perhaps. I can't say I ever encountered either of them advertising on a dating site...

And yet, so many company websites begin in just that way - with their name in the headline. As Jon points out, a company website is really just a commercial version of a lonely hearts ad - where the sole purpose is to persuade likely mates to contact us, or leave us their contact details so we can do the 'chasing'. From there, we'd hope to build a relationship with the ones we like.

Put that way, it's obvious why so many apparently excellent company web sites and sales letters fail. No one wants to know your name - they want to know who you are (which is a different thing) and what you have to offer them.

Names don't come into it until you choose to say 'Hello'.

I've no idea if Jacqui would have fallen for the name 'Roy', or if Sarah would have been bowled over by 'Jonathan'.

But both Jon and I can feel pretty chuffed that we got those particular pieces of 'sales copy' spot on!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

Lies, Damn Lies & Information

Having just finished the first draft of a new eBook, the above phrase popped into my head.

I'm sure you'll get the reference, but while accurate statistics can be made to lie by disingenuous use, 'information' can be just plain wrong.

An eBook is an 'information product', of course, and most of the ones I've read have been packed with useful and, as far as I can tell, accurate information. I hope my latest one is, too.

But there is a school of thought that says almost any old junk can be sold as an 'information product', provided you get the sales copy right. In other words, a good sales letter will sell just about anything.

(The converse of that, of course, is that a bad sales letter won't sell even the best product in the world.)

But it's the rubbish masquerading as valuable information, and priced as such that we have to watch for. Information marketing is unregulated, and long may it remain so. Thankfully, most of the most successful marketers know junk when they see it and won't promote it - their reputations are too precious and their consciences too strong.

Still, there are a few who seem willing to promote almost anything - even things that don't fit with their business (and so, presumably, their list) - provided there's a healthy commission in it.

Now there are exceptions, and some marketers, especially writers, seem able to create a new product every few days, but if you're on the list of someone who seems to promote a new amazing, ground-breaking instant money machine every day, to the point where you never buy because you've lost faith in them (or run out of money!) just follow your gut and unsubscribe.

You will have one less irritation and a few hundred fewer temptations every year from then on.

One good way to get wealthier is to stop throwing money away!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

Accounting For Beginners

Well, yesterday's business (and busyness) spilled over into today, so this will be a very brief post.

Do you ever wake up in the night with a brilliant idea? No, not the ones that seem brilliant in the middle of the night but are clearly bonkers when you review them next morning; the ones that still seem to 'have legs' when you're wide awake.

How many of those have you had? Me too. How many have you actually acted upon?

No, me neither. But maybe the first stage towards acting on them is telling someone else you will act on them. Someone who'll hold you accountable if you don't.

That needs to be someone who's prepared to tell you off when you've broken a promise, not let you off with a warning.

An accountability partner is, I think, the next stage on the networking - mastermind-group road.

I'm counting on mine to help me make me make my latest 'not bonkers' idea into reality.*

It will take a while, but watch this space.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

* That does make sense if you read it really slowly.

Writer in Desperate Appeal

I have to admit I’m desperate. Desperate to know why so many companies are happy to under-perform. Companies with great products and a solid reputation who still don’t make the best of their strengths.

Why is this? Why do so few companies look beyond their local area for their sales? Is there a customs post at the county boundary? Are there trade tariffs if they sell to another part of England? Is it illegal to do business with Scotland?

Might they not be able to translate their labelling into French or German?

No. None of these is true.

And yet…

And yet there are so many firms who could do so much better if they only tried. Or dared.

I dare you. Be bold. Go for it. Try selling into the next county, the next country.

Your local economy may be strong but the global market is about a hundred million times bigger! You really don’t have to do brilliantly well to increase your sales ten fold or a hundred-fold.

Use the Internet to get your offer out to them. Or ask someone like me to do it for you.

Be bolder, be bigger, be better.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

One Little Word...

Yes, I know it's Sunday, but I'll be busy tomorrow, so I might not have time to post here. If I do, just think of this as a free bonus.

Anyway: do you know what I find most rewarding as a writer?

Not the hundreds of words that go to make a carefully-crafted sales letter. Not the thousands that go to make an ebook, or the tens of thousands that go into a book. Not even the fourteen lines of my most successful sonnet. And certainly not the hundreds of hours at the keyboard.

No, what makes my 'job' really rewarding is when one or maybe two little words transform an okay piece of writing into something special. Or, in advertising, when one little word transforms the success of a campaign.

Such as the example of a copywriter who, many years ago guaranteed a shampoo manufacturer that he could transform their sales by changing the wording on the bottles - for a percentage, of course. I seem to recall he desperately needed the money, but whether he did or not, his 'one word' was an act of genius. It was brilliantly simple.

Once they agreed his fee he set to work. For all of about five seconds. His genius single word?

'Repeat', as in 'rinse and repeat'.

Sales of the shampoo, not surprisingly, almost doubled and he did very nicely indeed from then on.

I haven't hit those heights yet, but ...

Recently, some business partners and I were discussing the critical wording on a specifically targeted piece. We needed to offer potential JV partners something more than just another 'opportunity'. I can't go into too much detail until we're ready to release the product, but suffice to say we had one line that 'kind of worked', but not quite.

By the way, I don't particularly recommend copywriting by committee, but that's for another day :)

So we had the line, which began something like 'Join with us...' but we didn't want them to actually join, so we batted round a few ideas before conversation began to move on, at which point I suggested 'Help us...' which I know sounds pretty simple, just as 'repeat' seems simple all these years and all that extra hair-washing later...

In context, though, it was exactly right and not as obvious as it seems, if not as revolutionary as the single word that almost doubled shampoo sales overnight.

One or two words can make that much difference to your copy, too. Always try to read your own work with a cold and analytical eye. Put it away for a day or two before reading it again and try not to 'fall in love' with your words.

Any line that seems superfluous needs removing, but you can often improve a line that now sounds a little flat just by changing a word or two. It's especially true of your most critical line, your headline, but in really great copy, every line 'sings'.

In that sense, good copy is like poetry, because every word has to work to justify its presence in the piece, adding its voice to the 'chorus'.

And when you find one word that transforms a line, a piece, a campaign, you might be singing too.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS As an example, I've just been back and edited this piece - changing a word here, two words there. It's not great copy and it's certainly not poetry, but it's much better for the second look!

It's That 'N' word Again

I did warn you.

Last night, at yet another event, the organiser, no less, expressed her hatred of the term 'networking'.

I have to admit we're not much closer to finding an alternative, but we're on the case.

We thought about it over a glass or three of very nice wine, discussed it over an excellent meal and brainstormed (there's another iffy word) with some very bright, imaginative people.

Still no answer. Maybe we need to get back to basics and ask what we're actually doing at these events, then hone the resulting mass of words to a minimum.

After all, all the events have a few things in common, but as they're held at different times of day, we can't just say 'breakfast', 'lunch' or whatever.

What we actually do is meet people; new people or people we haven't seen for a while. We think and talk about business, build relationships, assess possibilities and potential, form opinions and impressions of the people we meet, introduce strangers who we feel may be compatible or of use to each other. Oh, and we generally have a very pleasant time doing it.

We tell people about ourselves and our business, learn about them and theirs. Hopefully, we follow up and continue the relationships we've just begun.

There's often food and or refreshments involved, sometimes even entertainment.

It's generally pretty informal, although it may be quite structured, and did I mention it's usually fun?

Finally, we develop, or become part of, a network of people and businesses who feel they can work with each other.

Hmmm...

'Networking', anyone?

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Something different next time, I promise. I have a plan...

PPS. Don't forget to take a look at the property 'emergency meeting' I told you about yesterday. You'll find the link in Thursday's post.

Speaking of Networking...

It's a bit of a departure from my usual copywriting and marketing, but we're also interested in getting into property investment.

Now, a few short months ago, property looked like a sure thing. Even paying full price for a property would be worthwhile within just a couple of years or so, and meanwhile some very kind tenant would 'mind' the property for you and even pay your mortgage.

Then, more recently, people started getting nervous. 'Experts' have been doing their best to convince everyone that property is overvalued. That's what's known as a self-fulfilling prophesy, but serious professional investors are probably rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of picking up cheap property for the next few months to a year.

The rest of us might be excused for getting a bit anxious about it all, especially if we've already bought, or committed to buy, a property in the last few months. Others might just steer clear for a while.

So are we about to see a 'crash' or a more modest 'adjustment'?

I don't know, but I think I know some people who do...

They'll be at the 'First UK Emergency Buy to Let and HMO Summit' at Heathrow on 6th November.

You can be there too. It's your chance to hear all the latest 'gen' on the property market, especially 'HMOs' (Houses of Multiple Occupancy), where there is apparently still good money to be made.

It's a one day seminar, and I'll be there. Look out for me if you can make it.

Here's how to get your tickets.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Actually, I'll be helping out at back of house, and of course I'll be networking like crazy, so I'll be easy to find!

Here's the link again.

PPS If you're at all interested in property investment, now or in the future, this 'Emergency Meeting' is for you. If you can possibly get there, then get there!

Be Your Own Best Client

Two things any good advertising copywriter must have:

1. The ability to write
2. A knowledge of marketing

But do you need clients? Not if you can be your own best customer.

Compare these two scenarios:

1. You get paid to write someone else's advertising copy and get paid roughly in proportion to the time it takes you, plus a small share of the profits your campaign generates.
2. You get paid nothing to write your own product and advertising copy, but then you get ALL of the profits your campaign generates. Plus, you get the everlasting rights to your product and your name on it (if you want). Plus, you get the list of all the people who buy your product, so you can promote other products to them until they ask you to stop.

Plus, you get to say, "I can only write copy for you if you pay me more than the considerable amount of money I could be earning for myself", which is a nice thing to be able to say.

It makes sense for every copywriter to create their own products, to write copy for themselves, and to have their skills and talents working for them - not just for someone else.

Any half-decent writer can create a product in a matter of days, even less, and be marketing it within hours after that. And making money for themselves. Are you?

Maybe you don't know where to start, or even what an 'information product' is?

I've recently updated my beginners' guide to information products, a simple Word document, which you can get just by emailing me at results@royeveritt.com with the subject line 'Beginners' Guide To Information Products'.

I won't pester you with loads of follow up autoresponder messages, although I do try to find time to say thanks for popping by.

Until next time

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

The Dead Man Speaks

Stick around me for any time and you'll hear a lot about the importance of networking...

It's just absolutely vital for any business that the people involved in it, especially if they are the business, spend as much time and energy networking as they can.

We spent a great weekend in Coventry, at Britpack Live, doing mainly that. Yes, the speakers were enlightening and inspiring, and we learned a lot of new stuff, but it was during the breaks and especially in the evenings when much of the serious business was done. And there was some serious business being done, believe me.

A great networking event like that can be a launch pad for a new or small business.

So it follows that anyone organising any kind of get-together or function aimed at business people should do their best to encourage networking. If they don't, a lot of people won't bother to come next time.

Fast forward a week or so from Coventry to a wholly different experience: a 'networking event' where no one was welcomed or introduced, where no one wore a name badge and where the controlling clique spent the evening talking amongst themselves instead of getting to know the newcomers.

Add a couple of speeches so soporific that the liveliest person around (apart from our reporter) was a man with what she described as 'drop down dead disease', and you have a recipe for expensive failure.

It takes a bit of effort to run a successful networking event. It takes a lot more to launch a business from such a deadly launch pad as that!

If you have any part in running networking events, please remember what they're for. If you're building a business and plan to attend them, don't be put off by one bad experience - there really are some wonderful opportunities out there.

So do go - and keep going until you make the contacts you need to launch your business.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Some people don't like me using the words 'network' and 'networking' as verbs, pointing out that 'network' is actually a noun. I know. What I don't know is what 'real' verb I could possibly use in their place.

There's a moral in there somewhere about embracing change, but I'll leave you to find it :)

Taking Care of Business

Phew!

It hardly seems possible that it's a week since we said our farewells at Britpack Live.

What a weekend that was - and what a busy week since.

We left with more ideas and things to get done than we have had hours in the day, but here's another task to tick off - Domain name bagged, website created, first post added.

You might have visited my current blog, Writing For Results, or my poetry blog, Well Versed Poetry. The poetry blog will go on, but I'll be migrating some of the best stuff from WFR to this site over the next few days.

Not everyone agrees a blog is the best idea for the index page on your website, and I might change it yet, but it's certainly a damn quick way of getting a new site up!

And it does mean regular new content to tickle the search engines with.

Plus, I'm planning to raise my profile steadily over the coming months as more of my products become available and I get to work with more and more high profile marketers, so a site in my own name was universally agreed by the panel at Britpack Live to be a good move.

By this time next year:

1. I'll have been on stage at least twice, speaking at major UK marketing seminars
2. I'll have become known as a part of one of the most exciting new mastermind groups anywhere in the UK - watch this space
3. I'll even be building a name for myself in the US, Canada and Australia
4. I'll have launched at least one major new product to the UK market
5. But I'll still find time to create persuasive, leading edge copy for my favourite clients

It's going to be quite a year!

Back soon

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. As well as the old blogs, our existing website, Cinnamon Edge, is still there, newly revamped and now much easier to navigate. Plus, my wife and partner Jacqui Carrel has built a new site dedicated to the other half of our business - information product creation. You can see that here.

PPS. Bear with me a while until I get all the links up and the design the way I want it. Meanwhile, email me here if you need any help, advice (sometimes free!) or have a serious business proposition to put to me.