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Pinellas Life "On The Grow" Newsletter Friday October 12, 2007

Think Global. Live Local. Go Green.

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Inside This Issue Pinellas Life Update & Stats Sponsors and Members Feature Article: Where Are Your Habits Leading You? WWW: Is The Online Ad Industry Partying Like It's 1999? Recipe: Alegría Pumpkin Bread Business & Marketing: 21 Secrets of Great Sales Copy Health & Wellness: Government Study Results in Resounding "Duh" Book Review: Break from the Pack

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Feature Article

Where Are Your Habits Leading You?
by Jack Canfield

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed, how you shower, how you dress, how you walk, sit, and talk, how you respond to the world, how you act in front of others, and how you think; you're living out your habits.

Habits are necessary. They free up your mind so you can concentrate on how to survive day to day. You don't have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the look out for danger while you are driving. You don't have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you're going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success. To become successful, you will need to drop bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live.

People don't suddenly appear in the life they want to live, habits determine their outcome!

What are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Really be honest with yourself here... Are you always running late? Do you return phone calls within 24 hours? Do you get enough sleep? Do you follow through on your promises? Do you plan out your day?

Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts.

What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears, and began networking with people in your field? Would your life be different? I bet it would!

So, my suggested action step for you is to write down some productive habits you could adopt and visualize in your life, step wto is to 'act as if' you were living these new habits right now!

I'd like to help you get moving toward creating more successful habits, so I'd recommend you develop four of your new success habits each year, one for each quarter.

Once you pick the new habit you're ready to adopt, next you'll want to create a method that will support your new habit.

Here are some ideas... You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could also enlist the help of an accountability partner who has habits to change.

It's important to make a 100% commitment to your new habit, so be specific about the steps that you're willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one. Don't be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so you can recognize situations that motivate you to act out your new habit.

Just developing four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you can see more clearly how your old habits aren't serving you anymore.

Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then watch your new, positive life unfold!

©2007 Jack Canfield

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Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com 

Recipe of the Week

21 Secrets of Great Sales Copy
By Clayton Makepeace

Copywriters, marketing professionals, and business owners often ask me, "How do I tell the difference between good sales copy and bad sales copy?" It's an important question, and getting it right can make the difference between a mediocre response rate and hitting an out-of-the-park homerun.

To start, it helps to understand that consumers almost never buy things because it's logical. The vast majority of purchases are made because they satisfy an emotional need. So, great sales copy must connect with your prospect's most powerful emotions - positive or negative - and demonstrate how reading the copy and buying the product will fulfill or assuage those desires or fears.

Your sales message is like a chain designed to meet the reader at the point of his need, and then lead him, step by step, link by link, to the order form. This chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The minute you lose the "tingle factor," the reader gets bored and the chain breaks. Your sales copy is only as strong as its strongest link. The more compelling you make each section of your sales letter, the greater your response and average order will be.

Sales copy has the power to make or break a direct-marketing campaign, a product launch - and a marketer's career. That said, here are 21 tips to make your copy stronger, your ads more effective, and help you create winning direct-mail and Internet promotions.

1. Be somebody. Putting a friendly and/or highly qualified human face on copy - and speaking in that person' s voice - will ramp up the impact of your sales messages.

2. Talk to your readers. Avoid "we" and focus on "you." Use the word "you" as often as is humanly possible throughout the text. Remember, your prospect really doesn't care about you, they care about themselves.

3. Be personal. Pretend you're talking to a friend. What would you say? What would they say? And what would you say back? Avoid copy like "We want to help you..." in favor of "Here, let me help you..."

4. Identify with your prospect. Tell the reader what you have in common. Let him know that you empathize - that you've been there. Anything that puts you on the reader's level will create a connection that boosts response.

5. Put a face on the enemy too. Why has the reader failed to solve this problem or fulfill this desire? Were the "experts" who gave him advice wrong?

6. Prove every point. Never ask your reader to accept any claim at face value. Always include proof elements, such as study data from respected sources, expert testimonials, user testimonials, or statements that support your position from major publications such as The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times.

7. Don't fear the occasional obvious statement. Don't exaggerate or lie, but don't be afraid to go "over the top" when trying to get, and keep, your reader's attention.

8. Speak colloquially. Speak to your prospects as they're used to being spoken to. They'll appreciate the occasional dangling participle - even if your old English teacher wouldn't.

9. All jargon is not evil. Jargon can be very effective, especially when the jargon is familiar to the reader. When the jargon is being spoken - sparingly - by an expert, it can demonstrate the expert's knowledge.

10. Figures of speech are wonderful! Remember, you're "talking" to an individual. You'd certainly use figures of speech if you were face to face. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a good figure of speech should be worth at least 100. But be careful - don't overdo it.

11. Use powerful words and phrases, such as "amazing," "bargain," "bonus," "discount," "discovery," "just arrived," "premium," "prestigious," "savings," and (of course) "FREE." Similarly, avoid wimpy words such as "may" and "ought," and phrases like "in my opinion." Write with the courage of your conviction.

12. Squint. As you study the page, ask yourself, "At first glance, does this feel easy-to-read and inviting? Or is it covered with long, dense paragraphs that will discourage the reader?" Look for opportunities to turn a long block of copy into a string of pearls.

13. Go for precision and power. Many experts say you should always use short words, writing as if the prospect is an eighth grader. Don't do it! Given a choice to use a long word or a shorter one that means the same thing, go with the shorter word. If a longer word - or even a phrase - more precisely conveys your meaning or more effectively invokes the emotion you're going for, use it.

14. Short sentences rule!

15. Count commas. Commas can be a big red flag that screams run-on sentence. Or that you've written an upside-down sentence. Consider... "With only the finest of intentions, Clayton wrote his example." Now try this... "Clayton wrote his example with the finest of intentions." Which is better?

16. Use connecting words at the beginning of paragraphs. In addition to communicating, every paragraph of great copy should also make a sale. It should "sell" the prospect on the idea of reading the next paragraph with words such as "and," "plus," "furthermore," and "what's more."

17. Look for shortcuts to keep the momentum going. Use contractions - because that's how people talk.

18. Be specific. Every generality in your text is a landmine. Instead of saying "You'll save money," tell your prospects how much they'll save.

19. Consider the question. Some copywriters recommend that you avoid asking a question in the headline or elsewhere in the copy. But how about a question like "What's wrong with getting richer QUICKER?" More than a question, it is a compelling cry of defiance.

20. When in doubt... cut it out. Often your best lead is buried a few paragraphs down. Moving or deleting the first few paragraphs - even the first page - can get you off to a much faster start. Second drafts are the perfect time to spot needless repetition and condense several paragraphs into one short, punchy one.

21. Break the rules!

[Ed. Note: Clayton Makepeace has spent the last 35 years creating direct-mail, Internet, and print promotions that have sold well over $1 billion worth of products. Plus, as a direct-marketing consultant and copywriter, he's helped four major direct-marketing firms at least quadruple sales and profits to well over $100 million per year each.

Clayton publishes the highly acclaimed e-zine, The Total Package to help business owners and copywriters accelerate their sales and profits.]

Break from the Pack
How to Compete in a Copycat Economy
By Oren Harari
Reviewed by: Dr. Brian R. Beirl

Are your customers just satisfied? If so, your business is running with the pack and falling behind the leaders in your industry. Businesses approaching their customers in the traditional way will be left in the dust.

As a senior consultant and lecturer with Tom Peters for twelve years, the author’s pedigree is evident in his live seminar writing style. Oren Harari is passionate and direct. The book is organized in three parts.

In Part 1, Resisting the Pull of the Pack, there are numerous contemporary business examples that illustrate the perils of “playing it safe” in the copycat economy. We may see ourselves in these varied examples, but the author immediately presents us with concrete actions to help the reader begin to formulate a plan for his own business. He presents the EMBER test for innovation; is your product Extraordinary? Does it Matter to customers? Does it Break new ground? Does it encourage Evolvement? Is it Real?

In Part 2, How to Break from the Pack, he continues with five steps to lead our businesses from the reactive to the innovative. 1) lead institutionally, 2) lead with profound authenticity, 3) lead with genuine caring, 4) lead with turbo speed, and 5) lead with the individual customer in mind. This section concludes with some very different thinking on mergers and acquisitions.

In Part 3, How You Can Lead the Pack, the author presents a 12 step Recovery Program. This informative and entertaining section personalizes all that has come before by helping the reader formulate a plan for change. We’re asked to analyze our long-term career goals, find our own paths, believe that our customers are more important than investors and employees, and get personally engaged.

Oren Harari has broken from the pack in the writing of this book. The bookshelves are filled with books written by consultants that amount to page after page of case studies of their clients. This book breaks that tradition with numerous concise steps for owners, managers and employees of any business, large or small, to break from the pack and lead. He encourages us to innovate with confidence because the future of our businesses and those that we serve depend on it.

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