Disqus - Friends of Reeveso

Re: How to Move Beyond Inspiration

Ryan Healy — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:17:49 -0000

Thank you, John! I'm honored. :-)

Re: How to Move Beyond Inspiration

Ryan Healy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:37:12 -0000

Always better to start the day productively. Great way to build momentum.

Re: How to Move Beyond Inspiration

Ryan Healy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:39:03 -0000

Makes me wonder if artists would be better served by planning what their second album will be like -- instead of focusing solely on that first release.

Re: How to Move Beyond Inspiration

Ryan Healy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:41:10 -0000

Certainly it's hard to be creative when you're being self-critical or you're rehashing other people's criticisms. Thanks for contributing, James!

Re: I Like Your Plain Language

Ryan Healy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:22:47 -0000

Jude - Even though Claude Hopkins wrote way back in the 1920s, I find his writing to be very plain.

I intentionally try to write as plainly as he did. If you read My Life in Advertising or Scientific Advertising, you'll see what I mean. Good style to emulate.

Ryan

Re: The Danger of Big Numbers

Ryan Healy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:52:44 -0000

Thank you, Heather. I think it's often a little of both.

Entrepreneurs are optimistic by nature and believe in what they're doing, so they're naturally enthusiastic.

On the other hand, they also have a tendency to oversell (hype) the dream in an effort to attract good talent to their team.

Ryan

Re: 2-Step Process for Getting More Clients

Ryan Healy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:21:42 -0000

Absolutely. Adwords is kind of like driving a rental truck cross-country where you have to pay for every mile driven.

If you know where you're going, you'll reach your destination, and you'll be able to pay the bill.

If you don't know where you're going or how to get there, it's going to cost you a fortune.

Re: The Danger of Big Numbers

Ryan Healy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:03:36 -0000

Hey Phil!

Yes, this very issue has been on my mind as well. When only a few people are doing $1 offers, it's compelling. When everybody is doing them, it's a yawner.

After I mentioned Gary Ambrose's $1 offer for his $5K seminar videos, I got a $1 offer from another guy the same exact day. (!)

Gene Schwartz wrote about how every market has cycles of sophistication. Often, when the market gets highly sophisticated (e.g., everybody has "seen it all"), it can often pay well to return to the simple straightforward offers that are prevalent in a market's infancy.

I predict that people will soon begin to respond better to offers that solve a specific problem for a decent price -- not necessarily super cheap ($1) and not necessarily super expensive either.

I guess time will tell...

Ryan

Re: The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make

Ryan Healy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:19:11 -0000

Certainly, how you write is important to the sales process (big difference between selling to men vs. women, for example).

But I've also heard it argued that it's WHAT you say, not HOW you say it -- basically making the point that the theme/big idea/hook is more important than the words you use.

I can certainly see it from both sides. Both are important. Maybe it's like a PB&J. Leave either the peanut butter out or the jelly out and it's not a PB&J. :-)

Ryan

Re: The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make

Ryan Healy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:47:16 -0000

Got it. Thanks for the clarification, Michel.

Just this past week I've been dealing with a client who's been a little bit resistant to the emotional side of the copy I wrote... because he feels like it might be too negative.

Long story short, I've had to help him see that people buy on emotion, and that they have to understand the problem before they can be persuaded to buy the solution.

Anyhow, this issue of tone and word choice, I feel, is very important, and it's been on my mind this week. I'm glad you brought it up. :-)

Ryan

Re: How to add a second subject line to your emails

Ryan Healy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:29:23 -0000

Anita - Great point about Gmail offering a little more space to get attention.

On a side note, I've noticed that the emails that get the most attention often get fewer sales than those that get fewer opens.

Here's some real math:

Email #1: 741 opens, 17 sales
Email #2: 1,430 opens, 9 sales

The product and price were the same in both emails.

I'll probably be writing about this early next week because the longer I'm in this biz the more I realize that getting attention does not equate to sales.

Re: How to add a second subject line to your emails

Ryan Healy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:46:41 -0000

Both subject lines were fairly subtle... and both piggy-backed on a current event.

In the first case, I piggy-backed on the 2009 Superbowl; in the second case, it was China's move to default on the fraudulent derivative products sold to them by U.S. banks.

Email #1: Long-Shot Leads to Unexpected Win

Email #2: China tells U.S. to "go straight to hell."

Obviously, the second one is more compelling. You can hardly resist reading it. But for some odd reason, it did not pull sales nearly as well as the first.

Re: How to add a second subject line to your emails

Ryan Healy — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:31:21 -0000

Anita - Just finished the blog post. I started thinking about it and just had to get it written. :-)

http://www.ryanhealy.com/wh...

(Feel free to delete this comment if you want.)

Ryan

Re: Website Redesign Pulls in More Sales?

Ryan Healy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:18:17 -0000

I checked out the new format of Success Chef and I really like the short punchy bullets up top. Really helps to understand what the site is all about without having to dig for it.

Also, from this article, I think this is the most valuable paragraph: "...the more I increase the sense of security and trust, better the flow and ease of ordering, and project a more congruent and professional image, the more sales I make."

Ryan

Re: Which Subject Line Won?

Ryan Healy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:40:08 -0000

Hey Barry,

Thanks for reading and commenting.

The "China" email was more about being prepared if/when the market drops -- but didn't do much product-specific selling in the email itself. It was a fear-based email encouraging traders to be ready to scalp profits in the near future. (Prevention/preparation is always a harder sell.)

The "Long Shot" email compared football to trading and made the point that you could pull off big wins even when it looked like the market was moving against you.

There was more product-specific selling in this email -- with screen shots -- and a final call to action that tied in the football theme:

"Try it risk-free and experience your own game-winning scoring drive today..."

Then a link to buy.

So after examining the two more closely, it's fairly clear why the "Long Shot" email got more sales.

Ryan

Re: Which Subject Line Won?

Ryan Healy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:46:15 -0000

Marya - Thank you! Glad you liked it. :-)

Re: Which Subject Line Won?

Ryan Healy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:56:47 -0000

Good point... in this case neither subject line was especially relevant to the offer. That said, the "Long Shot" subject line appeals to the gambling mentality most traders have.

Re: The Battle Between Strategy and Tactics

Ryan Healy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:01:41 -0000

You too? ;-)

Re: How to Move Beyond Inspiration

Ryan Healy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:35:38 -0000

Thank you, John! Much appreciated. :-)

Re: Interview Questions for Copywriters to Ask Their Clients

Ryan Healy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:40:33 -0000

You're welcome, Kevin.

I, too, put into writing what the project entails right after the prospect has agreed to become a client. I draw up an invoice and/or brief contract and send them over.

Then, after those details are out of the way, I conduct the initial client interview, which may cover some of the same ground as the prospect interview -- but is more thorough.

Ryan

Re: Interview Questions for Copywriters to Ask Their Clients

Ryan Healy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:41:25 -0000

Rab - I often record my client interviews as well; good to have a back up of your written notes. Thanks for commenting!

Ryan

Re: Internet Marketing Retires!

Ryan Healy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:11:22 -0000

Hey Salty Droid!

Thanks for the compliment. And I totally agree: In America, "justice" is hardly ever justice to the victims.

For instance, take the case of Bernie Madoff. He's been punished, but the victims who got scammed into investing money with him will never be made whole again.

There's a BIG difference between punishment and justice.

Ryan

P.S. Keep up the good work on your blog. Some of the stuff you write cracks me up. :-)

Re: Internet Marketing Retires!

Ryan Healy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:25:24 -0000

You made out better than me. I think I've been reading for 2+ hours now.

I think Salty Droid just became my favorite Internet marketing blog... in a single day. :-)

Ryan

Re: Internet Marketing Retires!

Ryan Healy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:31:04 -0000

Chris - Thanks for your comment. I don't think I read the Matt Bacak site, so good to know he wasn't retiring, just his course.

As far as Perry admitting his past -- he did and he didn't. I watched the YouTube video and it was very vague.

If you want specifics, click the link that says, "false advertising claims." Basically, from 2002-2008, Perry's sites were making fraudulent claims. And not small fraud either, but blatant fraud.

I don't think that's been publicized much.

Also: Thanks for the reminder on Frank Kern. I'd forgotten that he'd "retired" too.

Ryan

Re: Internet Marketing Retires!

Ryan Healy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:21:38 -0000

I've never heard of Kevin Bidwell, and it makes sense given what you've said.

And, yes, it is brutally competitive. Probably as bad as being an SEO company trying to get ranked #1 for SEO.

Ryan