Tom Trush | Phoenix copywriter and marketing strategist

61 Easy Ideas to Attract Prospects and Get More Customers

In January 2009, I began a series of weekly articles for an often-ignored demographic — business owners and professionals who reluctantly take on the role of writer for their companies.

At the time, I noticed the e-mails and calls I received from people needing ideas for their marketing materials were increasing. Due to the challenging economic environment, most inquiries came from people with small budgets and big hopes for a marketing home run.

Compounding the problem was people’s lack of confidence when writing marketing materials and their limited time to learn effective techniques.

So I set out to deliver easy ideas that require little time, money or training to implement.

Fast forward about 18 months later …

You can now get all these ideas in my new book, The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials: 61 Easy Ideas to Attract Prospects and Get More Customers.

The tips, tricks and techniques in this 214-page book are presented in small, bite-sized chunks. You’ll find topics covering everything from persuasion and positioning to copywriting shortcuts and marketing strategies.

Designed to be a quick a read, you can study the book cover to cover or just pick and choose the ideas that grab your attention. Either way, you’ll gain copywriting and marketing insight you can begin using today to generate more responses from your marketing materials.

Get your copy today for just $19.95 at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

Why You Should Get Your Book Today …

When you order your book before Friday, July 16, and e-mail me your receipt, I’ll send you an MP3 recording of my Quick-Start Guide to Writing Powerful Marketing Materials: 7 Simple Strategies for Pulling in Prospects and Creating Customers. During this 108-minute audio training, you’ll hear step-by-step strategies for writing any type of marketing piece.

With this recording and the ideas in The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials, imagine how much easier it’ll be for you to crank out copy in just minutes that attracts attention, creates customers and builds your business.

Until Friday, July 16, both training tools are available to you for only $19.95 at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com. (You’ll get links to the FREE MP3 recording as soon as I receive your book receipt.)

You’ll see several videos when you go to http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com. I was limited in how much information I could include in the book. So I decided to continue posting videos in a blog format with even more easy ideas to attract prospects and get more customers. Between the book, audio recording and video blog, I can confidently say you won’t find such an extensive amount of copywriting/marketing training anywhere else for under $20. Go to http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

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Can You Really Trigger a Buying Trance with Your Marketing Message?

Imagine having an almost magical power that allows you to put prospects into a positive mental state as it relates to your product or service.

You might be surprised to know this skill is obtainable. In fact, triggering a buying trace with your written words isn’t as complicated as you might think.

Success comes down to your ability to attract targeted prospects. Because once you have these people’s interest, you can shape their mental imagery and lead them down a path to your desired outcome.

Unfortunately, you face a dominant obstacle — the mind’s natural defense mechanism.

You see, your mind doesn’t welcome change. As a result, instant rejection is much more common than acceptance. This decision process occurs instantly and often without conscious control.

The moment your marketing message contains an idea your prospects’ minds can’t accept, any thought of making a purchase is rejected and your opportunity is lost forever. But when you can switch off the brain’s critical component, you give your marketing message a fighting chance of getting evaluated.

One way to temporarily disable your prospects’ inner critic is by calling attention to specific problems. After all, problems are “messages” your mind can relate to because you’re actively thinking about them.

Here’s an example …

When promoting my new special report, Marketing Materials Made Easy: 8 Secrets for Attracting Attention, Creating Customers and Building Your Business, I target certain prospects with the following phrase:

For business owners and professionals fed up by the lack of leads generated by their company’s marketing materials — and can’t figure out what’s wrong …

Notice how I don’t just target “business owners” or “professionals.” What good would it do me to pursue such a general group?

Instead, I want business owners and professionals who are concerned about their marketing materials … frustrated because their promotional efforts are failing … and confused about what can be done to generate leads. Once I have the attention of these targeted prospects, I can then pile on the reasons for needing my special report.

You can use this same approach in any industry.

Let’s say you’re a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago. Here’s a possible statement:

For Chicago residents accused of a violent crime who feel overwhelmed with decisions, confused about legal options and scared about their future — and can’t figure out where to turn for honest advice …

Pretty simple strategy, isn’t it?

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How to Get More Customers with Local Online Marketing (Live Workshop)

When I presented a workshop at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix a couple of months ago, the turnout was the largest ever for one of their “Lunch and Learn” events.

On Tuesday, June 1, I’m almost certain my attendance “record” will fall, as Internet marketing experts Andy Renk and Jon Ward present “How to Get More Customers with Local Online Marketing.”

Andy is a multimillion-dollar success story, having propelled an online audio/visual hardware retailer from $0 to $12 million in sales in just three years. A faculty member for Trump University and nationally acclaimed expert on online branding, Jon has worked with business leaders such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, John Assaraf and T. Harv Eker.

Reserve your seat for FREE today at http://www.clickforclients.com/smcc. (If you can’t make it to Phoenix, be sure to see the bottom of this post.)

If you target local consumers, you need an effective online presence because nearly all consumers use online media for shopping decisions. According to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat’s new “User View Wave VII” report, 97% of consumers research products and services online. And of these Internet users, a whopping 90% use search engines first when researching nearby businesses.

So what are you currently doing online to attract customers from your local market?

During Andy and Jon’s FREE 60-minute workshop, you’ll discover how any business can profit online, as well as …

• The 5 essential ingredients of a profitable Web Marketing System. (Plug these basic components together and watch the dollars flow into your business.)

• How to use high-impact video and audio e-mail — and average at least $45 for every marketing dollar you spend.

• The hidden secrets of the Psychological Persuasion Triggers (PPTs) developed by an ASU professor that drive your best website visitors down your sales path.

• The astonishing power of marketing to your prospect’s iPhone, BlackBerry or other “smart phone” — and why this strategy could be more profitable than using e-mail.

• A new Google search technique that puts your business in front of your industry’s most eager online prospects. (Nearly 99.9% of all small businesses with a website overlook this strategy that could alone be worth thousands in new sales).

• How harnessing the Internet’s search capabilities can multiply your return on investment from print, direct mail and telemarketing.

• 4 surprisingly simple, zero-cost ways to legally “spy” on your competitors. (Wait until you see how you can you these techniques to secretly reveal your competition’s marketing efforts.)

• And much more, including answers to your questions.

The “Lunch and Learn” workshop on June 1 starts at 11:30 a.m. MST at South Mountain Community College (Room SU100A). Registration and complete details are available at http://www.clickforclients.com/smcc.

Grab your seat today and invite a friend!

If you can’t make it to Phoenix for the workshop, don’t worry … you can still see “How to Get More Customers with Local Online Marketing.” Andy and Jon are planning to stream this workshop live on the Internet. Resister today and you’ll receive your link to watch online right before the event: http://www.clickforclients.com/smcc.

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A Copywriting Cure for Boring Marketing Materials

Boredom.

It’s the demise of all marketing materials.

If you can’t instantly grab your prospects’ attention, any piece you use to promote your business becomes invisible. This is one reason why a strong headline is essential.

But once prospects read past your headline, you still must keep them interested. You also want to make them active participants in your marketing message.

The following copywriting strategy is one way you can maintain your prospects’ attention and keep them engaged. What makes this approach so powerful is your copy gets readers to realize they need your product or service. Best of all, they come to this conclusion without you actually telling them.

Here’s how it works …

After you write your headline, begin your body copy with a series of questions. The secret to this strategy is the answers to these questions.

Your prospects should only know the answers if they have the knowledge to achieve their desired end result. If they don’t know the answers, then your product or service becomes the logical solution to their problems.

The easiest way to understand this strategy is with an example. So take a minute to read the following squeeze page copy I recently wrote to target Canadian consumers shopping for a mortgage:

Do you know how to lock in the guaranteed lowest interest rate on your mortgage (for as long as 120 days) — even before you begin shopping for your next home?

Do you know what time of the year offers the best opportunity for buying property at a discount?

If you have bruised credit or a bankruptcy, do you know the steps you must take to prove you can manage your money and how to then find lenders who will eagerly give you low interest rates?

As you know, today’s economy has changed the rules for lending. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t save thousands of dollars on your mortgage or refinance.

The problem you face is confusion. With so many changes, it’s nearly impossible to stay on top of all the programs and pitfalls facing today’s consumers. It’s no wonder why so many people have given up on getting their dream homes.

If the lending process has left you more confused than empowered, take a deep breath and relax. You’re about to get an entirely new outlook on how you can secure a hassle-free home mortgage.

Notice how the questions point out to prospects their lack of information. The only way to get the knowledge they need is by requesting the free special report I wrote for the client as a lead-capture tool. The instant a report is requested, the client knows that prospect needs a mortgage.

Pretty painless way to get qualified leads, isn’t it?

Here’s another example of the same copywriting strategy used in an article I wrote for a client about choosing the right type of employee:

Do you know why you instantly eliminate up to 90 percent of available job candidates when you limit your search to temporary workers?

If your firm struggles with efficiency or redundancy, do you know why immediately filling your full-time vacancy with a full-time employee can cause you to squander time and money?

Do you know why you should avoid sharing your company, department and job role needs before questioning candidates during your interviews?

These are innocent mistakes that nearly everyone makes when filling vacant positions. But with some simple knowledge, you’ll have no problem avoiding them the next time you hire new staff.

In this case, prospects must continue reading the article to find out the answers.

In both examples, did you notice there are no “me” messages (i.e., messages about a company or individual)? Instead, all the copy appeals to a prospect’s needs and wants.

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Small Business Marketing Strategy: 5 Ways to Catch Attention in a Sea of Chaos

When it comes to marketing your business, two variables constantly work against each other.

First, your prospects are inundated with information. From an advertising perspective, the average person is exposed to more than 3,000 messages a day — and most are missed because our society has become so immune to information.

Think about the last time you watched TV, surfed the Web, listened to the radio or talked on the phone. Were you also doing something else at the time?

Maybe the TV was on while you scanned the paper … maybe you browsed some websites during a conference call … maybe you listened to the radio while talking on your cell phone and driving your car …

As you can imagine, this multitasking contributes to even shorter attention spans.

The second variable is unfortunate for you and your business — you’re starving for attention. But the more messages you put in front of your prospects, the more you contribute to their information overload.

With everyone’s brains so stimulated, how can your message cut through the chaos?

Here are five ways:

1. Focus on “you.” Ever met someone who only talked about himself, laughed at his own jokes and never let you utter a single word? Most company’s marketing materials are just like this person because the communication is focused on what they want to say and not what prospects want to read/hear. The words “you” and “how to” tell prospects information is for them.

2. Deliver on the spot. You can’t let your prospects wait, so give them what they want now. Better yet, provide them with instant value. When you give prospects immediate access to beneficial information focused on them, you get rewarded with action.

3. Engage the senses. Remember, the mind “thinks” in images, not words. So use your words to paint a picture of your product/service in action and the end result it offers to your prospects. Work in fears, agitate pains and then promise a better life in some way. And don’t be hesitant to tell a story.

4. Provide exclusivity. Who doesn’t like being part of a select group? While everyone else trumpets “me too” promises, your limited-time offer, special privileges or members-only invitations offer your prospects access to something others only wish they had.

5. Engage and encourage interaction. Prospect involvement helps you establish closer relationships and proves you want to better understand your potential customers’ needs and desires. As a result, you gain greater trust and, ultimately, more sales.

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