After all, until you have eyeballs glued to your copy, anything you write is essentially invisible.

The way you attract attention comes down to two choices — you can write something your prospects know is true (but won’t necessarily admit) or you can write something that worries them.

But here’s the catch …

You can’t write anything relevant unless you know your prospects’ problems. Before you sit in front of your keyword or put pen to paper, you need a vivid picture of what keeps your target audience awake at night.

Once you have this knowledge, you can create copy that speaks directly to them. What you write then becomes more believable because your message isn’t just words on a page. Instead, it becomes a one-on-one conversation with a real human being.

The payoff comes when you zero in on something that resonates with a high percentage of your audience.

When I begin working with a new client, I use a questionnaire to help determine the copy’s direction. The overall theme almost always comes from my fourth question:

What are your prospects’ biggest concerns, emotions and needs? What information or help does he/she need to deal with them?

What I’ve discovered is most people don’t do enough to learn about their prospects and customers. As a result, their copy becomes force-fed, self-serving information that offers little benefit to readers.

Your own e-mail list (which you should be actively building on your website) makes gathering knowledge about your prospects quick and easy. You can send out a survey and get direct feedback. Also, if you frequently communicate with your list and share knowledge, your subscribers will tell you what’s causing them trouble.

Another option is my go-to tool for gathering insight about prospects — Amazon.com. When you visit the site, scan the reviews of popular books related to your industry. You’ll find word-for-word explanations of your prospects’ most pressing problems.

You and your co-workers get together to discuss a problem. The goal is to gather everyone’s input and come up with a collective solution.

After you discuss the issue for a little bit, the brainstorming begins.

You hear the first idea. So you scan the room for approval and you see some head-nodding.

You must admit, the suggestion sounded pretty good. Within a few seconds, someone else chimes in with another idea … then comes another … and another … and another …

You sense the momentum building. However, with each idea comes greater discomfort because you realize you still haven’t added anything to the conversation.

As the minutes tick by, you wonder if anyone else notices your silence.

You strain your brain to suggest the next big idea. But the more you think, the harder it is for you to come up with anything relevant — much less original.

If you operate a one-person business like me, you’ve likely experienced this same problem … but only worse. After all, when you’re stuck for ideas, there’s no one else to turn to.

When I launched my book, The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials, last Friday, I told you how it includes 61 easy ideas you can use to attract prospects and get more customers. Ideas such as …

• A copywriting weapon that allows you to penetrate a prospect’s mind, eliminate negative assumptions and create an intense desire for your product or service (page 111).

• The unspoken secret the most successful marketers (and clever business owners) use to quickly establish themselves as industry experts (page 78). (This tip works especially well if you have a new business.)

• The easiest way to instantly eliminate sales-killing objections using a single sentence (page 118). You get the exact formula — all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

• How to use only 2 words in your headlines to lure prospects to your marketing materials like a swarm of bees on a threatened hive (page 91).

The truth is coming up with ideas for your marketing materials is tough. Even more challenging is creating copy for your marketing materials when you’re not confident in your writing abilities. That’s why I also explain …

• The ideal number of sentences, syllables and “personal words” you should use in your ads to ensure your product or service is easy to remember and appealing to buy (page 36). (Hint: Your best prospects will almost never read copy-starved ads.)

• A shortcut for writing response-boosting benefits that target your prospects’ emotions and make them feel like your product is even better than what you claim (page 65).

• How to use 8 biologically programmed human desires in your copy to drive your prospects’ buying decisions (page 168). These desires are impossible to ignore because your prospects are born with them.

As you can imagine, these ideas are an extremely small sample of what you’ll find in the 214-page book. To try out all the material risk-free (see my guarantee below), click the “Get the Book” button at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

Remember, if you don’t feel like you’ve collected any new ideas after reading The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials, just let me know. I’ll rush you a refund for the price of the book. So you’ll get a $19.95 check … and you can even keep the book.

How’s that for fair?

Keep in mind, this guarantee isn’t for 30 days, 60 days or even 120 days. If at ANY time you feel like you haven’t generated new ideas as a result of my tips, tricks and techniques — even if you don’t read the book until 3 years from now — contact me and I’ll send you a refund.

Since releasing The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials: 61 Easy Ideas to Attract Prospects and Get More Customers, 114 copies have already been shipped out. Get yours today at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

If you want multiple copies of the book to give to your employees or clients, send me an e-mail at tom (at) writewaysolutions (dot) com l and I’ll give you a discount code you can use at checkout.

Without even seeing your promotional piece, I promise you’re wasting time and tossing away money.

The reason why has nothing to do with your industry or the economic environment — it’s your marketing message.

The truth is you should never market a product or service. Instead, you must explain to your prospects the end results (or solutions) they’ll experience as a result of your product or service.

Let me explain why …

Last week I wrote copy for a technology company offering a new storage device for IT professionals. To help with background information, I received a previously used promotional piece.

The headline read …

The New Standard in High Performance Storage

This text is a typical example of marketing a product because it doesn’t promise a solution or end result. Sure, you might find that information deeper in the copy. But it’s likely overlooked because most prospects won’t get that far. After all, “The New Standard in High Performance Storage” offers little reason to continue reading.

In addition, the statement doesn’t target prospects’ problems.

In most cases, the first text you want your prospects to see is a promise highlighting a desired outcome. What I recommended to the client was an explanation of what the high-performance storage device can deliver …

The Guaranteed Easiest Way to Double Your Storage Abilities,

Boost Efficiency and Slash Operating Costs

Can you see how this headline focuses on end results?

You’ll notice this text doesn’t even mention the storage device. That’s because prospects don’t care about the actual product. If a digital alarm clock helped IT professionals double their storage abilities, boost efficiency and slash operating costs, then you can bet they would buy it.

When trying to determine what your prospects desire, think of yourself as a genie who can grant wishes. If you were standing in front of your ideal prospect, what wish would he tell you?

Once you have your answer, take that information and apply it to your headlines, subheads and bullets.

Of course, your readers will have doubts about your claims, so you’ll need to address them in your copy. But that’s a topic for another article.

On page 13 of my new book, “The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials: 61 Easy Ideas to Attract Prospects and Get More Customers,” I give you a simple shortcut for writing copy your prospects desire. This technique melts resistance to any sales pitch and requires very little actual writing. Get your copy today at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

What makes this tool so valuable is it allows you to discover specific information your prospects search for online. With this knowledge and some strategic positioning, you can drive traffic to your websites, articles, blogs, press releases, videos and other types of marketing pieces.

And here’s the kicker: The data used to generate this information is compiled by Google’s engineering hotshots.

Few people are aware of this tool because it was originally kept a secret — the search engine giant only made it available to select users.

But you can get access right now without spending a single cent. I show you how in this quick video:

But before giving you the details, I want to address a common misconception that causes confusion and drives prospects away from your marketing materials. Unfortunately, this problem has broadened as more business owners and professionals write their own promotional copy.

There’s a belief in business that using long, complex words and phrases in marketing materials is an effective way to demonstrate knowledge. Furthermore, if your sentences are short and simple, prospects won’t view you as credible (or, worse yet, educated).

But the reality is your prospects seek simplicity. By using everyday words and phrases they can relate to, you make your marketing message easier to understand.

Here’s why …

You must remember your mind thinks in pictures. When you read (or hear) words or phrases, your brain uses past experiences to subconsciously create what are basically mental movies. Simple words produce images that are easy to understand and remember.

But their complex counterparts cause your brain to work harder. As a result, mental images become unclear because you have fewer experiences to associate with the words or phrases.

And here’s another problem …

Complex words and phrases can trigger indecision because some prospects will feel like you’re trying to hide something. And if that’s not troublesome enough, you also increase the risk offending your readers.

So as a general rule, avoid using a long word when a short one will do.

Here’s The New Book Bonus …

Shortly after announcing the release of my new book, The Reluctant Writer’s Guide to Creating Powerful Marketing Materials: 61 Easy Ideas to Attract Prospects and Get More Customers, I received permission to give away another bonus.

When you order the book today, in addition to an MP3 recording of my Quick-Start Guide to Writing Powerful Marketing Materials: 7 Simple Strategies for Pulling in Prospects and Creating Customers audio training (a $67 value), you’ll now also receive Jon Ward’s Your Brilliant Brand video training program (a $99 value). A nationally acclaimed marketing and branding consultant, Jon has worked with business leaders such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, John Assaraf and T. Harv Eker.

Get complete details about his 6-part Your Brilliant Brand program at http://www.brandsecrets.com/your-brilliant-brand/. (At the very least, check out the site to see Jon’s short interview with Trump).

Both bonus programs are only available when you order my book before the end of the day on Friday, July 16. Get your copy and limited-time bonuses now for only $19.95 at http://www.powerfulmarketingmaterials.com.

And don’t forget to e-mail me your receipt so I can send you the links to the extra trainings.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.