UPDATE: This is very cool!

I just received a note from a reader named Alan Petersen who’s spent years compiling an incredible swipe file of over 1,000 magazine headlines.

He was cool enough to send me a sample copy and this thing is really amazing.

The headlines are broken down into categories by magazine.

Check it out… he’s got 7 years of Reader’s Digest headlines in here!

Click to enlarge.

Plus every headline from People magazine in 2009!

Here’s a few samples:

• Hero Pilot Tells His Story – How He Saved Flight 1549
  
• Teen Mom Bristol Palin ‘Kids Should Just Wait’
  
• WOW! Jessica Simpson Debuts Her Curvy New Body
  
• Half Their Size How They Lost 437 LBS! Real People, Real Diets, Every Budget

And that’s just from People last year!

Can you see how those headlines swipes could add sizzle to your own ads? This stuff is gold.

Alan sells this file for $47 and it’s a screaming bargain at that price. (How long would it take you to compile 1,000 killer headline swipes? And how much time would you save racking your brain if you cold just flip though these for fast inspiration?)

But I prodded him into giving my readers a big break… so he’s agreed to offer it for only $27!

Thanks, Alan… very cool of you.

Click the book to go to Alan’s sales page and click on
his signature to get the secret discount!

Click the book to save $20 right now!

Click on the book to claim your
discount and grab these killer
magazine swipes for only $27!

IMPORTANT: Once you arrive at Alan’s landing page,
click on his signature to get the special price of $27

Hi Friends,

Strolling down the sidewalk on my way to meet my wife for lunch today, two pretty blond girls walked up and handed me $5 cash.

I said, “Five bucks… for both of you… how cheap do I look?”

(Okay, I didn’t say that, but I would have if I’d thought of it so let’s not my deteriorating wit-speed ruin a good story.)

Turns out they were promoting a new subscription coupon service for a local website. And handing out cash money was the best idea they could come up with for getting the word out.

Actually not a bad idea at all. Attaching cash “grabbers” to a strong sales letter has been a trusty direct response marketing weapon for years.

Problem with this campaign was, not only didn’t they have a strong letter to go with the money… they didn’t even have an informative pitch — let alone a compelling one — to drive me somewhere I could get more details and (gasp) actually sign up for something.

Instead, this is exactly how my conversation with the pretty blond girl went…

PBG: Hey, would you like some free money?

Me: Whattya got?

PBG: TBO just started a new promotion called daily deals and we’re going “old school” to get the word out.

Me: (authenticating cash) Cool, thanks.

PBG: You’re welcome. Tell your friends.

That was it.

Result of TBO’s $5 investment (plus whatever they paid PBG to help get rid their of cash): my lunch waitress was slightly over-tipped.

Much to the TBO ad department’s chagrin…

• I’m not educated or excited about their new promotion…

• I’m not armed with a handy pitch (either from PBG or the scarce info card wrapped around the money) about the new service to go along with the story of a cute blond handing me money on the street.

• I’m not compelled to sign up for this service based on the idea that I’ll get “more free money” via these great deals from places I already love to patron.

TBO.com... throwing their cash in the trash.

In other words, their “let’s hand money to strangers on the street” idea was as effective as tossing the bills in the trash.

(Except for the fact that I’m writing about it and if you happen to live in the Tampa Bay area you might be compelled to search out the promotion. Unlikely.)

But wait… the real crime of this horrid campaign is yet to take place…

When I went to visit the landing page (surely they created a separate landing page for this promotion — no one’ s THAT inept)… there was no URL directing me to a landing page (I stand corrected). Just a small ad hocking seafood on the busy main page at TBO.com

That means a web service hired pretty blond girls to go stand on the street and hand people real cash money just for signing up for their new coupon service… but failed to create a web page for the service!

WOW!

I made a quick video to show you where the “info card” does lead  and how once you do find the landing page for the new promotion, you leave there more confused than when blond chicks handed you money on the street corner.

Click play to witness the epic failure of the web portion of this promotion…

OK, hate to kvetch and run, but my times up for today.

I’d love to share ideas with you guys about how to do money grabbers the right way in the comments section. If you have any good examples, please share. I’ll also try to dig up the famous Halbert money grabber sales letter opening to share. That short piece of copy alone contains everything TBO needed to fix this campaign.

Otherwise, let this be a reminder about how important it is to thoroughly PLAN your campaign before you start handing money to strangers.

Go make money,

Kevin

Hey,

John Carlton just announced the standings in his affiliate contest 
for the SWS.

I’m currently in 5th!

I’m not allowed to post the results, but to show you how outrageous that is…

… #4 is a guy who holds the record for the
 biggest single day launch in history. Let’s just call him the “Boss of Video.”

To look at my name next to the others in the standings, you’d think somebody left the door to the marketers VIP lounge
 open and I wandered in looking for the restroom.

The #2 guy has the ability to create “geysers of traffic” at will, yet little ol’ copywriter Kev is only 3 back from him.

The guy in first is the world’s leading expert on Google AdWords.

Me? I’ve got a blog.

Is there no justice!

Even scarier is the marketers who are lower down the list, nipping at my heels.

In 8th place right now is the “guru to the gurus.”

In tenth is a guy whose name rhymes with Eben Pagan.

Seriously though, this is pretty cool… and I owe a big “thanks” 
to all of you who joined my class and made this happen.

Your trust means the world to me and I’ve got some exciting things 
planned during the course as a way to show my gratitude.

BUT… the contest isn’t over yet.

Nope. It includes the DVD home study course and continues until 
April 23rd.

That means all these gurus are going to get busy pushing the DVDs 
to their massive lists and try to bump “copy boy” out of rank.

It’s David vs Goliath time!

If you were on a fence about joining the SWS and ultimately decided 
to wait because of financial or time concerns… I completely 
understand.

 And I’m going to help us all by giving you the next best thing.

Needless to say, the best solution to your “chicken and egg” problem 
of needing the course to make more money and needing more money to 
afford the course…

… is the SWS home study course.

It’s the same exact material the students who are starting the live 
mentoring today have at their furiously typing fingertips.

It’s 9 videos of John walking you step-by-step through his precise 
formula for writing the hard-core, gun-to-the-head style ads that 
have created billions in sales over his 30-year career.

Plus a workbook with samples to make it drop-dead simple (BTW: it’s 
packed never-seen-before swipes of John’s copy).

But let’s be honest: It’s very difficult to get through any course without solid support.

That’s why the Simple Writing System live mentoring is the only 
thing I promote to you guys… because it FORCES you to get 
past your demons of procrastination and distraction…

… and finally get good at writing killer ads quickly.

You already know how crucial this is to giving your business a 
huge leg up over the competition — no matter what type of market 
you’re in.

(It’s why the SWS mentoring routinely transforms businesses overnight.)

So here’s the deal (I’m not even sure I’m allowed to do this): 

If you purchase the Simple Writing System home study course through 
my link… and help me crush the gurus…

… I’ll give you 4 FREE private coaching sessions as a bonus!

All you have to do is grab the DVDs, then do the exercises as 
instructed by John, then email any 4 you choose to me…

… and I’ll give them a full critique — just like I give to the 
SWS live mentoring students.

(I’ll even email suggestions on the 4 best ones to send me once your 
DVDs arrive.)

Sure, this is a runner-up to the actual live mentoring where you 
get my full attention for 8 weeks…

… but it’s a serious kick in the arse for anyone who’s ready to 
get serious about cashing in on the life-changing lessons the SWS 
provides.

(And for over a grand less!)

Sometimes all it takes is someone watching our back for us to do 
what we know we really need to do.

For our business… our families… and for ourselves.

If learning to write killer sales messages is what will make the 
difference in your life right now — then let me be the guy to 
watch your back.
Click here to claim your bonus coaching now!

The offer is good through April 23rd.

I hope you can take advantage of it… and help me send a message to 
the marketing Goliaths about the importance of keeping a true value relationship with 
their lists.

Thanks!

You guys are the best…

Kevin

When I was a skinny, punk-ass 16 year-old… my step-dad, Scotty, ran a construction crew building new homes in Tampa.

He was a tough-as-nails, but fun-to-be-around guy (picture Willem DaFoe and Jeff Spicoli merged as one) who had one rule on the job site: Never get outworked.

That summer, rather than sit around broke watching CHiPs reruns, I decided to take Scotty up on his standing offer to join his crew and make a few bucks.

How hard can it be? I thought. You get to wear a badass tool belt, you measure some boards and smack a few nails. Presto! New home.

Cut to: Monday morning at 5:30 AM as Scotty rattles my bed with his foot as if Florida’s first earthquake was happening directly beneath the house.

“We leave in 15 minutes, dude. You need to eat before we go.”

It was still dark outside. I managed to woof down 2 pieces of white toast and by first light we were pulling onto the muddy streets of half-built houses and construction equipment.

The air smelled of fresh-cut lumber and swamp water as the droning hum of tractors and the whine of buzz saws swirled with classic rock blaring from busted boom boxes. The wood beam skeletons of soon-to-be family homes perched naked on concrete slabs like shy patients on cold tables wishing the doctor would just finish up and hand them a robe.

The whole thing looked like a disaster scene in reverse.

I was sure I’d made a terrible mistake. Much as I admired the true grit and simple wisdom of those blue collar warriors — hard labor just wasn’t my thing. Yet, by the end of that first week, I was getting a feel for it. There’s a cozy satisfaction in putting in a hard day’s work.

That pain shooting through your back means you’ve done your job. A check is coming. Beer-thirty on Friday will taste like it should.

Then came the rookie mistake that doomed it…

I was sitting on a cement wall after a short rain storm, eating lunch from a bag when Scotty came over (he never stopped for lunch)…

“Don’t sit on wet concrete, dude… it soaks your bones, you’ll be sick as dog,” he said, pulling over a saw horse. “Use this or stand.”

“Shit, I’ve been sitting here for like 10 minutes,” I said.

“You’re probably fucked then.”

Fucked was right. I woke up the next day with the nastiest cold I’ve ever felt. Every joint in my body ached and my head pulsed like a diesel engine stuck in first gear.

“I feel like hell,” I told Scotty as he earthquaked me awake.

“I feel like hell every day. Don’t make me late on top of it.”

I didn’t have the guts to tell him this wasn’t the hard day’s night kinda hell — this was see a doctor hell.

By lunch break I was pale and droopy eyed enough to earn a sympathetic “wait in the truck” assignment. I sweated out the day lying across the bench seat of Scotty’s silver F250… dreaming of a soft couch, air conditioning, and Ponch and John speeding down the 101 after some crazy driver.

Mercifully, as the sun dropped below the windshield, the noise outside finally subsided to the lone strain of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “What’s Your Name” in the distance. Scotty slipped into the truck beside me, cranked the engine and said, “Good news… you’re fired.”

“Thank God!” I said.

Later, when the fever was down and some human-like hue of color returned to my face, Scotty admitted that my pitiful performance on the job was everything he’d hoped for.

“You’re a smart dude. You might not know that yet, but you are,” he said. Then added, “So if you ever take one piece of advice from me, it should be this: Do work with your head… not with your hands. It’s not for you — and that’s a gift.”

It’s rare that a teenage boy is able to see past the hormone rage and know-it-all-ness to recognize a turning point in his life as it’s happening. But that moment was one for me.

I discovered in less than 2 weeks on a soggy construction site that it was OK not to fit in where you don’t fit in. And sticking around long enough so you begin to fit where you don’t fit in can cause you to miss your path entirely.

Thanks to Scotty, my job this morning (I decided) was writing this blog post.  Technically, I did use my hands, but tapping keys sure beats the hell out of pounding nails.

And while there are plenty of tough days as a freelancer when nothing seems to go my way (and I’m still stuck with the credo of never getting outworked)…

…for me, the freedom to make my own day is the greatest benefit of a freelance career.

What about you?

CNN launched in 1980 as the first live 24-hour news broadcast and spent their first decade on air redefining expectations of breaking news coverage.

They were first with ongoing coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, then the Baby Jessica rescue, and in 1991, the event that catapulted the small cable network past the big three broadcasters as the go-to news source… the Gulf War in Iraq.

CNN invented the 24-hour news cycle and made it the standard for others to follow.

It was no longer enough for a network to cut into programming with a big story. You needed your live news anchor to stop in the middle of the story he was reporting, put a finger to his earpiece and tell you what was happening, as it happened.

Back then, “We have reporters on their way to the scene and we’ll update this story as details come in…” was enough to keep you glued to a big event. You can’t ask for it to get any faster than that, right?

Cut to last week when a young woman attending a protest in Iran was gunned down in the street. In an instant, almost live as it happened, we were seeing graphic video of the event… and receiving real-time details from the scene as it played out via Twitter.

Suddenly CNN, restricted by the Iranian government on how they could report the story, were forced to cite “Twitter sources” for updates and scramble to verify facts. Caught somewhere between “with it” media outlet and grown-up news organization.

The result was as awkward your parents playing DJ at your college graduation party.

On Thursday, TMZ broke the story of Michael Jackson’s death a full hour before it could be confirmed by any more “legitimate” news sources.  Choosing to decipher the information for ourselves, we collectively muted our TVs and logged in to Twitter.

In that exact moment, 29 years after CNN’s first broadcast, the expectations for breaking news were redefined once again.

We discovered, as did frantic media moguls, that we no longer have to wait for some talking head to describe what’s happening. Our bullshit meters, it turns out, are keen enough to filter out nonsense and find the truth just fine.

Sure there will always be a few rubes who fall for the obvious hoax. But take, for example, the rumor on Friday that Jeff Goldblum had also died after falling in New Zealand.

The report was quickly dispelled by friends of the actor like Kevin Spacey via Twitter. And the hoax was squashed before most people even heard of it.

This is a new level of power for the information age. People will continue to expect real-time access and interaction with those they choose to “follow.”

The 24-hour news cycle is now the 24-second news cycle. And diminishing right along with it is our tolerance for formality… while growing is our colossal desire for immediate gratification.

This new shift in expectations should be a warning to marketers whose success hinges on a strong relationship with their customer list. (That’s you, everyone!)

For example, soon a simple email address or voice mail phone number will no longer be sufficient enough “support” for your buyers. If they can get live news feed of major events as they happen, waiting a week for a “staff member” to respond to their email will feel like an eternity.

On the flip side, the savviest marketers have already begun incorporating real-time media into their pre-launch promotions… assembling Twitter teams and manning their own accounts to squash rumors, sway perception and build hype.

The people demand access.

They also demand to be heard. And the message they are sending is is loud and clear: “Lose the tie, drop the double-speak and give it to us straight.”

The challenge for marketers hoping to establish legitimacy for themselves and their products is no longer to keep it real… but to make it real.

It’s time to get hip or get left behind.

That’s the story for now. Stay tuned to The Copywriter’s Edge for continuous live updates on how these events will effect your business.

An unexpected bonus of sitting in with John Carlton and Stan Dahl at their Hot Seat event last week in Chicago was spending the day with Dean Jackson.

Copywriter’s Board members know Dean from his awesome 60-Minute Naked Truth Sales Letter Starter – If you need to laser-focus your sales message in one hour or less, filling out this simple form is an awesome way to do it. it’s become a trusted road map for me to keep me going in the right direction as I write a letter.

So, it was cool to get a chance to thank Dean for that killer tool, and talk a little bit deeper about ways to use it. We discussed the top 10 objection section where you list your reader’s reasons for not buying the product…

This is an excellent gauge for making sure your letter answers the questions and covers the objections as they come up. But Dean took it a step further, saying he uses it to squash reader objections BEFORE they come up… and put a positive spin on it whenever possible.

The off-the-cuff example he gave was if you are writing about a hair product and you know one objection would be, “I have dry hair, so it probably won’t work for me.”

Rather than announcing “It even works on dry hair!” or worse, saying, “You’re probably thinking this won’t work on your dry hair…”

Simply mention “This unique formula is perfectly balanced to leave all types of hair moist and manageable.”

(I’m paraphrasing from memory there, but I think I captured the gist of his example.)

So, take your copy to the next level by using positive benefits to squash objections without being too obvious.

Thanks again, Dean.

“Everyone’s feeling it.”

You’ll hear that comment daily about our fledgling U.S. economy. It’s a psychological defence against the fear of an uncertain future. Assuring yourself that you’re not alone. The discussion then trails into heartbreaking scenarios of friends, and friends of friends who have it worse than the storyteller.

Countless tales of nurses and firemen whose overtime hours were a standard of their budgets, now have to fight for every hour of it. Then onto the layoffs and foreclosures. Lots of headshaking and ultimately the big question, “Whose gonna fix it? None of these clowns running for president.”

What I’ve yet to hear anyone say when about the economy dragon is, “Here’s my plan to beat it.”

Inevitably, that moment comes just before some drastic realization like, “We may have to give up cable!”

“No, no, no… there’s got otbe some way to earn more money…”

There are lot’s of ways to earn more money. Problem is, people tend to look at how they can do more of what they were already getting paid for. It’s a natural instinct. If you own a lawn service, you want more yards to mow. That’s what pays the bills.

But, in “times like this” the real challenge of any struggling business owner is raising their awareness about new and different ways to offer their skills, services, and knowledge.

The first instinct is often to lower prices. They figure, I’d rather make half of what I used to rather than nothing at all. That’s understandable. It’s also very dangerous to the future of your business.

Tell people “pay me what you can,” and you’re guaranteed to get handed just about half that amount.

There’s better ways. Most of them just a click away. But, the first step is opening your mind. You don’t have to work twice as hard just to earn half as much. You just have to be ready to learn, and then ask one golden question, “Who will pay for what I know?”