Massey Marketing Associates LLC

It’s The Write Thing To Do

2023-01-09T09:45:00.009-08:00

Greetings,

It’s 2023. Time to kick things in gear and make great things happen!

Naw, this is not one of those “New Year’s Resolution” kind of posts. Not at all.

Rather, it’s like a ‘note to self’ to remind me that action is required for anything worth striving for.

Case in point – being a copywriter.

Yep, if you want to become a copywriter – especially a decent one, ya gotta put pen to paper and write!

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

A writer actually writes.

No sure where to begin. Then you may consider taking a . . .

Killer Copywriting Course . . .

These by the way, are not in short supply. You can choose from many excellent guides who’ll teach you the basics.

I firmly believe that we all should be grounded in the basics.

Personally I believe whatever course you may decide on should cover at lease the basics of persuasion . . . you know subjects surrounding. . .

. . . good old fashion salesmanship!

Perhaps one of the best ways to educate yourself would be to take a job in sales. This may seem a bit extreme but if you’re truly serious about learning how to sell stuff, this could be one the best ways to get that education (and get paid along the way).

Again, this is just my opinion. So please forgive me.

Oftentimes, some of the best copy ever written is loosely derived from an actual sales pitch.

Of course it goes without saying that copywriting encompasses many types of assignments beyond just writing sales letters and direct mail packages – a few examples are audio/video scripts, brochures, landing pages, white papers, newsletters, feature stories, articles, and the list goes on.

Essentially all commercial writing falls under the copywriting guise.

So, I guess the moral of this story is action.

Your assignment today is this: Get started doing your thang – whether it’s writing a sales letter, starting your business, starting that course you’ve been putting off –

Just get started today. Action!

And today’s action is for those who are seriously tinkering with their biz marketing and are looking for some fresh advertising ideas.

Your Business Survival System

In order for your biz to survive, you must have a revenue producing system in place. In other words, you need a steady stream of sales to keep your biz going.

A great tool is a marketing system to bring in this steady stream of leads, prospects, and sales.

Do you have one?

If not – you may consider contacting us to help you create one. After all, that’s what we are great at doing – crafting affordable advertising and marketing solutions to grow your business.

In the meantime, you should at the very least get our FREE Marketing toolkit. It’s chocked full of low cost marketing and advertising ideas that you can put to use NOW! Plus, you even get a FREE Advertising Consultation.

So what the heck are you waiting for . . .

Just . . .

Click here to get your FREE Marketing toolkit!

Virtually yours,

Emette

P.S. Shortly after editing this post, I checked our spigot and rejoice – our water is flowing again. Praise God!

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Christmas

2022-12-27T05:40:00.008-08:00

Greetings,

It was the day after Christmas when all through the house everything was stirring – even the mouse.

It was full-tilt, fun filled excitement, bliss and our traditional family breakfast!

Geez, I’m still full from all the food the holidays bring.

Even though we cook a very traditional family breakfast with country ham, sausage, bacon, eggs, grits, and biscuits and oh yeah . . .

. . . my wife’s lip smackin’ biscuit gravy!

We are very non-traditional when we finally get to have “our family” gathering.

It’s usually the day after Christmas.

You see, our boys are grown now and they have numerous obligations, well you know - spouse’s family gatherings to attend, their own functions and places to be, friends’ gatherings and such.

My loving wife is one of the best “gift-givers” ever. She just seems to know what folks want. And this year was no-exception.

No – we no longer give each other gifts – it’s mostly about the grand kids. There’s nothing better than to see a youngin’s face beaming with pure bliss and smiles so big that it lights up a room.

This year, the “magic” toy seemed to be the battling Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots action toy. Our 5-year old grandson loved it! It won out over the seemingly gazillion other toys he’d gotten.

Of course, this will most likely change within the next 5 minutes or so and one of the other toys will become new fav.

Depending how old you are, you may remember this toy making its debut in the early 1960s. This toy was originally first manufactured by the Marx toy company.

Currently Mattel is the manufacturer and it’s still being produced.

I tried to find out just how popular this toy ranked today but didn’t really find any reliable info.

All’s I can say is that the toy market is brutal from what I’m seeing. And trying to pick out something that will “stick” and last – well good luck.

The bottom line is this: I hope you had a great Christmas and that 2023 is your best year ever.

And for the record, I’ll do my part to help you by providing you with the best biz advice that I can.

Let me start by jump-starting your biz by offering you a FREE MARKETING TOOLKIT . . .

It’s chocked full of low cost marketing and advertising ideas that you can put to use NOW! Plus, I’ll even give you a FREE Advertising Consultation.

So what the heck are you waiting for . . .

Just . . .

Click here to get your FREE Marketing toolkit!

Virtually yours,

Emette

P.S. Stay tuned for new stuff for 2023. I think you’ll really like it!

Winter Wonder Whoa

2022-12-24T08:22:00.002-08:00

Greetings,

It was the day before Christmas when all through the house was peace and quiet.

How’s your holiday going so far? Hopefully great . . .

. . . and everything is in full swing and enjoying some quality time with friends and family, good food and exciting festivities.

So far so good here. . . well sort of until the wife and I leisurely woke up this morning and . . .

. . . only to discover we had no water!

I don’t know about you, but here in my neck of the woods, we typically don’t have single digits temps for any length of time. But several days in the single digits is practically unheard of.

But today is different.

According to my weather app, currently it’s sunny and 11 degrees – “feels like 1 degree”.

Sure I could tear into my well and figure out where the freeze is.

Or . . . I could wait it out while the temps slowly warms and thaw the pipes.

Honestly, I am not digging the idea of working outside in these damn cold temps, tinkering on my well system. So, I’m inclined to wait this thing out.

Survival Systems

Luckily we are somewhat prepared. We have a couple of cases of bottle water on hand. Plus, we stashed about 7 or 8 gallons of water for emergencies. Oh course this small supply of water is also frozen and will need to thaw inside the house.

The other good news is we have power – at least for now. But should we lose power, we have a propane fireplace to keep warm and a camp stove to cook some food.

Warm shelter – check.

Food and cook stove – check.

Emergency water – check.

No water from the tap – what a drag.

Yeah, we’re spoiled with all these modern conveniences.

And yeah, we take things for granted.

And suffering through some inconveniences really makes me thankful for all that we depend upon for our day to day living.

Your Business Survival System

And this goes for your business marketing system. In order for your biz to survive, you must have a revenue system – you know . . . sales! And this includes a marketing system.

Do you and/or your business have a tested, proven, reliable marketing system that you can depend on to bring in fresh, qualified leads and sales?

If not – you may consider contacting us to help you create one. After all, that’s what we are great at doing – crafting affordable advertising and marketing solutions to grow your business.

So what the heck are you waiting for . . .

Just . . .

Click here to get your FREE Marketing toolkit!

Virtually yours,

Emette

P.S. Shortly after editing this post, I checked our spigot and rejoice – our water is flowing again. Praise God!

Wolf Winds and Winter Galore

2022-12-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Good day my friends,

Boy, the winds are howling like wolves in the night.

For us here in the Northern Hemisphere, winter officially started on December 21^st.

And it came in like a bang!

I happen to live in the foothills of North Carolina. And baby it’s cold outside with temps hanging in the 20s – with lows predicted this evening in the single digits.

Whoa . . .

But the kicker is the howling winds, sustained at nearly 20-30 mph. Gusts up to 40-50 mph.

Damn . . . it “feels like” 7 degrees Fahrenheit – and that it does!

I’m shivering just thinking about it.

But fortunately as I work from my “bat cave” in the backyard, I’m staying toasty warm despite the fact that my “cave” is a wooden storage shed of sorts.

The “secret sauce” is insulation and a good old Big Buddy propane heater.

This little shed project has been fun to tinker with. It’s also an ongoing project. As mentioned above, I’m added insulation throughout, wiring, Ethernet cabling for Internet access – and a dry toilet . . . all the “comforts” of home.

Next I’ll be adding skirting underneath and finish out the ceiling.

I’ve considered running water lines – but not decided on this yet. That would surely be a luxury. I guess time will tell.

Mushing on . . .

In the spirit of Christmas, good will and glad tidings, I’d like to offer you . . .

Free Gifts For Your Thoughts

As you know, I love helping folks grow their biz. So, let me know what your biggest advertising grief is. I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, or ideas you’d like to see covered in this blog.

Please take a quick hop over to my website and let me know how I can help you. And while you’re there why not pick up a free gift pack . . .

. . . after all, you deserve it!

Click Here and Head Over to Massey Marketing Associates LLC

And when you get there simply fill out the form at the bottom of the page. BAM, you’re free prize pak will be delivered immediately and ready for you to download.

That’s it . . . pretty easy, right?

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

Does Your Business Make This Simple Mistake?

2022-12-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick lesson I’m reminded of recently . . . thanks to John Carlton, one of my favorite marketing mentors is . . .

“Never trust your own version of reality without testing it first”

Reality checks are good – if you’re lucky enough to have people in your circle who are totally honest enough to call ‘em out.

And these folks are very hard to find.

That’s why having a great mentor is pure gold. They’ll call out all the stuff wrong with your biz and save you from major marketing blunders.

Unfortunately great (or even good) mentors are hard to find. As you can imagine, the Internet is loaded with self-professed “gurus” of all flavors. They’ll make magical claims about fixing all your problems but they tend to come up short on true fixes.

Ok. You’ve been warned.

No matter how you get ‘em, these reality checks can save your business time and money.

Make sure your marketing messages are clear

As for marketing messages, your message must be clear or you’ll lose any hope of sustaining biz-life – at least for any length of time.

Prospects won’t tolerate boring, rambling or confusing messages.

Here’s a tip: what I do is read my ad or marketing message out loud. This helps me spot confusing copy and ensures that the copy flows easily from point to point.

I’ll also send my copy to my biz-partner (who happens to be a great proof reader) to make sure the message is clear and flows logically.

I hope these little tips help. And I’ve got some more goodies that could ramp up your sales and marketing efforts.

A Free Gift For Your Thoughts

But first, I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, or ideas you’d like to see covered in this blog.

Please take a quick trip over to my website and let me know. And while you’re there why not pick up a free gift pack . . .

. . . after all, you deserve it!

Click Here and Head Over to Massey Marketing Associates LLC

And when you get there simply fill out the form at the bottom of the page. BAM, you’re free prize pak will be delivered immediately and ready for you to download.

That’s it . . . pretty easy, right?

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

The Secret To Writing Big Paychecks

2022-12-11T12:25:00.003-08:00

This is going to seem so freaking simple; you’re not going to believe it. But it’s true and I’m going to show you how it’s done.

And for the record, I’ve seen it happen not only by some well-chosen mentors and colleagues, but myself too.

I could write this post with just two words: Keep Writing.

But that wouldn’t be very fair. So I’m going to give you my personal method.

Study great advertising.

I define “great advertising” as sales copy that sells stuff. Think of your sales copy as a good sales person who makes a lot of sales.

Advertising is just salesmanship in print (or whatever medium is appropriate).

Once you get that in your head, then it’s much easier to write big paycheck.

Model great advertising.

This is where a swipe file can help out. A swipe file is simply a collection of sales messages that have been proven to produce sales. I’ll share a great place to start building your swipe file.

Now, keep in mind, a swipe file should be used to stimulate ideas for your own adverting. Never ever copy these ads – just use them to jump start your own ad copy.

When I began my ad writing journey, I would copy out these killer sales letters by hand. This helped me get a feel for writing great ad copy, because I was writing great copy.

By writing out these ads, it was like a neurological imprint on my brain. Sounds crazy but it worked. I strongly suggest you try it.

Write, write, write. . .

. . . as often as you can. Preferably each day. Yeah, this sounds silly but the more you do something, the better you get.

So, get your pen in gear and write. If you don’t know what to write about simply start a journal and write about the events of the day. No one has to see this but you. And you’ll get in the habit of pay attention and thinking about stuff you did during the day.

Free Swipe File

I talked about starting a swipe file earlier in this article. Here’s a super place to start building your own swipe file: Visit https://swiped.co/ . I’ve used this site for years to generate ideas for ad copy.

Another place is your mail box. Yes, your “junk mail” can be a treasure trove of inspiration. So start saving those mail pieces that keep showing up over and over. They’re pure gold.

Lastly, I suggest you consider taking a few courses on copywriting. This will cost you some bucks, but shortens the learning curve by years. I recommend anything by John Carlton, particularly his (note this affiliate link) Simple Writing System.

Of course if you are really serious, consider finding a mentor. The A-listers, like Carton don’t come cheap but they are best of the best. And consider yourself lucky to on their dance card these days.

But fortunately if you dig around, you can still find great mentors (who were trained by top-gun writer) who are very good. Either way, be prepared to shell out some big money.

Here’s Your Holiday Gift . . .

I have a special gift for you. This is right up your alley if you run, or hope to run a business. Let me tell you about . . .

It’s called - drum roll please . . . The free marketing toolkit!

You’ll get a special illustrated edition of Scientific Advertising. This edition has a swipe file included. This is a great primer for anyone wanting a quick course of what effective advertising is all about.

You are up and running but you’re marketing is sputtering along – here’s your fix. It’s a special report called How to Fix Your Marketing in 5 Easy Steps. Simple and easy solutions – mostly common low cost and sense marketing “fixes” to help get your cash flowing again.

I’ve got a couple more special reports that I’m going to give ya . . .

. . . Blair Warren’s infamous One-Sentence Persuasion Course

27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding.

Don’t let this title fool ya – in my humble opinion, this is one of the most powerful persuasion courses that I’ve ever taken. For the record, I’ve taken dozens of sales and marketing courses. This powerful little “course” hits the hammer on the head. And you’ll be surprised how effective it is.

Lastly, I’ve included another insider advantage for you. It’s called 9 Remarkable Ways to Increase Sales and Profits. This special report is chocked full of marketing tips, strategies.

For example: Learn how to leverage you’re marketing efforts. We all know what real estate leverage is and how it work. Now think the same thing but let’s take a sales technique you use to increase your average sales by 20% with no additional cost or effort. You’ve just leveraged your marketing.

There’s plenty more profit leveraging techniques to boost your marketing machine.

I think you get the point . . .

Here’s what to do now . . .

. . . It super easy.

Just . . .

Click here to get your FREE Marketing toolkit!

Cheers,

Emette

Family Time and Merry Christmas

2022-12-09T06:22:00.001-08:00

If there’s one thing about the holiday season I love . . . and dread – it’s seeing family and friends.

It’s so great seeing folks you don’t see on a regular basis. But I gotta tell ya – it can be stressful too.

Dealing with certain family members can test your very last nerve. But you know – I won’t trade it for the world.

It doesn’t help when you’re an introvert. I charge my batteries by finding a hiding place to get some quiet time.

‘Tis The Season

This week I’m spending time with my wife, sister, and mother at Folly Beach, SC.

There’s joy and excitement in the air. I hear my mom talking to herself, the wife singing along to Dan Fogelberg. I’m damn lucky to have ‘em in my life and I love them dearly.

Today’s agenda – spending the entire day in Charleston. Lots of good stuff awaits.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous. Temps in the mid to upper 70s, with lows in the 60s. Wow. And it’s December!

Back home it’s rainy and cold – temps in the 40s. And home is just 4.5 hours north of here.

Crazy, right?

Take a Deep Breathe . . .

. . . and live life deeply. Walk on the beach, catch the moonrise, smell some of what nature gives us. Enjoy every moment you can. After all, we’re only here for a short ride.

Take in all in – at your own pace - while you can.

Giving – not getting . . .

. . . is my motto. For me, it’s provides a subtle sense of gratification and delight. I know, we live in a material world. God knows I got enough “stuff” to last a lifetime. But sometimes you just need to pare down and get rid of “stuff.”

Here’s Your Holiday Gift

If you run, or hope to run a business, then you’ll want this little pack of virtual goodies. Let me tell you about . . .

It’s called - drum roll please . . . The free marketing toolkit!

I’ve got a couple more special reports that I’m going to give ya . . .

. . . Blair Warren’s infamous One-Sentence Persuasion Course

27 Words to Make the World Do Your Bidding.

Lastly, I’ve included another insider advantage for you. It’s called 9 Remarkable Ways to Increase Sales and Profits. This special report is chocked full of marketing tips, strategies.

There’s plenty more profit leveraging techniques to boost your marketing machine.

I think you get the point . . .

Here’s what to do now . . .

. . . It super easy.

Just . . .

Click here to get your FREE Marketing toolkit!

Cheers,

Emette

Maybe It’s Time For A Deep Dive

2022-11-27T12:25:00.008-08:00

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know most of my posts are about Sharing random thoughts and inspirations on all things marketing, success and living life deep!

Heck, it even says so right there on the front page of my blog.

But here’s the thing – sometimes I’ll share (with permission) killer insights from some of my mentors.

It’s too damn good not to!

This quick piece of advice is from one of my favorite marketing mentors: John Carlton . . .

"Top writers know why people buy. On a very deep level.

There’s no easy way to describe it, but here’s my best shot:

The human psyche is made up of 4 fundamental interlocking and often warring parts.

* The intellectual
* The physical
* The emotional, and
* The spiritual

Most marketers understand two, maybe three of these "Big 4" sections of our being. But very few ever put all 4 to work in campaigns.

The spiritual one especially eludes folks.

It's not religion, but rather that murky meta-physical side
just beyond the emotions...

That empty area behind the smug civilized masks where inchoate fears lurk.

Marketers who strive for more awareness and consciousness can more effectively bond with prospects. We connect on multiple levels, most of them unconscious.

Keep these 4 fundamental interlocking and often warring human tendencies in mind when writing your next sales pitch."

P.S For more subtle but brilliant marketing advice, visit the blog at www.john-carlton.com. Be sure to download my free report while you're there."

Here’s What To Do Now . . .

First, make sure you pay attention to everything Carlton has to offer. I mean everything. He’s saved my ass for than one time . . . plus, most of my sales, marketing, and copywriting education has come from him (and select few others).

Just So You Know . . .

My chief mission is to help you extract every single dollar you can from smart marketing.

The goal is to NOT leave a ton of coins on the table – ever. I mean, you in biz to make a handsome profit (unless, of course, you run a non-profit entity).

So, this client questionnaire sorta forces you to think things through and help you create sales copy that makes you money.

Heck, I’ll even add another “bonus” – only if you response quickly:

I’ll throw in a free 30-minute business consultation walking you through the client questionnaire via a phone call.

Truth is, I LOVE to talk shop and helping small biz owners get the most profits from their marketing efforts.

Click here to get your FREE Marketing Questionnaire.

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

Let The Holiday Feasting Continue . . .

2022-11-25T08:17:00.002-08:00

Now that I’m slowly coming out of my food coma, I’ll try to put a few thoughts together and get this post written.

So it’s Black Friday and Techtarget’s predicting a good one. In fact, Black Friday sales may be up 6%-8% over 2021.

Keep in mind this is just a prediction. Nothing especially earth-shattering but considering the state of the US inflation, not too shabby. This could all boil down to holiday sales around $942.6 billion, according to the Nation Retail Federation (NRF).

Where Does Your Biz Stand?

Well, if you happen to do business online, this could be a good thing. Some 69% of spenders will shop online. Of course you still have some folks shopping in person (you know going to an actual brick and mortar store).

Let’s Not Forget Cyber Monday

This is the Monday following Thanksgiving and this sales event may also see an increase as well, according to the Drive Research study. It just never ends, does it?

The real point is this:

Know your market. Learn everything you can about your clients and potential prospects. Know where they hang out and what they spend money on. Then, and only then can you be prepared to position your business properly. You’ll know what sales messages get their attention and get them to raise their hands and buy now!

Basic stuff here.

And there’s a ton of “tools” to help you get the job done . . . things like CRM, ad tracking tools for various social media, and let’s not forget using some common sense and your brain to help out.

If you are a brand new marketers (or just starting your biz), I’m got a pretty cool little “tool” you can use to help dial in your sales and marketing efforts.

It’s a simple, basic client questionnaire to help you focus on your thoughts on your prospect (which will make you lots of money).

Here’s What To Do Now . . .

My chief mission is to help you extract every single dollar you can from smart marketing. The goal is to NOT leave a ton of coins on the table – ever. I mean, you in biz to make a handsome profit (unless, of course, you run a non-profit entity).

So, this client questionnaire sorta forces you to think things through and help you create sales copy that makes you money.

Heck, I’ll even add another “bonus” – only if you response quickly:

I’ll throw in a free 30-minute business consultation walking you through the client questionnaire via a phone call.

Truth is, I LOVE to talk shop and helping small biz owners get the most profits from their marketing efforts.

Click here to get your FREE Marketing Questionnaire.

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

What Are You Thankful For?

2022-11-23T15:00:00.004-08:00

Can you believe that it’s already turkey day, aka Thanksgiving?

Well, I’m finding it hard to believe.

I could fill a book on all the things that I’m thankful for . . .

Not to sound sentimental, sometimes I like to bask in good times of the past.

I’m reminded that all those times me and my buddies “got into stuff” when I was a young lad.”

Yeah, you know what I’m talking about – sneaking around drinking cheap beer, smoking cigars or whatever and just plain riding around having fun.

Oh man, drag racing through Main Street – and not getting caught by the cops.

Priceless!

Boy, it seems like a lifetime ago. And I wouldn’t trade those times for all the riches in the world.

Fast Forward . . . Let The Beatings Begin . . .

Lessons learned were hard but proven effective. I got more “beatings” for all the shenanigans we pulled. I actually thought my folks owned stock in Woolworth’s store because the ol wooden yard sticks we had in our family.

And ironically seemed to be my Mom’s favorite “weapon” to punish me with.

Still trying to figure out how my little sis escaped those whippings – guess she was smart enough to not get caught!

But you know, the true riches are friends/family, having a dry roof over your head, and some food on the table are priceless – especially to those who didn’t have those luxuries.

And you can only appreciate these when you get older.

Here’s A Challenge For You

As we head into the holiday season think about all the things you are thankful for.

Take nothing for granted. Make everything count and gives thanks to the Lord above for all these “things.”

I promise you’ll feel like a new man or woman just by showing a little gratitude.

And if you really want to up the ante, go out of your way to lend a helping hand to someone in need – without expecting any sort of returned favor or payment of any kind.

It’s all about true service.

Now, try to adopt this sentiment towards your business and customers that your serve (there’s gold there).

Most business poorly serve their customers. So by going the extra mile, you’ll reap rewards beyond measure.

Here’s a FREE GIFT For You . . .

Just for taking the time to read this post (why not consider subscribing), I’d like to gift you a special biz kit . . .

Click here to get your FREE Copywriting Jump Start Package

It’s all about what you need to get started writing good copy in the shortest amount of time. I know that I said there were no shortcuts, but this is as close as it gets.

You’ll get an advertising primer (nearly all the pros started with this book) that gives you a basic education in writing direct response advertisements.

You’ll get samples of great ads that have sold millions of dollars’ worth of products.

You’ll get a headline starter “kit” filled with attention getting headlines to fuel your ideas.

Plus, I’ll throw in a free 30-minute business consultation. I LOVE to talk shop and this is your golden ticket to ask me anything business, marketing or copywriting related.

Click here to get your FREE Copywriting Jump Start Package.

Questions or concerns - Email me directly at: eemassey@yahoo.com

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

How I Learned To Write Advertising Copy

2022-11-19T14:12:00.001-08:00

This whole “writing ad copy” thing sorta started by accident.

In 1983 Uncle Sam discharged me from the US Navy, I started looking for jobs and a way to make a living. Nothing seems to land. I was over-qualified, under-qualified, not enough experience. Whatever.

But I kept searching.

Then one day I happen to spot an ad in the classifieds –

“Make Money From Home Painting Novelties”

I thought, “What the heck. Nothing else seems to be working.” So I inquired.

A few days later, I received all the details and got started.

It was a mail order kit of sorts. It listed places who bought these little figurines that you painted. You send out sales materials to these places and they would send you back money for your products.

BAM! It hit me. This was so cool. Maybe I could sell other things by mail.

That was my humble beginning of direct marketing and copywriting. It’s stuck with me to present day.

Now, I’m a decent copywriter (no A-List master or anything) – but I can get the job done and I enjoy the thrill of results that it produces.

Even to this day I still run a small mail order business part time. I love it!

Now that you know a little background, let me show you the basic steps I took to get “decent” at writing sales copy.

Big $$$ Investment - Not Needed

For starters, you won’t need to invest thousands of dollars to get a basic understanding of how it’s done.

I started looking into the “biz-opp” and “Opportunity” magazines of the time. I’d study the classified sections and sent off for anything that dealt with working from home, book dealerships.

That led to other mail order type publications. Once of the first big influences was Melvin Powers, owner of Wilshire Book Company.

Soon after, I started saving ads that ran over and over (a swipe file). These ads were winners so I studied them and tried to figure out what made them successful.

Public Library Proves To Be A Winner

Then I went to the public library and checked out all the books dealing with advertising, sales, mail order, and marketing. Some were good – others not so good. But I found a common thread of ideas so I eventually bought the books I found most valuable. Over the years, I’ve accumulated dozens of great resources.

I’ll put a list of my most favorite business books in this post for your consideration.

Write Out Ads

Another task I did which proved to be very helpful was to hand-write out controls. A control is an ad, sales letter, otherwise marketing piece which produces the most or highest possible results.

It’s a vicious game these top direct marketing company play. Typically they will mail several pieces at one time. Then, they’ll hire top writers, paying top dollar who compete for the control. The winner becomes the control.

Unless you plan on writing for top clients like Rodale, you really don’t need to worry about this. But it’s still good to know about what a control is.

Many other factors (from my humble experience) play into getting the most sales. But that’s another post for another time.

Suffice to say, it’s worth taking the time learning the basics of good copywriting.

As you can see, there’s no magic shortcuts – despite what all the “gurus” say. It’s takes a conscience, deliberate effort.

And it takes a LOT of writing. Again, no magic but with your permission, I’d be glad to send you a special “jump-start” package.

FREE – Copywriting Jump-Start Package

If you’re serious about learning to write advertising copy, you’ve got to get this special “jump-starter package I’ve put together for you! It’s got your name written all over it.

It’s all about what you need to get started writing good copy in the shortest amount of time. I know that I said there were no shortcuts, but this is as close at it gets.

You’ll be a advertising primer (nearly all the pros started with this book) that gives you a basic education in writing direct response advertisements.

You’ll get samples of great ads that have sold millions of dollars’ worth of products.

You’ll get a headline starter “kit” filled with attention getting headlines to fuel your ideas.

Plus, I’ll throw in a free 30-minute business consultation. I LOVE to talk shop and this is your golden ticket to ask me anything business, marketing or copywriting related.

Click here to get your FREE Copywriting Jump Start Package.

Questions or concerns - Email me directly at: eemassey@yahoo.com

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

How Long Can You Tread Water?

2022-11-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

The wounds in your business are real. We feel breath and experience it each and every day.

You already may be experiencing this as the inflation monster is eating us alive!

In case you don’t know, the first six months of 2022 has been the worst (possibility since 1929, 1930, and 1931). Ouch! And the Dow, well the worst first half we seen in 30 some years!

And if you have (or need) to hire good people to work for your company; I don’t need to tell you that it’s tough finding help.

Based on what I’m seeing, the average inflation to businesses is running at roughly 12%.

And it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

You can protect your business from inflation – if you follow a few simple steps.

I’m considering putting together a special masterclass called Give Me Liberty – if there’s enough interest. So let me know if you’d like to get in on this training. Email me at: eemassey@yahoo.com with the word “Liberty” in the subject line. I’ll put you on the list.

In the meantime, get my FREE Marketing Toolkit – It’s my gift to you. And comes with no cost or obligation. Click here and Get it today!

Questions or concerns - Email me directly at: eemassey@yahoo.com

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

Sales Letter Writing Skills You'll Want To Learn

2022-11-15T07:28:00.002-08:00

I have written about this topic many times - and the topic that I'm referring to is writing sales copy.

Why should you bother learning it? Why does it matter?

For starters, this skill could very well make or break your business. It could save your business from bankruptcy.

But going beyond business, learning how to write persuasively could enhance your life in so many ways.

For example, it could mend a struggling relationship, provide hope, love, and peace for someone dear to you. It could spark a new relationship. It could provide sound advice to your children or provide a legacy to family members for future generations.

I do believe that words are mightier than the sword. Just look around at all the great writing throughout the ages and you'll see what I'm talking about.

So how do you get starting in the world of sales writing?

Easy. Start by studying from the masters both past and present. Later I'll share a few great resources for you to check out.

Think: Human Desires

Nothing has really changed in the way of basic human desires.

We all want:

More money (maybe even get rich)

Eliminate bad stuff (like pain, etc.)

Show off

Gain pleasure

Greed

Feel better about our selves

All of the great copywriters and marketers I have studied are all students of Psychology.

Keep in mind, the desire to avoid pain is stronger than to gain pleasure. Think about that . . . we spend our last nickle to "fix" something that is truly important to us.

Think: Your Perfect Prospect

When I create my sales piece, typically I start with my prospect. What's on her mind? What pain is she experiencing? What problems is she wanting solved - fast?

Yes, you're a problem solver. It's your job to find these things out about your prospect or client. You must know your market/prospect. How else are you going to effectively communicate with them? You know . . . talk in their language.

Craft Your Perfect Message

Once you have enough intel (market research) and a pulse of the market you're going after, then you are ready to start writing. If you're brand new to marketing and copywriting, you may consider reading some books on sales, marketing and copywriting. There's no shortage on materials these days - just be care who you choose to learn from. There's also no shortage of "gurus" these days.

It's beyond the scope of this blog post to go into great detail of how to write but here's some writing pointers for you to consider:

Nearly all successful sales letters follow this basic structure.

Make sure you have an attention grabbing headline.

Keep that interest going in the introduction.

Your story should introduce and presents the advantages of what you offer.

And speaking of offer, make sure you have an irresistible offer in your sales letter.

Also include bullets too. These are short bits of copy (that follow a dot symbol) that piques curiosity and interest.

Tell them why (give reasons) they should be getting what you offer.

Reverse all risk by including a solid guarantee. This greatly helps make the sell. And don't be afraid of offers a way to back out of the deal.

Be sure to have a call to action. You know ask for the sale.

The P.S. is an great way to reinforce important parts of your sales message.

So there you have it . . . a quick n dirty rundown of a great (money making) sales message structure is like. I realize it this is very basic.

If you're interested, hit me up and I'll go into greater details. The best way to reach me is via email: eemassey@yahoo.com or masseymarketingassociates@gmail.com -

Ok. I did promise you some great resources that will help you along the path toward marketing bliss. These are my favorite places to haunt and I haunt them regularly. One thing you'll find out, these guys are not only A-List copywriters, they are all master marketers. Study these guys. Buy some of their stuff. You won't be disappointed.

Of course bookmark this blog too. I'll post things I've learned during past 30+ years or so. Plus, I like give away free stuff too. So stay tuned and enjoy the ride!

The Gary Halbert Letter

John Carlton's Blog

Dan Kennedy's stuff

Swipe-Worthy

Gary Bencivenga's Marketing Bullets

Lorrie Morgan

Jay Abraham

Best,

Emette Massey

An Open Letter To My Blog Readers

2022-11-14T09:41:00.005-08:00

Back in the ol blog saddle . . . again.

When I started this blog way back in 2012 (or whenever it was). I vowed that I'd write a new post regularly.

Well, even in the most creative definitions of "regularly" the post would be written, polished, and published at least once-in-while - not . . .

Years Later. Geez!

Yes, I'm a slacker. Focused or in my case very unfocused with too damn many distractions.

Not excused!

So, if case you are reading it now years later, I'd like to somehow make it up to you.

How?

Glad you asked!

I'm gonna let you pick something pretty cool from the "prize bin" . . .

And here's what you can choose from:

A special illustrated edition of Scientific Advertising. This is NOT the same one you'll find - well any where. This one has hard-to-find advertisement written from the master, Claude Hopkins himself. And these are NOT the same swipes floating out there in cyberspace.

Sizzlemanship. As most of you know, Mr. Wheeler coined the phrase, "don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle. And the rest is history. In his "new book", Sizzlemanship, Mr. Wheeler dips into his vast experience of the Sizzle formulas (and tons of sales to back it up) and shares actual stories of the work done behind the counter. This should be a must have in any business person's library.

30 minute FREE Advertising consultation -here's your change to put to work my over 30 years of sales, marketing, and advertising experience for nary a cent or any sort of obligation. This is a great option if your sales are tanking or you simply want to new advertising ideas that actually work.

Here's how to claim your "prize":

It's actually fairly easy. Send me an email with the words "Prize Bin" in the subject line and tell me which one you want.

Email me directly at: eemassey@yahoo.com

Be sure to include the words "Prize Bin" in the subject otherwise the email gets ignored.

Oh, I almost forgot . . . this offer ends at midnight, November 30, 2022.

Yours for higher profits,

Emette

Spiritual Marketing

2022-11-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

The other day I was rambling though some old files . . . I felt like a kid on Christmas day! Eureka!!! All these excellent books that I'd forgotten about.

You see, over the years, I've read, studied, otherwise accumulated a ton of great marketing materials.

I'm talking about truck-loads full of books, courses, eBooks - you name it and I've probably got it.

Yes, most of these I've learned a great deal from and honed my "marketing chops."

But one book - especially stands out. It's called "Spiritual Marketing" written by Joe Vitale.

Here's the "cliff notes" I've highlighted for your marketing growth:

For starters it's based on "proven marketing techniques and timeless spiritual principles".

I won't spoil it for you - but it's about possibilities that can (and will) happen - if you'll just allow it to happen.

The key to making great things happen is to know exactly what you want . . . and what you don't want.

Sounds simple, right? Honestly, it is so simple but not easy - at least for me. My brain hops from one idea to the next quicker than you can say "grasshopper."

You guessed it - ADD -as an adult. But that's another story for another time.

Suffice to say, writing can be somewhat therapeutic for me as it forces me to read, think and put these thoughts into words.

So, back to Spiritual Marketing . . .

It's a simple 5-step "program" to get what you want and let go of what you don't want.

Now you're probably thinking "where does the marketing come into play?"

Glad you asked . . .

You'll need to read the book. But I will say this: Apply what you learn to your business and see fabulous results.

Go get this book. Again, it's called Spiritual Marketing. By the way, I highly recommend any writings, books, or courses by Joe Vitale. I've learned a LOT from him over the many years.

And for the record, I'm not an affiliate or receive any money from Joe (or anyone else) for referring you to this great read. I'm just sharing the love and wishing you the best advantage for your business endeavors.

If you have problems finding it, drop me a line at: eemassey@yahoo.com and I'll help you out.

Until next time,

Peace,

Emette

The Little-Known Marketing Secret That Allows You To Write Advertising Homeruns . . . again and again!

2018-03-15T10:55:00.001-07:00

You remember Sherlock Holmes don’t you? Holmes was the fictional consulting detective invented by Scottish physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes, as you know, is famous for cracking open difficult cases and solving them with almost magical abilities.

So, grab your inspector’s hat and let’s play Sherlock Holmes for just a moment. We’re going to do a little spying today and see if the “Sherlock” in you can turn up a few profit clues lurking all around.

This is the shortest course to the profit-land in this crazy fun business. The direct marketing or “mail order” business as we affectingly call it have a “secret” way of “spying” on the competition. It’s called “seeding.”

Very simply, seeding is where you get on other businesses mailing list

. . . for the sole purpose of snooping and finding out what’s going on in your selected marketplace.

This does several things for you.

First, you’ll start receiving offers from the company you inquired about plus competing companies. And these offers can be golden to you by seeing exactly who’s mailing what.

You’ll see firsthand what their winners are, how the copy reads, what offers are hot and ideas will start to catch fire.

And if you go the extra yard and actually buy something, you’ll experience firsthand how you were treated, what upsells they offer, and how they run the customer service side of the business.

Simply put, this is one of the best direct marketing educations you can get. And best of all . . . it won’t cost you a fortune.

Basically, you get a master’s level marketing education for the mere cost of a postage stamp and the time it takes to “sign up.”

Pretty damn cool, right? As my late marketing mentor Melvin Powers once told me, “There are no secrets in the mail order business.”

You’ll be tuned in to ‘real world-real time’ marketing methods and strategies. This is one of the best ways to stay up-to-date with powerful trends and effective marketing that’s cutting edge.

Seeding gives you another huge benefit . . .

. . . A swipe file right at your fingertips.

What’s that, you say? Swipe file? YES! Swipe File!

What’s a swipe file? Hey, I’m glad you asked.

A swipe file is a collection of marketing pieces that have a proven history of positive results. These ads are bringing in bucket loads of profits, leads, store visits or whatever action the ad is asking from the customer.

But how do you know if these ads are profitable or not? It’s not really that hard to figure this out . . . and you don’t have to guess.

If you see a marketing promotion (advertisement, sales letter, squeeze page, etc.) that runs over and over or is mailed over and over, then you’ll know for sure it’s a winner.

Most marketers, especially direct response type businesses loath wasting money. Again, if you see an ad repeated over and over again, you can rest assured that it’s making money for the advertiser.

Once you start building your swipe file you’ll want to see how you’re marketing stacks up to the competition. Ideas gleamed from your swipe file could be used to improve your marketing.

There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. In direct marketing (or mail order), you have learned that there are no secrets. Everything is laid out there for you.

And by the way, did I mention swiping is legit . . . it’s sharply slices a huge portion of the learning curve!

Let me tell you a quick story about one of the most successful, profitable and effective direct marketing promotions to hit during the 20^th Century.

It was 1974 and Martin Conroy was commissioned to write a sales letter to sell subscriptions for the Wall Street Journal.

No big deal, right? After all it was only two pages printed front to back . . . a mere 780-word letter.

But here’s the thing. Did you know that one of the most successful and profitable sales letter ever written . . .

This super-successful sales letter mailed for 28-years with almost no changes to the original copy. It raked in over an estimated TWO BILLION DOLLARS in gross revenues!

Take one of the most famous copywriting controls, The Wall Street Letter written by the late Martin Conroy. He in fact swiped it from a sales letter written many years before.

So what was the secret to this mega-success letter?

The secret, according to industry insiders, is that Conroy relied on a little-known “trick” to cheat his way to writing the pitch.

It’s helpful to know that Conroy’s letter was not beaten until 2002. It was beaten in two consecutive tests . . . the first test Conroy’s letter was beaten by less than 10%. The second by a huge 24%.

The second letter was written by copywriting legend Mal Decker.

So, the question is how did Mal Decker come up with a letter to beat the ‘unbeatable’ control?

The answer . . . again . . . it’s surprisingly simple . . . and you my friend can use this ethical “cheat” to produce blockbuster ads, web pages, sales letters, and just about any marketing piece you need to write.

Now I’m not saying its ok for you to straight out copy the ad word for word. Not at all . . . I’m saying it’s fine to borrow or swipe ideas, concepts and compelling parts that intrigue you and adapt them to your marketing.

Swiping is a great way to infuse new life in old copy and can often lead to more sales and leads.

So start your swipe file today and let the ideas flow.

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Want to step up your marketing game a notch or two? Then get our free marketing power tool called “How To Fix Your Marketing In 5 Easy Steps.” Get it here: https://emettemassey.weebly.com/

Prospecting Made Easy

2018-02-21T06:55:00.002-08:00

Today’s message is very short and sweet . . . well maybe not so sweet but short for sure . . . and hopefully helpful to you.

We’ve all felt the frustrations of trying to get good clients. Heck, trying to get new clients period can be a real challenge.

So today I wanted to share a few ideas that have worked for me . . .

Start by making a list of who you’d like to work with. Think: “Who’s my perfect prospect?” If you hand pick any client, who’d that be?

This could be connections from a past job, or business associates that you know and who like and trust you or a vendor who you’ve done business with in the past. As a last resort you could put together a “cold list” of prospects.

Study that target market intensely and find out what problems they’re dealing with today, who are they (male, female), how old they are, what magazines they read etc.

Learn all you can about your perfect prospect and the marketplace in general. This is a critical step. This is very important step and should done before you start your marketing message. I know that I’ve talked about this many times, but it’s super important.

Once you have a target group in mind, create a mailing list. You’re going to be sending them numerous messages, offers, and various messages over and over until they become clients, so I suggest that you put these names in a program like Excel so you can keep up with them easily.

Study the competition and learn what they’re doing what offers they’re sending out, go to their websites, landing pages, and direct mail etc. This way you can position your business uniquely.

Once you feel you have enough “intel”, create a lead generation letter and send it to your prospect list.

It’s going to take more than one letter. I like using a letter series sent over a couple of weeks. Sure, you can sometimes close the deal on a single letter but it’s very unlikely. The power in direct mail is by mailing several letters not just one.

So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a response on the first letter you sent. This is typical. Again, the power of a letter series goes a long way to landing that client.

You got to remember, people are busy, they are preoccupied, and flooded with lots of distractions, junk mail, and advertising messages in today’s super-busy world.

Lastly, I encourage you to study the masters. Learn all you can about your craft. If you can afford a mentor, then by all means hire one. A good mentor will save you tons of money, time and frustrations. It’s as good as money in the bank. . . provided you follow through and act on what you’ve learned.

Hoping this helps a little bit. If you have questions, please holler at me. I’m happy to help!

All the best,

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The Simple Way To Market Any Business

2018-02-07T07:39:00.004-08:00

You’ve no doubt heard about the K.I.S.S. principle – “Keep it simple, Stupid.” Or as I like to say . . . “keep it simple, silly.”

K.I.S.S. has been around the block a few times. In fact, it was a design principle noted by the US Navy in the 1960s.

The phrase was coined by aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson. It’s nice to note that Johnson was the lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (creators of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 spy planes).

Though the acronym has been used mostly by the US military, namely the U.S. Navy and United States Air Force, civilians, businesses and lots of other groups use it too.

Heck, I bet you’ve used it a few times yourself.

We all tend to over complicate things, including myself.

But I prefer simple any day and twice on Sunday. When tackling any problem, my number one rule is to start with the simple basics first (is the power on? Is the lamp is plugged into the electrical outlet?)

And you’d be amazed at how effective the simple way of doing things can be. After all, you can always complicate the hell out of things later, if you like.

You’ll be pleased to learn “simple” also works in marketing your biz too! Truth be told, simple has taken me a long, long way in the marketing of my business.

Let me explain . . .

The Three Pillars Of Good Marketing

Ok. Let’s break this down into, you know, simple terms. You can easily and simply market any product or service if you examine the 3 pillars of marketing.

But before I go into details, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. While, I’d love to think that I’m a marketing and advertising whizz, truth be told, I’m scratching the surface here.

What I have learned came from the true geniuses of the game. The guys who figured it out and have been in the marketing trenches for decades.

With that said, what you’re about to learn came from marketing top-gun Dan Kennedy. I recommend that you get your hands on any books, programs or live events he puts on. It’s nothing less than pure gold.

Ok. On with the show. The pillars of good marketing are:

Message

Market

Media

Let’s talk briefly about each one.

Pillar 1. Message. This is the “what” you say to your prospects or clients. It’s the communication part of the equation of good marketing. If you get this wrong, then your efforts won’t necessarily fail but will suffer greatly in terms of results and sales.

Keep in mind, even if you have a great message and you shoot it to the wrong market, it’s going to land upon deaf ears. And you’re wasting marketing bullets . . . time, money and other resources.

Pillar 2. Market. The is the “who” you want to sell to. It’s the group of people most likely to be interested and willing buy your stuff. These are the prospects you are communicating with and who will receive your sales messages (sales letters, print ads, landing pages etc.)

So, your mission is to match your message to the correct market using the correct media.

As you know privacy is essentially dead these days. So, getting the names and addresses for nearly any target market is a fairly simple process.

Mailing lists comes in all shapes and sizes today. If you know what market you want to go after, you’re likely to find a list. It’s just a matter of contacting a list broker and describing who you’re looking for.

For example, If you are looking for people who are at least 7 feet tall, drive a BMW, live in South Carolina and subscribe to Psychology Today, you can get that list. It may not be a very large list, but nevertheless it still exists.

Pillar 3. Media. This the delivery system. It’s the vehicle that your message rides in. Think: magazines, newspapers, newsletters, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and list goes on forever it seems.

The best way to select which media to use, starts with the market. Are you targeting folks over the age of 65? There’s a good chance they do not use social media as a primary medium.

Yes, they very well may have a Facebook account, but this is not their main means of communicating or staying in touch with others.

They do read the local paper and use their cell phone regularly. They probably listen to the radio and watch TV.

But the only way to truly know is to ask your clients and prospects.

How To Target Your Market

One popular way that business owners use to target their market is by geographic.

Using geographic marketing you choose your market based on a specific location, for example, businesses within a 10-mile radius. This is a very simple way to choose your targets but it’s like dropping flyers out of a plane and hoping one lands with the right person.

Yes, a bit of an exaggeration but with a few simple tweaks, you can make your geographic marketing more effective. And you can do this by using . . .

. . . Demographic targeting. Demographic targeting is selecting people by age, gender, how much money they have, whether they are conservative or liberal, or what religion they are, single or married and so on.

Next, you have psychographics. Psychographics deals customer behavior, attitudes, interests and lifestyles. It’s useful when segmenting your market. This can be very powerful (and effective). Plus, it allows you to customize your marketing messages based on whatever market segment you are going after.

Hey, you could combine all three. And many of the cloud based programs, such as Adobe Marketing Cloud, Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketing 360 and more do just that. You could also check some of the open source solutions.

Again, you don’t have to get all “techie” just be sure you have details such as their contact info, and carefully track how much they spend, what they buy and how often. Simple with Excel.

Of course, I could go way deep into this topic, but staying the “simple” approach, suffice to say keep good customer lists, learn what your prospects and clients want and become the “go-to” company that fills their needs.

So, the next time you start a new marketing campaign, consider the ideas presented here. If you are tired of dumping big bucks down the advertising toilet and you’d like more profitable results, then I encourage you to give me a shout. Do you have questions about this article or would like to see a subject covered? Again, just shoot me a line. I’m always happy to help.

Yours for higher response,

Emette E. Massey

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Want to step up your marketing game a notch or two? Then get our free marketing power tool called “How To Fix Your Marketing In 5 Easy Steps.” Plus, I’ve give you (no strings) the CRM tool I use to keep up with prospects and clients. Get it here: http://salesletterwriting.weebly.com/

Winning Friends And Influencing People

2018-01-18T16:29:00.002-08:00

If you've been following me, you know that I tend to write about sales, marketing, and business development topics.

So, I thought that it would be nice to start your day with something positive instead.

I recall one of favorite copywriting mentors, Gary Halbert had a great (and very healthy) way to start your day.

Best of all, Gary's morning routine did not involve a bunch of complicated workouts, routines or the typical crap you get from health gurus.

Here's how it goes...

And I quote...

"Set your alarm clock to go off 10 minutes earlier than usual.

The first thing, after you get up, is to immediately remake your bed.

Go to the kitchen, pour yourself a glass of water and drink it all.

Go to the bathroom, take care of "business," brush your teeth, wash the sleep out of your face and eyes and comb your hair.

Next, put on some exercise clothes like sweatpants, a sweatshirt and take a 20-minute walk.

As soon as you get back, woof down a nutritionally-dense protein drink made by mixing the content of a packet of Myoplex, Met-RX or Lean Body with eight ounces of fat-free milk and a banana.

Scarf down a packet of vitamins and minerals like Dr. Julian Whitaker's "FORWARD PLUS."

Take a shower.

Dress in fresh, crisp clothes and go about your day."

So, there you go. A nearly complete system for success. And you won't find a simpler or more effective way to go about your day.

And while this seems overly simple, there's some "deep" stuff connecting and "writing" positive instructions to your mind and body that benefits you in all areas of your life - physical, mental and spiritual.

Now you may be wondering what does this have to do with winning friends and influencing people, right?

Victor Schwab wrote the print ad for Dale Carnegie's book How To Win Friend and Influence People. Though the ad was written over 72 years ago, even the most skillful write would be hard-pressed to top it.

This book directly ties in to Halbert and self-help. Hands down Carnegie's book is one of the best self-improvement books found anywhere!

If you have not read How To Win Friend and Influence People, then you should get your hands on this book immediately and read it cover to cover... at least once a year.

In fact, it should be an essential part of your personal and business library.

And if you'd like to step your game up a notch or two consider...

... the complete course called

... wait for it

... The Dale Carnegie Course.

It is based around his famous book, "How To Win Friends and Influence People."

As I reflect on my days as a Realtor, my buddy pushed me into the course. Not only did the thoughts of standing in front of group of total strangers and having to give talks scare the bejeebers out of me, the thought of shelling out $750 (which I didn't have at the time) certainly rattled my cage.

But I sucked it up, paid the money and stuck out the course to the end. In fact, I won an award for one of my speeches.

Let me just say, to date this has been one of the best $750 buck investments I've ever made. Bar none!

Here's the take away. Self-Improvement takes courage and constant practice. Remember fear is just a temporary state of mind. I learned that F.E.A.R. is simply Felse Evidence Appearing Real.

So true and I've proved it time and time again. Now, don't get me wrong, I still get the jitters when talking to groups (even small ones) but I get through it just fine. And feel proud and confident about myself when done.

Here's Your Marching Orders:

Decide to take better care of yourself. Consider adopting Gary Halbert's daily AM routine and start the day of right.

Get and read a copy of Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People. This is self-improvement for your life and business.

Be willing to set your ego aside and learn to conquer your F.E.A.R. It's takes developing the right mindset and a little practice but it is doable.

Until next time, I bid you success, wealth and happiness.

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Want to step up your marketing game a notch or two? Then get our free marketing power tool called "How To Fix Your Marketing In 5 Easy Steps." Get it here: http://salesletterwriting.weebly.com/

Invest In Yourself: The Value Of A Mentor

2018-01-18T16:25:00.004-08:00

As we get ready to kick off a brand-spanking New Year, I reflect on years gone by.

And as I reflect, I've concluded that one of the best investments you can make is in yourself by learning something new.

To take it a step further, your investment consideration should be something that will pay you a nice tidy ROI (return on investment).

I love learning new things. I'm curious about all sorts of stuff. Over the years, I've had my head into many different subjects, mostly in the areas of sales, advertising, marketing, copy writing, business development and management.

But by no means do I keep my learning to these subjects. In fact, just recently I've been learning home wiring techniques and the electrical trade. Naw, I'm not planning on becoming an electrician.

Electricity has always been a fascination of mine. I bought a "man-cave" for the back yard and wanted some power in the building. So, as any decent DIYer would do, I decided to wire that sucker up myself.

So, I got busy and found some great tutorials on how to wire stuff like power panels, outlets, lights and switches. My teacher is a master electrician with over 26 years of experience and did a great job of presenting the lessons.

These days you can learn nearly anything on YouTube.

Another great learning experience is by finding a mentor or participating in an internship. There's nothing like experience as a teacher and most mentors have tons of battle-tested experience.

You can save yourself a lot of time, frustration and expense by hooking up with the right mentor.

Truth be told, most of my business successes have been possible because of some good training and mentoring from top players in the field.

One top shelf player comes to mind is Terry Dean. If you're not familiar with Mr. Dean, he's been at the Internet marketing game for a long, long time; since the mid-1990s.

Terry started from scratch and went from delivering pizzas to building several million-dollar on-line businesses.

Today he's one of the top internet marketing coaches and consultants.

Years ago, I attended his online Internet Marketing internship. It was awesome and one of the most instructive and useful marketing training that I'd even been part of. It cut light-years off the learning curve on how to successfully market a business both on-line and off.

Unfortunately, Mr. Dean has since discontinued that program but still offers other training and coaching programs. Google Terry Dean and you'll find them.

The point here is find someone you trust and look up to and see if they offer training in the field of your choice.

If you don't want to go the online route, check your local community college and see what programs of interest they offer. There may even be local businesses that offer various internships that could pave the way for you.

Basically, the world is truly your oyster and you can learn and achieve nearly anything you want. Just go after it

I believe you'll find a wealth of return on your investment, if properly applied. Get busy and start learning something new this year.

So, until next time... have a peaceful and profitable 2018!

=====================================================================

If you'd like to step up your marketing game a notch or two, ask for our free marketing power tool called "How To Fix Your Marketing In 5 Easy Steps." Get it here: http://salesletterwriting.weebly.com/

As we get ready to kick off a brand-spanking New Year, I reflect on years gone by.
And as I reflect, I've concluded that one of the best investments you can make is in yourself by learning something new.
To take it a step further, your investment consideration should be something that will pay you a nice tidy ROI (return on investment).
I love learning new things. I'm curious about all sorts of stuff. Over the years, I've had my head into many different subjects, mostly in the areas of sales, advertising, marketing, copy writing, business development and management.
But by no means do I keep my learning to these subjects. In fact, just recently I've been learning home wiring techniques and the electrical trade. Naw, I'm not planning on becoming an electrician.
Electricity has always been a fascination of mine. I bought a "man-cave" for the back yard and wanted some power in the building. So, as any decent DIYer would do, I decided to wire that sucker up myself.
So, I got busy and found some great tutorials on how to wire stuff like power panels, outlets, lights and switches. My teacher is a master electrician with over 26 years of experience and did a great job of presenting the lessons.
These days you can learn nearly anything on YouTube.
Another great learning experience is by finding a mentor or participating in an internship. There's nothing like experience as a teacher and most mentors have tons of battle-tested experience.
You can save yourself a lot of time, frustration and expense by hooking up with the right mentor.
Truth be told, most of my business successes have been possible because of some good training and mentoring from top players in the field.
One top shelf player comes to mind is Terry Dean. If you're not familiar with Mr. Dean, he's been at the Internet marketing game for a long, long time; since the mid-1990s.
Terry started from scratch and went from delivering pizzas to building several million-dollar on-line businesses.
Today he's one of the top internet marketing coaches and consultants.
Years ago, I attended his online Internet Marketing internship. It was awesome and one of the most instructive and useful marketing training that I'd even been part of. It cut light-years off the learning curve on how to successfully market a business both on-line and off.
Unfortunately, Mr. Dean has since discontinued that program but still offers other training and coaching programs. Google Terry Dean and you'll find them.
The point here is find someone you trust and look up to and see if they offer training in the field of your choice.
If you don't want to go the online route, check your local community college and see what programs of interest they offer. There may even be local businesses that offer various internships that could pave the way for you.
Basically, the world is truly your oyster and you can learn and achieve nearly anything you want. Just go after it.
I believe you'll find a wealth of return on your investment, if properly applied. Get busy and start learning something new this year.
So, until next time... have a peaceful and profitable 2018!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9858805

Your Life in Advertising: It Starts Today

2018-01-07T17:06:00.001-08:00

Dear friend,

Today starts an exciting, new day. Today is the day you'll be free of bad, non-productive advertising. I'm going to take you on a short journey to advertising profits.

If you've been following me, you may recall my article about firing up your inner salesman. And I offered a free copywriting checklist to help get you up to speed.

Today I'd like to take a slightly different tact and get into the inner game or mindset of being a "sales" organization rather than a "technical" organization.

Keep in mind I'm addressing you the business owner wanting to grow your business to the fullest capacity. This could apply to fortune 500 companies as well but I'm primarily talking to small businesses with sales under 50 million dollars.

What's Your Plan?

Let's start by talking about your basic business premises. Ask yourself "where do I want to go"? Do you want your business to give you more free time? Do you want more prospects, profits, how about some more sales?

These questions may seem too simple or even silly, but you'd be surprised how many business owners I consult with that have no clue (or clear cut goals) who they compare to other businesses or how to gain a true competitive advantage over the competition.

It's funny that we humans can figure out some of the most complex things ever but overlook the obvious and simple ones. And it's oftentimes the simple and obvious located right under your nose that can give you that unfair advantage.

Don't beat yourself up... we ALL do this, myself included!

To illustrate my point consider these examples:

Modern flushing toilets were invented in 1775. Toilet paper didn't make an appearance till 1857.
The year was 2000 BC. That was great year because ice cream made its debut. But oddly the ice cream cone didn't come around till some 3900 years later.

So let's look at your business and see how we can make some obvious connects that could seriously boost your profits. Once you have a concrete idea or goal for business growth, you can now make a plan to get there.

Let's look at...

How Many Ways You Can Increase Your Business

Yes, this one is a tricky one. Think about all of the ways... 50? 100? Maybe 500? Yeah, mind boggling, right?

Here's some good news...

There are only three ways to increase your business: Count 'em... just three...

Increase the number of customers.
Increase average sale per customer.
Increase the number of times the customer buys from you.

Pretty cool, huh? You need only to deal with these three basic categories. That's it! Your business will grow exponentially if you begin to combine these three categories.

Cool, right?

Hey, if you need help with this, call me! It's what I love doing!

Now that we have this out of the way let's talk about how to get your advertising to pay off. It's really simple. Drum roll, please... it's all about salesmanship. And I'm going to show you how to inject some serious salesmanship in every ad you create. And it's very easy to do.

I learned this trick from John Carlton, one of favorite mentors. And I forget who taught it to him, Gary Halbert I believe. No matter, cuz now you're going to learn it.

But first, you must realize that advertising is (or should be) nothing more than "salesmanship multiplied." I've ranted about this many, many times. Advertising is NOT about entertainment, being cute, or artistic. No! It's about selling your stuff! That's it!

OK. Enough!

Think about how your best salesperson presents a live, sales pitch in front of his/her prospect, then applying this to a print ad, or landing page or whatever medium you choose.

How To Write A Great Ad In The Quickest Amount of Time Humanly Possible

Are you ready for it? OK, here's how to do it. Go fetch your best salesperson within your organization. Now ask him/her to give you a sales pitch and record it! Yes, record their sales pitch while they are in full tilt "selling" action. It's best to record them while they are in front of an actual customer or prospect.

It may take a couple of times to shake out the jitters of "stage fright" but it's worth the effort. This recording is solid gold, my friend.

Once you've got a decent recording, then simply transcribe it to paper or your computer. This is the start of a very powerful and persuasive sales message. advertisement.

The job now is to edit out of the aaah's, um's, stuttering and irrelevant chatting.

Clean up the copy and smooth out the bumps where everything reads coherently. Next, put the copy in logical order. Use the prospect's questions to overcome objections.

Again, the idea is to translate your pitch onto paper. This is one of the most brilliant shortcuts to "writing" a good ad I've ever learned. And it works!

Be sure to add a paragraph that tells how to order and include your phone number, where to send money orders, checks, what credit cards you take and so on
.
OK. There you have it... the "magic system" for creating a decent ad (that'll beat your competitors advertising) in the fast time. Plus, it's easy to together and extremely effective.

Want to fix your marketing in 5 easy steps. Then, get this Free Marketing Power Tool that shows you how! Get it here: http://salesletterwriting.weebly.com/

How To Fire Up Your Advertising’s Inner Salesman

2015-09-28T11:14:00.003-07:00

Dear Colleague and Friend,

Sometimes I believe biz owners, entrepreneurs and even marketing folks are hypnotized to believe that traditional advertising makes sales and gives business a big ol boost.

Why? Simple! Just take a look at most of the advertising you see! Not to be crude or rude here, but tradition advertising sucks for most small businesses! Most of the time these ads couldn’t sell food to the starving. I’m serious!

The next time you’re bored just take a gander at some of the ridiculous advertising you see out there. Here’s what you’ll see . . .

Ads that are funny, cute and entertain.

Ads that delight and wow you.

Ads that are artistic.

Ads that try to build “brands.”

Guess what your advertising should be doing?

Making sales, right? Yeah, that’s correct my friend . . . Sales! Sales! Sales! Boy, that’s a dirty 5 letter word, eh?

Sometimes you got to get over your traditional ad agency and fire up your inner salesman!

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m doing here. It’s not trashing anyone’s efforts to create advertising. Not at all! After we have been ‘brain-washed’ to believe Madison Avenue or traditional type advertising is how it’s supposed to be.

I certainly didn’t start out creating great ads. It’s taken me years to figure it all out thanks to a hand full of mentors. What’s more is that I’m still learning, testing and developing what brings in sales.

I’m not “picking” on you personally. I just want to open your eyes to a new world of advertising that brings you results. Results that you can count, track and take all the way to the bank.

After all . . .

Can you really afford to spend bucketsful of advertising cash to entertain, look pretty or build a brand? If you are like most of us, the answer is a big ol “NO!”

All of your advertising should carry its weight and earn its keep . . . just like your sales staff do or should do. After all you wouldn’t send out your sales people dressed like clowns, singing and dancing at your prospects now would you?

I think NOT!

You’d want to present your very best case for your products or services. And this is exactly what your ad should do too!

Your ads and other marketing materials should paint a pleasing picture of what your service or product will do for your prospects and clients. They would explain why your company is the most logical choice, the most obvious choice in the market place over all of the other choices given to them.

Explain to your prospects how your company is different (better, more affordable, better guarantee, etc.) And how you are the logical solution to their most pressing problem. And it should do this in a fashion as though you were speaking to them in person. In other words you ads should sound like the way you normally talk. No pompous words. No $10 words. No self-aggrandizing talk.

It’s not about YOU! It’s about what you can DO for your CUSTOMERS!

Marching Orders . . .

This article just scratches the surface. If all of this is puzzling to you don’t worry. And don’t be too hard on yourself. After all most folks don’t really know the difference between a good ad and a bad one. Sadly, most so-called advertising experts wouldn’t know a good ad even if it slapped them in the face.

But hopefully this short article will shed some light on writing good advertising.

It’s like we are all programmed to believe that we understand advertising. Think of the massive amounts of advertising we are force-fed daily.

And here’s the real kicker . . . Most of the advertising you are drenched with is put out by Madison Avenue type agencies who do not have a clue about salesmanship or what makes humans tick. In most cases, these creatives wouldn’t know a good ad if it walked up to them and tapped them on the shoulder.

No point to beat a dead horse but here’s why most advertising does not work:

· Folks will not buy because you’re clever or funny or artistic.

· Folks will not buy because you’ve got a great slogan.

· Folks will not buy because you brag and tell them how great you are.

· Folks will not buy because you have a great service or product.

Nadda chance (remember the clown?). You don’t have to look far to find boatloads of products that clowns that couldn’t close the deal. The only way products or services get sold by ads is because the ad is a master salesman in print.

Here’s A Basic Check List For Good Advertising

The next time you’re in doubt about whether you have a good ad or a bad one, run it through this basic check list.

1. Who are you? I really want to know? Ok this simply means know thy prospect/customer/client. Remember you are writing to your ‘average prospect’. Who is she/he? It’s beyond the scope of this article to go into market research here but suffice it to say you need to understand your clients’ needs, wants, hurts, and problems!

2. Grab their attention. Remember how I mentioned the bombardment of marketing messages we encounter every day? Well, if you want to stand out and gain favorable attention you must speak directly to your prospects wants and needs. We are all in various “zombie” states of unconsciousness. So you gotta shake folks out of their stooped state.

3. Tell a complete sales story. Give folks solid reasons why they should buy from you and not the competition. List out features and benefits of what you have to offer. Let them know you understand their problem and how you can be the solution to this problem. Then make ‘em an offer they can’t refuse.

4. Close the deal. Very important and what separates the wheat from the chaff. And what separates direct response advertising from Madison Ave. advertising. Good advertising always has a response device. Ask for the order. Tell prospects exactly what to do . . . Visit our store, click here to order, or whatever action you want to achieve.

Keep in mind this is by no way a complete copywriting check list. Sometimes all you need to do is “just sell the damn thing” as the late Gary Halbert would say.

Till next time.

Peace,

Emette Massey

P.S. Get your FREE Copywriting Check List that expands on this article. Just shoot me an email at: eemassey@yahoo.com and I’ll get it to you right after my afternoon nap!

The Secrets Of Writing Attention Grabbing Headlines

2015-05-16T18:30:00.002-07:00

Dear Marketing Superstar,

Emette here. And today I’d like to talk about how to create eye-ball grabbing headlines. You know the kind that sucks in your reader to the page like a F5 tornado.

So let’s start with the basics. Writing headlines can actually be fun . . . once you know the secrets. So let’s start with a few basics.

This may come as a surprise but according to a few top-shelf marketing gurus, your headline is NOT the most crucial part of the ads you write. “What? Are you kidding me? Headlines are not the most important part of my ad? What, are you crazy?”

Yeah, I maybe a little nuts. But hear me out. I promise you’ll never think about ad writing the same way again.

Before you can create that killer, attention-grabbing headline you got to do a little detective work first. Before writing a single syllable of copy dig in and think about your prospect and the overall big idea or appeal. Your big idea will be the springboard from which your copy will flow from.

Now this may sound obvious but if you select the wrong appeal your promotion is going to bomb . . . no matter how brilliant the copy.

For example, send a letter offering a hi-end investment newsletter subscription to a paycheck to paycheck blue collar worker . . . and watch it get trashed fairly quickly. I’m sure you get the point.

As you can figure it all starts with really knowing your prospect and the market. Learn what the core desires and advantages the prospect wants to gain. I won’t go into a lot details about market research here but you do need to know who you are writing to.

Once you’ve nailed down who you are writing to you are now ready to bounce around some ideas about your prospect, your product and your promotion. All this leads up to creating a killer headline.

Let’s look at a few effective headline appeals.

Before I get into this here, keep in mind most writers do not spend enough time fleshing out a killer headline. They simply slap one together and call it a day. Please don’t let this be you (or your copywriter, or ad agency).

The main purpose of the headline is to do two jobs and do it quickly. It’s a noisy world out there and your headline must cut through the noise, grab the attention of your audience and pull them into the ad.

Grabbing your reader’s attention through all the noise is easy. Just shout out their name. You know something like, “Hey Jimmy Rae! Over here!”

BAM! Your headline just cut though all of that noise and clutter and you, my friend just got Jimmy’s attention.

So using a person’s name in your headline is one of the strongest appeal your sales letter could ever possess. In some cases response can go up as much as 30% . . . just by personalizing your letter.

But what if you can’t use personalization like in newspaper or magazine ads? Not to worry. You can use . . . drum roll please . . .

“Trigger Words”

Yes, trigger words to the job nearly as effectively. What the heck are trigger words? Trigger words are direct, shorthand like words that naturally flag your attention and describe the very thing you’re interested in.

For example let’s say you’re needing a crackerjack business consultant to pull you out of a tight spot . . . the words “skilled”, “professional”, or “pioneers in . . .” will likely gain your attention.

Likewise if you’ve taken a new job out of state and you need to sell your home quickly then you’ll most likely respond to words like “insider home seller secrets” and “Sell Your Home Quickly Without Giving Away Equity”.

The name of the game here is Targets! You shouldn’t care if anyone outside your prime prospects see your ad. It matters not! Again, learn what’s important to your prime targets and appeal to them.

Here’s A Few Examples:

One of my fav mentors, John Carlton is a master at incorporating hooks within the headline. Check out these examples:

“Put me in a tee box with Tiger Woods and I’ll outdrive him every time!”

How A Skinny Little Gold Genius From California Accidentally Started Hitting 425-Yard Tee Shots!

Free Stock Trading Secrets of A Filthy-Rich Wall Street Outlaw!

World Famous Street-Fighter Will Give You A FREE GUN . . . Just to Prove He Can Take It Away From You Bare-Handed As Easy As Candy From A Baby!

Want more headline ideas?

Many of the top-shelf copywriters and marketers have praised COSMO for great headline and copy ideas. Keep in mind Cosmopolitan Magazine is not just a shelf magazine but also a checkout magazine. So the cover blubs have to grab readers’ attention in the grocery store checkout line.

Here’s a tiny sample . . .

Get Rid of Muffin Top. 7 Belly Blasting Tricks.

Killer Cocktail. How a popular drink could kill you in your sleep.

HIS #1 SEX WISH. 71 Guys Crave This Move. You’re Gonna Want to Drop the Magazine and Do It On The Spot.

Gut Feelings You Should Never Ignore.

Lose Weight While You Eat – 9 Belly Shrinking Foods.

What You Should Never Let Your Gyno Do.

5 Things That Can Blow A Job Interview.

That’s just a teeny, tiny list. Want more? Well all righty then. I’ve put together a “Headline Starter Kit” just for you. And here’s the best part . . . It’s completely FREEEEEE! No strings attached! Just email me at eemassey@yahoo.com and ask for it!

Till next time.

Peace,

Emette Massey

P.S. Time is running out so get your FREE Headline Starter Kit. Email me at eemassey@yahoo.com to get your free headline starter kit. I promise you want regret it!

This Persuasion Skill Could Set You Freee!

2015-04-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Biz Friend,

If you’re a contractor, doctor, internet marketer, freelance copywriter, electrician, plumber, chiropractor, lawyer or nearly any other service provider you can think of and you depend on paying customers to float your boat, then this article could change your world . . . in a very good way!

Read on to see what the fuss is about!

I feel your pain! You’re doing your best to stay on top of your game. You’ve read all the current top business books on sales and marketing.

You’ve even hired marketing consultants secretly praying for a marketing miracle but nothing seems to work long term.

Now you’re frustrated and nearly ready to throw in the towel but you know something has got to give. Deep down inside you know the answer, the solution to the marketing promise land is out there somewhere.

So what gives?

Many business owners just like you have asked that very same question. Fortunately for some, they were able to crack the code. They learned the power persuasion secrets allowed their business to take flight and grow like crazy.

Take a close look at some of the smartest companies in your industry. What you’ll find is a common denominator that separates them from nearly all the others. These guys seem to be doing everything right and reap the rewards of success.

And this common denominator these smart companies understand and use is the techniques of power persuasion!

Let’s go below and take a closer look, shall we?

You know there’s been a ton upon tons of books written about persuasion. Funny thing is most are filled with an abundance of jargon, fluff and overly complicated explanations.

You could spend a lifetime going through all of the material of this fascinating subject and still not have a simple, clear understanding of persuasion and influence—until now!

As you can see not only is it frustrating trying to figure it out, it’s also sucking away your time and energy. Fear not my friend, there’s a better way.

The good news is you don’t have to drain your life away to become a powerful persuader. In fact is it is simple once you understand the basics.

It took me years to learn persuasion. And even then I didn’t connect all the dots until I stumbled on the . . .

“One-Sentence Persuasion Course”

This short, quick read infamous course makes connecting the dots all too easy. You’ll be a master persuader in literally minutes.

Think of how you could use your new biz power tool to gain more customers, more sales and lead the pack! Heck, this new tool could help you gain respect with coworker, business associates and even family members.

Soon you’ll be in possession of an infamous, now hard to find “One-Sentence Persuasion Course” that can help you become a power-persuader in no time flat.

WARNING: Once you get this short course you’ll be able to tap a world you never knew existed. I will caution you however, these principles are extremely powerful and if used the wrong way could do serious damage.

In fact that why I’ve deliberately held off on making this special offer!

In this special report you’ll soon possess contains the exact 27 words that could literally change your world and set you free but also learn all of the basics of effective persuasion in about 15 minutes or less.

Once you finish this short persuasion course and apply what you learn, you’ll instantly become an almost frighteningly powerful persuader.

It’s a fact that most marketers need to connect with others at some time or the other. These five insights that are contained in this course will allow those connections to pay off handsomely.

But here’s the best of all . . . for a limited time you can get this special report for no cost or obligation. That’s right it’s free with no springs attached.

Here’s the deal. Just email me at eemassey@yahoo.com and put OSP in the subject line so I know that you’re real and not a machine.

Pretty simple, right?

Oh and by the way. I do respect your privacy. Your email address is safe and will never be sold, rented, or otherwise shared with any 3rd parties. PERIOD!

Enjoy,

Emette E. Massey

P.S. Time is running out so act now while this offer is still open. Email me at eemassey@yahoo.com to get your free persuasion course. I promise you want regret it.

“When The Student Is Ready, The Teacher Will Appear”

2015-04-07T10:17:00.003-07:00

Hi Friends and Colleagues,

Have you ever been struck with an idea that’s was so profound but yet so simple that it actually hurled you to action?

Well, it just happened to me—hence writing this post.

I know you’ve heard this cliché: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Sadly enough for years I didn’t really understand what that meant.

Several years back a big ‘ol light bulb smacked me and meaning became crystal clear. I can’t recall exactly what I’d been toiling over but all of the sudden the answer to my problem came to my aid.

It’s funny as a youngster nearly everyday life is huge. You live, learn; explore new ideas and exciting frontiers, and all of the sudden you wake up older—much older.

Where have all the fun, excitement and adventure gone? It’s also like as you get older your creative juices sort of dry up and evaporate.

It’s sad. But here’s the good news you can wake up that creative energy you once possessed and start living life to the absolute best—again.

A few folks keep life at full tilt no matter their age. A few examples I can think of are Richard Branson, the billionaire who’s borderline daredevil and according to stories I’ve read an all-around decent guy.

Then you’ve got Clayton Makepeace, multi-millionaire copywriter whose passions are roaring through the mountains in his tricked out new Porsche and tooling along with his wife (each on their big block Harleys)—just to name a few. If you read his emails, you know clearly life for and everyone surround him couldn’t be better.

Another prime example would be John Carlton another mega-millionaire copywriter who lives life deeply by cranking out tunes on his classic Fender guitar or simply sharing insights and stories from his blog. John is one of my favorite teachers and I love reading his blog. Here again, you know he’s figured out how to make life a holiday on earth.

So what do these guys and a few others have in common besides lots of money?

It’s simple. They’re all tuned to all the good stuff life has to offer. They’re living life deep—without hesitation, without regrets, and at full throttle. These guys are moving forward all the time.

But here’s the thing. From reading and learning about them (and I suspect others who live the “good life”, living life to the fullest is not all about money.

Yes, these guys expect to win in all areas— financially professionally, and spiritually.

Yes they appreciate the fact money can provide comforts and put them in a position where they are able to give back to so many others (all of these guys each in their own way do this regularly).

Best I can see, money (and lots of it) is simply a by-product of living life passionately. Maybe I’m waaay off base here but the way I see it the more passion and purpose you have coupled with action and persistence, the more resources (i.e. cash, like-minded people, materials, etc) you attract. It’s a natural phenomenon.

These guys seemed to have discovered a single universal truth: passion, action and persistence equal living deep.

And I’ve been noticing something very weird—if you really dig deep and find your passion, your purpose and take immediate action (even if you’re not completely ready) and persist then the universe comes to your aid.

This is so cool. Because for years, I’ve been “preparing” but never really putting the full wind in my sails. And this was killing me. I never really “moved” or completed anything. I was like a ship without any sails or rudder. And when you stay in the harbor too long you begin to attract baggage that keeps you moored.

At some time you must scrap off the barnacles set a course and set sail. It may take a while but you’ll soon see that port of call you set out for. And it’s great along the way!

My barnacles were thinking I needed to possess a master’s knowledge of the task at hand before setting sail. This is bullshit. Certainly you need to be prepared and do your due diligence but I learned wealthy folks don’t spent eternity getting ready—they seize the opportunity and move forward correctly their course as needed.

Passion, action and persistence is key to living life deep thus enjoying all the natural perks like excellent friendships, experiences, and yes money that come with it.

Learning how to wake up the student in me has been one the most profound life lessons I’ve ever learned. It’s absolutely amazing how the universe so willing shares her secrets with open arms—if you’ll just let her.

One of the most difficult parts (at least for me) has been finding my true passion and purpose. With all the possibilities life can hand out it can be daunting to select which one to pursue.

This is not to say that I have so many talents. It’s that I have so many interests.

Perhaps you too have many interests and find it difficult to settle down to only one. Don’t let this get in your way.

Think about it. You could do or be anything your heart desires—and the possibilities are nearly endless. And if you really want you don’t have to settle on just one vocation.

One example that comes to mind is Russell Conwell who started out as a lawyer, writer and later became a Baptist minister. Later he founded Temple University and become its first president. Who says you couldn’t follow a similar path of multiple passions.

The point is to allow the universe to fuel your full potential and go with it. We are all unique and each has a purpose to fulfill. Find it and set a course of action—even if you’re not completely “ready.”

Why not take just a few quiet moments and think really think about your true talents, your passions and desires. Write these down. Don’t fit money into the equation—just reflect on what you love doing. Let your mind serve you to its fullest—without any judgment and see what happens.

I’d enjoy hearing your comments. So let me know how things turn out right here in this post.

Warmly,

Emette E. Massey