Not that long ago I was in the radio business.

And I saw the handwriting on the wall that told me radio was in big trouble.

I began running around telling all my radio comrades that we needed to change the way we did business, or we were in big trouble.

Of course, they didn’t want to hear that – so they didn’t.

In fact, I was told my fears were silly – iPods and Satellite radio and the Internet were no threat to radio at all. That’s what my corporate bosses told me, anyway.

And when I tried to explain that it wasn’t fear that was motivating me, but rather the recognition of a trend that was inevitable… well, some of them laughed.

They’re not laughing any more.

I’ve been out of the radio business for almost 4 years now, but hardly a week goes by that one of my old comrades doesn’t call me and tell me how the margins are continuing  to shrink, listenership continues to drop like a lead balloon, and corporate failures and layoffs are coming at an ever-increasing rate of speed.

There is good news in all this.

Radio’s answer is a simple one… but not easy.

It’s the same answer I was touting 5 years ago when I decided to get out that game altogether.

Here it is: make a better product.

So what does that look like?

• Pay the expense to hire good talent – and let them make radio shows that are compelling and entertaining.
• Stop playing so many commercials (in fact, I suggest you stop playing any commercials and invent a new revenue model… but that’s an entire post of its own and, I’m sure, too scary for radio folks to even contemplate)
• Decide you’re in it for the long haul, and stop managing to next week’s “revenue number”
• Forget the ratings game and focus on the results you get for your clients instead
• Serve the community you operate in – with real community service, not the usual “lip service”

That ought to get you started, radio folks.

And it applies to almost every other suffering business or industry; you probably already know what you need to do.

The problem is, it’s simple… but it’s not easy.

Chris Guillebeau made a home-run post on his Art of Non-Conformity blog today. Here’s a taste…

Sorry I was rude to you the other day, someone said. I’ve just been so busy.

Guess what: we’re all busy!

Every one of us. It’s not a very exclusive club.

And here’s another reality check…

Click Here To Read The Rest

Lots of people want a simple “step by step guide” to making money online.

In the words of Pink Floyd, “I got some bad news for you, sunshine…”

There ain’t one.

At least, not one that works all the time, every time.

You can learn steps that help.

You can learn models and structures that will help you short-cut the hard parts.

But no system, method or model is going to work every time.

And for darn sure it’s not going to be easy.

Now that you’ve had a dose of harsh reality, here’s the good news:

Yes, you do have to work hard to succeed online – but not nearly as hard as you think. The closest I have found to a “sure fire formula” (absolutely free):

1. Find a group of people with a common problem that causes them deep emotional pain.
2. Find a solution to their problem.
3. Put the solution in front of the people.

There’s more to it, of course… but those are the basics.

Get busy.

Most copywriters and marketers would agree  that if you could read your prospect’s mind, you could be a lot more successful writing copy for – and selling stuff to – those prospects.

Because you’d know their world.

You’d understand their pain.

You’d know their deepest fears, and you’d understand their highest aspirations.

So how do you do that? Here are 7 practical tips. They sound simple, but when you actually use them their impact can be profound.

1. Learn everything you can about your prospect. If you’re in direct marketing, it’s easy: just look at their data cards. When you have demographics, you can infer a lot about the “average” person who represents the group. If you don’t have that kind of data… guess. It’s a lot more accurate  than what most marketers do (which is: they don’t bother with any of this stuff).
2. Imagine yourself living your prospect’s typical day. Go through it step by step – from rising out of bed in the morning to getting back into the sack at night. Use all five of your senses: what do you see, hear, feel, taste, touch and smell? Make notes.
3. Think about their biggest fear – the one that wakes them up at 3 in the morning in a cold sweat.
4. Think about  their highest aspiration – what do they dream of? Not the little dreams (the ones we all tell our buddies), but the big dream in their “secret heart” (the dream that they don’t dare tell anyone).
5. Go where they live. Find a neighborhood that is like your prospect’s and walk through it (driving doesn’t work – looking at it through a window is just more TV… nice to look at but not REAL). Talk to people.
6. Read what they read. Read their magazines, newspapers, blogs and Twitter.
7. Watch what they watch. Watch the TV shows your prospects watch. Especially the ones  that don’t interest you.

If you do this, you’ll develop the apparent ability to read your prospect’s mind.

And you’ll sell more.

But something funny about this is: you’ll also most likely care more. And that’s far more important than any selling technique.

The world’s a funny place, ain’t it?

Seth Godin points to this incredible resource for browsing vintage ads. Just type in your subject and the Vintage Ad Browser shows you the results (this search on “success” turned up and ad for Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, for instance).

This is a resource you’ll have fun playing with – and it may spark some profitable ideas, too.

My answer: never. Here’s why…

Disputes of almost any kind always seem to devolve when one party questions the motives of another party.

The funny thing is, it’s virtually impossible to know for certain someone else’s motive for any given action or statement.

“Thought experiment” to see if I’m right: the next time you think you know why someone says or does a particular thing, stop and see if you can come up with 2 or 3 other explanations for why they may have said or done that same thing.

An even more interesting (and instructive) “thought experiment”: try coming up with explanations that are only positive in the motives you attribute to the other person… and then come up with an equal number of explanations that are only negatively motivated. Compare the two lists, and ask yourself: which ones look like the motives I most often instinctively ascribe to other people?

What did you learn?

A million reasons.

Most notable: people don’t read them.

Marketers, take note.

Because if people don’t thoroughly and attentively read the instructions that come with something they’ve already paid for… what makes you think they’re going to thoroughly and attentively read your ad?

Something to think about.

A lot of business discussions include the phrase, “all things being equal”.

According to Wikipedia, this phrase comes to us from the Latin C?ter?s paribus which  literally translates as “with other things the same,” or “all other things being equal or held constant.”

When used in business discussions, it’s usually code language that means, “If everything goes our way” or “if nothing unexpected happens”.

And it usually precedes making a decision in favor of mediocrity or compromise. Often both.

Don’t fall for it.

Proceed on the assumption that all things are never equal – because they rarely are.

Mint.com makes everything about monitoring and managing your finances super-easy.

The site is a marvel of simplicity – simple copy, simple navigation, simple user interface.

What’s amazing  is: the conceptual “sale” they have to make to get you to share your financial information with them (necessary for their site to be of any real use to you) is a complex sale. They have to overcome a very rational fear on the part of their prospect (”why should I give these guys all my passwords? What will they do with that information?”).

Add to that the following complexity: after they’ve convinced you to give up all your usernames and passwords for all your financial accounts, then they have to interact with all those other websites to aggregate the data into a very user-friendly online “dashboard” of your finances.

It all appears very simple to the end user.

But it’s all very hard to do.

And they appear to be making a fortune.

So how does one do such a thing?

1. First, lots of thinking and planning.
2. Then lots of hard work.
3. Make a big investment in infrastructure and programming.
4. Take a huge risk that it will all work.
5. Spend time and thought on marketing that is smart, effective… and simple.

Probably not what most entprepreneurs want to hear – especially the part about “thinking and planning” and “lots of hard work”.

But that’s how you make a  Mint (.com).

Many people want to know the “magic formula” is for writing web site and ad copy that sells.

If you’re one of those folks who would like to know that formula, I have some disappointing news: there isn’t one.

“But Ray,” I hear you say, “Haven’t you yourself  taught several different copywriting ‘formulas’?”

Yes.

But.

They are not “magic” and they don’t work universally.

What a formula can do is give you a basic structure on which to hang your “argument” (your logic for why someone should buy your stuff); what the formula cannot do is somehow magically compel people to buy something they don’t really want or need.

What a formula can’t do is teach you the fears and aspirations of your readers, so that your persuasion power comes from the point of intersection between your audience’s needs/desires and your product’s features/benefits.

Only you, as an empathetic writer, can do that.