World Copywriting Blog

The Business Side of Podcasting - Teleseminar TONIGHT

Just a quick reminder that Alex Mandossian and Paul Colligan are presenting a $1 seminar on podcasting tonight.

This one will be different than the one Paul and I did last week, because Alex and Paul will get into the nitty-gritty of how to start collecting monthly recurring subscription revenue by selling your content as a podcast to your list.

I urge you to listen. I'll be on the call as an attendee. It's that important. New stuff.

Especially valuable if you are an info marketer.

As an added bonus, you can try out a full-featured version of the Premium Podcast service (which lets you sign up paid subscribers to your podcast) for a full 45 days!

It's all included in the $1 registration fee.

To sign up, go to: http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/podcast

See you there - 5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Requiem for a Shooting Star: Those in the Know Reflect on the Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson

This afternoon I attended a disturbing and satisfying meeting at the San Francisco Public Library.  Eight people who knew the late Hunter S. Thompson well shared memories and insights about the writer (Hell's Angels; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; The Curse of Lono) in a tribute that was one-of-a-kind for me.

Hunter lived a difficult life, whether in success or in failure.  He had heaps of both; everyone agreed that he considered the first fifteen years of his writing career to be abject failure.

I'm pretty emotional about it and I don't have much to say.  His hilarious life, rich with drugs, booze and guns, sounded nerve-scrapingly painful to those close to him and, you would have to conclude, thus to himself.

But there's one thing I want point out that every copywriter, and every writer, should take to heart and spend a long, long time thinking about.

His friend Susie Bright, author, screenwriter and commentator on all things sexual, pointed out that even at the dawn of "The New Journalism" in the late 60s and early 70s, two of the leading lights, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe, always kept themselves a little removed from their subjects.

Not Hunter.

"He was never removed from it," Susie said.  "He was it -- full-tilt boogie."

She's right.  To merge so fully with your subject, your topic, your story... how painful is that?

But what good writing.  What congruent advocacy.  What memorable prose.

And then the Shooting Star took his final shot... and all we have left of him, is memories.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

A Kinder, Gentler Approach To Copywriting And Marketing That Actually Makes Money -- LOTS of Money

Is kick-butt, take-no-prisoners, grab-them-by-the-throat-until-they-buy Internet marketing starting to wear a little thin on you?

Uh-huh.  I thought so.

My friend Alice Seba -- who is also an EXCELLENT copywriter -- has a different approach.

Brace yourself.  It's called...

The Internet Marketing Sweetie approach.

Now, if I didn't know Alice, I would toss this in the pile euphemistically known around here as "later" (a/k/a "never" or "forgetaboutit.")

But she's extremely successful -- financially -- using her "Sweetie" approach.

Now, I really goofed on telling you about this.  I got so involved with the podcasting teleseminar and follow-up that I never got around to
posting in time about Alice's program... and now it's too late.

To listen to it live, that is.

However...

It turns out I'm not the only Internet Marketer who is mailing a little late on this.

Another person, whose initials are A.M., did the same.

So both of us are in Alice's doghouse... but...

Sweetie that she is, she is graciously allowing you to sign up for immediate notification when the mp3 recording of her seminar is available.

Need I say more?

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/sweetie

Needless to say, she's giving this great information away for free.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Free Download of Podcast Teleseminar

Paul Colligan and I had a rockin', sockin', action-packed teleseminar last night on the promise and possibilities of podcasting!  I learned some valuable new marketing strategies for my own podcast in development that I will certainly use.

If you'd like to download a free mp3 of the 1 hour, 5 minute seminar go to:

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/podcast-recording

Here is a preview of a couple offers from the call:

1) THE OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE

You can get a 45-day trial of the Premium Podcast service (which allows you to charge clients for your podcast), a teleseminar next week with Paul, Alex Mandossian and Mike Stewart, AND a free bonus from me, a $49 ebook called "Multi-Million-Dollar Secrets of Selling Information Online... "

... all for $1!

Just buy from this link...

http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/podcast

and email me your email receipt - david@davidgarfinkel.com - to claim your free bonus!

2) THE OFFER MOST PEOPLE SHOULD REFUSE

The Premium Podcast Network is a group of experienced audio content producers with a proven track record selling quality content (as speeches, audio CDs, or teleseminars)... who would like to have their paid podcasts sold by affiliates!

It's a big concept and I've written up a Web page.  If after you've read the above paragraph you're pointing your own fingers and your chest and exclaiming, "Hey!  That's me!", then take a look at the Web page I've put together about the Network:

http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/podcast-network-info

Again, this is not for everyone.  But if it's for you, jump on it before Paul jacks up the price!

... Anyway, enjoy the teleseminar!

Cheers,
David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Important Podcast Seminar Wednesday

Podcasting is about to become an extremely important part of my business, and there's a good chance it will become an important part of your business in the near future as well.

On Wednesday, May 18 at 6 pm Pacific (9 pm Eastern), I have as a special guest Paul Colligan, who is at the cutting edge of Podcasting today. I'm hosting a free teleseminar, but you must register to attend:

http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/podcast-teleseminar

Just in case you didn't know, podcasting is using self-recorded mp3s and the Internet to send your own audio messages to subscribers, who can automatically download every new 'show' you do with free 'aggregator' software like iPodder.

How important is podcasting?

I don't even have most of the data at my fingertips yet, but from the little I know I have already made considerable changes to my business.

I am planning in the very near future to produce regular free and paid podcasts.

PAID podcasts???

It hasn't been possible until now, but...

... Paul is the guy who invented the technology that will allow me to do this. He'll talk about when paid is better for your business, and when free is better. And that's only a small part of what we'll cover.

'RADIO STATION PREMIERES FRESH FORMAT: PODCASTING'

That's not an imaginary news headline. That's from the lower left-hand corner of page D1, today's San Francisco Chronicle, May 17, 2005.

Infinity Broadcasting Corp. has just launched -- I mean yesterday, Monday -- the world's first all-podcast radio station, KYCY 1550 on your AM dial.

Infinity knocked popular talk-show host Don Imus OFF THE AIR to launch its pioneering podcast experiment.

I'm telling you, this is big. Just at the beginnning. Something to watch and be part of, if it fits your business model.

Find out on Wednesday -- sign up now at

http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/podcast-teleseminar

A Surprising Copywriting Test Finding That Skyrockets Sales Response - Exclusive Information

Yesterday on a private teleseminar my friend copywriter Michel Fortin revealed some secrets from test results that... well, there's no other way to put it... what he said made me dizzy.

As you probably know, Michel tests things like colors in headlines, wordings in guarantees, fonts and indentation, and width of text on a page... as well as the 'normal' things like headlines, offers and prices.

What I'm getting at is, for my money, no one has better information on what sells and what doesn't regarding copy on the Internet than Michel Fortin does.

THE 'LITTLE TRICK' THAT INCREASES RESPONSE FOUR-FOLD!

I can't reveal most of what Michel said yesterday at this time.  But I did tell him right in front of everyone listening to the call that I was going to share one thing he said with you... it's too good for me to keep it to myself, and there's an important new development related to this test discovery of Michel's.

Here's what he said:

On a sales page, when you get to your 'close,' or ordering instructions, if you put a screen-capture video up showing and telling your prospect EXACTLY how to fill out your order form, and how to download your product (if you're selling a digital product)...

... your sales response goes up by a FACTOR OF FOUR!

Hard to believe.  But Michel tested it.  And after thinking it through, I believe it's true.

Think about that.  Instead of getting 25 cents per visitor to your Web page, you get a dollar.  Or, instead of getting $1, you get $4.  Instead of getting 0.35% response, you get 1.4% response.

Just by adding a screen-capture video to your order page, or to the ordering instruction on the bottom of your sales letter, you can quadruple your response.

WHY I'M TELLING YOU THIS

Monday night my friend Tracy Childers told me a new product he and Armand Morin were working on, was about ready to be released.

He asked me if I would let you (as a reader of the World Copywriting Blog) know about it.

I love the product.  I'm one of the people on the Web site who gave it a four-star, I'm-crazy-about-it, nothing-held-back testimonial.

The product is a set of screen capture tools that, to be blunt, puts Camtasia and other product like it to shame.  The reason is Tracy's suite of products costs less, is much easier to use, and can do a lot more things for you.

But... I wasn't going to tell you about it.

Because as much as I like the new product, and will be using it extensively myself for creating new information products for the World Copywriting Institute, I honestly didn't see the tie-in for copywriting.

Until now.

So at this point, I would be remiss if I DIDN'T tell you about the product, Screen Cam Generator Suite.  After all, one simple use of it can increase your sales on any Web site by a factor of four.

Take a look.  Here's the link...

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/screencam

This is something I'm pretty sure you'll want to know about.

David Garfinkel, Publisher
World Copywriting Newsletter