Top Niche Ideas

What does a mafia boss know about marketing?

Lots. Read on to find out…

Do you remember in the movie “The Godfather” when Don
Corleone says, “I”m gonna make him an offer he can”t
refuse”?

And it’s this simple concept that’s the backbone of any
successful sales proposition you make. (However if I were
you, I’d probably leave out the threats of violence in your
sales piece.)

From now on, your job is to create such powerful offers
that anyone reading it would say to themselves, “My
goodness, I’d have to be a complete idiot not to take them
up on this deal!”

And creating a powerful offer like this is easier than you
think.

Let me share with you one of the most compelling offers
I’ve seen. It took a dying hotel on the wrong side of the
Vegas ’strip’, where you had to watch your wallet at every
turn, and transformed it into a super moneymaker.

This is from a very successful ad that used to run for Bob
Stupak’s Vegas World hotel. Listen to this deal and see if
you wouldn’t act on this even if you were just an
occasional gambler:

“Act now, to receive a virtually free Las Vegas vacation.
For $198 per person or $396 per couple I will:

1) Put you up in a luxurious mini suite in an exciting Las
Vegas hotel right on the famous strip.

2) I will give you free tickets to a show with name
entertainers.

3) I will put a chilled bottle of champagne in your room
for free.

4) I’ll let you drink as much as want for free, whether
you’re at the gaming tables, playing slots or in one of the
lounges.

5) I’ll hand you $1,000 of my money to gamble with for
free.

6) I’ll let you keep all your winnings.

7) I’ll guarantee you’ll win a color TV, VCR or a faux
diamond ring.

Obviously I’m not going to give this incredible deal to
everybody in the whole world. There can only be (small
number) of these vacation packages available. First come,
first served.”

If that’s not an irresistible offer, I don’t know what is.
The closer you can get to something like this, the more
customers you’ll have falling all over themselves to give
you their money.

Does this give you a few ideas?

========================
Using The Bonus Pile On
========================

Vegas World’s offer uses a concept I call “Bonus Pile On”.
And the way it works is to keep piling on bonus after bonus
until finally you have to say “no mas” and whip out your
charge card.

It was the same thing with the famous Ginsu knife
commercials a few years back. They used this technique
perfectly to sell millions of dollars of cutlery. The
announcer would say “And if you act now you’ll also
get…” and then about 15 different knives and kitchen
gadgets would pop up on the screen.

It made you think about how much value you were getting for
such a little price. That’s the power of the “bonus pile
on”.

So what’s the best way to start using this in your
business? Well, one of the best ways I know is using paper
and ink. You can give away a series of valuable reports
with any purchase. What’s more, you could even make this
information available as a download from your website so
you’d have zero distribution cost.

Or you could make deals with other businesses where they’d
let you give away a product or service from them to your
customers. If you really use your imagination here you’ll
come up with lots of ways to create a “bonus pile on”.

===============================
Make Prospects Take Action Now!
===============================

There’s no doubt about it – deep down, everyone of us is a
lazy procrastinator. That’s why you need some kind of
deadline or scarcity factor to make prospects take action
now. If your prospects believe an offer is going to be
around forever, there’s no reason to take action.

That’s the reason deadlines work so well. In one of my
businesses, I’ll stamp a red deadline on the order form for
the last day prospects get over $2,000.00 in free bonuses.
And believe me, it’s not unusual to get people ordering
right on the very last day of the deadline just because of
this stamp.

=======================
100% No-Risk Guarantee
=======================

Finally, the last component of a powerful offer is to make
your deal as risk-free as possible. Nobody wants to make a
mistake and be stuck with something that doesn’t deliver as
promised. That’s why you should make every effort to lift
the risk from the prospect and place it squarely on your
shoulders. Make a bold guarantee and make it for as long as
possible. If you have a quality product, you shouldn’t
worry because most often return rates will drop the longer
you extend guarantees for.

Another strategy to try is offering a 30-day “hold-your-
check or charge slip” trial. That means people will send
you checks postdated 30 days out or you won’t charge their
credit cards for 30 days. Joe Karbo used this to sell tens
of thousands of copies of his book “The Lazy Man’s Ways to
Riches”.

Now you have all the keys to creating your own irresistible
offer and watching your sales soar. Just keep adding value
and more bonuses until you come up with an offer than makes
your prospect feel guilty for not ordering.

(c) Surefire Marketing, Inc.

==========================================================
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites…and he still
doesn’t know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, including his
newest resource for online copywriting -
http://www.UltimateCopywritingWorkshop.com
==========================================================

Do you remember the stupid beer commercial a few years back
with the tagline “Why Ask Why?” Well, completely unknown to
the ad agency — they had almost stumbled onto a
breakthrough marketing concept.

Telling people the reason why you are doing something is
one of the most powerful influencers of human behavior.

Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. in his book “Influence: The
Psychology of Persuasion” talks about an experiment by
Harvard social psychologist, Ellen Langer, that concluded
people like to have a reason for what they do.

Her experiment consisted of people waiting in line to use a
library copy machine and then having experimenters ask to
get ahead in line.

The first excuse used was “Excuse me, I have five pages.
May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” This
request coupled with a reason was successful 94% of the
time. However when the experimenter made a request only:
“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
machine?” this request was only granted 60% of the time. A
significant drop.

Okay now for the shocker.

It may seem like the difference between those two requests
was the additional information of “because I’m in a rush”,
but that’s just not the case.

Because in a third experimenter, the experimenter asks
“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine
because I have to make some copies?” There’s no reason
mentioned or new information presented, just the words
“because”.

This time a full 93% of the people said yes simply due to
the word ‘BECAUSE’! And it didn’t even matter that there
was no reason given. Just the word because triggered a
magic response.

Using this psychological ‘trigger’ can massively increase
your Marketing success.

Here’s an example: John E. Powers, one of the top
copywriters in the 1900’s, wrote this ad for a Pittsburgh
department store in severe financial trouble:

“We are bankrupt. We owe $125,000 more than we can pay, and
this announcement will bring our creditors down on our
necks. But if you come and *buy* tomorrow, we shall have
the money to meet them. If not, we shall go to the wall.”

Instead of yelling ‘SALE’ like so many other stores would,
there’s a legitimate reason given why people should spend
their money at this store. And this ad was said to be
responsible for saving the store.

Another ad written by Powers, for a different merchant,
proclaimed “We have a lot of rotten raincoats we want to
get rid of.” This sold out the entire inventory of
raincoats by the next morning.

Max Sackheim, famous for the long-running ad “Do You Make
These Mistakes In English” and originator of the book-of-
the-month concept, says this: “Whenever you make a claim or
special offer in your advertising, come up with an honest
reason why, and then state it sincerely. You’ll sell many
more products this way.”

And this powerful strategy works just as well today.

Using this secret weapon for a medical equipment company, I
helped them produce a massive 1,073% return on investment
simply using “reason-why” copy.

The premise was how can we sell a product for the
incredibly low price of only $477? (Regularly this product
sells for about $695 – $895.) Then the ad went on to
explain that the reason why the price was so low was
because the manufacturer wanted to gain market share and
get nurses and doctors accustomed to using their product.
It was a huge winner and a big money-maker for the client.

So how can you apply all of this to your business? Easy.
Let’s say you have a slow time of year and you want to
increase your business during this period. Well, write a
simple letter to your customers making a special offer,
only good during your slow period.

Maybe you’ll throw in an extra free bonus, an extra
service, or a special discount simply because it is your
“slow time” and you need to pay your staff anyway.

Let people in “behind the scenes” at your company…

* Are you overstocked on merchandise because for some
reason customers only want the deluxe widget – but you
ordered tons of the basic one?

* Did you have a flood and you need to liquidate (pardon
the pun) your inventory?

* Do you need to raise cash so you can pay for your
nosejob?

Whatever the reason. Tell them the truth.

For some reason everyone wants to be mysterious about their
business. If you’re lowering the price nobody thinks you’re
doing it just because you’re “such a nice guy”. So let
people in the reason why.

I know this probably goes against every grain of business
sense, but I promise if you give people a good, believable
reason why they’ll respond with open wallets.

(c) Surefire Marketing, Inc.

==========================================================
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites…and he still
doesn’t know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling products. Plus his newest resource to cover 21
Psychological Hot Buttons is http://www.MindMotivators.com
==========================================================

Over 70 years ago, one man had the answer to increasing
almost any product’s sales and literally crushing the
competition.

His name?

Claude Hopkins. And today his advice is even more valuable
than it was during the 1920s.

Hopkins was one of the most famous ad men and really the
Father of modern advertising. His two books “My Life in
Advertising” and “Scientific Advertising” are worth reading
and re-reading.

If you read on, I’ll share with you one of Hopkins’
greatest secrets for attracting more business.

Listen closely – the secret is *EDUCATION*.

By educating a prospect about how things are done in your
business, even it’s the same exact thing any one of your
competitors could tell, will produce a tremendous selling
advantage.

Don’t believe me?

Look around at nearly all the advertising being done based
on the plea: “Buy my brand”, “Come to my store”, “Give me
the money which you give to others”. Typically this falls
in the category of boasting and bragging advertising.
Frankly, consumers don’t care one lick about you or your
company, they care about the benefits they’ll get from
dealing with you.

Let me share with you how Hopkins used this advertising
secret to rocket a so-so beer brand from 5th place into a
tie for 1st place in just a matter of months. Listen to
this:

Schlitz Beer hired Hopkins to increase their falling market
share. Every beer manufacturer at this time was screaming
“PURE” in their ads. In fact, companies were spending a
fortune just advertising this 4 letter word as big and as
bold as they could. They even took out double pages ads to
put that word in even bigger letters. All this shouting and
no explaining was making zero impressions on the buying
public. Nobody ever explained what ‘pure’ really meant
until Hopkins came in.

The first thing Hopkins did was take a factory tour. On
this tour he was shown plate-glass rooms where beer was
dripping over pipes. Inquiring the reason for this, Hopkins
was told that those rooms were filled with filtered air, so
the beer could be cooled without any impurities.

Next, he was shown huge expensive filters filled with
white- wood pulp that provided a superior filtering
process. The manufacturer then went on to explain how they
cleaned every pump and pipe, twice daily to assure purity.
And also how each bottle was sterilized not once or twice,
but four times before being filled with beer.

Then, Hopkins was shown the 4,000 foot deep artesian wells
dug to provide the cleanest and purest water available,
even though the factory was right on the shore of Lake
Michigan. (At this time Lake Michigan was not polluted and
could provide clean water.)

Finally, Hopkins was lead into a laboratory and was shown
the mother yeast cell, that was a product of 1,200
experiments to bring out the robust flavor. And he was told
all the yeast used in making Schlitz beer was developed
from that original yeast cell.

After his tour Hopkins exclaimed, “Why don’t you tell
people these things?”

The manufacturer’s response was because every beer
manufacturer does it the same way.

And to that Hopkins replied, “But, others have never told
this story…” And he went off to create an advertising
campaign explaining to people what makes Schlitz beer pure.
Once again he told the same story any brewer could have but
he gave a meaning to purity. And this is what took Schlitz
from 5th place to a tie for 1st place in market share.

Really, this whole process is just educating.

Educating prospects about the how’s, the why’s, the good,
the bad and the ugly. You simply cannot over educate
people.

Now maybe you’re thinking anything from the 1920’s can’t
possibly work today — WRONG!

Murray Raphel, a retail direct marketing consultant, tells
the story of how he was visiting one of his clients, Ethan
Allen Furniture, and he noticed carpenters in the back room
repairing furniture. He asked, “Do you make furniture
here?”

The reply from the manager of this store was, “No, those
are carpenters doing work on Ethan Allen wood furniture.”
He went on to explain how every customer is given a
lifetime guarantee on all their wood pieces. And he quickly
added, “But all Ethan Allen stores do this.”

But of course no other store advertises this fact.

Soon Raphel ran an ad stating *Every Piece of Ethan Allen
Wooden Furniture is Guaranteed For Your Lifetime!*

And wouldn’t you know it, a competitor soon ran the same
guarantee in their ad. But guess who got the credit for the
guarantee?

That’s right — the original store.

So here’s the bottom line: Take the time right now to write
down exactly what you do in your business (even if it’s the
exact same as any other competitor). Write down absolutely
everything and tell people everything. Don’t suffer from
the curse of assumption – let people know and they’ll knock
down your door to order!

(c) Surefire Marketing, Inc.

==========================================================
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites…and he still
doesn’t know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, which can be
found at http://www.SurefireMarketing.com
==========================================================

Many people say they can spot a good letter when they see
it, but the problem is when it comes down to writing one,
they simply freeze up. That’s why I want to take you behind
the scenes of a successful sales letter I wrote and
illustrate the thinking that goes into writing a killer
letter that generated a healthy 3810% ROI. This letter sold
all of the clients overstock merchandise and they even
created a waiting list.

You’ll find my comments in the side notes below so let’s
get started…

****

Can You Get A New $8,000 Power Table For $417?

——Side Note Comments——
First off, the headline is a grabber and makes people want
to read more. Anyone interested in your product at a
bargain price would certainly continue reading.
——End Comments——

Read The Amazing Facts To Find Out How…

——Side Note Comments——
Next, the subhead tells prospects that the answer is right
inside this letter if they keep reading.
——End Comments——

Dear Friend,

Yes, it’s absolutely true. You can really replace your old,
worn-out exam table and only pay $417 out of your pocket
(But only if you are one of the first 2 people to respond
to this letter.)

Let me explain.

——Side Note Comments——
Your first sentence is absolutely critical to your letter.
If your first sentence doesn’t make people want to keep
reading, you can expect your letter to end up in the
circular file. So make sure it keeps their interest piqued
and follow up on the headline promise in the first
sentence.

In the first sentence I reiterate the fact that yes they
really can get a brand new power table for such a low
price. The second sentence I throw in a little scarcity
right at the beginning of the letter so they won’t just
toss this letter aside for further reading.
——End Comments——

Last April, our little company took a big gamble and signed
up for a power table promotion. In order to get on the
promotion we had to agree to take 3 power tables – nearly
$15,000. (And for a small company like us, that’s a lot of
money to be tied up in inventory).

Only one of those 3 tables were sold – so there are still 2
left.

——Side Note Comments——
The next paragraph I begin to explain the story of why
we’re selling this product at such a bargain price. I’ve
discovered that telling people the truth and giving a
reason why is actually one of the most powerful
psychological motivators to action.
——End Comments——

And My Problem Is Your Opportunity

——Side Note Comments——
This subhead turns the letter back around to what’s in it
for the reader. Everyone is always silently asking
themselves “So what?” and “Who cares?”. You’ve got to keep
the focus on what the reader will gain from the letter.
——End Comments——

In order to move these last 2 tables I’ve decided to do
something somewhat bold and a little daring.

First, you should know that the manufacturer’s promotion of
these power tables ends June 30th. And any unsold inventory
I have could be sold to another dealer at wholesale.

But instead of doing that, I would rather sell you the
table at a wholesale price and gain your goodwill.

——Side Note Comments——
Here I explain how and why I’m willing to make a
sensational deal.
——End Comments——

The regular price for a XXX power table is $8,000 but
during this promotion they were on sale for $5,375 (which
is a pretty good deal anyway).

But until July 15th (I’ve extended the offer 2 weeks), you
can buy one of our last 2 tables for just $4,897. That’s a
savings of over $3,100.00

——Side Note Comments——
I introduce the special offer and the reason why we’re
selling the product at such a discount. That’s a key point,
because unless you give people a believable reason for the
reduced price they won’t believe you. Nobody thinks you’re
lowering the price because you’re “such a nice guy” so let
them in on the reason behind your offer.
——End Comments——

What? I promised you could get a power table for only $417
and here’s how…

——Side Note Comments——
I answer an anticipated objection here since I promised
they could get the table for only $417.
——End Comments——

Here’s How To Get That New Power Table For Almost “Zip” By
buying a power table, you can qualify for a 50% tax credit
under section 44 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That’s right Fifty Percent! All because a power table will
glide up and down to accommodate disabled and handicapped
patients.

And here’s what else. You can also take the amount of the
power table and deduct it off your taxes using Section 179.
(That is if you haven’t spent over $18,000 on capital
equipment this year.)

That’s not all, here are a few more incentives for you: We
will give you a $150 trade-in for your old table (or you
can donate it to charity for another tax break). And add an
extra 2-year warranty ($1,000 value), plus, we’ll pick-up
your old table and deliver the new one all for free!

Pretty good, right? Wait, I have even better news for
you…

——Side Note Comments——
Here I’ve explained each of the incentives and how they can
really get the table for such a low cost. Plus added in a
few extra bonuses and now I’ll another bonus to really
increase their desire.
——End Comments——

You Can Pay In 3 Easy Installments With Zero Interest We’ll
break up your payments into 3 easy installments, spread
thirty days apart.

Why You Must Act Before July 15th First, I doubt if these
tables will still be around until July 15th because the
first 2 doctors that put their deposits down will take
them. And when they’re gone this offer expires.

But even if they are still here (highly unlikely at this
bargain price) this offer has to expire anyway because we
will be shipping out these tables to other dealers in the
area.

——Side Note Comments——
I bring back the deadline here and scarcity again. So not
only do they have a limit on the number of units available,
but there is also a time deadline. This is a double whammy
to get people to take action immediately.
——End Comments——

Here’s What You Should Do Now

Pick up your phone and dial xxx-xxxx and reserve one of
these last 2 tables with your credit card. Or in case,
you’re still undecided call us and ask for some more
information to be faxed to you.

Otherwise, you’ll be giving up the ease and convenience of
having a power table at this bargain price. I really hope
you’re one of the 2 lucky doctors who decide to take
advantage of this golden opportunity.

——Side Note Comments——
In this closing paragraph I give readers a little pain by
mentioning what they’ll be missing if they don’t act on
this offer.
——End Comments——

Sincerely,
XXXX

P.S. Hurry! This letter is being sent to 1,283 local
doctors and this offer is strictly limited to the first 2
people who respond.

——Side Note Comments——
The P.S. is your last place to help prospects make a buying
decision. People go from the headline in a letter to the
signature to the P.S., so your P.S. should be powerful.

Here I introduce even more scarcity. I let them know
exactly how many people (specifics sell) are receiving this
letter and it makes the limited quantity seem even more
limited since so many other people are getting this same
announcement.

——End Comments——

****

I guarantee by using the same elements, I just illustrated,
you’ll see your next sales letter produce incredible
results.

(c) Surefire Marketing, Inc.

==========================================================
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites…and he still
doesn’t know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling resources including - http://www.InstantSalesLetters.com
==========================================================

Advertising is expensive. And it costs you the same amount
of money to run an ad (or mail a letter) that brings in 2
customers as one that drives in 20 customers. So that
difference is in your ad (or letter).

Let’s say you’ve come up with what you think is a good ad
(powerful headline, good offer, sizzling copy, etc.), now
you’re ready to test.

Testing will help you:

1. Save yourself a bunch of money.

2. Improve any results you’re currently getting.

3. Stop guessing about what works.

I’d say those are some pretty good reasons to learn all
about testing and how to apply it to your business. So
before spending loads of money on your new ad you can (and
should) do a few low-cost/no-cost tests:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Sleep On It Test
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

First, you should let your ad sit for at least a day. Then
the next day you can come back to it with new eyes and a
fresher perspective. You can find errors that weren’t
apparent before. Also, your chances of writing a good ad
are significantly improved with rewriting. (I will rewrite
an ad or letter 3, 4 or 5 times before I’m done.)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Reading Aloud Test
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I don’t know what it is about reading something aloud
versus reading to yourself, but you’ll pick up lots and
lots of insight into how good (or bad) your ad really is by
reading it aloud. All the bumps and rough spots jump out at
you.

Or a variation on this is to have someone else read it you.
This is even better. As they’re reading it, you should take
out a copy of the ad and make notes on it. One big
advantage of this is your reader is completely impartial.
He won’t stress certain phrases or words to make the
meaning clearer. And if the reader is having trouble you
know that’s an area to edit.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Sneaky Opinion Test
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This test is really great. Take your ad off your printer
and make a xerox copy of it. Then go around to a few people
who should be in your target market and say something like,
“Take a look at this, I just found this in a magazine.” Key
point: Do not tell people you wrote the ad because they’ll
be say how nice it is.

You’re gauging their response. If they say something like
“Did you write this?” or “This is really good.” What that
really means is your ad stinks.

But if you start hearing “Do you know how I can get this
done?” or “Do you do this?” then you know you’re on to
something good and ready to spend money on your test.

Opinions are great, but the only votes that really count
are the ones that are paid for. The first thing you *don’t*
want to do is call every newspaper, magazine, throw-away,
etc. You need to start by testing small. And that means
spending as little as possible to get accurate results.

=-=-=-=-=-=-
Test Small
=-=-=-=-=-=-

Joe Sugarman (He sold millions of Blu-blocker sunglasses)
tells how he would test all his ads in the Southwestern
edition of the Wall Street Journal. Because this was the
cheapest and smallest edition of the Journal to test.

That way he was able to read results quickly and then
decide whether or not to ‘roll-out’ to other editions. So
how can you apply this information to your business?

Easy.

Let’s say you’ve been running ads in your local paper.
Well, usually newspapers have zoned editions based on zip
codes. So instead of paying for your ad to appear in the
entire circulation, you simply put it in one of the
cheapest and most representative zones available.

And by tracking the response (using a specific phone#,
person, extension#, etc.) you can safely predict what
results you’ll get once you go out to the entire
circulation.

One more point: It’s better to run your test ad in a daily
paper instead of a monthly magazine. Simply because you can
ascertain information more quickly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Don’t Fall For Your Ad Rep’s Traps
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

You cannot multiply zero. That means if there is no life in
your ad — kill it before it drains more money and time
from you.

Don’t listen to your media rep’s b.s. about repetition and
getting discounts for multiple insertions. Remember, these
guys have no clue about how to create advertising that
works. If they did, they’d be running ads in their own
magazines and making tons of money.

Infomercial marketers realize this point. Imagine spending
$100,000.00 to produce one single 30 minute spot and then
buying $400 – $1,000 in media to test it out. That’s what
infomercial companies do.

They know if the phones aren’t ringing after a couple of TV
spots — they’re definitely not going to ring if they throw
tens of thousands of dollars in media at it, either.

Follow these tips and you’ll be able to save a lot of money
plus increase response. Just test until you come up with a
winner and then keep running it!

(c) Surefire Marketing, Inc.

==========================================================
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites…and he still
doesn’t know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, which can be
found at http://www.SurefireMarketing.com
==========================================================