Why We Struggle To Write Articles: The Myth Of Unique Content

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Struggle Writing Articles

Have you heard the song “New York, New York”?

It’s a song made popular by Elvis Presley, right?

Of course not. You probably heard the Frank Sinatra version of it. But what if Elvis sang the same song? Or maybe Lady Gaga? Would the audience avoid listening to the song, just because it has the very same lyrics?

That’s not the case at all. In fact, every hit (or even some obscure songs) are covered by other artists and are extremely well-received. In effect there’s nothing unique about the lyrics at all, just the way it’s presented.

Which gets interesting when you’re writing an article about dog food

As you scroll through seventeen million seven hundred and twenty one articles on dog food, you may not feel inspired to put one more article into the mix. And you’d be wrong. Because when you write an article, it’s a lot like an artist singing a song. What matters isn’t the content, but how that content is presented.

This, of course, doesn’t give you the license to copy everything in sight

But it should give you the confidence that your audience is keen to listen to your own voice. The way you string your words, your own quirky sense (or lack of) humour. All these little things that make the article different, is what the audience is desperate to hear.

In many cases, you’ll be writing about something that’s not so very unique. In other cases, your content may well be unique. And there will be times when you feel your work is unique, only to find that it’s been covered before.

And yet, there it is

No cartoonist sets out to copy another cartoonist when doing a political cartoon. An article can get buried somewhere in a newspaper, but a cartoon—and especially a political cartoon stands out like crazy. And so you strive to be very original.

And yet, there it is

Your idea has been replicated by someone else. That cartoonist didn’t set out to copy you and you didn’t set out to copy the other, but you still ended up with something remarkably similar. But what’s interesting is that both your audiences loved your work. And even if the work happened to be printed side by side in the very same newspaper, they would still love it.

In fact the song “New York, New York” (correctly known as “Theme from New York, New York” has been covered by dozens of artists, including Sammy Davis Junior, José_José, Lee Towers, Jeff Bridges, Queen, The Three Tenors, Beyoncé, Michael Bublé—and even by Alex the Lion in the cartoon feature film “Madagascar”.

You’re getting the point, aren’t you?

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that counts.

Now go and write that article, because you do have something to say. And your audience wants to hear it.

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
Free! Excerpt of The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t 


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email

 


Why I Blah-Blah Less At Workshops (And Presentations)

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Workshop Recharge Time

I was a big fan of blah-blah.

A fan of a squillion slides.

What I wasn’t, was a big fan of the workshop break times.

My wife, Renuka, ensured that I became one. smiley

At first, I’d give breaks, but they often weren’t breaks

I’d see the world through my eyes: that is, folks wanting to learn, talk, discuss etc. The reality is different for many reasons.
Reason 1: Information is tiring.

Reason 2: Sitting down is tiring (and boring).

Reason 3: Introverts need “clear recharge time”.

Reason 1: Information is tiring

When I conducted The Brain Audit workshop, be aware that everyone in the room, had read The Brain Audit at least thrice. Many had implemented it many times over. It didn’t matter. When we take a concept like The Brain Audit to another level, the brain still goes into overdrive. It still heats up like crazy, because not only is it trying to work out the “new” concept, but it’s also trying to work out the practical applications of what’s being taught.

The attendee (even the one familiar with the work) is mentally working out what they got right, where they went wrong etc. And this is for someone who’s familiar with The Brain Audit and at The Brain Audit workshop.

Now imagine a person who’s never read the book, never tried to implement the concepts before. This person’s brain circuits are on fire (and not in a good way). Until a certain point, the person will be completely with you. Then you’ll hit something slightly “difficult” and their brain will hit a pause button.

It will be stuck at that point trying to resolve the issue, while you move ahead with newer and possibly “more difficult concepts”. This completely frazzles the brain, and if you look at attendees at the end of a day, their eyes are glazed, their faces are flushed. This is because they haven’t had enough learn/process/talk time. The more the person is a “newbie”, the more time they need to process/talk through the concepts and at least get a slight hold on it.

Of course, there’s an even better reason for breaks. It’s called “sitting down”.

Reason 2: Sitting down is tiring and boring

It is. Try it for yourself. Sit down for just 20 minutes in a chair without anything happening, and you’ll get super-restless. Even if you’re trying to meditate, a million thoughts cross your mind. There’s no magic trick here. The less you get your audience to sit down, the better off they’ll be. Numb bums=numb brains.

But there’s also the issue about introverts…

Reason 3: Introverts are from a different planet

I don’t keep to myself much (except when I’m reading or painting). I will wake up at a conference, do my presentation rehearsal a million times and then head down for breakfast hoping to find someone to meet. I will find someone in the breaks. I will want to go to dinner and stay out until 2am. That’s what charges me up.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably an introvert (most Psychotactics clients are). And that means I’ve had to learn how to give them “recharge time”. No assignments between breaks, no chatting, just clear down time where they can go to their hotel room and look at a wall, if they need to do so.

Our workshops are fun, they’re very relaxed, there’s a huge safe zone in place, but this one thing was a gap: my understanding of recharge time. Factor in recharge time right through the day. It’s important.

But surely people come to workshops to make use of every possible minute

Yes they do. But remember school? Even those of us who loved school looked forward to the breaks. The breaks were exciting because they gave us release.

The school kid in us hasn’t changed that much. As adults we look forward to our coffee breaks, our vacation, our downtime. As much as an attendee will tell you that they’re there to learn, learn, learn, you’ll soon figure out that the best learning happens when everyone gets a break.

There will be some “grumblers” of course and the way to head off the grumbling at the pass, is to make the concept of breaks a big deal right at the start. Tell them why and how you’re going to do it, and you’ll get rid of the objection before it rears its head.

I never did give many breaks

Now I do.

And if I don’t, there’s Renuka at the back of the room, making hand signals.

The blah stops.

Silence fills the room at first.

Then there’s a silent cheer, laughing, giggling and talking as the audience takes time to enjoy their break!

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
Free! Excerpt of The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t 


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email

 


Free! A Massive 46-Page Excerpt of the Pre-sell Course

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In a small-business owner’s life, there’s a fence.

And one side of the fence is about hype, heavy-handedness, push and
shove. The other side is about low-key, low-pressure and
low-stress.

And even with this low-key method, you’re able to sell your product
or service
But what’s important isn’t just that you can can sell, but that you
outdo the methods used by high-stress and hype. That you can
completely do away with the pushing and jostling to get the
customer’s attention.

Presenting: 46 Pages of the Pre-Sell Course

Most excerpts are measly at about 8-9 pages. This one is generous,
covering whole chapters in precise detail. And no matter what your
business, you’re likely to find that pre-sell (this system of
pre-sell) works for you.

In fact, it’s more than likely that you’ll find this is the system
that you’ve been waiting for, for a long time.

It’s got three core elements of Psychotactics products:
1) It’s systematic. No leaving gaps that you’re expected to work
out.
2) It’s scalable. It works even if you have a client list of
three–or thirty million.
3) It doesn’t tie you down to “one fits all approach”: There are
lots of options, each broken down into multiple approaches,
depending on your preferences, business, project or time frame.

What you’ll expect to learn–even within these 46 pages:

1) Why you’re shortchanging the customer (and yourself) by not
having an appropriate time-frame.
2) How to keep 95% of the entire sales process extremely low-key
(and not be salesy 100% of the time).
3) The critical importance of announcements, snippets and samples.
4) Do samples work? Yes, they do, but the facts will astound you!
5) How you can start up a sales campaign (and sustain it) even
without a product or service in place.
6) Why even the biggest movie studios, software companies etc.
follow a similar system — and why it’s even more important when
you have fewer resources and a tiny budget.

Ok, time to read:
Just head to this page below and fill in the short form to get your
download details.
http://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

Warm regards from a seemingly unending Kiwi summer,
s-
P.S. Coming Next week: A teleclass on pre-sell as well. And it
will cover a whole lot more–in audio of course. There are goodies
coming all along the way, so get them now while they’re still fresh
from the oven!


Why Cannibalising Your Info-Products Is A Sound Business Strategy

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Info Products Strategy Cannibalise

Remember Photoshop Version 3.0?

I sure do. I started drawing cartoons way back in the year 1995. And then along came Version 4, Version 5, Version 6, Version—well, you get the picture, don’t you? Soon enough I was buying every single version that came along and today, decades later, I’m still a Photoshop user.

But what’s Photoshop got to do with your information-products anyway?

Think about it for a second…

When you’re buying software, would you prefer Version 1 or the current, shiniest version? Well, the same applies to information-products. When you have versions of your info-products, you effectively cannibalise the earlier version of the same product. In effect, you destroy the earlier version, so that the new version can live.

So why bother with a new version?

Because if you’re anything like me, and you liked Version 1, you’ll soon want Version 2, Version 3 etc. Every Version can be sold with additional or better-presented information. And invariably the customer is keen to buy into that new version.

By burying your old version, you’ve improved your product (something we all should do) and created a whole new source of income with the new version.

So let’s say you have a dance course on DVD

And let’s say you just put it together in a hurry, forgetting to give it a Version name. But now, hey, you’ve realised, hmm, this cannibalisation thing is a good idea. So you get better video lighting, better video cameras, more precise information and you’ve got a Version 2 of the course. Suddenly, your jaded course has got a new lease of life.

The moment your audience hears of something new, they want it right away. And this includes your existing clients (those who bought the original version) as well as those who haven’t bought anything at all.

Of course you have to treat the existing folk with a ton of respect

And Photoshop (and other software companies) give us direction here as well. They give their existing clients an upgrade price, maybe even a few extra goodies. And you know what follows next, right?

Yes, yes it does. In fact, if you’ve noticed, we do this a fair bit at Psychotactics as well. If you notice, for instance, The Brain Audit is Version 3.2. That means Version 1 existed. And so did Version 2. And a Version 3 (for a very short while). At every stage, clients bought into the versions. And every new version was good enough reason to blow our trumpets and re-launch the new and improved product.

Being new is nice, but improved is better

You probably know this already, but you can’t just slap a new version on your product and bring out. You’ve got to put in new elements. But while new is very important, improved is even better. For instance, we’ve been holding the Article Writing Course since 2006. In all these years, we’ve learned a lot.

However the Article Writing Course stayed in its original version all these years (Hint: Not a lot changes in the methodology of article writing). But what’s changed is what we’ve learned about customers and how they learn. And those concepts, newer examples etc. make for a much better, tighter product.

However, there’s one little caveat

Over the years, I’ve found it’s much, much, much, much, much easier to create a new product than improving an existing one. An existing one is like remodelling a house. There’s a lot that needs to be left standing. It’s often easier to just trash the entire house and start again. And that should give you a bit of a clue.

If you’re going to recreate the product, start as if you’ve never created it before. Start with a fresh plan, fresh mind and only dip into the existing product every now and then. And you’ll have a product that’s instantly attractive to yourself (as the creator), but also interesting to your audience.

And here’s instant proof…

If I were to tell you that the Article Writing Course, Version 2.0 is soon to be available, what’s your reaction?

I thought so. If you’re an existing client you want to see what’s in 2.0. If you’re not, hey, there’s reason to peek into what’s available anyway. And so, you prove it to yourself, at this very minute, that you’re interested.

And notice something: You haven’t seen a sales letter. You don’t know the price. You don’t even know what’s going to be covered or left out. And the interest still goes up quite a bit.

That is what cannibalisation of products is all about

You take your next version of your information product and let it gobble up the older product. Chomp, chomp, chomp.

It’s worth the trip for you—and your client.

And it’s profitable too.

P.S. You can do the same with services as well. But hey, since the title was about information products, I stuck to that topic.

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
Free! Excerpt of The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t 


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email

 


How To Make Learning Stick

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Make Learning Stick 

My niece, Marsha, she’s just nine years old

I don’t know if you remember what it was to be nine, but you sure do remember homework, don’t you? There’s mathematics, comprehension, geography, spellings and a ton of other stuff.

At times, when I’m mentoring Marsha, I can see her brains fry. The well of information becomes too much for her. She needs to find a way to deal with that information, but she’s trapped. She can’t just stop learning. And she can’t go forward.

It’s a lot like how business owners feel today

My list, your list, it’s a mile long already. And that’s just our personal goals. Like for instance this year alone, I want to improve my photography, understand photo books better, learn Adobe Lightroom, keep improving Spanish, try new recipes, make new leaps in watercolour—yup, that list is long and diverse.

And then if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to improve things in your business too. So like Marsha, we wade through whatever life throws at us, desperately clinging to the next shred of information.

And often, learning doesn’t stick

What makes learning stick is a low-level of mastery. Let’s take spellings, for instance. Like spellings for instance. In any given week, she’ll have about 10-20 new words to learn. But the words are a ton of useless information by themselves. What matters is how you home in on one of them and then master it.

So we’ll sweep through and learn all the words, because you have to do it. And then we’ll work on one extension. e.g. All words ending in “ture”, like adventure, conjecture, aperture etc. And so we master the concept.

I do the same thing with Adobe Lightroom

I sweep through the entire series which I may watch on steeletraining.com, and then it’s time to solidify the training. So I do a tiny bit. I apply the information. So I’ve got Adobe Lightroom open in front of me, and I go through the videos again. As I go through them, I pull up three photos from my album and use the concepts described in the video. Soon I get a solid understanding of how to apply that information.

So I go digging for more on the same topic. I now know that I’m keen on learning the “mask” tool, so I will find other audio/video that applies to the mask tool. Once I’ve mastered that concept, and applied it over and over, I move along to the next one.

But surely all this takes a ton of time

Yes it does. And so I let my brain learn in little bits. I allocate some time for learning. When I’m learning, I don’t try to apply anything. I just keep a watch for anything that may seem useful. I just sweep through all the learning, like I’m listening to something on radio, not caring how much I’m absorbing.

But then I make note of the parts that seemed useful. And I go back and master little bits. So on any given day, I’m at least applying 10 minutes of watercolour, 10 minutes of Lightroom—and on some days that’s all I really have. Between learning time and applying time, I have to make sure I find at least an hour in a day.

And for this application to happen, preparation is the key

So yes, the watercolour books are not hidden away, they are out on a table. The book is open to the page the night before. My Lightroom software is open to the photo I want to work with. I don’t have enough time in the day to keep opening and closing things. That takes up valuable learning and application time.

So I just keep the critical elements open. For learning, I make sure I have all the audio ready so that I’m listening the moment I leave the door. I make sure I have all the books I want to read, on my coffee table, so I don’t have to hunt for them. The same with software etc. Keep it all ready to go, so you go, go, go.

Yes, of course, sometimes it’s all too much

There’s too much information, too much application. And it’s time for a break. Which is important too. It helps the brain recharge, filter through the information and come back stronger than before. The breaks should be long enough, but not too long. Sometimes I’ll take a break of 3-4 days. Sometimes a whole month. And the breaks are critical.

So here’s what you should do if you really want to make learning stick

1) Read, listen, watch all the stuff you’re interested in.

2) Make sure to note what’s important to you.

3) Go back and listen/read/watch again. Many times.

4) Start applying that knowledge in 10 minute bursts during your working day (or every other day).

5) Expect that you will not remember or apply everything. You’re still getting awfully smart anyway, remember?

6) Take a break. Short break or long break. But not too short and not too long.

7) And yes, keep things open. Life’s too short to keep opening, closing and finding things.

Learning (or application) isn’t is hard as it seems

But you can’t rush through it all. And Marsha knows that too. As she goes through spelling tests, she knows she doesn’t have to know all the words. She just has to know the little bits like “ture” or “ial” or “tion”.

The learning sticks.

She gets a 10/10 almost every time.

And if a nine year old can do it, well so can we, right?

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level in 2014? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2) FREE! Read the entire first chapter of The Brain Audit now.

3)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t (Available in Different Formats)


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email

 


Announcing: How to Sell Without Selling (Special Offer)

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How to Sell without Selling: The Brain Audit Special

You’ve seen it before
You’re about to get a customer to sign on the dotted line. And then
they suddenly back away. What causes them to back away? What causes
a sure sale to fall apart?


When a sale falls apart, it’s extremely frustrating!
And what’s frustrating is the fact that you don’t know at which
point the sale fell apart. What you do know is that your product or
service is really good for your customer. And that you’ve done
everything to get them interested and ready to buy.


Announcing: The Brain Audit Kit + Special Goodies worth $158 (Valid
until 26 March 2014)

Marketing provides thousands of ways to get and keep customer’s
attention…
But you don’t want thousands of ways. You just want a simple system
that’s effective. A system that has been tested right across the
planet, from big markets to absolutely atom-sized markets.

A system that has been tested for over 12 years and got results.
And across media from Web sites, to presentations, to one-on-one
selling and sales through brochures/booklets etc. And most
importantly a system  that you don’t have to pull up a 675 page
manual to even work out.

The Brain Audit is the book that gives you a system
The Brain Audit is a step-by-step system that enables you to
understand what’s going on in the brain of your customer. It’s a system
that is based on a deep understanding of how our mind works, and why
we do what do.

• How the brain responds to specific psychological triggers.
• How to speed up the sales process, without the need to be pushy.
• How do you stop your brand from being a commodity?

When you buy the Premium Brain Audit Kit on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th,
25th and 26th March 2014, you’ll also get the bonus goodie on ‘How
To Identify The Right Target Profile For Your Business’.

Special Goodie: How To Identify The Right Target Profile For Your
Business
This book will give you an instant understanding on
-How You Can Get Target Profile Wrong?
-How Target Profile Works with Multiple Target Profiles
-The Blind-spot With Target Profile and more…

Take advantage of this special offer of The Brain Audit Kit right
away. This offer expires on 26 March 2014
The Brain Audit Special

 

Regards,
Sean
P.S.Make sure you don’t miss this offer. And make a decision, based on what you read.
The Brain Audit Special
(This offer expires on  26 March 2014)


Why You Really Need To Step Away From Work

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Step Away From Work

When do you get your best ideas?

No, not in the shower.

You get them when you’re not at your computer

Sit back and think about all the ideas that changed the direction of your life. And think of where you were at the time. Nope, still not in the shower. You were somewhere on the road, somewhere deep in conversation with someone or lost in a book.

So why don’t computers work like they should?

That’s because computers tend to be output machines. When we deal with computers we’re rarely getting input. Think of all the things you do at the computer: You write articles (output), you answer email (output),  you respond to Facebook/respond to blog posts (output), do illustrations (output)—and that list goes on and on. Yes, sometimes you may watch a video or listen to something that’s input based, but for the most part, your computer is in input mode, and you in output.

When you leave you computer, you move into input mode

I do my best to sneak away from the computer and get into input mode. Like right today, right this moment, I need to plan the sequence of what needs to be done for one of my books. I need to think the sequence through and it’s not like I can just output what’s on my mind.

So I take a trip to the cafe. I sit down and then I let two hours pass while I doodle my way through my plan. It’s not like I have a plan, but the plan unfolds. As I sit, the plan takes on a different dimension.

More often than not, my wife, Renuka is with me. And we discuss issues. Now we have the input of two brains, not one. All the great ideas, the ones that have given us the greatest peace of mind, the ones that have earned us the most money, the ones that make our lives wonderful—not once was I sitting at the computer when it happened.

But what if you’re busy?

Well, today is crazier than most. I have a dental appointment, two articles to write, a book to complete, audio to be recorded, my niece needs to be mentored all afternoon (and evening).

Well, let’s just say it’s a busy day. And yet, I will force myself to find two hours to sit at the cafe. The trip to the cafe clears my mind, and then I’m in input mode. I think, I write, I doodle. Gosh I love my computers to bits, but it’s amazing what a piece of paper and some free brain time will do for you.

Getting away from the computer gives us input time—time to get our own thoughts together.

Then it’s Mac time smiley

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level in 2014? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2) FREE! Read the entire first chapter of The Brain Audit now.

3)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t (Available in Different Formats)


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email

 


How to get FREE: Two Brain Audit Audio Files

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Last week you got a chunky 30-page excerpt of The Brain Audit.
This week you can get two short five-minute audio files. These short audios will teach you two very important lessons which you can implement straight away.


What you will learn:
1) The critical difference between ‘The Solution’ and ‘Your
Solution’
2)  A tested-formula on how to write a powerful tag-line.


There is a deadline though
You have to get it before March 25th 2014.  Then it’s gone. So get it right away. Either download it, or listen online.


Here are the links: (It make take a few minutes to load)
Each audio is 5 minutes and contains clear and actionable information. So listen to it today and implement what you  learn.

http://psychotactics.com/Brain_Audit_TaglineFormula.mp3

http://psychotactics.com/Brain_Audit_SolutionVsYourSolution.mp3
 

Try it today. You’ll hear for yourself what makes The Brain Audit so well-loved and mostly well-used!
Sean
P.S. Don’t forget to download the audio before March 25th 2014.


How Your Product Can Create A Niche In Your Marketplace

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Create Product Niche

There are about seventeen ways to enter a house.

The door, the windows, backdoors—and as we know, in some cases, even the chimney.

And yet most of us gingerly avoid the chimney, heading straight for the door instead

Once we’re in the door, we don’t run madly through all the rooms of the house, but instead hang around in the lounge, finally sinking on a sofa.

This is approximately the route that most clients take when they look at your product or service. They get in through your door, sink into some content/products and finally are keen to explore the rest of the site. This is also why creating a niche for your business makes perfect sense. A niche provides a small, single entry to your business, but the moment the client steps through, and likes what they see, they want to explore everything else as well.

And while there are many ways to get a product going, the often overlooked route is the product-based niche.

So what is a product-based niche?

It’s exactly as it sounds. It’s the one thing that’s going to attract a serious number of customers. Take for instance, the Louvre in Paris. You know what their big product is, right? Sí it’s the Mona Lisa. All those 30,000 pieces of art that are hanging around the place, well, they’re nice. Some of them are even big and mighty, but it’s the Mona we’re all rushing madly towards.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, doesn’t depend on the itty-bitty painting. The “Nightwatch” is so massive that it was rumoured to have been cut (yes, cut) to fit in the town hall many years ago. And so both museums drive their audience by focusing on a single product.

If you have an information-based business, you can use the same concept

You create a niche of a niche, not just to get customers, but also strategic alliances to your business.

Let’s start with customers, though. Let’s say you’re a photographer. Well, that’s a nice service to have, but is it getting you customers by the truckload? So let’s say you write a book that’s kinda specific.

Maybe, just a book on ‘how to shoot perfect photos in low light conditions’. Now you’ve gone into a bit of a niche product, haven’t you? Other books on photography cover tons of stuff. Clients wanting to learn how to take better photos are inundated with every topic under the sun when they read photography books. Suddenly you’ve separated yourself from the herd. The customer comes in, wanting to learn how to “take low light photos” and then is exposed to all your other products as well.

And it’s helpful for strategic alliance acquisition too…

If you’re a photographer and I’m a photographer, and we’re both in the same business, it’s likely that I may not send business to you, my competition. But if you’re dealing with a sub-set of the business e.g. low light, then I in turn can find something that I’m a bit of an expert at. Suddenly there’s a ton of stuff that’s niche. You don’t believe me? Here’s a list:

- Extending Dynamic Range with HDR & Other Techniques

- Understanding off-camera flash

- Before & After Images for Adobe Lightroom Presets

- TimeLapse Photography

- Exposure for Outdoor Photography

- Chasing Reflections

And yes, it’s even possible that someone has written the book on exposure

So go deeper! Write about some sub-set of exposure instead. Someone has written about time-lapse photography, write something that is a sub-set of that topic. At Psychotactics, we use this concept of sub-sets a lot—yes, even with our own products. So The Brain Audit has been the flagship product explaining systematically “Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don’t).

And yet, there are sub-sets of The Brain Audit itself.NThe Brain Audit talks about seven “red bags” that have to be taken off to get the customer to buy your product or service. Those “bags” are the problem, the solution, the target profile, objections, risk reversal, testimonials and uniqueness. And those “red bags” are explained in reasonable detail in about 160 pages of the book. But there are sub-sets of the book.

Here’s a list:

- A 100+ page book on “The Secret Life of Testimonials”

- A Three Day Course on Uniqueness called “Pick One”

- A report on target profile.

- A mini-course on how to “Pick the Right Problem”.

As you can see you can create niches by the dozen, if you choose

The niche is what attracts a client. When everyone else is trying so desperately to fit everything in their book/reports/courses, you create a tiny little sunshine spot of your own, which attracts both customers and alliances.

And once your customers are comfortable they explore more stuff.

You don’t have to keep all your windows and backdoor open. Give customers a doorway that’s interesting and evocative and you’ll see customers responding better than ever before.

And oh, leave the chimney free for Santa, will ya?

 

 

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you interested in taking your online business to the next level in 2014? Then you must have a look at 5000bc.

2) FREE! Read the entire first chapter of The Brain Audit now.

3)  Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. 

Top Selling Products Under $50

Testimonial Secrets: Powerful Techniques to Get Better Clients-And Sales
Story Telling Series: How to suck your audience right in, in a matter of seconds

Sales Pages: How To Write Benefits and Bullets That Speed Up Sales
Article Writing: How To Speed Up Article Writing With Simple Outlines

Visual Basics: How Visuals Help Increase Sales Conversion On Your Website
Design Clarity: How to put sanity into your design with some really simple tweaks
Chaos Planning: How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done

New! Critical Website Components: How to write compelling content for your key web pages
The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t (Available in Different Formats)


Black Belt Presentation Series: How to completely control the room-without turning anyone off?

Online Membership Website: How To Build A Powerful, Community-Driven Membership Website

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email


How to get a FREE 30-Page Excerpt of The Brain Audit (Without Even Needing To Fill A Form)

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If you’ve always wondered what The Brain Audit was all about.
Or if you’ve ever wondered what’s in this book that’s caused thousands of businesses to “sell without selling”, then here’s away to stop wondering.

 

Because you can get a chunky 30 page excerpt of The Brain Audit.
And it’s free. You’ll enjoy the cartoons. You’ll enjoy the way The Brain Audit holds your attention. And you’ll learn a lot–even in just 30 pages.

 

No catches. Not even a darned form to fill.
But let me not yada, yada. Here you go.

 

Warm regards from Auckland
Sean

3 Ways To Deal With Overwhelm

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Deal With Overwhelm

Overwhelm is like doing the dishes.

If you don’t do the dishes today, you have twice as many tomorrow.

And then on the third day of gorging and not cleaning, let’s not talk about it, shall we?

People who don’t keep up with stuff feel the most overwhelmed

You know those people, don’t you? They’re the ones who were around when computers came along. Who needs computers, they said. Then suddenly they were helpless. They couldn’t start up, let alone run a computer. They couldn’t find things on the Internet, and they’re also the ones standing in the queue at the post office to pay their bills (instead of doing it on the Internet).

The point is “overwhelm” is like the weather, it’s here to stay

So instead of acting like it doesn’t exist, let’s instead find simple ways to join in.

I use three systems:

1) Use dead time

2) Do 15 minute segments

3) Write down what’s in my head—and create a timeline

Using dead time

You can’t ever get ahead, but that doesn’t mean you need to fall behind. And dead time exists everywhere and every single day of the year. When I go to pick up my niece from school, I have dead time on the way to school and while waiting for her. I take a book and listen to audio on the way to the school.

Even if I don’t remember it all (and I barely remember 10%) I listen to it like radio. I learn a bit, everyday (yes, those 10% bits really add up). There’s time at the post office, dentist, even watering the lawn.

Of course, I don’t make use of 100% dead time. Sometimes it’s fine to just water the lawns, but most of the time I’m prepared for dead time. Most people aren’t. And that leads to overwhelm because in a day, you have at least 30-60 minutes of pure dead time. In a week, that’s about 5 hours; a month 25 hours; a year 250 hours. But that’s just dead time. There’s also learning time.

And I do my learning in 15 minute segments

At this point in time my day looks like this:

-  Learning Portuguese

-  Advanced functions of my Nikon D7000

-  Studying software such as Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign

-  Writing a book, audio book, bonus for the book

-  Writing an article every day for 100 days (back to back).

-  Mentoring my niece for 5 hours (six days a week)

-  Managing the membership forum at 5000bc.com

-  Re-writing pages for Psychotactics

-  Drawing and painting a daily diary cartoon

-  Cooking new types of meals

-  Doing my photo book on Africa

-  Compiling a video about my nieces

-  Conducting three live courses (copywriting, cartooning, watercolors)

-  Strategic alliances

-  Email, yes that onslaught of email.

-  And ten million other things, of course!

In short, there’s not a lot of time. So I take 15 minute segments

I will plan for at least 2 x 15 minutes. Maybe one in the morning and one in the evening. And in those 15 minutes I may learn something about a program that will save me a ton of time. Or I may read something that forms the basis of my article and I don’t have to keep wondering what to write.

I believe in the concept that input leads to output. Without input there can be little or no output and if I can’t find 15 minutes, twice a day, well, that’s a poor day for me. And wonderful as these two systems are, nothing works better for me than just writing it down.

Writing things down and creating a time line

The moment I write things down, they aren’t in my head any more. To me that’s a lot of free space considering how much I want to do. So I write it down. But writing it down is the first stage. Then I do a simple time line. And that time line ensures one thing: It ensures that I actually think through how much time I have to do just about anything.

If I just write goals willy-nilly, I don’t get very far. If I put a timeline, I can see where I’m going to get stuck. No timeline is ever going to be perfect, but it’s a great start and most of the time it does pretty darned well.

Deal With Overwhelm

My timeline for the year. Notice I put in the breaks as well.

And here’s my day today…

In 30 minutes I’m going to create a timeline for today and the month to come (I’ve already done one for the year). I’m not going to be at my computer but at a cafe. It’s more productive. I also have a dentist appointment. He’s almost always 10 minutes late. I’m prepared and not going to read some lousy magazines.

And yes, because I’m prepared, the drive to and from the dentist, and at the dentist will make up for at least 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes or more of learning.

I could put it off of course, but it’s like the dishes

Do the dishes. It’s your best chance against the rising tide of overwhelm.

Next Step: Links you should visit

1) Are you serious about getting your business to the next level in 2014? Have a look at 5000bc.

2) NEW! The Brain Audit: Why Clients Buy And Why They Don’t (Available in Different Formats)

 

Products: Under $50


1) You already know that 80% of a sales letter depends on your headline.
So what’s the remaining 20% that causes customers to buy? Find out more

2) Do You Often Hit A Wall Called ‘Writers Block’?
Learn how the core elements of outlining can save you from the misery of writing your next article.

3) Chaos Planning
Year after year you sit down and create a list of things you want to achieve. Then suddenly it’s January 2014, and you’ve not really moved ahead!
Learn Why Most Planning Fails: And The Critical Importance of Chaos in Planning.

4) Nothing bugs you more than a painful client. A client who hassles you at every step of the way.
Learn how to use the power of the ‘six critical questions’ to get incredible testimonials—and attract clients that make every day an absolute joy.

5) Do you feel like banging your head against the wall when writing content for the important pages on your website?
Introducing: How to write compelling content for your key web pages. A series of three books on how to create your “Home Page”, “About Us” and “Get Customers To Sign Up” to your website/blog. 

6) Do you know that visuals immediately improve your sales conversion?
Learn how to create drama and curiosity and help improve your web page conversion with visuals.

7) Do your websites, brochures, presentations, etc… confuse your clients? 
Put some sanity into your design, even though you are not a designer?

Black Belt Presentations: How do you create presentations that enthrall, hold and move an audience to action?

 

 

Next Step: To get more Psychological Tactics
Subscribe: : Get Updates via RSS | Get Updates via Email


Announcing! Why “Lazy Testimonials” Attract The Wrong Clients

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Nothing bugs you more than a painful client.

A client who hassles you at every step of the way.

A client who won’t pay on time.
A client who takes up so much of your energy that you get drained.

I used to have clients like that

And then at some point I stopped getting bad clients.
Every single one of our clients were helpful, kind and extremely co-operative.
Work became a joy instead of a painful exercise.

And after a lot of digging, I found out the reason for the change

If you’ve ever struggled to get consistently good clients (or detailed testimonials for that matter) then you’ll find that this knowledge is more than just common sense. It’s a bit of strategy you can’t do without.

Judge for yourself at:
http://www.psychotactics.com/testimonialsecrets

Regards
Sean

 

P.S. This is what Cornelia Luethi  has to say: 

“Business owners are often too scared to ask for testimonials”

I’ve been using Testimonials as a marketing tool for years – and I didn’t think there was much left for me to learn about testimonial techniques. Especially so after reading those powerful “six questions” in the Brain Audit.

After reading The Secret Life Of Testimonials, I learnt how to get more authentic and dramatic testimonials with great impact.
And–most importantly–how to use them to maximum advantage. Sean shares all kinds of layout and formatting secrets so that the message is visually stunning as well as a good read.

What I found really useful is how Sean de-constructs various testimonials, showing you the parts where they fail, and thereby enabling you to create testimonials that work a whole lot better.

I particularly liked the run-down on how to create video testimonials as that’s something I’ve been thinking of doing, but wasn’t sure how to get started and how to approach it. Plus there are some great ideas on how to get testimonials using online media.

I’d definitely recommend The Secret Life Of Testimonials.
Testimonials are absolutely vital for sales conversions, but business owners are often too scared to ask for testimonials, and don’t know how to use them effectively. In this book, you’ll learn how to get great testimonials – and with confidence.

Cornelia Luethi
FX Marketing, Auckland, New Zealand
Judge for yourself: Testimonial Secrets