TeleClass September 26, 2001 This is the transcript of the Writing Promotional Copy TeleClass hosted by Coach Cheryl Miller.  Guest Expert is Thomas J. Leonard.   (from which transcript was crafted) Writing Promotional Copy September 26, 2001 - 2:00 p.m. Cheryl Miller, Session Leader CM: Welcome to the call; I'm Cheryl Miller. We're talking today about writing promotional copy. I'd like to welcome everyone to the class in writing promotional copy; we're going to interview Thomas and find out how he writes compelling promotional copy. I'd like to divide the time up in thirds, with the last third being questions from other coaches. Really briefly, what interested me in having this teleclass is that we're all busy, and when I see some of Thomas' promotional materials, even though I'm busy, I sign up for them anyway! Does anyone else feel that way? XXX: There's something about what Thomas does that I feel compelled to write. Besides the fact that he's talented, there's also something seductive about the way he reaches out to us. CM: What I'd like to do is start out by what you think about good promotional writer. Were you just born that way? TJL: My parents sent me to business summer school when I was 10 and I was the only one who had an electric typewriter. That's how I learned that typing was important and typing fast was a valuable asset. I've only learned how to write over time and have learned from some really talented people how to write well. First, I'd have to thank my friend Dean Jackson. I talk to him every couple of days; he makes approx $300,000 per year in passive income, and he's really the master at good copy writing. I also read an article about how important headlines are - which do you think is more important, "Put you at the top" or "Puts you at the top"? The 2nd one - that one little letter makes such a huge difference, and that's one of the things Dean's really taught me. His sales increased by 30 percent the day he added 2 things to his letter - a guarantee, and told them what would happen when they clicked the order button. CM: And then you used the same strategy? TJL: I actually impressed him with that. There's some point in the letter where they're going to be called to act, and you're trying to take them to that point. People will decide at different points along the way, so have a 'sign up' area at different points along the way. CM: Do you see a difference in being a good writer versus a good promotional writer? TJL: That's a good question. I do attempt to stand in their shoes and write for one person - or rather a type of person. For example, on the 5-day certification, there are coaches looking for a different format, but have little patience for long-term commitments, are looking for something unique and fun, and are looking for something "promotable", and that's how I pitch the 5-day training programs. A good writer who isn't a good promotional writer might be good at describing the features and benefits, but a good promotional writer writes about the feelings and preferences of the individuals they're attempting to sell to. CM: So a good writer should be on their way to becoming a good promotional writer by the end of this call today? TJL: That's it. CM: How many hours a day do you spend writing? TJL: I think if you can first feel what they most want that is the kernel of good writing. I get my inspiration from your needs and wants because I live where you live, and that's what gives me the place to start writing. In terms of the brochures I write - full practice, teleclass leader, etc. - those take between 1 - 4 hours to write. I write it once, then go through it again and think about what's going to make this compelling. We try to write so that someone who's reading it to pick up their left hand and hit the top of the forehead, thinking "I'd be a fool not to sign up for this!" if you hold that approach, it'll help you build in the features. If you can think of 5-10 extra features and add that, you'll give them even more reason to sign up for what you're offering. If you're going to offer a course on relationships, you might want to add in 2 years access to the new stuff you develop, guest speakers who've been successful with your course, daily step-by-step process e-zine, etc. People seem to like programs or bundles, rather than just a 4 or 6-session teleclass. They want to see a ton of stuff for $100. You might even do one-to-one laser coaching for free - a very small number will actually ever take you up on it. CM: Wow. TJL: Yes, but it's enough to make you get your credit card out. CM: How important is it for coaches to learn this themselves versus hiring someone else to write for them? TJL: You can contract out your work, but you want to learn enough to be able to tweak someone's work or learn concurrently as you hire someone. For example, if you don't learn basic HTML, you're tied to one person for any updates to your website, when it should become basic knowledge. Your first one might be lame, but the process will have begun and you'll begin to evolve. Most people who know me will know that I write the brochure first and the course second. It'll help you come up with clever things you want to add in. CM: With enough work and experience, we could all become good promotional writers like you and Dean? TJL: I don't want to compare us, but I think it's worthwhile to decide to become an experimenter and enjoy writing your own sales copy, while getting help from an expert. Do it to please yourself, not simply because you feel you have to. CM: Good. What I'd like to do now is shift into the 2nd part and have you either think about your favorite promotional piece or one of the 3 we're going to look at today that we can talk about in detail. TJL: They're all my favorite pieces! CM: What I'd like to have you do is walk us through the very first thought and how you become inspired, etc. TJL: I just took a second and pulled up the Coachville conference brochure so I have it handy. I try to wake up every morning with a new idea. I simply believe in having ideas and hang out with people who are creative. When I read one of my 20 magazines for the week, I always have an eye to how it relates to coaching. Even before you sit down to write, I think it's important to come up some image or niche or demographic that you think are wonderful. Start having that golden thread weave its way through your activities; when you do sit down in front of the computer, you're writing in response to something you've seen or heard and think would be of interest. I only write about stuff or come up with project ideas for things I would like to go through. I don't want to sell to corporations, but want to know HOW to sell to corporations. I've just want to be a masterful coach, and you can often use these programs to learn more about something you want to know about. CM: And then once you get that idea, what do you do next? TJL: You begin to type. You can start with a headline, or a date, or make a list of features and benefits. Just start typing what first comes to mind - whatever you think is interesting or clever. Everything I look at in life, I always make the assumption that there's another level to go and that I can contribute to the pace of this evolution. That's what's going to set yourself apart. CM: So you don't start with the typical interest-conviction-action? TJL: I don't even know what that is; the problem with formulas is that it almost locks you into writing one way versus writing something that excites or inspires you. CM: That brings me to a question - if you were going to offer something to people that don't know you - does something work because the people know you or....? TJL: I wouldn't market to people I don't even know, but you also want to get them intrigued enough to want to continue. It lets you know right away what it's going to be about. What I'd like to have you do is talk about what you do next. Most of my brochures will have the following components, like... one thing that always works is to offer a discounted pre-registration fee; if you don't do it, do it - don't fight it, surrender to it! I have 3 different levels of registration, but 2 is plenty. I always require full payment. I also want to make a list of things people will be able to walk away from the course with. For example, "by the end of the course, you will be able to weave in the comments from many people throughout the course as if you were a weaver." That's a technical skill, and no one cares; it's all steak and no sizzle. However, if you say that "By the end of the course, you will be able to make everyone feel included and have people bragging by the end of the course how much they learned" - that's got some zing. You need to use words to make people feel that they're coming out of your course with some competencies. Most people feel that if it's a program rather than just a class, they'll be able to come out of the course with something they didn't have before - they want skill sets and abilities, not just dollars. CM: And you picked a great example. The agenda listed all the things you were going to learn or be able to do, and I couldn't find anything that was missing. TJL: You made my point for me! You're going to provide a complete solution to the person's need or problem. CM: And do you actually do that, or is that just a dream or hope? TJL: You hope for it, of course. If you think about it, you can come up with tons of stuff you can provide to help people. Also, you can ask people what they'd like to see out of a class - just get on the phone and ask people what they think you should include. Take notes on what they said, and actually use that as part of your copy. CM: One thing I do notice about your ad copy is that it's very conversational and feel less like... TJL: ....a pitch; like you include the objection and the answer in the copy, rather than just the answer. If you're really in that person's shoes, you're going to be feeling all their concerns and objections and respond to them in your copy. I've mentioned earliedr that it's important to have things to offer - real audio links, transcripts, or information on your website. As you teach this over time, you'll have more info to continually add. Offer other things that don't cost you a lot to develop. CM: Would you say cost is about right for you? TJL: I have a tendency to undercharge, and would rather have sold-out courses than 6 people at $500. Most of the stuff I do is fairly new and is all R&D anyway. It's priced to the point where people don't expect a totally polished package. 2 years ago, I was charging $500 for some things, but I much prefer having a lower price and getting the volume. You can use these programs, e-courses, etc. to audition opportunities for people to hire you one-on-one. CM: We're at the 3rd piece of the program, and would like to open it to the other coaches on the call. TJL: Can I make some other points first - you'll have people who are experienced in this area on the call, so you'll want to show that you have a track record about that course, how many people have taken this before, or if it's the first time you're presenting it, make sure they know that too. 2nd, you want to use questions in the headline or in the body text. You can make a list of "who" factors - people who should attend - but you can go further than that by saying, "Are you someone who...?" 3rd, you want to describe a financial benefit to taking the course you'll be offering. Find something accurate and show how they'll make money if they invest time and money in your program. There's a way to bring money into it somehow - look for it. CM: So even a course on cleaning up your clutter? TJL: Yes, something like ' how much is your time worth?" along those lines. CM: I noticed you use those questions as headings throughout your copy. TJL: Yes, and you can also play devil's advocate. You can take their unspoken concerns and make them into headlines. CM: Are you ready to have the other coaches ask questions? TJL: I'm ready if you're ready! (laugh) Allison: One question I have - we're intrigued with the volumes of productivity you crank out and know you're offering things worth far more than what you're charging. If I wanted to be able to pump out a lot of volume, how do I offer all that value without tying myself down and finding it's not a profitable project because it's just too much? It seems that many of your things are automated; could you speak to how you can do that volume without your time being not worth it? TJL: A couple things that I've learned - whatever I'm creating, I make sure that everything has a permanent shelf-life. For example, this is being taped and transcribed, so it'll be a part of something else. I always make sure there is a permanent record. For example, we probably sell 10 teleclass leading courses, and about 90 percent live. There's always going to be something passive you can do with the live events you conduct. Look at the coaches' conference - we're going to have a videographer, as well as a DVD reproducer there who will have things available within 5 minutes - thus, no shipping or filling orders. For example, with the 'Absence Of' course - I keep a copy of all the correspondence so I can use - with their permission - projects in the 'before' and 'after' phase to use as examples. You can also set really strict boundaries, like 10 minute limits on laser calls, responding to emails only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, etc. You can offer tons of stuff, that once you've done it once, is available for future classes or other projects. CM: Who else has a question? XXX: When you've written something, how much time do you spend refining it? How do you make that decision that it's good enough? TJL: Usually there's a 1-week lag from the time I get stuff down before I get it out there. CM: So you're a buying enabler? (laugh) TJL: Very good. Does that answer your question, though? XXX: Yes. TJL: If you choose a beginning date of your training, everything should go out at least a month prior to that date, so if nothing else, your deadline will force you to send it out. CM: Any other questions? TJL: I'd love to hear what people learned. CM: Great question. Who'd like to start that process? XXX: Be yourself. Do it in the way that suits you - don't try and be someone else. TJL: Learn from others, but don't model after them. XXX: I like the idea of jumping in and starting where the energy is in a particular piece. Allison: I have about 15 pages of notes. I can't even begin to say how helpful this has been! You could make money just from selling this! TJL: Don't worry about that, Allison! (laugh) I'm sure we'll think of something. XXX: It's so helpful for those of us who have been trained to be so linear. It's almost like you get yourself in a place and then it just rolls out of you. TJL: Yes, but I live in that place. Also, the more connected one is, the more you'll feel the dreams, hopes, and problems that people have - and that'll give you lifetimes of stuff to off. It pulls me, I don't have to push it. Candace: It is inspiring to listen how you're so creative. CM: If you were going to give us one little piece of homework to start becoming better promotional writers, what would it be? TJL: I would say take a poll and ask 100 people, "What's the number one problem, missed opportunity, etc. that you've not gotten to?" I'd take a big survey, and then come up with a course that offers the most compelling response. I'm not a creative person, but I'm just a really good over-responder to the environment. CM: Thank you for the wonderful, inspirational call; we're looking forward to seeing the ways you create passive revenue from this call!