Internet Marketing Tips from Denise Wakeman

Advertorials: Step 8- Make an Irresistible Offer

You know how many promotional offers sound the same?

"Buy my book and you'll get instant access to $42,386 of free bonuses?"

Instant access to downloads does not guarantee your reputation or your respectability.

How is this different:

"Because you're reading this right now, I want to do something special for you. In a moment, I'll give you a special phone number and a special website address to take advantage of a unique gift I've arranged for you to have as my appreciation for your time in reading this.

"You'll get access to our program, with our no-risk satisfaction promise, and 3 bonus reports valued at $97 each. You'll receive an additional consultation with us at no charge when you decide to enroll. You can keep the bonuses and benefit from our one-on-one phone coaching even if you decide you aren't satisfied and want a refund."

The point is to make your readers feel special not overwhelmed. If you can go overboard in making your sales or enrollment process painless and risk-free, you will see an increase in your business success.

Remember that on the Internet, your words are your customer service representatives. Be sure to keep your word. People won't give you a second chance if you aren't trust-worthy.

SavvyBizCast: Marc Lerner

Savvy Biz Cast features an interview with Marc Lerner of LifeSkillsInc.com.
(10:38 min)

You can subscribe to the Savvy Biz Cast podcast on iTunes and get the interviews downloaded to your mp3 player automatically.

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Michael Stelzner Talks White Papers on Blogging and Beyond

White Papers: The Ultimate Lead Generator

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Michael A. Stelzner, White Paper Source

May 31st 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

In an era of overloaded inboxes and marketing hype, a well-crafted white paper can generate serious leads for your business. White Paper expert, Michael A. Stelzner, author of "Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged, will reveal the art and science of marketing with white papers.

Michael A. Stelzner is a leading authority on the topic of writing and marketing white papers, and authored the bestselling book, Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. He has written more than 100 white papers for many of the world's most recognized companies, including Microsoft, FedEx, Motorola, Monster, Hewlett-Packard and SAP. Contact information.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on May 31.

P.S. Don't miss our teleseminar on June 6 with Michael Stelzner on how to create white papers to generate leads!

What the heck is a white paper?

A few days ago we sent out an announcement about a brand new teleseminar we are presenting in June about how to use white papers as a lead generation tool.  Well, we got quite a few responses back saying "what's a white paper?"

Patsi, the writer on our team, has been studying the emerging marketing trend of writing white papers to attract new business leads. Here's a definition she put together:

White papers are like articles on steroids. White papers present in-depth information about a problem, and exploration of common solutions, and an introduction of a new solution. Then the white paper connects you and your company with the new solution.

They are benefit-oriented, educational, and represent key elements of persuasive copy that builds credibility and expertise while laying the ground work for sales.

They are preferred reading by executives and professionals who want an overview of problems and solution without all the hype. They have a cousin, called case studies, which businesses are also using as educational marketing collateral.

Advertorials: Step 6- Address Objections

How do you even know what your prospects are objecting to? Okay, you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine why they might not buy or register for your product or services.

The problem with that process is that we only imagine what our own objections would be. I hear people doing this a lot: "Well, if I were the customer, I might think it's too expensive."

You may not be your average customer or prospect. The point is you can't know unless you do some research.

Adam Urbanski, The Marketing Mentor, suggests that there are four basic questions people ask themselves:

1. Is this easy?
2. Can I do this?
3. Will it work for me?
4. Can I afford it?

Do not avoid addressing these issues. He suggests using stories and price positioning strategies to explain the value of your program. Compare the price to something appearing to be similar that costs a lot more (individual consulting fees vs. group classes).

Here's how I rewrote the advertorial for The Blog Squad Mentoring program: