Courtney James Houde / Copywriter

If you’re in business or marketing then this simple 15 minute change can multiply your income by as much as seven times.

Mind you… if I multiplied my income by seven times you’d still need a microscope to see it! However, you may be in position to take advantage of this simple little insight.

So what the heck am I talking about?

Well, if you’ve read the marketing books and listened to the gurus then you know they have a simple answer for everything.

When in doubt… test!

A test is simply an experiment in results. The key is to measure them and to only test for big differences.

For instance, you might write two headlines and measure which one pulls in more visitors for your blog.

Or you might measure the amount of inquiries you’re getting from two almost identical classified ads with different contact methods.

All in all… It really sounds pretty boring, but let me tell you something:

It isn’t by far!

And I can give you a great example of a test that thrilled me. I was so excited I almost couldn’t sleep. Heck, my girlfriend was laying there in bed behind me… waiting for me… and here I was measuring the results of two headlines I’d written for a blog post.

One headline read:

“16 Spicy Tweets For Hotshot Marketers”

The other headline read:

“16 Ways To Write A Tweet”

One of those headlines pulled 6 clicks in about 12 hours. The other headline pulled 42 clicks in less than two hours and after reposting it… IT PULLED 109 CLICKS!

Not to mention the “retweets”. Seven people “retweeted” my blog post to their followers on Twitter! Seven… and this post is still pulling.

So, can you guess which headline pulled in those hundred visitors and which headline fizzled out and only pulled in 6?

Guess!

Then check out this little picture of my bit.ly stats…

Seriously, check this out:

Hmmm…

Well, I can’t blame you if you guessed wrong because I really thought: “16 Spicy Tweets For Hotshot marketers” would pull… It just sounded fancy and cool to me.

But… I was shocked when the simplest description of my blog post: “16 Ways To Write A Tweet” pulled seven times more visitors into my blog!

Can you imagine?

I mean, really think about this. If you ran an ad in your local paper (Let’s pretend you have a commercial cleaning business) and each customer was worth about two hundred dollars a month to you. Let’s say you’re pulling in three solid customers a month running your ads then all of the sudden… with one little change you pulled in 21! The same ratio (seven times) as my simple little headline change.

If you were making $600 in sales a month… now you’re making $4200 extra a month! And of course, in a business like cleaning your customers often sign in to year long contracts with you. So in reality you’re making: $50,400 dollars extra in the span of a single year. And this is on top of your existing client base!

Not bad eh?

All because you changed the headline of your ad and tested the results.

But the funny thing is… no one does this.

I’ve tried to get clients in my hometown by explaining this simple principle to them. They just don’t get it. They’d rather spend a thousand bucks a month running ads that simply aren’t getting the results they could be with a few simple tweaks. And the really sad part is that almost nobody measures their results.

It’s a weird world we live in.

And this is why I know my future is secure.

Because “In the land of the blind men the one-eyed man is king.”

Something to think about.

If you enjoyed this article then your followers will too. Simply click the little green “retweet” button at the bottom of this post and share it with them. Break up their dreary day.

Your obvious friend,

Courtney James
A.K.A. Obvious Writer

Talk about funky…

Here I was sitting on the crapper playing “Galaga” on my cell phone when there was a rap-tap-tap on my door.

I thought it was my landlord with my new fridge because I’d been living off of bread (and pop-tarts I stole from my girlfriend) since I moved into this place but….

When I pulled up my pants it was the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Two of them.

Now… I’m not some religious fruitcake but I do believe in tolerance and learning from everyone I meet.

So I was very patient and I’m glad because these people are better salesman then you’d believe.

By the time they’d left I was wondering where to sign-up… of course… being the obsessed marketer that I am… I was also wondering how I could steal their techniques for my own use.

So I wrote their “system” down. Check this out. Imagine how well this would work for a small business. The beauty of it is simplicity. And the cool part is that much of this works in online marketing too.

Here it is…

The 6-Step Jehovah’s Witness Selling System:

1. Knock on doors:

They knock on your door.

Most salesmen don’t even get this far but the Jehovah’s are like woodpeckers on crack. They introduce themselves and present a clean and professional appearance. They’re friendly and smiling. More than I can say about myself.

2. Don’t sell:

They ask to “talk” to you. Notice this, they don’t try to convert you on the first visit. They simply ask to speak with you.

3. Give free stuff away:

They give you a nice printed booklet.

“There’s an article in here you might like.” He points to the article titled: “Do All Religions Worship The Same God?”

Hmmm… this is an easy in. I think I’m going to actually read this article the next time I’m on the crapper.

(NOTE: No doubt this gift also induces the psychological principle of reciprocity.)

4. Build your list:

“Can I have your name?” he asks. I give it to him and he writes it down. He comments on how interesting the name is… being that my name is a girls name and I’m a guy.

5. Follow up:

“I’ll be stopping by in a month to talk with you again.” He informs me. Interesting. He didn’t really ask but I’m not inclined to argue because they’ve been so nice to me.

6. Don’t overstay your welcome:

They leave on a cheerful note and start banging on my neighbors door while I consider converting to Jehovah just to be a better marketer.

Now… think about this a bit.

They didn’t sell me anything. They didn’t ask me for anything at all. In fact… all they did do was give me some literature and mention they’d be by again to talk. Not bad.

Talking isn’t scary. I have nothing to lose… I think.

Either way, it reminded me of my first year in business. When I was a shy little guy fresh out of college.

I was trying to sell over the phone and at seminars but I was horrible at it. Nobody wanted anything to do with me at all. If only I’d been a Jehovah’s Witness… I’d already have known there’s an easier way to sell.

I mean, look at it this way… I was selling websites and graphic design. It’s a hell of an easier sale than selling an invisible god to pagans, right?

And I think if I was ever to sell again… I’d use the Jehovah approach.

Something to ponder.

Your obvious friend,

Courtney James
The Obvious Writer

P.S. Reminds me of Frank Bettger’s book “How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling”. He maintained that there were really two sales to be made. 1. Selling the interview. 2. Selling the actual product. If you’re into business and marketing it’s one of the better books on selling and it’s an easy read.

Hey, If you’re interested in writing your own ads, sales letter or persuasive content then here’s some resources you really need to hide from the competition.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment today:

The Most Valuable Website In The World– Gary Halbert
(Ugly site… million dollar info.)
www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

Advice From The World’s Greatest Copywriter– Gary Bencivenga
(You’d have to be a dumb-head to ignore this.)
http://bencivengabullets.com

Top-flight Million Dollar Writing Advice– Clayton Makepeace
(One of the world’s greatest persuasive writers reveals his secrets.)
www.makepeacetotalpackage.com

Crackerjack Selling Secrets– Ben Settle
(The only e-mail I read immediately when I check my inbox are Ben’s selling and copywriting tips– seriously.)
http://bensettle.com/blog

Classic Copywriting Advice– Ryan Healy
(Great advice. Killer writer.)
http://www.ryanhealy.com

Sweet Articles Here– John Angelache
(Absolutely love John’s writing style.)
http://www.johnanghelache.com/

Check-Out Dan’s Archives For Great Marketing Advice– Doberman Dan
(He worked with Gary Halbert and gives seriously wicked advice.)
http://dobermandan.com

A Treasure Trove For Copywriters and Info Marketers– Lawrence Bernstein
(A fresh breath of air for writers and advertising fanatics.)
http://www.infomarketingblog.com

A-Level Persuasive Writing Gold– Doug D’Anna
(This guy is at the top of his game.)
http://www.dougdanna.com

Massive Collection of Free Interviews– Michael Senoff
(Michael is marketing. He’s seriously the king of marketing interviews.)
http://www.hardtofindseminars.com

And that my friend is a valuable list of free resources.

Add your own by leaving a comment and your most valuable finds. Let’s build a killer list!

Your obvious friend,

Courtney James
The Obvious Writer

P.S. Hey, I’d love to visit your links. Drop me a line anytime or leave a comment with a few of your finds. That would be amazing.

Here’s a story about a “parasite machine” that prevents chapped hands and If you bear with me I’ll tell you what this has to do with making money online in a second.

Okay…

So here I am at 7:00am… 6 hours too early for any sane person to wake up and I stroll into the McDonalds’ restroom.

I tinkle… sprinkle and go to dry my hands and there’s no towels!

Not that I expect silk sheets or something… but there’s not even a paper towel in sight– but there is one of those damn parasite infested air-drying thinga-ma-bobs.

So I stood there debating…

Should I just use my shirt to dry my hands?

Or should I use the parasites?

Well.

Here’s why I decided to use the parasite air machine!

Right there in bold letters it told me: “Automatically Prevents Chapping”

Man, someone knows what they’re doing and it’s a shame. Even the McDonalds air-dryer is a better ad then 95% of the small business ads run in the local newspaper.

So what’s the marketing/writing tip here?

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling Egg-McMuffins or hand-drying. You have to speak benefits– and maybe incite a little fear!

To tell the truth… I was a bit worried that if I didn’t use the McDonalds air-dryer I’d get chapped and bloody hands in the cold North Bay air…

Scary.

And that’s the power of a few words.

Your obvious friend,

Courtney James
The Obvious Writer

P.S. ANNOUNCEMENT: I may be offline for a few days because I’m moving today… I will probably go through internet withdrawals but if I should survive the trauma… I’ll be back soon. Love you guys… and gals.