I’m very picky when it comes to attending network events.

Even though most of the marketing I do for my freelance copywriting business is done by direct mail and Pay-Per-Click ads, I also like to attend live, local networking events. It gets me out of the house to meet local business owners and entrepreneurs, build relationships, and get some business.

As a freelancer, I have to carefully balance getting client work with doing client work. I find I have to be picky about what events to attend because that means time away from actually doing work. I have a few guidelines I go by for networking events and I thought you might find them very helpful.

1) I Do My Research

My science background has taught me to be a thorough researcher. Research is the foundation of my copywriting success and networking events are no different.

When I see an event I might want to attend, I spend some time researching the organizers and speaker. If there is a Facebook page or other online networking resource, I may chat briefly with others who normally attend. I ask about the format and how many people are usually there. This helps me know what to expect if I decide to go.

Now I’m not a snob, but through the years I’ve figured out which types of events ultimately yield work for me and which don’t – I’m careful to attend only those that I think will be valuable.

Depending on my workload, I may wait until the last minute to RSVP so I don’t lose the event fee (if there is one) if I suddenly get swamped with work and can’t go (the life of a freelancer!)

2) I Prepare Myself

There’s nothing worse than someone asking you for your business card and you don’t have any!

I try to never run out of cards but if I am short, I’ll come up with a quick alternative until I can get more. For example, I’ll write a mini introduction and sales letter (half-page) to hand out.

This little gem can actually be more effective than a business card because I have a chance to provide information about me and my copywriting and consulting services. I can even include a special offer specifically for those in attendance at the event.

Many times, business cards just get thrown into a pile or, worse, tossed into the trash so it’s always good to do something that gets you noticed…you might want to hand out a pen or other promotional item along with your business card.

3)  I Practice My Elevator Speech

Now, if you’re not familiar with an elevator speech, it’s a very short “verbal blurb” about what you do. It’s called an elevator speech because you want to be able to tell someone on an elevator what you do by the time the elevator stops on the next floor and you lose your captive audience.

Because not everyone understands what copywriters do (some people think copywriting has to do with “copyrighting”), I have a well-honed elevator speech. This way I can help others understand, very quickly, not only what I do but, more importantly, what I can do for them.

If you don’t have an elevator speech, I highly recommend you create one, write it down, practice it out loud and try it out on your family and friends. Don’t worry, it may take you several revisions to get it just right.

4) I Set A Goal For The Event

I’m a goal-setter by nature but I’m also a bit of an introvert. It’s easy for me to attend an event and only talk with the people right around me.

Before arriving, I always set a goal that I’m going to talk to a certain number of people. That might be 10 or 20 depending on how much “open networking” time is allotted.

Having a goal helps me move around and introduce myself to new and different people. The goal is not strict and I always keep in mind that events are to build relationships. If I start talking to a potential client then the goal may change.

The point is to challenge myself to meet as many people as possible while taking the time to build rapport. That person may not need a copywriter (yet!) but they might know somebody that does.

5) I Follow Up After The Event

You may hear advice from some people saying you should follow up with everyone you meet at an event. I know that can be overwhelming!

I set a goal to touch base with just a few people from the event – either through a personal note or e-mail. If I’ve committed to calling someone, I definitely will. This keeps it simple and doesn’t bog down my daily “to-do” list.

I also evaluate how the event was and decide whether or not to return to that event. Some experts say you should go to an event several times before deciding whether to stick with it. I do go back if I feel there is potential for work. If not, I move on.

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules – you just have to find what works for you.

I hope these network event tips are helpful to you. I find I enjoy events much more if I plan ahead and set goals for them.

Share your network event experiences below – I’d really like to hear your comments.

Keep it up,

Kevin
“The Professor of High Response”

So I’ve been on quite a “health kick” lately. I haven’t eaten sugar, drank caffeine, or ate white flour for the past 25 days (Yes, I’m counting the days). A far cry from this post, but thankfully I kicked the habit.

Anyway, I’ve been frequenting a health food store that creates ready-made healthy meals. The meals are usually $9-10 each, and by the time I buy the Stevia soda, protein cookie, and salmon dish, I end up spending $25 or so per trip.

So the lady behind the counter said to me, “So, have you heard about our 2-day sale?”

“No I haven’t”, I said.

“Well, between February 7-9th, depending on how much you buy, you can save some money!”

“Great,” I said. “Lemme see the coupon!”

The coupon was this: If I bought $30 worth of food, I would save 5%. If I bought $60 dollars worth of food, I’ll save 10%. And if I buy $90 of food, I’ll save 15%!

I took the coupon in my hand and walk out of the store puzzled. I quickly did the calculation in my head. If I buy one more meal than I usually do to make my total over $30, I’ll save a whopping $2.50!

Needless to say I wasn’t very impressed. That didn’t motivate me enough to take action and buy at least $30 for the deal…just to save a measly $2.50!

In other words, the offer sucked. Now if they offered a “Buy-2-Get-One-Free” deal I would be all over it like white on rice. Or even 25% off.

Chances are, I’ll still go to the store. But it reminded me of an important lesson when it comes to copywriting.

Good copy cannot sell a bad product. I have turned down potentially lucrative projects because the offer stunk. Or there wasn’t anything “exciting” about the product.

Why? Because I could write the best sales letter in the world, but it won’t sell a product nobody wants. And that’ll make me look like the “bad guy” because my copy didn’t sell the product.

Also, the offer has to be irresistible. One of my clients, Michael X at http://www.mapsmagic.com sells a system that allows businesses to get to the top of Google Maps—which are usually shown above organic listings in Google.

Now THAT’s a fantastic offer! Ask any small business owner who isn’t on top of the search engines if they would like to appear ABOVE the organic search results in Google in as little as 14 days. Chances are, they’ll say yes!

I’m already a repeat customer at this health food place.But if a new customer got that coupon, they probably wouldn’t have come back to take advantage of that coupon to save a measly $2.50 for a $30 order.

So when creating your product, think of an offer your prospects will jump over hot coals to get. Otherwise, you’ll just be a “me-too” copycat marketer whose doing the same stuff everyone else is.

And for Pete sakes…don’t shortchange your customers and prospects by having them save a measly $2.50.  🙂

Until next time,

Kevin Hill

“The Professor Of High Response”

I am usually in a very good mood. But there are times where my energy starts to wane toward the end of the day….and I start to get a little tired and “cranky”.

One could blame the emotional seesaw effect of having a Starbucks habit. “What must go up, must come down is the old sayin–and that’s especially true for anyone who has a caffeine habit…which almost made me lose a client in this post.

So I did some research and bought a book off Amazon called “The Mood Cure–The 4-Step Program To Take Charge Of Your Emotions-Today!”. You can check it out here.

This is not a book review, so I’m not going to pontificate on what the book covers. But I WILL use this book to illustrate several important copywriting concepts you should always implement in everything you write.

So let’s take the title of the book:

“The Mood Cure: The 4 Step Program To
Take Charge Of Your Emotions-Today!”

Here’s what makes this title so great:

1. There is a “Specific” in the title. The title doesn’t just say: “How To Take Charge Of Your Emotions”. The program is a 4-step program. Always be specific as possible whenever writing copy. Specifics are more believable and have more impact for the prospect. And they attract more attention too.
2. The title pushes the “easy and fast” button. By adding “today” at the end of her subhead, the author tells the reader they can feel better as soon as today…not 2 weeks…and not 3 weeks from now. The promise of fast relief is a good attention-getter and motivator.
3. It’s a 4 step program. Not 12 steps…or 15 steps. This implies simplicity, which again implies it’s an easy program to follow—another important hot button for prospects.
4. It has a Big Promise. The title promises they’ll “take charge of their emotions”…which paints a powerful “word picture” in the prospect’s mind of a life with no emotional ups and downs.

I do a lot of copy critiques and one of the things I find myself saying over and over again is, “Improve the title of your free report, book, CD, product, etc. etc.” These days, you have to think of the title of your product as a headline in itself.

That’s how Tim Ferriss decided on the title of “The 4-Hour Workweek”. He tested different pay-per-click ads with different domains—and this one was the one that got the most clicks. Because it pushed the “easy and fast” button of his prospect.

Of course, your product has to fulfill on that promise. In the Mood Cure, they propose a plan to get a hold of your emotions through dietary changes—which can take place within 10 minutes in some cases.

So remember this the next time you create your product. Does the product title have that “gotta have it!” appeal for your target market? If not, these 4 tips will help.

Talk soon,

Kevin Hill

“The Professor of High Response”

Have you ever been talking with a potential client and, after hanging up the phone, felt like the conversation didn’t go very well?  This happened to me recently and it was a great learning lesson so I thought I’d share the story with you.

I had a potential client miss a scheduled phone call.  I was going to head to Starbucks so I forwarded my work number to my personal cell phone just in case he called back.  While I was sitting in Starbucks enjoying my Iced Passion Tea, the phone rang…

It was him…

I answered…

Maybe I shouldn’t have.

There was a lot of background noise in Starbucks and I was really distracted by it.  I didn’t engage with him like I usually do with potential clients because of the distractions.  As a result, I didn’t ask very many questions to find out about his business plans or project details.

The phone call lasted less than two minutes.  We hung up and I went back to my other work and my Iced Tea.  No Sale.

Later, I was thinking about that phone call and kicking myself for missing an opportunity.  I normally have a very high take rate with new clients and I know what to do to close a deal.  I didn’t do what I know works!  I let distractions get in the way of a job and, as a freelancer, that ain’t good, ya know?

As I dissected the call later, I realized I didn’t follow my own process (you know-  the one I spoke about in my last blog post here: (3 Things My Trainer Did To Sell Me) – Build Rapport, Ask Great Questions, Use Demonstration, Call to Action.

So, I thought I’d dig a little deeper into Building Rapport (what I failed to do at Starbucks) and share some thoughts with you:

Building rapport must begin before you make a sale, but you really build rapport all throughout the call.   Here are some tips:

1.  Exchange courtesies – Yes, people are really busy and want to get to the point of the call….but not at the risk of not building rapport.  Exchanging courtesies at the beginning puts both of you at ease and will allow for a smooth transition to the next part of the call.
2. Use your client’s name – We love the sound of our own name!  Use your client’s name when starting to question them about their need for your product or service.  Use it again at the end of the call when you’re wrapping up.  A note about names… GET THEM RIGHT!  Listen carefully when someone pronounces their name.  If you’re on the phone, write it down phonetically if you have to.  If you’re talking face-to-face, don’t be afraid to ask them to pronounce it again for you (while reassuring them you just want to get it right).  I have a simple name (Kevin Hill… how much easier could it be?) but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t really listen and call me something different… like Devon, or Trevor.
3. Match the client’s pace – Now this can be tricky.  If someone is a really slow talker, it can sound condescending if you slow your speech way down, too.  You don’t need to match their pace exactly but do slow down a little if they talk slower than you.  If they are a fast talker, speed up a little but make sure you are annunciating clearly!
4. Ask relevant, engaging questions – More on questioning in a later blog post but just remember that asking great questions (and listening for the answers) go a long way to build rapport with clients.
5. How can you help them?– Once you’ve gathered enough information to determine if your product or service is right for them, move into your presentation.  Relate what you sell or do to their wants and needs.  Remember, this is about them.
6. Don’t act let down – Once the seller begins to feel they aren’t going to make the sale, it’s really easy to stop listening, stop asking questions, and stop engaging.  It’s our tendency to want to end the conversation and move on.  Customers who don’t buy should get the same enthusiasm from us at the end of the conversation as they did at the beginning.  Even if they don’t buy now, if you leave them with a great impression of you and what you can provide, they might call back instead of calling your competitor when they are ready to buy.  Remember, people buy from the heart, not the head.

I hope you’ll learn from my Screwup at Starbucks.  Building rapport is the beginning of establishing a long-term relationship with clients and is critical to the success of your business.

Keep it up,

Kevin

“The Professor of High Response”

P.S.  By the way:This story now has a happy ending… As I was finishing this article, my potential client called back and wants me to write copy for him.  So I got lucky this time around.

I’ve always been an active person.  I run 5 miles every other day and try to break a sweat in some fashion every day.

However, I’ve noticed I’ve hit a “plateau” when it comes to getting in shape.  My legs seem to give out at the 5-mile point and my knees start to get stiff after awhile.

Plus I noticed my arms were sore after carrying 4 bags of groceries this weekend.  That was the breaking point for me! 

So I just joined the local Gold’s Gym (now called Axiom).  Signing up was a piece of cake. I didn’t have to sign any contracts which I abhor.

However, the assistant manager asked me if I was interested in having a trainer.  I immediately balked at the idea–saying I already knew what to do, etc.

But he said he would sign me up for a “health consultation” with one of the trainers to access where I’m at regarding health and fitness.  He introduced me to a very nice female trainer and I set the appointment.

I immediately knew I was going to get pitched for further training during my consultation.  I do enjoy getting sold since that’s my line of work.

But I also know the “tricks of the trade” and immediately raise my guard when I detect a pitch coming–especially if it’s something I’ve already refused.

So I showed up for my assessment and…well…to make a long story short…she successfully sold me on training.

So in this blog post, I’m going to reveal the steps she took to successfully sell me on training.  Keep in mind that she didn’t perform ANY hard-nosed sales tactics on me (thank goodness!).

1) She Immediately Built Rapport With Me

People hate being sold.  I was expecting a long sales pitch regarding why I should get a trainer, how my health was going to deteriorate if I didn’t sign up, and all kinds of scare tactics.

However, she sat me down and asked me what I did for a living, and where I’m originally from.  I told her I was a copywriter–and she immediately told me she has a friend who is a copywriter too.

Nine times out of 10 I have to explain what a copywriter is to people I meet outside of the marketing realm…as most people mistakenly assume it’s about copyright law.  It truthfully gets old after awhile, as most people don’t “get it”.

However, she “got it” and I remember commending her for knowing what a copywriter was–so I didn’t have to explain it.  In other words, I immediately bonded with her.

We kept talking, and I found out she also ran half-marathons too (I have ran 4).  So that’s another thing we had in common–thus further allowing me to bond with her more.

2) She Asked Me The Right Questions

After the rapport-setting stage, she started asking me questions pertaining to my health.  I cannot remember the exact questions she asked; however, they did pertain to my previous exercise habits–and going to the gym to work out.

As an aside, I’m a “runner” and lifting weights isn’t my favorite exercise.  I’ll automatically default to running on a workout day, since that’s what I love doing.

I realized during our question-and-answer session that the only time I was consistent with working out with weights was when I was a part of a Crossfit class 2-3 years ago.  I realized the only reason I stuck with the program was because there was a trainer/instructor who was there to push me–and give me a hard time when I didn’t show up.

In other words, I realized I needed accountability.  This is evidenced by my declining workout habits after I stopped doing Crossfit due to an injury…and I never regained that consistency.

Sure I was consistent with my running…since that’s the activity I enjoyed.  But to get results, I needed to lift weights.  And that means getting out of my comfort zone when it comes to exercise.

And having an accountability partner to make sure I follow through…as I’ll automatically default to just running (what I’m comfortable with) over time.

Perhaps I can ask her to give me the questions she asked me that enabled her to flesh this out of me–so you have some context.  But to make a long story short, this is what I realized as I was answering her questions about my previous experience with diet and exercise.

But the biggest takeaway is that I did this through my own words thanks to the questions she asked me.  She didn’t browbeat me or hard-sell me.  I arrived at this realization myself–which made me realize I needed that accountability if I’m going to achieve my goals.

3) She Used The Power Of Demonstration

After our question and answer session, she took me out to the floor and showed me several stretching exercises.   She also had me do several squats so she can observe areas of my body that were tight.

I’ll preface this by saying that I am the most inflexible person you’ll ever meet. I never stretch before running, and I cannot touch my toes when bending over with my knees locked straight.

She immediately recognized I needed some help and immediately showed me several stretches I can use to loosen up.  I immediately felt the benefits of the stretches and felt myself loosening up already.

She then observed I have “rounded shoulders”…probably from sitting in a computer chair typing all day. She said my back needed more exercise and showed me a rowing exercise to strengthen my back.

“Piece of cake”, I thought.  I’ve done rowing exercises before.  So I get on the machine and she immediately diagnosed I was doing the exercise wrong.

After correction, I could definitely feel the rowing exercise working my back…instead of my arms.  And I could immediately imagine the benefits if I were to keep working out on the rowing machine.

So to wrap up, she used the power of demonstration to 1) point out deficiencies in my fitness 2) show me how doing certain exercises will help me achieve my goals.  If she had just described it to me during our initial talk, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective.

4) She Gave Me A Non-Threatening Call-To-Action

After our hour-long session was over, I was already sold.  She had built rapport with me, and she successfully demonstrated her expertise. In other words, I can trust her–and people only buy from whom they trust.

I was expecting a hard close, but instead she simply asked me, “So, are you interested in signing up for training?”

That was it. Anything harder than that and I probably would have resisted.  But she didn’t have to hard-sell me because I was already sold on getting personal training in a non-threatening manner.

So I now have a trainer.  Something I know I’ll get benefit from–and help me work off all the pizza and Starbucks mochas I’ve been consuming to meet deadlines.

So think about your own sales process.  Take a look at how my trainer effortlessly sold me above…and see how you can implement this into your own product/service. I know for a fact that I use these principles when selling clients on my copywriting services.

I don’t browbeat people and promise them millions of dollars with my copy.  But I do establish rapport, ask the right questions, demonstrate my expertise by answering questions and showing my previous campaign and results.  And I end by simply asking a version of the following question:

“Would you like to get started?” 

Thanks, hope this was helpful!

Kevin Hill

“The Professor of High Response”

I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was at an internet marketing seminar 5 years ago. A semi-famous internet marketer sold me into a monthly coaching program.

It seemed like a great idea at the time. I was going to get personal 1-on-1 coaching and attend quarterly seminars with this “guru”.

Awesome, right?

Wrong.

The marketer never fulfilled on the coaching program. And the worst part is my card kelt getting dinged $297/month.

There was no customer support number to dial.  And sending tickets to the “support help desk” was like sending emails into a black hole.

I eventually performed a chargeback through my credit card company and won. And I got my credit card to block any future billings from this guy.

Yes I got my money back.  But it cost me a lot of time, money, and angst.

Nowadays when I shop online I do my due diligence before I buy. Why?

Because I Promised Myself I Will
NEVER Get Screwed Over Like That Again!

And that’s what’s going through every one of your prospect’s head when they read or watch your sales pitch.

They’re already inherently skeptical because 99% of them have been “screwed over” on some kind of financial transaction.

It could have been something simple as buying a $0.99 pen from Walmart that broke 3 days later. Or it could have been something as expensive as buying a car that ended up being a lemon.

It doesn’t matter. Everyone has been “screwed over” somehow. And your prospects are always reading your sales pitch with that “skepticism” hat on their head.

Here are 2 lines you can insert into your copy that can easily quell any skepticism in your prospect’s mind. I usually try to fit these in in most of the long-form copy I write–usually sales letters and video sales letters.

1) “But I know you’re a little skeptical. But if you suspend your skepticism for the next 3 minutes and read every single word of this message, you’ll discover how to (insert big benefit).

This line acknowledges the skepticism that’s going on in the prospect’s mind. You should always try to “enter the conversation going on in your prospect’s mind” in your copy, as the great copywriter Robert Collier once said.

I usually put this line at the beginning of a pitch…usually after I reveal the Big Promise. The Big Promise is, of course, the main benefit (weight loss, more money, more free time, etc.) that product or service is going to provide the prospect.

2) “You simply cannot make a mistake here.”

This line is powerful. That’s because each person fears when buying something that the product will break down, the service provide will under-deliver, or they’ll get “screwed over” again.

In other words, they’re afraid they’ll make a mistake when they purchase.

I usually put this line after the guarantee. You never want to just state your guarantee and call it a day. You need to explain how the guarantee will benefit them by, again, entering the conversation that’s already going on in your prospect’s mind.

And, like I said before, every prospect has been “screwed over” in some form or another.

(See a pattern here?)

People are exposed to 5000 marketing messages every day according to the market research firm Yankelovich Inc.  And people are inherently skeptical of advertising–unless it’s from someone they trust.

So test these 2 lines in your copy. They will help your prospect get over the skepticism that’s going through their heads.

(That is, until they see another sales pitch…)

Talk soon,

Kevin Hill
Direct Response Copywriter
“The Professor of High Response”

Hi gang.  Just got back from the 2012 Glazer-Kennedy Superconference in Dallas, Texas.  Don’t care much for their football team (Redskins fan here) but it is a very nice city.

Oh, and I got to meet the Man himself:

 

I also got to meet Larry Winget, the “Pitbull of Personal Development”. Definitely one of my favorite authors/speakers.

If you’ve never been to a seminar like this, you definitely need to go.  You get to meet a lot of like-minded people and discover a LOT of cool stuff.

OK, enough name-dropping.  Let’s get down to brass tacks.

Here are the top 3 things I learned at the Superconference.  I paid a lot of moolah to attend this event, so I’m really hooking you up here.

1) Get People Offline As Soon As Possible

Yes, email is cheap. But when’s the last time you got ticked off about all the emails landing in your Inbox?  And how many of you have a separate email address just for the “marketing” emails?

The prevailing theme throughout the Superconference is to take people offline as soon as possible. That means collecting their name, addresses, and phone numbers (if possible) and sending them direct mail instead of relying on email.

Dan Kennedy gave several case studies on how some of his clients were able to get up to a 100:1 return on investment with direct mail.

This is mostly due to the tangible aspect of direct mail–as it’s a physical “thing” that comes in the mailbox.  Versus an email that easily gets buried as the day goes on.

Question: How many of your email Inboxes look like this?

That’s right, this is my actual Gmail account.   I get a lot of marketing emails and, as you can tell, I don’t read all of them.

Whereas I’ll only get 1-2 marketing pieces a day in the mail.  And most of these are “one-off” mailings from local companies that are horribly written.

I know I’m going to be implementing direct mail in my own business when following up with clients.   This was probably my biggest takeaway from the entire conference.

Oh, and as an aside, Dan Kennedy consults with some of the largest Internet marketers on the planet.  And you know what? They secretly rely on direct mail to build their business.

Of course, you won’t hear any of these guys advertise this–since they’ll lose the moniker “internet marketer” if word got out.

2) Don’t Be Afraid To Overspend On Leads

Dan Kennedy mentioned that one of the biggest fights he has with clients is they want to naturally find ways to get leads for their business as cheaply as possible.

They want to find out how they can get leads through the search engines because it’s “free”. And they’ll fight over whether or not to put the glossy cover on their 25-page lead generator report–or if a plain black and white cover will suffice.

He said that the more you spend on leads, the more profit you’ll extract from them.  Generally speaking, of course.

For example, you can get prospects to enter their name and email address to download a free report they’ll save to their hard drive–and never read again.

Or you can get prospects to enter their name, email address, and phone number to receive a free physical report in the mail.  Sure you had to pay more money to print out and ship the report.  But now you’ll have the prospect’s mailing address–and a physical “thing” in their possession that serves as a constant reminder of you.

I know one marketer who spent a lot of time and money to get ranked high for a keyword in his niche.  He was able to crack the first page of Google before long and was able to get tons of traffic like crazy.

However, he found that most of these people finding him under that specific keyword were just “looky-loos” searching for free information.

Sure, he built a HUGE email list, but they were mostly freebie seekers who weren’t responding to his offers.

3) Follow Up Both Online AND Offline

You’ve probably heard the marketing axiom that your prospect has to be exposed to your marketing message 7 times before they’ll buy.  And all you have to do is load up 7 emails in your autoresponder and call it a day.

I already covered how email can be easily ignored earlier in this blog post.  Sure it’s easy and cheap, but you’re probably getting bombarded by emails as we speak.    And I’m sure you’ve sent an email to a friend or client–only to find out it got thrown into their SPAM folder.

That’s why hitting your prospects and clients online AND offline is critical.  This could be through a simple monthly newsletter, postcard, or 2-page mailing.  Any Glazer-Kennedy customer can testify to the fact that they do an awesome job of following up through email AND direct mail.

I hope this was helpful to you.  I’m definitely going to be implementing these tips into my business–and you should too.

Take care,

Kevin Hill
“The Professor of High Response”

 

One of the mistakes many beginning copywriters and marketers make is failing to understand their target market.

They create products and services they think people NEED to solve a problem or fulfill a desire. However, they end up totally missing the mark and wasting a lot of time and money.

This blog post will cover 2 ways to determine what your target market wants. Research is my hallmark when it comes to writing copy (you can read more about that here) and these are the top things I do to research a target market.

 

1) Peruse Online Forums And Message Boards

This is HUGE. Many people go on forums to hang out, make friends, and network. Depending on the niche and forum.

However, many go to forums because they have an urgent problem that needs to be solved—and they want to ask the members how to solve it.

Forums are a literal goldmine if you want to get insight into what keeps your target audience up at night.

Here’s an example: I frequent the Warrior Forum a lot. In case you’re not familiar with the forum, it’s a popular internet marketing forum that has thousands of members.

Most of the people who peruse this forum are looking to make money online. There are some people who are experts who help on the forum. However, most are “newbies” looking to get started.

Here’s a random screenshot I took to show my point:

 

You can see that 3 people are internet marketing “newbies” looking for advice on how to make money online. If you were to peruse the Warrior Forum more extensively you’ll notice most of the topics are started by people looking for advice on how to make money on the internet.

So you can easily determine if there is a NEED in the marketplace by watching forum posts. In this case, the NEED is for information on how to make money online.

This is a rather obvious example—as it’s well-known that the “make money online” is a rabid market and millions of dollars of information products catering to this market are sold every month.

One more thing: the number of forums in a niche is another important indicator as well. The easiest thing to do is simply search for “(your niche) forum” in Google. Here is an example search illustrating this:

You can see there are MANY internet marketing forums online—an indicator that a niche is rabid enough that people congregate online to discuss.

Browsing forums is only one part of the equation when it comes to honing into your target market. The next thing you need to do is determine if your target audience actually spends money in that niche.

 

2) Determine What Other Products Exist Out There In The Marketplace

 

This is where you’ll determine if the problem or desires of your target market is rabid enough for them to yank out their wallet and BUY.

The easiest thing to do is go to Amazon.com and browse what books exist in a niche. Or if you have a good bookstore like Barnes and Noble you can walk in and study the books.

While you’re at it, take a look at the magazines as well. A niche that has a lot of magazines is a good indicator of market passion.

Here’s a simple Amazon periodical search on cats:

 

 

As you can see, there are periodicals devoted to cats—an indicator the market is passionate enough to pay a recurring subscription for information on cats.

Oh, and don’t forget to actually look through these books and magazines to check out the advertisements, and the topics that appear again and again.

Here’s an example: there are TONS of magazines devoted to golf. And each golf magazine has articles devoted to one thing: hitting long drives straight down the fairway.

As a result, there are many information products devoted to helping people hit longer drives and shooting lower scores. This is the #1 thing golfers want to accomplish—and they’ll do ANYTHING to achieve this result since their passion level is so high.

So looking through books and periodicals in your niche will 1) show you if people are willing to spend money in a niche and 2) provide more insight to what keeps your target market up at night.

Another thing you can do is check out if there are Google Adwords ads running when you perform a search query in Google.

Here’s an example:

 

 

 

You can see I typed “dating” into the search query box and you can see all the Adwords ads—outlined in black. This is an indicator that people are spending money in this market. Otherwise, advertisers would not be paying the big bucks on Adwords if they were not getting their investment back in product sales.

So to wrap things up, here are your action steps:

1) Find out if there are forums and message boards in your target market.

2) Check back in now and then to peruse the subject lines to see what people are talking about.

3) Go to the local bookstore and see what books and periodicals exist in your market. Study them and make note of common topics that appear over and over again.

4) Use a variety of keywords pertaining to your market to determine if there are Google Adwords ads being run in your market.

You’ll seriously be 95% ahead of your competition who will never do any of the above research to hone into their target market.

Until next time,

Kevin Hill – Direct Response Copywriter

“The Professor of High Response”

Hi gang. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a video.  So I decided to describe the #1 thing you need to remember about your target market when you sit down and write copy.

It’s only 2 minutes and 30 seconds long but it’s important.

Keep this in mind when formulating your copy.

Kevin Hill

“The Professor of High Response”