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"You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going." -- Mike Litman

The quote above has to be the most important idea for many a business person. It's the antidote to the dread perfectionitis disease that paralyzes you.

Perfectionitis is born of a perfectly reasonable impulse: to produce a quality product.

But it is the "impossible standard" aspect of it that makes it dysfunctional. It is the kind of impulse that makes a parent say "No one's good enough for my Billy" (or Susie). And because getting it perfect is nearly impossible, making public your effort is well nigh impossible.

One of Dan Kennedy's lessons is that half of winning is just showing up! So he and Litman are on the same page.

To have a newsletter and not write to your subscribers is to not show up!

What are the problems with not showing up?

- No one remembers you. Harsh but true. Oh, you may be a memory in passing, but people have their own lives. You are a blip on most people's screens. The only way to become a bigger blip is to show up.

- You miss opportunities to announce and to sell. Does this really need any elaboration? Didn't think so. :)

- You miss opportunities to BUILD on previous opportunities, and so forth.

- You miss chances to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field.

Besides the inverse of the above, what ADVANTAGES arise from just showing up and communicating to your list?

- You become more comfortable in communicating.

- You build momentum, so that coming up with ideas to communicate is easier.

- You have opportunities to answer the question, "What have you done for me lately."

- You have a store of information which you can archive and then refer your subscribers. For example, you can write, "As I mentioned two weeks ago at http://buildyourwealth.successuniversity.com , you can enhance your personal development andcommunication skills by..." And on the archive page, you can advertise. :)

Yes, the tragedies of not showing up are tremendous. Perfectionism can literally KILL your business! And the benefits of "just showing up" are equally huge.

Moreover, they can cascade and reinforce each other.

So how can you move yourself to "just show up?"

1 - Use Litman's comment at the top of this article to remind yourself that perfectionism is NOT a good pole star.

2 - Write short pieces. You don't have to write Moby Dick. Short pieces that deliver real information that they can use is what people mainly want.

3 - Give yourself a schedule. And stick to it.

4 - Ask for feedback on what you write. You may find that people like it, even though it's not "perfect." And if they criticize, you'll have information on how to improve.

Do these things and perfectionitis will be a thing of the past, for you will more consistently show up.

Heres to you and your sucess - Just Do It

Laura
Marketing Freak
Visit
www.dybstrategies.com for more information on us
http://buildyourwealth.successuniversity.com to find out how to create a better life for yourself

10 Sure Fire things to help Create Profit Pulling copy

Ever find that some ads just don’t quite get the pull as well as others? Maybe some flounder while others even failed miserably. And you just seem to have a little difficulty figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

Well, start counting. Here are some pointers on what makes good ad copy work.

1. Compelling Headline – Look around. What grabs your attention in today’s newspaper or the internet articles you read? Use buzzwords or whatever it takes. Reach out and grab your targeted market.

2. Sub-Structure –Readers today have tired eyes. The Internet and email keep growing and cranking out more and more each day. So make your copy appealing. Chop up your copy by using sub-headings and bullet points. Don’t make people read endlessly to find major points.

3. Contact – People want to communicate and not just toss money away. Offer a phone number with a human on the other end. Skip the automated menus and elevator music. You don’t like it; your clients don’t either. You are busy; so are they. Tune into THEIR needs.

4. Order Options –Buyers want choices. So give them some. Set up ordering via as many ways as possible; email links, toll-free phone and fax number, online and postal forms. One size doesn’t fit all here.

5. Free-something – People want free samples, trials, bonuses or anything.

6. Price – Don’t shy away from sharing price – at least a range. Don’t irritate readers and make them search. How much? Make it clear.

7. More info – Offer a place for people to learn more. Make they reply email address a domain name with information, maybe a free e-book or report with photos, testimonials, etc. In other words, don’t have readers reply to a free email service like Hotmail or Yahoo.

8. Ad Errors – Test your ad BEFORE it goes out. Do your links work that you mention? Does the phone number work? What does the voicemail recording say on the phone? Does your email address work that you’ve included? Make sure to check details and look for spelling and grammar errors.

9. Legibility – Can you read it? Is there so much content that your ad is too tiny to read? Make sure you see a proof beforehand. Then print it out and look it over.

10. Font – Don’t get fancy & use scripts that people can’t read. Keep it simple! In summary, before you head to the press with your next ad copy, count and see how many good points you’ve covered.

Put your copy to work and make it a return on your investment, not a write off.

Why Copywriting Is The Secret To Your Online Success by Laurence James

Over the last decade, the number of companies selling their products and services on the Web or sharing information online with their target market has exploded.

It's no longer frowned upon to conduct your business on the Web, and huge numbers of people are making a healthy living doing just that. Others, however, are not. For every great website out there that grabs its customer's attention and holds it, there are hundreds more bad ones that don't. Despite their best efforts, many businesses are losing money daily due to the poor performance of their company website.

Contrary to popular myth, what constitutes a great website is not just fantastic design, but also the quality of the online copy that accompanies it. If you pay equal attention to both sides of this equation, you'll end up with an amazing site that drives traffic where you need it most, bringing excellent sales or driving great interest as a result. But if you ignore the necessity of simple, effective and clear-cut Web copy, evidence has shown your site will suffer as a consequence.

In a 2002 Stanford University "Web Credibility" survey of over 4,500 Web users in Europe and the US, findings are unequivocal. Whilst recognising the benefits of good design, the report also states:"

Our data suggests that integrity of content has considerable impact on how people evaluate the credibility of a website. Study participants gave some of their lowest scores on credibility to sites that fail to separate advertising from editorial content, run too many ads on a page, or display ads through pop-up windows.

At the same time, users gave strong marks to site content that identified its sources and provided its authors' credentials."

Along with effective design and navigation, the report concludes that:"As for writing style, (websites should) be clear, direct, and sincere."

(Source: Stanford-Makovsky Web Credibility Study 2002).

So you have to ask yourself, is the writing on your website ‘clear, direct and sincere’? If not, then you could be losing sales. Nobody wants a lame duck website that leaves its visitors confused or disinterested, or worse still, a site that makes inflated and unrealistic claims. What people want to find on your site is a credible and well thought out approach to their requirements, they want answers to the questions that drew them to your website in the first place – because it’s then that they are more likely to make a purchase. Hitting just the right tone to do this is the job of a really good copywriter, and the time and money you take to get this right with a professional writer will ultimately be reflected in increased business for you and your company.

About the Author
Laurence James is Copywriting Director of The Copy Box ®? – Professional Copywriting & Content - www.thecopybox.com. He holds a BA Honours Degree in English and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism. Laurence has been writing commercially in a variety of different markets for over seven years, and works with companies of all sizes, including marketing and advertising agencies.