Hi Lin,
Just reading through your email here..
On the very last line, you said something that really sums up how to write an ad.
You mentioned that my ad did not seem like all the other "get rich quick" schemes and seem to have some integrity.
This sums up the essential core to writing a good ad. Most NO ONE seems to understand this principle.
BASICALLY, HERE IS WHAT I DO W/ AD WRITING:
When writing an ad, I ask myself if it seems realistic. As I write every line to my advertisement, I ask myself TWO THINGS:
1. Is this believable?
2. Would someone who is not convinced become convinced reading it?
Thats about all there is too it.. You can break it down more from there using
"standard" sales copy principles..
1. Point out the benefits of what you are selling more prominently than its features.
2. Separate the benefits into small paragraphed sections with a catchy subtitle.
Check out my auctions. You will see this is what I do on most if not all of them.
Then, if you are not aware, there is the science of ad copy writing, which I explain in detail here:
AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE:
You mentioned ebooks and the lofty dream of making real money with them as pie in the sky.
I can definitely understand this viewpoint. There are so many out there who seem to put a lot of hype into
selling eBooks and often their techniques do not work or do not pan out.
The principle that really enlightened me was:
* The sale is literally 75% the ad you write and 25% the product being written about.
When different people here the above some get it on the head level, but not on the relation level. It sounds good, but they can not relate to it.
I am not sure if you can or not, but I know for a fact that this is indeed true.
Here is some proof it is true: Haven't you ever wondered why con artists get rich? Think about it for a minute. If the sale was even 50% the product a con man would have a hard time becoming rich. But, if it was true that the marketing/advertising was 75% or a majority of the sale, it follows that a con man truly could get rich selling garbage.
Now, although the proof above is a bit strange, it is nevertheless proof.
THE POINT:
The point is that if you focus on your sale as being mainly you trying to convince someone your ad is true and to buy it. You are literally SELLING THE AD, more so than the product.
SELLING RELIGIOUS BOOKS & MATERIALS:
First, did you know about this website I created?
www.godrules.net. Thought I should point it out, as its where I made my first mark on the net.. All free stuff..
OK, selling religious books and materials is actually not much different than any other product.
The only real difference I can think of and probably you can vouch for is that customers who buy religious materials often
expect you to cower like a good little Christian when they send back products, etc.. Alteast, I have noticed that.. They assume that if you are Christian or religious that you should just accept any return, as it is the Christian way. I disagree with that assertion. Its plain rediculous, but it does occur.
Otherwise, its like selling anything else.
IF YOU WANT TO EXPAND ON BOOKS, YOU NEED A GOOD SYSTEM MODEL:
If you want to take the religious books to a new level, you will need to develop a system where you can sell in higher volume.. IF this is of interest to you..
MY IDEA IS EITHER:
1. You sell higher priced items to make more money.
OR
2. Sell more volume..
Which sounds better to you?
Please respond to this question of either 1 or 2 above and I will help you with a plan to bring it to pass.
Sincerely
Tony
Revsbooks@aaaa.com wrote:
Dear Coach,
Hi. I am Lin Smallwood. I am currently selling books on Amazon and Ebay. I started selling my books from Seminary and then got hooked on the idea of beginning an internet online book selling business. Right now I am making about $300 a month on Amazon and $200 on Ebay. I have sold a few ebooks and I would like to sell more. I have about 200 print books listed on Amazon and 100 on
Ebay. I have alot of classics and original sources- they seem to sell well. My Ebay feedback is about 161 with 100% positive feedback. I am also selling lots of books for other people who want to get rid of novels. These I group together as lots.
I would like to specialize on spiritual or religious books, like the gospels, forbidden gospels, meditation books, pocket scripture verses. One thing I noticed was that you can get tiny scripture portions for John, and Luke and rarely for Mark or Matthew. I would really love to create a book that would fit in your shirt pocket- a separate one for each of the gospels with my name- Revsbooksonline. That is one long term goal of mine. I see you have a software program for pastors that looks interesting and I will probably purchase it soon. That looks like something I would have liked to put together- or may I could sell yours.
I too discovered the WEB Bible and it has so many posibilities when I saw that it was in your Pastor's software I was very pleased.
I have a web site that is getting ready to launch- revsbooksonline.com. I don't know how to get the products listed there yet but I am working on it. I would like to have some good solid ebooks on it as well as real books.
I am a full time pastor with much to do but this is something that I devote about 4 hours a day to currently working on my online business. Early morning and late at night.
Yes, I want to make money but I don't want to go heavily into the ebook incredible promise genre that seems like a pie in the sky thing. Whatever I sell has to have some meat to it and some value I hope.
I also have two humorous plays which are original scripts (I made into ebooks) written by a
cousin who is an actor in NYC. One is a comic murder mystery set in England and the other is about Therapy using TV stereotypes from sit-coms.
I need your help in figuring out how to get started writing ads for my two plays and picking 4 or 5 ebooks to sell on my web site, and on Ebay. Also your advice about my ideas if they seem feasible to you. I liked the way your ad was written and it seemed to have integrity and not some get rich quick scheme. Thank you for your time in reading this email. Sincerely,
