Stages of Second Language Acquisition

Many students often worry or complain about their inability to produce spoken (and sometimes written) language. They have studied a language for 6 months or even longer and they can produce just a few words and phrases. Usually, even teachers feel their students are not making as much progress as they should. After all, they say, they have been practicing patterns, drills, even some conversations in class but nevertheless, although their students can understand many things, when it comes to producing them on their own, they are at a loss.

The good news is, this is not bad or undesirable at all! It is part of a four-step language acquisition process that could be broken into:

1) The Silent Period: in this stage, most students understand more than they can produce. They can understand when someone talks to them but they cannot express their ideas in the same way. They can answer “yes” or “no.”

2) Early Production: learners can answer some “yes” or “no” questions,they use repetitive language patterns to express ideas and they try to express concepts by using one or two words only. They cannot find the words to make complete sentences.
It is important to bear in mind that comprehension precedes production. This is especially true in Second Language Acquisition. You can always understand more of a language then you can produce.

3) Speech emergence: in this stage, learners can communicate with simple phrases and sentences. They will ask simple questions that may or may not be grammatically correct. It is common to see thay they will start some short conversations.

4) Intermediate Fluency: at this stage, learners are using more complex sentences when speaking and writing. They can express opinions and share their thoughts. They also have the ability to formulate questions in order to ask for clarification.

5)Advanced Fluency: a student at this stage will be near-native in their ability to perform in the second language, although there may be some gaps specially when it comes to idiomatic uses of the language.

It goes without saying that this article is not exhaustive and actually whole books could be written on each of these stages and that my intention while writing this article was to present the lay reader with a glimpse of the different stages of this captivating topic.

By being aware of these stages, you can feel confident about your learning process and you can lower your anxiety levels if you feel you cannot express exactly what you have in mind. Time is your ally here!

If you need more info on the topic, just google the following keywords “stages of second language acquisition.” You are way on your way to learning about your own learning!

Julio Foppoli is a teacher of English as a Second Language, teacher of Spanish as a Second Language. He is also the creator and owner of esaudio.net/Spanish esaudio.net/Spanish, an online educational website with a technological edge, specialized in the teaching of Spanish as second language via audio-conference to native speakers of English from all over the world.

The website offers free listening comprehension activities with Spanish from all of the Spanish speaking world.

Freelance Copywriters: How to Turn Old Job Listings into Freelance Cash

I’m sure many are familiar with popular job boards like Craigslist.org, WritersWeekly.com and FreelanceWriting.com. As you probably know, if you’re not among the first to apply, you will most likely never hear anything from the prospective client.

I use job boards another way — as I get most of my work from old clients (I’ve been freelancing since 1993, so am grateful to be in the position of not having to market so hard for clients).

How to Effectively Use Job Boards to Solicit Work

So, how do I use job boards to solicit work? In two ways:

1) I always apply — I don’t care how old the listing is, I will still send in my credentials. Most of the time, if I receive a response, it will be something along the lines of, “We received 100 responses to our ad and have already chosen a freelancer. Thanks for applying.”

I’m always thrilled to get a response — even if it’s a rejection. Why? Because it opens a line of communication — which is the first step to building a relationship of any kind. A response allows me to write back. I usually say something to the effect of:

Dear Ms. Client:

[be kind and and complimentary in your approach, eg;] Thank you for apprising me of the fact that your freelance writing needs have been filled. It’s rare to receive a response when a position has closed; I appreciate your professionalism.

[go for the soft pitch, eg:] Please keep my credentials on file for future consideration. I specialize in helping mortgage, real estate and insurance professionals increase their bottom line. In today’s competitive market, turning referrals into paying customers requires consistent contact — no matter the type of business.

[generally explain how you can help the prospective client, eg:] An on- and offline marketing expert, I can show you concrete ways to increase referrals and turn a static and/or non-existent database into a consistent revenue stream.

[use the following if you don't know who the client is -- most times you will be responding to blind ads] I welcome the chance to consult with you along these lines — even if you have no immediate needs.

[use the following if you know who the client is and can do some quick research on them] Eg, I notice from your website that you are one of the largest mortgage providers in the northeast. I can position your company to become the “go to″ resource for information by providing a handy e-booklet about the industry.

[give a specific example of how you can help them, eg:] Instead of the standard, How to Apply for a Mortgage, potential clients respond more to what NOT to do when applying. Eg, an e-book entitled, 7 Things You Should NOT Do When Applying for a Mortgage is much more likely to get a prospect’s attention.

This is just one suggestion among many that I can assist you with — building your referral ratio and database for years to come. Samples of my work can be found at the web address listed below, along with my contact information.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Sincerely,
Ms. Copywriter
MyWebsite.com
000/111-2222
info@mywebsite.com
[always close with a P.S., which should ask them to do something; providing a free giveaway is an excellent way to prompt this, eg:] P.S.: Subscribe to receive the FREE e-pamphlet, 3 Easy Ways to Turn Passive Prospects Into Paying Customers!

2. The second way I use job listings is to add to my database. Eg, after I apply, I add the contact info to my database — if it’s not an anonymous posting. This way, I know which companies use freelancers. When I do mailings, cold calls, etc., I never have to pay for a list — I just go to the one I′ve been building for years. I have over 4,000 listings in this database.

I haven’t done a direct mailing to the whole thing in years. What I do do on a consistent basis is send an e-mail blast 4-6 times a year. I do it newsletter style. Eg, I don’t e-mail asking for work I create a marketing newsletter. It contains marketing tips for increasing referrals rates; info on turning passive customers into paying customers; highlights technology that makes marketing easier, etc.

I send a marketing newsletter because my customer base has changed over the years and I haven’t taken the time to sort it according to industry. So, I can’t, for example send a newsletter about the mortgage industry because some of my clients are legal publishers, some are educational firms, others are graphic design firms, etc.

A marketing newsletter appeals to all prospects because if a company is in business — they want to increase their bottom line. This is a universal need and one that a marketing letter covers nicely.

Producing a marketing newsletter does two things: 1) it keeps my name constantly in front of customers; and 2) it builds my credibility at the same time. So, when it comes time for prospects to hire a freelance copywriter — who do you think they will more than likely think of first? Me, of course! This is called being top of mind.

Speaking of being top of mind, you want to shoot for being in the top 3 that prospects think of when they think of your type of service/specialty. Why the top 3?

Well, there′s no guarantee you’ll be number one, because the client’s sister, Suzie, might just do what you do. And, so might Suzie′s best friend. But usually, outside of personal and professional circles, most people can’t think of 3 people who do the same thing.

The bottom line — old job listings can be a great source of leads for new business — if you take the time to proactively mine them.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of

The Benefits of Publishing Articles to Build Big Ticket Marketing Relationships

Ok, today we are going to talk about one of my favorite Big Ticket Marketing tools – writing articles!

You are probably thinking, what does writing articles have to do with Big Ticket Marketing?

Well, it turns out, it has plenty to do with it and I’m going to tell you why.

It’s about the relationship!

As a Big Ticket Marketer you have an even tougher job of convincing your potential customers to become actual customers. That’s because Big Ticket items have a much higher price tag then other products. And the higher price tag means that you have more skepticism to overcome than someone who is just selling a $37 e-book.

Also, you may be in an industry where there is a lot of competition with products that have very similar capabilities or features. So how do you differentiate yourself and your Big Ticket product from the others?

In my opinion, the key factor that should make you different from the others is not price. Although that is an important consideration it is not the only one when people are spending more to purchase a product. The key factor, I believe, is the relationship that you create between yourself and your prospective and existing customers.

Prospective and Existing Customers Need to Know You, Like You and Trust You before They Will Buy From You

In order to sell to anyone, they have to know you, like you and trust you. This is especially true for Big Ticket items. Obviously there are lots of ways to help your prospective and existing customers to get to know you like you and trust you. One way is to make sure you always provide them with value on an ongoing basis.

That means giving them great, highly relevant content for free. Also, supplying free products relevant to their interests. Obviously, the quality of your product and your service must be high or you will quickly lose any customers you have!

For Big Ticket item purchasers, it will take them a lot longer to evaluate you and your product. Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Let’s say you you sell real estate. No one is going to jump and buy the first property they are presented with, unless it just happens to completely meet their needs. Instead, they are going to rely on you to provide them with a bunch of choices based on what you tell them you want. That process could take as little as a month or as long as several years depending on how demanding the buyer is.

Or say you are in the high tech industry where you sell computer solutions including all the hardware, software and support. In some cases these deals could be worth 1/2 a million dollars or more. Again, no one is going to just write you a check without very seriously evaluating your product and services and YOU!

One of the best ways to keep you and your products in the minds of your potential and existing customers is to consistently be in touch with them. And this is where articles are a super Big Ticket Marketing strategy.

Why are Articles A Great Big Ticket Marketing Strategy?

Articles that are interesting, relevant, on target and useful to your target market are a great way to stay in touch (and in the mind) of your potential and existing customers.

Great articles do take some time to write but like anything else, the more you write the easier it becomes. And heck, if you really hate writing articles, there are lots of people on elance.com or other free-lance websites who will be happy to do it for you.

All you have to do is publish or email the articles to your prospective and existing customers on a regular basis. You give them value, maintain contact with them and stay in their mind. You never know when the prospective or existing customer will decide that its time to make that purchase.

And if you are the person most recently in their mind who do you think they will think of first for the product or service?

Here are the benefits of using articles as a Big Ticket Marketing strategy:

Articles provide great content for your e-zine or blog. By keeping in touch with customers and giving them valuable, relevant content you are helping build your relationship with them.
Articles help establish you as the expert in your area. You build a relationship by informing your readers about your area and about the benefits your product or service can provide. This can be as subtle as just providing links in your resource box after the article or by writing “advertorial” content.

Note: “advertorial” is just a funny word that describes an article written to look like a newspaper or magazine column but is really an advertisement for your product or service.

Articles are generally followed by a resource box which may contain the author of the article, a short biography of the author, the authors websites and sales pages. Readers who find your article interesting often click on the links in the resource box to learn more. This is another source of traffic for you!
So the more e-zines and article directories you can publish articles means you get more exposure. It also means more readers who may click through to your sites. It will also help you get a higher ranking in the search engines for your other sites.
Many search engines and especially Google, give higher ranking to websites that have other sites that link back to them. The search engines consider sites with lots of other sites that link to them more relevant than sites with only a few links back to them. So the more, different places you can get your articles published means that many more places that have your resource box and your links pointing back to your site there will be.

And that means that when people search using keywords related to the product or service that you sell, your sites will be returned higher up in the search results giving you a better chance that potential customers will check out your sites.

And the nice thing about this method for obtaining a higher ranking is that it is unlikely to change even if search engines change their algorithms which is something they do on a constant basis.

Writing articles forces you to really know your area and communicate to your prospective and existing customers in an easy to understand way. Your writing and communication skills improve and your readers appreciate the information you provide in a clear, easy to read fashion. Again, helping you build a relationship with them.

If you haven’t realized it by now, I am a huge fan of using articles for my marketing. I hope I have convinced you of the benefits and that you will start using articles in your own Big Ticket marketing efforts.

For more information on a package that can help you really take your article marketing to the next level including software that helps automate the process check out the Article Announcer Link on the Big Ticket Blog resource page below.

Copyright (C) 2005 Chuck Daniel, Like Magic Marketing, LLC — All Rights Reserved.

Chuck is a former Microsoft software designer and program manager who spent more than a decade happily working on Email and CRM. Admittedly a seminar, workshop and information addict, Chuck left Microsoft to pursue his interests in personal development, Internet, direct and information marketing and to promote and work for charitable causes.

Chuck Daniel
Would You Like to Make BIG Bucks
With BIG Ticket Items Online?

bigtickethomestudy.com/ bigtickethomestudy.com
bigticketblog.com/ bigticketblog.com

This article may be reprinted in its entirety in your E-zine or on your site as long as the content is not modified, all links are left in place and you include the resource box as listed above.

Quick Article Writing - Advanced Ways to Article Writing

The current era can be considered as the era of internet and World Wide Web. Most of the businesses today are fully or partly online. The importance of web based businesses cannot be denied. One way of promoting these businesses is through article marketing. This is a very important thing to note. If you want your online business to flourish, you can do that by writing articles. Article marketing may take some time in becoming effective, but its effects are almost always long lasting. Writing articles quickly is what you need here. The article written should be of good quality and they should be more in number. Keeping all this in mind, you can write more articles which will be good in quality as well.

Article writing can be full of fun if you pay due attention towards this fact. You need to do your home work with all due attention. Once you are up to article writing, you need to be sure about the topic and the content of your article. Writing a good article is possible only if you are sure about the content of the article. Think about it before you actually start writing. If the content is good, the quality will be good. Think of the points you are going to discuss in your article. Structure your article by arranging your thoughts on a piece of paper. Once you have done this you can sit down and write the article. This will not take much of your time as you have already done your home work. Pay attention to minor details and the quality of your article will also be good.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here:

10 Ways To Produce Compelling, Irresistible Copy In Your Sales Letter

1) Sell To Everyone? Then You Sell To No One.

You must know who your audience is and target them like a laser. Know what their problems are… and deliver a clear, concise solution to that segment of the population. Don’t have your solution suitable for accountants and mortgage bankers!

2) Make Sure Your Copy Fulfills What Your Headline Promises!

“Fool me once… shame on you. Fool me once… shame on me!”
Prospects will NOT give you a second chance if your offer doesn’t live up to your headline’s promise.

3) Your Language Must Be Understood By Your Audience!

If you must, use some jargon that is suitable for your targeted audience. But even if you’re writing to rocket scientists…your language MUST be understood by a sixth grader.

4) Make Sure You Copy Is Powerful, Passionate, and Keeps The Interest Of Your Reader!

I paraphrase from the late, great, David Ogilvy: “Tell your audience the truth; but do it in an interesting way.” Never bore your reader. If they snooze…you lose!

5) Will Your Reader Believe What You’re Telling Them About Your Product Or Service?

Speak to your prospect in a one-on-one conversational tone. Have plenty of proof and testimonials. Think of EVERY possible objection they have and overcome them.

6) Have You Done Everything You Can To Persuade Your Reader Up To The Call To Action?

Brainstorm with your marketing team…read and re-read your copy. Deliver as many benefits as you can to your prospects, so they know what’s in it for them…and that they have no choice but to take action now!

7) Be Specific With Your Reasoning In Your Copy.

I’ll say it again. Specificity sells. What’s more believable? I earned $20,000 last year? Or, I made $19,243.48? If you have a solution to your prospect’s problem…show him or her WHY your product or service will do it and give specific examples.

Our new weight loss program will help you lose up to 20 pounds in 7 weeks because…

8) Have You Made Your Sales Offer As Concise As Possible?

As Fred Gleeck says, “A confused mind takes NO action.” Make sure your prospect knows EXACTLY what they’ll receive when they do business with you. If you must, do a recap to reinforce this information to them.

9) Be Sure That Your Copy Flows Like Water Over Rocks.

The quickest way to lose your prospect is to have disjointed, clunky, hard-to-read-and-understand copy. Read your copy aloud. If you get to an end of a sentence and you’ve run out of breath…it’s time to shorten and tweak it for clarity.

10) Use A Strong Voice In Your Copy.

Don’t make your copy “sound generic” as if your prospect has read this somewhere else before.

A way to battle that is to have a “strong voice” through out it. If the copy is from you, then your reader should have a strong idea of who you are and what you represent after reading it.

Folks that have read my book say to me, “God, this is so you…I can hear your voice while reading it.” Get to the point where your copy jumps off the page and into the hearts and minds of your readers.

Peter Fogel is a high response copywriter and marketing consultant who has worked for Agora Publishing, Eartly To Rise, VitalMax Vitamins, and Bico-Centric Health. Sign up for his Direct Response Ezine and receive the FREE e-book, “Marketing Secrets of the Masters” peterfogel.com peterfogel.com

Writing Articles: The What

I wrote articles for 10 years for newspapers all over the world before I ever called them articles.

I thought I was writing columns. I did not know I was writing articles.

Your expertise in print

Simply stated, an article is your expertise in print.

Don′t believe you have an expertise in anything? Doubtful.

I’ve yet to meet the person from whom I could learn absolutley nothing. Which means everyone has some kind of expertise, even if it based solely on life experience the hard way.

Content is like royalty

On the internet, content is King and Queen.

And not just on the internet. Content is also royalty in off-line newspapers, magazines, books, etc.

Picture a balnk internet newsletter.

Picture a blank website.

Picture a blank newspaper or magazine.

Artilces are what fill up those blank spaces.

Now if you do the math, you will come to the conclusion that internet newsletters, weebsites, newspapers and magazines all need our articles.

Our articles are their content. Our articles our needed.

A mini informations delivery system

In our increasingly face paced culture, fewer and fewer people are taking the time to read entire books for information.

Articles are readable in minutes. Therefore articles are an excellent mini information delivery system for the 21st century.

Lots of fads come and go in the publishing business. Article are here to say, and will always be needed.

So get writing.

Visit theinternetarticleguy.com The Internet Article Guy for more leading edge tips and tools for writing articles that bring you prospects, publicity and profits. You can also subscirbe to our monthly Article Empire Tips Newsletter. You are also invited to visit my

Public Speaking Training

There’s no magic pill to overcome stage fright. Confidence is gained and skills are honed over a period of time. Public speaking training courses range from self-help booklets to one-day seminars and workshops to extensive training sessions. Make sure that the course meets all your specific requirements. Choosing the wrong course can scare you away from public speaking for good. However, always remember that there is a possibility of success, and that if you fail, later success is still possible.

Each course is designed for a particular target group. If you are extremely shy and not use to public speaking, you should join a one-to-one course, where the trainer will give you complete attention. From there, you can move on to group sessions, sophisticated programs that teach presentation and question handling skills. Some courses even teach how to handle press conferences.

Take some routine check programs and decide whether you agree with their methods of public speaking coaching. Any course that gives you lots of literature and a huge list of ‘dos and don’ts’ will only add to your confusion. You might find yourself memorizing the rules instead of actually testing out your skills. Yes, the best way to go is with hands-on coaching. The best trainers think on-the-spot, not on paper.

Choose a program that has practical orientation and is highly interactive. It should teach you poise, voice modulation and build confidence to make not only rehearsed but also impromptu speeches. It should teach you how to handle tricky questions from the audience without getting agitated.

e-PublicSpeaking.com Public Speaking provides detailed information on Public Speaking, Fear Of Public Speaking, Public Speaking Tips, Public Speaking Training and more. Public Speaking is affiliated with sermons-web.com Topical Sermons.

7 Big Ticket Copywriting Secrets I Learned from Ted Nicholas

I recently sponsored and attended Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas’s Double
Birthday Bash and Interactive Marketing Summit in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.

There was a fantastic lineup of speakers including John Assaraf, Joe Vitale,
Brad Fallon, George McKenzie, Shawn Casey, Alan Bechtold, Tom “Big Al” Schreiter,
Brian Keith Voiles, Rosalind Gardner, and Sydney Johnson.

And, of course, both Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas presented as well.

Don’t know who Ted Nicholas is?

Ted is a living legend in the offline direct marketing world. He’s considered
the “King of Print”, the “Copywriter’s Copywriter”, the “Entrepreneur’s
Entrepreneur” and the “GodFather of Direct Marketing”.

He’s known as the “4 Billion Dollar Man” because that’s how much of his own
products he’s sold using offline marketing methods.

Ted’s business card says: “I help people turn words into money”.

Anyway, it should be clear that Ted knows a lot about marketing and
especially copywriting.

Copywriting is simply selling with words. When someone reads the “copy” or words
of an advertisement or sales letter and is compelled to respond to the offer,
then you know your copy is effective.

I wanted to pass on some copywriting secrets I learned from Ted while I was at
the Double Birthday Bash. These secrets are taken directly from my notes so any
errors or omissions are mine.

Secret #1: Write the copy BEFORE the product is created!

Ted Nicholas says the smart marketer writes the copy BEFORE the product is
created.

Say, for example, you have a product idea. You should write the copy that sells
the benefits of the product even before you create the product.

There are two great reasons for doing that.

The first reason is that you get a much clearer idea of the focus of the product
from a customer perspective because you will be focusing on the benefits to the
customer in the copy.

Remember, people buy products that help solve their problems or give them
information that they need to solve a problem. By focusing on the benefits to
the customer, you can ensure that your product is really targeted towards
providing those benefits.

The second reason to write the copy first is to do market validation. In other
words, even if you’ve done some market research that indicates there is a huge
market, you can perform one final test using the copy you write first.

Even if people order your product you can tell them that it is not ready yet but
that they will be the first to be notified when it is ready.

If no one tries to order the product THEN don’t spend any more time on it! This
is the smart way to determine if a product is worth creating before wasting time
creating it! Especially for a Big Ticket product.

Also, if a ton of people order the product based on the copy then it is a huge
motivating factor to create a product that meets the expectations in the copy!

Secret #2: Headlines – The Most Important Item to Focus on when Writing Copy

When Ted Nicholas writes copy for a product, he has to look at the research, the
features, the claims and the benefits of the product – all before he creates the
copy for that product.

The first thing Ted writes are the potential headlines for the products.

Ted writes the headlines FIRST!

Before any copy.

Without the headline you are DEAD!

Because if the headline does not draw your reader’s attention and intrigue them
enough to read further, then they WON’T buy your product!

It does not matter if you have the most killer Big Ticket product in the world,
if people stop reading after the headline you have no chance to make the sale.

Spend 50% to 80% of your time on your headline and make sure that there are no
more than 3 ideas covered by the headline. Any more than 3 ideas is too
confusing to readers. And confusion causes readers to stop reading, something
you definitely don’t want.

One final tip on headlines: Studies show that 27% more people will read a
headline that has quotation marks around it because it indicates that someone
important said it. And of course someone important did say it – you did :-)

Secret #3: Headline Generation Process

As mentioned in Secret #2, when Ted Nicholas writes copy for a product, he has
to look at the research, the features, the claims and the benefits of the
product.

As he goes through this process, he lists all the benefits of the product on 3×5
cards. He lists one benefit per card and uses as many cards as required to list
all the benefits.

Once Ted has all the benefits down on the cards, he reorganizes the benefits in
order of highest impact.

The strongest or best benefits are used in the main headline for the sales copy.

Many of the other benefits become sub headlines for the copy. Any others that
are left over are often used as bullets in the body copy.

So this process is extremely useful not only for creating headlines but making
sure that all the benefits are covered somewhere in the body of the copy itself.

With Big Ticket items and their higher price tags, it is crucial to make sure
all the benefits are covered. The more benefits you can point out in the copy
the more you move your reader away from their natural skepticism towards the
value that your product can offer!

Secret #4: Copy Flow is Key

Ted Nicholas brought up a quote that many of the top copywriters agree on:

“Copy can never be too long. Only too boring”.

What this means is that you must engage your reader and keep them engaged
throughout the copy of your sales letter or advertisement.

If your potential customer loses interest at any point and stops reading or puts
your copy down there is a good chance that they will never come back and finish
reading.

Your Big Ticket copy needs to cover all the benefits and possible objections
that your potential customer might have. That means its going to require a lot
of copy to cover everything. So you must ensure that your copy flows and that
they keep reading.

Here’s what Ted had to say about the flow of copy and what makes good copy:

Keep your paragraphs short and only cover 1 idea per paragraph.
The best way to test the flow of your copy is to read it out loud. If it doesn’t flow naturally when you read it out loud then chances are doesn’t flow. Change the copy until it does.
Have a student in Grade 7 or 8 read the copy. If any of the copy is hard for them to read then you need to rewrite your copy. You want the copy to be easy to understand.
Great writing is about rewriting. It makes it clearer and simpler, removing unnecessary words and loaded with emotion. That is when the writing is truly great.

Secret #5: Buying is Emotional

Almost all purchasing decisions are emotion driven. When we buy something, we buy it because of how we think it will make us feel or because we think it will solve a problem for us and make us feel better.

We may come up with all sorts of other rational reasons why we should make or made the purchase but the core reason is always an emotional one.

The last bullet in Secret #4 says that great writing is clear, simple and loaded with emotion. It appeals to our emotions.

So, when you write or read a good sales letter, you need to look at the copy and ask:

What is the emotional feeling you get when you read the sales letter?

Is it Hot?

Exciting?
Important but boring?
Or just plain boring?
Any parts of your copy that are in the “Important but Boring “ or “Just Plain Boring” categories you need to rewrite or get rid of those sections.

Why?

Because those sections are the ones where your potential customer could choose to stop reading.

You never want them to stop reading!

Ted Nicholas also said:

“If you can’t cry, you can’t write copy!”

It takes great strength to admit your feelings.

It’s also vitally important that you can relate on an emotional level to the situation of your potential customers. The more you can emotionally experience where they are coming from the better copy you can write.

Secret #6: Trust

When people know you, trust you and love you they will buy from you forever.

If you ever betray that trust, you will lose your customer forever.

In copywriting, never try to trick your potential customer with misleading copy and then switch topics.

They can detect that, will feel deceived and will not read your copy any further. You have lost the sale.

So when you sell someone a first product, make sure you astonish them with the first product because you want to win their hearts and minds!

This is especially true of Big Ticket products.

Secret #7: Avoid These Common Copy Mistakes in Your Sales Letters

Here is a list of the most common mistakes you must AVOID in your sales letter or advertisement:

No headline – You must have a headline. It is what catches your reader’s attention and makes them want to read you copy.
Few subheads – People tend to read in two ways. They either read your whole letter or they scan it. If they scan it you want to have lots of sub headings to catch their eye and interest and make them read at least those sections.
No guarantee – Always include a moneyback guarantee with your offer. The longer the guarantee period the more credible your offer.
No P.S. – Always use a P.S. on every letter you write. If people scan a letter they will usually read the P.S if nothing else. The P.S. should re-emphasize the strongest benefits and restate your offer.
No signature – Always sign your letter. It’s more personal.
No free bonuses – Free is one of the most powerful words in the human language. Providing free bonuses enhances the already great value of your product offering. In some cases, the right bonuses might convince someone to buy your product just to get the bonuses!
Logo on the letterhead – Your logo is about you, not about your customer. It’s just one more distraction from your sales message. If you must include a logo put it at the bottom of the letter.
No close – Make sure you give specific instructions on what you want your potential customer to do. If you don’t tell them to buy your product and exactly how to do it then the won’t.

And that’s it for 7 Big Ticket Copywriting Secrets I learned from Ted Nicholas. I hope this helps you improve your own copy.

Or, if you need help with your copy, at least hire someone who knows and follows these secrets. It will be worth the money you pay them to get more sales with great copy.

Copyright (C) 2005 Chuck Daniel, Like Magic Marketing, LLC — All Rights Reserved.

Chuck is a former Microsoft software designer and program manager who spent more than a decade happily working on Email and CRM. Admittedly a seminar, workshop and information addict, Chuck left Microsoft to pursue his interests in personal development, Internet, direct and information marketing and to promote and work for charitable causes.

Chuck Daniel
Would You Like to Make BIG Bucks
With BIG Ticket Items Online?

bigtickethomestudy.com/ bigtickethomestudy.com
bigticketblog.com/ bigticketblog.com

This article may be reprinted in its entirety in your E-zine or on your site as long as the content is not modified, all links are left in place and you include the resource box as listed above.

Article Writing - My Magic Idea Generator

For years I have been trying to create an automatic program to generate ideas for writing. As a professional programmer, I had an idea how to generate code in my preferred programming language. I wondered if somehow I could turn that virtual code creator into a virtual word generator. I wanted to create a mind program that could easily generate ideas. I searched the internet for ideas, then explored several suggested methods. Mind Mapping was one of the first. The mind mapping idea left me dissatisfied. There were too many rules. Somehow my mind flowed differently.

It didn’t start from a central point and flow out from points around a circle. And the ‘one word, one line’ rule seemed to leave me blank. My mind flows randomly. I like to write freehand, dropping words down as they fall from my head onto the page. They flow to the page as fast as the ink from my ballpoint pen allows. They flow to the page as sentences and complete ideas, not just single words. And the ideas are random and flow naturally down a page. I gave this method the name ‘random trail mapping′. In my search for self-development I studied the methods of hypnosis. I became fascinated with guided meditation scripts.

Typically, these scripts tell you a story that takes you along a path or suggests that you imagine a favorite spot where you can relax. Hypnosis requires that you focus completely on an idea. My creative juices just did not flow while concentrating on a single point. During this search, I noticed that whenever I was doing some activity that did not fully occupy my mind, like driving or walking or exercising , I mused about my programming problems and often found great solutions. The activities themselves only required a small percentage of my immediate attention. And then, I realized this was my magic idea generator.

Do a physical activity that requires little immediate brain attention while letting your mind wander, or muse about whatever. One of my favorite activities is to sit at the kitchen table overlooking my wife′s beautiful flower garden. Over the years our back yard has become more isolated from the neighbours as trees planted by them grow taller. This gives me a sense of walking in the forest or being alone to meditate. In bright sunshine it is extremely liberating. While my eyes see flowers and my ears hear birds, my mind drifts from thought to thought. It is those random thoughts, those creative gems that I immediately write down. The generator is not a device like a program. You place yourself in a situation that relaxes your body while stimulating your creative mind. Controlling your mind may simply mean that you let it drift aimlessly while focusing your physical senses on something else. My mistake in the past has been to focus on generating ideas. Now, I know that just living day-to-day, just doing my regular activities, activities that I enjoy, is my best, my magic idea generator.

The Author has many years of writing and reading for self development.
See more articles at themeaningisyou.com themeaningisyou.com

Article Marketing Is Simple And Effective

Creating original articles that relate to your business and publishing these articles in the right places is one of the most powerful techniques you can employ to drive highly targeted traffic to your site.

I have received thousands of visitors to my sites as a direct result of article marketing. And the best part is these visitors came because they already knew something about what I have to offer, and they wanted to learn more!

Now don’t freak out on me and say something like “Darn it Tim, I’m a business person not a writer!”

That’s totally ok. We’re not talking about writing prize-winning masterpieces here. A short, 300 to 500 word article that is written in clear language is all you need to get great results.

Here’s the short version of how all this works:

1. You write a brief article on some aspect of your business. of course you include a resource box (like an ‘about the author’ section) that contains a link back to your website.

2. You publish this article on a popular directory site like EzineArticles.com or submit it directly to an ezine publisher.

3. People with an interest in the topic read you article, and in many cases follow the link back to your website to learn more about what you have to offer.

4. These visitors are then exposed to your offer.

As you can see, article marketing is a very simple yet nearly flawless system. With just a small amount of work, you can get loads of people who are interested in what you have to say to visit your site.

Here are some examples of how article marketing might apply to different business models:

Local Service Business

The owner of a landscaping company might write an article on how to prepare the soil for a new flower bed, and submit this article to a locally owned how-to site. Then when people in the community log on and read this article, they will be able to follow the resource link back to the landscaper’s business website.

E-commerce Website

Someone who sells wind chimes from their site could write a piece on the history of wind chimes and submit this to an ezine directory. Not only would people be able to read the article on the directory site, but ezine publishers with an interest in wind chimes might also pick the article up and post it on their sites. This could result in a large number of people finding the author’s website and browsing their selection of wind chimes.

Network Marketer

An Internet entrepreneur who promotes business opportunity programs could write an article about talking to leads on the phone without sounding too pushy. This article could then be submitted to an article directory or ezine publisher. When other network marketers read this article, they would follow the resource link to a page promoting the author’s newsletter, and have the chance to sign-up and learn more about network marketing techniques.

Just about any business model can benefit from a simple article campaign.

Again, you don’t have to be a master writer. You just need to be able to put your thoughts into clear language. As long as people are interested in the topic you are writing about, there is a great chance they will enjoy your article and want to check out your website form the resource link.

When people read a good article, they automatically assume the author is an expert in their field. For this reason, the traffic being generated from your resource link will be of a very high quality nature because the people who find your site through an article will already view you as an authority in your industry.

Tim Whiston is an entrepreneur, website developer, and Internet marketer who lives in the southeastern U.S.For more information on his products and services be sure to check out his

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