Many years ago I asked someone for help. I was completely stuck. I thought there were no options, no ways out.

And then I asked for help. I asked someone who had been in my same situation.

She took one look at my problem, and instantly had 3 or 4 ideas that I hadn’t even thought of.

She had other ideas that I had thought of, but cast them aside before even trying them out. But hearing her say them confirmed in my mind that they were good ideas.

I put her advice to action, and my situation changed. Immediately. I no longer suffered from my problem – and I was now in a place to help others who were.

Now, I know that was really vague, but I left it vague for a reason. I’m sure in your business there are one, two, probably even three or four things that you feel stuck with.

You could probably fill in the blanks of this story with a problem of your own.

Only right now you’re in the ‘stuck’ phase. However, your problem could immediately go away too if you ask the right person for help.

If your problem is something you feel I could help you with, you’re welcome to contact me. I offer private consultations which you can find out more about here (click on the word “here” in that sentence).

If your problem is something that someone else could help you with – start asking those other people!

I once read in a book by Jack Canfield a story where he was talking with his hair stylist who wanted to start her own business.

“I’d do it but I just don’t know how,” she told him.

“Well, why don’t you approach the owner of a successful hair salon, take her out to lunch, and ask her how she did it?” Jack replied.

“You can do that?” she said back, startled.

Yes, you can do that. You can just approach people and ask them for help. Most people who have solved the problem that you now find yourself in are more than glad to offer their assistance.

We’re kind of bred though to not ask questions. Asking questions means we’re “incompetent” or “unknowledgeable”.

But how are we supposed to get the knowledge unless we ask for it first?

What are your thoughts about all of this? Do you have any personal stories about this like I do, or do you completely disagree with everything I just said?

As always, I’d love your input. The comment box is right below this post – just scroll down and fill it out.

Talk soon,

David

I’ve written a story for you about a kid, his lawn mowing business, and his neighbor.

…But it’s not just any story.

See, hidden inside is one of the most powerful lessons for e-mail marketing lessons that I was ever taught. Now, I could just come out and explain it – but with a story I can show you this concept in action, and help you understand it even greater.

So without further ado…

Lawn-Mower Kid (By: David Tendrich )

In a small suburban neighborhood, in a small city of the good ole U.S. of A there was a boy who mowed lawns in the summer.

He would mow 5 yards a week at $20 each. For an 11 year old – that was pretty good mulah. But something in him always wanted to do better.

One day, his neighbor approached him…

“Did you know…” the man said, “That if you do this one little thing – you’ll get twice as many paying customers this week.”

Well, the kid was all ears, as you can imagine. And he didn’t blink once as the man talked to him. He just stood there, eyes wide as full moons, taking it all in.

The kid tried out the tactic that the man taught him…

And got 3 new paying customers that week.

Now, that’s not quite double the amount he started with, 5, but it was darn close enough. It was a failure the kid could live with.

He felt on top of the world.

Until, a week later, the man came back…

“Mister! Mister! It worked! It worked!” the boy beamed.

“I’m so happy to hear that, kid. But you know, the best part is that you took action on the ideas. Otherwise it’s just talking and jibber jabber.”

The kid smiled.

“Say, how about I teach you something else this week? This time you could triple the number of houses you mow.”

So the boy listened. And he acted on what he heard. And in one week’s time not only did he have 24 houses…

…He was paying another kid to mow them for him!

The boy was making money while sipping on lemonade all day!

"Yeah... Lemonade..."

And then the man came back.

“Mister! You wouldn’t believe it! I have 24 houses – and a friend of mine mows them all! That idea you gave me worked so great!”

The man smiled.

“I’m so glad to hear that,” he said, “Say… I happened to see one of the houses your friend mowed, and he did a mighty fine job… How much do you charge? I’d like to hire your services to mow my yard.”

The boy arched an eyebrow, “Mister – your money is no good here. You’re the reason I have as many houses as I do – and why I’m not doing a single ounce of work to collect the money from them. I’ll pay my friend to mow your house for the whole rest of the summer. Thank you for all you’ve taught me.”

The man smiled, tipped his hat to the boy, and went on his way.

So… Did you catch the single most important secret of successful internet marketing?

Wanna go back and look again? Or do you think you got it?

I can boil it down for you in 4 little words…

Giving. Leads. To. Getting.

It’s as simple as that.

The man gave something of great value to the boy. In fact, he did it twice. And when the man asked for something – the boy jumped to his aid.

He thankfully jumped to his aid.

Think of the last time someone did something really nice for you. Didn’t you want to appreciate them back by doing something for them?

Like when a stranger opens a restaurant door for you – don’t you want to do something in return?

Or when a friend gets you an awesome gift for your birthday – don’t you just want to one-up them and get them something even better?

That force that makes you want to give back has been called the “Law of Reciprocity.”

The Cycle of Reciprocation

It works in e-mail marketing too…

The key to successful e-mail marketing is to constantly provide awesome, free content to your subscribers. What happens is they get that same, “Wow – I wanna do something in return” feeling building up in them.

Keep providing it until their “law of reciprocity gauge” hits overload.

Then you pitch them your product or services and out of the desire to give back, and out of trust for you because you always come through with the content…

They start buying from you like crazy!

But the key is in the value, and in the desire to really help.

If you don’t genuinely care – then this all kinda falls apart – because people can see right through it.

So keep providing value.

Often when I talk about this, someone will ask me how much value can you provide before offering someone the chance to buy your product.

While there’s no “set in stone” rule for this, until you get the feel of it you can follow this simple plan:

Something Free –> Something else Free –> A bonus –> A product

That’s the gist of it. Just make sure the “free” stuff is GOOD.

A lot of people don’t provide as much free stuff in between pitches – but I like to really provide people with great value before I ask them for a sale.

I want them to have no doubt in their mind that my product is extremely effective – because they see how effective my free content is.

Now, I do have one rule of thumb that I suggest you follow…

I only provide content that I feel is worthy of being paid for.

Rule of "Thumb" ...haha

For instance, I only provide the quality of content that I would to my private coaching clients.

You can stand out really easily if you do that – because 99% of internet marketers give away junk.

Which gives you a golden opportunity to be the Hero of Your Niche!

Give away for free what people would gladly pay for. They’ll really appreciate you – and want to return the favor.

So what’s your take on all of this?

How do you personally view the law of reciprocity, and how to use it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Feel free to share in a comment.

David

It’s about 2 am here in Georgia. I’ve been up thinking about a couple situations I’ve run across lately, and I realized that it’s so crucial that I had to share it with you.

It has to do with a mistake that is costing many business owners literally tens of thousands of dollars.

Actually, so many across the WORLD are making this mistake that I’d even say millions are being wasted on DEAD-END advertising.

This is what I mean…

(By the way everything I’m writing from here on out is not meant to be abrasive – it’s just really true, and really important. I want you to succeed so I feel that it’s my obligation to tell you about it.)

Advertising is for one person, and one person alone: your reader.

It honestly has nothing to do with you, except for the fact that you’re the one putting out the ad. Other than that, your ad/website/etc. is for your reader.

Sometimes this means setting your ego aside (I know as well as anyone that this isn’t always the easiest thing in the world).

Sometimes, you’re so in line with your target market that you could practically write to yourself and it’ll do just fine.

Most of the time though, your target market isn’t you. You’re someone who’s already solved a problem that they have. You’re providing the solution. You’re the expert.

So you’re writing to people with a PROBLEM. And you need to always remember that.

Yeah, you may have won 10 awards. Yeah, you may have 17 degrees and 22 certifications…

But the bottom line is, someone is going to call an ad that speaks directly to them over an ad that talks about how many degrees someone has.

Let’s stop and be brutally honest for a second:

The last time you sat down to write copy, choose a design for your website, or anything else relating to marketing -

Did you think, “What would my target market want to see?”

or did you think, “What do I prefer?”

It’s okay if you asked yourself the second question – but asking yourself the first question is what makes sales.

Dale Carnegie said it beautifully.

He said that he loves strawberry shortcake – but when he goes fishing he doesn’t put it on the line. He puts what the fish like.

That’s the golden rule of marketing. If you’re breaking it – now’s the perfect time to head in a new direction. I have literally fought with clients for hours to get them to see this when they couldn’t understand why I wrote copy in the way that I did.

And that also goes for colors, fonts, graphics – anything! It all has to be for your reader – not for you (unless the two of you happen to have the same aesthetic).

But I’m so passionate about getting people results that I’d rather my client hate me and make a ton of money then like me because I wrote it the way they wanted and have the ad get zero response.

Maybe that’s not the healthiest mindset – but it’s how I feel.

Luckily, 99% of the time I don’t have this conflict, but lately it’s been popping up in my life like those gofers in the arcade game where you whack them on the head.

What do you think?

Anyway, don’t make this mistake! Focus on who you’re writing to, and you’re already ahead of the curve.

Till next time,

David

As thanks for being my reader in my first year of blogging, I wanted to do something special for you.

So I recorded this video on boosting website sales (it’s practical tips – the cool thing is these tips helped someone who I coached to increase her monthly income by 5 figures within a week or two of implementing them).

So – without further ado here’s the video

Peace,

David

p.s. I know the video ended kinda abruptly but that was all I had to say lol. I accidentally cut off the part where I said, “Bye”. Terrible of me, I know.

p.p.s. Could the freeze frame on the video be any weirder? lol (that’s the picture that shows up before you click play).

So there’s been a lot of buzz lately about how to create promotions/marketing for the upcoming holiday season. Especially in the fitness professionals community.

In light of this, here are some killer bits of copy to plug into your e-mails, websites, newspaper ads, in conversations with prospects, and anywhere else!

• Don’t let Thanksgiving split you from your skinny jeans!
• Eat all you want this Thanksgiving and feel confident that you won’t gain a pound with this [location] personal training program/ boot camp
• Holiday blow out/sale/limited time offer
• This is such a good deal that it might run me out of business!

• This sale is so good my friends are calling me crazy!
• Don’t tell any of my clients that you’re getting such a good deal on this…
• That Thanksgiving turkey might weigh over 10 pounds – but you won’t even gain one!
• Introducing the Thanksgiving “Stay in Your Skinny Jeans” Program
• Introducing the “Keep Your Six-Pack this Thanksgiving” Program
• Introducing the “Eat all you want and don’t gain a pound” Thanksgiving Program
• This Christmas you’re going to eat a lot… Heck, who isn’t? But did you know that you can eat to your heart’s content and not worry or feel guilty about gaining a ton of weight? Here’s how…

Here’s a really killer tip too…

On the advertising you’re currently running (your website, Craigslist ads, etc.) – you can change the headline to be about the holiday season, but keep the rest the same.

That way you’re connecting with the fears people have about gaining weight over the holiday season without going in and creating an entirely new website or set of ads.

Because think about it for a second… the reasons people want to get in shape stay the same no matter what time of year it is. Thanksgiving feasting is just an excuse to get back in the gym. So take advantage of this and change up your headlines.

Of course if you’re really ambitious, you can create a whole website/ad campaign just for this holiday season. The disadvantage to that is it’ll take a bit of time to put together, but the advantage is you can use it year after year after year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

David

“What’s the next piece of information this guy’s gonna feed me?”

“Is he just trying to get me to buy something?”

“How do I know I can trust him?”

“How do I know this isn’t a scam?”

Everyone who is currently your client, is thinking about becoming your client, or who used to be your client has asked themselves these questions. Or they’re asking themselves these questions right now.

Your job as copywriter, marketer, entrepeneur is to first off…

Accept that everyone has these doubts. You have them too! In fact, if you’re like most of us, you’ve never bought a single thing in your adult life without answering each of these questions, be it consciously or sub-consciously.

Then…

Answer these questions to yourself about your business, as honestly as possible. What I mean by this is if you really are just trying to get people to buy something – be open about it! Or if you have other motives besides money, think about what those might be. How do people know they can trust you? Who are you anyways? Why should anyone listen to you?

And finally…

Communicate your answers to your customers (that’s where the copywriting/ phone calls come in).

I’ll go through these 3 steps about my own business, so you can see what I mean.

1. Am I just trying to get you to buy something?

Yes and no. Yes, I want to make money because to me money means time with my loved ones, vacations, the ability to help others. But I’ve chosen a profession that helps other people make money so that they can accomplish their dreams too.

Who am I anyway?

I’m a guy who happens to be passionate about copywriting and marketing. I’ve done quite a bit of it and have a good sense of what works and what doesn’t. I’m not the greatest copywriter in the world, but I’m a good one who knows how to get results, and I like sharing what I know. It makes me feel special and warm inside. lol..

How do you know you can trust me?

Well, I wish I had a great answer for this but I struggle with the question myself.

I have only two things I can offer you as answers: 1, the testimonials of my clients whose results show that I can be trusted when it comes to copywriting and marketing, and 2, the information on this blog. If you read through it, and decide for yourself that I know what I’m talking about, then I believe I’ve earned your trust.

So, there you have it.

I’ve just poured out my heart and soul for you! (and hopefully I haven’t sent you running!)

Sometimes admitting that you don’t have a good answer, or that you don’t know the answer, shows just how genuine and trustworthy you are.

That’s really what the point of this exercise is – it’s to show you that when you’re in front of your customers, either in person, in writing, or on the phone – keep in mind that these questions are perculating inside of them. The best thing you could do is be like a mind reader – answer these questions before they can even ask them.

And answer them honestly, even if it means admitting a fault or saying “I don’t know”.

Keep in mind, making sales is not a Miss America contest!

Customers aren’t judges – they’re ordinary people like you and me who want to do business with someone who will treat them like a dignified human being and who can solve a problem or two that they have.

Till next time,

David

So I got a couple of really great responses when I sent out my e-mail last week that asked you the question,

“What is the biggest challenge that you face in your business?”

In fact, it’s because of the responses that I got that I’m doing this blog post today. It’s about a very simple, effective way to start making money while you’re away from your business. All you need is Craigslist, too. It’s that easy.

And by the way, the question is still open – if there’s a struggle you’re facing in your business that you would like help with, e-mail me at DTendrich@gmail.com a question, and I’ll do my best to answer you. I make your questions my priority when I’m writing my next post.

Anyways… Here’s how it’s done…

Back when I was a guitar teacher – I got kinda burnt out. I’d gotten so many clients, that my business, on top of school and my girl friend, was just TOO much. So I needed a way to keep up my income stream, but without working!

…The birth of my outsourcing method…

Here’s exactly what to do to solve this problem:

1. Put an ad on Craigslist that looks like this (only for whatever field you’re in):

“Fellow guitar teachers – I have too many clients! I need to give some away to teachers I can trust!”

Every month I advertise my guitar lessons business pretty aggressively – which is great, because I have tons of clients – but at the same time, I’m at a point where I’m turning down business. I really hate to turn down business.

So I’m looking for other teachers who I can give clients to, but you have to meet these requirements:

• You have to be passionate and energetic, because my clients need to have an awesome experience, not dry, dispassionate lessons
• You have to be responsible, which means showing up early for every lesson!
• You have to love what you do, and love having fun, and love working with people…

If this sounds like you, then give me a call right now -

Call David Tendrich at xxx-xxx-xxxx

(But if I were you, I’d hurry, because I’m only looking for 3 teachers and we all know how fast offers like these come and go on Craigslist. So call me right now! I’d hate for you to miss out on a chance to instantly get more clients!)

2.  Interview the people

3. Split the profit with them 50/50.

That’s it! That’s how you do it! And the great thing is, the more consultants you get, the better your business looks, because you can say that you have teachers/trainers/whatever you do in more areas. And more areas = more prospects = more cash.

Looking forward to your comments,

David

When a lot of us hear the word “meditation” we think of monks sitting cross-legged with their hands in some weird shape, saying the word “ohmmmmm….” for hours and hours.

Well, that’s their version of meditation – but it doesn’t have to be yours.

For some, meditation is cooking, playing music, taking a walk. It’s anything you do that makes you forget your stresses, and allows you to find some inner-peace, and let your imagination loose.

To becoming successful, meditation is as important as breathing.

And here’s why: you actually have a mechanism inside of your mind that accomplishes all of the goals you give it. In fact, your life right now is a collection of accomplished goals that you gave your mind to accomplish, most likely without knowing it.

For instance, for years I put myself in situations where I had no money because I believed money was bad. So I gave myself the goal of “put me in situations where I am destitute.” I did that through the images, feelings, and thoughts I had when money came up in a conversation, or when I thought about money. And you know what? I became great at accomplishing that goal.

But then I tried something different…

I became aware of my thoughts about money and success, and I tried to “re-program” them. And that is where meditation came in. For me, meditation is playing guitar, or taking a walk in nature. When I do these things, I feel relaxed, calm, and I imagine my life the way I want it to be. I imagine every single detail of it, including how the hardwood floors of my million dollar home will feel against my heels.

Often music is an extremely powerful gateway into meditation. The right song can trigger such a peaceful, meditative state. That’s why I’ve compiled some of my favorite tracks to meditate with.

Each track is one-minute long, so you can have “one-minute power meditation” sessions

Here’s how you use these tracks – press play, close your eyes, and imagine your life the way you want it to be. Feel how it would feel to be successful, to have no more money worries, to have unlimited time for the people, places, and events you love most. The more detail you imagine, the faster it will happen. I know this from experience.

Jazz:

Experiment:

Venture Out:

Old Soul:

To your success,

David

p.s. I created these tracks myself Enjoy.

David Ogilvy

This company was smaller than the #1 company, it didn’t have the same number of employees, and it had fewer locations.

And you know what? David used every one of these “weaknesses” to present this #2 company as the stronger choice for rental cars.

In his ad, he said something to the extent of:

“Yes, we’re the #2 rental car company in America. And because of it, we have to work extra hard to make sure you are happy, because unlike the #1 company, we can’t afford to have you walk away unsatisfied.

“That is why when you get into your rental car, the gas tank will always be full, the ash tray emptied, and the seats clean to boot – it will feel like stepping into a brand new car.

“Plus, our lines are shorter.”

My business partner and I use a similar technique when pitching our services to potential clients.

When they express concern at the fact that we’re new to the marketing/copywriting business, I tell them,

“You know what? You’re absolutely right. And it’s because we’re new that every single client we take on has to walk away completely happy with their product, and with more money in their pockets.

“Because unlike a big agency, or an experienced business that has a large client base, we can’t afford to let one single client walk away unhappy. We need your testimonial, and we need you to say great things about our business. For us to become successful, you have to become successful too.

“If not, we’re doomed to fail. So when we take on your project, we’re not just doing it for you – we’re doing it for ourselves, too.”

And you know what? It’s true! Being the underdog has its advantages. We know that what we produce is just as good, if not often better, than what many experienced agencies produce – but our prospect doesn’t yet know that because we’re so fresh to the industry.

Underdog!

But once they see what we’re capable of, it’s a different story.

So if you’re launching a new business – use that to your advantage! If you don’t yet have testimonials – use that to your advantage! Don’t try to hide it!

Instead, look your prospect in the eyes, and tell them,

“You’re right. We don’t have testimonials, and we’re not as well known as our competition. But you know what..”

And tell them why that’s such a blessing.

To better writing (and more money),

David