I’ve spent the last couple days wearing out my shoes in New York City and drinking in that powerful East Coast directness that I get none of in sleepy Seattle.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love Seattle and don’t want to live anywhere else (and really, with my job I could live wherever I want), but after 6 years in “The Emerald City,” I get absolutely giddy when I get a chance to forget the polite “dance” of conversation out West and head East where I can just spit out what I mean without pissing anybody off.
Because in NYC, nobody gives a damn what you say, as long as you’ve got the *credibility* to say it.
Which is what today’s newsletter is all about.
You see, I write a *lot* of sales letters, videos and marketing materials for my clients, and the most important factor that determines whether a sales page pulls in massive amounts of cash or just lays there all limp on the interweb is how *credible* the people or the company behind the offer are.
. . . how *believable* they are.
. . . and how much respect they just about demand.
Now, the most common way to throw down some sales-boosting credibility is through the good old fashioned testimonial: find somebody who’s used your product or service and get them to say something nice about you or the great results you got for them.
*But if you rely on testimonials alone, you’re really just touching on the tip of the credibility iceberg.*
Now, I could write pages and pages about credibility building techniques that would blow your mind, but it’s almost Christmas, I’m tired and I’ve got sugary horrible foods to cram down my throat, so let’s just focus on three simple ways that you can use *right now* to pump up your credibility in the eyes of your market and to make more sales.
*Instant Credibility Booster #1 – Borrow Up:*
This is a great one if you’re just starting out, if you don’t have testimonials or if you just haven’t built much of a name for yourself yet . . . and it works great for solo service based businesses or even for individuals climbing their way up the corporate ladder:
What borrowing up means is hitching along on the credibility of people who have taught you, who you’ve learned from or who you’ve studied.
For instance, when I meet marketing big wigs at seminars I’ll often mention that I’ve been personally mentored by David Garfinkel and Harlan Kilstein, and that I’ve devoured the work of John Carlton, Dan Kennedy and guys like that.
And just by saying that (and having it be true) I get bathed in instant credibility.
*Instant Credibility Booster #2 – Borrow Down.*
This is the polar opposite of borrowing up, but can have an amazing effect, especially if you’re selling some kind of coaching or continuity program.
What you do here is talk about the *phenomenal success* of people who you’ve personally mentored or helped out . . . and make their accomplishments your own.
For instance, when David Garfinkel wants to establish his credibility as “The World’s Greatest” teacher of copywriting, all he really has to do is list out the names of his past students (like myself, Vin Montello and Mike Morgan) and *BAM* he’s done.
*Instant Credibility Booster #3: What have you done lately?*
This one should be a *no brainer,* but I’m always amazed at how many people leave their own accomplishments or the accomplishments of their company right off the table . . . or who think that they can’t talk about results but have to beg their clients to do so for them in the form of a testimonial.
But if you want to be successful and create marketing that sucks in cash like a nuclear powered vacuum, you’ve got to tell me *who* you’ve gotten results for, and what those results are.
And don’t be shy.
For instance (and I’m only using myself as an example because it’s easy), if you go to my own site http://www.haddadink.com you’ll see a big section that says “Update” and that lists out a few of my most recent successes.
And if you go further down the page, you’ll see a nice long list of my past clients, a bunch of which are big, juicy, credibility boosting names.
And I’ll tell you, when folks get in touch with me after reading my site, those credibility boosting elements are almost always what tip them over the edge and get them to pick up the phone and call me.
And that’s it, folks, the last HWW of the year. It’s been a great 2007 and I’m looking forward to sending more your way (and working with some of you) in 2008.
Questions? Comments? Harsh Invectives? Hit me up at chris@haddadink.com
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 1463 E. Republican St. #28A, Seattle, WA 98112
More
Just got back from Ken McCarthy’s System Intensive in Vancouver,
Canada. Really it was just an excuse to get up North for the
weekend . . . and for my friend Katie to have her car broken into
by some wiley Canucks. Beautiful city, though, check it out if you
get the chance.
In this issue:
* How to take your solo business from struggle to six figures in
six months or less.
* Phil Collins is a Big Hairy Ape
=========================
How To Take Your Solo Business From Struggle To Six Figures In Six
Months Or Less
=========================
Beth Yockey-Jones and I are on a mission to help indie pros and
solo small business folks crack the six figure mark and join the
ranks of the upper lower middle sideways class.
But to do it right, we need your help. If you’re a solo pro (no
teeming offices full of pouty-faced employees) do me a favor and
pop over to . . .
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=N69PCmnuewj2N0Is_2bEBqGg_3d_3d
. . . and fill out our handy dandy survey. I don’t have anything
to bribe you with, but if you help us you can feast on the
satisfaction of a job well done.
========================
Phil Collins Is A Big Hairy (Expensive And Ineffective) Monkey
========================
I love Phil Collins.
Love him.
I mean, I know it’s not cool to say . . . but ever since I first
saw Genesis’ “Land Of Confusion” video back in 1986, I’ve been an
un-ironic fan.
Something about a Ronald Reagan puppet slamming the “Big Red
Button” and triggering nuclear annihilation on a global scale just
warmed the cockles of my then nine-year-old heart . . . and sent me
bounding around the house like a dangerous ADD-addled cyclone.
(To this day, all I have to do is hum a few bars of that cold war
anthem to make my poor mom shiver, twitch and curl up in the fetal
position to cry.)
So when I was sitting in a Vancouver movie theatre on Friday and
heard the first couple lines of Phil’s “In The Air Tonight”, my
ears perked up.
What followed over the next two minutes was one of the coolest
little bits of viral video I’ve ever seen. . . and a *really,
really, really bad ad.*
You see, on Friday that whole roomful of pantsless Canadians and I
(as far as I can tell, Canadians always wear t-shirts and shorts,
even when it’s bitterly, bitterly cold) watched in rapt attention
as a thick-fingered ape pounded out the beat to Collins’ 1981
classic.
It was a heck of a piece of filmmaking. The camera focused in close
on the monkey’s flared nostrils. It glided up his cheek to see the
intensity in his eyes. And then it pulled back just in time for the
big “DU-BBA . . .DU-BBA . . .DU-BBA” bit that kicks off the song
proper.
Me and the whole crowd? Just quiet and shocked. Watching that
weirdly real-looking ape work the high hat, pound on the skins and
keep time better than most modern rock drummers was literally
*dumbfounding.*
But as an ad? It *sucked.*
Why? Because that big ape with the drum sticks has been stuck in my
brain for *days* now . . . but 20 seconds after the ad flickered
off the screen I couldn’t remember what the hell it was supposed to
be selling.
Because *It Wasn’t Selling Anything At All.*
Now, I can imagine the pitch meeting where some cool-glasses
wearing creative type laid out the “strategy” behind this thing
(“Well, you see, the Ape is experiencing Joy and our tag line is
that Cadbury creates Joy.”) . . . and I bet the suits at Cadbury
(theoretically this ad is supposed to be selling Cadbury . . .um. .
.pudding? I’ve seen the ad three times and I’m still not quite
sure.) are *ecstatic* at the reception they’re getting from their
golf buddies. I mean, heck, people have seen the ad! People are
talking about their monkey!
*But in ground level marketing reality this is a tremendous flop
and a phenomenal waste of money.*
In direct marketing, there’s a really simple ad-writing formula
called “AIDA.” It stands for “Attention, Interest, Desire and
Action” and is a basic map most copywriters and real marketing
folks use when trying to close a sale. You get attention, develop
interest, create desire and then ask for action. It’s simple and
effective and has been used to sell *billions* of dollars of
information and stuff over the years.
Just for fun, let’s apply the AIDA test to our drumming ape.
Now, for me at least (and most of the Canadian crowd at the movies
on Friday) this thing did a *great job* of getting my attention. I
mean, heck, it’s an ape drumming along to Phil Collins. What more
do you need.
And for it’s full 2 minutes, the ad kept my interest.
But desire? Action? Uh uh. The only *desire* I had after watching
this thing was to listen to some old Genesis records . .. and the
only action I took was to store the experience away in my brain to
rant about on Monday morning.
Now, I can hear the ad weasels on my list grumbling and
complaining, saying that this wasn’t a direct response ad and was
just meant to “Build the Cadbury brand.”
But even by that weak, weak argument (in my opinion *all* ads
should be designed with a set response in mind) this thing is an
utter failure. Why? Because a drumming monkey doesn’t have a damn
thing to do with chocolate and never will.
=============================
OK, Haddad, You Don’t Like The Ad, But What’s The Lesson Here?
=============================
Just this: There’s a big lie put out there that you can *entertain*
people into buying your stuff. And there’s a sliver (just a sliver)
of truth to that. If you’re entertaining enough people *might*
stick around to hear what you say. But that doesn’t give you a pass
to ignore *basic* salesmanship. The fact of the matter is that
Cadbury has spent *millions* producing this ad and buying space to
show it off . . . and that they probably aren’t going to make a
single additional sale of their stuff ( . .um. . . what the hell
were they selling again?) because of it.
You can check out the drumming monkey (in all his dumbfounding,
ineffective glory) at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-aIms6oKY&watch_response
And if you want to see a company that really *gets* how to use
entertaining video to sell its stuff, head on over to
http://www.willitblend.com/
Blender + iPhone + Good Kitschy Production values = a blender
selling powerhouse.
And that’s it folks. You can find more on the Hard Working Words
Blog at http://www.haddadink.com/blog
Happy Thanksgiving.
c
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 1463 E. Republican St. #28A, Seattle, WA 98112
More
As I write this I’m sitting in an overpacked train car humming its way from Portland to Seattle . The train is listing from side to side and making me seasick. Which is a bit funny, since I’m nowhere near the sea.
I’m going to be at Ken McCarthur’s JV Alert seminar down in Long Beach, CA this weekend paling around with fellow bald copywriter (and all around fine human being) Mike Morgan. If you’re there, hunt me down like the ridiculous ferret that I am and I’ll buy you a drink . . . and give you drunken marketing and copywriting advice gratis.
In today’s (hopefully brief–these things always *explode* once I start typing) issue of the HWW newsletter you’ll learn:
* Why Theron Gordon punched me in the face.
* Why a “reason why” is one of the most important things you can put into your marketing.
====================================
Why Theron Gordon Punched Me In The Face
====================================
It was pizza day when it happened.
I was standing in line outside the North Grafton Elementary School cafeteria, bouncing from heel to heel and dreaming of artery-clogging cheesy goodness when Theron Gordon–as massive and brutish and cruel as any 4th grader could ever hope to be–turned around, let out a bassy “Huh Huh Huh” and slammed me in the face with a fist the size of a a ripe coconut and the texture of a pound and a half of thin-sliced honey ham.
*SHMUNK!* was the sound. He hit me square in the nose.
Blood poured down my face and onto my brand-spanking new Vaurnet T-shirt. I crumpled to the floor and sobbed like . . . um . . .well, like the oversensitive geeky 4th grader that I was. I heard the teachers coming and the kids all around me sniggering and teasing.
I looked up into Theron’s big, dumb cow eyes and through the blood and the tears and the deep, deep humiliating shame I asked him “whu . . . whu. . . why?”
====================
What’s the “Reason Why?”
====================
Quick quiz: What’s the single most important thing you can pack into your sales and marketing copy that will immediately skyrocket your credibility and supersize your sales?
A compelling and believable “Reason Why.”
As human beings, we’re hard wired to want to know the “reason why” something happened.
*Why* did the seemingly nice and normal guy down the street go nuts and do unfortunate things to his neighbors with a machete?
*Why* did your weird Aunt Millie who you never quite got along with decide to pick *you* to take care of her 37 cats when she died?
*Why* did my brother (who’s smart and successful and a great guy) vote for G.W. Bush in the last two elections?
======================================
And It’s Even Worse When It Comes To Marketing
======================================
Customers are cynical and jaded creatures who see BS and sneaky motivations behind everything (and heck, with all the spam, bad marketing and unethical crap out there, they have every reason to.)
If you want to sell to them, break down their skepticism, stand out from the herd and be the one savvy marketer to dodge past their defenses and worm your way into their pockets, you’ve got to pack your copy and your ads with super-solid reasons why.
*Why* are your widgets better than any other widgets in widgetdom?
*Why* are you the cheapest (or most expensive) option, and *why* is that a good thing?
*Why* are you only offering 50 of this super awesome and amazing package before pulling it off the market forever?
*Why* is your guarantee twice as generous and three times as long as anybody else’s?
*Why* should I go to all the bother of fishing my wallet out of the pocket of my too-tight jeans and go through all the rigamarole of of typing in my credit card number . . and *why* should I do it right now?
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
If you give solid, compelling and believable *reasons why* to all the questions running through the back of your customer’s heads you’ll build trust, gain credibility and make big heaping piles of money that make Scrooge McDuck’s money pit look like a piggy bank.
And if you *don’t*?
Well, then you’ll end up like I was all those years ago in fourth grade: crumpled on the floor with tears in your eyes wondering *why* it all went so terribly, terribly wrong.
So here’s your assignment for the month: Take a long look at your web copy, your sales brochure, your snazzy new video or whatever else you use as the engine of your sales process and ask yourself “Is this giving a compelling, overt ‘reason why’?”
If so, pat yourself on the back and buy yourself some icecream.
And if not? Well, I think you know the *why* of what you have to do next.
(P.S. I never did find out why it was that Theron Gordon decked me that day. And it still drives me nuts. My only comfort is that he probably drives a forklift 12 hours a day at some skeezy Massachusetts warehouse.)
(P.P.S. I’ve actually been punched in the face twice in my life. The second time left me with a fake tooth and a great story about why my brother and I get along so darned well these days. Ask me in person and I’ll tell you.)
More
As I’m writing this I’ve got 4 hours left as a twenty-something.
Come midnight I’ll hit 30 years old . . . and will watch in horror
as my body falls apart before my wide, unbelieving eyes. By morning
I’ll be nothing but a snarky puddle of marketing knowledge. Fear
for me. And pray I can get this newsletter finished before it’s too
late.
In this, the 32nd issue of the HWW newsletter you’ll learn:
-How I bought Jeff Paul a Bentley (and other startling success
stories)
-The awful danger of Marketing Ostrich Theory
=========================
How I Bought Jeff Paul A Brand New Car (and other startling
success stories.)
=========================
In my career as a high-fallutin’ copywriter and marketing wonk I’ve
had some pretty darned good successes.
I’ve boosted conversions, built businesses and earned astonished
praise from clients . . .
And now I’ve bought Jeff Paul a Bentley.
Or at least given him the cash to buy one if he wants.
Jeff is probably one of the best known (and most successful)
internet marketers out there, pulling down millions of dollars
selling info products over the last 15 years and teaching literally
hundreds of thousands of people how to “Make Money Free And Easy In
His Underwear.”
Jeff’s also a client . . . and just last week he used a sales
letter I wrote for him as a teleseminar script and pulled down
$300K in just under 60 minutes.
You can check out the letter at http://www.gurumillions.com
And if you’re looking to add that kind of marketing firepower in
your corner, shoot me a line at chris@haddadink.com
====================
Marketing Ostrich Theory . . .
====================
I blame my Mom.
I mean, she’s a sweet lady and I love her, but somehow she let me
get through 30 full years on this planet still believing that
ostriches bury their heads in the sand (she also let me believe
that Santa Claus existed until an embarrassing age and filled my
head with strange ideas about the Easter Bunny and classic
economics theory. Like I said, she’s sweet.)
The ostrich thing is a lie of course . . . a pop culture myth
perpetrated by Tex Avery cartoons and science teachers who don’t
believe in evolution (since any ostrich that *really* did bury it’s
head in the sand would be eaten right quick.)
What an Ostrich *really* does when it feels threatened is kick you
hard in the mouth and run . . .fast.
But still, every day I meet otherwise smart and savvy business
owners and marketers who seem to run their businesses on “Mythical
Ostrich Marketing Theory . . . ”
===================
What The Heck Does That Mean?
===================
It means that they bury their head in the sand (or in spreadsheets,
over-mined data a big ideas) and utterly fail to notice all the
other ostriches (or businesses) all around them.
And that they forget that *nobody* buys in a vacuum . . . and that
by the time a customer talks to them, they’ve probably already
talked to just about every other ostrich in the field.
======================
Here’s What This Is All About
======================
If a customer clicks on your PPC ad, clicks on a link in an email
or stumbles onto your page in the wild and gets funneled into your
lovingly crafted sales page you *don’t* just have to convince them
to buy from you . . . you have to convince them to buy from you
*instead* of somebody else.
And have to quiet the little voice in the back of their head that’s
doing backflips and throwing a fit wondering if they’re making the
right choice.
So how do you do that?
By hitting the objection head-on, making it really apparent what
separates you from the other guys and telling your customers in no
uncertain terms what your product or service is *not.”
Your weight loss pill is *not* “just another unhealthy scam that’s
going to wreak havoc with your body and leave you fatter than ever
six months down the line.”
Your real estate seminar is *not* “more recycled, overpriced drivel
you’ve already heard and ignored before.”
Your seduction ebook is *not* just more sleazy advice telling you
how to trick girls into going home with you . . .and making you
feel like a loser and a creep.
By throwing copy like that up nice and early on your page you
accomplish two big goals:
1. You establish that you’re different than all the other
ostriches out there.
2. You subtly (or not so) intimate that if this is what you’re
*not,* maybe it’s what all those other folks are.
For a nice example of this kind of copy in action, check out
http://www.1millionliquid.com/index2.html (and ignore the design.)
And that’s it, folks. And with 3 hours to go until I’m old, old, old.
If you want to chat, hit me at chris@haddadink.com.
See you in my 30s.
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 1463 E. Republican St. #28A, Seattle, WA 98112
More
Hey Folks,
Busy times here at Hard Working Words Headquarters. Projects piled up like Jenga pieces, clients calling with effusive praise. It’s a tough life. I’m booked out for the next several weeks. If you’ve got a burning project you want to talk about, pick up the phone, call 206-550-5558 and let’s talk about it now so I can get you on the schedule.
And now on to the main course.
Warning: This may be the most offensive issue of HWW ever.
Really. I mean it.
So don’t go writing me later and saying I didn’t warn you.
In today’s issue you’ll learn:
* What homeless people know about marketing that most high-fallutin business owners don’t.
====================
Fishing For Ninja Lessons
====================
The guy had a crazy look in his eye. Crazy and mean. He stared right at me, grinned wide with broken yellow teeth and held up his battered cardboard sign like it was a prized summer squash and I might be the judge who would finally make his County Fair dreams come true.
“Ninjas Killed My Family,” it read: “Need Money For Kung-Fu Lessons.”
I smiled nervously, gave the guy a buck (because I really do think we need more homeless folk with badass martial skills) and shuffled on my way.
===================
And I Thought About How Some Homeless People Seem To Know Know More About Good, Effective And *Profitable* Marketing Than Most High-Fallutin Business Owners Do
===================
Because, you see, this wasn’t the first time I’d seen that particular Ninja sign. As a professional Copywriter and Marketing Wonk (and a born-and-bred East Coaster living in the passive-aggressive West) I travel a lot and have a tendency to pick up on recurring messages . . .
And it seems like every city I go to, I see the same “headlines” plastered on well-worn cardboard signs . . . .
* Ninja Killed My Family . . . in San Francisco . . .
* Fishing For A Beer . . . . outside Atlanta . . .
* Need Money For Bus Fare . . . in LA
And a whole slew of other time tested and proven money makers spread out all over this country being used again and again to drag dollars and coins out of millions of harried pedestrians and to keep hundreds of thousands of desperate street folk in the the food and/or vices of their choice.
===========================
Alright, Haddad, What’s Your Point?
===========================
Just this:
A homeless person standing on a street corner with a sign in his hand and a hat at his feet is, just like the rest of us, in the business of selling. . .
But unlike a lot of marketers, homeless folks aren’t worried about creativity . . .
They’re not worried about being clever. . .
And they’re not worried about what people think or what their golf buddies might say after tipping back three beers and rounding on the back nine.
All they *are* worried about is making the sale.
So when they’re sitting down to draw up an “ad” or to come up with a pitch designed to part you from your cash, the only thing on their mind is “What can I put on this sign that will put the most amount of money in my pocket today?”
“What message can I put down here that’s going to pull the heartstrings just the right way or make people giggle just enough for them to reach into their pocket and give me some of that change so I can get a burger in my belly or a roof over my head?”
So homeless folks, unlike a lot of high-fallutin well funded marketers *swipe* proven concepts that have worked before (or are working right now) and *test* their signs. . .
If they hear about a sign that’s working really well in another “market” they draw it up and try it themselves.
And if they find something that works, they ride that horse hard day after day until it sputters and collapses just about dead at their feet or until they find something that works even better.
===============================================
In Other Words, They Act Like Smart and Savvy Direct Marketers.
===============================================
Yesterday I was chatting with my friend and Mentor (yes, he deserves a capital M) David Garfinkel about this, and he spouted off with this little piece of wisdom: “The cost of failure is huge, but the cost of advertising is negligible.”
Which means it’s a lot cheaper to do some testing and fail small, than it is to go in both guns blazing and fail big.
==================================
So Here’s Your Assignment, Faithful Reader
==================================
1. Next time your walking down the street and accosted by a homeless person with a particularly good sign (and one who isn’t holding a bottle of vodka and isn’t shouting at you) drop a buck in his hat.
2. And take a long hard look at your website, your ad or your other materials and ask your self “What can I do to market more like a homeless person?”
—
That’s all folks. See, I told you it was going to be offensive. Well, offensive to some.
Comments, questions, harsh invectives? Hit me up at chris@haddadink.com
And you can learn more about what I do and how I do it at http://www.haddadink.com and http://www.haddadink.com/blog
More
Hey folks,
Welcome to big 30th issue of the Hard Working Words Newsletter . .
. and the first to be written from my swank new Capitol Hill condo.
If you read carefully I’m sure the sheer “I’m a homeowner”
pretentiousness and hardwood floor feel will seep right through
your eyes and into your brain.
Shorter issue today. Of course I said that about the last issue and
it was a whopper. So we’ll see what happens.
In today’s big issue you’ll learn:
* What the heck was under that scarf?
* How to use “secrets” to turn your prospects into salivating
consumerist zombies! (wait, is that a good thing?)
And much more.
Or a little more.
Definitely more.
It’s best if you imagine the title to today’s article in a big,
jagged B-horror movie font.
=====================================
The Secret Of The Scarf
=====================================
It was a red scarf. Red and wool. The girl had it pulled tight
around her neck and folded over in the front like an over-sized,
warm and toasty neck tie.
This was in London in 1998. I was a skinny, long-haired,
trench-coat-wearing quasi-goth bouncing my way around town, seeing
way too much theatre and interning for Norma Heyman: the tough old
“bird” who had produced “Dangerous Liaisons.”
And I was obsessed.
Obsessed with *The Scarf.*
The girl was in three of my classes. She wasn’t particularly pretty
or interesting. Most days she just sort of sat with a soft glaze on
her eyes, occasionally perking up to say something about “Peter Pan
and the dominant patriarchy” or to mumble about the staggering
amount we *weren’t* learning in our media studies class.
And day after day, week after week for all the 6 months we were
there, she wore *the scarf.*
In a sweltering theater, at a cozy restaurant, on a class trip to
Scotland . . . heck, I’m pretty sure she even wore it to bed.
Always tied up tight and solid around her neck, forming an
impenetrable seal between whatever secret horror adorned her throat
and the world outside.
Every time I saw her, my mind went into a fit. “What was under
there?,” my brain would scream. “What horrible, horrible thing was
she hiding?”
Was it a jagged scar from a childhood game of lawn darts gone
horribly wrong?
The tiny, useless remnants of an ill-fated parasitic twin?
An elaborate tattoo expertly memorializing a dying love?
What? What? What?
Weeks went by. Then months. The thick wool of winter was replaced
with a lacy (but no less opaque) pink chiffon number.
The lighter material discounted several of my more . . .err. .
.bulbous medical theories, but I was no closer to discovering the
secret. I was no closer to the truth.
I went a little mad there in London.
I lay awake at night devising elaborate scarf removing plans. I
ignored my school. I prattled endlessly to my poor friend Tara,
ruining at least one viewing of “Les Mis” and leading her to
threaten me with a heavy Greek statue.
Finally, with just a week left before we all piled back onto the
plane for “the colonies” I’d had enough. I shuffled up to her after
class one day, forced on some fake charm and just asked:
“So . . .uh. . heh . . heh. . . what’s with the . . . what’s with
the scarf? I mean . . . . do you have like a . . . . ha . . . like
a goiter under there or something? Haha. Ha. Ha?”
She just sort of stared at me. And then, slowly, her fingers
crawled up to her neck and traced a line along the top of the
material. She pulled lightly at the knot. The scarf unfolded and
bunched down into her hand revealing . . . . nothing.
Just a neck. Just a throat. Nothing secret or special or horrifying
at all.
With a weirded-out half smile she looked up at me and said “I just
like scarves.”
======================
OK, Haddad, That Was Creepy. But What’s The Point?
======================
Just this.
Like me with my scarf-wearing “friend,” humans are absolutely
obsessed with secrets. We’re hard wired to want special knowledge,
to be in on the joke and to be part of that rarified elite who
*really* knows what’s going on.
And if we’re denied access to that special knowledge . . . if we’re
told that we aren’t good enough, special enough or worthy?
Well, we go just a little mad, salivate like hungry lions and will
do just about *anything* to get back on the inside.
=====================
Which is Why Secrets . . . Or Even Just The Idea Of Secrets Are
Some Of The Most Powerful Weapons In Your Marketing Arsenal
=====================
So here’s your assignment:
No matter what industry you’re in, it down and start writing out
ways you can *tease* your prospects with “secrets” that will have
an impact on their business or their life.
And offer to give them those “secrets” in exchange for an email
address, a phone call or some other way of getting in touch.
For an example of how I used this technique for a client, check out
http://www.creditinsiderclub.com
That’s it folks.
Check out more at:
http://www.haddadink.com
http://www.haddadink.com/blog
=======================================
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 1463 E. Republican St. #28A, Seattle, WA 98112
More
Hey Folks,
Welcome to a slightly tardy edition of the Hardworking words newsletter. I have no excuses (everyone I know who’s successful in business has the same attitude towards excuses that I do towards Justin Timberlake’s “Bringing Sexy Back” song: Annoying and lame and prone to making teenagers and housewives act badly). But as way of explanation: I’m in the middle of getting packed up and moved out to my new condo. So while I *really* would rather have spent time earlier this week cranking out the HWW goodness, I instead got to go through that particular kind of hand-cramping, mind-destroying hell that is signing mortgage docs.
Weird edition of HWW today.
Possibly because I’m tired. Which ties into what I’m going to talk about.
In today’s big issue, you’ll learn:
-War Through The Wall
- Real and practical advice on what to do if someone asks “Have you ever been shot before?”
====================
War Through The Wall
====================
It’s 6:15 in the morning and while I’d *like* to be sleeping, I’ve instead got a couple of massive purple bags bunched under my eyes (convenient since I still need to pack up some clothes) and a pounding, stabbing ache running through my head and down into my toes.
Why?
Because me and my soon-to-be ex-neighbor (heretofore referred to as MSTBEN) are engaged in a hearty “WAR THROUGH THE WALL.”
Now, I’ve never met my neighbor. I don’t know his name, his age, his race. I don’t know what he likes for dinner. I don’t even know what he looks like, what he sounds like or what kind of TV shows he uses to blast away the monotony.
The only things I *do* know about MSTBEN is that his bedroom and my bedroom share a wall, and that he *starts* to crawl his way out of bed and force his way to work (I imagine that he works at some sort of cacophonous canning factory and secretly pray for a debilitating if not particularly painful accident that will allow him to sleep late) around 5:45 every morning.
Starts.
The beeping often worms its way into my dreams. There I’ll be, out cold, having another one of those nightmares about waking up the day of my Calculus final and realizing I haven’t been to class all semester when, suddenly, air raid sirens blast their way across the “campus” of my mind, and my heart rate *rockets* north as I wait for the bombs to drop.
Now, if the alarm just went off briefly and MSTBEN then turned it off and got up, we wouldn’t have a problem. Not everyone’s lucky enough to have the slack schedule and alarm-free existence of a freelance word mercenary and strategic marketing wonk.
But apparently MSTBEN is a *very* deep sleeper.
Either that or he’s deaf.
Because while his alarm *starts* it’s incessant, maddening *beeping* at 5:45 AM, it usually doesn’t stop for somewhere around 1.5 hours.
*Beep* *beep* *beep* it goes, second after second, moment after moment as I lay awake, grind my teeth and imagine canning factory mishaps.
In my coming-on two years living in this apartment, I’ve tested a couple of different approaches to dealing with the problem:
Solution 1: *Ignore it.*
For a good chunk of time (especially in the winter when both our windows were closed) I just sort of ignored the problem. It was annoying, sure, but not so bad that I would actually *do* something about it. I sleep like a very sleepy log. I dealt with it no problem.
*Solution 2: *Mad, impotent rage.*
Eventually the charm of Solution 1 wore off. Like water in the Grand Canyon, the torrent of *beeps* wore away my good will (and my ability to sleep), leaving my lying in bed for hours on end with an angry storm brewing in my brain. I’ve got a pretty active imagination (oh, what will MSTBEN do when he gets to the canning factory and sees that it’s been taken over by aliens? Aliens who *beep*?) but ultimately solution 2 was less than satisfying.
Solution 3: *Action!*
Eventually the problem got so bad that I decided I had to *do* something about it. About two weeks ago, after building up my rageful gumption after suffering through the *beep* attack for a solid 45 minutes, I threw on some pants, stumbled out into the hall way and started using MSTBEN’s door as a canvas for an impromptu demonstration of the martial arts.
Eventually my *pounding* trumped MSTBEN’s *beeping.* He didn’t answer the door, but he did wake up and turn off the infernal machine.
Since then, MSTBEN and I have settled into something of a hateful, war-like rhythm. . . a “War Through The Wall” if you will.
Every morning at 5:45 his alarm goes off, *dragging* me from my slumber all angry and confused. I wait a few minutes, thinking maybe *this* will be the day he stops it himself. Then I shift around on my bed and *kick* the wall several times (I tried punching it once or twice, but it made my hand hurt and I need my fingers to make a living). Usually by the 8th or 9th kick, MSTBEN gets the point and hits *snooze.*
10 minutes later the alarm goes off again and we repeat the whole process until around 7:15 when, it seems, he finally gets up.
Solution 4: *Leave*
This is a new one that I’m going to try tomorrow. It involves spending *way* too much money to get into the Seattle real estate market and ceding the ground of my apartment to MSTBEN and whatever poor schlub ends up moving in next to him. I don’t feel like I’ve won the “War Through The Wall” but imagine once I settle into the new place and get to sleep straight through to the blessed lands of 8AM, I won’t care.
============================================
Alright, Haddad. But what the heck does this have to do with marketing, copywriting or running a small business?
=============================================
Just this.
The problem that MSTBEN and I really have *isn’t* that he has to get up at a stupidly early hour. It’s not even that he’s, apparently, deaf (deaf or prone to sleeping as deeply as Dracula).
It’s that we’ve got this big wall between us (and that he refuses to answer his door.)
So instead of he and I being able to chat like adults, I get all angry, plot his demise at the canning factory (I’ve got this great fantasy about ex KGB sleeper agents versed in cold-war torture techniques) and, ultimately, take my big Tonka truck and go home.
====================================
Which Is A Lot Like What I See Happen When Businesses And Their Customers Don’t Talk
====================================
You see, my 4 “solutions” up above are a lot like the stages customers go through when they aren’t happy with your product, happy with your service or happy with your image out in the world.
* They ignore it.
* They get annoyed.
* A *select few* of them make a small effort to let you know they’re mad (the rest skip right to stage 4)
* And then they leave, and you find yourself wondering why your profits tanked and why your best customers just don’t come around no more.
So, my advice to you?
=====================
Tear Down The Wall
=====================
Set up a blog so you can get your side of the story out there, make it *easy* for your customers to voice complaints and realize that by the time you start hearing a *POUND POUND POUNDING* on your door a bunch of your customers are probably already gone, gone, gone.
================================
Have You Ever Been Shot Before?
================================
On a complete tangent: If a drunken, angry man outside Dick’s burger approaches you, offers you a beer cleverly concealed in an energy drink can and then fixes you with a steely gaze and asks “Have you ever been shot before?” the correct answer is “No. And I’m hoping to keep it that way.” Then maintain eye contact and a benign smile as the possibly-armed drunkard stumbles on his way.
That’s it folks.
Questions? Comments? Harsh invectives? Hit me at chris@haddadink.com
See you next month.
=======================================
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 230 14th Ave. E., #302, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
More
Hey folks,
Welcome back to the Hard Working Words Newsletter
In today’s big issue, we’ll talk about:
* What I *Didn’t* Learn At the BIG, Big Seminar
* A BIG Big Chance You Have To Save Thousands on Your Next Copy Job
*The BIG Marketing lesson I learned when I pulled up a front row seat at curbside “Pigeon Fight.”
=======================
What I *Didn’t* Learn At The Big Seminar
=======================
A few weeks back I attended my very first Armand Morin’s Big Seminar. Check out the Hard Working Words Blog at http://haddadink.com/blog/?p=172 to find out what I learned–and what I wish I had learned–in my 3 action-packed days in Atlanta.
===============================
Here’s How You Can Save *Thousands* On Hard Hitting and Profitable Direct Marketing Copy From Chris Haddad — Condo Sale!
===============================
So as I’m writing this my heart is racing, my palms are sweaty and I feel like I’m going to pass out or spontaneously compose an epic poem. Why? Did I finally hit puberty? Was there something in my Rice Chex?
Nope.
It’s because just a few minutes ago I signed the paperwork on my very first horribly overpriced Seattle condo. If you live in Seattle (or have visited this fine city) you know that condos here are lacquered in solid gold and often require donation of body parts and/or unborn children (andl/or body parts of unborn children, which is sort of creepy) in order to buy.
So to free up some liquid cash to help cover the ridiculous closing costs, I’m having my first ever Haddad Ink. Word Sale. If you’ve got a sales letter, autoresponders, name suck page or other piece of copy you’re ready to have done, call me up now (and I mean right now) at 206-550-5558. For the first 5 clients who call I’ll offer the low, low (ridiculously low) price of just $5,500.00 for a sales letter and order form and a 20% discount off any other work you bring my way.
Call now. The floodgates are open and there are really only so many jobs I can take on.
My triple lindy into the housing market is your gain. 206-550-5558 or chris@haddadink.com.
=========
Is Your Business Stuck In A Pigeon Fight?
=========
I was walking home from breakfast yesterday when I saw two burly city pigeons pecking the heck out of each other on the sidewalk in front of me. The fight was fast and brutal. I recoiled at the *fwoop, fwoop* sounds as these two (forgive me) feather-weights battered each other with their wings and stabbed at each other’s jugulars with their sharp pigeon beaks. If I were a small, pigeon-loving child I’m sure it would have made me cry.
As I watched these gray-mottled warriors lunge at each other for round 2, I wondered, what was it that could have caused such an epic pigeon prize fight? An abandoned piece of rustic artesian bread? The affections of a particularly comely female pigeon? The sad realization that these pigeons were, err, pigeons, doomed to live short and meaningless pigeon lives?
I mean, there had to be a good reason that these pigeons were suddenly going for the throat. . .didn’t there? Didn’t there?
Finally the fight broke off and both pigeons (the gray one on the left and the . . .err . . .gray one on the right) launched themselves back up into the air and settled onto the awning of the supermarket. I caught the eye of one of them as he flapped his way up and what I saw there explained everything.
*Because in the eyes of that pigeon I saw nothing but simple, frustrated confusion.*
That pigeon had *no idea* why it had just been in a fight. It had *no idea* what it had just put its life on the line for. And it had *no idea* what it was going to do to make sure it never got into a situation like that again.
*Which is sort of like what a lot of businesses do with their marketing.*
They go hard charging into a market and peck at their competitors throats, fighting to the death over a few scraps of business. Money’s spent. Blood is drawn and when all is said and done, all you’ve got is two beat up and confused pigeons struggling to stay in business.
*Which to my way of thinking, is kind of dumb.*
Over on the Biznik Manifesto (http://biznik.com/about/manifesto.html) I wrote that “Competition is an old myth made up by old men with old ideas and no imagination. There’s work out there–big gobs of it–plenty to make all of us fat and happy and (if we eat too much) probably a little tired.”
Which I really feel like extends out to business in general. I mean, sure, Coke and Pepsi go to war on the airwaves every night, spending huge gobs of money in a desperate fight for market share.
But smart business folks, agile business folks and successful business folks who don’t have million dollar ad budgets know that if you want to *win* a pigeon fight, you’ve got to find a way to avoid getting into that pigeon fight in the first place.
How?
By doing the not-so-hard work of positioning your business, finding a broad niche to explore and realizing that the next guy down the power line isn’t a *threat* to your business, he’s a potential partner who can help you get your fill of all the day old bread you can eat.
(And if that’s not a weirdly stretched metaphor, I don’t know what is.)
That’s it for now folks. You can check out the HWW archives lovingly kept on the HWW Blog (http://www.haddadink.com/blog). And if you need to know more about me, head on over to Haddadink.com.
More
Hey Folks,
Welcome back to the hardworking words newsletter. Did you get your taxes in on time? Are you railing at “the man” for ripping cash out of your cold, clammy fingers? Well, how about you just sit back and relax with a cool and refreshing dose of hard-working words.
In today’s big issue, you’ll learn:
-Why 2007 is the year of the breakthrough. (You won’t learn why 2006 was the year of the wombat, but rest assured it was.)
-Why working hourly just don’t make no sense (err. Sort of. It’s a link.)
-All about the frightening power of Chris Haddad’s Theory of Learned Incompetence.
======================================
2007 Is The Year Of The Breakthrough
======================================
My good friend Lisa Haneberg has declared 2007 the year of the breakthrough. Lisa’s a charmer. She’s got great glasses, her book “Two Weeks To A Breakthrough” is a smooth interesting read, and she’s has a great way of explaining tough management concepts in easy-to understand bites. Check out her 6 minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0_tSgkvKlg and you can read her blog at http://www.2weeks2abreakthrough.com
=======================================
Why I Don’t Work Hourly–And Neither Should You
=======================================
I put a post on the Biznik blog about the rampant idiocy of working hourly. Check it out at http://biznik.com/blog/2007/04/09/why-i-dont-work-hourly-and-neither-should-you/
And now for the main course:
=======================================
Chris Haddad’s Theory Of Learned Incompetence
=======================================
Just after college I spent two long, brutal years slaving away in the pits of the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I discovered a lot in my time in LA. I discovered that I wasn’t cut out for 100 hour work weeks. I discovered that too much sunshine is as bad as not enough (and that while rain doesn’t cause cancer, it does cause big, messy accidents on the I-10.) I discovered that In ‘n Out Burger makes the best darned cheeseburger in the whole wide world (and that “Animal Style” is both messy and delicious.)
But the most important thing I discovered was my “Theory Of Learned Incompetence.”
You see, my last year in LA I had this boss named “Bob.” (Name changed because “Bob” was a pretty cool guy and I’d rather not make him feel bad.)
“Bob” was a smooth talking gay, Jewish guy from New York City who spent the big bulk of his work day surfing the net for porn. Not to say that “Bob” wasn’t good at his job. He could schmooze and deal like nobody’s business and taught me tons about how to deal with people.
The problem was that “Bob” couldn’t do anything *but* schmooze and deal.
* Answering the phone? Uh uh.
* Sending a fax? Better if he didn’t try. Toner is expensive, after all.
* Replying to an email, licking a stamp or figuring out how to set up the voicemail on his brand spanking new cell phone (he lost the last one on a trip to France)? Yea, uhh. Not gonna happen.
Now, what struck me about “Bob’s” utter, kindergarten-like incompetence was that at some point–on the way to landing his nice, cushy quarter-million a year gig–he *must* have learned how to do this stuff.
You see, in the entertainment industry, there’s a pretty strict ladder to climb. You start off way at the bottom as somebody’s assistant. You go through heck for a couple years fetching coffee, doing mindless admin stuff and trying to prove that you have “initiative.” And then if you’re lucky and tenacious you move your way up, get your own assistant, spend all your time chatting on the phone and surfing porn–and so the circle of Hollywood life continues.
So once upon a time, “Bob” knew how to use a copy machine.
Once upon a time, “Bob” knew how to put somebody on hold, get another call and then get back to the first person without accidentally calling the fire department.
Once upon a time, “Bob” was competent.
Until he learned that if he wanted to get ahead, he’d have to *learn* to become *incompetent.*
You see, in Hollywood (and, from what I’ve seen, in all of corporate America) if you know how to do something well, you’ll inevitably be roped into doing it again and again and again. In fact, if you’re too good at something (fixing the copy machine. Getting coffee. Preventing wars.) you tend to get tied down to that one thing while all the less competent folks around you get promoted.
So what do ambitious folks like “Bob” do?
Consciously or not, they *learn to be incompetent.*
They pour all their energy into developing a few core, useful, sellable skills and let everything else slough off and atrophy until the folks above them have absolutely no choice but to promote them.
“Bob keeps messing up the copy machine and we’re afraid if he keeps getting close to it it might explode” they say. “We’d better just get him out of there and give him that corner office.
==================================
Nice Theory, Haddad, But What Does This Have To Do With Marketing?
==================================
Just this. In my day to day life I run into a lot of new entrepreneurs and business owners–refugees from the corporate lifestyle–who haven’t quite woken up to the fact that while the theory of learned incompetence will help you get ahead in corporate America, it’s absolutely deadly when you’re out on your own.
When you’re stuck in the “ivory tower” you can forget how to do all sorts of stuff, knowing full well that the infrastructure of that big, fat company will take care of you.
But out in the real world, if you decide to forget how to work the copy machine, the copies don’t get made.
If you decide to forget how to answer the phone, there’s no one there to save you.
And if you decide to become incompetent at marketing . . . well, pretty soon you don’t have any sort of business at all.
http://www.haddadink.com
http://www.haddadink.com/blog
=======================================
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 230 14th Ave. E., #302, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
More
Hey folks,
Welcome back to the Hardworking Words Newsletter, a monthly
publication form Direct Response Copywriter and Marketing Wonk
Chris Haddad. To find out more about Chris, his never-ending battle
against jargon and the perturbing power of his marketing prose,
visit http://www.haddadink.com
In today’s big issue you’ll learn:
* The dangers of blindly diving into new technology.
* How to ride the wave of the evolving web without having it crash
in on you.
===============================
My Cousin Lost A Finger — And Taught Me All About Web 2.0!
===============================
“WHRRRRRR CHUG CHUG WHRMMMMMMM.” The big brown door groaned out a
protest as our brand-spanking-new garage door opener *yanked* it up
and along its track to rest quietly above our heads.
This was winter in the 80’s–maybe 1985–and my aunt, uncle and
cousins had come over on a Sunday to play trivial pursuit, get
sugar-high on peanut butter bars and listen to my dad tell weird
stories about his weird life and that weird time he *swears* he was
abducted by mustache-wearing aliens.
My cousin Michelle and I weren’t having it though. We’d heard all
the weird stories before and didn’t know enough about Reaganomics
to be much use at trivia. So we scarfed down some sugary goodness
and snuck downstairs to play with Mom and Dad’s new toy.
“Whoa, cool!” Michelle said when she saw it for the first time. And
I had to agree, the shiny new electric garage door opener *was*
cool. It was all shiny metal, blue plastic and grease.
*And it was just begging us to play with it.*
“Here, let me show you.” I said in my little eight-year-old voice.
I clambered up onto a rickety chair and stretched up on my tippy
toes to push the button. I had to push hard to get the bright red
light to flash, but when I did the whole room rumbled.
“WHRRRRRR CHUG CHUG WHRMMMMMMM” our life-changing new technology
went. It gave us a clear view of the snowy street and sent us both
into ecstatic fits.
“WOW!! AWESOME! LET ME, LET ME!,” Michelle screamed amidst the
giggles. For the next half hour we switched off back and forth. We
opened and closed and opened and closed and opened and closed the
door, balancing precariously on that wobbly little chair every time.
And then we stopped.
Michelle was stretching up and pushing hard on the button again
when her foot slipped. She tumbled and gave a strangled shout.
*And then I saw the blood.*
Michelle was crying from shock than from pain. I ran upstairs to
get my Uncle and wondered why I hadn’t noticed the 12-inch rotary
saw blade propped up against the wall right under our new “toy.”
The finger had come off clean just under the knuckle closest to the
fingernail. My dad searched around franticly for it, packed it in
ice and rushed off in his big brown Lincoln Town Car to meet up
with Michelle and her dad at the hospital. I stayed home with mom
and stared at the bloody saw blade, wondering again how we managed
to miss the dang thing.
=================================
“Alright, Haddad. You’ve freaked us out, now what the hell does
this have to do with Web 2.0?”
=================================
Good question.
Now I *love* podcasting, blogging, web video, web audio, dynamic
web pages, social networking, Pay-Per-Click and all the other
symptoms of the evolving web.
But sometimes I think business folks get so caught up in the shiny
new technology that they lose sight of the powerful basics.
And as Michelle and I (OK, mostly Michelle) learned way back in
‘85, getting hypnotized by “radical new technology” and ignoring
the fundamental truths about your environment (like a big honking
saw blade right underneath you) can be more than a little bit
dangerous.
=================================
So here’s the real message of today’s newsletter.
=================================
If you’re in business today you *need* to a part of the web. You
*need* to be aware of the radical changes that are happening
online. And you *need* to make some hard choices about how you’re
going to take advantage of the opportunities to start *real*
conversations with your customers and sell your business like never
before.
But you also *need* to realize that the medium is *not* the message
and that *what* you say to your audience is always going to be more
important than *how* you say it.
Which means coming up with a strong offer, developing a powerful
Unique Selling Proposition and laying out in no uncertain terms the
*reasons why* your customers should work with you.
Oh, and since you’re undoubtedly dying to know, the good doctors at
that hospital in Massachusetts managed to put my poor cousin back
together again and she has just a tiny little scar to remind her of
her run in with the garage door opener and the saw blade.
Comments? Questions? Harsh Invectives? Head on over to the Hard
Working Words Blog (http://www.haddadink.com/blog) or email me at
chris (at) haddadink.com
=======================================
About This Newsletter and Your Subscription
=======================================
©2007 Haddad Ink. Copywriting Services. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this article
=======================
Feel fre*e to share it with your own list, post it on
your site, post it on your blog, or add it to your
autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and
don’t alter it in anyway. All links must remain
in the article.
And give me a shout out asking folks to subscribe by emailing
hwwords@aweber.com
Please notify me when my article is used online and off line.
===================================================
Haddad Ink., 230 14th Ave. E., #302, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
More
