Woah!
Check out Seattle Business Monthly this month and you’ll see my smirking face.
I knew I’d be *in* the magazine this month, but I had NO IDEA they were going to plaster my ugly mug all over the cover.
I’m particularly proud of my bright-white fish belly arms.
Eek!
-c
Hey folks,
Just finished 70 scorching minutes with David Garfinkel in which we discussed simple ways to keep your sales humming during the recession.
You can check out the replay at this link
Again, we’re not selling a thing on this call. It’s just good, solid content you can use today (with a few jokes thrown in.)
Also, I got a couple emails from folks asking about my friend and client Michael Cage . . . “The Professor Of Profitable Teleseminars And Webinars.”
You can check out Michael’s excellent blog and learn about his stuff at MichaelCage.com”
My big brother (finance wiz Ken Haddad . . . who’s actually significantly shorter than I am) wants me to let everyone know that when he and his wife came to visit, they trudged up and down Seattle soggy hills for 5 days straight without even the smallest complaint. So obviously they’re cooler than my friends Scott and Mason.
So there.
Hey Folks,
I’m back in Seattle for one action packed (or perhaps nap-packed) day before deading back out of town for New Years.
i got a weird email this morning from an old High School friend saying he stumbled on my name while reading CNn . . .and after a quick Google search, it turns out he was right.
Check out CNN and read all about my foray into co working.
I was on the phone with my friend and mentor David Garfinkel the other day when he said one of those bone headedly simple things that everyone who tries to sell something *should* know but that almost no one does.
Now, David’s a brilliant copywriter and marketer (and regularly slaps me around and makes me get my head straight on the way marketing *really* works in the real world) . . . but the earth shattering little statement he told me was actually a quote that *he* heard from the late, legendary and justifiably notorious Gary Halbert.
And what Gary said was:
“When All Else Fails, Give People What They Want”
I know, it’s rocket surgery, right?
But I’m always amazed at how many otherwise smart business folks drive themselves *nuts* and get *no results at all* because they’re trying to cram a square offer into a round market (wow, that’s a dirty metaphor) . . . because they’re trying to sell their product or service on the wrong benefits and emotions all together . . . because they have *no idea* what’s actually going on in their market’s head . . . or because they think that just because they think something is *cool* that the public is going to gobble it up like hot and delicious cupcakes.
Remember the Segway? It’s that nifty little two wheeled, gyroscope powered thing-a-magig that Dean Kamen *really really wanted* to transform the way we move around cities . . . but that the public didn’t want at all.
(Note: You can still buy a Segway if you want, but these days it’s mostly just used as a golf cart and as a way for cow-eyed college girls to trick you into signing up for new long distance service in downtown Seattle. I’m actually waiting for the Scientologists to get some and to start chasing people down by the mall.)
Does this mean that you have to throw out your product and start from scratch?
Not necessarily (though if you’ve got something like the Segway, you might consider it.)
But you *do* have to figure out what your market *really* wants and *how what you’ve got to offer gives it to them.
(And the first person to point out how this whole rant keys in to last week’s blog about “If/Then/Why” gets a cookie on me. I mean that literally, you can throw a cookie at me.)
Later.
Eric’s a smart ass (a tall smart ass who’s only 21 but who makes truckloads online.)
“When I first met Chris Haddad I thought he was an odd looking bald man
who had a strange pension for salsa dancing.. Later though he proved to
be one of the most natural copywriters I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.
This guys cranks out more high converting, excitement generating copy than
anyone else in the business, and he does it faster too!
If you’re looking to rapidly grow your profits with copy you can count on
converting well from the start look no further than Chris… Despite his love of
dance and premature baldness he’s a great guy and extremely talented
(especially at his surprisingly low rates!).
He is who I turn to, and you should too…. But make sure you give him a hard time 
”
Eric Farewell
Internet Marketing Guru Advisor & Launch Manager
www.EricFarewell.com
This will be going on the main site soon (and on the super secret new site and blog in the near future) but I figure it’s just too damn hot to keep under wraps.
“After 16 years in business and over $57 Million in sales, I’m damned
picky about who I ask to write for me. Chris is a salesman through and
through. His copy sucks in cash like a nuclear powered vacuum cleaner
and he’s added hundreds of thousands of dollars to my bottom line. If
you get the chance, hire Chris. He’s fast, ridiculously easy to work
with and always delivers results.” – Jeff Paul, Internet Marketing Millionaire and Author of “How To Make Money Sitting At Your Kitchen Table In Your Underwear.”
I think this is the first time in six months that I’ve had pants on before 11AM . . . and it feels great.
I’m plopped down in a cheap but comfy office chair at Office Nomads–a big brick-walled dream put together by local tech-geek and cap-wearer Jacob Sayles. ON’s new space cavernous–over 5,000 square feet–and decked out with donuts, coffee, a printer and a bunch of smiling Seattle Indie Pros blinking at the light and remembering what it’s like to be out of their home-office caves and out in the world again.
I’ve gotten more done in the last hour than I typically do all day working at home. And as part of ON’s grand opening he’s letting people plop down and work for free.
Check it out at officenomads.com . . . and come down and get some damn work done.
Hey Folks,
I was at rehearsal for a play last night when I spotted another actor’s copy of “Skeptic” magazine . . . and immediately grabbed it out of his hands and read the full page ad on the back.
Why? Because of the frankly fascinating headline. It read:
“Before The Bible Was The Bible It Was A Bunch Of Little Books Written By A Bunch Of Different Writers With Different Viewpoints”
And it got me thinking “Wow, what a great headline” quickly followed by “Ok, but why the heck does this headline work?”
Because there’s no discernible benefit here . . .
And the language in the headline and the ad is as hype free and “Logic-based” as you can get (which fits the publication readership pretty well.)
I sort of chuckled as I though about some alternate headlines:
“Who Else Wants To Discover The Secret Terrible Truth Of The Bible That *They* Don’t Want You To Know”
“Finally Revealed . . . Here’s How *You* Can Learn To Be Even More Arch And Superior At Parties! You Won’t Believe How Easy It Is To Fill The Empty Void In Your Soul By Systematically Ripping Apart Other People’s Entire Belief Systems . . While Still Leaving Room For Dessert!”
“They Laughed When I Said The Bible Was Written By A Bunch Of Different Folks Who Didn’t Like Each Other Very Much . . . But When I Clicked On The Projector And Showed Them My Powerpoint. . . ”
“How A Skinny, Balding, One-Legged, No-Elbowed, Non-Tenured Professor *Accidentally* Took On The *Fat Cats* of ‘Big Religion’ And Knocked Over 2,000 Years Of Tradition To Its KNEES . . . Almost Overnight!”;)
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Anyway, what do you think makes the “Before The Bible Was The Bible” line work so well? And if you’ve got any other alternate headlines throw them up (though remember, we’re here to talk copy, not religion.)
Oh, and tangentially, flipping through the magazine I found an article by someone debunking the newfangled traction machines you hear about a lot of chiropractors using. What was fascinating to me was hearing her talk about the marketing used to sell the stuff. She quoted the headline (A “Who else” and sniggered at the “bad grammar” in the “free report” she got when she asked for more info.
Surfing the web yesterday, I stumbled on an article (actually a whole sea of articles . . . it’s big news) saying that Obesity is a social virus. Basically, if you’re friends get fat, you’ll probably get fat too. And if you get fat. . . well, your friends are doomed to having to buy stretchy pants at Target.
Strangely enough I see a similar phenomenon in the small and medium-sized business communities I bounce around. Hang out with folks who are successful and you’ll become more successful. Hang out with folks who pour all their energy into utterly ineffective brand building ads and wonder why customers aren’t pounding down their door and . . . well, you get the idea.
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