Sep
30

How can you use long copy to sell pizza?

If you haven’t read my post about the Elephant Poop Hats, make sure you do (it is part 1 of the 2 part series)

Well, Richard Osiowy found a unique way.

In 1997 he moved to Calgary and went on a mission to find the perfect pizza… and was sadly disappointed in what he found.

So, he did what any entrepreneur would do… he came out with the best darned pizza creation possible.

And Coco Brooks was born.
(I love their tag line – it says a lot about what they stand for: A People Company Serving Pizza. )

Long copy pizza box

That's a lot of copy for a pizza box!


800,000 pizzas in 3 years and some very unusual concoctions like Egg ‘n Bacon Pizza, No Cheese Veggie Pizza, Louisiana Chicken Pizza, Banana Bread Pizza and Pizza Fruta.

But one thing he does that I have always found unusual was the use of long copy on his pizza boxes.

A combination of stories, quotes from famous people, advertisements for their store, and coupons to get them back… printed on every nook and cranny on their pizza boxes.

People love his pizza boxes as much as the pizza!

I know people that have photo copied the boxes. Collected them. Yet few if any pizza companies I know have copied them.

Opportunity I would say.

One story covers the entire bottom of the pizza box


Some pictures are attached here so you can see the sheer volume of copy on his boxes.

His customers love the copy – and on any given day you will see his restaurant packed and people head deep in reading the newest pizza box stories.

Quite an amazing sight.

And quite the unusual (yet effective) use of copy.

How could you use either the Coco Brooks approach on your packaging or website… or the Tilley use of elaborate details and stories of clients?

There is ALWAYS a way… when you think it through.

Both of these businesses sell products you can find anywhere… but they used the power of stories to stand out from the crowd, and to engage their clients to keep them coming back for more.

To your success,

Rowse the recruits and get them to write your copy for you

Troy White

PS: Don’t forget… the price on the Story Selling Coaching program goes up October 1st at 5pm. You won’t find a better value with a guarantee like that and 2-3 actual campaigns written during the event! Details for the Story Selling Coaching Program.

PPS: These articles were also posted on my weekly post at Clayton Makepeace’s site – Small Business Mastery

Even their menu reads like a magalog

18 pages of copy

Sep
24

Elephant poop hats, and long copy pizza boxes

Fellow business builder,

I have a great entrepreneurial story to share with you today.

This holds keys to establishing a great story for your business, and on how to get your customers talking.

First, Elephant Poop Hats…

You may have never heard of Tilley Endurables.

They produce the world’s most durable hats, one of them was eaten and pooped out 3 TIMES by an elephant! That hat has become a central point in their marketing and that exact hat is now on display in their central store (still looking next to new).

Talk about a GREAT story.

30 years ago, Alexander Tilley had a moment of clarity while sailing. He was fed up with trying to find a decent sailing hat, and took it into his own hands to design the ultimate hat. After a few variations on design and durability he struck gold and found the magical combination of design, durability and downright good looks.

Next thing you know, other sailors were all over him to get one of their own.

Once they became THE essential piece of clothing for sailors, birders were next. Then hikers. And so on.

30 years later, Tilley Endurables has branched off into all kinds of durable travel goods, and can be found in 2,500 retail stores across the world.

How?

Stories.

Alex Tilley is a masterful story teller. He uses stories to engage his buyers. He uses stories to fill his 4-page owners manual (yes, a 4 page users manual, for a hat!).

Another type of story he uses involves intricate details on the design: “Most Tilley Hats are born from a process involving 41 steps, 23 sets of hands and 15 pieces of fabric/notions. All Hats and Caps are made in Canada with the exception of the TF1 Fedora and TOS1 Oslo Hats, which are handcrafted in the USA. The fabric for each Tilley Hat style is rigorously tested for durability, breathability, sun protection, comfort and of course, good looks!”

He gets his customers to share their stories as well: “We built our business on testimonials,” Tilley has said proudly. Examples like this are to be found in all their marketing: “I was walking east on West 78th Street in New York, as usual wearing my somewhat ancient Tilley original. A very well-hatted man was coming toward me. To my surprise, he gave a little bow and said… ‘Great hat!’.” M. Maclean, Toronto, Ontario

Brag tags anyone?

Tilley hats come with Brag Tags that you can give to people who admire your Tilley. The tag notes “Most Tilley wearers and the person beside you is a prime example, are interesting people of sterling character. It is well worth cultivating their acquaintance. To that end, you’ll be pleased to learn it is customary to provide the giver of Tilley Hat procurement information with a WARM HUG, OR STAND HIM OR HER TO A DRINK.”

Not only is that a great story to share, and to give, but it builds the buyer of the hat up to a high status that others desire for. Not only that, the owners manual tells you exactly HOW to use brag tags for maximum enjoyment (and where to find the secret pocket in your hat to store them, so you always have them on hand)!

To top it all off… a lifetime guarantee: “If your new purchase doesn’t fit, send it back. If the color doesn’t suit you, send it back. If a new item has not been worn or washed, we’ll cheerfully exchange it for one of the right size or color. If the new item isn’t quite what you expected, we’ll refund the purchase price.”

Is it any doubt that Alex Tilley ‘gets’ the power of a great story.

He has built an admirable business with the effective use of stories… you can too.

How can you use long copy to sell pizza?

Next time I am going to share with you a story of a fantastic business that COVERS their pizza boxes with long copy. Copy everywhere. Top, bottom, inside and out. They get it – you will too.

Watch for it and I will show you exactly how they do it (along with pictures) and show you the impact it has on their business (including the unusual things their customers do to keep these pizza boxes.

Last, seriously consider joining the Story Selling program that starts soon.

This is a 6 week, interactive webinar series.

It will be a smaller group so I can give personalized attention to your stories, your campaigns and your progress.

…You will take part in the webinars.

…You get the recordings and transcripts.

…You get all the bonuses, checklists, tools and special reports.

…And you get a minimum of 2 campaigns written during the program (you write them while we go through the program).

If you are ready to take your marketing to the next level of persuasiveness, join us.

http://www.storysellingtips.com

If you understand the amount of money you can make in a single campaign, let alone two of them like you get in this program, you know that the special $247 price I am offering this to you for is a no-brainer (one client of mine, who took a workshop from me before, was instantly able to have $1,000 days when she used tools like what you get here. Previously she never made that I a month.)

I am only offering this for the next 10 days (go figure where the 10 came from). After that it goes up to the price of $347.

Not only that, I am only able to accommodate a small group of 40 for this program.

All the details are here >>> Story Selling

The best part?

You actually walk out of the program, not only with a skill that will help you profit for years to come, but you also write 2 promotions while you are in the program!

Hope to see you there soon.

Troy

PS: We are going to have some fun in this program! Complete with contests for best stories, best promotions, etc. A great way to meet people and craft your perfect signature story that will make you moola for many years to come.

Join us and see all the details here http://www.storysellingtips.com

Sep
21

Watch as I embarrass myself today

I have a funny and embarrassing picture for you.

I let my daughters give me a makeover a while back (yes – complete with hair clips and makeup, unfortunately).

The makeover was awful… but the girls had a blast.

…Despite all the pulled hair and thick makeup applied – I managed to survive without any long lasting damage.

Troy White in a Marketing Makeover
And I had a great idea while cleaning off the mess.

Why not help my clients makeover their marketing?

…The perfect place to test a few things… my new Story Selling program.

You know as well as I do that a good story is absolutely critical for your business to stand out from the crowd.

A good story:

…helps you connect one-on-one with your prospects and clients

…helps others see things from your point of view

…helps you write more compelling articles, blog posts and marketing materials

Great story tellers:

…build highly successful businesses (like J Peterman, who I have written about before. He had a massively successful business built on stories, but destroyed his success with too much expansion , too quickly).

The problem?

Most people are not natural story tellers. I’m not. Not many people i know are. But a great story teller always has a listening audience nearby.

I can tell a decent story now in my client’s marketing campaigns, but I still am not the type that is the life of the party while I tell story after story.

But i have learned how to weave in persuasive stories into my copy.

…For articles… Blog posts… Autoresponders… Direct mail…web page copy… Email campaigns… Social media campaigns… Postcards… And so on

My Story Selling Program is about to begin…and I want to work with you.

First… The ultimate story in my life.
…My daughters.

As you may know, they are identical twins and were born at a whopping 3 pounds each. Tiny tiny little girls that have grown far too fast for my liking.

Guess what’s coming up?

Their 10th birthday. And it falls on 10/10/10…

…I don’t think there is a cooler birthday out there!

Turning 10 on 10/10/10 is worthy of a party… An Alice In Wonderland party.

In honor of their magical birthday I want to extend to you a very special pre-launch special on the Story Selling clinic.

This is a 6 week, interactive webinar series.

It will be a smaller group so I can give personalized attention to your stories, your campaigns and your progress.

…You will take part in the webinars.

…You get the recordings and transcripts.

…You get all the bonuses, checklists, tools and special reports.

…And you get a minimum of 2 campaigns written during the program (you write them while we go through the program).

If you are ready to take your marketing to the next level of persuasiveness, join us.

http://www.storysellingtips.com

If you understand the amount of money you can make in a single campaign, let alone two of them like you get in this program, you know that the special $247 price I am offering this to you for is a no-brainer (one client of mine, who took a workshop from me before, was instantly able to have $1,000 days when she used tools like what you get here. Previously she never made that I a month.)

I am only offering this for the next 10 days (go figure where the 10 came from). After that it goes up to the price of $347.

Not only that, I am only able to accommodate a small group of 40 for this program.

All the details are here >>> Story Selling Club

The best part?

You actually walk out of the program, not only with a skill that will help you profit for years to come, but you also write 2 promotions while you are in the program!

Hope to see you there soon.

Troy

PS: We are going to have some fun in this program! Complete with contests for best stories, best promotions, etc. A great way to meet people and craft your perfect signature story that will make you moola for many years to come.

Join us and see all the details here http://www.storysellingtips.com

Aug
30

Marketing strategies for September… when you are stuck

Where the heck have I been?

How it got to be September already, I will never understand.

Once second it was July 1st and I was leaving to the beach with boat, wife and daughters at my side… next thing…. 2 months later.

Yikes.

Actually, this has been a very weird summer for me.

Honestly, the summer was tough with some businesses that I help… not all peaches and cream like some would like you to think.

It’s true – not all businesses have been booming during the summer.

Despite what some of the ‘gurus’ say… some people are actually having a tough time selling these days.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
so why aren’t they telling you the truth?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Because that doesn’t sell.

They want you to believe that anyone and everyone who buys their magic-pill-of-the-month will be a trazillionaire… just like they claim to be.

But sometimes the truth hurts.

Don’t get me wrong – I struggled with a couple campaigns this summer… but others have done exceptionally well.

One of my clients sells high end furniture. I have been working with them for over a year now and he just opened his second story in July.

Thanks to a larger market in the new location, sales have been brisk in his first 30 days there… more than double his other store.

Here we are with September upon us and the biggest shopping season upon us…

…how do you ensure you make the most of it?

A GREAT STORY.

That’s how.

The one major factor that is helping my clients win in their business is a great story they can tell.

People love stories right now.

It connects one to another.

It breaks down barriers and helps you find people with a like mind.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
It attracts the perfect type of client…

…one who is more concerned about the
*experience* you give than the lowest price they get.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Much like the Lobster brothers I have written about many times before (http://www.milliondollarlobster.com) – a great story can help you sell your product for many times the price of your competitors (in the lobster brothers’ case, many hundreds/thousands times the price)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The OPPORTUNITY for you…

…start working on your story.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Get it nailed down now, and you will be rocking by the time things pick up.

Using stories to sell and persuade is one of the most powerful abilities you can strengthen.

Some starter stories you can use:

* Pet Peeves
* Physical Characteristics (Uniqueness)
* Core Beliefs
* Significant Childhood Events
* Beliefs
* Hobbies
* Education
* Skills
* Interests
* Family
* Talents
* Life Events You Remember Most
* Adventures You Will Never Forget
* Incompetence At?

This fall I am offering a Story Selling Coaching program that will help you define your signature story then find ways to turn your story into cash flow.

If you would like to take part in the first group of Story Sellers, just reply back and let me know you *might* be interested.

(if you are a Coaching, Business Mastery or Sales Letter Success client, you get this gratis!)

One coaching client from a previous program made more in her first story campaign than she made in the previous 2 months.

Another client who leverages stories using the techniques I will share (along with numerous other Story Selling Experts) has built a VERY profitable membership model.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Now earning him more in a *week*
than he used to make in 3 months.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Yet another just mailed me a handwritten letter from Australia.
He took some of my Story Selling techniques and has quickly built a decent income that is bringing some great joy to his family (including a pony for his daughter!).

If you are interested in learning more about how to become a Story Seller, just reply back and let me know. I will not pester you or hold you to it, I am just looking to see who might be interested in this program in September.

Last, here are a number of ideas you can use in the coming month for growing your sales:

September Events
———————
International Self-Awareness Month
International Strategic Thinking Month
National Coupon Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Skin Care Awareness Month
National Courtesy Month
Be Kind To Editors and Writers Month
Million Minute Family Challenge
Reunion Planning Month
Shameless Promotion Month
Update Your Resume Month
Women of Achievement Month
Organic Harvest Month
Jazz Month
Fall Hat Month
Children’s Good Manner’s Month
Self Improvement Month
Tiger Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Baby Safety Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month

Thanks, Troy

PS: One other reason for my absence this summer… I just needed it! We ALL need a break. When you feel like you are at the end of your rope… take an afternoon, weekend, entire week off. Get away from email, blogs, etc, and just relax.

That can do you FAR more good than anything else.

PPS: I have quite a few blog posts you may not have seen, but should:

Facebook advertising… friend or foe?


Honesty in Advertising… the best movie for copywriters… ever

How to get out of a slump

Aug
05

90% of retailers blow it (websites included)

New survey resultts are in from the YouGov research group. They went out and surveyed buyers of products they found either online or were driven online from direct mail.

Some fascinating info:

* 57% of British consumers would be prepared to include their email address when placing an order through a catalogue and more than 43% would when placing an order in response to direct mail.

* In spite of this willingness, however, just 10% per cent of consumers said that a retailer had asked them for their email in a catalogue order form and just 6% had ever been asked via direct mail.

* Nearly a third (27%) of consumers, however, claim to have been motivated to make a purchase in a high street store after being alerted to a product in a marketing email.

* 69% per cent said they would share their email address with a brand if they were an existing customer.

* “The research clearly shows that customers are willing to trust their contact details with established brands or companies with whom they already have an existing relationship — this gives email marketers a fantastic opening to increase the size of their email databases by adding existing customers to their programmes at a minimal cost.”

For the full article (and a download link for the entire report – great sleeping material – the facts above are all that are needed. Go to Internet Retailing.

So – the question to you is – are you doing everything possible to collect email addresses from your buyers? Your prospects?

Evvvvvverything?

Obviously your buyers want you to ask… the rest is up to you!

Jul
26

Honesty in advertising

This, by far, is one of the best movies ever… especially if you own a business… or want better results from your advertising.

If you haven’t seen Crazy People with Dudley Moore and Darrel Hannah yet – get it!

I am on my… ahhhh…. 10th time through it by now.

Every time I watch it – I pick up on something new (ok – maybe just have a great laugh every time).

Dudley Moore stars as Emory Lesson, an advertising genius who ends up in an insane asylum.

What made him “crazy”?

Emory had enough of creating phony advertising and hypy garbage (none of that on the web now is there?) and decides to create his own campaigns that tell… the truth.

Advertising with truth – what a concept!

Since sex sells, Emory crafts an explicit ad campaign consisting of unadorned sexuality…

“Jaguar-For men who want hand-jobs from beautiful women they hardly know”

His colleagues take such great offense to the honesty in the ad – they decide he is now unfit and commit him to an asylum.

Undoubtedly, he fights it – but soon settles in to find a beautiful new friend Kathy (Daryl Hannah), and bunch of wacky misfits that are eerily comforting to his new home life.

Where it starts getting really good is when his ad agency accidentally runs a bunch of his “honest ads” and finds that consumers absolutely LOVE them – and buy the products being sold in droves.

Emory also finds that the crazy people are natural-born advertising geniuses… and a new business is born. Honest Ads being creating out of an insane asylum. And they are major hits.

The ads hit home run after home run… and the laughs are great.

A few more ads in the movie…

“Metamucil- It helps you go to the toilet. If you don’t use it, you will get cancer and die.”

“Porsche-It’s a little too small to get laid in, but you get laid the minute you get out of it.”

“Come in Jamaica”

Needless to say – if you are in marketing and want to pick up an idea or two on creating more effective advertisements… watch this movie.

The truth behind it is real – people want honesty – and will buy when it is given to them.

My highest recommendation. Pick up a copy and watch it soon – your bank account will thank you.

Troy

PS: Here is another painfully truthful commercial spot – and I love it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RLqLx1iYI (don’t you think that honesty like this would make a HUGE difference in sales results? Not only that, how much easier it is to create a down to earth video like this!)