Wonderful Web Women

On our Gold Members Q & A call today we discussed how to get great testimonials for your new book/ebook/product.  First of all, let’s look at what makes a good testimonial.

What makes a good testimonial?

Compare these 2 testimonials.

” I loved this book. Jam packed full of really useful information and easy to read”

with

“I loved this book. After implementing just one tip from chapter 2 I gained an extra hour each day. I now have more time to spend with my young children after school each day instead of rushing to finish my work commitments. Thank you”

Can you see the difference?

The first one is glowing, but it could be for any good book.

The second one is great because it:

1. tells of a measurable result from reading the book
2. gives a before and after (rushed work vs time with kids)
3. tells a bit about the person that another person may relate to (working mum)

How to get a good testimonial

Well first, you have to have something worth raving about but I’m going to assume you have a great book or product!

When you ask people for a testimonial, they want to help you but don’t really know what is the best thing to do. That’s why you end up with nice, but bland, testimonials. You need to give them some help.

When you ask for a testimonial, give them some guidance in the form of questions. For example:

1. What was your biggest “ah ha” from the book?
2. Have you implemented any of the ideas from the book?
3. If you have, what did you do and what changes have happened in your life because of that action?
4. If you were to refer this book to a friend, which section do you recommend they must look at? Why?

This is just to give you a few ideas. You can put these questions in an email, letter or say them on the phone. Just say, “I’d love to get your feedback on my book. Here are some questions to get you thinking.”

Who do you ask for a testimonial?

It’s great if you can get some well-known people to give you a testimonial. Send them a copy of the book, ask nicely and see if there is anyone who can introduce you so you are not going in cold. Tell them why you think they are a legend.

Apart from the well known person, you need to find as many TYPES of people as you can. By this I mean, young, old, single, has young children, has teenagers, divorced, newly married, black, white, and all shades of the rainbow. The reason for this is social proof.

People look for testimonials from people who are just like them. A 20 year old man will relate to a testimonial given by another young man, but maybe not the single mother of pre-schoolers.

For this reason, always ask for a photo to go with the testimonial so people can scan through your sales letter or testimonial page. Their eyes will be drawn to the photo of the person they most relate to.

Final Words

A good testimonial can seal the deal for you. In fact, on my business card I don’t have a description of what services I provide - I simply have my photo, my contact details, and one good testimonial that covers my main selling point. After all who are you more likely to take notice of?

The seller of a product, or someone who purchased and used the product?

I’d love to hear your tips and experiences with testimonials. Why not share them here as a comment?

Cheers

Janet

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing 2 of my favourite people on-line, best selling relationship authors and husband and wife psychology team Judith & Jim (Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski). Judith and Jim are leading what I see as a new frontier in Internet marketing and one that I feel passionately you need to be part of.

Judith and Jim lead the way for “soft sell marketers” to market their businesses  in a way that lets people know about what you do without feeling like you have to compromise or even sell out to marketing methods that go against your grain. In this article I will cover what soft sell marketing is and who actually fits into the soft sell category of businesses but first let me tell you about an opportunity to learn more and to meet up with Judith, Jim and myself in person.

Bridging Heart and Marketing

Judith and Jim are organisers of “Bridging Heart and Marketing II” – the only conference for Soft Sell Internet marketers. It takes place September 12-14 in Los Angeles. I’m honoured to be one of their featured speakers amongst an incredibly inspiring group of people. Judith and Jim have stressed the importance that this event is not a “talk fest” and that there are very real opportunites to workshop ideas and create long term relationships that will make a huge difference to the growth of your business.

Because I’m a speaker at the conference I get to offer you a SPECIAL DISCOUNT on your tuition. To find out what you’ll experience, go to: http://www.bridgingheartandmarketing.com/janet

And if “Bridging Heart and Marketing II” feels right for you – follow your heart and be there with us.

Join me for breakfast

As an extra bonus if you order through this special discount link you can join me for breakfast one morning of the event for a special Question and Answer session. We’ll book a table at breakfast just for our group and you will get the opportunity to get answers from me to your personal questions as well as the opportunity to discuss product ideas and joint ventures.

Stay an extra day

I really do hope you can can join us. I also hope you can stay for an extra day for the opportunity to spend a whole day learning the details on how to grow a business fast, and bring in extra income to your home every month, with the help of experts and the power of your voice. You can find out more about our Quick Start Event here.

Listen to the replay

I had quite a few people contact me to say they were disappointed to miss the interview as they didn’t receive the notice emails. Apparently we had a problem with a lot of our emails this week ending up in spam folders. AHHH!!! So, for a few days only you can listen to the recordings of the interview, before they are added to the gold members only area of Wonderful Web Women. Here is part of a message I received from one of the listeners on the call “Bravo for last night’s interview with Judith and Jim … having the energy of the three of you in one space was not only an elegant event, a moving one, as well.” I’d love to hear your ideas after you listen to the call.

Again, this is where you can listen to the interview

This is where you can register for the conference and receive my special discount

Here is where you can register for the one-day event with me either in LA after the conference, or in Sydney a few weeks before.

Cheers

Janet

On our call yesterday with Lorrie Morgan - Ferrero, she promised to send us some examples of female friendly sales copy we can look at for ideas. Well true to her word she sent me an email today with some great samples to share with you.

Here are they are below.

http://www.redhotcopy.com/sterling.htm

http://www.redhotcopy.com/rhcbootcamp.htm

http://www.redhotcopy.com/copy3.html

http://www.alexandriabrown.com/marketingmastery.htm

http://www.successconnections.com

http://www.infoproductguy.com/home.html

Here are some extra words of wisdom from Lorrie Remember, even though these are long copy sales letters, the formatting, the bullets and the headlines/subheads are designed to make the copy scannable and easy-to-read for busy women AND busy men. Yes, women despite our equality, it seems much of the household duties still far to us and our time seems even less than men’s.

 But the psychology of having all the answers, facts, and information on one scrolling page is still a proven copywriting device. Imagine how frustrating it would be to NOT get all the information you wanted about making a purchasing decision in one place and have to poke around many other sites to find it. It actually saves time to have it all in one place from one source. Then we can Google other sources to make our comparisons.

Thanks heaps Lorrie

Remember, you can get Lorrie’s free report and her special offer for her upcoming conference to help you create a business that is positioned to make the most of the female buyer here: http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/redhotcopy

P.S.  Here is a link to Lorrie’s many products to help you master copywriting. This is really the no. 1 skill you need to master to create success in your internet business.

Today I interviewed one of my favourite Internet marketers, Lorrie Morgan - Ferrero. Lorrie has a wonderful ability to write sales letters, emails, blog posts etc that I can really relate to. I feel as if she is writing to me. She has an ability to catch the female voice but not in the way that some marketers try. Her language is not girly, or wishy-washy. It is strong, intelligent and makes me feel as though she takes me seriously.

Isn’t that different to many of the sales letters we read on the Internet? Over the next few days, on the blog here, I will share with you some of the facts about the changes taking place in marketing, driven by the increasing power women have as consumers. But here it is in brief. Women make far the majority of buying decisionsnow, even for goods traditionally targeted to men. 80% in fact!

Here is Lorrie’s recipe for adapting your sales letters to appeal to the female buyer:

The important thing to know is that the way sales letters are traditionally written works. We do not have to rewrite the guide book. For example, you still need to have a great headline and a good offer. You still need to state the problem, show you understand it and then offer a solution (you). And like it or not, long sales letters work better than short IF you follow the steps below. The current techniques are based on sound psychology but they were invented in the 1920″s when women were not the buyers. Here’s how to get it up to date:

1. Appeal to both sides of the brain:

Men tend to think in a linear way and make decisions faster. Women tend to use both sides of the brain equally and take many factors into consideration. We tend to want more information before we make a buying decision. We take longer to win over as a customer but when won, we tend to be very loyal. Of course, these are exceptions to the rule but these differences between the way men and women think hold true.

So the lesson here? Give women the facts. Provide info in a variety of ways (dot points, audio, stories, information boxes, video). We need enough information to make an informed decision rather than hype. Can you you see now, why long sales letters are necessary?

2. Use metaphors:

Women use both sides of the brain and think in terms of stories and relationships. So use a lot of metaphors in your sales copy. Tell stories.

3. Use graphics:

Boring pages where just the words sell have become the accepted best-practice recently. The thought is that nothing should distract from the words. This does not work for women. It is important to reinforce your message with great graphics.

4. Be authentic:

If you are yourself and honest, women will be loyal customers. If you are not authentic and try to make it, women will sniff it out quickly and you’ll never see them again. So lose the hype, empty promises and trying to copy the voice of others. Be yourself.

5. Write to a very specific person

Lorrie mentioned the concept of a TARKET. She recommends you research your target customers well and then create a very detailed profile of one person. So, you give them a name, age, occupation, interests, marital status, income etc. When you listen to the recording you’ll hear Lorrie describe her tarket. Talk about detailed! This is the person you are writing to in everything you do. This will make your writing so much more genuine and authentic.

6. Don’t use male language

Don’t use words such as win, compete, destroy, dominate, bullet-proof etc. Women do not respond to competitive language and the language of conflict. Use inclusive, relationship building words.

7. If you contribute to the world, let them know

If you make the world a better place either through the way you do business, your product or by contributing, let women know. Studies have shown that women place priority on community and social issues. But remember, if you don’t or you just do token contributions, don’t claim you do something you don’t. You’ll lose loyalty quickly.

You know what I  like about this approach to copywriting? It is high in integrity and treats the customer with respect. That is probably why using these techniques increases your success with the female buyer, but doesn’t turn men off. Over the next few days I’ll also share a few other tips Lorrie shared. You can also grab 2 great opportunties thanks to Lorrie.

Firstly, go to http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/redhotcopy and download the free report “Are You Still Living In the Marketing Dark Ages?”. Lorrie shares even more great ideas there.

After you sign up for the report, you’ll be given access to a special offer page that is only valid for 2 more days. Lorrie is holding a first ever 3 day event in October where she takes you step by step through tailoring your ENTIRE business to make the most of the female market. Today we only covered some of the copywriting skills. Lorrie has extended an offer for a wonderful discount to the event that she has not even made available to her own list (this is true. I’m on her list and haven’t seen this offer). She has also included excellent bonuses of software and tools that will quick start your copywriting. Here’s the link again.

http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/redhotcopy

I’d love to hear your thoughts on copywriting and the female market. Why not share them here?

Cheers

Janet

I am truly inspired by today’s call with Judith Shevern. And I’m not alone.

Judith’s call today on a new approach to internet marketing that shows true respect for visitors to your website inspired so many comments, stories and offers of gifts from members to members that I have spent all afternoon writing so I can share this with you. This is definitely a topic that so many of our members can relate to.

As usual, I have written an article that outlines many of the points our speaker covered, to benefit those of you who could not be on the call. Gold member’s of course can listen to the replay within a few hours and I recommend you listen to the interview as well as the mastermind call which was incredibly valuable. But first, let me tell you what a buzz Judith’s call created:

So Many Stories to Share

I received so many stories from members that I could not possibly share them all during the interview. So I have pasted many of the comments on the blog. Take the time to leave your comments too at http://wonderfulwebwomen.com/blog/2007/soft-sell-internet-marketing-with-judith-severn-what-our-members-say/ 

Here is one such comment from Linda in Sydney:

Judith, A wonderful talk and very uplifting. Just because the internet is technical doesnt mean it cant have heart. It is after all just a medium of communicatication and that is what brings us all together.It is such a powrful medium for sharing and reaching out.

Judith’s Amazing Offer

Judith and her husband Jim will be holding a world - first conference in February called “Bridging Heart and Marketing”. It has not been publicised yet and is already being booked so we are among the first to know. I asked Judith to put together a special offer for our members, especially for our members who can’t make it to the US in February. Boy, did she rise to the challenge!

Judith has made an offer that is only available for Wonderful Web Women that is valued at close to $5000. There are so many valuable products she has thrown in that are essential for anyone who is serious about creating an impact on the internet - and doing it with integrity. I couldn’t possibly list them all here so I have created a blog post with all the details, including how to find a buddy to share the cost with you and how to benefit from your tickets even if you can’t be there.

Here are the details:

http://wonderfulwebwomen.com/blog/2007/5000-value-bonuses-just-for-wonderful-web-women/

And here is the link so you can register for your bonuses:

http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/judith2

Inspired from our call today - win a (virtual) trip to Costa Rica

One of our members was so inspired by our call today that she was motivated to share a gift with one of our Wonderful Web Women. Ann Oliveri heads off to Costa Rica this week to participate in a retreat / conference for spiritual entrepreneurship. This conference has an amazing line up of speakers and will be streamed live via video on the weekend.

Ann has offered the gift of access to the streaming video and 16 hours of archives - valued at $297.

But there’s a catch. There is only one gift and many members. Over the next 24 hours we ask you to share with us on the blog at http://wonderfulwebwomen.com/blog/2007/win-a-virtual-trip-to-costa-rica/

“How you would like to make a contribution to the lives of others through the Internet”.

One of the entries will win this gift but you have to take action and leave your comments there today.

Article: Soft Sell Internet Marketing and How to Apply it to your business

In our call today Judith Shevern introduced us to the concept of Soft Sell marketing. This approach developed as a rejection of traditional hard sell sales letters that we see so much on the internet.

Judith and her husband Jim come from a background of clinical psychology so the idea of a hard sell was totally against their ethics and so unsuitable to their target market. So they set about developing their own techniques of selling and wrote their own rules. Their style was so successful that internet legend Alex Mandossian started keeping a swipe file of their copywriting. It was that good. Now Judith and Jim share their passion and techniques through teaching others.

Here are a few tips from Judith today on how to be an effective sift seller>

Work on your own mind set first

Especially if you come from a caring profession, you will find the idea of selling unethical and in opposition to your ideal of helping your customers. This was a barrier Judith had to overcome.

Judith stressed the importance of seeing selling as a spiritual service. If you offer a service or product that improves people’s lives and you hold back from offering products or services to help them further, and explain what it is you are offering, you are actually doing a dis-service.

This is an important concept to get you head around and Judith has included a product to help you do this as part of her bonus at http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/judith2

3 steps to take when you review your sales copy

Here are the first 3 stages you need to look at when you review your sales copy on your web site:

1. What does your customer want? Look at the number of times you say “I” compared to the number of times you say “You”. Your copy should be written so ot states respectfully What In It For Me. You can also use the words “we” to create a feeling of companionship, especially if it does involve interaction.

2. Be clear in your offering

You really need to be very clear about exactly what you are offering. Often if we have many services to offer it is tempting to put them all on the one sales letter. Your customer should know straight away if what you are offering is what they want.

3. Be clear on the benefits

Be very clear about what value you are giving your customer so they can make a decision. Often it will take many email contacts to develop a relationship with your customers.

The tip of the iceberg

I can’t possibly do justice to what Judith covered today but I hope this gives you some food for thought. We cover so much more in  our hour long interview and also the extra hour that Judith spent with us answering questions of members. The recording of the interviews will be available very soon in the GOLD member’s area of the web site and I suggest you listen to this call many times like 2 of our members have already emailed me to tell me they intend to do.

You can sign up for more info from Judith at http://www.wonderfulwebwomen.com/recommends/judith2

I’d love to hear your comments.

Cheers

Janet