The Single Most Powerful
Response-Boosting Tool
I’ve Ever Shared With ANYONE

Dear Business-Builder,

Wowzers. Things sure are happening fast around here!

Redhead #1 (Wendy), Redhead #2 (Julie) and the rest of The Total Package™ team have been a bunch of blurs lately – what with getting our new webhost, new database, new shopping cart, new web pages, new blog and new webinars all sorted out!

So before I hand you one of the most powerful response-boosting weapons in my arsenal – a tool I guarantee will help multiply the selling power of your online and offline promotions -- let’s do a little quick housekeeping

If you value your subscription to The Total Package, here’s some very, VERY important news: Hopefully, you arrived at a squeeze page before viewing this issue, and renewed your subscription to The Total Package™. If you found this issue without seeing that page, here’s the straight skinny:

To bring you all the exciting new response-boosting and business-boosting tools we have planned for 2006, we had to change email vendors -- and the new company (1ShoppingCart), requires that you renew your subscription if you want to continue receiving The Total Package™.

It only takes a second and couldn’t be simpler. If you haven’t already renewed, just click here, then provide your first name and email address – and we’ll make sure you don’t miss a single issue.

As always, your info is safe with us: We will never share your name or email addy with anyone. And of course, you can cancel your subscription any time simply by clicking the link at the end of each issue and each email we send you.

Speaking of our website – www.makepeacetotalpackage.com – lots of cool new stuff to check out:

The About Us links at the top of each issue of The Total Package take you to pages introducing our entire team and some of the reams of testimonials our wonderful readers have sent to us.

The Online Store is now open for business, and we’ll be adding many more great business-building and response-boosting tools every month from now on.

Our first-ever video is online! If you’d like to meet a few of your fellow Total Package readers and hear what they have to say about this year’s Power Marketing Summit, you’ll want to take a look. The video in 9 megs, so depending on your connection speed, it may take a minute to load, but it’s pretty cool. Just click here.

Leista and David are working overtime adding new pages and valuable new tools to our site for your moneymaking pleasure and we’ll be announcing them in coming issues.

Our inaugural Virtual Hotseat Webinar session last Wednesday was a resounding success! I spent 90 minutes critiquing and improving a ten-page sales letter for a real estate product online – while attendees listened by phone, watched on their computers and sent questions.

I demonstrated how I go about identifying a product’s practical and emotional benefits … grabbing my prospect by the eyeballs with a compelling headline and deck structure … making the copy impossible not to read … infusing the copy with credibility … and convincing prospects that not ordering would be the dumbest thing they could do.

My initial concerns about the reliability and usability of this webinar technology proved to be completely unfounded. Attendees report that logging in was a breeze and the whole thing went off without a hitch.

Afterwards, we sent a link allowing everyone to watch the entire thing again – and when the series is over, everyone will get a CD-ROM containing Flash video and audio of all five sessions.

To check out what folks are saying about this remarkable event, point your browser to: http://www.copywritersboard.com/
viewtopic.php?p=21984#21984

We’ll be doing it again this Wednesday at noon Eastern time – and each of the next three Wednesdays – so if you’re serious about boosting response and getting bigger winners more often, I strongly suggest that you click here to check it out!

Daniel Levis’ new eLetter – Web Marketing Advisor™ – is already garnering rave reviews. If you’re looking for inspired strategies and copywriting advice to ramp up the selling power of your online promotions, you should definitely take a gander!

The videos of Power Marketing Summit 2006 will be available soon! Attendees have already received their unedited DVDs and PowerPoint slides. Now, my lifelong friend Denny Koska – producer of some of the most famous infomercials ever made -- is editing the final version.

Denny’s job is to marry the Summit’s 613 PowerPoint slides to the 20-hour video of my presentation. When it’s done (my guess is sometime in July), we’ll rush it to all attendees FREE, and make it available in our Online Store.

So much for the housekeeping – let’s get on with making you some MONEY …

My 37-Point Acid Test for Direct Response Copy

Seems like it doesn’t matter whether I’m talking to the owner of a home-based business or a small business, a marketing exec or a copywriter, just about everybody in this biz deals with the same, burning question about every direct response promotion they create:

If you can relate, you’re gonna love this. Next time you’re tempted to let go of a draft – submit it to a client or send it to a layout artist or web programmer, do this:

Set aside one hour. Lock yourself in a quiet room. Yank the phone jack out of the wall. Mentally insert your dogs into a prospect’s Nikes and then read your copy just as he or she would.

DO NOT allow yourself to get drawn into editing or changing anything. Instead, notice every fleeting thought that crosses your mind and every feeling – excitement or boredom, conviction or skepticism, clarity or confusion -- that arises within you as you read the copy.

Then, the second you’re finished, take out this test. Rate how well your copy accomplishes each of these 37 objectives on a scale of one to five as follows:

Ready? Here goes …

1. Is the theme or benefit presented in the headline and lead likely to resonate powerfully with a significant number of your best prospects?

1 2 3 4 5

2. Does the headline and lead instantly seize your attention?

1 2 3 4 5

3. Are they instantly and completely believable?

1 2 3 4 5

4. Do they present compelling benefits the prospect will derive in return for reading this?

1 2 3 4 5

5. Do they explain why it is crucial for the prospect to read this right now?

1 2 3 4 5

6. Do they establish the qualifications of the spokesperson beyond the shadow of a doubt?

1 2 3 4 5

7. Do they sell you on reading the opening?

1 2 3 4 5

8. Does the opening copy connect directly with the headline and lead – and intensify your desire to read on?

1 2 3 4 5

9. Do the emotions you experienced while reading the copy that follows the open make you disposed to continue reading?

1 2 3 4 5

10. Are all key statements of fact supported by sufficient specifics to make them believable?

1 2 3 4 5

11. Does the spokesman present a compelling reason why he’s writing this or offering this product or service -- early in the running text?

1 2 3 4 5

12. Is the prospect told why he/she absolutely must read this?

1 2 3 4 5

13. Does the spokesperson’s personality and conviction come through loud and clear?

1 2 3 4 5

14. Does the copy feel like a one-on-one conversation between two friends with a common interest?

1 2 3 4 5

15. Is the emotional tone of the copy appropriate for the subject matter?

1 2 3 4 5

16. Is it clear that the spokesman is an advocate for the prospect and has an emotional stake in getting this information to him or her?

1 2 3 4 5

17. Is the prospect likely to find an emotional soul mate – someone who articulates his feelings -- in the spokesperson?

1 2 3 4 5

18. Does the spokesman feel like a friend and advocate – and not just another salesman?

1 2 3 4 5

19. Do you feel as though the copy moves faster as you progress through the piece?

1 2 3 4 5

20. Are the practical benefits of the product and/or premiums fully dimensionalized?

1 2 3 4 5

21. Are the positive emotional benefits the product/premiums deliver fully addressed?

1 2 3 4 5

22. Are the negative emotions your prospect has regarding the topic at hand and that will be neutralized by the product fully explored?

1 2 3 4 5

23. Are there entertaining elements sprinkled throughout – and if so, are they appropriate to the subject?

1 2 3 4 5

24. Is the value of the product and all premiums fully dimensionalized – and is the price fully trivialized?

1 2 3 4 5

25. Is there a plausible rationale given for the discount, premiums and other offer elements?

1 2 3 4 5

26. Does the guarantee restate benefits and is it presented in a way that deepens the bond between the spokesman and prospect?

1 2 3 4 5

27. Is the prospect’s desire for instant gratification addressed? Have you emphasized how quickly he or she will receive the product?

1 2 3 4 5

28. Did you feel your excitement rising to a crescendo as you approached the close?

1 2 3 4 5

29. Does the spokesperson present a compelling reason to buy now?

1 2 3 4 5

30. Is there an urgency motivator – a fast-response bonus, a limited offer, a deadline, etc.?

1 2 3 4 5

31. Would it be strong enough to get you to act?

1 2 3 4 5

32. Does the close leave you feeling like it would be insane NOT to order?

1 2 3 4 5

33. Is there a special incentive to order right now – by phone?

1 2 3 4 5

34. Does the order form copy restate the benefits and the guarantee in a compelling way?

1 2 3 4 5

35. Does the order form appear to be simple and easy to use?

1 2 3 4 5

36. Are the ordering instructions clear and easy to understand?

1 2 3 4 5

37. Does the order form thank the new customer for his order and begin the bonding process?

1 2 3 4 5

How’d You Do?

Want an overall read? Just add up all your answers and check your score …

37-109: Whoa. You just gave yourself an “F.” And you were going to give THAT to a client or a designer? If the Earth Firsters ever find out you were willing to kill a tree to make paper for that, your life won’t be worth a plug nickel. Better get back to the drawing board – FAST!

110-128: The bad news is, you’ve got some “D” copy on your hands. The good news is, you know exactly how to fix it. Just work on each of the weak sections until you can honestly give them a substantially better grade.

129-146: OK – that’s about a "C." Not bad for a draft … but certainly NOT good enough to make it a final one. I’d suggest you begin with the sections you rated a “1” or a “2” first -- and when you can honestly give each one a 4 or a 5, move on to the ones that scored a 3.

147-165: So you’re in the “B” range – a great start. Just a little tweaking on the weaker sections, and you’re there. Be sure to pay extra attention to the headline, lead and open copy – when you can honestly give them a 4 or a 5, you just might have a big winner on your hands.

166-184: Want a job? Seriously.

185: Yeah, right. Whatever. Oh – my fault. I forgot to mention you have to do this SOBER!

I’m yanking your chain a little here. Fact is, the overall score is pretty much meaningless. What’s important is that you’ve identified the things you still need to do to turn this copy into a grand-slam home-run.

We’ll be spending a lot more time helping you with each of these major points in future issues of The Total Package – so stay tuned!

Yours for Bigger Winners More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

How good is my Webinar really? Just listen to what one of my attendees says:

“As a somewhat new, but serious student of copywriting & direct response marketing, I've often read other copywriters and marketers talking about those epiphany "ah ha" moments...but, never really appreciated what one was -- until today.

“Today was the first session of Clayton Makepeace's - Virtual HotSeat Webinar and now I know...

“Oh Baby -- do I know! It was a near 90 minute serial ah-ha experience. Bulbs flashed and ideas clicked....one after another.
“Suddenly all of the bits and pieces of technique, theory, concept and application -- all flowed together...and finally made sense.

“The Sultan of 'Suasion in Print' didn't just over-deliver -- he hit a damn 567 foot Home Run over the third tier of the upper deck and out of the park.

“Clayton's analysis and critique of today’s package was absolutely riveting. He made the complex simple and explained advanced concepts and techniques in ways that even a new to intermediate level student of copy could grasp and understand.

“His final recommendations and fatal flaws section of today's critique brought light, focus and clarity to what was formerly a still somewhat muddy picture as to what separated truly great copy from merely good copy…and most importantly, he showed us exactly how great copy is written.

“I was actually somewhat initially intimidated by the technology and was worried about being able to successfully log on to the webinar -- as I usally don't mix well with new technology. But your sign up page, tutorial guide and the instructions from Fast Web were very well done and easy to follow.

“I logged on to the system... clicked "configure your browser" ... clicked to remove my pop up blocker... received the green light... and there I was -- logged in and live. Couldn't have been any easier.

“The $347 I invested in Clayton’s Virtual Hot Seat Webinar is the single best investment I’ve ever made -- period.

“What I’ve received from Clayton Makepeace no one can ever take away from me … and that is truly the greatest investment anyone can ever make -- the investment in one’s self.”

-- Martin R.