Idea Incubators – What Are They And

How Can You Use Them To Your

Advantage When Writing Copy?

By: Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

I firmly believe that all of us are creative. We all have unique thoughts, make distinctive connections, and are capable of producing great things for our businesses and for our lives…if we put our minds to it.

Like your car engine, your brain works better when it’s warmed up. Here are a few cool ways to do that – and get closer to crafting killer copy!

In Daniel Pink’s very cool new book A Whole New Mind I found a great new way to get that creative motor running.

It’s fun and really simple. Go to a bookstore or library and pick up five magazines that you’ve never heard of in areas you’ve never chosen to read about. Flip through ‘em, and (if you’ve bought ‘em!) tear out some images or articles that speak to you in some way. Then, watch for breakthroughs.

I gave this a shot and –wow! It’s amazing what some time with Cat Fancy, Motocross World, Blender, and Teen Vogue can do for your creative juices. I came away with some new thoughts about a web project, ideas for more articles, and a sense of amazement that there are so many niche markets out there in the world.

Even if you’re not wrestling with a particular form of block or working on a project, spending just an hour doing this can make some creative connections and furnish a very economical – and portable- brain break.

You can also get reading: other people’s copy. Find a few copywriters or styles of writing that resonate with you. Keep their stuff close at hand and read a few pages before you start. Your brain will unwittingly start to mimic their flow.

Look over a list of power words. As you know, certain words elicit a subtle psychological response. The ones that inspire excitement and sales need to be peppered in your copy.

Here are some of them:

Accelerate
Achieve
Act
Boost
Burn
Capture
Deploy
Ensure
Finalize
Focus
Gain
Gather
Illuminate
Leverage
Manage
Overcome
Position
Reconsider
Shatter
Train
Unleash
Win

There are several sources where these words are already collected. “Words That Sell,” by Richard Bayan is a popular one that I use religiously.

Whatever it is that you do, the key is to DO SOMETHING. Set a timer for 20-30 minutes, turn off the phone and shut down e-mail. Give yourself a concentrated boost of creative time…and watch what happens!

Author Resource -> Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at http://www.redhotcopy.com (Note to publisher: affiliate program is at RedHotAffiliates.com )

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Keys to Writing a Solo Email

By: Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

The day you hung out your shingle as an entrepreneur, you also took on the job of marketer. The minute you stop marketing yourself is when your profits dry up, so you may as well get used to your role. If you don’t let people know what your business has to offer, you will NOT run a thriving business.

You may not want to hear this – in fact it may even make you mad. But a great way to let people know you have something special for them is through a solo-mailing (an email with a single offer sent to your permission-based list of subscribers).

Solo-mailings are so prolific because they WORK. While I don’t advocate abusing your list by sending them more than a few times per month they ARE effective when done correctly. They have kind of a bad rep because some marketers have a “buy or die” attitude. They send solos out daily or every couple of days until you either buy or unsubscribe. They aren’t worried about building loyalty and trust. They just want a quick buck. (I do not share this philosophy.) Even when you offer something of great value I’ve found three definite trends you can count on with a solo-mailing:

1. You WILL get unsubscribes
2. You WILL get hate mail
3. You WILL make money

It is number 3 that I want you to laser focus on. See, I WANT you to make money. Since you have entrusted me with your email address, I consider it my job to show you as many tactics as I have learned about how to run a successful online business. That being said, here are the 5 keys to making solo-emailing work for YOU:

1. Attention-grabbing subject line. Do you sort through your email and select “delete” without even opening some? Me too. But if the subject line is intriguing the email is much more likely to get read. It’s really the headline for your email. Also try to keep the number of characters on the short side so the words don’t get cut off in the email program. Here are the maximum subject line lengths for some commonly used email programs:

Outlook: 64 characters
AOL: 52 characters
Hotmail: 45 characters
Yahoo: 80 characters

Some of my more successful subject lines were:

I’m not that kind of girl
She didn’t want me to tell!
May I critique your copy?
How to get lucky on Valentine’s Day
Are you in?

Remember, you’re competing with hundreds of other emails so make your subject line strong.

1. Make it Personal. Studies show an increase in response when first names are used in the copy. Think about it. If you were in a busy airport and you heard someone holler out your name, wouldn’t you turn to see who it was? Of course you would. Works in email too. (Techno Tip: The code looks like this: {!name} but when it comes out it reads as the subscriber’s first name. You have to use a delivery system that supports this mail merge tactic.)




2. Dazzle them with your hook. Nothing kills a sale faster than boring copy. So throw in a little soft shoe entertainment. Give your readers a reason why you are having this special sa!e or 0ffer. Tell them a (brief) story. Marketer Jason Potash does an excellent job with hooks. One email explains how he needs his subscribers help to get him out of the doghouse with his wife… so they should buy his product. Tellman Knudson caught my attention with a tale of how he was unable to sleep at night… so I should buy his product. Perry Marshall spun a brilliant story of how as a kid he wanted a robot to do his chores for him but that was just a fantasy; today he knows copywriting is as close as you get to an effortless marketing solution… so you should sign up for his teleseminar. All of these hooks tie back into the offer. A good story keeps them reading.




3. Don’t forget the 0ffer! Let’s have a little chat between the two of us, k? The purpose of your solo-mailing is to generate cash. So remember to ask for it. Allow me to grant you permission to ask for business. Poof! It is okay to ask for business. It is okay to market. It is okay to make money. You, like me, are in business to make a living, correct? So marketing ourselves is a given. I expect to be marketed to… and so should you. Like the late, great Ray Charles said, “If you think in pennies, you get pennies. But when you think in dollars, you get dollars.”




4. Make your P.S. work harder. Your post script, or P.S. is a very highly read bit of copy. It’s that last afterthought of the email. And our eyes are drawn to it like a magnet to steel. So this is a great place to encourage them to take action NOW and place the order link. Even scanners are likely to read the P.S.

For better or for worse, we are all in sales. So face your fears, gulp hard and get out there and market!

Author Resource -> Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at http://www.redhotcopy.com (Note to publisher: affiliate program is at RedHotAffiliates.com )

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Why Do I Have Food Cravings?

By: Diana Walker

Obviously we crave food – It’s called hunger. However, there are all kinds of food and drink cravings that can be caused by a nutritional deficiency, your emotional state or by habit.

Some people crave food to self medicate themselves when they are lonely, sad or just feel bad in general. Eating a lot of food, especially foods filled with sugar causes the blood to rush to the stomach and a release of serotonin, making us feel better, at least temporarily.

You may also crave certain foods when you are lacking nutrients. You may find yourself craving red meat when you don’t have enough iron for example.

We also tend to get in a habit of thinking we need a certain type of food at a certain time. If you always have popcorn while watching a movie, sooner or later you will crave it as soon as you sit down to enjoy a new film. You’re training yourself to eat popcorn whenever you watch a movie.

Is Food Really Dangerous Or Addictive?

In general food of course isn’t dangerous or necessarily addictive. In fact it is necessary for us to eat every single day. However, food can become dangerous or addictive when we become too emotionally involved with it, or overeat because of the food addiction. Food cravings can also cause us to make unhealthy food choices which can affect our overall health and well being and even shorten our life-spans.

Unhealthy food choices, such as too many fatty or sugary foods can lead to diabetes, obesity, heart problems and a variety of other health conditions. This is why it is so important that you take control of your food cravings as soon as possible.

What Can I Do To Curb My Food Cravings?

The best way to curb food cravings is to make sure you eat a balanced diet and provide your body with all the nutrients it needs. If you are an emotional eater, you also need to make a conscious effort to not allow your emotions to control what you eat and stop emotional eating altogether. When you encounter a craving for let’s say chocolate, ask yourself… “Why am I craving this chocolate bar? Is it because I feel sad?” Acknowledging the emotional connection is the first step to stopping your emotional eating. A good next step would be to deal with the feeling instead of medicating it with food.

Become more aware of your food cravings and the reason behind them. Then take steps toward dealing with the cravings. If you eat out of habit, break the habit by doing something else. If you crave food when you are bored, call a friend or go for a walk instead. Speak to your physician or a nutritionist about an appropriate supplement if you feel your food cravings are caused by nutritional deficiencies. Take it one step at a time and before you know it, you will have control over your food cravings.

Author Resource -> Are cravings controlling your life? Diana Walker’s book http://www.CravingSecrets.com will show you why you have certain food cravings, how they affect your health and your mood, and what you can do to beat them and live a healthier life.

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Master Your Time, Master Your Income!

By: Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

Yep, this subject has really gotten my attention. I am so glad I finally picked up Dan Kennedy’s “No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs,” after meaning to read it for quite some time. You’ve gotta love a time management book that’s short enough to read in a couple hours or less!

Here are three gems from Dan…why not try them out this week and see what happens?

1) Absolute punctuality is absolutely powerful. As a professional speaker for nearly three decades, Dan has shared the stage with some of the most successful people on the planet, including Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger. The one discipline the top achievers all share is punctuality: being where you are supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be, as promised, without excuses. This provides personal power for a number of reasons – it demonstrates your integrity, it’s a simple way to impress others, and it speaks volumes about your self-esteem and self-discipline.

I’ll admit, this is one area where Dan and I differ. Especially in social situations, I’m not one to get stressed out about being late…plus, I find that when I am on time, I often find myself sitting there alone because the other people are late. Well, that might just prove Dan’s point: punctuality stands out, in a good way. I think I’ll give this approach another try, by integrating it with the next tip:

2) Make the most of “Odd-Lot” time. Although Dan is a fanatic scheduler who looks for efficiency when setting up meetings and business trips, he still has to sit in traffic from time to time or wait in offices or airports. In the car, he listens to books on tape, both educational and entertaining. He keeps files of articles torn from magazines that have caught his eye and carries them with him on trips; once an article is done, he generally throws it away and lightens his load as he goes.

I always have a notepad handy to jot down ideas and make a note of copy that I think is good. When I’m waiting to pick up my kids, I use that time to make these notes or just “ideate” on things that would help my business. Who knew you could be more patient and more productive at the same time?

3) Improve your work environment and hit peak productivity faster. Take a look at where you’re working: is it somewhere you’d be proud to show the world? Do you feel comfortable there? Dan is a big believer in psychological triggers and packs his home office with images that remind him of qualities he wants to attain. He has several clocks positioned around the office to remind himself of the passing of time, and he has been using Asian Feng Shui principles since they first caught the attention of Western business.

Sometimes it’s challenging to work in a home office, no matter how tidy it is or how ‘Feng Shui compliant’ it might be! One way to get to a more productive place is to literally get up and go work in another place: at a coffee shop, a shared office, heck, even a park bench might work. Some people even take train rides just to have an uninterrupted place to work, and I’ve read of one entrepreneur who occasionally rents herself a hotel room in her own town when she has a bunch of work to do. As Dan says, if they can’t find you, they can’t bother you!

All in all, what makes these so powerful is that they are 100% in your control. When you start paying attention to how you spend your time and making small changes, great things start to happen. You may get the feeling that you’ve been given a big helping of the most precious, irreplaceable resource there is: time.

Author Resource -> Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at http://www.redhotcopy.com (Note to publisher: affiliate program is at RedHotAffiliates.com )

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The Quickest Way To Profitable

Make Private Label Rights Content

Unique To You!

One of the biggest problems many internet marketers face when they first start dabbling in the PLR market is knowing how to rewrite it. Actually, the question usually goes something like: “How much should I change?” In this case the old ‘less is more’ doesn’t hold a drop of water when you’re talking about editing a private label piece. It’s more like ‘as much as you possibly can’.

Remember, PLR is something that is sold as is over and over again to many people. You can be guaranteed that at least one person isn’t going to change a darn thing in there. Realistically speaking though, you’re going to find that a lot of people aren’t going to change a darn thing. Then you have to worry about duplicate content and fighting for keywords which both are two complete other topics all on their own. Just don’t do it. Edit that PLR.

How you ask? Simple. The same way you edited the information you found in the encyclopedia when you wrote your senior term paper. Remember now? Remember how worried you were that your teacher would know you plagerized? Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about.

For simplicity reasons, we’re going to use this article as an example.

Let’s start with the title.

“How to Make PLR Yours”

Just think about how many ways you can rewrite that title. How about:

How Do I Edit PLR * How Do I Make PLR Mine * How Do You Alter PLR * How To Alter PLR * How To Edit PLR

Get the point? Editing the title is the easiet change to make and the best place to start. Another idea is to read the article more closely and see if you can go a whole different direction with the title. There’s no rules stating you need to make the title say the same thing in different words. It’s your article now. Do with it what you’d like. For example, another title for this article could be: What’s the Best Way to Utilize PLR

Next you should work on the introduction. Go back to the beginning of this article and re-read the first paragraph. This particular introduction would be a snap to rewrite. For example:

“How much should I change?” seems to be the question of the year when you’re talking about private label rights. When first starting to get into the PLR market, this seems to be a big problem many internet marketers run into. The answer is quite easy. You will want to change as much of the content into your own words as possible.

See how I did that? I’m saying the exact same thing only by using different words, swapping sentences around and even changing the order in which a sentence is written. There’s no SEO algorithm that’s ever going to catch onto that.

Finally you’ll want to work on the conclusion. If there isn’t one written already (which can often happen) then write it yourself. If there is, do the same thing you did with the introduction paragraph.

There is certainly nothing wrong with editing every paragraph just like you did to the introduction and conclusion. If you feel real froggy and want to alter the rest of the content – by all means go for it. Providing you know what you’re talking about and you’re a decent writer, you could end up with a real knock out article that’s nothing like you started with or anyone else’s for that matter. The more alterations you make the better.

Don’t forget your keywords and phrases you’re targetting. Maybe for this article you want to focus on the words private lable rights rather than PLR. So then you go through and find all the “PLR’s” and change them to private label rights.

There is one more thing you may consider doing and that is switching the order of the paragraphs. This will depend on the article you’re using. You need to make sure that whatever you edit makes sense when you’re reading it. Remember – Believe it or not, ultimately websites are built for human readers, not search engines.

So there you have it. The three main things you want to focus on changing is the title, introduction and conclusion. Everything else is just like extra icing on the cake. And no worries, once you start doing this a few times it’ll all come to you as second nature taking no time at all.

Liz Tomey is a six figure private label rights expert that can show you the hottest places to get private label rights products and how to use them to profit like never before. Download her free report My Private Label Site Reviews right now and get the low down on the absolute best PLR sites in the industry.