Salesmanship in Print

The Single Most Important Skill You Can LearnJohn E. Kennedy is one of the greatest admen of
Copywriting, sales-copy, sales-letters, ad-copy callall time. He considered a good ad, "a rational,
it what you want, but "salesmanship in print" is inunadorned means for selling." He stated that True,
my humble opinion the single most important skill"Reason-Why" copy is logic, plus persuasion, plus
you can learn in your on-line quest for financialconviction, all woven into a certain simplicity of
freedom.thought - predigested for the average mind, so
Some marketers may say that building your list isthat it is easier to understand than to
the single most important skill, but this point ismisunderstand it."
undeniable...good copywriters can basically writeOK, he got a little deep there, but that about
their own paychecks and great copywriters aresums it up in a nutshell! In other words, if you
usually gazillionaires!give a person enough good "reasons why" they
Did you totally comprehend that last statement?should buy from you in terms that they
Sit back for a few seconds and really absorb thatunderstand, your conversion rates should go up.
statement. Do you realize that there are peopleSome other great admen to study, if you're a
that can write a few pages and make thousandsnewbie are: Albert Lasker (of the infamous Lord
of dollars...whenever and wherever they want to?and Thomas ad agency) Claude Hopkins, who
Imagine sitting on the beach with your wirelesswrote Scientific Advertising, Eugene Schwartz, (his
laptop and making more money with one letterhard to find book, Breakthrough Advertising is a
than most people make in a single year! Don'tmust read) and John Caples just to name a few.
believe me?So, get your foundation from the all-time greats
Check this out. The going rate for hiring aand then couple that with the best in the business
top-notch, world-class, ad-writer to write a one totoday. Folks like Gary Bencivenga, Joe Vitale, and
ten page sales-letter can be upwards ofthe late-great Gary Halbert come to mind. This is
$15,000.00 or more, depending of course on theirbecause online writing today is slightly different
notoriety, conversion rates, click through andfrom writing that was mostly all print back in the
response rates and other factors.day.
That may seem like an astronomical amount ofThen formulate your own writing philosophy
money, but when you consider the fact thatbased on a combination of both worlds, coupled
some marketers make millions of dollars fromwith your own experiences and personality.
these sales letters, then that number doesn'tOnce you've increased your writing skills, every
seem quite as large.aspect of your communications with your clients
The great thing is that effective writing can beand prospective customers will improve and thus
taught and learned. It's not necessarily an art.your conversion rates. And not only will your
Sure, there are some word-smiths that haveconversion rates improve, just by polishing up
more of a natural "gift" than others, but mostyour writing skills you'll also naturally hone your
great writers aren't necessarily born great...theyverbal communication skills and thus your
made themselves great.relationships in and outside of your business.
How do you make yourself a better "salesman inBut remember, knowledge is nothing without
print"? Well, that term was coined somewhere inaction!
the late 1800's, by the late, great John E."When your desires are strong enough, you will
Kennedy. And that's where I suggest you start,appear to have super-human powers to achieve!
with the all time masters from "back in the day."