That is the question I posed over at my favorite internet marketing forum, and I have to say – I got some fantastic responses! Questions about the process of writing copy, how to write copy for others, questions about positioning and even more…

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be answering those questions right here on my blog.

If you’d like to ask a question (it can be about anything related to content, sales copy, blogging, internet marketing, or anything else you’d like to know) I would love for you to post it in the comments.

If I choose to answer your question here, you’ll get a lovely link-back from my site within the post – along with getting your question answered.

And make sure to follow my RSS feed, so that you can catch all of the upcoming answers!

They aren’t really “quotes” in the sense that someone famous once wrote them, or said them during an interview. They are simply things that I say, because they make sense both in business and in life.

I was reminded of the first one today while surfing a well-known internet marketing forum, where I have been a member since 2005.

In that forum, particularly in the copywriting section, there is an elitist mentality.

Any potential client who comes in seeking a copywriter but doesn’t offer $1500+ per sales letter is instantly flamed, scoffed at, and asked never to return. And may God have mercy on your soul if you enter the Copywriting forum, and ask for a content writer (this is among the greatest faux pas one can commit, apparently. Despite myself and other high level copywriters also working in content.)

And on this particular day, I noticed a thread started by fellow long-time forum member, Harlan Kilstein.

Like me, he only visits the forum periodically, because we’re both simply too busy running our business to be bothered with posting 15+ times each day on a forum. But he started a thread offering an excellent opportunity for newer copywriters, offering to recommend them to some of his own private internet marketing students.

In exchange for what? Absolutely nothing.

He just wanted some reliable people he could recommend to his students. No commission required, no freebie work had to be given up, nothing. And to have your name recommended by Harlan Kilstein? That’s like a sainthood in some circles.

But then he made “the ultimate mistake” – and said that the work would probably be low pay.

While a couple of individuals saw this for what it was – really, a potentially career making opportunity – others did not. Others followed the herd, did as monkeys do, and publicly scoffed at the idea of low pay.

I’m not sure why copywriters do this.

Sure, I talk about cheap content and cheap copywriters sometimes – but it is usually brought about when I see a client come to me, after having been burnt by a “cheap” writer, and genuinely wanting to help others avoid the same fate.

But these writers almost seem to believe that publicly denouncing low paying projects is a way to *prove* that they command higher fees.

It isn’t.

All it *proves* is that they have far too much time on their hands to surf internet marketing forums looking for copywriting work, and far too little client work to actually keep them busy.

And it reminded me of this saying…

“If you don’t do anything different, you can’t do anything better.”

What would have been wrong with looking down your nose at the project, and simply moving on? Nothing. Why was it necessary to publicly state your displeasure with a project you had absolutely no interest in taking?

Because everyone else does, that’s why. The problem with that, is that if you don’t do anything different, you can’t do anything BETTER.

You don’t want to be the same as everyone else, because then you’ll get the same results as everyone else.

Do you see high end copywriters who command six-figure salaries sitting on internet marketing forums, whining about $100 copywriting projects? No, because they’re too busy MAKING MONEY.

So instead of following the herd, branch out. Do something different. Get attention for being unique for a change, instead of just voicing the same opinion that everyone else has.

Be different. Be better.

My other favorite quote? “Everyone makes a choice between greatness and mediocrity. Greatness is only rare because mediocrity is easier.”

Why do I love that saying?

Because to me, in a nut shell, it says “HEY. YOU. The one on the couch, eating cheetos in your underwear. I know it is easy to be lazy, but you’re never going to achieve anything at that rate. Get up and do something outside of your comfort zone, and amazing things can happen!”

Which is true. It falls along the same lines as the above quote. If you do the same thing as everyone else, and always take the path of least resistance, you’re going to get the same results as everyone else. And everyone else? Well, they’re not seeing massive success. At least not most of them.

There is a reason only a small percentage of the population falls into the category of “super rich” – because creating wealth takes work, dedication, and a willingness to be DIFFERENT.

Nobody ever made a billion dollars by selling the same junk widget as everyone else.

Try it today. Go out, be different. Try something outside of your comfort zone. Put on some pants, put down the cheetos, and get off the couch.

You could be amazed at what happens next…

What I want to know from you, however, is what you’d like to know about content marketing.

This ebook will already be discussing a powerful technique, and the who, what, where, when, and why of implementing the technique. But what else do you want to know? Not only have I been working in content marketing for myself for years, but I’ve been doing it for clients for even longer. I know the ins and outs of effective content marketing for everyone from small startup businesses all the way to Forbes 100 sized corporations.

So please, tell me what YOU want to know about how to effectively market with content – and if I like your question, I’ll include the answer in my free ebook!

Other upcoming ebook topics, as time permits (all free, of course!)

- Bum Marketing is Dead – But Content is Still King (**this ebook!**)

- How to Make Business Blogging Profitable

- What You Need to Ask Yourself BEFORE Hiring a Copywriter

- 5 Simple Reasons Your Business Needs a Blog

- How Simple White Papers Can Help ANY Business

It is sad when I see entrepreneurs do it, because they’re probably just copying what they’ve seen online and hoping it will succeed. It is even sadder when I see actual, supposedly professional copywriters doing it – because someone PAID for that headline. *shudders*

What is one thing that most of these headlines all have in common? Length. And lots of it. And then some extra length, as if to say “30 words isn’t long enough to get your attention, this needs to be a full run-on sentence!” For example,

“Discover The Super-Simple Easy Secret to Driving Visitors AWAY From Your Website, Losing Thousands of Dollars in Sales, and Flooding Your Bank Account with Nothing At All Using These Secret Insider Strategies for Uselessly Long and Mundane Headlines!”

I could continue, but I think you get the point. While these headlines are more common in the internet marketing niche, they’re popping up all over the place on sites owned by internet marketers who choose to get their information from the most reliable sources available – unmoderated forums. </sarcasm>

The best thing about internet marketing is also the worst. The low entry cost of the internet marketing business means that almost anyone can give it a try, and get involved. It also means that people typically don’t have a whole lot of business sense, and are willing to believe whatever they read – simply because they don’t know better.

That is why I’m writing this particular post. I want to show internet marketers (and potential future internet marketers) that there IS a better way. Even if you can’t afford to hire a professional copywriter like me to write your sales materials, you don’t have to resort to a headline like the above atrocity.

Just use Twitter.

There are a few ways that twitter can help you create profit pulling headlines. First, look at popular retweets and hashtags. Seek out trends. Look at what is currently working – within 140 characters – to get attention. Use those tweets for inspiration, instead of some rehashed old copywriting ebook, written by a penny a word ghostwriter who never knew the first thing about copywriting to begin with.

And second, when you come up with a killer headline idea, type it into Twitter. Will it fit into 140 characters? Chances are, if it is longer than that, you’re fabulous headline will be lost on potential customers.

Third, and this is perhaps the most useful tip of all, TWEET IT! Don’t just type it into twitter, see if it fits within 140 characters, and move on. Tweet the headline. See if you get any response from it. If not, it isn’t an idea killer (that really depends on what kind of an active following you have.)

But if you get people asking you about your headline, then you’ve probably got a little piece of marketing gold there. Because you just got a response from your headline! It attracted attention! It made people want to know more! What else is a headline supposed to do, after all?

What other ways to use Twitter for headlines have YOU discovered?

You already know how important collateral is to your business. You know that to succeed in business, you need to get your marketing message out to the masses. And to see real results, that message has to be laser-targeted, professionally written, and take-no-prisoners style persuasive.

So to celebrate the success of the Small Business Trade Show, I’m offering very special pricing ONLY to attendees. Need a brochure? Website? Flyer? Newspaper or magazine ad? You’ll want to see this…

Custom Services :

Flyers from just $99 CAD
Brochures from $199 CAD
Newspaper/Magazine Ads from $249 CAD
Custom Website Design & Content from $499 CAD

Don’t wait, these discounts are ONLY available until June 1st, and only to Small Business Tradeshow Attendees. Contact me using the form here, or give me a call at 604.392.7076 today!

Sure, if you really wanted to, you could write a product in a niche that you have no interest in. For example, even if you’re allergic to dogs and you’ve never owned one – you might even hate dogs – you could take notice of the fact that the dog training niche is a growing market, and create a product for that niche.

But you run into a problem.

First, procrastination hits… You write out all your wonderful plans about what you’re going to do, how you’re going to market your product, what it will be about. And then you stall. And you wait. And nothing ever gets done, because you move on to the next big thing that will make you a million dollars.

But what if you were to sit down one day, and just figure out what you’re really passionate about?

Is it really dog training? Or internet marketing? Or whatever niche you’re into right now?

Or are you passionate about gardening. Or golf. Or cooking. When you’re talking to a friend, what topic gets your heart racing? What really fires you up? What can you talk for literally hours on end about?

You’d be amazed what would happen if you decided to start working in that niche. Let’s say for a minute that you’re passionate about cooking.

Start a cooking blog. Just a simple one, nothing fancy. You can probably get the whole thing done in a day.

Then just start writing posts. Save some as drafts, and publish others right away. Add recipes. Add questions to engage your future readers. Take pictures of your dinner tonight. And start commenting on other cooking blogs.

Soon, you’ll start getting comments. And you’ll start getting traffic. And within a few months, maybe you can create your own recipe book – containing the best recipes submitted by users, or even your own recipes. Sell it as an ebook, and watch the sales start pouring in.

Why does that work?

Because people like passion. They like content. They eat it up when someone clearly loves to write or talk about a subject that THEY are interested in, too. And they’re willing to pay their hard earned money to hear what you have to say.

So try that today. Instead of thinking of niches that can make you a boatload of cash, even if you’re not that interested… Think of a niche that you LOVE. Even if it isn’t that big, or doesn’t look that lucrative. And start a blog. Build a following.

You’ll be amazed what will happen next.

Tell me, readers – what is YOUR passion?

- Cherilyn Woodhouse

What would you do?

Would you change your advertising methods? Change where you advertise? Completely rewrite your sales copy? Change your target market?

Or would you leave everything exactly as it is?

Personally, for my own copywriting services, I largely ignore my competition. Because no one IS my direct competition. I am not a commodity that can be farmed out and sold at discount, wholesale rates. I consider other copywriters to be my colleagues, not my competitors. Sure, I can learn things from them, but I don’t try to compete with them because we offer two different things – them, and me.

But what do you do when all you offer is a commodity? When widget X is sold by you, and 50,000 other retailers worldwide? What do you risk by ignoring your competition?

Well, nothing really. The real question you SHOULD be asking is what are you risking by paying too much attention to your competition?

When you watch what your competitors are doing every single day, you run the serious risk of running a reactive business instead of an instinctual one. You run the risk of losing your identity as a business, losing your edge, and losing what made you unique in the first place – and replacing it with “but we really are better than business X!”

What if, the next time your widget goes on sale at store X, you completely ignore it? What is the worst thing that could happen? If you’re already so far gone that you have completely lost your identity beyond “lowest price” type shoppers, then yes – you may see sales drop for a little while until the sale is over. But they won’t disappear. And you can get back to focusing on what makes YOUR business unique, what would make people want to buy from YOU – no matter what the price is.

Besides, if you really think about it, I doubt your customers are watching your competition as closely as you are, anyway…

Just some food for thought.

I have recently moved the information regarding my copywriting services to a new domain, at www.TheCanadianCopywriter.com

Please visit that site for more info on my profit-pulling copy services!

- Cheryl

As an introductory offer, we are offering our professional direct response site formatting for just $97!

You provide us with an HTML template and/or graphics, along with your site content or sales copy, and our professional web designers and copywriters will work together to format your sales page for optimum conversions!

- Guide your visitors to the most important aspects of your page with attention grabbing layouts!

- Increase conversions by improving the readability and navigation of your site with the best design and formatting team online today!

- Watch the principles of direct response design in action, as we turn your website from dull and boring into a carefully crafted masterpiece of persuasion!

- Decrease refunds and increase customer satisfaction by improving your professional appearance!

- Add to your credibility with a professionally formatted site!

- Work directly with our formatting team to get the look and feel you want for your site!

- Have time tested and proven direct response principles implemented on squeeze pages, landing pages, sales letters, order forms, and even thank you pages to maximize response!

- And a whole lot more!

But we’re ONLY offering this price until August 15th, so hurry and get your Direct Response Web Formatting Package now!

- Darren W.

- 2 new niches every month

- all of the keywords you’ll need in each niche

- 1 landing page for each niche to collect email addresses

- 5 emails for each niche to sell affiliate products

- 3 pre-selected high converting affiliate products for each niche

- an entire traffic driving system, step by step, laid out in a checklist.

- a members’ only forum to network with other Instant Niche Income Members

- untold numbers of surprise bonuses to be sent out over the next few years to members…

But it also gives you a full email coaching program with dedicated access to me during business hours to ask questions, get direction, get feedback, and get support!

And the best part is, you can get it all for under $50/month (less than half the cost of an average coaching program, WITHOUT any of the PLR, forums, traffic systems, or any other materials!)

Click here to see Instant Niche Income now!