The Most Powerful Copywriting / Selling Concept In The Universe!

Great insight, thanks Ray


B.

I love this kind of stuff - Clayton Makepeace gets a LOT
of mileage out of us vs. them positioning - it doesn't hurt
that he writes for vitamin-peddling "health advocate" MDs
and investment-advisory companies, and he didn't invent
this type of positioning at all - he's just good at exploiting
it and he works in the markets where it is not hard to set-up.

Folks can check out his stuff Makepeacetotalpackage.com -
while i don't vibe with his political opinion pieces his copy
writing material is awesome.

Yes, Guru bashing is where this gets dangerous. Like you said in your original post, you absolutely must differentiate yourself from your competition if you want to see any kind of success, especially if you're charging a premium price for your knowledge. But in the IM market especially, a lot of people are really seeing the concept you talk about getting over-used.

One letter does well with the "gurus are screwing you over I'm better" add random curse word theme, and we end up with 15,000 "me too" copies. Now that positioning no longer differentiates you from the crowd, it just becomes background noise that prospects have to see through to find out what the real benefits are.

Now, that ISN'T to say that this concept can't still be used successfully in the IM niche. But think about differentiating yourself. Perhaps instead of the "gurus", the one common enemy that almost every IM salesletter under the sun is fighting against right now, why not fight against the guru bashers? "The people who write letters about how the gurus are tricking you... They're the real hucksters!" etc. etc. (I know, hucksters isn't a common colloquialism anymore - but I live out in the country LOL)

Find another enemy. Stand up for your prospects. Offer them a change from everything else they've seen.

Now that the gurus are doing anti-guru salesletters, that entire point just kind of gets lost in the noise...

- Cherilyn
The Canadian Copywriter

Not as much when lately there have been a few six figure launches "bashing" the gurus. Especially when you reveal that they are gurus themselves. Differentiate yourself by saying you aren't going to bash the competition, and you're going to focus on something that is more important to your prospect - what YOU can do for THEM.

Then it still becomes an us vs. them (me, the honest person, vs. the bashers that are gurus themselves.)

It is just an idea, but done correctly it could work...

Thanks for the post Ray. I've learned about the product/concept theory before, but found it difficult to actually put in practice. Your example of the college kid's product has helped me get some good ideas.

BTW, Do you have any special trick to come up with unique angles or do you just brainstorm till you feel you have a good one.

The only thing I know is that Raydal is the man who's keeping us down!

Tyrus

Its downright powerful stuff Ray. You're 100% right - people read that subtle copy and it starts to turn over gears in their head that they *relate* to.

As they dig deeper and they discover that you are on their side they find out they have a friend, a buddy, and both of you have a common enemy. Now you're on their side and you have successfully opened the door to their minds and hearts, and ultimately...their wallets.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom Ray....great concept and great example.

I also appreciate Kyle Tully's reply where he mentions
"Concept over copy"... I think that will stick with me too.

Stuart Stirling

This is a great concept and I totally agree with what you have to say. Adding additional information and understanding about copy principles to this can surely help anyone to create a killer piece of sales copy that will not only convert, but convert big time and result in huge sales.

Great thread, guys!

Special thanks to you, Kyle. I don't know how, but you emphasized the "concept over copy" concept in such a way that you made me immediately grab a big sheet of paper, write CONCEPT OVER COPY on it in huge letters, and stick it on my notice board.

Now I'm going to see it dozens of times each day, and every time I'll get a chance to think about it for a few moments and let it seep deeper into my brain.

It feels like a very powerful concept. So thanks Kyle, and thank you too, Ray!

PEOPLE WANT TO BELIEVE THAT THE REASONS FOR THEIR FAILURE IS OUTSIDE OF THEMSELF!

that was the greatest concept...and VERY TRUE...trust me -

js