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SHOW NOTES: On this show…we're diving into a topic that many of us are all too familiar with: procrastination. It's the sneaky little gremlin we all know too well. You promise you'll “get to it tomorrow,” but somehow tomorrow keeps moving further away. The truth is, procrastination isn't about being lazy or disorganized; it's often about dodging discomfort, whether it's tackling a tough project, having a hard conversation, or just folding that mountain of laundry. It's not complicated, but let's face it—it is hard. The good news? With the right mindset and a few practical strategies, you can kick procrastination to the curb and finally get stuff done. So, grab your to-do list (if you haven't procrastinated on making one), and let's explore why we put things off and how to overcome this all-too-common hurdle. Because, hey, even a baby step forward is better than a perfectly polished excuse!...Most of the time. Just kidding… Alright, let's kick things off with a quick, no-pressure quiz to see where you stand on the procrastination spectrum. Grab a pen—or just think about your answers, but no procrastinating! Answer “yes” or “no” to these questions: Do you ever tell yourself, “I work better under pressure,” and then wait until the last minute to start a task? Is “I'll get to it tomorrow” your unofficial life motto? Do you have projects or tasks that have been on your to-do list so long they feel like part of the furniture? Do you find yourself doing something else productive—like cleaning the fridge or reorganizing your closet—to avoid the real thing you need to do? When you finish one task, do you think, “Whew, I deserve a break!” and then start a four-hour Netflix marathon? If you answered “yes” to even one of these, procrastination might be paying you a visit. If you answered “yes” to all five…well, we've got some work to do—but don't worry, you're not alone! Now, let's dive in and figure out what's really going on behind the scenes when we procrastinate, and more importantly, how we can start turning those “I'll do it tomorrow” moments into “Wow, look at me go!” moments. To tackle procrastination, we first need to understand what it is and why we do it. Procrastination is more than just laziness; it's a complex psychological behavior rooted in our desire to avoid discomfort. According to an article from Verywell Health, procrastination can lead to increased stress, health problems, and poorer performance.   It's often linked to factors like fear of failure, perfectionism, and low self-esteem. Recognizing these underlying causes is the first step toward change. How to Stop Procrastinating - By Michelle Pugle Dr. Bobby Huffman sheds light on another side of this coin,  The Scary Truth About Procrastination found at Psychology Today  The Crucial Role Emotions Play in Productivity - TIME Dr. Andrew Huberman shows us How to Stop Procrastination & Increase Motivation found on his YouTube channel Huberman Labs I've heard this advice before…take big projects and break them down into smaller, bite-sized chunks and this is excellent advice, but let's take it a step further with granular tips and tricks to ensure this strategy truly works for you. Start with the End Goal Visualize what “done” looks like. What does success mean for this task? Write it down. Example: Instead of just “finish the report,” write, “Create a polished, 5-page report with data visuals and an executive summary.” Reverse Engineer Your Steps Work backward from the end goal and ask: “What must happen immediately before this step?” Keep repeating until you reach the beginning. Example: For “create a polished report,” steps might look like: Format and proofread the final document. Draft each section based on research. Organize and clean up the data. Gather data from different sources.   Create Micro-Tasks Break down tasks into time-boxed, specific actions. Use the 2-minute rule for any task that's quick (e.g., “create a folder to store research”). Example for “research topic ideas for presentation”: Spend 5 minutes brainstorming keywords. Spend 10 minutes searching online and bookmarking articles. Write down 3 ideas in a notebook.   Use Action Words Write tasks as specific actions. Avoid vague labels like “work on project.” Instead, use verbs like “outline,” “call,” “research,” or “draft.” Example: Instead of “organize inbox,” write “delete 20 old emails” or “label 10 client messages.” The Rule of One Focus on one part of the task at a time. Example: If you're writing a report, don't attempt the intro, middle, and conclusion all at once. Start with just the bullet points for one section. By taking these granular steps, you make any daunting task feel manageable, and before you know it, you'll be crossing things off your list like a pro!   CHALLENGE: Identify one task you've been putting off and apply one of the strategies we've discussed today to start it. Remember, taking the first step is often the hardest part, but it's also the most rewarding.   I Know YOU Can Do It!

2025 is just around the corner—are you ready to step into your next chapter with intention and clarity? In this episode, we dive into the transformative EDIT Method for Goal Setting, a simple yet powerful framework to help you align your actions with your aspirations. Through personal stories and actionable steps, I'll guide you on how to reimagine your goals, design systems that actually work, and celebrate your progress along the way. Grab a notebook or listen closely—this episode will give you the tools you need to rebrand your life in 2025. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Establish Your Goal: Why saying “I have” instead of “I want” can shift your mindset and ignite action. Define Your System & Process: The key to making daily habits your superpower for success. Improve the System: How small tweaks can lead to massive results over time. Toast Your Transformation: The importance of celebrating every win, big or small. A Personal Story: How journaling my “delusional and doable” goals in April helped me achieve life-changing milestones. Key Steps in the EDIT Method: Establish Your Goal: Declare your goals as if they've already happened to reprogram your mindset. Example: Instead of “I want to feel calm during my cycle,” say, “I feel calm and balanced during my cycle.” Define Your System: Build a system of daily habits and routines that align with your goals. Example: For pregnancy preparation, I focused on journaling, nourishing my body, and supporting my emotional wellbeing. Improve the System: Reflect regularly on what's working and make adjustments as needed. Example: I shifted my journaling prompts from problem-solving to gratitude to stay motivated and aligned. Toast Your Transformation: Celebrate your progress as it happens to reinforce the belief that you're on the right path. Example: I made time to celebrate small wins like nourishing meals, restful days, or quiet moments of joy. Rebranding your life isn't about being perfect—it's about creating alignment between who you are and who you want to become. With the EDIT Method, you'll learn how to approach 2025 with purpose and confidence, setting yourself up for success one intentional step at a time. Your Next Steps: Journal your goals for 2025 using the EDIT framework. (Use this journal)  Start building systems that align with your vision. Reflect and refine as you go—and don't forget to celebrate your progress! Connect with Me: Instagram: @berrionlberry – Share your 2025 goals and tag me in your journaling snapshots! Website: optimizeyourflo.com – Discover more tools to support your journey. Subscribe & Review: Love this episode? Subscribe and leave a review to let me know what inspired you most! Let's rebrand your life in 2025—one goal, one system, and one celebration at a time

E189 Shownotes: The Football Sustainability Index In this episode, we delve into the transformative world of football sustainability. We explore the Football Sustainability Index, a groundbreaking initiative assessing clubs on their environmental impact, equality standards, financial sustainability, and community engagement. Joining us is Niall Couper from Fair Game, a volunteer-driven organisation dedicated to transforming the governance of football to ensure the sport contributes positively to its communities and operates sustainable. This episode uncovers the current challenges and vision for football's sustainable future. What is the Football Sustainability Index? The index assesses football clubs on environmental impact, equality standards, financial sustainability, and community engagement. Football clubs are not just teams. They are community hubs offering services like dementia groups, walking football, food banks, and environmental programs. Current Challenges in Football: The football culture often prioritises short-term gains through high player wages over long-term community investments. The Premier League generates £3.19 billion annually, with most funds directed towards player wages, leaving minimal support for lower league clubs. Example: For every £1,000 a Premier League club earns, only 15 pence goes to lower league clubs. Increasing this to £22 would greatly enhance community services. Long-Term Vision for Football: Encouraging clubs to adopt long-term thinking can strengthen community ties and create a more sustainable football ecosystem. Clubs like AFC Wimbledon and Lincoln City exemplify how a long-term approach can yield both social and financial benefits. Regulatory Framework and Financial Instability: The football governance bill proposes an independent regulator to oversee financial distributions and ensure clubs meet sustainability criteria. Since 2000, 64 clubs have gone into administration, with 58% of clubs in the top four divisions being technically insolvent. ESG and Equal Pay in Football: Niall highlights Dale Vince's Green Code initiative promoting sustainability in football. Will discusses the holistic approach, including veganism, at Forest Green Rovers. Niall suggests rewarding clubs adhering to sustainable practices to drive cultural change. Niall emphasises the need for financial incentives for clubs excelling in sustainability and advocates integrating the Green Code into a broader sustainability index. Niall covers Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions tracking and the importance of long-term thinking in football management. The podcast concludes by discussing Fair Game's efforts to create an index for clubs based on sustainability, social impact, and financial stability. Resources:

Send me a Text Message.Podcast SummaryTitle: Career Advice with a Financial TwistIn this episode, the old jarhead dives into career advice with an insightful financial twist. Drawing from an email he received from a financial planner, he explores four crucial areas for career success.Key Takeaways:Set Clear Career Goals:Define where you want to be in the next few years.Goals could range from advancing to a management position to achieving technical mastery.Example: Our host set a goal of becoming a project leader within two years and it kept him focused and motivated. Measure Progress:Break down your ultimate goal into intermediate steps.Regularly measure your progress and adjust your plans as needed.Example: For an advanced degree, outline what needs to be accomplished each year to achieve it within four years. Keep Emotions in Check:Maintain composure during professional setbacks or when others receive recognition you sought.Writing out thoughts can help process emotions and bring mental clarity.Seeking feedback calmly can reveal areas for improvement and turn perceived losses into growth opportunities. Seek Professional Help (Mentorship):Just as financial planners offer valuable advice, mentors can provide guidance on career decisions.Find someone who can offer honest, constructive feedback and has your best interests at heart. Final Thought:Transform financial advice into actionable career strategies by setting clear goals, measuring progress, managing emotions, and finding a mentor. This holistic approach will undoubtedly guide you to professional success.Call to Action:Stay tuned for next week's episode! Don't forget to share this podcast with friends who might benefit from these insights.

Welcome to another episode of the My Lighter Way Podcast, where we explore ways to enhance your birthing experience and stay calm, grounded and cool as a cucumber in your lead up to labor. Today, we'll delve into the importance of trust, breathing techniques, and effective preparation to create a calmer and more easeful birth. I go much deeper into all of this inside the My Lighter Birth course. You can dive into it here: www.mylighterway.com/mylighterbirth Let's get started! Here are the main tips I expand upon in the episode: 1. Trust Your Body: Labor is a unique time where your body takes the lead. Develop a deep connection with your body during pregnancy. Embrace the uniqueness of this journey and allow your body to guide you. 2. Breathe: Practice extended inhale and exhale early in your pregnancy. Focus on the exhale during the pushing stage. Visualization exercises can be incorporated – a mini-course to guide you through. 3. Preparation IS KEY. You're not going to want to skip OR underestimate the potential of this step: Mental Preparation: Program your subconscious mind for a positive experience. Reduce fear through mindful practices. Create a flexible birth plan aligned with your vision. Work towards a positive and calm mindset. Physical Preparation: Engage in fitness routines tailored for pregnancy. Explore various birthing positions for comfort and effectiveness. Support and Environment: Surround yourself with a supportive network. Create a conducive and calming birthing environment. Be Discerning: Mental preparation goes a long way in swinging the pendulum back from all the negative birth stories you've probably heard to the positive ones. Selectively choose information that aligns with your vision. Personalize your preparation based on your desired birthing experience. Example: For instance, in my own journey, the fear of pain was a significant motivator for preparation. I sought positive, holistic, and empowering birth stories that resonated with my vision. Being discerning in the resources I chose allowed me to curate a positive and calm experience. My Lighter Birth Course inclusions: Positive stories to reprogram the subconscious. Breathing techniques and visualizations. Links to favorite resources, including meditations, books, and birth stories. Focus on healthy boundary setting. Streamlined and downloadable resources An introduction to hypnobirthing and how it will change the way you think about and FEEL during labour Available at www.mylighterway.com/mylighterbirth Other resources listed in the episode: Create your birth preferences: Episode #28 My birth story: Episode #13 Pregnancy Masterclass to Support your Emotional Wellbeing as you Prepare for Postpartum: www.mylighterway.com/masterclass Thanks for listening!!

In this Podcast episode, I chat with Omer Qadri, a Mindset & Success coach who has worked with many entrepreneurs to execute & launch their businesses successfully. According to Omer, the biggest mistake he has seen entrepreneurs make is: focusing on the solution rather than the problem.  Example… For many first time entrepreneurs who are new at developing products, many jump to solutioning by filing expensive patents and producing products before they even get to a market viable product that is well positioned to their target market. And, after spending thousands of dollars and many months and years, if the product gets launched they find out that their so-called “cool” product does not fit the product-market.  Example: In 1993, Apple launched a thick and ugly looking Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device. Apple spent millions of dollars and 2 - 3 years in developing the product without ever testing it with the customer. And this was a big mistake.  In this podcast you’ll learn how to position yourself and...a new market product solution to fit the right product-market, address the market problem, then vet your idea directly with the consumer early-on in the product journey.

In this episode we will discuss..... The Problem: Our modern society is primarily governed by a philosophy of relativity. It is called moral relativism. It primarily says, that every human can have its own theory about truth or what is right and what is wrong and be right in His own eyes even if their individual truths don’t mesh. This philosophy gives way to self-determination or self-rule. It allows for unchecked individualism. The Question: The question today is how effective is the self-rule system? The Example: For example, if I have a destination in life  should I  just get on the road and travel blindly? Let's get into it. Connect with me on instagram: @derekl.calhoun

BBB head into the third layer of the dungeon. They stop their journey to have some fun at carnival stalls and win prizes. Afterwards, some bugs beat them up. Twitter: @SailsOffRails Music Used: Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod; Tenebrous Brothers Carnival - Act One by Kevin MacLeod; Tenebrous Brothers Carnival - Act Two by Kevin MacLeod; Movie Rhythm 2 by Sunsearcher; Crusade Heavy Industry by Kevin MacLeod; Prelude and Action by Kevin MacLeod; Volatile Reaction by Kevin MacLeod; Asset House by Six Umbrellas; Old Battle Theme 2 by Monplaisir; The Battle of 1066 by Patrick Patrikios; Observer by Chasms; New Horizons by Futuremono; Darkling by Kevin MacLeod; Urban Gauntlet by Kevin MacLeod; Barbarian by Pierlo; Eclosion by Salmo; All Your Faustian Bargains by Steve Combs; Decisive battle with the childhood friend by Komiku; Ice Demon by Kevin MacLeod; Eyes of Glory by Aakash Gandhi; Dragon and Toast by Kevin MacLeod; Tension is Rising by The Insider; Knowing Nothing by Mid-Air Machine; Bass by Monplaisir; An Example For by Captive Portal; Diggy by Patrick Patrikios; Future Gladiator by Kevin MacLeod; Epic Journey by Yung Logos; Passage by Ugonna Onyekwe; Bloody Tears by Quincas Moreira; The Great Avenger by Silent Partner; The Long Night by Quincas Moreira; Gaia by vspiegel; Brave by Arcane Anthems; Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod; Divine Smith by Arcane Anthems; Battle by Jahzzar; A Tale of Vengeance by Aakash Gandhi; Sense of Humor by Max McFerren; Myst on the Moor by Kevin MacLeod; Great Expectations by Kai Engel; Distant Lands by Hanu Dixit

After running from elk, the crew arrive at the Lemon Pepper Lodge. They delve into the strange areas below and discover terrifying beings while stumbling around in the dark. Special thanks to Michael Kussmann for providing his voice in this episode. Twitter: @SailsOffRails Music Used: The Others Are Coming by Hainbach; Downtown Metropolis Chase by Aaron Kenny; A Chase by Houses of Heaven; Action Time by Biz Baz Studio; Escape by Houses of Heaven; Hey Sailor by Letter Box; Barbarian by Pierlo; Movie Rhythm 2 by Sunsearcher; The Banquet by Hainbach; Magic by Six Umbrellas; Epic Journey by Yung Logos; The Attraction Of Evil by Hainbach; An Example For by Captive Portal; My Peeps by Aaron Lieberman; Honeybar by Rondo Brothers; Stealer by Density & Time; Level 6 Second Strike by Komiku; Decisive Battle with the Childhood Friend by Komiku; You Can Use by Captive Portal; Old Battle Theme 1 by Monplaisir; Old Battle Theme 2 by Monplaisir; Captain Tusktooth by Make My Anthem

Witches get stitches in our first episode in person after the summer. Twitter: @SailsOffRails Music Used: Reveal the Magic by The Kyoto Connection; Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar; Beach Disco by Dougie Wood; An Example For by Captive Portal; Ecstasy X by Jason Shaw; Battle Royale by Au.Ra; Inescapable by Ugonna Onyekwe; Ads by Jahzzar; Terrible Manners by Max McFerren; Overturn by Riot; Soul Burned Away by Robert Abraham; Toddler Guitarist by Admiral Bob; My Peeps by Aaron Lieberman

Join us as we discuss this apocalyptic zombie movie and find out if you have what it takes to survive, Night of the Comet! A surprisingly good B-Film! If you want to join in on the drinking game here is how we make our rules and remember that you can leave us a suggestion, on any of our social media, for a rule for the upcoming movie Frogs!Rule rule: Based on the synopsis try to create a rule to drink to. (Example: For a western - Any time someone rides a horse you drink)Our Rules for this movie: Whenever a zombie dies (Oscar's Rule)Whenever they mention the word Comet (Clemente's Rule)Visit our Website bfilmbrewcrew.comFollow us on our Social Media:Facebook InstagramTwitterMore Ways to Listen:Podcasts.comiTunesTuneInStitcherGoogle PodcastsSoundCloudSpotify

Join us as we discuss this apocalyptic zombie movie and find out if you have what it takes to survive, Night of the Comet! A surprisingly good B-Film! If you want to join in on the drinking game here is how we make our rules and remember that you can leave us a suggestion, on any of our social media, for a rule for the upcoming movie Frogs!Rule rule: Based on the synopsis try to create a rule to drink to. (Example: For a western - Any time someone rides a horse you drink)Our Rules for this movie: Whenever a zombie dies (Oscar's Rule)Whenever they mention the word Comet (Clemente's Rule)Visit our Website bfilmbrewcrew.comFollow us on our Social Media:Facebook InstagramTwitterMore Ways to Listen:Podcasts.comiTunesTuneInStitcherGoogle PodcastsSoundCloudSpotify

Stephen Covey famously said "seek first to understand, then to be understood." Too bad most copywriters skim over this important part of selling. For many copywriters, market research is just too difficult. For others, they just don't know where to start. In this episode, David covers those bases, and more. Many years ago, a golf ball company was running a successful mail-order ad in a golfing magazine. The company owner decided to update the ad, and brought in a top designer from New York to redesign it. To everyone’s horror, response to the ad dropped to zero. No one could figure out why. The copy had not been changed. The market was still hot and growing. There was no bad news about the golf ball company that anyone was aware of. Turned out, the top designer had redone the coupon in the ad to be solid black, with white lettering and white blanks to fill in. This caused a problem for customers, because to fill out the coupon, they would have needed a pen that wrote in white ink! The business owner ordered the coupon to be changed back to white, with black lettering. Once the ad published with the normal coupon, response shot right back up. What’s important here is that the company could figure out what was wrong until they did hands-on research, step by step, to determine what the customer would have to do to order. This episode is all about copywriting research, which makes a huge and measurable difference in the profitability of your advertising. But first, my friendly reminder for you: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. • How to research your customers: what they want, and what they need to read or hear in order to buy 1. Basic research – talk to them o Don’t ask them about your product – ask them about their problems o Ask questions like: ■ What’s the one problem with __ you’re having trouble finding a solution for ■ What happens or will happen when you don’t solve this problem? ■ Do you have an idea of what caused this problem? o Conversationally, ask them what specific solution to a specific problem, that’s important to them, they would like… that they can’t find anywhere right now o Or, if they can find a solution, ask them about what they don’t like, or they wish they had, that they don’t, in that solution o Pay close attention to the words they use. The exact words. Don’t try to “help” them, or to correct them. Just listen and keep ’em talking. The way they talk about problems and solutions, the exact words they use, are very important in the crafting of your copy. 2. Read reviews. Especially on Amazon and social media. Pay less attention to what they gush about (positive) than what they complain about (negative) o One review doesn’t make a trend. Multiple similar complaints do o The same languaging for the same complaint in different locations (ie on Amazon, in a forum, in a blog post) is a sure sign that you’re onto something you can use in your copy. o A reminder: You don’t just want to repeat their complaints. You want to also offer a unique, valuable solution that SOLVES their complaints! 3. If you have a product going and a customer service department, listen in on the customer service calls – make sure it’s legal – or, better yet, do a shift or two on customer service. You’ll learn tons. o People never have a hesitancy to complain. o Just listen at first. Don’t try to fix it right away. o Sometimes, the REAL complaint is “below the surface.” That’s why you want to give people time to get to it. The REAL complaint is the one charged with emotion. Sometimes it will come out of nowhere. Cherish that information… it is gold. o Example: Someone is talking about dry skin… then it gets to wrinkles… finally the REAL complaint comes out: “I just don’t want to look that OLD!” • What to research about your competition – especially, how to determine what’s missing in their products, and what you can do better and/or differently to make them prefer you over your competition 1. The simplest thing you can do with the highest probability of success is find out what complaints are about WINNERS – and fix the biggest complaints in your offer – and trumpet it loudly. o The first place to start is to look at successful competing ads from present day. Just look around; opt-in to lists of competitors; watch your Facebook account. You’ll start getting related ads remarkably quickly. o The second place to look is successful ads in different fields from present day. Could be closely related or not related at all. What you’re looking for is an example of a complete package of words and … that’s plagiarism, and you wan to avoid that at all costs. More about that a little later on. o Third place to look is old ads. There are a bunch of books like The Greatest Direct Mail Letters of All Time and They Laughed When I Sat Down: An Informal History of Advertising in Words and Pictures. Also, there’s a website – swiped.co. It’s free, and it has copies of many old ads you can look at. Claude Hopkins, John Caples, etc. Has current ads too. Promo’s running right now. As best I can tell, it’s free. 2. Find out what appeal current winners leading with in their ads… especially ads that rank high (like on Clickbank) or appearing often (like Google AdWords, or Facebook ads). o By now you should be familiar with the range of features and benefits of your product and related products. o Simply find out which one(s) are being used in headlines and lead generation. o That should give a starting point for your ad. Don’t copy word for word, but use the same idea in different words. Example: For a sleep aid, instead of “sleep soundly,” you could say “sleep all through the night.” It means the same thing, but the words are different, so you’re much safer. 3. Buy a competitor’s product and go through the entire sales cycle. Note what the upsells are. A successful product with successful upsells has zero’d in on, and nailed, the exact “mass desire” that will buy the most. o Get a sense of the structure and the content o Successful promotions usually have a theme. You’ll find the theme in the main product is repeated in the upsell. I heard a great example at a seminar, I think it was Nick Andrews who said it. If the main offer is Excedrin, the first upsell should be “extra strength Excedrin.” Look for patterns that you can adapt and duplicate. o A good funnel with email follow-up is very valuable research. Learn all you can before you design yours. • The secrets of profitably researching other ads that are winners in your field and other fields. Without plagiarizing, using what they are doing by adapting it to improve results with your own copy 1. Swiping – the difference between plagiarism and borrowing/adapting concept o This is hard to teach and advanced concept – but, worth knowing about. o The important thing to remember is there is a concept behind each successful ad… at least almost all of them. Also known as the Big Idea. o It might be a metaphor… it might be a huge claim… it might be comparing a well known news situation or landmark, like global warming or the Eiffel Tower, to a specific situation your prospect is concerned about or wants. Global warming could be compared to toxic mold in a person’s home. You could make a case that there is gold buried under the Eiffel Tower. (But you need to have some backup!) And then compare it to a business or investment opportunity. o The key thing is not to use the same elements. Instead of global warming, you might talk about disappearing species of animals. Instead of the Eiffel Tower, you might use London Bridge. That steers you away from plagiarism. 2. Swiping – the difference between plagiarism and borrowing/adapting structure o Same idea here o The way to swipe structure is to identify the different elements in copy, map it out, and follow your map with different copy o Headline – warning about threat o Opening – expands on the threat o Writer of letter introduces himself and talks about his relevant experience in regard to protecting yourself against this threat o … and so on. 3. Notice how competing successful ads get into the customer’s head (conversation already going on in the prospect’s mind) and what they’re doing with their offer that is fresh and innovative. o At the end of the day, this is what you’re looking for: The conversation going on in your customer’s mind o It’s always very specific and down-to-earth o More often than not, it’s about avoiding some specific pain or achieving some specific and probably elusive goal o That, more than anything else, is what your research should help you figure out.Download.

Stephen Covey famously said "seek first to understand, then to be understood." Too bad most copywriters skim over this important part of selling. For many copywriters, market research is just too difficult. For others, they just don't know where to start. In this episode, David covers those bases, and more. Many years ago, a golf ball company was running a successful mail-order ad in a golfing magazine. The company owner decided to update the ad, and brought in a top designer from New York to redesign it. To everyone’s horror, response to the ad dropped to zero. No one could figure out why. The copy had not been changed. The market was still hot and growing. There was no bad news about the golf ball company that anyone was aware of. Turned out, the top designer had redone the coupon in the ad to be solid black, with white lettering and white blanks to fill in. This caused a problem for customers, because to fill out the coupon, they would have needed a pen that wrote in white ink! The business owner ordered the coupon to be changed back to white, with black lettering. Once the ad published with the normal coupon, response shot right back up. What’s important here is that the company could figure out what was wrong until they did hands-on research, step by step, to determine what the customer would have to do to order. This episode is all about copywriting research, which makes a huge and measurable difference in the profitability of your advertising. But first, my friendly reminder for you: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. • How to research your customers: what they want, and what they need to read or hear in order to buy 1. Basic research – talk to them o Don’t ask them about your product – ask them about their problems o Ask questions like: ■ What’s the one problem with __ you’re having trouble finding a solution for ■ What happens or will happen when you don’t solve this problem? ■ Do you have an idea of what caused this problem? o Conversationally, ask them what specific solution to a specific problem, that’s important to them, they would like… that they can’t find anywhere right now o Or, if they can find a solution, ask them about what they don’t like, or they wish they had, that they don’t, in that solution o Pay close attention to the words they use. The exact words. Don’t try to “help” them, or to correct them. Just listen and keep ’em talking. The way they talk about problems and solutions, the exact words they use, are very important in the crafting of your copy. 2. Read reviews. Especially on Amazon and social media. Pay less attention to what they gush about (positive) than what they complain about (negative) o One review doesn’t make a trend. Multiple similar complaints do o The same languaging for the same complaint in different locations (ie on Amazon, in a forum, in a blog post) is a sure sign that you’re onto something you can use in your copy. o A reminder: You don’t just want to repeat their complaints. You want to also offer a unique, valuable solution that SOLVES their complaints! 3. If you have a product going and a customer service department, listen in on the customer service calls – make sure it’s legal – or, better yet, do a shift or two on customer service. You’ll learn tons. o People never have a hesitancy to complain. o Just listen at first. Don’t try to fix it right away. o Sometimes, the REAL complaint is “below the surface.” That’s why you want to give people time to get to it. The REAL complaint is the one charged with emotion. Sometimes it will come out of nowhere. Cherish that information… it is gold. o Example: Someone is talking about dry skin… then it gets to wrinkles… finally the REAL complaint comes out: “I just don’t want to look that OLD!” • What to research about your competition – especially, how to determine what’s missing in their products, and what you can do better and/or differently to make them prefer you over your competition 1. The simplest thing you can do with the highest probability of success is find out what complaints are about WINNERS – and fix the biggest complaints in your offer – and trumpet it loudly. o The first place to start is to look at successful competing ads from present day. Just look around; opt-in to lists of competitors; watch your Facebook account. You’ll start getting related ads remarkably quickly. o The second place to look is successful ads in different fields from present day. Could be closely related or not related at all. What you’re looking for is an example of a complete package of words and … that’s plagiarism, and you wan to avoid that at all costs. More about that a little later on. o Third place to look is old ads. There are a bunch of books like The Greatest Direct Mail Letters of All Time and They Laughed When I Sat Down: An Informal History of Advertising in Words and Pictures. Also, there’s a website – swiped.co. It’s free, and it has copies of many old ads you can look at. Claude Hopkins, John Caples, etc. Has current ads too. Promo’s running right now. As best I can tell, it’s free. 2. Find out what appeal current winners leading with in their ads… especially ads that rank high (like on Clickbank) or appearing often (like Google AdWords, or Facebook ads). o By now you should be familiar with the range of features and benefits of your product and related products. o Simply find out which one(s) are being used in headlines and lead generation. o That should give a starting point for your ad. Don’t copy word for word, but use the same idea in different words. Example: For a sleep aid, instead of “sleep soundly,” you could say “sleep all through the night.” It means the same thing, but the words are different, so you’re much safer. 3. Buy a competitor’s product and go through the entire sales cycle. Note what the upsells are. A successful product with successful upsells has zero’d in on, and nailed, the exact “mass desire” that will buy the most. o Get a sense of the structure and the content o Successful promotions usually have a theme. You’ll find the theme in the main product is repeated in the upsell. I heard a great example at a seminar, I think it was Nick Andrews who said it. If the main offer is Excedrin, the first upsell should be “extra strength Excedrin.” Look for patterns that you can adapt and duplicate. o A good funnel with email follow-up is very valuable research. Learn all you can before you design yours. • The secrets of profitably researching other ads that are winners in your field and other fields. Without plagiarizing, using what they are doing by adapting it to improve results with your own copy 1. Swiping – the difference between plagiarism and borrowing/adapting concept o This is hard to teach and advanced concept – but, worth knowing about. o The important thing to remember is there is a concept behind each successful ad… at least almost all of them. Also known as the Big Idea. o It might be a metaphor… it might be a huge claim… it might be comparing a well known news situation or landmark, like global warming or the Eiffel Tower, to a specific situation your prospect is concerned about or wants. Global warming could be compared to toxic mold in a person’s home. You could make a case that there is gold buried under the Eiffel Tower. (But you need to have some backup!) And then compare it to a business or investment opportunity. o The key thing is not to use the same elements. Instead of global warming, you might talk about disappearing species of animals. Instead of the Eiffel Tower, you might use London Bridge. That steers you away from plagiarism. 2. Swiping – the difference between plagiarism and borrowing/adapting structure o Same idea here o The way to swipe structure is to identify the different elements in copy, map it out, and follow your map with different copy o Headline – warning about threat o Opening – expands on the threat o Writer of letter introduces himself and talks about his relevant experience in regard to protecting yourself against this threat o … and so on. 3. Notice how competing successful ads get into the customer’s head (conversation already going on in the prospect’s mind) and what they’re doing with their offer that is fresh and innovative. o At the end of the day, this is what you’re looking for: The conversation going on in your customer’s mind o It’s always very specific and down-to-earth o More often than not, it’s about avoiding some specific pain or achieving some specific and probably elusive goal o That, more than anything else, is what your research should help you figure out.Download.

Synopsis Here are three simple steps that I follow in order to create and embed a tweetable quote into my blog posts. The entire process is fast, easy, and free. What You Will Learn In This Post 1. You will learn how to add a tweetable to you blog post without a plugin. 2. You will learn how to create a tweetable in 3 easy steps using free websites. 3. You will learn how to create a bitlink, which is essential for every blogger to know about and use. Introduction I just recently learned about “tweetables.” I've seen them before but didn't know much about them. So, my first step was to research what they are about, and how to use them. And since I use WordPress to manage my blog, my second step was to find a plugin that would help make a tweetable. But when I tried to add the most popular plugins for this, none of the them would work with my WordPress theme. So I did some more research, took a bunch of notes, and figured out how to create them without using a plugin. I've been able to reduce the process down to three fast, easy, and free steps. Here are three simple steps that I follow in order to create and embed a tweetable quote into my blog posts: Bitly is a tool to shorten long url's making them easier to share on social media. The shortened link is called a Bitlink.Step # 1. Open Bitly.com Place the full link address of your blog post into Bitly. Example: Before Bitly, the long version: (Copy and paste your post link into Bitly to create a BitLink) https://kunzonpublishing.co/2016/09/what-is-niche-and-micro-niche-publishing-2/ After Bitly, the short version: (You will need to copy and paste this new link into the text box on ClickToTweet) http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm ClickToTweet is a tool that is used to create a tweetable, which makes it easier for reader's to share your content.Step # 2. Open ClickToTweet.com Click “Basic Link,” and paste the following items into the text box on ClickToTweet: Item # 1. Add the quotation: Book sell sheets are an essential and integral part of a book's marketing and publicity plans. Item # 2. Paste the shortened Bitly version of the link address of the post: http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm Item # 3. Add your Twitter screen name: @jckunzjr Item # 4. Add hashtags if there is any room left: (Remember, the 140 characters and spaces limit for Twitter) #selfpublishing #bookmarketing Completed Example: Niche and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients for the success of your book. http://bit.ly/2iDDJamm @jckunzjr Now that this is done, uncheck the box to prove that you are human, and then click “Generate New Link” ClickToTweet is a tool that is used to create a tweetable, which makes it easier for reader's to share your content.Step # 3. Place Tweetable Into Blog Post Take the URL code that ClickToTweet gives you, and paste it into your blog post in the appropriate place: Example: (For the purposes of this blog post that you are reading, I had to slightly change the URL to get it to display properly in this post) Niche and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients for the success of your book. href="http://tt.ec/R8Pml" target="_blank">(CLICK to tweet this quote) Item # 1. You replace my code: http://tt.ec/R8Pml, with your own that ClickToTweet gives you. Make sure you leave the quotes in. Item # 2. target="_blank" this means that when someone clicks on your link, it will open Twitter in a new tab/page, and leave your blog post open in its own tab/page. Item # 3. (CLICK to tweet this quote) this text can be replaced with whatever you want it to say. You do not need the parenthesis. The url code for the tweetable placed into my Wordpress blog post.Conclusion That wasn't so bad, was it? After you do it a few times, you'll be able to do this very fast. If your WordPress theme accepts the plugins to help you create tweetables, it'll be even easier and faster.

In this episode I talk to Zach Waldman! We cover a lot of great topics like pricing, adding value, and how Zach overcame debilitating anxiety and depression. This is a good listen. Zach Waldman is a magician and comedian in and around Los Angeles who caters to high end, corporate clients, and celebrities. He's performed for the likes of Al Gore, Seth MacFarlane, Pete Carroll, Chris Rock, and Gene Wilder, not to mention his corporate clients which include Microsoft, BusinessWeek, Absolut, and Anheuser-Busch. Zach is also a frequent performer at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. More importantly, for us, Zach is a marketing expert with various products that help other entertainers book more gigs and make more money doing what they love. As one of his clients says, "Zach is an amazing fountain of knowledge that will give you the tools to get booked and be successful."     Success Mantra: Goals. Writing down your goals and taking responsibility for yourself. Basically everything in Brian Tracy’s book GOALS! How to get everything you ever wanted in life faster than you ever thought possible.     Failure Moment: Being too rigid on what he charged for his shows early in his career. Instead, be flexible but for a reason.     Zach Waldman on Pricing Mentions Dan Kennedy’s book No BS Marketing to the Affluent • Price isn’t the only thing people are looking for. They’re looking for value and will pay more for it. Example: For a kids show, you might charge $150 but you can charge more if you create an experience and add value. Consider this: 30 minute magic show, balloon animals for each child (special ballon for birthday child that nobody else gets), goodie bags for kids, and they all learn a magic trick. With all this, you’ve created a full experience that you can charge more for, perhaps $300. • Always add value. • People also pay for the experience. • If they flinch at the price, you can always take things away to lower the price. Always have a reason for lowering the price.     How Zach Overcame Anxiety & Depression This is a very sensitive topic. If you're dealing with anxiety or depression, please seek help from a competent professional. In this section, Zach talks about how he dealt with debilitating anxiety and depression, ho it effected himself, his shows, and how he overcame it. He went through the course Attacking Anxiety & Depression • combating negative self talk • monitor your bad thoughts and replace them with good ones. • change the things that you think about. • Exercise and eating right play a huge role in alleviating anxiety & depression. • Get into therapy. Seeing a therapist helped Zach out tremendously. It’s certainly a good idea to seek out professional help.     Other Topics Covered: • Sit in your own audience. Assess how other see you. • When you compete, compete against yourself. • Be giving and generous. • Don’t try to please everyone. • Go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you’ll never get started. • Becoming a self actualized person. • Learn everything you can, then forget it all and carve your own path. • Don’t give up, push through the dip. • Write down your goals. • Be good to people. It’ll come back to you.     Resourceful books: Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!   Goals by Brian Tracy No BS Marketing to the Affluent by Dan Kennedy The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield Turning Pro by Stephen Pressfield Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse     Where can we find Zach Waldman? therestaurantmagician.com undergroundmagicsecrets.com zachwaldman.com facebook | twitter @zachwaldman | youtube