Posts Tagged ‘Story’

I loved it to death (literally)

March 18th, 2014 | Bret Thomson

I loved it to death (literally)

I held on too long… and choked the life out of it…

Running on blind passion fuelled by an 8-year obsession with daily motivation books, audios, DVDs and seminars…

…I eagerly dived headfirst into my first REAL business.

Since it was my first shot at a business, I thought,

“I know, maybe I’ll start with… Trying to change the WORLD”

Made perfect sense.

My plan was to run personal development workshops for kids between 7 and 13…

…And fill them up with all the vital life-skills missing from the typical schooling curriculum.

Like:

Self Esteem
Confidence
Resilience
Communication skills
Overcoming fear
Setting goals
And so on…

Told all my friends, family (even strangers) about my vision and I got a resounding,

“HELL YEAH BRET! Sounds awesome!”

(Just like I thought).

Chest puffed out, I walked up to my boss and announced my resignation.

I thought I’d share my vision with him at the same time…

Maybe he didn’t hear me properly, or something?

He didn’t seem impressed one bit.

Weirdo.

Anyway…

For the next 3 months, I contacted every person who LOVED my idea and encouraged them to enrol their kids/s into my first 2-day workshop.

Insert: “Sound of a Cricket”

Dismal response, on all counts…

I bashed my knuckles on the doors of all the local schools…

(Surely they’ll be keen)

… But I was quickly tangled up in more red tape than even a rich politician could escape from…

You see…

Everyone LOVED my idea… But no one was prepared to pay for it.

After 4 months, my funds were dangerously low…

Go here for the full story of my marketing turnaround from $16K to $200K+ in 12months

I needed help…

I tracked down Australia’s best marketing gurus, like Mal Emery and Andrew & Daryl Grant.

These guys were the first people who told me straight…

My business model SUCKED!

They then mumbled some fluff about needing a better marketing system, or some gibberish.

Boy, weren’t they disillusioned…

Little did they know I was standing on the shoulders of great men, like…

Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Maxwell Maltz, Anthony Robbins, David Schwatz, Og Mandino, Jim Rohn, and more…

How could it NOT work?

I had determination, perseverance, confidence, stamina, vision, belief, motivation and INTEGRITY.

On top of that… it was my PASSION… So there!

I loved my business idea

I loved it… to death.

After 12months, while raising my 3 sons who were (and still are) my primary motivation, I made a total of…

$16,017 for the year

Had to move back into my parent’s house.

At 33.

And that’s when I decided to learn direct-response marketing.

Go here for the full story of my marketing turnaround from $16K to $200K+ in 12months

Today’s lesson… Don’t fall in love with your product.

You can have all the altruistic, noble, philanthropic qualities out there…

But to succeed in business… First and foremost… you need to know direct–response marketing.

Here’s your best way to start

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. When you order, I’m looking forward to sitting down at my desk and writing you a personal message, in your new book

What NEVER To Ask Your Wife…

October 22nd, 2012 | Bret Thomson

What NEVER To Ask Your Wife…

PLUS… Two Simple Ways To Get Your Prospects To BUY More!

I’d hate to think how the conversation went after this…

Little known computer guru Gary Kildall, could have been the richest man in the world…

You see, he was out flying his private plane when IBM executives called, asking to buy his computer operating system for their revolutionary new PC.

That day, in 1981, Gary asked his wife to take the call. When Kildall’s wife answered the phone, she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement with IBM.

So IBM called a guy in Seattle instead – Bill Gates.

Evidently… Bill Gates became the richest man in the world instead…

Ouch!! Missed opportunity

There’s a deeper reason I told you this story… and an underlying powerful lesson to boot. I’ll gift wrap it all together at the end so it all makes sense to you.

Let’s start…

Right now, I’m up to my ears in creative dust from chipping away a masterpiece promotion for a client.

It’s nothing short of brilliant, I must say…

No surprise.

Anyway… to pre-empt this lesson, you’re gonna want to remember this principle:

“The more they read, the more they buy”

So, in case you’re wondering how to get more of your “stuff” read… all the way to the end… here’s one way (one of many).

To start… and stick with me here… I’m going to debunk everything you’ve ever learnt about headlines, in one fell swoop.

Here’s how. See if you can answer this…

“What is the purpose of your headline?”

Is it to grab their attention?

I need more than that. Try again.

Is it to solve a problem?

Sorry, no cigar…

Is it to build desire?

Try again.

Is it to create curiosity?

Okay. Stop. I’ll put you out of your misery. Here’s what it is.

The sole purpose of your headline is to make your prospect read the next line (the sub-headline).

That’s it. Nothing more.

Its job is purely to make your reader want to read the next line.

Got it? Good.

Next question.

What’s the purpose of the sub-headline?

I’ll give you a hint. No bugger that, I’ll tell you straight.

The sole purpose of the sub-headline is to make your prospect read the next line (the opening sentence).

And what’s the purpose of the opening sentence?

Correctomundo

The job of the opening sentence is to get them to read the next line.

And so on. You get the idea.

Now for the magic…

If you can get your reader to make these small decisions more than 4 times, chances are they’ll read your whole letter (or email, or web page, video, whatever).

I learnt this from the Copywriting Einstein “Eugene Schwartz”.

Another thing. The single best way to start your letter (so your prospect reads more) is with a story.

Remember this. Heck, write it down if you have to. It’s far too important to let slip past the keeper.

You see that’s why I kicked this email off with the “missed opportunity” story. Pulled you in, right?

Well, there’s another reason I used that story.

Since we’re talk’n ‘bout “missed opportunity”… I’m gonna save you from some future grief.

A few weeks ago I rejected 7 copywriting projects.

The reasons why aren’t that important, but they varied from:

I didn’t think their idea would fly
I sensed they’d be a problem client
Their timeline was unrealistic

In other words… missed opportunity for them.

So I thought I’d give you the heads up in advance…

I reckon my A-Team copywriters and I have another 2 or 3 projects left to squeeze in before the end of 2012…

Maybe you? Just maybe it’ll be your biz we take to a whole new moneymaking stratosphere…

You know the deal… first in best dressed…

Bottom line, if you want to launch a new project… or revamp an existing one… then don’t part with another dollar (or minute of your time) until you’ve read this and had a personal chat with me…

Click here for more info:

http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success

In simple language… That’s the ONLY way to get MY brain working on YOUR business…

This is the gateway to prosperity.

Okay, that sounded lame.

See if I can do better…

Your business without ME would only be AWESO.

All right, I’ll stop there.

I’m GOOD but I’m not GOD.

But when it comes to filling up your bank account…. I’m pretty damn close.

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. As per the opening story… Don’t let your partner make the decision without you… Cos I’d have no choice but to pour all my creative genius into someone else…

Let’s chat. Follow the shiny link below

http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success

P.P.S. If you’re not going to click the link, then use the buttons below to share this post … or leave a comment to let me know if these tips helped you at all…

I Thought I Was Tough? My Son Is My New Hero…

May 1st, 2012 | Bret Thomson

I Thought I Was Tough…

My Son Is My New Hero

I’ve always had the reputation in the family of being fearless.

If anyone will “have a go” it’ll be Dad.

Bungee Jumping… Phft… easy.
Sky diving… Piece of cake, baby.
Karaoke… Just try stopping me.
Rock climbing… what about it?
Big surf… I’ll race ya there.
Snakes, spiders… not even a flinch.

But night diving… as in snorkel, flippers, torch, in the open waters… at night??

Are you serious? That’s friken insane. Crazy, I tell ya. No way man… I mean, Hello? Even a 4 year old knows what lurks around the waters at night, right?

Starts with “S” and ends in “harks”… That’s right Einstein … Why nominate yourself as potential shark bait? No thanks.

So when my teenage son told me he was going on a school excursion to Tangalooma beach this week… and one of the activities was “Night Diving”… I knew he wouldn’t do it. No chance.

We’re talking about a kid who fused himself to a side railing at SeaWorld when I suggested he come on the Pirate Ship with me. Took 4 grown adults and a 3-foot jimmy bar to pry him off the railing… until I promised he didn’t have to go on it.

In fact… Just the night before he left for Tangalooma, he was even nervous about being away from home camping for a few days… let alone the thought of diving at night? Forget that.

But to help him feel comfortable about leaving for his trip… I thought I’d give him some good ol’ “DAD ADVISE”. Funny though… he didn’t even asked for it? They never do…

I said, “You’ll be right buddy… You’ll have a ball my man… Remember… On the other side of your fear lies your greatest victory”

“Yeah, yeah, Dad, I know, I know”

I figured that bit of advise slide past the goal keeper like most of my “Dad Talks”. Apparently not. Get this.

He calls me up on his first night camping and says, “DAD! DAD! I went night diving!”

“WHAT?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? You went night diving?… At night?”

“Yeah, It was AMAZING! It was so cool Dad. It was uuuunreeeal.”

“OH MY GOD! I’m so proud of you. Were you scared?”

“Hell yes. It was so scary. There was about 15 of us and we had to swim 200 meters back to shore with our torches. It was pitch black. The water was about 10 metres deep. About half way along I dived under and saw this GIGANTIC turtle. It was HUGE! It’s shell was bigger than me. So I grabbed onto it’s shell and it took me for a ride underwater for a few meters.”

“NO WAAAAAY?! That’s AMAZING?! My man…That’s the cooolest thing I have ever heard. EVER. You’re a LEGEND! You are my new hero. I am soooo proud of you buddy.”

“Thanks Dad”

(We stayed talking for another 20 minutes or more…)

Now you tell me… is that cool or what? Goes to show that on the other side of fear waits a tremendous victory. The same goes when I work with clients to come up with their BIG IDEA.

It’s often the scariest idea that will pull in the biggest financial rewards.

I push concepts way beyond the ‘comfortable zone’… where most marketers shudder with fear. But the financial windfall is stunning.

It worked for me when i pushed past the fear barrier and made my 7 hour sales letter video. (Nearly didn’t happen).

It worked for my clients when I suggested a creative way to offer a $10,000 Grant to their first property buyers. Turned out to be a multi-million dollar a month idea, that one.

It worked for another client when I convinced them to run a newspaper ad asking people to qualify to do business with them… Result? A cool 1/4 of a million bucks in 3 months, thank you very much.

It worked when I twisted my clients arm to turn his guarantee into a public $100,000 challenge… creating a flood of responses… no surprise to me.

And it’ll work for you too when I think about your business… when i rattle the cage of fear and uncover the scary BIG IDEA that’ll be a game-changer for YOU… and YOUR business.

Sure… you might “GULP” at my ideas… you may even skip a heart beat or two… you’ll probably think I’m crazy at first… (You’d be right)… but it’ll pay you well.

I believe YOU are just one BIG IDEA away from YOUR million dollar pay day. And it’s probably floating in my brain right now… just waiting to be awakened. Your call.

I guess you’re thinking, “Well how do i get it out of your head and make it real?

Check out this shiny orange link to see how we can make this happen.

http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success

Here’s some free “Dad Advice” for you…“On the other side of this link waits your greatest financial victory.”

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. Spread the love by sharing this post… or lets chat below. Catchya…