Whatever you want to call it. It’s happened. In the last month while I've been neglecting this blog. Profound shifts of thought have occurred.

{btw, all resources are linked to at the end of this post}

It's amazing how time flies when you're engulfed in a learning period. You know, those periods where you take in huge amounts of information then you're left to digest it all and hopefully put it to use. You know this if you're autodidactic or an automath (a great friend taught me this word). In other words someone who is self taught, or self educates.

It all started on our vacation through Norway a little under a month ago. We had probably around 16 hours of driving time ahead of us so right before we left I created about 30 cd's with audio interviews I downloaded from Michel Fortin where he talks to John Carlton and Gary Halbert (all three top copywriters) about copywriting and direct marketing. I also included audio from Brian Tracy(sales guru) on none other then sales. I also printed up Claude Hopkins’ “Science of Advertising”, a swipe file of sales letters and even printed Peter Stone's sales copy on his website to read and go over.

I know it seems now like I was going on more of a intensive copywriter's bootcamp then a real vacation. That's how much I wanted to suck this information in and absorb it and that's really what it turned out to be.

To say the least my wife was sick and tired of listening to the audio on the trip but I couldn't get enough. I knew what I was hearing was pure gold.

After getting back, it was back to work but I couldn't stop devouring all this new info. So instead of working I went out and got even more information on the subject of copywriting and direct marketing. First I read 12 Month Millionaire by Vince James which is over 300 pages long and by far the best book I've read in a long time. If you want to make a ton of money you need to read everything you can from him.

Gary Halbert calls it “The most important marketing product ever put together” and goes on to say:

“He(Vince) created a business that generated $100,000,000 in 23-short months. He did this with just a pen, a pad, and a simple idea. I believe this is by far the most important marketing product ever put together. In it, he reveals a lot of secrets that even I have never before revealed to anyone (except a few clients and my closest friends). If you dare say the information you get from this product was already known to you or it wasn't worth the money, you are much more than a shitweasel. You are a stone-cold, unethical liar.
Believe it or not, much of this information is so electrifying; it was unknown even to me. And I am now using these secrets when I create advertising for myself or for my clients.”

Gary said himself that he doesn't give out praise very often but the fact he states it as “The Most Important Marketing Product Ever Put Together” says a lot. A lot of eye opening secrets are revealed and they are worth millions, seriously. It’s something you read and are totally blown away by. If you are interested in how the ceo of “Girls Gone Wild” makes over 100 million a year, or how the company that makes ProActiv makes even more then you will want to read it.

So, all excited and pumped I went out and got Masters of Copywriting 2007 by Daniel Levis. This is another enormous info product with well over 700 pages of content as well as audio bonuses which include interviews with Michel Fortin, Jay Abraham and Rick Schefren and much much more. There are literally hours and hours of interviews that are filled with true gems of information. Stuff that if you implement will make you literally millions of dollars.

I've gone through almost all of it. I've filled my head with so much info it's practically bursting.

Epiphanies Occur, That Aha! Moment Arrives

I would like to describe it as, when all the answers appear. When that small window opens up and gives you insight into the future. It could also be described as “when the dust clears”.

I've had multiple epiphanies in the last 30 days. Which have changed my views and will forever change the way I do things. And it all starts with how I'm going to start writing and communicating.

See, I used to write a lot more back in my school days. I started in about the 7th grade when I first learned how to type. That was also the same year I took my first computer class. It was 1988. Anyway, I used to love writing short stories. The funny thing was I wasn't that excited about reading. My brain always felt reading was boring and so I was more prone to be doing active things like sports.

I did read, but I'd much better prefer looking at photos or graphics in magazines then reading the articles per se. I've always been into art and drawing and hence my degree in graphic design and art. My mind is more visual by far. I never put that much thought into what the words were saying in things I was designing, just how to essentially make the piece look pretty and readable. After all it's the copy writers job to write the copy right? Don't get me wrong, I love language, but using language to persuade someone to take action… That's a whole other story. Yes I've written proposals and reports in my life but I never knew the basics of writing a convincing sales message.

When you realize that the words you use and the way you use them are more important then any fancy graphics you use you look at marketing and your business in a whole new light. And that's one of the things that has really hit home in the last month or so for me.

So if you are interested in boosting your sales and sky rocketing your business the first thing I'd do is look at your sales material, your overall message. That's assuming you already have a hungry market and a superb product. If you want to increase sales you have to make your statement clear and alleviate any worries your prospect has with doing business with you. That means spell out all the benefits of owning your product or service with plain ol' words. You have to grab them by the eyeballs as John Carlton says and tell them why they are better off owning your product.

Now I've heard plenty of people say that they hate those long hype filled sales letter type sites. You know the one's that have huge headlines, sub headlines, testimonials, audio clips, sometimes videos that go on and on forever. People complain how they'd never buy anything from a site that looks like that because it's clear all they want is your money and they're just ugly. I used to think the same way 7 years ago, when I bought my first downloadable ebook, which was on body building btw. You know, one of the ebooks you read but never use.

I didn't start really reading “ebooks” until 2004 when I got my hands on Michael Campbell's Revenge of the Mininet and Dynamic Linking eBooks. It seems so long ago but those ebooks are still relevant even today. The point is that that's when I started paying more attention to these sales letter type sites. I never really knew just how much these internet marketers were making from sites like this until about 2005.

I was blown away. Can you seriously make over a million dollars in 24 hours selling a set of info products online? John Reese did it back on August 17th, 2004 with his Traffic Secrets product. And other internet marketers are doing the same thing on a monthly basis it seems.

Even if you're not an internet marketer, even if you don’t own a website it makes you wonder how they are able to pull in thousands of dollars and sometimes millions in a 24 hour period. It for sure grabbed my attention and got me thinking. I wanted to know how they do it. It's not enough to have a product and a website. You need a salesman selling your product for you 24 hours a day. That salesman is your sales letter, the sales letter on your website or the sales letters you send out to future prospects.

I wanted to know how these internet marketers were making so much and so I learned how they do it. Not only how they have products produced or how they build their sites but the most fundamental of all things you can learn.

What All Successful Marketers Understand and Use

Every successful marketer is using secrets first introduced by the old masters of advertising. Stuff written in the early 1900's. And what it basically boils down to is being able to write a persuasive sales message. Using basic salesmanship in copy. Using words that grabs their prospects attention and gets them to not only read their entire letter but to believe their story and then take out their wallets and place an order.

It might seem so obvious but with our day to day distractions it’s easy to overlook such critical things as our sales message. When I really started to think about how I do things online I realize I am doing things very wrong. And that is so important for growth, seeing where you lack and improving that area.

The Lesson's Learned

If you want to grow you must learn and it's always best to learn from the guru's. Gather the best information you can afford. Go back to the beginning and see who the guru's learned from. Spend the money. Go out and buy all the best books you can. Read them all and then read them over again.

Put those new ideas into action immediately and start testing. Don't wait around till tomorrow to take action. You can start seeing more sales by tomorrow if you make certain changes to your message. It's knowing what to change that makes all the difference.

I'll share some of my tests later as I'm sure you'll want to here how they go.

Links to resources in this post:

Audio:

• Over 6 Hours of Audio from Michel Fortin – Download them free

People Gurus: – Smart tip, go sign up for every single one of their newsletters or subscribe to their news feeds right now.

• Michel Fortin – Top Online Copywriter
• John Carlton – Copywriting Guru & Marketing Rebel
• Gary Halbert – Direct Marketing UberGuru
• Rich Schefren – Marketing Guru and Coach
• Jay Abraham – America’s Number One Marketing Wizard
• Brian Tracy – Great Sale Coach
• Peter Stone – Another Superior Copywriter
• John Reese – Online Marketer
• Michael Campbell – Online Marketer – Author of 2 of the first ebooks I ever read (Revenge of the Mininet and Dynamic Linking)

Info Products:

• 12 Month Millionaire
• Masters of Copywriting 2007

Not Mentioned but I also got these.

• Giant Headline Swipe File
• Dan Locks Instant Cash Copy
• Dan Locks Outsource & Delegate
• Instant Sales Letters – Very Good!

Free Downloadable Ebooks – Must Read: Old Masters – you can download these free right now and redistribute them.

• Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins
• Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill