We held our Titans Mastermind last week and I want to summarize it all for you…but I will do it in two or three parts because there was so much information shared.
Today is just through lunch on Day One.
Some of the speakers you have heard of and some you haven't…but they were all stellar.
Plus we had "Titan Spotlights" with some of our members strutting their stuff (i.e. what makes them so special).
Election 2020: Which way will swing voters swing?
Our first speaker over dinner was Titans Mastermind member Rich Thau of Engagious, a research and dial testing company specializing in public policy, politics…and of course marketing.
Rich outlined an ambitious project he's working on where he is visiting "swing states" and doing focus groups with voters who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016.
He's in the midst of a 21 month project which began in March 2019 and it will run through the election in November 2020.
He has traveled to such hot spots as Appleton Wisconsin, Erie Pennsylvania, Warren Michigan and Edina Minnesota—meeting with these "swing voters."
Some initial findings:
1) These are low information voters: For example, only 3 candidates (Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren) scored above a "5" in recognition on a scale of 1 to 10.
They also don't know much about the issues (e.g. Medicare for All and The Green New Deal)
And maybe most importantly, swing voters get most of their news from local TV stations, local websites, Facebook and national TV morning shows.
If you are like me and get your news from places like MSNBC or Fox News, you are in a significant minority (although it seems so "loud" while you are watching, doesn't it?).
2) Most Obama-Trump voters stick with Trump right now.
3) The 2020 outcome hinges on the economy (with personality issues a lesser consideration).
Issues 4 and 5 below are important but there is nothing more critical than the economy…that never seems to change.
4) Swing voter mindset: "America First," making Trump's positions on trade and immigration a strength.
5) Populist trends emerging: Anti-corporate, support for student loan debt relief and increased taxes on the wealthy are also taking hold with swing voters on the other side.
What does this have to do with marketing?
Everything.
Knowing who will be in The White House after the 2020 election will change the economics of our marketing and also copy platforms and promotion strategies no matter which way it goes.
That's why this research is so important.
Being able to predict the result as early as possible will give you an unfair advantage over your competition and possibly not require you to have "2 versions" of the same promotion for example.
But polls aren't always correct (see 2016)…and maybe Rich's research will yield the results we need.
And here's another key reason why a presidential election is important to marketers (from my post Driven to Distraction) written after the 2016 election when so many marketers were wondering why "results were down in the 4th quarter of 2016":
Simply put, the world doesn't stop when you launch a product or send out your next promotion…no matter how much you are changing the world.
And I am not making light here.
Many of you game changing entrepreneurs and inventors reading this right now don't deserve to have your best ideas and launches ignored because of world events and things that are out of your control.
But not every distraction is out of your control.
One such distraction could be a doozy of a presidential election.
Not sure when that will ever happen again in our country but you never know, right?
That last line is said with a bit of sarcasm…I have a feeling that 2020 will be even more distracting than 2016…so please make your promotion plans accordingly.
I will repeat that full post closer to the 2020 election for those of you who still need a reminder to avoid this period if you want to mail, launch or promote around it.
Outrageous Marketing
Our first speaker on Day One was marketing legend Bill Glazer…the "G" in GKIC and Dan Kennedy's partner in that iconic company.
Bill spoke about The 8 Steps to Apply OUTRAGEOUS Multi-STEP Marketing Campaigns to Your Own OUTRAGEOUS Business…and it was…well…outrageous. And all based on his new book.
There are 49 successful campaigns in the book Outrageous and 42 more coming in Volume 2…and Bill got at least another half dozen ideas from the things that were shared at Titans Mastermind.
The 8-Steps to applying outrageous marketing:
1) Understand that everything you do to advertise and market your business can be outrageous
2) Understand that you are NOT your customer
3) Train your brain to look for ideas in "obvious" places
4) Train your brain to look for ideas in "unobvious" places
5) Study what's working outside your industry and "swipe and deploy"
6) Everything is outrageous…including YOU
7) Outrageous advertising is fun and it lets you make your business fun too
8) Every outrageous campaign should create an emotional reaction in order to deliver an "experience"
Bill covered all of these in detail and it was a very rich presentation.
Other important things he reminded us in the context of the above:
- People need a minimum of SEVEN (7) contact points with you before they are ready to buy.
- Most businesses try to find one or two mediums they are happy with and stick to it—but outrageous campaigns are all multi-step and multi-media.
- All outrageous marketing use online and offline media.
You can see why Bill is one of my heroes.
The 8 biggest mistakes that prevent your offer from converting on cold traffic
Titans Mastermind members Justin Goff and Stefan Georgi, both A+ copywriters and marketers, have seen the inside of 170+ different funnels in a wide variety of niches.
Rather than tell you the 8 mistakes with examples, I am going to go one better and offer you an opportunity to opt in to Justin's highly cultivated list by clicking here.
Justin writes a daily email similar to mine (but not as long! :) ) and offers so much…and it's my pleasure to enable you to subscribe.
There is no charge but you have to qualify…but knowing my online family as I do, I think he'll let you in. :)
OK…I'll give you a "tease" of one of the 8 biggest mistakes Justin and Stefan talked about:
#2 (but this could have been #1): You're not going deep enough with your research
This is a mistake Justin and Stefan see all too often—that copywriters assume they know their market…but when they can actually do deep research to find out what customers are really looking for, it's almost always completely different than what they assumed.
Pro tip: Go on Amazon (5 star and 1 star reviews only), online forums and Google news articles for products or services like the ones you are selling and see what people are saying.
You will pick up their language and talk to them in that "language"; you will understand their real pain points (not the ones you assumed); you will understand in their own words exactly what they love and hate about existing solutions; you'll come up with amazing horror stories you can use in your copy and even come up with a "conspiracy angle"; you can uncover "hushed up" or censored solutions and make what's old new again; and you will find interesting, testable proof supporting the arguments you make in your sales letter.
This is the (pro) tip of the iceberg how Justin and Stefan think about copy.
I urge you to get on Justin's list…he's a genius (as is Stefan)…and I get nothing from him to say that except that you will improve your marketing by subscribing.
Here's the link again.
The recovering attorney
Peter Hoppenfeld then spoke before lunch on Day One and gave us a rundown of legal and compliance issues we need to be aware of as marketers.
Peter is a "marketing friendly lawyer"--he knows we have to sell but he will also make sure you don't get in trouble while doing all that selling.
I use him for so much in my business and he is the official "Titans Recovering Attorney"-- and I am happy to say I have done no jail time and I always feel good about my marketing.
He spoke about a lot of things with the most urgent being the new California Privacy Law ("CCPA")—and he sent an alert about it to all of his clients (and all of the Titans).
If you would like a copy of this alert, send an email with "CCPA" in the subject line to:
phoppenfeld@gmail.com
That's it for today…but I still have so much to share with you from this amazing Titans Mastermind meeting.
In the coming weeks I'll report on:
- The juxtaposition of the best technology with the human touch
- How a Titan achieved a 94% retention rate to his mastermind
- "The Copy Cube"—where promise and believability meet
- How to sell The Brooklyn Bridge
- The "unfair advantage" to skyrocket your brand
- How to turn around failing companies (and multiply your profits)
I'm exhausted just thinking about the last meeting…my brain is full…and it will be good to unload as much of it as possible on you in the coming weeks.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. I can't resist…here is another of Justin and Stefan's "8 mistakes when marketing to cold traffic":
You haven't tested enough headline complexes
I never heard that expression before…but the "complex" is defined as the headline with the copy that follows immediately.
I knew what it was and now I have a name for it!
The best headline complexes will include as many of these as possible-- and use these as a checklist when you create your own:
- Curiosity
- Call out pain point
- Promise-Solution
- Specificity
- Simplicity
- Credibility: Address the prospect's skepticism
- Time frame to achieve results of the promise
Keep these on your desk to make sure your headlines (and supporting copy) are as powerful as they can be.
Justin and Stefan also gave many examples of headline complexes in their presentation--and Justin uses lots of case histories from the 170 (and counting) funnels he has studied (and will study).
Getting on his list will be a good idea for you.
Sign up here.
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