by Jeff Fisher, Copyright 2004

It may bark like a dog and look like a dog but, is it really always a dog?

A similar query may arise with many "design contests," especially those popping up all over the Internet on a daily basis. Business and organizations, with the ability to pay going rates for professional graphic design services, have found the lure of winning a "contest" will reel in large numbers of designers for the chance of a few minutes of fame, a little glory and perhaps cash or prizes not nearly worth the value of the design effort on the open market. In return, those conducting these design lotteries often get a virtual menu of design options, and the rights to use all entries as they please, with little need of valuable prize options or the outlay of much cash.

If you've been in the copywriting realm for very long at all, you've heard the phrase "features vs. benefits." It's a fundamental copywriting principle and driving force behind much of what we, as copywriters, create. But there's also another aspect to this equation.

What happens after customers buy your product or service? Once they've used what you have to offer, what will be different in their lives? What will the end results, of their buying decision, be? Getting your customers to look at the end results of their actions can be an extremely powerful persuasion tool that you'll want to incorporate into your copy.

Questions torment your customer, partner, dog, cat and every one else.

Here's why ‘WHY’ is such a profit-making marketing trigger.

“Stop taking two and three plates of food,� my mother said to me angrily.

I was at a wedding and seven years old. Back then, at a lot of the weddings we used to go to, the food would be pre-served on a plate. I could never get enough of those calorie-ridden platters. Waylaying different waiters, (so I would not be recognised), I’d polish 3-4 plates without blinking an eye.

Mum wasn’t impressed, and told me to stop and desist.

“Why?� I’d ask. Her stock reply was always, “It’s bad manners to do that.� This Dustbin Hoffman act obviously got her goat, but it left me unfazed. It must have bugged her more than I expected though, because in a short while Dad was peering down at my food-stuffed face.

According to marketers who are admitted reluctant converts to Six Sigma, there are a few things the Black Belts can do to ensure a faster adoption curve and achieve better results within marketing.

1. Learn the language. Six Sigma is as foreign a language to most marketers as marketing is to Six Sigma. If your background is in operations, engineering, IT, finance, or any related functional area, you had an easier time absorbing the concepts and lexicon of Six Sigma than the marketers will. Your ability to understand the key drivers and challenges of the marketing department will springboard your acceptance. You need to make the effort first.

When you start you own business, you are beginning a "brand," if you will. The product has a name. There may be a reputation associated with the product — a documented history of achievements, accolades, failures and more. Interestingly enough, this product has the same name as you when you go to introduce yourself to a potential client, a possible future employer, a peer with whom you may one day collaborate or a vendor who will be able to help you out of a bind.

In their book Off-The-Wall Marketing Ideas, Nancy Michaels and Debbi J. Karpowicz stress the importance of making a good first impression in any industry. They write, "As a small business owner, you become the embodiment of your company; you also become a public person, which has its ramifications. Whether you are running a grocery store — or a business meeting — it is important that you create a positive reflection of your company."

Someone was interviewing me recently about how I built my email list to over 20,000 subscribers. And the main thing I told him was that I made it a game that I was serious about winning. I saw my subscriber list as one of the biggest keys to success.

What I did was implement four strategies. I still pay attention to each of them, track my results, and keep improving. I make incremental gains, and every once in awhile I actually have a breakthrough.

Here they are:

Strategy 1: I worked hard to get my web site listed high on Google. I studied all the strategies, I found a good keyword and I optimized my site for that keyword. I've been listed in the #1 to #3 position in Google for over two years under the keyword "marketing plan." (I share exactly how I did this — and I show you how to implement it — in the InfoGuru Marketing Manual.)