Oops!
I misspelled the word “rules” in the title above, didn’t I?
Oh no!
According to a few self-appointed email and marketing ex-spurts out there, I just committed sales “suicide.”
Actually, I kind of doubt it.
In fact, want to know something funny?
Strange as it sounds, there have been many times where I’ve had more success by BREAKING established sales, marketing and copywriting “rules” (even those set forth by old school masters I admire and respect) than by following them.
This is no joke, either.
In fact, here are some examples of rules I’ve (profitably) broken, smashed and buried with reckless abandon:
- Embracing my negative emotions
- Engaging in “stinkin’ thinkin'”
- Sending my list a daily email
- Putting my full message in my emails (even super long ones) instead of a teaser
- Not using affiliates for my products
- Turning off the comments on my blog
- Not writing “killer” headlines (most copywriters would probably think my biggest winners to be too “boring.”)
- Rarely using testimonials in my ads
- Plugging an affiliate link AND a “naked” link when selling someone else’s product
- Not reading lots of books or buying lots of info products (especially the ones people insist I “must” get)
- Round number pricing (like “$10″ or $20”)
- Misspelling words in ads and emails
- Joking around and goofing off in my marketing
- And so on and so forth
Anyway, here’s the reason I’m telling you about this:
If you ever want to “shake” things up a bit in your business (if for no other reason than to keep things exciting) try breaking a few marketing rules yourself — including the ones everyone else follows without question.
I mean, who knows?
You might just find your next breakthrough.
Ben Settle
P.S. Want more “contrarian” sales and marketing tips?
Then check out:
