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The Big Idea Formula Works
7:12 AM
Hi Gang:I’ve been a “scrappy” entrepreneur for more than 30 years.
I’ve learned some incredible lessons along the way.
I’m trying to pass some of these lessons on to my kids, associates, partners, subscribers and other entrepreneurs.
There have been several people who have impacted my life in a big, big way.
A few of the people include Philip Sterling, Nick Guarino, V.P. Wierwille, Gary Halbert, and “Piggy” from South Minneapolis.
But also near the top of the list is Bill Bonner and Michael Masterson.
I’ve worked with Michael directly, Bonner indirectly. Although I have worked with Bill’s son Will.
Anyway, these guys have impacted my life. The single greatest lesson is with a little thing called “The Big Idea”. The concept is still impacting my marketing, writing, relationships and business ventures.
So you know what I’m talking about I’ve enclosed a breakdown of “The Big Idea” in today’s post.
I hope it helps you as much as it has me.
Have fun and play nice!
Your humble host……..
Marc Charles
“The King of Business Opportunities”
PS Be sure to sign up for Early to Rise too. Im serious. It is the best email newsletter on the Internet for building wealth and health. I was a faithful read long before I became an Early to Rise "Expert" and regular contributor.
The Big Idea
By Michael Masterson
I have learned many valuable lessons from my 15-year consulting relationship with Agoras legendary CEO, marketing genius Bill Bonner. None is more important than the "big idea."
The concept was originated by David Ogilvy, perhaps the most successful commercial advertising man who ever lived.
Nowadays, Bill is recognized as the man who brought the big idea to information publishing. And by doing so, he has sold more than a billion dollars worth of publications. I know. I saw him do it.
I want to share Bills secret with you today. It may be the best direct-marketing technique of them all.
When I started consulting with Agora in the early 1990s, I came equipped with half a dozen theories about direct marketing that I had used to start a bunch of successful businesses.
We applied some of these theories to Agoras marketing, and did very well. But when I worked directly with Bill, I discovered an entirely new way to create blockbuster promotions.
I had never heard of the big idea at that point. But when Bill told me about it, I went directly to Ogilvys book, Ogilvy on Advertising, and studied it from cover to cover. I remember being particularly struck by the following:
"You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas. It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.
"Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process."
How do you recognize a big idea? Just ask yourself these five questions, said Ogilvy:
1. Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
2. Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
3. Is it unique?
4. Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
5. Could it be used for 30 years?
2. Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
3. Is it unique?
4. Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
5. Could it be used for 30 years?
The first package that came over my desk my first week with Agora was a prime example of a big idea promotion. It was written by Lee Euler for a newsletter called Strategic Investing. The copy was formatted as a "bookalog" (a direct-mail format, new at the time, that looks like a paperback book) and titled "Plague of the Black Debt." It was a huge success.
If memory serves, Agora mailed more than 14 million of those bookalogs and generated more than $7 million in revenues. The novelty of the format was an important part of the promotions success. Just as important was the copy itself.
It opened with this:
"You dont have to be a conservative, a liberal, or anything at all to understand that America is about to be flattened by a tidal wave...
"Thats right, folks. Now that Clintons budget bill has passed -- and if his economic projections are on target -- were going to add $1 trillion to the federal debt in the next four years. Thats more than George Bush added in his four years. And its almost as much as Reagan added in eight years.
"It doesnt matter whether you prefer my figures or Bill Clintons. Were merely talking about different shades of disaster. When youre dead, youre dead. There arent some people who are more dead than others."
This wasnt the first big idea package Agora had mailed. The very first promotion Bill wrote for the International Living newsletter was based on a big idea. It was the "control package" for almost 20 years. All told, 30 million pieces must have mailed. (If Bill had gotten two cents per piece -- standard for copywriters -- he would have made $600,000 in royalties!)
The big idea of the International Living package was presented this way:
"You look out your window, past your gardener, who is busily pruning the lemon, cherry, and fig trees... amidst the splendor of gardenias, hibiscus, and hollyhocks.
"The sky is clear blue. The sea is a deeper blue, sparkling with sunlight.
"A gentle breeze comes drifting in from the ocean, clean and refreshing, as your maid brings you breakfast in bed.
"For a moment, you think you have died and gone to heaven.
"But this paradise is real. And affordable. In fact, it costs only half as much to live this dream lifestyle... as it would to stay in your own home!"
I was eager to learn how to write big idea promotions myself. But it wasnt easy. My first few attempts fell flat. I asked Bill about it and he gave me a Yoda-like answer that I didnt really understand.
Bills protege at the time was John Forde, a bright young man with a classical education. John had developed an intuitive way of decoding Bills cryptic way of answering questions. He was very helpful in getting me closer to mastering the big idea.
Writing about the big idea some years later in his Copywriters Roundtable e-newsletter, John had this to say about it:
"Think about it.
"When you have a great conversation... read a great book... or see a great documentary... what grabs you? Is it the litany of small details? Or the golden thread that unites them?
"More often, for most of us, its the latter.
"And the more you get the core idea behind a story, a speech, a revelation... the more memorable that one core message becomes.
"This is just as true in sales copy.
"One message, well developed, just has more impact than ads -- short or long -- that are overloaded with competing ideas."
When I finally figured out how to apply the big idea to direct marketing, I was able to teach it to some of Agoras young marketing bucks. One of them, Porter Stansberry, soon wrote one of the biggest big idea packages in Agoras history.
His big idea, in a nutshell, was that the Internet was going to have as big an impact on the 21st century as the railroad had had on the 20th century. Heres how he expressed it in his lead:
"Imagine yourself wearing a top hat and tails, on the balcony of a private rail car, the wind whistling past as you sip the finest French champagne...
"Its 1850; the railroad is growing like a vine towards the west. And, although you dont know it yet, the same rail that you are riding on today will soon more than triple your wealth, making you and your family into one of the great American dynasties...
"Americas economic history is illuminated by such stories of quick fortunes made by daring entrepreneurs with new technologies -- railroads, motorcars, and more recently, computers. Ive spent nearly my entire professional life studying exactly how great entrepreneurs made their fortunes -- both in the past and today. What Ive learned contradicts what most people believe about wealth building -- and explains why 95% of mutual fund managers cant beat the markets average return.
"Im writing to you today to show you what Ive found. This year, four out of the six stocks Ive picked for a well-known investment club have more than doubled the S&P 500s return for all of last year. Meanwhile the other stocks are poised to earn more than my first recommendations combined by the end of this year. Ill show you exactly how I did it. But for now, flash back again -- its 1908...
"Youre an urban banker in Detroit, living a life of country clubs and summer ballroom parties..."
Throughout its history, Agora has published hundreds of big idea packages. And they have been a big part of the companys growth -- from an $8 million business when I started working with them to one with revenues in excess of $300 million today.
The big idea is now widely known and talked about. But most direct-response marketers who use this technique fail because they dont really understand how to do it.
Recently, Bill and I met with the copywriters for one of Agoras financial advisory divisions. They presented us with a number of leads that they thought contained big ideas. In almost every case, they were wrong. One of those leads predicted that China and the U.S. were going to be battling it out over the dollar, and that this was going to have a major effect on investing in the next 10 or 15 years.
"Well, thats not really a big idea," Bill said.
They all looked at us, wide-eyed. "How could that not be a big idea?" the writer of the lead said. "Our two economies combined dwarf most of the rest of the world. If we get into a major fight with one another, it will affect every investment everywhere."
"Thats a big concept," I chimed in. "But its not a big idea."
"Isnt that just semantics?" someone else asked. "Big idea, big concept. Dont they both mean the same thing?"
The answer was no. A big and definite no. But, though we tried, we were not able to get them to understand exactly what we meant by a big idea. ("Its ironic," I remember thinking. "Ive become a Yoda too!")
These young copywriters were producing the promotions Agora was relying on. So I set to work to write down for them, in the clearest terms, just what the big idea is and what it isnt.
Heres what I came up with...
Lets start with a definition that borrows from Ogilvy: A big idea is an idea that is instantly comprehended as important, exciting, and beneficial. It also leads to an inevitable conclusion, a conclusion that makes it easy to sell your product. Furthermore, it is an idea that will continue to be important and exciting for a long time.
Thats a mouthful.
So lets break it down.
A big idea is important.
By important, I mean important to the customer -- not the copywriter -- and relevant to the product being sold. The devaluation of the dollar may be important to American investors, in general. But it wont be important to a customer who is being asked to buy a newsletter about a type of investment that wont be affected by the dollars decline. The swine flu may be important to this same customer -- but it cannot possibly be relevant in a sales letter that is selling investment advice.
A big idea is exciting.
You are not going to excite your customer by repeating the predictions or promises that the rest of the media is publishing. They have already been exposed to those ideas. To provoke real excitement, you need to go beyond the conventional. You need to find some new angle that makes your customer sit up and pay attention.
A big idea is beneficial.
The excitement created must benefit the customer. Put differently, it should make the customer want to buy the product being sold. Lets say youre selling grass-fed beef. You can get your customer excited by telling him about how quickly people in this country are becoming poor. But that kind of excitement will make him less -- not more -- likely to buy the expensive type of meat youre selling.
A big idea leads to an inevitable conclusion.
The big idea must contain some internal logic that is fundamentally simple. It must be easy to grasp and easy to see how the product you are selling solves a particular problem or delivers on a stated promise. The best big ideas tie into something that makes the product unique. As soon as the customer hears the idea, he begins to feel the need for the product, even before it is mentioned in the copy.
The best big ideas do all of that work with very few words. The sale is half-made in the headline or by the end of the first paragraph.
Let me give you three examples.
In this first example, the big idea is aimed at readers concerned about health-related issues:
How the French Live Longer Than Everyone Else...
Even though they eat like kings and smoke like chimneys!
Even though they eat like kings and smoke like chimneys!
This headline offers to solve a riddle that has puzzled the reader for many years: Why do the French -- who eat cheese, meat, and rich sauces -- stay so thin? And another riddle that the reader just discovered by reading the headline: Why do the French -- who smoke like chimneys -- outlive everyone else?!
Implicit, here, is a promise that will appeal to almost anyone: You can eat like the French eat... and lose weight... and live longer.
This next example is a big idea that would interest avid golfers:
Want to slash strokes from your game almost overnight?
Amazing Secret Discovered by
One-Legged Golfer Adds 50 Yards
to Your Drives, Eliminates Hooks and Slices...
and Can Slash Up To 10 Strokes From Your Game
Almost Overnight!
One-Legged Golfer Adds 50 Yards
to Your Drives, Eliminates Hooks and Slices...
and Can Slash Up To 10 Strokes From Your Game
Almost Overnight!
The idea that theres a secret discovered by a one-legged golfer is exciting. It implies that if the reader has two legs, hell have an even greater advantage. Plus, the promise that this secret could add 50 yards to his drives and slash up to 10 strokes from his game is both VERY important and beneficial.
The reader cant help but come to the conclusion that he needs this secret.
Finally, heres an example geared toward savvy investors:
Outlawed for 41 years, now legal again,
this investment launched the largest
family fortune the world has ever seen...
and could return 665% in the next 12 months.
this investment launched the largest
family fortune the world has ever seen...
and could return 665% in the next 12 months.
The big idea is that this secret investment was once illegal. Its exciting, because its the same investment that launched the largest family fortune in history. Whats more, once the reader learns what this investment is, he could stand to make a 665 percent return on his money in a year or less. That makes it important and beneficial.
The inevitable conclusion: "Ive got to read this and find out what this investment is."
If you want to become a master of the big idea, keep reading Early to Rise. Well be writing about the concept in the future. And you can see it in action by reading the newsletter each day.
Wouldnt You Love to Be In On That Conversation?
Imagine stepping into a room filled with half a dozen of todays most successful business owners. Michael Masterson is relaxing on a couch in the center of this high-profile group - they are some of his closest friends and business associates.
Everyone is chatting comfortably. But make no mistake... some of the hottest business deals, investments, and money-making strategies are being discussed.
1. The latest, hidden profit opportunity that could generate over $28,000 in just a couple weeks...
2. The real estate deal that could generate 100% return (or more) within a few weeks, without ever owning a single piece of property...
3. Playing into the "Great Diamond Hoax" that has the potential to return 15% to 40% ROI in a single transaction that costs little or no time.
(And thats just a tiny taste of the deals being discussed.)
And now you can be right there with them...
