19 October 2011
Wednesday, 12:23 AM
Dear Friend,
I'm still down in Colombia South America on vacation… but no matter what I do, I can't seem to keep from writing.
I'm writing a blog post for you every couple days, finishing up the November issue of The Doberman Dan Letter… revealing some killer "stick" strategies that QUADRUPLED retention in one of my supplement continuity programs… and also working on copy for a new product I'm releasing soon in the health market.
I could just goof off on my vacation if I wanted to. I don't need to do all this stuff for the money. But I HAVE to keep writing… even when I don't want to.
See, the remote possibility that something I write could motivate someone into action and rescue them from a life of quite desperation (like I had before discovering direct response) COMPELS me to keep writing.
I was VERY reluctantly pushed into this role and have fought it every step of the way. But I've now come to accept my fate… just like Gary Halbert did.
I simply CANNOT quit. Even when I try, I'm pulled right back into it… usually in 24 hours or less after "quitting."
Although my blog subscriber list and Doberman Dan Letter paper & ink newsletter subscriber base is starting to grow rapidly… you'd be surprised at how few "you've changed my life" letters I get.
When I do get them, I cherish them.
Just a few weeks ago I got an interesting one.
One of my blog readers, a full-time freelance copywriter, sent an e-mail explaining why he was NOT subscribing to The Doberman Dan Letter.
It was one of the nicest letters I've ever gotten.
I translated it to the Colombiana and she had tears in her eyes. Like me, she sometimes doubts I'm actually reaching anybody… and questions the huge investment of my time into this stuff.
I guess we were BOTH wrong.
Dan,
Out of the few marketing blogs I do read, let's see, Makepeace doesn't write much anymore, Carlton's good, love Ben Settle's list, there's a few others I dig. Garber is hit or miss but he occasionally amazes me when he's on his game.
But I want you to know why I'm not buying your newsletter…
I should be. I'd be chomping at the bit to sign up and waiting like a giddy school girl for it to come in the mail.
And it's completely your fault that I'm not.
You said something that made me feel worse about myself than I've ever felt in my life.
Remember your post a few months ago about taking a vacation from your problems?
Right when you published that (or at least when I read it), I'd just got out of a 6-month relationship that I was miserable in.
I was coming off of an easy 100-hour week busting my ass for a client who had me on a (very nice) retainer.
I read that post at 7am.
I'm 29. Joined the Air Force when I was 20 after realizing I wasn't cut out to deliver pizzas my whole life.
I got out at 24, worked a couple of sales jobs, struggled like crazy, and turned to the Internet full time when I was 25. I still struggled until I was about 26-27, and finally started to develop enough chops and results to have the balls to charge a little more.
I'd been on ONE vacation in my entire life, for 5 days, to Vegas. That was years ago.
I read that post, and I thought to myself "man, I'm making money, but all I do is work and I'm miserable". I realized then and there I was in this business to be fucking happy, to be free, and I wasn't either one.
I hopped on a plane that night for San Diego.
I went back home to Missouri a week later for 5 days to sell my stuff.
I'm writing this from my balcony, I can see the Pacific Ocean from here and it's *fucking amazing.*
I went on vacation and I've been gone for over 3 months.
I've been working about 10-20 hours a week to keep afloat, those bad habits of eating and having a place to sleep at night cost more out here.
But I've been loving life.
I don't know where I'll be a month or two or a year from now.
I'm staying in a monthly vacation rental.
Next month I could get a place here, maybe head across to your side of the country, maybe jump on a plane and check out Asia or New Zealand, I have no idea.
I do know that I've never felt more relaxed or free in my entire life.
That blog post was the kick in the teeth I needed to just let everything go.
It was just the right message at the right time. It struck a nerve with me.
If I knew where I'd be when the newsletter was coming in the mail, I would have already signed up.
I more than likely will subscribe soon. (I temporarily cancelled Ben and Craig's newsletters when I took off).
I know in this business that we judge the impact we have on people by how many of them pull out their wallets.
I just wanted to let you know you've given me something much more valuable than a print newsletter, and when I get to somewhere semi-permanently to call home again, I'll buy whatever you're selling at the time.
In the meantime, I'm going to work a few hours a day, not worried about stress or being burned out, and spend my free time enjoying my life. I'm still on vacation.
That blog post was the last straw, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
You're (IMHBAO) a very rare breed these days.
I'd say that Ben is about the only guy whose talent scares me on the same level yours does, but that's because he pulls it off daily and he's just seems too good to be younger than 40.
But yeah, I owe you a big "thank you", and I just wanted to let you know that.
Take care.
Your Future Subscriber,
Happily Stress Free At The Beach,
Scott Murdaugh
P.S. This post is hands down my favorite out of any of your stuff I've read. When I moved into this place, there was a 60" plasma TV in my bedroom. I asked the property owners to please take it out the day I got here. I've never been huge on t.v. but I actively avoid it at all costs after reading your thoughts on it. I even canceled Netflix.
Is it hot in here? It must be. My eyeballs are sweating. 
There is NOTHING Scott could have said that could have made me happier.
If he'd told me he made $10 million bucks this year from something he learned from my blog or newsletter, even that would take 2nd place to what he just shared.
I can go to bed happy every night knowing…
SOMEBODY actually got it!
Every time I feel like quitting (which is several times a day) I'm gonna come back and read Scott's letter.
And I'm going to keep doing what I do, hoping one day I'll get a letter like that from you.
Because I sincerely appreciate you.
And even though I don't know you (yet), I truly care about your success and happiness.
All the best,
17 October 2011
"Talent is useless without training, thank God."
- Mark Twain
Sunday, 1:37 PM
Dear Friend,
"That kid's got a God-given talent."
"He's a prodigy!"
"He was born to play that guitar."
Those are things I heard adults say shortly after I picked up the guitar at the young age of seven.
I had no idea what they were talking about. It made absolutely no sense to me.
Here's why:
It all began after pizza night… which we did every Friday at Jeep & Joe's Pizza in downtown Barberton, Ohio.
After that was TV time.
And this particular night we watched The Partridge Family. It was the first episode I had ever seen.
I was completely and utterly mesmerized.
Keith Partridge was the coolest human being I had ever seen in my short little life. He was a rock star with long hair, rock star clothes… and what captured my attention the most, he played the electric guitar.
I knew from that very moment… this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
After weeks of persistent pestering, my dad finally relented and took me to "Happy Hank's"… Henry's Music in beautiful downtown Barberton, Ohio to sign me up for guitar lessons.
They refused. Said their experience showed a 7-year-old kid was too young to learn guitar and would never stick with it more than a few weeks.
In another few months I'll be approaching 40 years as a guitarist… some of those as a professional. Ole Happy Hank was right about the other 99.9% of 7-year-old boys… but he was dead wrong about me.
I didn't get upset with Crappy Hank and give up on my first-ever dream.
I got MAJORLY pissed off!
I bugged my dad until he took me back to Crappy Hank's and bought me a book on learning guitar. If that old fart wouldn't let me take lessons, I was going to teach myself.
And that's exactly what I did.
And am STILL doing today.
From the very first moment I cracked open that book and played my first chord (an open G Major "cowboy chord") on an old crappy beat up Harmony acoustic with 15 year old strings my Mom left gathering dust in the basement… I was completely hooked.
I LIVED with that guitar.
Hell, I SLEPT with that guitar… literally.
Every minute of every day I wasn't in school, church, eating or doing chores, I was playing that guitar.
Until my fingers bled.
And then I put on my mom's cotton gardening gloves so I could continue playing it in spite of my sore and bleeding fingers.
I gave up playing outside, riding my bike and playing sports like all my friends just so I would have more time with the guitar.
I put in some serious time with that instrument. But it didn't feel like work… it was a labor of love. After all, I was PLAYING the guitar, not WORKING the guitar.
That's why I didn't understand all those comments about "talent", "child prodigy" and all that stuff.
Those adults couldn't have been more wrong.
It wasn't talent or a "gift" they were seeing… it was the predictable result of THOUSANDS of hours invested learning my instrument.
Talent had NOTHING to do with it.
If that talent theory held any water, people with genius IQ's would have a HUGE advantage over the rest of the population and would be raging successes in a multitude of disciplines.
That's simply not the case.
In fact, quite the opposite. People with genius IQ's are much more likely to be working in menial jobs with little to no personal reward and minimum pay than their average IQ counterparts.
Give me two students…
One with lots of natural "talent" but an aversion to work…
…and one with no "talent" but a willingness to work his ass off.
After only a few months the no talent student will be so far ahead of the talented one it will make your head spin.
History shows again and again, the surest path to mastery of anything is…
10,000 hours!
Ever read any of the Travis McGee novels by John D. McDonald?
You should. They are some of the best examples of story telling masterpieces ever written.
Gary Halbert even claimed studying John D. McDonald's writing would make you a better copywriter.
The first time I ever read a Travis McGee novel I marveled at McDonald's ability to weave an almost addictive story, describe scenes in such detail I could picture them in my mind (I still remember them as if I was actually there)… and suck me in so much I thought about the characters and story line throughout the day as if it was something actually happening.
But I wasn't marveling at some kind of unique talent or ability. I was experiencing the results of John D. McDonald's 10,000 hours.
He had heard that it takes most writers ten novels before they get really good. So he went about writing his first ten novels...
In his first YEAR!
When you make THAT kind of dedication to your passion… without compromise… you are destined to become a master.
It's not a matter of IF it will happen… it's a matter of when.
Once you're very close to… or have exceeded 10,000 hours of training in your chosen discipline, (interesting word choice, huh?) you are at, or almost at, the point of "effortless" mastery.
Of course, it wasn't originally effortless. It was really frickin' hard… and you probably considered quitting many, many times.
Heck, you probably DID quit many times.
But if it's a TRUE passion or dream you only "quit" for a very short period of time.
You always came back.
You HAD to come back.
It's as if this particular discipline has chosen YOU… and you simply CAN'T quit… even if you think you want to.
So you get in your 10,000 hours, making whatever sacrifices are needed to do it as quickly as possible.
And all the civilians marvel at how effortless you make it look. The jealous ones (the ones who don't have the balls to do their OWN 10,000 hours) call you…
…"talented"…
…"gifted"…
…"lucky."
They like to make themselves feel better and claim that as an excuse for their own cowardice and/or sloth.
Many will hate you and deliberately try to sabotage you with words and deeds.
Even just beginning your 10,000 hour trek is a silent accusation that they, too, could begin their own 10,000 trek… if they had the balls.
But they don't.
A precious few very unique and special people will encourage you and become your own personal cheerleader. Many of those will be people who have already completed their own 10,000 hour journey… or are in the process.
The other 99.9%…
Their response will be to try and pull you back into the "crab bucket" with them.
Ignore them.
Their fate is punishment enough… poor bastards.
No, it's not easy.
Simple, yes.
Easy, no.
(Anybody who tells you it's easy is lying to you… and probably trying to sell you a "magic bullet" solution.)
So, no. Not easy.
But worth it.
Look, you're going to spend 10,000 hours doing something. Most people spend it on stupid stuff that produces NEGATIVE results in their life. Like watching TV.
Why not invest those 10,000 hours in something you're passionate about… that will produce happiness and success?
And the time to start is…
Right NOW!
Whatever it takes, start chipping away NOW at those 10,000 hours.
I promise you it won't be easy.
And almost no one will understand you or support you.
But don't ever forget this:
The minute you start on your 10,000 hour journey (and stick with it), you've gained a few things most people won't EVER have:
1. The balls to stick your head above the crowd and brave the folly of tomatoes… and…
2. Somebody in your corner…
Me.
All the best,
13 October 2011
Thursday, 12:31 AM
FROM: Deep in the jungle in an undisclosed location in South America
Dear Friend,
I only brought two books with me to read during my travels over the next few weeks.
One of them is Direct Marketing Quantified by Gary Hennerburg.
Best $195 I ever spent.
Well, except for that time at The Del Rey Bar & Hotel in Costa Rica… but I don't talk about those days any more.
Anyhoo, this Hennerberg guy makes most of us look like pikers. He knows direct marketing like nobody's business.
If I would have known this stuff when I was first starting… well, I probably wouldn't be writing this now. I'd OWN my own island paradise… and I'd be lying on the beach all day drinking Coronas and lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills.
If you want to make serious money in direct response, knowing and using the stuff in Hennerberg's book is crucial.
As I've been reading this book, I've been reminded of a whole bunch of stupid mistakes I made as a rookie. One in particular probably cost me that private island paradise I SHOULD own right now.
Back in the mid 90's I wrote a supplement ad that was kicking total booty in the muscle-head market. I was getting an ROI of 3 to 5 times ad costs in every magazine I ran it in.
I was such a wet behind the ears rookie back then I thought getting 3 to 5 times ROI on ad cost was a GOOD thing. Little did I know how much future money I was cheating myself out of. (More about THAT in a minute.)
Since I was so successful with this ad in the muscle-head market, I decided to try my hand in a bigger market. I wrote 1/4 page and 1/2 page newspaper ads positioning this supplement as an anti-aging/fat loss product.
I bought remnant space in about six newspapers and ran a test. When it was all said and done, two of the newspapers went a little negative (they didn't sell enough to make back 100% of my my ad costs) and four broke even.
Compared to the 3 to 5 times ROI I was getting on every insertion in all the bodybuilding mags, I thought my anti-aging newspaper ads sucked. After all… I didn't make any money.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Now (too late, unfortunately) I know I had a tiger by the tail. I had created…
A money machine that could have
made me a multi-millionaire!
And I was too stupid to realize it.
What was my mistake?
Not understanding the front end is NOT where you make your money. The BIG money in this business is in…
The back end!
I had created newspaper ads that could have been rolled out to hundreds of newspapers…
…with a combined circulation of TENS of MILLIONS…
…that could have brought in hundreds of thousands… or MILLIONS of customers…
At ZERO cost!
Then I could have sold them an endless string of health/anti-aging products ad infinitum… month after month… making myself filthy stinkin' honkin' rich in the process.
Damn! Just thinking it about it makes me want to go lick one of those South American frogs.
Oh well… at least I've learned my lesson. And from what I've observed, that makes me a very rare dude amongst most marketers.
Seriously. Almost NOBODY understands how to properly work their back end. Even many of the big players are letting a small fortune slip through their fingers month after month.
But the WORST offenders are the "kitchen table" entrepreneurs. Most of 'em have no clue about the back end. All they ever do is chase after more and more new customers… letting them come in through their revolving front door… and watching them go out almost as quickly as they came in.
Sad really.
That's why the October and November issues of The Doberman Dan Letter are all about how to make a lot of money by properly working your back end.
AND… how to keep your customers for as long as possible with my uber-effective "stick" secrets.
If you have any kind of continuity or auto-ship programs, you'll probably DOUBLE your retention with these little gems. They helped me take a floundering supplement auto-ship program from a pathetic 1 month (or less) average stick rate… to 3.5 to 4 months.
And that made a HUGE difference in my bottom line.
You see, doubling stick rates doesn't just double your net…
It causes EXPONENTIAL
increases in profits!
Don't make the same rookie mistake as me.
Get rid of your "revolving door" business and figure out how to work your back end properly and KEEP those new customers.
You'll be a lot happier (and richer) for it.
All the best,
08 October 2011
"Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve."
- Napoleon Hill
Friday, 12:48 PM
Dear Friend,
I've found that attacking Napoleon Hill's philosophy is akin to attacking somebody's religion.
People react VIOLENTLY to any kind of logical analysis of Hill's teachings.
Most would rather continue to live in a fantasy world than confront reality. And many times they'll go to great measures to silence anybody pointing out the Emperor has no clothes.
(BTW, did you know Hill was completely broke in the final years of his life? W. Clement Stone had to step in and rescue Hill by giving him a figurehead position in Stone's massively successful insurance company.)
For example… the quote above. Do you REALLY believe that's true?
I WANTED to believe it… and for decades I chose to believe it, in spite of tons of credible evidence to the contrary.
For example… my mind can conceive certain appendages on my body being MUCH bigger than they presently are. And because Nap Hill said so, I chose to believe that appendage was growing longer and thicker day by day.
Heck, I even chose to help the process by taking pills and potions that claimed they could make that appendage bigger.
But I didn't stop there.
I also did regular exercises designed to force blood into that appendage to help it grow bigger.
After DECADES of doing this, visualizing a freakin' HUGE appendage and believing it with all my heart… I can simply look down and see that this appendage hasn't grown in years.
Hey… wait a minute!
I was talking about my biceps. What did YOU think I was talking about, you pervert?
Well, even if I WAS talking about what your twisted mind thought, Hill's formula STILL wouldn't work.
Don't believe me?
OK… apply the formula to an amputee. Even if you had 100 billion dollars to throw at this experiment… and you do EVERYTHING possible to get the amputee to conceive and believe he can grow a new limb… it ain't EVER gonna happen.
OK, I admit… that's a pretty extreme example. Instead, let's apply Hill's "think and grow rich" formula to your finances and see how that works out for you.
For the next 12 months don't do ANYTHING different in your job or business. Keep everything "biz as usual" with one exception. Throughout the entire day, every day, I want you to imagine you having the most wealth your greedy little mind can possibly think of. Don't actually DO anything… just think about it and visualize it as vividly as possible.
I'll bet you dollars to donuts at the end of those 12 months your net worth won't have changed very much at all.
Does that mean Napoleon Hill's
"think & grow rich" philosophy is just B.S.?
Not really.
See, your thoughts control your actions.
Didja catch that? I said your thoughts control your ACTIONS… and it is your ACTIONS that can make you wealthy.
In fact, you can have a completely negative defeatist attitude, not believe you're gonna get rich, yet take the right actions consistently and persistently… and…
You can get filthy stinkin' honkin' RICH!
Or… you can believe with all your might… have the undying faith of Peter (the only cat other than J.C. who walked on water) yet take no action… and you're gonna stay poor and miserable.
In fact, Hill even included the "take action" part in many of his books… but for some inexplicable reason, most people ignore that part… including Hill later in his life.
During my 12 years with a badge and gun, pounding a beat in the inner city, nine of those years I also did the part-time entrepreneur thang. (Yes, I MEANT to spell it that way.) And EVERYTHING I tried during that time was a miserable failure, leaving me with a high five-figures debt… and a broken heart.
After nine long years of NOTHING ever working, when I started my first little mail order business I wasn't exactly Mr. Positive Attitude.
In fact, I was quite negative and cynical. (12 years of being a cop contributed GREATLY to that attitude, too.)
But it didn't matter… because no matter how positively or negatively you think about it…
2 + 2 = 4!
And NOTHING will EVER change that.
You see, direct response is a numbers business.
I know some really negative, cynical and nasty people who have made themselves unbelievably wealthy with direct response marketing. (BTW, you DO understand if you have an online business you're a direct response marketer, right? Damn rookies! lol)
I also know some extremely positive thinkers, with more faith than God himself… who have always been, and will always be, completely broke…
'Cuz they sit on their asses
THINKING about growing rich!
Poor bastards.
They bought in lock, stock and barrel to the EASY part of Hill's formula.
But they've left out the most important part…
Taking ACTION!
I've discovered the "knights" who have joined me at the Round Table in my Marketing Camelot are some of the smartest, most positive-thinking and encouraging people I've ever met. Many have pitched in to help further my vision of making The Doberman Dan Letter a true Camelot… where we can share ideas and resources to help each other.
They understand action is the most important part of the success process.
The delusional few who mistakenly believe they only have to read a newsletter and THINK about growing rich to magically achieve their goals do NOT stick around my Marketing Camelot very long.
And I'm quite happy about that.
I don't want them around me or my cherished subscribers.
If they DO slip past the castle gatekeeper, I HOPE I can help them get into action… but honestly, I kinda doubt it.
I've found successful people have a history of being DOERS… at least in SOME aspect of their lives.
And they are the "patches of light" in my life.
They are the reason I get out of bed in the morning and do what I do… because money alone is no longer enough of a motivator for me.
If you've studied Napoleon Hill's stuff and still aren't getting the results you've imagined so fervently for so many years… try adding the most important ingredient…
Consistent and persistent ACTION!
THAT is what will cause you to grow as a person and achieve what you truly want.
All the best,
07 October 2011
Dear Friend,
Most people in our incestuous little world of Internet Marketing are familiar with the much maligned marketing guru, Frank Kern.
For those who are new to our little world… or if you've been living in an underground bunker the last 10 years (probably not a bad idea, BTW, considering the state of things)… allow me to give a brief introduction to…
The Man, The Myth, The Legend…
Frank Kern!
The Frank Kern persona is a laid back, long haired, beer drinking, funny, foul-mouthed California surfer dude who works very little, yet makes millions with his online marketing secrets.
The persona presented is an interesting character. And his lazy "surfer dude" millionaire lifestyle has been reinforced with continuous conditioning via video, audio, seminar presentations and the written word.
It's a great study in how to create a larger than life character, successful direct marketing, info-tainment, how to build a loyal cult-like following… and how to use all that to sell 4-figure products and 5-figure and even 6-figure seminars and coaching.
Kern, like all successful people with a highly visible public profile, may be be the target of a lot of criticism, but make no mistake about it… he is a worthy study for any marketer.
I've been studying Frank and his products for quite some time now.
And very recently I've uncovered a dirty little secret about the REAL Frank Kern… NOT the public persona most people THINK is the real Frank Kern.
Here's the 411:
A while back I heard through the grapevine that Kern had all but abandoned his "Internet Marketing Guru" gig for greener pastures.
MUCH greener pastures.
I'm talking about a business that makes so much money, it added an extra zero on to what he used to make in his Internet Marketing guru business.
Yeah. I'm talking about Donald Trump kinda money.
But WITHOUT any of the pain in the ass stuff all us online marketers HATE to constantly deal with.
Stuff like:
* SEO (It sucks to fight like hell to get a #1 spot only to drop to 247 every time Google makes some kind of guideline changes.)
* Google Adwords and other Pay Per Click advertising… and constantly losing sleep worrying about whether you're the next one to get "slapped", or worse, banned for life because of some minor infraction of their ever-changing rules.
* E-mail delivery… or I should say LACK of delivery. (This is getting worse and worse day by day.)
* Increasing, and in some markets, OVERWHELMING competition. It's driving advertising costs – especially PPC – through the roof… and making it cost prohibitive for newbies and "kitchen table commando" entrepreneurs to start businesses online. (This will only get worse, by the way.)
* The damn near impossibility of rookies being able to break into markets where there is an established "good ole boy" network or "syndicate"…
* And many more frustrating aspects of the constantly changing online media…
But our very smart tree-smoking surfer has found a way to make 10 to 100… and even 1,000 times more money by NOT having to deal with any of the stuff he has taught the guru fan boy crowd the last 10 years. (Actually, I don't really know if Frank smokes weed. But it DOES fit his persona.)
See, Frank figured out that the IM fishing pond is now so overcrowded with competing fisherman (many of which he helped create)… that the best way to fill his boat with tons of fish is to find a pond where nobody else is fishing.
And that's exactly what Frank has done.
This is a huge opportunity and you're probably completely oblivious to it.
But smart guys like Frank have NOT missed it…
And They're Quietly Making
TENS Of MILLIONS Of Dollars
Completely "Under The Radar!"
I'm so intrigued with Frank Kern's new multi-million dollar business model, I recently did an extensive expose on it with my friend and fellow marketing junkie, Markus Allen.
Click here to discover what Frank Kern considers to be "the next big thing" for making millions.
All the best,
