Over the last year, I’ve thought a lot about passion in terms of the work we do.

This really came into focus being a guest on Bill Gluth’s Power of Passion in Business interview series.

Sometimes we suddenly realize we’re doing something we’re no longer passionate about. Other times, we may see our passion diminished as the day-to-day grind wears us down.

I’m guessing your passion is the actual product or service you offer. If you’re an ethical business person, you believe beyond any doubt that your product or service can really help people.

Your passion probably isn’t for the little details of running your business… paying the bills, finding suppliers, shipping products, or dealing with your marketing material.

It’s all important stuff. But the real fun is helping people get the results they want with your product or service. It’s that connection between you and your customer or client.

If you’re a public speaker, for example, your passion shines brightest when you’re speaking… not when you’re scheduling speeches, managing your invoices, or waiting at the airport to get to your next speaking gig.

Again, it’s all important stuff. But you probably didn’t become a public speaker because you enjoy airport security lines or making cold calls to line up your next presentation.

You love sharing what you know to help people. So you tolerate the rest and manage it as best you can because it allows you to do what you’re actually passionate about.

As I mentioned, you are probably not passionate about your marketing material. You know it’s important and you want it to be great. But it’s not something you get really excited about when you wake up each morning.

However, your marketing material is my passion. Why? That’s a good question and one I’ve thought a lot about.

I truly believe content helps businesses make a deeper connection with their prospects and customers.

I believe it so much that, not only did I write a book with that concept in the title (Increase Sales & Build Deeper Connections), I’m traveling all the way to Australia this year to talk to a group about leveraging their content to reach far more people than they’re reaching now.

While I’m primarily a designer, I love to write and create my own content to not only generate business for myself, but also to help people in whatever way I can.

You can see that from the book, this blog, the Magalog Guy Podcast, my magalog webinar, and guest articles I do for other sites and publications.

I know the value that unique content has in helping a business stand out from the pack, and showing prospects and customers that you have the answer to their needs.

As a designer, this love for content has translated into a focus on projects that put the spotlight on content… magalogs, books, sales letters, and training material.

What those projects have in common, even when the intent is to sell a product or service, is content that educates and helps people achieve certain goals or solve specific problems.

My goal for those projects isn’t to show off what I can do as a designer. It’s to put content into the best possible light so it’s easy for people to get your message.

Those types of projects also allow you the space to really go into your passion about what you do and what you believe.

My desire is to work with people who are passionate about what they do. These are the folks who believe so strongly in what they’re offering that they can’t help but tell other people about it.

Being around and working with these people makes my work even more fun.

Do you have that passion for what you do?

If so, let’s find out how we can work together to ensure that your target market catches your passion through your marketing material. Let’s make sure you’re leveraging your content so that it resonates with the people you want to reach. We want to use that content to build credibility and trust in what you’re offering.

In a similar way, I want to build credibility and trust with you. That’s why I offer a free call to talk about your needs in the area of content and marketing. It’s why I offer a number of free resources so you can get to know me better.

Most of my clients have been with me for a number of years. That’s because they trust me to be looking out for them and sharing their passion for what they do. If that’s the type of person you want on your team, contact me this week to setup a time to talk by phone.

If we both find there’s not a good fit, no harm done. I still think you’ll get some good ideas that you can apply to your business.

If there is a good fit, I’ll look forward to combining the passion for what I do with the passion you have to reach your goals with your product or service.

One of those newsletters is The Success Margin by Ted Nicholas.

Some time ago on another blog I run, I asked Ted’s permission to reprint an article dealing with order forms. It’s such great information for businesses to be aware of, I now want to bring Ted’s ideas to readers of this blog.

So let me hand things over to Ted…

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The primary goal of any offer online or offline is, of course, to get an order.

Therefore, the order form should be the very strongest element of any customer offer.

That’s why it’s always seemed so amazing to me that the worst examples of direct marketing are, in my opinion, order forms.

Order forms generally are dull, boring, ugly and unpersuasive.

Today I’m actually going to show you, dear reader, an alternative–how to make yours exciting, beautiful and compelling. And even better still–far more responsive!

** First Step **

Prepare order form first!

Sequence of when you prepare the different elements of your offer, especially the order form, is very important. Reasons?

1. Keeps offer fresh and exciting. You have not yet run out of emotional gas. If you prepare the sales letter first, as do most, you may have little passion and enthusiasm for the all-important order form afterwards. You can’t hide your feelings. They will show.

2. Clarity. You will be almost forced into a rare but oh so desirable result for marketers. Instead of confusing the customer, present a clear offer.

Tip: As you create, what I recommend and use myself is this frame of mind. Assume your prospect will read your order form first and not read the sales letter at all. Therefore, your order form must be capable of doing the complete sales job by itself.

3. Never use the words “order” or “form” as does nearly everyone else. These words are negative and reduce orders. “Order” suggests spending money, which absolutely no one wants to do.
“Form” is something no one wants to fill out.
Do you?

Tip: Always use a positive headline for the order form. A few successful ones I use are:

– Free Trial Request
– Free Examination Certificate
– Savings Certificate
– Membership Application
– Privilege Invitation
– Send No Money–Offer Expires in 7 Days
– Free Audition Certificate
– Free Preview Issue
– Official Entry and Enrollment Certificate
– Request for Free Information

Tip: Start off the copy with the word “Yes”!
It’s the most underused but powerful word in all languages.

4. Restate the main benefit of the product. Often it’s effective to include two to three benefits of the product. Always restate the benefits, not in your voice, but in the voice of the person responding.

Tip: Include a statement of acceptance of the offer, including the guarantee, in the voice of the buyer.

5. Restate the features of the product. A full description including the colors, dimensions, weight and material used in making the product are important in helping build credibility.

6. Include a professional photo of the product, ideally in full color.

7. Include a photo of a person–perhaps yourself, the inventor or celebrity–that, of course, fits the offer. This individual should have a warm smile, wear appropriate business attire and be making eye contact with the reader.

8. Dramatize any gifts or free bonuses you may include within the offer. Photos, strong titles and descriptions really improve response.

9. Restate a powerful money-back guarantee.
The longer and more prominent, the better. For example, 30 days will pull better than 10 days; 60 days pull better than 30; 90 better than 60; 180 days better than 90. One year pulls better than 180 days. A lifetime guarantee is the most powerful of any time period. Always include the signature and title of the most senior person at the company at the end of the guarantee.

10. Make it stand out, not blend in! Use a different paper and ink colors for the order form than the rest of the mailing or e-mail offer.

11. Use a fancy border resembling a stock certificate, which adds the feeling of perceived value of the offer.

12. Print on one side only for an offline offer. Leave the back blank. All my tests show the response is higher.

13. For offline offers, add the words “Please Print”.

14. Add a second order form offline. I’ve never seen an instance wherein sales didn’t increase by at least 10% to 20% due to pass-along readership.

Tip: No matter how high a response you get online, your offline response percentage is usually about 400% more. Clearly, many people respond at a higher rate because they retain offers received in the mail for a longer period.

15. Multiple order options. Since buyers of course vary in their favorite order methods, include toll free phone, fax, e-mail and mail.

Tip: Don’t forget to include all your company’s contact information. You’d be surprised how often even the largest marketers make this basic error.

16. Test a variety of font color options for headlines and subheadlines (red, blue, purple, etc.), but keep the main body of the copy in black. Black on white is easier to read than any other combination except black on yellow.

17. Include a deadline. Build a sense of urgency to build response. Print a specific date when the offer and price expire. Or print the words “Please respond within 10 days.”

Be diligent in preparing your order form using these little-known secrets.

Instead of “ugly duckling” order forms, the result will be a beautiful response mechanism with a far higher response level.

As always, here is to your increased success margin.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

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There’s really not much more to be said. As a designer, I know it’s vital that the order form is designed properly. And my copywriting colleagues know how important it is to get things right as well.

Ted’s newsletter is free and worth subscribing to. You can sign-up at The Success Margin.

If you need a professional to lay out your order form, contact me today so we can get you something that won’t be a hindrance to making sales.

If you already have one, but want a second opinion, I also offer design consulting. This can be an inexpensive life-saver to avoid problem areas you might have missed.