Sean D'Souza Archive — 2019 · archive.leaniverse.co

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December 2019

Why “Elegance” Not “Information” Creates An Addictive Business Model

📅 December 31, 2019 | View in Gmail

What is elegance and why is it important in any business?

  Psychotactics

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Why “Elegance” Not “Information” Creates An

Addictive Business Model

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  (From the archives: One of the most read articles. This email contains the complete article. However you can also read or listen to it at these links:Read online

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I’m fascinated with 2-Minute Noodles.

When I was growing up, Nestle, the Swiss food giant, introduced Maggi 2-Minute Noodles in India. And being India, they started with just a few flavours, but my favourite was “masala”. I’d get home almost every evening, salivating at the thought of ripping open a Maggi noodle packet, tipping it into hot water and enjoying a tasty meal shortly after.

When you hear this story, the concept of elegance doesn’t come to mind, does it?

And yet, the entire concept of Maggi’s 2-Minute Noodles is incredibly elegant. Don’t believe me—try it for yourself. Give it to a ten-year-old and ask them to go through the process of getting themselves a meal. Even the most reluctant kid instantly works out how to get a plate filled with noodles, without needing a recipe or even any outside help.

So what is elegance and why is it important in any business?

To get to elegance we need three steps, namely:

• Step 1: Information • Step 2: Results • Step 3: Elegance

Let’s take the example of learning online and work our way through the stages, starting with information.

Information is what everyone gives you. The contents of a book are “information”. A webinar presentation is an information package. The detail in a course—that’s “packaged information” as well.

The sad part of today’s world is that a lot of content creators don’t end up giving you a precise result. You don’t get a system created for you. Instead, you have to bring out a massive sheet of butcher paper and work out how to get things done systematically. If and when you figure out a system, you get to the second stage, namely, results.

There are exceptions, of course

Some books, courses, or consulting sessions that walk you through specific points. And instead of being stuck on the information island, you get to the second stage; you get a result. But if the result goes even further, we get the third stage, elegance.

Elegance is like a Maggi Noodle packet. It’s fun getting the result.

To understand elegance let’s take a real-life situation

You’re in a city. You know you could flag a cab while standing on the street. That’s just the first stage: That’s information, but you don’t get a guaranteed result. If it’s raining, will you get a cab?

It’s hard to tell. However, when you have a phone number to call, the cab company informs you a cab will be with you in the next 20-30 minutes. That’s the second stage: a guaranteed result.

But what’s elegance?

The Uber app is elegance. If you’ve used Uber to get to a destination, you know exactly how cool it feels to call a cab.

The app tells you where the cab is located, how long it will take to get to you, messages you when the cab is right outside your door, gives you a map of your trip, gives you a price (both in advance and on arrival), and it requires no cash or even the need to talk to the driver about the destination. Now that—that is elegance.

But what does all of these stages have to do with your business?

Most of our businesses fall into three core categories:

•    Consulting where you meet the client one on one

•    Training in the form of webinars, seminars, courses.

•    Leverage in the form of books, info-products, courses, etc.

In every one of these situations, we tend to focus largely on information

Look at a blog, for example. What is a blog post? In many cases, it’s not designed to give you a result. Instead, it gives you information. However, let’s assume you’re a different type of writer. You’re not the kind to be happy with just doling out information, but you want to get to a result.

At this point, you’re squarely getting results. Finally, there’s the factor of elegance. How on earth do you want to elegance? You add the cool factor by making the process fun and easy.

We’ll take a few examples from the Psychotactics site

Take the headline report when you first get to the home page. Is that information, result or elegance? You may not know it, but at one point that report wasn’t a report at all. It was just an article. And not just an article, but an article posted in tiny 8 or 10 point size on the earliest version of our website.

It clearly stated that you could learn how to write three types of headlines in under 10 minutes. We had no elegance, with that tiny font and poor formatting, but two stages were met: it was both informational, and it got a result.

The final stage was elegance

We took the same content and put it into a PDF. The formatting improved, cartoons were inserted, and so were captions. The transformation was akin to eating out of a pot and being served a plated meal at a gourmet restaurant. To get that cool factor in place, you have to admit that information is just the starting point and that a specific result must follow.

Finally, the look is important, but so is the ease. The report could be clunky or vast, stretching over 40 pages. Instead, in under ten pages or so, it’s done, and you’re scot-free and happy to have acquired a tiny skill. Elegance is a combination of both ease and fun—that’s what makes it cool.

Let’s take a second application like the Psychotactics “Three Month Vacation” podcast

Podcasts can be just information, right? But the “Three Month Vacation” podcast goes slightly beyond. When you listen to it, you’re given one thing to work on. A small thing that you can complete, and that’s stage two, a result.

But where’s the elegance? That’s in the structure. You know the format and how it splits itself into three sections; how there are stories that are both entertaining and intrinsically linked to the marketing information; how there’s music and sound effects that match the voiceover and how even the announcements at the end (which is really a sales pitch) is so easy going, that you’re keen to listen to the very end.

You don’t switch off the podcast when the marketing information is done but are happy to listen to the very end.

However, elegance comes at a price

That price is your ego. Take software like Procreate, for example. I use Procreate on the iPad Pro to draw most of my cartoons. The program was already amazing before the new update. Thousands of users of the app swear by the elegance of this nifty software. But Australian, and co-founder of the app, James Cuda spent an endless number of hours with Lloyd Bottomley, a self-taught coder and fellow Tasmanian.

Allana, Cuda’s wife, joined as CFO and they toiled over it for 18 months and worked through over a hundred design reviews and three bottom-to-top rebuilds of the program. Ego takes a beating when you realise that 99 of your design reviews are still going to need a fix.

Elegance is the result of asking the client over and over again: how would you fix this?

Every programmer knows that her wonderful code is only wonderful for so long before someone gives feedback and the program needs to be made simpler, easier, more intuitive and yes, possibly fun.

But that’s not the only price to pay

The second price is time. No matter how noble your motives, you can’t get to elegance overnight. Even the tiniest booklet like the Headline Report—just ten pages of content—that took several iterations as it went through the phases. The Article Writing Course has been a work in progress for well over ten years.

We’ve received over 250,000 words of feedback (that’s because every client is required to give a thousand words of “what can be fixed”. They make suggestions both during the course and give detailed feedback as part of an assignment after the course). The course in 2016 was already one of our bestselling courses, and we rewrote it from the ground up, changing the system completely.

Clients suggested many changes, including a brand new forum. I don’t know about you, but getting a new forum in place, and transferring all the information to that forum, that’s work in itself.

As you can see, it all takes time, and you can’t exactly rush it.

Programmers understand this concept of not rushing things

If the software works well and gets results, programmers know there’s no fire. They’ve completed their stages of information and result. But then in comes the feedback and they get to work on creating a new version. Version 1.0, Version 1.1, Version 1.2 and so on. First, tiny increments, then off to Version 2.0 and so forth.

With every iteration, there’s a need to create better efficiency without overwhelming the client. If anything, elegance relies on simplicity and fun.

Where does this leave you and your business?

There’s a good chance that you’re creating a course, writing a blog post, or creating a consulting program.

Is it just information at this stage? Or does the client get a result? What is that result? Can you define that result? Can you state the result?

It needn’t be super-complicated. With the headline report, we weren’t promising clients would be headline superheroes.

However, within 10 minutes they could see which headlines worked and why they worked. And they, in turn, could replicate those headlines for their blog or newsletter.

Often the result can be pretty modest and doesn’t need to be over the top.

That’s where you need to start: What can you guarantee the client?

Fill in this blank: When the client finishes with this product/training/consulting he/she will be able to do …

If you were a Maggi Noodle packet, you’d say: Two minutes. In two minutes, you’ll be eating a tasty meal.

Two Announcements

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Free Goodies

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Announcing: The Psychology And Strategy Of Starting Up

📅 December 28, 2019 | View in Gmail

Where do I start? That’s the question when it comes to setting up a business.

Announcing: The Psychology And Strategy Of

Starting Up

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Where do I start?

That’s the question that seems to be louder than any other question when it comes to setting up a business. And while it’s a valid point, it’s not just the mechanics of starting up that matter—but also the psychology.

From Feb-May 2020, we’re rolling out a six-part series on the psychology and strategy of starting up.

And in true, “start up” fashion, we’re asking if you’ll trust us to deliver the goods without having to read a sales page.

Yes, it’s a “trust the chef” situation and if you trust us and sign up based solely on the points below, then you’ll get the early bird price, but also a money-back guarantee if you find it wasn’t beneficial. All of these will be live webinars with lots of opportunities to ask questions. And all of them will be not just recorded, but re-recorded to give you flawless video/audio.

What you need to do next:

Click here to find out all the details and register at the early bird price.

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Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. The price goes up on 29 December 2019.

Have a look and judge for yourself —The Psychology and Strategy of Starting Up

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Why you Should Ignore your Competition

📅 December 24, 2019 | View in Gmail

Most of us are obsessed with our competition. That is the point where things go wrong.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

Why you Should Ignore your Competition

https://www.psychotactics.com/ignore-your-competition/

  (From the archives: One of the most read articles. This email contains the complete article. However you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/4B2XfG7MruHcImts5uivGy |).

There is a story about an author who wrote a book.

The book was incredibly cheap, and as a result, he was able to sell several thousands of them. The competition looked at the increasing volume of sales and decided they could do the same. However, to their frustration they found themselves losing money.

The reason why they had such significant losses, was because the book production cost more than the price that it was being sold for. And in this little tale is the story of competition.

Most of us are reasonably obsessed with our competition

We don’t start out that way. When we start out, we are in awe of the people who have already made it. We don’t consider them to be “competition” at all. They seem so far ahead of us that they are more like people we admire. We don’t feel we need to compete against them.

However, in time we make more significant progress, and we see that we are on par with them in several respects. That’s when we decide that they are officially competition. It also makes perfect sense to watch what the competition is doing, so that we are not left behind.

Which is precisely the point where things can start to go wrong

Let’s say you’re a competitor of Psychotactics. And you notice that we are selling home study versions of the Article Writing Course, the Sales page course etc. And you decide, “Well, I have the same courses, and let me create some home study sales for myself as well”.

All good so far, and let’s assume you sell a few home study versions, but your sales are crappy. You’re possibly selling 2-3 copies a month, and that’s it. You are convinced something is wrong with your system and you keep trying to copy what we’re doing.

You spend hours trying to tweak your website, trying to track down where we’re posting and copying what we’re doing. You probably did your due diligence in every area, except one.

You possibly forgot to ask: What is our goal?

Simply trying to monitor the competition is fine for inspiration, but if you don’t know why the competition is doing what they’re doing, you are simply creating a nasty scenario for yourself.

Remember the author who wrote the book? What was his goal?

His competitors assumed it was the profit margin from the book. In reality, the author was also losing money, but his goal was not to earn from the sales but to build a client list. That client list then bought other products and services from the author, which is how he made his real fortune.

When it came to the home study versions, we too had a strategy

Back in 2016, I decided to write a brand new version of the Article Writing Course. That was Version 2.0, and it was built from the ground up. I didn’t refer to the earlier notes or audio. I took what I knew (based on the knowledge we’d gained in the last ten years) and put it in the course. By the time I’d completed creating the new version, I was exhausted.

So tired, in fact, that I didn’t want to do any courses until 2017

Courses form at least a fourth of our income, and not doing the live courses online meant that we’d have to forego that income. It’s at this point, that my wife, Renuka, came up with a strategy to sell home study courses instead.

Remember, we were already selling home study courses, but they weren’t doing so well.

The primary reason for the not-so-great sales were that we were promoting the live courses and had no bandwidth on the newsletter to also promote the home study versions. However, once I got super-tired in 2016, there was little choice.

It’s at this point, that we also made a radical choice

We decided to sell only 35 copies of the course even though it was digital. It may not make sense to restrict a sale of a digital product, but we wanted to create urgency and scarcity (something you should do too).

In essence, I got taken off the live course schedule for a whole year, and that was our first move.

The second move was to create the waiting lists with the urgency and scarcity

Two quick moves that from an outsider point of view are almost impossible to decipher.

• How are you supposed to know that all these micro decisions were taken along the way? • How would you know if we got results or not, unless I were to reveal the results to you?

But if you’re a competitor, how can you know all of this detail?

It’s impossible to know, and so you copy, but it’s a blind copy. You’re spending so much time and energy trying to work out what we’re doing when in reality you should be working on your own product or services.

If you really want to monitor the competition, you have a full-time job

Sure you can find gaps in their products and services. And yes, you can find out where they’re advertising and who are writing about their offerings. You can also track which podcasts or sites they appear on, thus saving time with your own research. You can also maybe, possibly, work out the threats that are headed your way. However, by and large, all these activities suck up a humungous amount of time.

In reality the best form of defence is attack—or co-operation.

When you think about it, every restaurant is almost automatically a competitor for another restaurant, even if it doesn’t serve the same food. However, at least at the top level, restaurants will vie for awards, rather than go around poking into the kitchens of other restaurants.

To get that Michelin star, they have to up their own game. There’s often not much time, let alone any point in trying to worry about other restaurants when you have your hands already full. Which is why your efforts are much better used trying to create your own uniqueness, than worrying about what others are doing in your own space.

And if you can’t beat them, you join them

Almost all of our business over the years hasn’t been as a result of an attack, but instead from cooperation. All the websites that we’ve guest-blogged on, all the podcasts we’ve appeared on, and every event that we’ve spoken at—they’re all that you’d traditionally called “competition”.

We don’t see them as competition and instead we’ve worked with them very successfully.

Does this mean you never have to look at the competition?

In reality, you never do. You just have to focus on your clients, instead. Clients have a problem they want you to solve. If you can solve that problem extremely well, there’s more than a chance that clients will choose you.

All the information you have about the competition isn’t going to change the fact that clients will make their own decision based on the information in front of them. Plus the client sees the world differently than we do as business owners.

For example, if you were to run a restaurant, you’d be likely see other restaurants as competition.

Clients don’t see the world the same way as we do. They see the marketplace as a choice. A place where they can pick and choose what they like. In terms of the restaurant analogy, they will eat Japanese food today, Indian food tomorrow and gorge on fish and chips on Friday.

And it’s the same sort of decision making they do when dealing with us at Psychotactics.

They will buy a marketing product from us and buy it from some other marketing company next month. Even if you and I have worked at becoming a unique product or service, in the client’s eyes, you’re mostly just a commodity.

If they don’t buy it from you, they just go elsewhere. They may find the competition to be inferior and hence come back, which is what most of our clients do. And that’s one of the reasons why we encourage them to go to the competition, instead.

And yes, I get it. It does take a lot of guts to send your clients to competition but think about it for a second.

Aren’t they doing it anyway?

For instance, Renuka and I drink coffee at five different cafes. Is it because the coffee isn’t good at Cafe No.1 or Cafe No.2? Clients are going to buy from the competition anyway, with or without our help.

The more time you spend trying to figure out what the competition is doing, the more likely you are to stay a commodity.

In my opinion, trying to pay close attention to the competition is a waste of time

Too much changes too quickly and by the time you figure out what the competition is doing, they’re well down the track.

By the time those wannabe authors figured out the profit-making backend strategy, they’d already lost too much time and money. No one is saying you should stick your head into the ground and not pay attention to what’s going on around you.

However, other than the cursory knowledge of what’s happening in the market, it’s really a complete waste of energy and time to bother with the competition.

Or as the popular comic, Mad Magazine used to write in their slogan: No.1 in a field of one.

That’s something worth aspiring for.

Announcing: The Psychology and Strategy of Starting Up

📅 December 21, 2019 | View in Gmail

Where do I start? That’s the question when it comes to setting up a business.

Announcing: The Psychology and Strategy of

Starting Up

  Image

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JccFuyj3DNEtt1&b=mJndGnpkyFmyuZXc81fx3Q

Where do I start?

From Feb-May 2020, we’re rolling out a six-part series on the psychology and strategy of starting up.

And in true, “start up” fashion, we’re asking if you’ll trust us to deliver the goods without having to read a sales page.

What you need to do next:

Click here to find out all the details and register at the early bird price.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JccFuyj3DNEtt1&b=mJndGnpkyFmyuZXc81fx3Q

  Image

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JccFuyj3DNEtt1&b=mJndGnpkyFmyuZXc81fx3Q

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. The price goes up on 29 December 2019.

Have a look and judge for yourself —The Psychology and Strategy of Starting Up

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JccFuyj3DNEtt1&b=mJndGnpkyFmyuZXc81fx3Q

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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The Concept of No Time (And Why You Can’t Outsource Magic)

📅 December 17, 2019 | View in Gmail

If you have no time all the time, you’re doing something wrong.

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=J5OLT_SVDNEtt1&b=hJvOCv7jnVDr.OuIo.640A

  The Concept of No Time

(And Why You Can’t Outsource Magic)

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=J5OLT_SVDNEtt1&b=8BdeIF50Nrww1Tuzddqrsw

(This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read

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----------

Here are two nuggets that you can ponder over and see how they apply to you—and how you can use them in your life and business.

----------

Nugget 1: The Concept Of No Time

When I hear this phrase, I smile.

If you have no time all the time, you’re doing something wrong.

It’s about efficiency.

If you do something in 2 hours and it should take 30 minutes, then you have no time. There’s a factor of efficiency. Too many of us are too slow, and much too lazy to keep at it.

So we buy a fancy camera and don’t bother to learn it: we have no time.

We have software on our computers that can speed up things by 500%, but we use what we know: we have no time.

We take the longest route to anything, because we have no time, and end up spending even more time.

Find a busy person. They always have time.

Find a person who doesn’t use efficiency like they should and they are always struggling for time.

Nugget 2: Why You Can’t Outsource Magic

I don’t mow the lawns. I outsource it.

I don’t do my accounts. It’s what keeps my accountant in business.

I bake my own bread, cook my own food, but at least half of the time it’s all outsourced.

In fact, when I think about it, a good chunk of my life is outsourced.

I don’t build my own computers, code my own programs, generate my own electricity. I didn’t even bother to weave my own carpet.

So yes, you could safely say that outsourcing is a good part of my life.

What I don’t outsource is magic. It’s magical to write my own articles.

Do my own books. Draw my own cartoons. Answer my own email.

When I think about those who keep yearning for a “four-hour” work week, I find it incredibly weird and unsettling.

I think of Leonardo da Vinci spending only four hours a week, painting. I think of Michelangelo goofing off on David and just putting in the least amount of time.

I think of the wine I drink and how it would taste if the wine maker decided not to put in 50-60 hours a week. I remember the movies that moved me, the food that tantalised my taste buds, the books that have elevated my senses.

I think of all the magic the world has seen, felt and experienced over the years and a “four hour” workweek makes zero-sense to me.

You can create money in four hours

You can’t create magic.

Money isn’t magic. It may seem that way, when you’re slogging in a job that you have no control over. A life that seems to pull and push you in all directions. At that point, money and magic may seem like one and the same thing. And yet it’s not.

Work is magic

Work well done, is something we all yearn for.

And try as you may, you can’t outsource the important stuff in life. So when some internet marketer comes along and tells you that a four-hour work week is magical, they’re just equating work with money.

That somehow you could work for four hours in a week, and make all the money and you’d be happy.

I can assure you that you’d be happy for a while, but then you’d seek magic. And magic yup, that takes a lot more time and effort.

I wake up at 4 am every day and have done so for many years

I don’t have to wake up. We’ve done well over the years. We have a business which attracts really phenomenal customers. Some of them have been with us for over 12 years (considering we’re Internet-based, that’s like a hundred years).

Our workshops are always full. Our courses often sell out in an hour or so sometimes 20 minutes. We’ve banked enough, own enough, travel three months in a year.

Truly speaking, if we were to stop working now, right at this very moment, we could go for at least another 20-30 years, living our comfortable lifestyle.

So why wake up at 4 am?

Why put in 99 cartoons in a book when people are happy to just buy text?

Why bother to re-write, re-engineer our courses by 20-30% every year?

It’s all extra work, isn’t it? More hours in a day, month and year that seems to slip by increasingly faster.

The answer lies in magic

You can outsource some stuff, and you should. But to create the Mona Lisa, David and some fine wine yup, that’s going to take a chunky 50-60 hours a week.

Get used to it!

Why Writing Headlines Can Be An Excellent Brainstorming Exercise For Real Articles

📅 December 14, 2019 | View in Gmail

Why Writing Headlines Can Be An Excellent Brainstorming Exercise For Real Articles

  Fun cartoon here

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=5omqwPYfq_jFoKgUx8VfFQ

Back in 2003, I was in real trouble when it came to writing articles.

I’d just started the 5000bc membership site, but it contained absolutely no content at all, which was fine, at first, because the reason why many early members joined was to have a place to meet and have a conversation online.

However, even in those very early days of the internet, it was clear that conversation alone was not enough. What made matters worse is that I was extremely slow at writing articles. Every article would take me at least two days—if I were lucky.

The writing was only part of my problem

The second, more significant problem, it seemed, was getting topics to write about. In marketing, you can write about sales, websites, headlines, pricing, conversion—that list seems to go on and on.

You’d think having such a broad scope of topics would make things easier, but instead, it drove me crazy. I had to find a way to solve two problems all at once. I had to not only become a faster writer, but I needed a constant, and very predictable stream of topics to populate the early version of 5000bc.

I decided to go deep instead of wide—and headlines came to my rescue.

How do you do that?

Find out how writing headlines can help you get unstuck quickly.

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=5omqwPYfq_jFoKgUx8VfFQ | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=4_ka.IgcIO4iZ57Zn.KjdQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=l9yuW.sfWvgp4Df_I42zsQ | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=J7a9_fznvvr5NrOnXcw6MQ |

Two podcasts on info-products

(yes there are transcripts too)

How To Create Intensely Catchy Book Names (Without Too Much Of A Struggle) Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=__Oy8OUjS35Ugdj6zFzxIQ | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=L3gR81yXZ_yVS8pliUHmFQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=PT7nn32ICIf6DdaGcl5Lww | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=WH8zkWb9gVCuet2S74nouQ |

The Cannibalisation Strategy: Why You Need to Make Your Products (And Services) Redundant

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=GnD4xYl11FblAwnbXV9Xkw | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=xCySByoTaL.08xNDLv.MoQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=OXK5c5WRr_uy_OBjjVJ9EA | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=ysaH1KD.ooZFHqz4hoCRww |

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=F20umkXgfAP8nX.fKcg2Lw

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. May I ask a tiny favour? Would you mind sharing this podcast with one person? I would love it.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JHnQUG5_8NEtt1&b=F20umkXgfAP8nX.fKcg2Lw

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Last Day For Special Offer—Dartboard Pricing + Special Bonus (worth $49)

📅 December 10, 2019 | View in Gmail

When you buy Dartboard Pricing-How To Increase Prices Without Losing Customers from 7- 10 December 2019, you’ll also get—‘5-Steps To Starting Up A New Project Successfully’ (worth $49) absolutely free with the premium option. Dartboard? As in darts and a dartboard? Yes, exactly! If you go to a bookstore and buy a dozen books on pricing, you will find pricing is some incredibly sophisticated system. You’ll run into fancy and complicated pricing models that rapidly put you to sleep. So is pricing simple? Sure it is. You don’t need a book to figure out pricing. A simple dart board and some prices on the board would solve your problem in a matter of minutes. The price itself is of little consequence What matters is all the stuff around the price. And in this three-part pricing series, you’ll understand: The Psychology of Pricing (What Causes Us To Buy) The Method of Raising Prices (And The Mistakes To Avoid) Creating and Managing Price Expectations No boring pricing models No ugh complication. Just a simple, step-by-step system that walks you through exactly what you have to do. And the Special Bonus: 5-Steps To Starting Up A New Project Successfully (with the premium option) In this 24 page booklet you will learn Five steps that are required to start up any new project successfully. Why you shouldn’t get scared of your competition. Why brand analysis comes before everything else. Why personality is critical in your business. What is the most important thing when starting up a project? Judge for yourself at: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/ (This special offer ends 10 December 2019—US Eastern at 12 midnight) Regards Sean P.S. This is what Colette Nichol has to say about Dartboard Pricing: “The feature I most enjoyed about Dartboard Pricing was the table that shows you exactly how to price things so that they sell. It’s kind of genius.” “I have a very high success rate when it comes to sales but I’m interested in increasing my prices over the next two years, rather substantially. I purchased Dartboard Pricing as I was certain that it would provide useful info about how to actually go about doing that without experiencing excessive customer friction. Dartboard Pricing confirmed some practices that I was already using – showing me why it was working and how to make it work even better. It also gave me an easy to use framework for selling any course or product that I create. I feel confident now that when I create my first online course I will be able to price it in a way that communicates the value of what my clients will be receiving. Most small biz owners I know have all sorts of issues with pricing – this should take away some of those issues if not all of them. There’s basically no good reason not to buy Dartboard Pricing. It’s hands down the best $50 I’ve spent this year.” Colette Nichol Vancouver, Canada Judge for yourself at: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/ (This special offer ends today—US Eastern at 12 midnight)

Announcing: Dartboard Pricing-How to Increase Prices without Losing Customers + Special Bonus Valued at $49

📅 December 07, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Dartboard?

As in darts and a dartboard?

Yes, exactly!

If you go to a bookstore and buy a dozen books on pricing, you will find pricing is some incredibly sophisticated system. You’ll run into fancy and complicated pricing models that rapidly put you to sleep.

So is pricing simple?

Sure it is. You don’t need a book to figure out pricing.

A simple dart board and some prices on the board would solve your problem in a matter of minutes.

The price itself is of little consequence

What matters is all the stuff around the price.

And in this three-part pricing series, you’ll understand

•    The Psychology of Pricing (What Causes Us To Buy)

•    The Method of Raising Prices (And The Mistakes To Avoid)

•    Creating and Managing Price Expectations

No boring pricing models

No ugh complication.

Just a simple, step-by-step system that walks you through exactly what you have to do.

And the Special Bonus: 5-Steps To Starting Up A New Project Successfully

This booklet is tiny—only 24 pages. However, it very systematically takes you through the five steps that are required to start up any new project successfully.

•    Why you shouldn't get scared of your competition.

•    Why brand analysis comes before everything else.

•    Why personality is critical in your business.

•    What is the most important thing when starting up a project?

Here’s the page. Judge for yourself.

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Regards

Sean

P.S. This series does gives you the overview of how to go about pricing, and then gets to the brass tacks.

You can literally copy the model (and you should) and have it up on your website, in your presentation or brochures.

Have a look and make a decision based on what you read.

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

(This special offer is only valid until 10 December 2019—Eastern US midnight)

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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“Pit Stop” Testimonials: How to Ensure Testimonials (Even When Your Product Or Service Isn’t Quite Ready)

📅 December 03, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you get testimonials if your product is new?

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Iqv_RnWHiNEtt1&b=y5VHfpM1pTXS5WELhmXzKA

  How to Ensure Testimonials (Even When Your Product Or Service Isn't Quite Ready)

  Fun Cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Iqv_RnWHiNEtt1&b=BJ.Uns1EtSJWRl5j1cDaMw

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read it at this link:Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Iqv_RnWHiNEtt1&b=BJ.Uns1EtSJWRl5j1cDaMw )

When it comes to testimonials for our product or service, we assume clients have to get to the end. Or do they? The reality is that it’s a mistake to wait until the end because anyway clients aren’t giving you a review of the entire product or service, but only a small section.

But what structure and system do you follow to get a testimonial—or even to get the client to respond to your request? Let’s find out in this article on pit stop testimonials.

Early in 2016, we launched a three-day Sales Page course workshop in beautiful Queenstown, New Zealand. And six clients made their way from the US, UK and Australia to be on that course.

How can you get a client to give you a testimonial for the course on the first or second day?

You almost know the answer, don’t you?

Instead of the client talking about the entire course, they can talk about a section, instead. Maybe they were surprised to find out that the sales page needs to be written from the bottom up and not top down.

Perhaps they learned how to create a uniqueness from the features and benefits. Or let’s say they understood how they could create bonuses from the bullets. All these three aha moments come through on the first day of the course.

Does the client have to wait until day three to give a testimonial?

In our case, the clients had flown in all the way to New Zealand and weren’t exactly leaving in a hurry, but it’s still exhausting to collect testimonials on the last day when your brain is like a fried potato.

If anything, we tend to get clients to give testimonials right through the course itself. Some give their testimonials early on the next morning, some in the lunch break and at other times of the day.

You see what’s happening?

The product, course or service is brand new. No one has finished it yet, but why do they have to get to the end? No single testimonial can cover every single aspect of the course anyway. A client is always going to give you just one or two points that were of value to them.

Why not ask which part was of value to them?

When you do, people will be happy to volunteer. Or you could change the question. You could say, what did you find in Section A that was useful to you? Or what did you find in Section B? Or Section C. This line of questioning causes the client to review what was important and, if requested, they would be more than happy to give a testimonial.

Your product or service may be unfinished

Or it might be that clients haven’t quite reached the end of your book or course. It doesn’t matter, because you can still get testimonials if you structure things well. However, there still might be a problem getting a testimonial, if you don’t set things up.

Let’s say you’re quite desperate for a few testimonials

You don’t have people in a room like in a live workshop, so you are dependent on them getting back. Nonetheless, you can improve the odds right from the start. When a client buys your product or service, you can let them know you’re keen for feedback and testimonials.

• Would it be possible to get their feedback early—long before they finish the product? • Would they give their feedback on the first chapter itself?

It might seem premature—almost like a fruit that’s not ripe—but you’ll be surprised at how many people say yes, but provided you don’t use the word “testimonial”. Unless they know you well, they’re likely to want to give a testimonial only after they get to the very end.

But feedback? They can give feedback from the very start. While in this feedback mode, they’ll also want to balance things a bit.

They may tell you what you can improve (which is great for you) but also what impressed or changed things for them. And that’s your moment—ask them whether they can elaborate on that point. They are likely to do so, which in turn gives you your testimonial.

And there you have it.

It’s relatively possible to get a testimonial well in advance. You just have to set up the situation so that the client is ready well in advance. And that’s how you get your testimonial.

November 2019

Why Random Learning Is Superior (And Other Weird Learning Methods)

📅 November 30, 2019 | View in Gmail

The Impostor vs The Beginner Syndrome

(And Why They’re Not The Same)

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JNUU1dyqyNEtt1&b=bKAH3KcFAnQ3cdmXZr207w

Almost all of us feel like impostors from time to time.

And we even have an official sounding name for it. But the impostor syndrome is an unfair burden to carry. What if we’re just beginners? And what do real impostors look like anyway?

load the images to see the cartoon”. It works!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed pellentesque sagittis orci, vitae condimentum sem tempor et. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Suspendisse eleifend pulvinar nulla vel pharetra. Ut ullamcorper nulla quis lorem hendrerit egestas.

load the images to see the cartoon”. It works!

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How To Avoid Hype And Still Get Clients—The Mental Judo Lesson

📅 November 26, 2019 | View in Gmail

How does this hype play out when it comes to marketing and writing sales copy, however?

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=9B8T4tsXMfduAX91NFqesQ

  How To Avoid Hype And Still Get Clients—The Mental Judo Lesson

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=goOZ_j7YAf7BhfutSxcHMA

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=goOZ_j7YAf7BhfutSxcHMA | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=7rdMdGQmXByC1OKd4GlCmA | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=hga5b01qsOwmqY6vJdjRAw | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JwoedXBTiNEtt1&b=G10Ie8QotAwU7GnmzABgbA |).

Hype works exceedingly well, even when the client knows they’re being duped a bit

But what if you can’t stand hype? Does that mean you roll over and play dead?

Here’s how you can avoid hype completely, if you wish to do so.

And if the hype is so great, that it can’t be ignored, you can use the hype like mental judo to turn the tables and to achieve precise results for your clients.

A photograph at the best of times is a white lie

When you compose a photo, there’s stuff to the left that’s not so great. And to the right, that might be a bit trashy. Even so, the photographer ignores the elements to the left and right and only clicks what he or she wants you to see.

In that sense, let’s just agree that we’re all the same in terms of hype. We all subscribe to telling slightly tweaked stories, take photos that make our vacations look better and somehow make our work and our lives seem a touch better than it really is.

How does this hype play out when it comes to marketing and writing sales copy, however?

For this we have to examine four main possibilities and see which one comes on top vs. which one we’d choose to have, even if it’s not as powerful.

• Possibility 1: Lots of hype + results. • Possibility 2: Lots of hype + low or no results • Possibility 3: No hype + results • Possibility 4: No hype + no results

Which two of the four is likely to potentially earn you the most money?

Without a doubt, it’s the first one and the second.

Possibility 1 and 2: When you have hype, whether you get results or not, hype wins out.

Let me tell you a story, here. I have an issue with one of my good friends. The moment you get to his site, you get a big pop up. And when I say big, I mean big. It covers the entire screen in red and invites you to get his report and subscribe to the e-mail list.

But what is the promise?

100,000 readers in 18 months

I’m not kidding.

That’s the promise. It then uses conditional language that no one cares much about. It says: 100k readers in 18 months? Yes, it’s possible. Learn how in my free guide. And then it prompts you to enter your e-mail address and download the file.

You also get the chance to swipe away the pop up, but is it hype? I most certainly think so. Do you think you’d be curious enough to fill in the form anyway? The answer is almost certainly, yes.

Which is why the pop up continues to fill the screen of every new visitor to the site. And the reason why I’d put it in the hype box (friend or no friend) is because not only is it practically impossible to get to that level in 18 months, but in fact the guide is just a sort of guide.

It doesn’t give you precise steps at all. In effect, it’s hype without the results.

There’s also hype with results

Which kind of contradicts itself, because if there are results, and precise results, it isn’t hype, right? But the language is flowery, over the top, promising and as it seems, delivering the result. By and large, this category of hype + results isn’t common.

A person or organisation that tends to get results consistently rarely has to conform to hype. However, the results might be couched in a way that you don’t understand what you’re buying into, and that’s what makes it hype.

Let’s say you join an online course and I talk about 90% completion rates

Does that sound impressive to you? Of course it does because for one you don’t see yourself in the 10%. Most of us automatically slide right into the 90% bracket even if we don’t necessarily have the record of finishing anything.

However, the hype is not overt, it’s covert and you know this because of school. Did you finish school? Sure you did. Was that a result? Yes it was. Did you end up getting a great job or having a great business because of that? Not necessarily, right?

Now the course doesn’t look so great after all, does it? It’s wonderful that an online course has such impressive completion rates, but what’s hiding in the way the language is couched?

You only realise later that finishing something and having a skill are two vastly different things

There may also be the chance that the tasks that allow you to complete the course are so simple that most people could get across without too much trouble. And that’s hype with some results—and because it’s filled with a good dose of sneaky language or behaviour, it’s just hype after all.

Possibility 3 and 4 : Which takes us to the non-hype with results or no results

The no results bit is bound to fail pretty quickly, but the one that gets the results will succeed. The question that arises at the end of such a discussion is always the same. Which one wins? And the answer that we’ll all chime back together is that hype will win.

And it will win every single time. If you were to write a headline and a sales page that promises the world, it’s more than likely that people will buy into whatever you’re selling. You may not get great reviews, or may have a high refund rate, but no one is paying attention to the back door business.

If you trumpet that you’ve earned $30 million as a results of a sales letter, no one is going to ask how much of that went into advertising, how much was paid out to affiliates, and how many returns you had to process. The $30 million is what people are all focused on, and we don’t tend to ask too many other questions.

There are reasons why hype merchants continue to thrive

The first reason is that refunds are not as frequent as you’d believe. A normal business might be considered to have an obnoxious refund rate if it hits 10%. This is because clients often blame themselves for not following through. And refunds are often conditional.

You have to do x. no of tasks and prove you’ve done it correctly to get your money back. This dissuades, even intimidates most clients, and hence the refund rate is abysmally low. But let’s assume the refund rate were to be as high as 10%, the “hypester” is still left with a mountain of cash.

Now the “hypester” has been transformed into becoming an addict

But what of us who don’t like hype and don’t ever want to be addicted? What if we abhor hype and want to run a business that’s largely free from it? Some people like my friend, may not feel there’s another way forward.

They’re tormented by the thought of being a hype merchant, but maybe, just maybe, it’s possible to put that pop up form and then turn a blind eye to the criticism. New visitors to his site can’t help their curiosity and sign up, even when they know such a dramatic turnaround in subscriber is improbable, and let’s just say it, impossible.

Where does this leave us when it comes to this discussion?

Hype is far more successful than non-hype.

If I were hyping this point, I’d say it was 1000% more powerful than non hype. But let’s just say it’s a lot better. It works and it’s up to you to decide.

In our business, we have stuck to the results we achieve and we’ve made sure those results are so transparent that anyone can benchmark them time and time again.

It’s hard work without hype

You can still earn quite a lot, but the best reward is you get to sleep better and make true friends with clients. And that to me is a much cooler reward—You have mental peace of mind.

The Impostor vs The Beginner Syndrome (And Why They’re Not The Same)

📅 November 23, 2019 | View in Gmail

The Impostor vs The Beginner Syndrome

(And Why They’re Not The Same)

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=ImfBwMiCyNEtt1&b=fUHEKIQkBWovriHPjcMSTQ

Almost all of us feel like impostors from time to time.

And we even have an official sounding name for it. But the impostor syndrome is an unfair burden to carry. What if we’re just beginners? And what do real impostors look like anyway?

load the images to see the cartoon”. It works!

Announcement: How to Speed Up your Sales with Client Attractors

📅 November 19, 2019 | View in Gmail

We are in an extremely tough market with lots of competition. So what do

  Client Attractors

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors/

You already know that 80% of a sales letter depends on your headline

And therefore it’s not uncommon to see writers spend many hours testing and re-testing their headline.

But what happens once your customer goes past the headline into the rest of the copy?Which are the elements that cause customers to feel an urge to buy your product or service?

The remaining 20% is what causes customers to buy

•    In order to take customers to the next stage, you have to have a rock-solid system to help structure your sales page.

•    You have to know and understand the elements so that customers respond to your offer.

So isn’t it time to find out what the remaining 20% is all about?

And how you can quickly learn and implement that 20% to improve results.

Find out more details at this page and judge for yourself!

https://psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors

Warm regards,

Sean

P.S. The bonus on this product is really worth having. It will really give you an insight into sales pages like never before.

Check out the bonus :)

https://psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors

P.P.S. Here is what Sue Ellliott has to say about Client Attractors

  About Client Attractors

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors/

“We are in an extremely tough market with lots of competition and the information helped us see how our product is different than all the rest.”

I didn’t really read the whole book yet because I was stopped in my tracks with the features and benefits part because that’s what I was interested in most.

We just went online with a new product and frankly was struggling with the whole features versus benefits thing. The information provided was very insightful and in fact helped me see that our product actually works in three ways and not two (among others)!

We are in an extremely tough market with lots of competition and the information helped us see how our product is different than all the rest. The features and benefits we came up with are now going to the basis for other advertising handouts, all because of your book!

While reading and figuring out our features, our enthusiasm just blossomed.

It also brought home the whole “how are we different than the competition” in all of our minds. We knew it on a gut level but when compared to others, we could very clearly see how our product just really stands out.

I would highly recommend Client Attractors because it makes you see what your offerings are in a totally new and helpful way.

If only I had read the book earlier. Was interviewed briefly on a radio show about our product. Had I known, what I know now, the interview would have been able to detail why our product is so different in a way folks could really understand. It could have been the bright spot, in what was really a terrible interview.

Sue Elliott,

Carson City, NV, USA

Judge for yourself: Client Attractors

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors/

Announcing! How to Speed Up your Sales with Client Attractors

📅 November 16, 2019 | View in Gmail

What happens once your customer goes past the headline into the rest of the copy?

  Client Attractors Book

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors/

You already know that 80% of a sales letter depends on your headline

And therefore it’s not uncommon to see writers spend many hours testing and re-testing their headline.

But what happens once your customer goes past the headline into the rest of the copy?

Which are the elements that cause customers to feel an urge to buy your product or service?

The remaining 20% is what causes customers to buy…

•    In order to take customers to the next stage, you have to have a rock-solid system to help structure your sales page.

•    You have to know and understand the elements so that customers respond to your offer.

So isn’t it time to find out what the remaining 20% is all about?

And how you can quickly learn and implement that 20% to improve results.

Find out more details at this page and judge for yourself!

https://psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors

Warm regards,

Sean

P.S. The bonus on this product is really worth having. It will really give you an insight into sales pages like never before.

Check out the bonus :)

https://psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Announcing: How to get Customers to Buy, Long Before they Pay

📅 November 12, 2019 | View in Gmail

There is a cartoon here. :)

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

In the year 2009, we tried selling our copywriting course.

We gave away a ton of goodies, marketed it for weeks, and guess what? Even though we had a pretty large list and a rock-solid reputation, we sold just four seats.

Four seats?

Yup, just four.

And yet when we ran the very same course in 2013, every single seat was taken in under 25 minutes.

Sounds like a fluke?

• Every workshop since 2009 has sold out in record time (often in under a week). • Every course since 2009 has sold out in less than 48 hours. • Products that didn’t move at all for weeks, flew off the shelf (yup, since 2009).

Obviously something happened in 2009, right?

That something is called “Pre-Sell”. It’s the understanding of how to get your customers to buy, long before they pay. And no matter whether you’re selling products, services or training, the concepts still apply.

And we’ve not had to sell our soul to get results

If you look around you’ll see that you’re told to do more joint ventures, do more advertising, spend a bundle on adwords, Facebook marketing etc. The louder you scream, it seems, the better the chances that you’ll get results. And we’ve gone a lot quieter. Most of the above results were achieved with a tiny group.

Makes you wonder, eh?

Well, wonder no more. Because now you can learn what we figured out in the year 2009. You too can learn how to pre-sell a product/service. And you don’t need all that hype or a big audience to get results.

Presenting: Pre-Sell Free Goodie: How To Sell Your Product Time And Time Again

Read the report and see how you can take your products and make them stand out repeatedly using the pre-sell method.

Click here to get the goodie.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

  Sean DSouza Image

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

Warm regards

Sean

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options, visit: https://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TExsbIwstKxszJzMzKxMtEa0LCzsLCysLMw=

Presenting Pre-Sell Goodies: How to get Customers to Buy, Long Before they Pay

📅 November 09, 2019 | View in Gmail

There is a cartoon here. :)

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

In the year 2009, we tried selling our copywriting course.

We gave away a ton of goodies, marketed it for weeks, and guess what? Even though we had a pretty large list and a rock-solid reputation, we sold just four seats.

Four seats?

Yup, just four.

And yet when we ran the very same course in 2013, every single seat was taken in under 25 minutes.

Sounds like a fluke?

Obviously something happened in 2009, right?

And we’ve not had to sell our soul to get results

Makes you wonder, eh?

Presenting: Pre-Sell Special Free Goodie: How To Sell Your Product Time And Time Again

Read the report and see how you can take your products and make them stand out repeatedly using the pre-sell method.

Click here to get the goodie.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/pre-sell-goodies/

Warm regards

Sean

P.S. On 22 November, ‘The Art Of Pre-Sell: How To Get Customers To Buy, Long Before They Pay’ will be on sale.

Find out how to get on the waiting list.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/presell/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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How to Run a Profitable and Sustainable Business (With a Small List)

📅 November 05, 2019 | View in Gmail

When a group is small, and get to know each other, they tend to stay longer.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

How To Run A Profitable And Sustainable Business (With A Small List)

  There is a sheep cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/small-lists-work/

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read

https://www.psychotactics.com/small-lists-work/ | iTunes

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-smaller-lists-work-just-as-well-as-big-ones-part-two/id946996410?i=1000410087060 | Android

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom/e/54273799 | Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/27F9XzPdcrvtZmWEtMh0Zq )

Our lists are small in comparison to most others in our field

How To Be A Source Of Inspiration To Others

📅 November 02, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you inspire? It’s remarkably simple —and here’s a short piece on how to do it.

How To Be A Source Of Inspiration To Others

  Fun Cartoon here

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JRVmlz9gmNEtt1&b=gQEWO1XjmPFYcrVtzA6Rxw

You’d think you’d need to be someone great or at least do something wonderful to inspire other.

Yet, you’re a source of inspiration.

How do you inspire? It’s remarkably simple —and here’s a short piece on how you need to go about it.

October 2019

Last Day For Special Offer: Website Components-How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website + Special Bonus

📅 October 29, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer-01/

When you buy Website Components-How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website from the 26 October to 29 October 2019 you’ll also get a Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’ (worth $45) absolutely free.

Do you often wonder if your home page, about us page or client acquisition page is working at less than its full potential?

Announcing: How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website + Special Bonus (Valued at $45)

📅 October 26, 2019 | View in Gmail

Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer-01/

Hi Seree

When you buy Website Components-How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website from 26 October -29 October 2019 you’ll also get a Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’ (worth $45) absolutely free.

How do we deal with envy? Is there a way to get it out of our system permanently?

📅 October 22, 2019 | View in Gmail

How to cope with envy as businesses grow around you.

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JOSxX8JAyNEtt1&b=az0bb8_gvNhM9YcwU7_pIw

  How do we deal with envy?

Is there a way to get it out of our system permanently?

  Load the images to see the cartoon. It works!

The 21-Day Habit Myth (And How You Can Create A Habit In Minutes, Instead)

📅 October 19, 2019 | View in Gmail

If you’re hoping to create a habit over time, the good news is you don’t have to wait.

The 21-Day Habit Myth (And How You Can Create A Habit In Minutes, Instead)

  Image

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JT8TTBToKNEtt1&b=_A_2h2Ce8Vrdt8vxJ4up5w

Have you heard that it takes about 21 days to create a habit?

Announcing: How To Put That Zing Back In Your Articles ( And Get The Attention Of The Reader)

📅 October 15, 2019 | View in Gmail

The moment we have to write an article, we freeze up. What are the elements of a story?

  Story Telling  Cartoon Image

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling/

Storytelling seems to be the rage these days.

And yet, it’s not new at all. It’s been around for thousands of years.

Announcing: How to put that zing back in your articles ( And catch the attention of the reader)

📅 October 12, 2019 | View in Gmail

What would make one article better than the other?The answer lies not just in stories.

  There is a StoryTelling Cartoon image here

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling/

Storytelling seems to be the rage these days.

And yet, it’s not new at all. It’s been around for thousands of years.

What’s more, it’s not even alien to us.

Even as a three-year old, you can tell when a story is really cool and when it’s just plain boring.

The problem arises when we have to take this storytelling skills to our articles.

The moment we have to write an article, we freeze up. The article gets riddled with facts and figures. Or sequences. Or whatever. But we know instinctively that the power of the story is missing.

But it’s not just the story that’s important.

It’s a story well-told.

A well-told story is like a well-told joke. It has zing. And kapow!

So what are the elements of a well-told story? Why have they been playing hide and seek with us for so long?

Find out right here in this three-part series on Storytelling!

You’ll love it. It’s full of cartoons, precise advice—and yes, the zing! That’s what you’ll learn: how to create the zing.

Book 1: The Power of Stories—How to Turn Average Stories into Cliff-Hangers

Book 2: Signature Stories—How to Create Clear and Memorable Business Stories

Book 3: The Power of Drama—How To Create Counterflow (Without Making Your Reader Sick)

Have a look right away.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling

Regards,

Sean

  About Story Telling

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling/

Here is what Debbie Newhouse has to say:

“Before I bought the book I thought there would be too many ideas I’d heard before.”

I’ve been a heavy follower of Chip & Dan Heath, authors of “Made to Stick”, and their philosophies on storytelling that “sticks”. I found that there was a lot to learn beyond what I’d absorbed from “Made to Stick” and its formulas.

The feature I liked best

The realization that the best stories are about something you are 80% familiar with, you can anticipate, and then WHAM – the new 20% hits you.

Three other benefits

The examples of stories that “worked” and “didn’t work”. Understanding how much detail is just enough, and what is too much. Sean’s classic straightforward, easy to absorb step-by-step approach which doesn’t leave you behind.

I would recommend this product to anyone who has to persuade others, explain something, or teach.

I use the concepts mainly to teach, and especially to engage my audience and get them to realize why they should care about a topic.

Debbie Newhouse, California, USA

Judge for yourself: StoryTelling Mini Series

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Announcing! How to Become an Expert in Your Industry

📅 October 08, 2019 | View in Gmail

Presenting: Five Free Article Writing Goodies that helps you quickly improve your articles

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Imagine you had a fairy godmother.

And she gave you one wish: The wish of ‘perceived expertise’. This ‘perceived expertise’, means that your customers would look at you and say: “There goes the expert in the field. I only want to work with her/him.”

I had such a godmother.

And I got a wish from that fairy godmother in the year 2002.

You see I’d just started up my consultancy in marketing

I’d moved from India to New Zealand.

No one knew me in these parts.

No one knew if I was good at what I did. Or just plain useless.

And what was worse, was I wasn’t quite sure either.

Then one day, that fairy godmother whizzed into the room

“Write articles,” she said.

“Write articles?” I echoed.

“What good are articles going to do for me?” I thought condescendingly.

But as fairy godmothers go, they can read your thoughts

And so there I was, um, writing articles. And remember, I didn’t even know my subject well enough. To me, marketing was a whole new world.

But then something magical happened.

Something I just didn’t expect. When I sat down to write, I started to get ideas.

Ideas that I didn’t know existed in my head.

And as I read more books (both business and non-business books), I got even more ideas.

When I put those ideas on my website, and put up a little ‘Subscribe’ link right at the very bottom—I started getting subscribers.

I wasn’t even selling anything online (or offline for that matter)

And there I was..ahem…building an audience.

An audience that wanted to listen what I had to say.

An audience that went from just friends and family, to a chunky

hundred people.

Then a thousand. And it kept growing.

I wasn’t doing any advertising

No publicity.

Heck, I barely knew how to do my own marketing.

Yet these articles were like a magnet.

They pulled people from every part of the world to my…um…pretty crappy website (you should have seen it in the year 2002).

And offline, I was starting to get inquiries too.

“Can you give us some advice on these marketing matters?” they said

“Can you train our staff?” they said.

Can you do this, and can you do that.

And on and on it went.

But articles were hard work for me

It would take me two days to write a single article. And I’d curse and struggle.

And to write one article a month was a big achievement for me.

But hey, I did have a fairy godmother

And fairy godmothers grant wishes, so I took her up on the wish. “Make me write great articles that captivate. And show me how to write them at high speed (so I don’t have to spend two days over a single article)” I said to her.

“Article writing is about structure”, she said

“Structure and drama,” she continued.

“Structure and drama and the ‘next step’,” she crescendoed.

“Drama pulls you in. Structure keeps you there. And then the next action gets your client to move to the next step.”

And just like that I learned how to write articles. And now it’s your turn.

Will you let me be your fairy um…godmother?

Do you want to learn how to spot drama? Learn how to spot structure?

And understand how to use the power of the next step?

Presenting: Five Free Article Writing Goodies

Goodie No. 1: A mini-booklet that helps you quickly improve your article-writing.

Goodie No. 2: How to create drama in your article.

Goodie No. 3: How de-chunking creates powerful focus when writing articles.

Goodie No. 4: When structuring, does the length of the article matter?

Goodie No. 5: Why do article-writers avoid a super-fast method of writing?

Click here for the goodies: How to create expertise through article writing

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

  Image

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/how-to-write-article-strategies-to-write-powerful-articles-for-sales-pages-and-newsletters/

Warm regards,

Sean

P.S. The biggest frustration with article writing is the sheer amount of time wasted. You struggle to write quickly.

Yet writing is a “language” like everything else. Learn the structure and you can learn to write without the frustration and faster than everbefore.

Click here to read about: The Article Writing Self Study Course

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/how-to-write-article-strategies-to-write-powerful-articles-for-sales-pages-and-newsletters/ (on sale on 11 October 2019)

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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How To Strategically Tackle Promotion Of Products and Services

📅 October 05, 2019 | View in Gmail

Which products are the most important? Which are not?

  There is a cartoon here

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=jq1kD9i5s7vOY9MIRDbRdg

Which product should you pre-sell?

Should it be the $20 product or the $2000 one? And why do silos matter so much?

In this episode, we not only learn why the $20 product might matter more but also how you can promote a product almost endlessly without ever promoting it all.

Let’s find out, shall we

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=jq1kD9i5s7vOY9MIRDbRdg | iTunes

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=IInBMqf84h9_yzbyvhCsQA | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=nZqsixWBH8s2cO6Va_9scQ |

Two binge-worthy podcasts

Pre-Sell Strategy: (Some Unusual Questions)

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=k_oJGEiqrThw2lsfLLv1Ow | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=bMdjyI8QjXxdyjFTENucKg | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=zka9bBjR7MRB.GQ0gRwoxQ | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=EvruEIZKXMaHbgHo95D2UQ |

How I Cope With My Information Overload (And Manage To Keep Sane)

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=v8yhzWSLpEWPLK4mnVfhPQ | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=XoxFSBWooyuEFg6Ux5Jb1w | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=7wNLqZ9WnfOxquVe0UijWA | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=6Bki8OnPRLPJ28dxK1JfAw |

  Image

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IngQSNKdyNEtt1&b=jq1kD9i5s7vOY9MIRDbRdg

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. May I ask a tiny favour? Would you mind sharing this podcast with one person? I would love it.

                Click here to tell one friend





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How To Research An Article (Without Killing Your Productivity)

📅 October 01, 2019 | View in Gmail

Believe it or not, there are ways to be productive with zero last minute research.

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=9vLZ87eFSR9rgW7EzKZi.g

  How To Research An Article

(Without Killing Your Productivity)

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=NC1NXo_vX1fWEn1VzBgFJA

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=NC1NXo_vX1fWEn1VzBgFJA | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=KTz6ngAjrBQfu6aTWSdlyQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=yNzueIDKv63nsY5KqSd4bQ | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=XOUeO2VI50bsAa2ur7_a4Q |).

Researching an article is so frustrating because it’s time-consuming

But there are ways to beat the pressure—and the pain. Believe it or not, there are ways to be productive with zero last minute research. Sounds too good to be true? Well, let’s get going.

What should you do when you have no research in place?

Let’s just step back one tiny bit and examine the situation. We have no research; we want to write an article. But do we know what’s the main feature of an article? The article is built up structure and flow; there’s drama, and there is also information.

But all of that is useless without the most vital element of all. That element is called “enthusiasm”.

Without an enthusiastic creator, a cartoon looks lifeless, salads seem to wilt, and articles end up being just an endless drone of words. And some days you have no energy to write, let alone research. But you always have enough energy to disagree, don’t you?

Disagreement is the spark that enables you to write without research

Let’s say you’re writing an article about “how to get new clients”. Look for an article that’s already about “getting new clients”. Do you agree with all the methods? Do you nod your head sagely at all the angles of their argument? Of course, you don’t.

We all have different ways of getting the same thing done. I might add fenugreek leaves to my salad, but you might turn up your nose at it and suggest something else. The moment you get into a “disagreeable mood”, you’re officially a critic.

Which is precisely the moment to write an article about the subject matter

Remember that at this point we don’t have any research, are feeling reasonably deflated and yet we can easily pick holes in the other person’s argument because of one solid reason. We already have more knowledge than we perceive.

We may (or may not) see ourselves as beginners, but when writing the article, we may feel out of depth. Reading the other person’s article gets us to realise that we have a totally different angle on several, if not all the points.

Once that fire has been lit, it’s relatively easy to continue to write from our reservoir of knowledge. And that’s just one way to go about things when you don’t have the research.

The other way is to talk about your own experience

Let’s say I talk about how we run our membership site at 5000bc. Let’s say our three core benchmarks are:

A precise onboarding system
Answering every marketing or technical question by clients
Creating content that’s not necessarily found on the Internet.

Let’s just assume those are the three benchmarks that help us run 5000bc

Do you see any problem with those benchmarks at all? No, of course not, because they’re our benchmarks. We can then go on to explain every one of those three in great detail and get an absolute cracker of an article as a result.

But wait, where’s the research?

The reason we didn’t need an iota of research is because we didn’t need an iota of research. It’s our story, and we’ll tell it like we want to. Which is a method you’ve got to use as well. Perhaps you make a homemade shampoo, and you follow some steps.

Who cares if your steps differ entirely from the rest of the world?

Maybe you are a copywriter, and you develop a sales page system where you start from the bottom up, instead of from the headline down. Well, go for it. It’s your method, your system, your way of life. You don’t need any fancy time-wasting, cell-crunching research to back it up.

And this kind of personal experience is what a lot of writers tend to use on a regular basis and for good reasons too.

Just finding case studies and exciting stories to fit your article is taxing enough

Case studies, examples, stories—all of these are less about the concept of research, and instead, is the “entertainment” factor in your article. When this article briefly swung towards the apparent hanging of Pinocchio, your curiosity was instantly activated. The story of Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio would have mead a great example in an article.

These stories and examples provide an excellent garnish for your article, and it’s already a fair bit of work. Which is why you may as well write more articles based on what you know, or what you disagree with.

Even if the article were to be devoid of all of this additional entertainment, it would still be fascinating to the reader, because of the enthusiasm you’re bringing to the piece.

The reality is you can write hundreds of articles without research

It isn’t to suggest you don’t store exciting facts and case studies. It’s just that most of our lives are filled with activities, and we don’t have the time to go scuttling around in search of an exact fit to our articles.

In most cases, if you’ve done the prep work, you’ll have a ton of examples, but even if you haven’t, a touch of disagreement or giving an insight into your methods, is enough.

And now that we’re done with this article on research, it’s time for you to write that article you have been putting off.

Opening on 11 October 2019: The Article Writing Home Study

How to create expertise through article writing

Free Goodies: How to structure your article without frustration

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JavzuIkpyNEtt1&b=F8AkXHl4olR.rO37n97G0w

Sales Page and how to get on the waiting list: Learn why articles do a far superior job of attracting the clients that you want

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September 2019

Announcing: The Secret To Becoming An Expert In Your Customer’s Eyes?

📅 September 28, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you write so that your clients actually read your articles above all that noise?

  Article Writing Image

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

How do you become an expert in your customer’s eyes?

How do you become the person the customer most wants to work with?

How do you then increase prices 500% and still have customers wanting to work with you?

To understand how this unusual situation occurs, let me tell you a story

I was a cartoonist by profession.

Then one fine day, I decided to get into ‘marketing.’

Now tell me honestly

Would you hire a cartoonist to show you how to attract customers?

Would you hire a cartoonist to show you how to improve your website?

Would you hire a cartoonist for anything—but—to draw cartoons?

Why would you?

I wouldn’t.

And that was the uphill battle I faced: No one knew me as an expert.

Now it didn’t matter how many times I looked in the mirror and called myself an expert.

I still wasn’t getting any respect, let alone pesos in the bank. And it drove me crazy.

But there’s always a way out of crazy-land

So here’s what I did.

I started writing articles.

And it was painful writing those articles.

I’d write one article after slaving over it for two days.

And then sometimes after two days, I’d trash the article and start all over again.

Did I say there’s a way out of crazy-land?

Well, it sure didn’t seem so, because this article-writing-jazz was driving me loco.

But here’s what I found too.

That there were systems. And techniques.

Techniques that enabled me to write faster.

That enabled me to make an article almost like a movie.

That enabled me to see a pattern as to which articles would go down the gurgler, and which articles would get lapped up by the readers.

That there were certain articles, when published, that got customers to my website in droves. I’d wake up, and suddenly there were fifty, or a hundred new subscribers.

Sometimes as many as two hundred or more.

And then as the weeks and months passed, I started getting calls

Calls to help customers with their website (um, after I wrote a website-based article).

And then emails. To help customers to help them attract clients (um, again, it was an article that did the job).

You’re guessing what crossed my mind, eh?

Not only were the articles pulling in customers to the Psychotactics website, but these customers were asking me to work with them.

Me, a cartoonist, work with them?

I have to say, I was scared out my wits. (For two whole years actually).

But after two years of writing articles (and I just wrote about 20 articles in the first two years), even I began to see a trend.

I figured I could go nuts and cold-call

Or I could sit at my computer and write an article.

And have a customer call. (Ooh, I did like the sound of that phone ringing).

But you have to remember this was back in the year 2002-2004.

Back then, the Internet was a bit of a novelty. People doled out their email addresses like peanuts. Today it’s not that easy to have two hundred people stream through your website. Which means that it’s not enough to just write an article.

There are squillions of articles on the Internet today

And those articles are competing with audio.

And video.

And heck knows what else.

So the questions do cross your mind

How do I write so that my clients actually read my articles above all that noise?
How do I write, if I struggle to put a paragraph together?
Is there a ticket out of crazy-land? Can I really become an expert in my client’s eyes?

There indeed is a ticket

And if you’ve been putting off writing, because you think it’s hard, well, it’s time to get that ticket out of crazy-land.

Information (um, Article Writing) creates expertise

Ask every author on Amazon.com

Ask every top consultant.

Ask every top trainer.

And ask a cartoonist.

Free Goodies: Don’t take my word for it. Judge for yourself.

Get some solid methods to write better articles at this link. Don’t wait. This link won’t stay up forever. :)

Free Goodies: Article Writing

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Sean

P.S. The goodies are free.

P.P.S. Start. Stop. Start. Stop.

The biggest frustration with writing is it drives you crazy. Yet writing is a “language” like everything else.

Learn the structure and you can learn to write without the frustration.

Article Writing Self Study Details

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/how-to-write-article-strategies-to-write-powerful-articles-for-sales-pages-and-newsletters/

(The limited-edition, self-study course will be available on 11 October 2019 for a few hours).

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How to avoid gaping holes in your article writing (and how you can fill those gaps)

📅 September 24, 2019 | View in Gmail

In fact, it’s possible that we’re not even sure how important a role the objection plays.

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  How to avoid gaping holes in your article writing (and how you can fill those gaps)

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  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

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Cellophane, Mister Cellophane

Should have been my name, Mister Cellophane

‘Cause you can look right through me

Walk right by me and never know I’m there.

That’s an excerpt from the musical, Chicago. It’s a sorrowful song sung by one of the characters who’s almost permanently in the shadows. No matter where he goes, or what he does, his very presence is seen as inconsequential, almost like an extra.

Similarly when it comes to writing articles, the objection seems like that extra.

Pitched against the glamour of the more important sections of article, no one seems to pay attention to the objections. In fact, it’s possible that we’re not even sure how important a role the objection plays in every article.

Yet objections are crucial for three very good reasons.

They bring balance to the article
They create greater depth and reduce skinny articles
They enable you to introduce a different angle to the topic
Let’s start off with the first point—the balanced view:

When you write an article, it’s your point of view

Let’s say you write about green tea being amazing.

Or maybe you believe that “homeschooling” is outstanding?

Those are your points of view, aren’t they?

But what about the reader’s point of view?

The reader might not drink green tea, but enjoy Rooibos. She may have sent her kid to school because almost all parents do precisely that. And she knows little or nothing about homeschooling, let alone that it could be wonderful.

However, the reason the client reading your article in the first instance is because she has her doubts, or may just be curious.

The headline of your article has drawn her in and she’s thinking: “I need to check out if there’s something different in the way I should be doing things”. And while the bulk of your article may be in favour of green tea or homeschooling, there’s a bit of a lopsidedness to the content. It’s all about your point of view, with no counterpoint.

Which is why the objection exists—and should be in almost every article. The objection says: I understand your point of view and here’s the biggest issue that others bring up, and you might have that doubt too. In one paragraph or so, it provides the balance.

It’s a bit like Mr Cellophane from the musical

As writers, we are so focused on the main contents of the article, that the objection seems almost like something buried deep in our to-do list. We plan to put in the objection, but it feels like an add-on, not a crucial chunk of the article.

And yet, the moment you remove it from your article, the article seems to tilt dangerously to one side.

I’ve written articles without such a sense of balance

For instance, I wrote an article about how to maximize the time you have. The article was about how we’re all busy and how there’s never enough time to learn. The article talked about the methods I use to keep on learning while in a supermarket queue, at the dentist, even on our walks every day.

I got so wrapped up in writing my point of view, that I forgot that the reader was getting a bit antsy. The “learn, learn, learn” was so one-sided that I forgot to express the fact that I’m not walking around all day trying to fill more information in my head.

The reality is that I have a lot of downtimes as well, even when on the move

Renuka and I talk a lot on our walks. We don’t always listen to podcasts or audiobooks in the car. Instead, we may talk about work or just chat about our day. However, the picture the article painted was one of a strict regime and not the way we really live our lives.

The client who objected to the article wanted to learn but also not be obsessive about the learning experience. She realised the power of learning on the move but also wanted to have conversations, to listen to music or just enjoy nature.

I’d gotten so bogged down with my point of view, that it took an e-mail from her to straighten me out. I was forced to hurriedly put in the objection and bring some balance to the article. But balance is only one role for the objection. It also prevents your article from being a bit too wimpy.

Create greater depth and reduce skinny articles

In 2016, I went to India to meet my parents, and not for any Ayurveda treatment. But I took a left turn in the road where I was staying and ended up at this Ayurveda clinic. Back then I weighed close to 89 kg (about 190 pounds), and all the walking and dieting wasn’t helping in reducing those last few kilos.

About ten days into the treatment, I’d lost about 5 kilos (about 10 pounds), and it has been a permanent weight loss, no matter what or how much I eat . My wife Renuka now complains that in photos I look gaunt, almost too skinny.

Skinny may seem to work in our day to day world, but it may cause your article to be a bit anorexic in detail. You’ve written a few hundred words, but you’ve slightly run out of steam or content, or both.

Which is when it’s time to get over to the other side of the fence. It’s time to think of the topic from a different point of view. And that’s when the article gets a bit charged up because you’re trying to tear down your idea, in a way.

It’s like being in a one-person debate team

You make a point, then you jump across and make a point for the opposition. And it’s when you’re on the opposing side that you see a bit of their worldview. This allows you to put in a paragraph, sometimes two into your article. Even if your paragraph contains just about four lines, you’re likely to have added 80 words.

Two paragraphs? Well, that’s about 160 words right there. Consider that a lot of articles are about 800 words long and the objection itself, just a couple of paragraphs have beefed up the article by 200 words.

And it’s not to say that skinny articles aren’t good

Take me, Ayurveda boy, for example. My weight may have gone down, but my articles can soar to anywhere from 1000-5000 words. Time and time again, my wife, Renuka will tell me to write shorter articles as well.

Yes, we know that Google loves long articles, but readers need a bit of a mix. They need long, detailed articles and a short one too.

They need excruciating detail and something that’s almost an instant 7-minute read. And this concept of writing long and short, detailed and skinny applies to audio, video, and especially to article writing.

Lean articles work amazingly well, but you need to have a variety in your work. However, when you need to pack in the detail, objections certainly help.

Does this mean that skinny articles don’t need objections?

Of course, they do. Any point of view needs a counterpoint of view. But you may choose to write just a line or two, instead of two paragraphs. And when you want to drive home that big, long, detailed point, add in the chunkier objections, and you get instant bulk.

When writing we often don’t think of objections

The material we’re writing is what we really want to say, and objections seem slightly counterintuitive. Even so, you can judge for yourself how they not only add bulk to the article but also make you a greater authority in the eyes of the client.

Even if your objection isn’t precisely the one they have in mind, it drives the reader to write to you, which in turn leads to you writing even more on the topic.

It’s a significant advantage because you’re answering a specific point to a particular person and adding to the body of knowledge on your site or newsletters.

Balance, depth, but there’s one more thing the objection does quite successfully. It can introduce a completely different view of the article all on its own.

How do you come up with most objections?

It’s quite easy when you stop to think about it. You look at the headline and then play a version of devil’s advocate. Let’s say the headline is about “how to run the four-minute mile”, the devil’s advocate version would be “but what if I haven’t run in the past few years? Can I still do it?” In effect, the objection counteracts your headline, and that’s probably the easiest way to figure out the objection for your article.

However, some objections may have no connection to the headline

Take for instance this article itself. In the second part, there was an objection about skinny articles. The objection was, “can we dispense with the objection when writing skinny articles?” Notice how that point of view is nowhere to be found in the headline.

The headline is about the importance of the objection, but suddenly we see another point of view creeping up. The article has gone down the path of less-dense articles and brought up an objection of whether or not we need objections if the article is skinny.

What we’re witnessing is a bit of a deviation—a new point of view

When you start writing the article, you have a bit of an outline, but as you progress, it’s not uncommon to see the article take a life of its own. The objections that arise have to counter the point you’ve brought up, and since the point itself is a bit unexpected, the objection too becomes quite an interesting novelty.

It’s quite hard to anticipate this level of novelty when outlining your article

You are so focused on the task of writing that the objection or objections are busy playing Mr.Cellophane. Once you get deeper into the article, these strange and wonderful objections seem to pop up quite unexpectedly. Often an objection or two may pop up while you’re writing, but they also pop up while discussing the point.

When Renuka and I walk, I bring up the point I’m covering, and she’ll often drop her objection, something that’s completely unrelated to the headline. This happens even in 5000bc when I write bits of an article.

And even as you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you may have a slightly divergent objection that you may bring to my attention.

What are you going to do if you have two dozen objections?

An article comprises of the First Fifty Words, the main content, the examples and mistakes, as well as the objections. We can’t simply switch the objections from Mr.Cellophane to Mr A-Level Movie Star, can we?

In most cases, no, you can’t. You can get in one, maybe two objections into your article and that’s almost always going to add at least a couple of paragraphs.

Any more and you’re likely to throw the article off balance. However, if you do have a dozen objections, that’s enough to start an article all by itself. For example, Five reasons why people struggle to run the four-minute mile.

An article like that would comprise of back to back objections

You’d bring up the five points and then give your version of why the client could indeed run, despite all the barriers in their way.

Which goes to show that the objection is not only crucial but also extremely versatile. It can create enough excitement to generate an article or two all by itself. In doing so, it has moved far away from its cellophane status.

In summary:

It brings balance to the article
Create greater depth and reduce skinny articles
Enable you to introduce a different angle to the topic

Not bad for an element of article writing that’s been largely forgotten by most of us.

Coming Soon! Article Writing Home Study

How to create expertise through article writing

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Announcing: How To Become An Expert In Your Industry

📅 September 21, 2019 | View in Gmail

The biggest frustration with writing is it drives you crazy. Yet writing is a “language”.

Article Writing Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Imagine you had a fairy godmother.

I had such a godmother.

And I got a wish from that fairy godmother in the year 2002.

You see I’d just started up my consultancy in marketing

I’d moved from India to New Zealand.

No one knew me in these parts.

No one knew if I was good at what I did. Or just plain useless.

And what was worse, was I wasn’t quite sure either.

Then one day, that fairy godmother whizzed into the room

“Write articles,” she said.

“Write articles?” I echoed.

“What good are articles going to do for me?” I thought condescendingly.

But as fairy godmothers go, they can read your thoughts

And so there I was, um, writing articles. And remember, I didn’t even know my subject well enough. To me, marketing was a whole new world.

But then something magical happened.

Something I just didn’t expect. When I sat down to write, I started to get ideas.

Ideas that I didn’t know existed in my head.

And as I read more books (both business and non-business books), I got even more ideas.

When I put those ideas on my website, and put up a little ‘Subscribe’ link right at the very bottom—I started getting subscribers.

I wasn’t even selling anything online (or offline for that matter)

And there I was..ahem…building an audience.

An audience that wanted to listen what I had to say.

An audience that went from just friends and family, to a chunky

hundred people.

Then a thousand. And it kept growing.

I wasn’t doing any advertising

No publicity.

Heck, I barely knew how to do my own marketing.

Yet these articles were like a magnet.

They pulled people from every part of the world to my…um…pretty crappy website (you should have seen it in the year 2002).

And offline, I was starting to get inquiries too.

“Can you give us some advice on these marketing matters?” they said

“Can you train our staff?” they said.

Can you do this, and can you do that.

And on and on it went.

But articles were hard work for me

It would take me two days to write a single article. And I’d curse and struggle.

And to write one article a month was a big achievement for me.

But hey, I did have a fairy godmother

“Article writing is about structure”, she said

“Structure and drama,” she continued.

“Structure and drama and the ‘next step’,” she crescendoed.

“Drama pulls you in. Structure keeps you there. And then the next action gets your client to move to the next step.”

And just like that I learned how to write articles. And now it’s your turn.

Will you let me be your fairy um…godmother?

Do you want to learn how to spot drama? Learn how to spot structure? And understand how to use the power of the next step?

Well, ask and you shall receive. But hey, there are no magic wands here.

You’ve actually got to go to the link below. And there you’ll be taken to a page with instructions. Instructions on how to get some free goodies. Goodies to drama, structure, and the next step.

So, tah-dah, here’s the link:

Free Goodies: Article Writing

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Sean

P.S. The goodies are free.

P.P.S. Start. Stop. Start. Stop.

The biggest frustration with writing is it drives you crazy. Yet writing is a “language” like everything else.

Learn the structure and you can learn to write without the frustration.

Article Writing Self Study Details

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/how-to-write-article-strategies-to-write-powerful-articles-for-sales-pages-and-newsletters/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Last day: How to join 5000bc (without being on the waiting list)

📅 September 17, 2019 | View in Gmail

Today’s the last day to join 5000bc before we put up the waiting list yet again. After then only a limited number will be able to join every month.

If you’re a business owner, you know how lonely it can be in your world. And having a community to talk to, to work with and bounce your ideas off, is incredibly valuable.

The motto of 5000bc is: be kind, be helpful, or begone.

If you are looking for a community that simply slap each other on the back, are always promoting themselves, then 5000bc is not for you. What you’ll find in 5000bc is solid information, but more importantly, solid help. Help from me (yes, I’m around 20-30 times a day, answering questions in great detail) and other members who pitch in and help.

There’s an old African saying: If you want go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a group. And yes, if you go with a helpful group, you enjoy the journey.

Yes, it’s the last day to join before the waiting list goes up, so get in the community and let’s go far.

Here’s the link: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Warm regards, Sean P.S. See you in 5000bc. This offer expires on 7 October 2017 (11:59pm, Eastern USA). https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Announcing: How To Join 5000bc (Without Being On The Waiting List)

📅 September 14, 2019 | View in Gmail

You’ve been around the Psychotactics site for a while. And you’ve probably even sneaked a peek at 5000bc (our membership site) and seen that there’s a waiting list.

For the next seven days we’re bringing down that wall. From Saturday 30 September to 7 October 2017, you get the chance to join (without being on the waiting list).

The last time we opened up the waiting list was six months ago. Yup, a long time ago.

But how do you know if 5000bc is the place for you? You read the testimonials. Do your due diligence and read the testimonials and you’ll see for yourself why our members join, and more importantly why they stay. And how you can be part of that select group as well.

You have to judge for yourself. So take a look at 5000bc right away. https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

We’d love to have you there if you think it’s the right place for you :)

Warm regards, Sean P.S. Make a decision today based on what you see. https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Why Staying Small Is Probably A Smarter Move

📅 September 10, 2019 | View in Gmail

And why you need to set upper boundaries for your business

  Psychotactics

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  Why Staying Small Is Probably A Smarter Move



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I remember the time when my wife Renuka quit her job back in 2001.

She was so sick of her boss that one day she simply walked out. For a few months, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do. However, while she considered where she’d work next, she decided to help me out a bit. First, she made sure everything was tidied up in our then small home office. And she went to work using the e-mail software that we owned at that point in time.

I was so nervous

Today’s e-mail software is usually hosted. Something like Aweber or MailChimp doesn’t take much time to learn. But back then the software was like a mail server itself. You sent out a whole bunch of newsletters, and that took a couple of hours as they went out one by one.

Then, the bounce backs would arrive, again one by one. I’d been using the software for a while, and I was comfortable with it. But Renuka was new to the entire operation. And me, I was clearly nervous. I stood over her shoulder something she hates me doing and watched as she sent our email newsletter.

Does this sound like an atom-sized operation?

It should. Because all these years later, we don’t exactly have a team. We rely on a few people to help us with particular tasks, but by and large, it’s still just the two of us. If you’ve been following the story of Psychotactics for a while, you’ll know that without any hoopla we’ve grown our business quite successfully and by success, we mean success on our own terms.

Which is exactly the tone and direction of this new book by Paul Jarvis.

Aptly named, “Company of One”, it shows you how you can follow the beat of your own drum. This isn’t strictly a book review. Instead, it’s a review of a one concept.

The reason why I chose this book is simply because it’s anti-hype. It’s not a prescriptive book, in the sense that it doesn’t tell you to take this step and another step. Instead, it’s conceptual much in the genre of “Quiet” by Susan Cain.

If you’re looking for specific stage by stage, how-to advice, then this is not the book for you. However, if you’re looking to get more comfortable in your own skin, and not want to rule the world, then this might be something to pick up and read.

Oh and one more thing.

Paul is a friend who I’ve gotten to know over the years. In his book, he does take up a page or two to describe Psychotactics and how we run our business. This description of Psychotactics shows up early in Chapter 2, and while I’m flattered, he was able to get most of the information solely through interviews I’d done online and in particular one interview. Just so you know, there’s full disclosure here.

And one that very legal sounding note, let’s explore one concept in the book.

I’ll be sure to mix it up with a few of our own experiences, so you know how we’ve applied the concepts and continue to do so.

Concept: Why you need to set upper boundaries for your business

Until December 2015, I thought having 30 people at a workshop was quite a “tiny” number.

Then in consecutive workshops, the first in Nashville, USA and Netherlands, we had 16 participants each. Until that moment, I’d always considered anything under 30 people to be a bit of a problem. And then it happened.

We got less than half that number. Why was this the case? Was it the venue? Or was the topic a bit obscure? Maybe it was because it was in the really busy season, barely a few weeks away from Christmas.

Whatever the reason, I was quite disappointed at first

Over the years, going back to the earliest workshops back in 2003, we’d almost always filled the room with 30 people. To suddenly regress to just 16, no matter what the reason, seemed like a regression of sorts. As we went through the three-day sessions, I realised that I got to spend more time with every client.

Even clients who’d been to previous workshops loved the smaller group. And every client got far more time to not only complete their assignments, but I, in turn, was able to give them several rounds of feedback.

At that point, Renuka and I decided we’d never have more than 16 people at a workshop

If this concept of having a boundary seems odd at first, it’s quite a natural reaction. And yet, it’s precisely what Paul Jarvis covers in one of the earliest chapters of his book. It’s the factor of having boundaries, but not just boundaries, but upper boundaries. We all know what our low boundaries happen to be because we’ve all been at zero.

However, the upper limit is the part that really tests your mettle

At first, as your business grows, you might have just enough to pay your bills. But if you do a great job with your clients and consistently market your business well, you’ll find there’s seemingly no upper limit. You may choose to increase your prices and clients still come through the door. You take more clients, earn more money, do more, more and even more. It’s not unusual to feel exhilarated and out of control all in the same moment.

And yet, you’re not sure when the bubble will burst

Derren Brown, author, mentalist and illusionist clearly explains how we lose control. In one of his stage productions, he says: “Any book on happiness is likely to tell you to set clear goals on what you want to achieve, and then work towards achieving them. The problem is, it doesn’t work.

The philosopher Alan Watts made the point that when you listen to a piece of music, you don’t just skip to the end where it all comes together. In life, we’re obsessed with endings.” Brown suggests we live in the now and he’s right too. But when we’re uncertain about the future, or whether our good fortune will last, we’re more likely to ignore all of that advice and keep working.

Jarvis helps us stay in the now while putting a lid of the unfolding madness of growth

His definition is “start small, define growth and keep learning. All of us don’t need to hire more people or pile on infrastructure. We all don’t need fancy teams or always need to increase the bottom line. All around us we seem to have messages screaming at us that growth is always good.

After all who gets featured in Fortune Magazine. Who makes it to Inc? What does Fast Company even mean? Most of us start in business to gain more control over our lives, and that’s not quite how things unfold.

A company of one is simply a business that questions growth

A company of one, writes Jarvis, is one that builds a business around your life, not the other way around. It’s not necessarily anti-growth. It’s not even anti-revenue, and it’s not even a one-person business. It’s just that you need to question whether just because some crazy marketer is constantly growing, constantly telling you to hustle, hustle, hustle, that you too should be like him.

“Company of One” is more about questions that you ask yourself. About how you can solve business problems without adding more. And to question the given wisdom of “thinking big”.

If all this sounds very philosophical, there are statistics to back up putting the brakes on endless growth

In a study, over 3200 high-growth tech startups were analysed by the Genome Startup Project. A whopping 74% of those businesses failed. We’d be likely to believe the problems were due to competition or lousy business plans. However, the study found that the troubling factor to be growth.

They all tried to scale up too quickly. And that’s only one study. When the Kauffman Foundation and Inc. Magazine (ironically Inc. Magazine) did a follow-up study on the 5,000 fastest growing companies. They did this between 5-8 years after the companies got off the ground. Incredibly, more than two third were out of business, with massive layoffs or sold below their market value.

Defining the upper side of what you’re willing to manage is crucial

At Psychotactics, we put upper boundaries on almost everything we do. Every course has its upper boundaries. A cartooning course will have just 30 clients. An Article Writing Course, because it’s far more intensive, has 25 clients.

The workshops as you know, have just 16 participants. The membership site at 5000bc also has a limit that we put in place way back in 2005 or so. It said that no matter what, we’d never accept more than 1200 members. After 15 years, we’re halfway there, and in no hurry to increase numbers quickly.

Even our income has an upper limit

In 2007, we realised that we didn’t need to keep increasing our revenue. We hit upon a formula of 3x. This meant that we’d earn thrice as much as our expenses. All our travel, vacations, office and home expenses are kept at approximately $150,000 a year.

Three times that amount is about $450k-500k. One-third of that is paid in income tax (which by the way, we are more than happy to pay). One third goes into savings and one third gets spent.

If you look at the numbers above, it’s easy to believe that you’d be satisfied once you achieved something similar

That’s not quite human nature. Our nature is to want the next level up. And the way we’ve sorted out this issue is to work towards that next level, but more so with our work, rather than our income. And the result is that we’re able to take three months off every year, spend lots and lots of time with our nieces, cook, paint and live a really affluent life.

The core of a business is to sustain itself

For the business owner to have control over their life and business.

And the first step is to put a lid on the upper boundaries. That alone would make a huge difference in how we conduct our business and control our expenses.

Announcing: How to find your business uniqueness

📅 September 07, 2019 | View in Gmail

What are the biggest mistakes you make when creating your uniqueness

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/uniqueness-form/

Have you ever wondered what would it be like to stand out from the competition in a way that customers choose you over everyone else? And what if you were to raise your prices, and they still kept coming?

That’s what uniqueness can do to your product or service.

Yet most of us seem to know what makes our product or service better than competition.

But the customer doesn’t know.

So they go elsewhere.

Somewhere cheaper. Somewhere crappier.

But they don’t come to you in the droves you’ve imagined.

Presenting: Uniqueness Goodies (Yup, FREE Goodies!)

Everyone tells you that uniqueness is important, but no one tells you how to work through the uniqueness minefield.

Until now, that is

You will get access to articles, audio and video.

Here is the sequence of what to expect in the coming weeks:

Goodie 1: Why we get our uniqueness wrong

Goodie 2: How to get to your uniqueness

Goodie 3: The importance of the mundane and the uninteresting

Goodie 4: Biggest mistakes and how to avoid them

Goodie 5: The difference between uniqueness and the other red bags

Goodie 6: Do You Need To Carve Out a Uniqueness For ‘Every’ Product or Service?

How to get the goodies?

Have a look at this page for all the details:

Uniqueness Free Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/uniqueness-form/

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Why Cross Pollination of Ideas, Media and Styles Are Crucial (And Avoid Shutdowns When Writing)

📅 September 03, 2019 | View in Gmail

Find out how a lack of cross pollination could be causing your writing to freeze up.

  Psychotactics

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  Why Cross Pollination of Ideas, Media and Styles Are Crucial (And Avoid Shutdowns When Writing)

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Most of us are content to learn a great deal about what’s happening in our industry, but is that causing a blockage when it comes to writing?

When we go into the depths of writer’s block, we find that you need cross pollination not only across industry, but across styles as well as media such as video, audio and text. Find out how a lack of cross pollination could be causing your writing to freeze up.

If look at my watercolour palette, you’ll notice an astonishingly messy array of shades.

And yet, I use only seven core colours to create most of my watercolours. Those colours are purple, yellow ochre, yellow, ultramarine blue, black, green and cadmium red. Why are there so many colours in the palette, if all I’m using is just seven of them?

The Answer is: Backup

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the rest of the colours are similar or almost identical to the primary seven. There are two reds, two oranges, two yellows, more yellow ochre, blues, greens etc. In short, instead of carting the tubes along wherever I go, I have loads of backup colours.

When I mix the backup colours. e.g., red and yellow, I get orange. When I combine green and red, with a touch of blue, I get black. Without that backup in place, I’d be quite stuck while on the road.

A similar backup situation applies to article writing as well, and it’s called input

A lot of people who aspire to be writers know they have to read or listen to an audio, but it’s how you go about this input exercise that matters. And how much of it you do, as well as how much you file away for later use. But first, let’s start with how you go about getting the input.

Let’s look at two different ways to get input:

A) Subject matter

B) Cross pollination

A) Subject Matter is Exactly as it Sounds

If you’re into dental marketing, you’re going to need to read loads of stuff related to your industry. Whether you’re into growing tomatoes, talking about retirement, helping clients with their moorings or a sound expert, you’re going to have to steep yourself in the subject matter of your industry.

When I was the junior-most copywriter in the agency, I’d head over to the agency library, and I’d pick up these five kilos (10 lb) books called The One Show. I’d spend hours poring through all the ads and try and deconstruct the flow, the headlines and how and why they were successful.

When I got deeper into graphic design, I’d wade through graphic books. And the same applied to cartooning or web design, and marketing. If you don’t want to feel like the fool on the hill, you’re going to do what any sensible person does—which is to read material about your industry.

However, that’s just one form of input, because the second is probably just as, if not more important.

B) Cross Pollination is Critical for Creativity

Yesterday, I was reading on about retail brands. Casper, for instance, is a mattress company. The Barbie doll is a toy which is also a retail product. Most of the clients we deal with aren’t necessarily retail-oriented, so why read about something that’s so far removed from the business?

Ideas from other industries help in cross pollination. From Casper and Barbie, I was able to piece together a method to create not just a brand, but a movement. For instance, Casper was completely unknown in 2014.

In 2018, they’re a $750 million brand. Barbie ruled the roost for decades, and now mothers are actively avoiding buying the doll for their daughters. What’s happening? Why is it happening? And how do those lessons apply to clients that might be more interested in article writing, or creating information products and running a website?

I found some pretty precise answers, but I didn’t go looking for them

And that’s the reaction you’re going to have as well. You my not know how Barbie is going to help your dental marketing or why a mattress company like Casper is worth considering.

Even so, reading about a whole bunch of stuff, or listening to it (which I do a lot of) makes a huge difference in the way you see the world. Termites, volcanoes, frozen custard, Hokusai’s The Great Wave—they all make a massive difference to your creativity and hence your writing.

When you think of creativity you think of someone or something that borders on genius

And yet it’s nothing more than two seemingly non-connected ideas put together that create something magical. Pretty much like red and green creating black—that’s creative, isn’t it?

But that’s how your input needs to be fostered. If you slip into reading about nothing but your industry, you’ll become a boring writer. But nose around Barbie’s history and mix it a bit with your coconut oil story and watch readers love your work, instead.

Cross-pollination applies not just to subject matter but also media and style

You want to listen to audio, video, as well as read books. People who aren’t fans of audio wait for the opportunity to read, and if you take a typical busy day, there’s not a lot of time to learn.

Whether you’re a fan of audio or not, you can’t ignore the enormous potential. You’re waiting in a queue for something, and the audio educates you. Instead of listening to the endless, boring banter at the hairdresser, you’re listening to a podcast that’s funny and learning how to craft humour, just by listening.

I’ve run into people who say they can’t remember what they hear on audio. And it doesn’t matter. You listen to people speaking all day, and you get information from them without needing a transcript.

The same applies to audio

If you’re serious about becoming a better writer, you’ll put on your headphones, put on a podcast and get some much-wanted exercise. But more importantly, you’ll cross-pollinate. The information that goes into your head through the medium of audio is different from video or text.

You may, or may not get time to watch a video or read, but there are at least a dozen opportunities for audio. No one is saying you should not listen to the birds tweeting on your walk, but let’s get one thing straight.

The reason why people are average writers is because they’re not willing to get out of their comfort zone. If you’d like to dawdle in the land of the average, it’s okay to stay within your comfort zone.

However, if you’re keen to become really good, you’ll have to overcome the frustration you feel with audio and video and listen anyway—in addition to reading.

Finally, a writing style also requires cross pollination

When you first start out as a writer, you’re likely to feel like a clone. And it’s because your structure and your words are as a result of some teaching system or formula. Or it’s likely that you’ve followed a writer’s work for a while and you’re now sounding and feeling like a bit of an impostor. This impostor syndrome feels like you’re just copy, without a personal style.

However your own style is not that far away. And usually the process is sped up when you cross-pollinate the writers you read and the speakers you listen to. If you were to consider a podcast. Let’s say you listen to the Three Month Vacation podcast a lot. There’s a certain style and structure to it.

If you listened long enough, that style becomes a part of you. However if you were to add a second podcast along the way, a bit of that style creeps into your being as well. Add a third, a fourth and a fifth, and a sort of metamorphosis starts to take place in the way you express yourself. You haven’t changed much consciously, but there’s still a change in your work.

The same applies to reading

When you dig deep into one person’s style, you get an insight that doesn’t come with bouncing around from one author to another. Style needs a bit of monogamy for at least a while before you go out and find another writer to love.

Burrow deep into one writer, one speaker for a while and then add the second and the third and possibly the fourth and fifth. To get faster traction, you’re better off not exceeding four-five at at a time. If you do, all you have is overload and your brain doesn’t get the opportunity to tease out the style and structure of the writers and speakers.

The best part is you don’t have to do much. Your job is to read or listen, not even to necessarily make notes. Over time the brain figures out the patterns, and when you write, you’ll notice a difference. That difference won’t be apparent right away, but write for a year and look back, and there’s bound to be a clear evolution in your style.

And that’s cross-pollination for you in a nutshell

Cross-pollination of industries and ideas, which means reading about Barbie and Casper mattresses or listening about the shadow puppet of Bima and Hokusai’s The Great Wave. And cross-pollination involves reading, watching and listening.

You may not always have time to watch and read, but listening offers endless opportunity every single day.

Finally, cross-pollination is also about style. A style develops when you read or listen to different authors or speakers, but drink deeply from one for a while, before taking on the second, the third, fourth and fifth.

August 2019

Announcing: How to make your product or service stand out (among all the noise)

📅 August 31, 2019 | View in Gmail

Do You Need To Carve Out a Uniqueness For ‘Every’ Product or Service?

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/uniqueness-form/

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand out from the competition in a way that customers choose you over everyone else?

That’s what uniqueness can do to your product or service.

•    How do you do that?

•    How do you create a uniqueness that's so dramatic and powerful, that clients pick you in a flash?

Presenting: Uniqueness Goodies FREE Goodies

Everyone tells you that uniqueness is important, but no one tells you how to work through the uniqueness minefield.

Until now, that is.

You will get access to articles, audio and video.

Here is the sequence of what to expect in the coming weeks:

Goodie 1: Why we get our uniqueness wrong

Goodie 2: How to get to your uniqueness

Goodie 3: The importance of the mundane and the uninteresting

Goodie 4: Biggest mistakes and how to avoid them

Goodie 5: The difference between uniqueness and the other red bags

Goodie 6: Do You Need To Carve Out a Uniqueness For ‘Every’ Product or Service?

Here is the link to get the goodies:

Uniqueness Free Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/home-study/uniqueness-form/

Regards

Sean D’Souza

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Why Clients Nod (But Don’t Call)

📅 August 27, 2019 | View in Gmail

The biggest problems with prospecting is the dead silence right after.

  Psychotactics

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  Why Clients Nod (But Don't Call)

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Red Bull has the highest market share of any energy drink in the world, with 6.302 billion cans sold in a year. However, it almost never got started.

Before the launch, part owner, Dietrich Mateschitz hired a market research firm to test Red Bull’s acceptance. The result was a complete let down “People didn’t believe the taste, the logo, the brand name. “I’d never before experienced such a disaster.” But Mateschitz believed the product would do well if he placed it in the right market.

Which is precisely what he did

His insight was to target not just students, but trendy students in universities. Instead of selling the brand to them, he’d pay them to throw a party and supplied them with free cases of Red Bull.

What Mateschitz was doing, was two masterful acts all at once. He was seeking out the kind of clients he’d want, and instantly demonstrating the application.

For someone starting out in coaching it might seem like an uphill task to get clients

No one knows you, no one knows your brand, and no one even cares. Sounds pretty much like Red Bull doesn’t it? But just like Red Bull, you’ve got to know how to work your way around such a dismal scenario.

The first stage would be for you to decide on a specific audience

Before you get close focus on a single person, namely a profile, it’s important first to find an audience.

Take Mike Jara’s audience for instance

Mike deals with the issue of stress management. And that’s a pretty broad audience. On any given day, you’re likely to run into people who are wound up. Even so, it’s not quite the audience you (or Mike) is looking for. Instead, Mike has chosen to talks to teachers.

They have a pretty stressful day, not just in the classroom, but with the prep work and the assignments after the last kid has gone home. The stress gets in the way of sleep, causing the teachers to be even more sleep deprivation. When they get back to work, after a restless sleep, they’re edgier than ever before.

However, without the audience in mind, the message goes quickly off track

When Mike started the exercise of getting a message across, his line went like this:

Start your mornings with abundant energy. Ditch the coffee and grab yourself a hot cup of habits.

Not only was the line a bit confusing, but it instantly brought up objections.

Most people drink coffee, because they like the taste, but also because it’s a break, and often a social gathering of sorts. They don’t see coffee as the enemy. If Mike were to look for prospects with a line like that, he’d be likely to get little or no response, which would be a shame, because there’s nothing wrong with Mike’s offering.

When looking for prospects, it’s not enough to have a great product or service.

Instead, you have to get started with the target audience, then move to the target profile, and that’s when you avoid the noise factor and get a clearer signal.

Prospecting may seem like a frustratingly tricky task

You’re not sure where to get your clients and they, in turn, can’t find you. However, the core of prospecting is to figure out where the gold lies in the first place.

Your gold is to “find the audience, any audience”

• When I started as a coach, I worked with a small business owner group, but I could have easily worked with dentists. • Mike Jara is targeting teachers, but dentists are fair game too.

It doesn’t matter who you start with, because most problems are relatively generic.

However, once we get past the first stage, it’s the second hurdle that’s harder.

You somehow need to speak to your audience and find out the most significant barriers they face. As you dig, you’ll find something that they’re very keen on solving and they’ll even give you the exact terminology for their problem, and how to articulate the solution. A target profile interview helps tremendously in this regard.

Once you have clarity with your message, it’s time to go back to your original audience and see how the message works.

Yup, it’s time to test. Will they react? Will they get in touch?

Why do prospects go dead on you? Let’s look at three big reasons:

• They’re hearing the idea for the first time • You don’t have a clear next step • They’re not sure how to apply your idea to their world

One of the biggest problems is definitely “hearing the idea for the first time”

There’s a reason why people that follow up do better than others. Even when we’re keen to buy into a product or service, unless there’s a screaming level of urgency, we move very slowly.

We fully intend to solve the problem, but we tend to have other fires to put out. Even if you’re offering the most powerful product or service, clients take their time to respond. Without the follow-up, your message is like a ship in the night.

Having a next step is crucial

If a potential client is in your space, what can she do next? There’s no prescribed answer for every situation. Sometimes the client can get in touch with you, go to your website, or join some newsletter. The better option, wherever available, is for you to get their information and get in touch with them, instead.

Online, it’s a good idea to get them to take some action

It’s one thing to just have a report, white paper etc. but it’s easier to get distracted online. You might want them to get to a specific page in the report or a particular set of pages. You’ve gone through the trouble of finding the prospect, have even gotten the prospect’s attention, but something that creates action on their part is a powerful tool.

• If you’re an art coach, helping them draw something quickly might help • If you’re into assisting clients to get work, a quick template might be the answer. • If you’re into meditation, an active meditation technique that’s different is likely to get their attention.

Many of us believe that prospects will make their decision and take the next step. It isn’t as true as you’d expect. Most of us need that additional nudge.

However, this only applies if your client can see the application of your service.

Let’s say you position yourself as a coach in InDesign. Is that likely to get the client to call you?

In many cases, you’re not going to get the call, because clients aren’t necessarily familiar with the term InDesign. They don’t necessarily know it’s a layout program. And if they do, they don’t know what they’re supposed to do with it. Which is where applications come into play.

Let’s say you show a prospect how she can create a gorgeous e-book in InDesign; now they have one type of application. Another set of prospects might open their eyes wide when they see the ability to create stationery and brochures. It’s still InDesign, but there are many applications, aren’t there?

Don’t confuse this advice with a one-stop shop

A one-stop shop is where you try and push everything under the nose of the client all at once. That kind of business is quite counterproductive for a small business, as it positions you as an extreme generalist and not a specialist at all.

However, if you were to draw the client into your business with a single concept. e.g. Mike Jara’s line is: Morning has just started and do you already feel left behind?

That’s a feeling, an emotion, a real day to day problem that draws in the client.

Jara might have a slightly bigger program or coaching system, and he needs to reveal it much later. When the clients are sure of what he’s offering, he can then put forward the applications. It might seem that sleep has just one application—to get a restful sleep—but you’d be surprised.

People, and in this case, teachers may not be sleeping because of a change in a relationship, death in the family, money issues and a whole raft of issues. These issues can be directly addressed or gently brought up as tiny examples, which in turn gets and keeps the attention of the client.

Which in turn brings us right back to Red Bull

Red Bull isn’t a coaching service, of that we’re all quite sure. Even so, the principles of getting a client are relatively similar. They found their audience by hiring the popular kids to throw a party. The problem they solved was one of being cool.

Red Bull was and still is considered to be a cool drink by many in that audience. Nobody believed in Red Bull at the start, and it took Dietrich Mateschitz three years to get things going.

Even so, as a company they’ve followed up consistently using sporting and cultural events, creating spaces and parties to make sure they’re in the public eye at a relatively low cost.

As coaches we need to put similar principles in place to get prospects, so let’s go through a quick summary:

• Work on getting to your target audience—yes, offline and online • Meet with clients and run your message past them • Watch for something in the message that gets their attention • Go back to your audience and state your line and message

If they are interested, do they follow up?

If not, it’s because you’ve got to follow up, give them a clear next step and show them various applications.

Yes, these are a lot of steps, indeed

And it’s one of the reasons why many coaches don’t do so well. The fundamental steps are remarkably similar whether you have a product, training or a service like coaching.

Just having a website or just one speaking engagement isn’t going to do the trick. You’ve got to be diligent with the steps, and even a great coaching system takes time to get off the ground.

Get started with your plan and execution right away.

Why Writing 800 Words Every Day Could Be Hindering Your Article Writing Progress

📅 August 24, 2019 | View in Gmail

Have you ever wondered how many words a professional writer writes in a day?

Why Writing 800 Words Every Day

Could Be Hindering Your Article Writing Progress

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=zJI64ask1T3_r1YdSScCAQ

As writers, we count words when we are creating a book or writing an article.

We look at completing a fixed number of words per day—800 words. And yet, that system can be counterproductive to finishing your article. Professional writers seem to follow another method, one that ignores the output and instead focuses on the article writing process.

How do they do it? And what have we been doing incorrectly?

Let’s find out how to fix this problem and finish our articles.

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=zJI64ask1T3_r1YdSScCAQ | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=AkMt12bj2GNGkm80VZcgjQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=E3LErLS8OHYN147equgM8w | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=woJ0YOQFJrpGyZQXZoiyVQ |

Three binge-worthy podcasts on

‘Writing Articles’

How to Research An Article (Without Killing Your Productivity)

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=hzca.V0tkF.c1dTBTL0nqA | iTunes

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=UxyYP67FP.0C4m68ac_cbA | Spotify

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How To Use “Transition Techniques” To Keep Your Reader Locked Into Your Article

Read online

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=wED_2.l3tDv1N.ide49Cbg | Spotify

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How a Lack of Energy, Not Time, Causes Writers to Stall and Crash

Read online

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=Igp99zVadNEtt1&b=erHZovjR0JuuC4CBzotAVg

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. May I ask a favour? Would you mind sharing this podcast with one person? I would love it.

                Click Here to tell one friend

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Announcing: Why Most Planning Fails (The Critical Importance of Chaos In Planning)

📅 August 20, 2019 | View in Gmail

I didn’t think that a Chaos Planning System would apply to me. I’m always well organize.

  There is a cartoon here

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/chaos-planning-forget-business-planning-and-goal-setting-start-with-chaos-planning/

So year after year you sit down and create a list of things you want to achieve.

Then suddenly it’s August 2019, and you’ve not really moved ahead as you’d expected. And hey, this phenomenon isn’t new. It’s not like you’re not trying to achieve stuff, but something always seems to derail your goals.

And what’s worse is that you’ve read all the books on planning as well.

But they haven’t helped either. There’s a reason why they haven’t helped. It’s because those books were written by highly organised people. What you need is for someone disorganised to write a book. A book based on chaos. And how chaos is critical to starting out your plan.

Aha…here’s a 35 Page Report: The Chaos Planning System

That will help you move ahead. So have a look at this product and judge the value for yourself.

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Warm regards,

Sean

P.S. You also get the book—Pronto Learning: Insiders Tips To Speed Up Your Learning

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

“Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

“Taking the time to legitimately mark off 3-4 hours for chaos each working day has made all the difference. In the past, just like you described, I stacked up my days with back-to-back everything — totally unrealistic.

I would recommend this product—It was an easy read and an easy implementation, and since putting it into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

Dan Wagner, USA

Judge for yourself

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

“When I found out about the Chaos planning book, I thought it’d be another tactical productivity system that you learn, implement, try and forget because it’s too complex.”

I’ve decided to give it a shot because my view of the whole work/life balance approach resonates with Sean’s.

Well, yes I implemented what I learned right as I’ve finished reading but the beauty of this way of thinking is that it’s not another tactic, it’s a system. A system is something that you can incorporate into your routine and take advantage of without even realizing you added another tool.

I suggest you get it especially if you feel you are done with tactics and appreciate the benefits of a solid process based on working principles.

Christopher Silvestri, UK

Judge for yourself

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Announcing: Why most planning fails (the critical importance of chaos in planning)

📅 August 17, 2019 | View in Gmail

Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/chaos-planning-forget-business-planning-and-goal-setting-start-with-chaos-planning/

So year after year you sit down and create a list of things you want to achieve.

Then suddenly it’s October 2018, and you’ve not really moved ahead as you’d expected. And hey, this phenomenon isn’t new. It’s not like you’re not trying to achieve stuff, but something always seems to derail your goals. And what’s worse is that you’ve read all the books on planning as well.

Aha…here’s a 35 Page Report: The Chaos Planning System

That will help you move ahead. So have a look at this product and judge the value for yourself.

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Warm regards, Sean P.S. You also get the book—Pronto Learning: Insiders Tips To Speed Up Your Learning

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

“Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

I would recommend this product—It was an easy read and an easy implementation, and since putting it into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

Dan Wagner, USA Judge for yourself

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options, visit: https://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TExsbIwstKxszJzMzKxMtEa0LMwcDMzsDAw=

Why Discussion and Feedback Are A Writer’s Secret Weapon (And How Professionals Use it to Their Advantage)

📅 August 13, 2019 | View in Gmail

Scientists prove this point, coders prove this point, and great creativity underlines it.

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JAenuJHYhNEtt1&b=uYzwFrbkRHwT_85ojwG7aA

Why Discussion and Feedback Are A Writer’s Secret Weapon (And How Professionals Use it to Their Advantage)

  Load the images to see the cartoon. It works!

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JAenuJHYhNEtt1&b=eQjOEUAiymyZBalx1summw

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JAenuJHYhNEtt1&b=3CVA_8vPUcReqgfa7wh6RQ | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JAenuJHYhNEtt1&b=hkvQG_K95KjhBIIFBnZR4w | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JAenuJHYhNEtt1&b=Lk6D2WV_Eqa_CHnxZhA76g |).

If you drop me in Kyoto or Paris, I’ll walk happily for hours.

However, the moment I have to exercise, I detest the very concept of walking. And yet, day after day, year after year, we go for a walk. It’s healthy of course, and I actually learn stuff or listen to music, but the most crucial part of the walk is the part right up to the traffic lights.

It’s about a ten-minute walk from our house to the lights, and that’s when I talk to Renuka, my wife about what I’ve been reading or watching. And there are days when Renuka is “sleep walking”, so I’ll get nods, but some days she’s wide awake, and we have a discussion. If I’m lucky, she’ll disagree with almost everything I’m saying.

Discussion is a great way to get prepared to write an article

I remember the author, Malcolm Gladwell drumming home this very point. He tends to find a friend either in person or over the phone, and they discuss the topic. If the friend doesn’t respond well, Gladwell knows the idea either needs tuning or needs to be dropped entirely.

If the person gets interested or goes off on their version of the story, Gladwell knows the premise is interesting. It struck me that this method is what most writers tend to do instinctively, yet the ones that struggle don’t do it at all, and it puts them at a significant disadvantage.

If you keep your article under wraps, it’s your own secret

This secretive nature of ours tends to boil down to one aspect—and it’s called insecurity. Sounds harsh, I know, but it’s just because we’re insecure about our topic, or that we’ll be called out in some way.

Feedback rocks our boat so much that we feel happier to simply get on with the job of writing, and avoid this discussion bit completely. It’s sobering to note that discussion and exposing your ideas to the world is how great science is done.

Scientists don’t tend to work in a bubble

They postulate an idea, or do some research and publish a paper. That paper is examined by others in their field, and they come up with holes in the research or idea. The holes might be so large that the scientist has to go back to almost the starting point if they want to ratify their idea. Is this method frustrating? Is it a big blow to the ego?

Of course. It is

Renuka is not the only source of feedback and discussion. I’ll get on WhatsApp and chatter away with a private group. I’ll have discussions via e-mail or Messenger. And often, I’ll post a rough idea on the forum in 5000bc.

If you’re wondering why there are so few holes in a lot of the articles or books from Psychotactics, then wonder no more. Those holes existed. If you look at the courses, e.g. the Sales Page course, it’s in Version 3.0. That tells you that the course material of 1.0 and 2.0 had holes.

The same applies to the Article Writing Course, or any course, any article—just about everything we do. This article too will have holes in it, and we know this to be true, because the moment I post it, someone will ask further questions or have clarifications needed. Or, as the case may be, they may disagree with some point or the other.

But feedback is about holes and the discussion is often just for the sake of clarity

When you have an idea or a topic you want to cover, it’s a bit premature in your head. When you put it down on paper, on chat, or in a verbal discussion, you have to be more precise in your argument. It forces you to think of analogies.

You might say: “You know this topic we’re discussing is exactly like the Barbie case study. Remember how…” And that discussion will spur case studies and examples, but it does a lot more. When explaining something to someone else, you also tend to bring up analogies. You say, “It’s a lot like a roundabout, instead of a traffic light.

Both systems regulate the traffic, but one works without any punishment or and yet is far superior in traffic control.” When you explain yourself, you can’t help but try and pull up a series of analogies. The discussion becomes the groundwork for all the analogies, stories, case studies and examples you could insert into your still to be written article.

Whether you choose a forum, chat, the phone or a walk in Kyoto the result is similar

You’re going for a little stroll with your ideas. And along the way, you meet other ideas or even run into that snarly feedback guy from next door. You haven’t started to write yet, but you’re beginning to percolate, which is far more important.

It might be a good idea at this point to reach into your pocket and scribble the ideas down. I tend to dictate them into my phone into Evernote so I can access the ideas on any computer or device, later. You may think you’ll remember it all. I promise you it’s not a good idea.

For one, even if you have a great memory, you have to use energy to remember those points. In doing so, your discussion won’t move as quickly as it possibly should. I tend to quickly save whatever I can remember and then continue the discussion even as I’m marching up or down the hill.

If you can, it’s a good idea to have many articles going at once

When I first started writing, I was so pathetic that I could only focus on a single article. I’d spend days over that article, and that was my sole obsession. In time I realised it was better to have many articles all at different levels of progress.

You see what’s happening, right?

It feels chaotic to have many articles all on the go at once, but in fact, they’re all percolating over the duration of a week or so. The one that started last Monday might be completed by the following week, or earlier. Or later.

But the discussion and the feedback move it backwards and forward. When starting out, it might take all your energy just to focus on a single article, but in time you’ll find having many articles inching ahead to be a great way to get discussions going on many fronts.

Keeping secrets is mostly a terrible plan in almost all areas of life

We get bad advice from well-wishers, parents and guardians. We’re told as we’re growing up that certain things need to be private. In reality, it’s hogwash. In many cases, secrets only seek to make us more insecure. And this kind of “let’s keep it private, let’s keep it a secret” usually makes work worse, not better.

Scientists prove this point, coders prove this point, and great creativity underlines this idea over and over again.

If you really want to get your article moving faster, and want it to be more robust, you have to overwrite the nonsensical programming you had in your formative years. Discussion and feedback help you formulate, tear down and rebuild ideas at high speed.

It’s input

Input shows up when you read about your industry’s subject matter. It creates a sweet, creamy layer of creativity when you cross-pollinate with different case studies, industries and even different media. And finally, input pushes your ideas to the wall. Your job is to make your work clearer, more robust.

The more you accept feedback and discussion as part of your routine, the more volatile the process will seem at first.

In time, however, you’ll seek out discussion and feedback at every turn, and overwrite the “keep secret” programming that slows you down and keeps you isolated in your own dark, insecure corner.

Why The Top-Half Of The Sales Page Goes Wrong (And How To Fix It)

📅 August 10, 2019 | View in Gmail

We understand her problem, but where does our product or service come into play?

Why The Top-Half Of The Sales Page Goes Wrong

(And How To Fix It)

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=ZT_7t3TXo9jpw1g.UnotWA

Why are some sales pages so confusing?

Is it because of the message or rather because there are way too many messages hitting you all at once? A sales page needs a powerful message to get the client not just interested, but to keep reading. And yet sales pages often miss that goal.

But there’s a way to start the sales page from getting off to a false start.

And it’s called “isolating the problem”. But how do we go about this isolation process?

Let’s find out. shall we?

Read online

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=ZT_7t3TXo9jpw1g.UnotWA | iTunes

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Three binge-worthy podcasts on

‘Creating Your Uniqueness’

Three Steps To Getting Your Uniqueness Recognised

Read online

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=7iw3U9bO7cGj1Bk5GZXOQQ |

Case Study: How We Created The Uniqueness For The Podcast

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=tZg0wcIhCpc1VS7IxzhKuA |

How To Validate Your Uniqueness With Testimonials

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=BbZbqPTO62z_bKF7yQASDw | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=sQ6Fe6KcgtXNVLXiKAfRVg |

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JFPYq2yWdNEtt1&b=t8k5mX3MAUX0s0e6ftpu3A

Warm regards

Sean D’Souza

P.S. Would you mind sharing this podcast with one person. I would love it.

                Click Here to tell one friend

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Last day for special offer: Why Clients Buy (And Why They Don’t)

📅 August 06, 2019 | View in Gmail

The beauty of Brain Audit lies in its simplicity and the common sense approach it takes.

  There is a cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/special/brain-audit-offer/

Hi Seree

Marketing provides thousands of ways to get and keep customer’s

attention

But you don’t want thousands of ways. You just want a simple system that’s effective. A system that has been tested for over 15 years and got results. And most importantly a system that you don’t have to pull up a 675 page manualto even work out.

Announcing: The Brain Audit Kit + Special Goodies worth $158. Valid

until 6 August 2019—(12 midnight US Eastern)

The Brain Audit is the book that gives you a system

The Brain Audit is a step-by-step system that enables you to understand what’s going on in the brain of your customer. It’s a system that is based on a deep understanding of how our mind works, and why we do what do.

When you buy the Premium Brain Audit Kit before 6 August 2019 you’ll also get “How To Identify The Right Target Audience For Your Business”.

Special Goodie: How To Identify The Right Target Profile For Your Business

This book will give you an instant understanding on

• How You Can Get Target Audience Wrong • How Target Profile Works • Persona Vs Person and more

Judge for yourself. You won’t regret it.

(This offer expires on 6 August 2019)

https://www.psychotactics.com/special/brain-audit-offer/

Regards,

Sean

P.S. The Brain Audit has been around for many years and is unique because it has over 800+ testimonials. It’s proof that The Brain Audit works, and works very well indeed.

Here is what Raj Aiyer has to say about The Brain Audit

“I did not want the Brain Audit to join the long list of books that I had enthusiastically bought and left them unread midway because I found them later to be –blah blah blah. There’s a lot of mediocre content out there and so I was cautious about buying this.

The Brain Audit an all-encompassing framework to audit your communication.

The beauty of Brain Audit lies in its simplicity and the common sense approach it takes. The specific features I liked the most were that there were lots of examples and great cartoons which made it an easy read.

I would recommend The Brain Audit to anybody who has a business to run and wants to audit their communication or learn the building blocks of marketing.”

Here is what Jonathan Chan has to say about The Brain Audit

I LOVED the Brain Audit!

Like others who are grasping at straws trying to find my way through advertising & marketing, I thought The Brain Audit was probably just more information. I’d already read, The famous ‘Boron Letters’, Jay Abraham’s books and other advertising books.

Firstly, I was extremely surprised on how readable it was.

It was so simple to understand! Secondly, I was even more impressed since I could immediately see where I could improve my landing page (for an upcoming product launch).

It clearly taught me how to systematically think and understand why clients really buy or not buy. There was a simple checklist to go through.

I also loved the stories at the beginning.

They helped me to remember what I needed to and why. Another was the clear explanations helping me understand why I should pay attention to customers complaints and how to use them.

I’d highly recommend the Brain Audit.

In fact, if you know NOTHING about advertising or marketing and are on the fence on which program to buy, just get this! It also comes with the BEST guarantee you will ever see, period. In fact, I regret I didn’t find it earlier. I’d have save lots of wasted time and be years ahead.

Yesterday was the best time to buy The Brain Audit; Don’t waste any more precious time and buy now.

Thank you so much Sean!

Judge for yourself. You won’t regret it.

(This offer expires on 6 August 2019)

https://www.psychotactics.com/special/brain-audit-offer/

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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Announcing : Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don’t)

📅 August 03, 2019 | View in Gmail

A system to get and keep your customer’s attention every time. You’ve seen it before You’re about to get a customer to sign on the dotted line. And then they suddenly back away. What causes them to back away? What causes a sure sale to fall apart? When a sale falls apart, it’s extremely frustrating! And what’s frustrating is the fact that you don’t know at which point the sale fell apart. What you do know is that your product or service is really good for your customer. And that you’ve done everything to get them interested and ready to buy. Announcing: The Brain Audit Kit + Special Goodies worth $158 (Valid until 6 August 2019) Marketing provides thousands of ways to get and keep your customer’s attention But you don’t want thousands of ways: You want a simple system that’s effective. A system that has been tested right across the planet, from big markets to absolutely atom-sized markets. A system that has been tested for over 18 years and got results. A system that has over 967 testimonials. A system that has got results across all media from websites to presentations, to one-on-one selling and sales through brochures/booklets etc. And most importantly a system that you don’t have to pull up a 675-page manual to even work out. The Brain Audit is the book that gives you a system The Brain Audit is a step-by-step system that enables you to understand what’s going on in the brain of your customer. It’s a system that is based on a deep understanding of how our mind works, and why we do what do. • How the brain responds to specific psychological triggers. • How to speed up the sales process, without the need to be pushy. • How do you stop your brand from being a commodity? When you buy the Premium Brain Audit Kit from the 3—6 August 2019, you’ll also get the bonus goodie ‘How To Identify The Right Target Audience For Your Business’. Special Goodie: How To Identify The Right Target Profile For Your Business This book will give you an instant understanding on: How You Can Get Target Audience Wrong How Target Profile Works Persona Vs Person and more This offer expires on 6 August 2019. https://www.psychotactics.com/special/brain-audit-offer/ Regards, Sean P.S. Judge for yourself. You won’t regret it. https://www.psychotactics.com/special/brain-audit-offer/

July 2019

Psychotactics Crazy Philosophy (And Why It May Help You Move Forward)

📅 July 30, 2019 | View in Gmail

Do you have things that you haven’t completed? Do you feel you are always behind?

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=rPvBLMk28rSE.J7.wmOzzg

  Psychotactics Crazy Philosophy

(And Why It May Help You Move Forward)

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=MtYFyznAiB53PLv9ubq3Xw

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=MtYFyznAiB53PLv9ubq3Xw | iTunes

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=ui6SX_W9qL9wMZJA9Nc9wg | Android

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=Fip1rpBHg4yQMeLXQZxDHg | Spotify

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=IhKAZstOJNEtt1&b=2jvUTEeYnBMxkSr0y0VLjA |).

----------

We may often hear ourselves saying, we have a long to-do list

Or things that we still haven’t completed. Or worse, we may talk about how we have no time. Often, it’s just a matter of issues that can get resolved with a touch of philosophy.

There’s work to be done as well, but the philosophy needs to come first.

In this article let’s find out how philosophy can come to our rescue and serve our business—even save us time!

----------

At any given point in time, I’m exactly like the next person.

I’m six courses behind.

Right now, I’m learning GREP (InDesign), Colour for cartoon scenes, Lighting and Shadow, Scrivener—and I just bought a new camera (the Fuji X100s). And yes, there are about 60 lessons of my Portuguese course that I still have to work through (I’ve completed 30). This means I’m a lot behind in my courses—at least six courses of about 18-20 hours each.

And yes, it frustrates me

I’d like to have finished the courses. I’d like to have mastered GREP and know all the buttons on that camera that looks like something my grandfather owned. And yes, I’m no newbie with Scrivener, but I’d love to finish that course, if only to find out what I’m missing.

And at this point in time, I remember. I have about six copies of Harvard Business Review to go through, and yes, at least seven books on my Kindle that I still have to read.

That’s when I look at my nieces

One is fifteen years old. The other is ten. They have so much stuff to learn as well. Week after week they’re pummelled with maths, writing, spelling, reading, and it’s endless. Like every one of us they struggle, but they don’t think of the future like we do.

Even with an enormous amount of stuff coming up in the future, they’re taking it one day at a time. They don’t say things like “I haven’t finished my maths, so I won’t take on spelling”.

And we adults do just that

We believe in our silly, ideal world. A world where you start something and you finish it. Possibly even master it on the first sweep! We think we’re not going to spend on this course, if we haven’t finished that course.

We will not buy this book, if that book is not complete. Adults call themselves realists, but they live in a fantasy world where all the boxes are ticked.

No one is saying that you should be irrational

This is not a suggestion to go out and do seventeen courses, or buy twenty-three books, knowing that you haven’t finished any of the preceding ones.

Yet, in this fast-moving world, you can’t afford to sit down and say: I’ve not completed this, so I won’t learn that. No, no, no, non, non, no! You want to be six courses behind, or five courses behind.

Or even three! You want to be constantly learning, implementing and knowing that you’re going to be behind all the time, from now until forever.

That is the state of the human condition

Your to-do list is always in a state of “things to do”. We’re always behind, because if we were not behind, we’d be stagnant. And that’s precisely what I would feel if I had completed all my courses, read all the books on my list, learned all the languages I needed to learn. I’d be stagnating.

You have to dig your well before you’re thirsty

I bought myself a bunch of Moleskine books back in 2009. They’re expensive watercolour books, but they lay on the shelf for about two years and I never so much as opened the wrapping.

Then, one day in 2010, I suddenly decided to use them, slowly at first, but soon I got momentum. I started using up one book every couple of months (that’s 60 pages of illustrations). But my books were there on the shelves the moment I was just semi-keen to get started. So were my paints. And the same applies to the courses I buy, the stuff I do.

I’m always behind

Six courses behind.

Six magazines and seven books behind.

But you know what?

I’m constantly striving to close the gap knowing I never will.

But it sure beats being stagnant, eh?

Announcing: Why Some Books Stand Out (While Others Fail Miserably)

📅 July 27, 2019 | View in Gmail

How To Create Non-Confusing InfoProducts—The Stop-Go System

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/information-products-live-workshop-form/

Why would anyone want to write a book?

Book writing is a pain from start to finish. You have to think about the outline, collate the information and then somehow make it all seem very informative and entertaining. The last thing anyone would want to do is to write a book.

And yet, we know the power of the book because we read books

We know what happens when we read a book that changes the way we think or do something. We seek out that author, we buy more books. If they have courses or training, we want to join in. And we too want to be like that author. We too want people to earn our living doing the stuff we enjoy.

It’s just this writing process that’s a real pain

I know this to be true because I was pretty much a nobody in a nowhere land. When I moved to New Zealand from India, I didn’t know anyone here. I was also not known for marketing, and if I had any references or testimonials, it was solely for cartooning. If it seemed like the odds were stacked against us, well, they were.

I didn’t realise it back then but The Brain Audit became a doorway

It started out as a tiny booklet (padded with a lot of cartoons). It was through this booklet that people came to our even tinier workshops. This book was key to us starting up 5000bc (our membership site). The book got us a few speaking engagements, then connections to the world outside.

But aren’t there already millions of books on the same topic?

Yes there are, and there were—even back when we started. There have always been more books than you could read. Even in the noisiest marketplace, there will always be books that will stand out because they’re easier to read and remember.

And how does a book become easy to read and remember? You do it with:

• Structure • Stories • Summaries

You might not realise, for instance, that summaries rock.

That summaries show up not just at the end of a book, but in a ton of different places. You may think of stories as just a story, but in fact stories, analogies, examples and case-studies are what makes one book great and the other just ho-hum.

And structure.

Without structure it’s easy to get hopelessly lost.

You can spend months going around in circles trying to figure out which part to keep, which part to drop.

And this is why amazing books are hard to find

Outstanding books are hard to write because we’ve never been taught that writing is less about the word, and more about the structure. It’s less about the decoration of the cake, and instead the way the cake needs to be structured so it doesn’t topple over.

• Learn how to structure. • Learn how to craft stories in a compelling way. • Learn the immense power of summaries.

Did you collect your free goodies? Did you read the piece on the “One Concept”?

That’s your starting point to creating a far more effective info-products.

Goodie 1: How To Make The Information You Sell More Valuable

Goodie 2: Three Ways To Write A Stunning Report Overnight

Goodie 3: Product Sequencing: How to guide a customer along a clear purchasing path

Click here to get your goodies:

(You will be asked to opt-in)

Free Information Products Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/information-products-live-workshop-form/

                Information Products Free Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/information-products-live-workshop-form/

  Image

http://www.psychotactics.com

Warm regards

Sean

Psychotactics, PO Box 36461, Auckland, Auckland 1330, NEW ZEALAND

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How To Find Your Niche (From Recurring Client Problems)

📅 July 23, 2019 | View in Gmail

We all struggle to find our niche? But is it really that hard?

Or have we been looking in the wrong places? This article shows you how you can find dozens of niches, all of which have great power and are profitable now and for years to come.

In 2010, Gillette blades dominated the market at 70 per cent. Six years later, they were down to 54%. How can Gillette get back into the game? Phil Masiello is one of the reasons why Gillette is losing market share. Masiello founded 800razors and sales at his company were up to about $2 million annually before he sold it.

Announcing: How to get $75 worth of Info-Products Goodies (Absolutely Free!)

📅 July 20, 2019 | View in Gmail

Why A Crappy Name Will Bury Your Book or InfoProduct I don’t know if you’ve read a watercolour instruction book before. But no matter which book you read, the instructor will tell you one thing: You need to understand ‘values’. Without ‘values’ in your painting, you will never create a watercolour that is dramatic.

How To Structure Your Information Product Giveaway (With Passion)

📅 July 16, 2019 | View in Gmail

Do it with passion, but also with structure and you’ll get rewards. Have you walked into a store where some of the goods are locked up and not accessible to customers? Many years ago, we used to do workshops in Campbell, California primarily it’s because that’s where Renuka’s sister used to live.

Can We Really Systemise Luck? (Or Do We Continue To Depend Upon Hard Work)

📅 July 13, 2019 | View in Gmail

Is there a magic formula to being lucky? Let’s find out. Luck it seems, is fickle? Or is it? How come some people are lucky (or as the case may be, unlucky) all the while. There is indeed a system and it may be off a bit, like weather forecasting, but by and large it’s quite predictable. Let’s dump the hard, hard, hard work mantra for a while and find out how to make luck stick.

How To Overcome The Impostor Syndrome (By Understanding The Psychology Of How It Works)

📅 July 09, 2019 | View in Gmail

There are two factors when it comes to Impostor Syndrome: Let’s find out what they are. Many, if not most of us, have already experienced what it seems like to be a fraud in our mind. Still we can’t seem to shake the impostor syndrome. But what if we understood how the psychology works? Find out the twin factors ramming into you and me, and how we can avoid feeling like we’re not worthy.

Announcement: Are Your Headlines “Write and Hope” or “Predictably Clickable”?

📅 July 06, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you write headlines that your clients just can’t resist? There are only two kinds of headlines. Unfortunately, most of us end up with the bad kind. Let’s call that the “write and hope” kind of headline. Instead of the “writing and hoping”, we really want to create “predictably clickable” headlines. And we want to write them every single time.

How a Lack of Energy, Not Time, Causes Writers to Stall and Crash

📅 July 02, 2019 | View in Gmail

Without a clear view of how energy works, we’re likely to start off strong and stop! If you take an hour to write an 800-word article, how long will it take to write 800 words for a book? One hour, right? After all, 800 words are 800 words, and why would it matter if the words are for a book or an article? Yet, if you’re writing a book, you’ll find that the very same 800 words might take three hours or even a couple of days.

June 2019

Announcing The Headlines Course: How To Write Amazingly Powerful Headlines (Every Single Time)

📅 June 29, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you write headlines that your clients just can’t resist? Here’s a little test. I’m going to write three lines. And of course, you’ll read those three lines. Then you’ll tell me which of the lines work. And which ones don’t. Headlines are nothing but sentences And we struggle with them for a simple reason: We write sentences and speak them out aloud thousands of times a day. But we have to deal with a headline maybe once a week, sometimes even less frequently.

Why the Lack of Outlines Even Stop Professional Writers In Their Tracks

📅 June 25, 2019 | View in Gmail

Why is Pre-Work Important? What happens when you miss this step when writing your article? If you’re already good at writing, do you need an outline? It might seem one more barrier and yet it’s the first element that creates this so called Writer’s Block. Find out why outlines are a map that quickly get you to your destination. If you give employees a bonus, will they work harder?

How To Create Intensely Catchy Book Names (Without Too Much Of A Struggle)

📅 June 22, 2019 | View in Gmail

Let’s go on a treasure hunt and find out how to get an enticing book title in no time. Naming a book or info-product is often a royal pain in the neck. And that’s because most of us tend to sit down at our desk hoping for inspiration to strike. The weird bit is that inspiration is often in some other place altogether. It’s right in front of your nose, but often you may not see it.

One Special Announcement: How to Liven Up Your Website, Blog or Presentation with Cartoons

📅 June 15, 2019 | View in Gmail

Wouldn’t it be great if you could draw your own cartoons for your blog?

https://www.psychotactics.com/davinci/

Just one short announcements today.

The Da Vinci Cartooning Online Course: Opening 22 June 2019

Wouldn’t you like to draw cartoons to liven up your website, blog or presentations?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could draw your own cartoons instead of having to depend on someone else—or worse, buy some ill-fitting clip art?

But can anyone draw?

You’ve been told (and told yourself) time and time again, that you couldn’t draw a straight line. But did you know that cartoonists don’t draw straight lines? They draw circles, squares and triangles and they get amazing results.

Is it just an inborn talent? Or can anyone draw?

The interesting fact is that anyone can draw and draw well. And you don’t have to believe me.

The proof, they say, is in the pudding.

And this pudding (the Da Vinci Course) has been proven to be amazing to turn anyone, yes anyone, into a solid cartoonist. And you can see amazing results in just six months.

If you’ve ever wanted to illustrate your own books, ebooks, or even your blog, this is the opportunity.

We’ve had over 197+ people on this course. People who believed they couldn’t draw.

But don’t take my word for it. You can read their own stories at the link below.

https://www.psychotactics.com/davinci/

The Crazy Philosophy Of Psychotactics (And Why It May Help You In Your Business) – Part 1

📅 June 11, 2019 | View in Gmail

Why Reality Checks Kill Your Spirit (And Momentum) Are they a waste of time?

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

  The Crazy Philosophy Of Psychotactics

(And Why It May Help You In Your Business)

https://www.psychotactics.com/philosophy-of-psychotactics/

Two Announcements: How To Liven Up Your Website + Headline Course

📅 June 08, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/davinci/

Hello from a lovely wintery day in Auckland. Just stopping by to let you know what is happening at Psychotactics in the coming months.

The DaVinci Cartooning Online Course: Waiting List Open

Wouldn’t you like to draw cartoons to liven up your website, blog or presentations?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could draw your own cartoons instead of having to depend on someone else—or worse, buy some ill-fitting clip art?

But can anyone draw?

Announcing! The End of Writer’s Block (The Easy Way)

📅 June 04, 2019 | View in Gmail

Writer’s Block is no longer a reality. In fact the opposite is true.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/learn-how-to-speed-up-article-writing-with-simple-outlines/

Way back in the year 2002, I had what you’d call “bad days”

Actually they were worse than bad. They were foul days. These foul days were my “article writing days”.

I’d start off cheerily enough

I’d be inspired to write an article and would begin. And then something would happen—I’m not sure what. But it would bog me down. It would frustrate me, make me mad. I didn’t want to speak to anyone. I’d write draft after draft of the article. And two days later, after much agony, I’d get an article done—if it did get done.

Announcing: The End of Writer’s Block (The Easy Way)

📅 June 01, 2019 | View in Gmail

Do You Often Hit A Wall Called ‘Writers Block’? Have you heard about “talker’s block”?

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/learn-how-to-speed-up-article-writing-with-simple-outlines/

Way back in the year 2002, I had what you’d call “bad days”

Actually they were worse than bad. They were foul days. These foul days were my “article writing days”.

I’d start off cheerily enough

May 2019

The Cannibalisation Strategy: Why You Need to Make Your Products (And Services) Redundant

📅 May 28, 2019 | View in Gmail

What can we learn from this seemingly simple concept?

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

The Cannibalisation Strategy: Why You Need to Make Your Products (And Services) Redundant

https://www.psychotactics.com/cannibalisation-strategy/

(This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://www.psychotactics.com/cannibalisation-strategy/

How To Stop “Perfectionist Clients From Sabotaging Their Own Success”

📅 May 25, 2019 | View in Gmail

How can you help them gain the confidence and the skill?

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JtxjwnFClNEtt1&b=VUTis8eJwByxibgfhuzK2w

It’s not unusual for clients to say they’re perfectionists.

This means they take more time, spend more effort and they sound like the ideal client on your course.

But as perfectionists know fully well, they’re often jeopardising their own success, because all the extra work isn’t dramatically improving their work.

• How, then should you make them pay attention to what’s important? • How can you help them gain the confidence and the skill?

Why You Should Ignore Your Competition

📅 May 21, 2019 | View in Gmail

Most of us are obsessed with our competition. That is the point where things go wrong.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

Why You Should Ignore Your Competition

https://www.psychotactics.com/ignore-your-competition/

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://www.psychotactics.com/ignore-your-competition/

How To De-Stress With The Second Last Minute Deadline

📅 May 18, 2019 | View in Gmail

A deadline is crushing, if not crippling. We scramble and wish there were a better way.

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/second-last-minute-deadline/

Most of us have probably said something to the effect of “If it weren’t for the deadline, I’d get nothing done”.

Yet, for many of us, a deadline is crushing, if not crippling.

We scramble at the last minute and wish there were a better way to get things done on time.

Last Day for Special Offer—Dartboard Pricing + Special Bonus (worth $49)

📅 May 14, 2019 | View in Gmail

When you buy Dartboard Pricing-How To Increase Prices Without Losing Customers from 11 - 14 May 2019, you’ll also get—‘5-Steps To Starting Up A New Project Successfully’ (worth $49) absolutely free. Dartboard?As in darts and a dartboard?Yes, exactly!If you go to a bookstore and buy a dozen books on pricing, you will find pricing is some incredibly sophisticated system. You’ll run into fancy and complicated pricing models that rapidly put you to sleep.So is pricing simple?Sure it is. You don’t need a book to figure out pricing.A simple dart board and some prices on the board would solve your problem in a matter of minutes. The price itself is of little consequenceWhat matters is all the stuff around the price. And in this three-part pricing series, you’ll understand:The Psychology of Pricing (What Causes Us To Buy)The Method of Raising Prices (And The Mistakes To Avoid)Creating and Managing Price Expectations No boring pricing modelsNo ugh complication.Just a simple, step-by-step system that walks you through exactly what you have to do. And the Special Bonus: 5-Steps To Starting Up A New Project Successfully In this 24 page booklet you will learn Five steps that are required to start up any new project successfully. Why you shouldn’t get scared of your competition. Why brand analysis comes before everything else. Why personality is critical in your business. What is the most important thing when starting up a project? Judge for yourself at: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/ (This special offer ends 14 May 2019—US Eastern at 12 midnight) Regards Sean P.S. This is what Colette Nichol has to say about Dartboard Pricing: “The feature I most enjoyed about Dartboard Pricing was the table that shows you exactly how to price things so that they sell. It’s kind of genius.” “I have a very high success rate when it comes to sales but I’m interested in increasing my prices over the next two years, rather substantially. I purchased Dartboard Pricing as I was certain that it would provide useful info about how to actually go about doing that without experiencing excessive customer friction. Dartboard Pricing confirmed some practices that I was already using – showing me why it was working and how to make it work even better. It also gave me an easy to use framework for selling any course or product that I create. I feel confident now that when I create my first online course I will be able to price it in a way that communicates the value of what my clients will be receiving. Most small biz owners I know have all sorts of issues with pricing – this should take away some of those issues if not all of them. There’s basically no good reason not to buy Dartboard Pricing. It’s hands down the best $50 I’ve spent this year.” Colette Nichol Vancouver, Canada Judge for yourself at: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/ (This special offer ends today—US Eastern at 12 midnight)

Announcing: Dartboard Pricing-How To Increase Prices Without Losing Customers + Special Bonus Valued at $49

📅 May 11, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Dartboard?

As in darts and a dartboard?

Yes, exactly!

How to Ensure Testimonials (Even When Your Product Or Service Isn’t Quite Ready)

📅 May 07, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you get testimonials if your product is new?

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

  How to Ensure Testimonials (Even When Your Product Or Service Isn't Quite Ready)

https://www.psychotactics.com/pit-stop-testimonials/

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://www.psychotactics.com/pit-stop-testimonials/

Tiny Saturday request

📅 May 04, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/about/psychological-marketing-business-tactics-tell-a-friend/

Some of our best clients come from people just like you. People who are kind and helpful and with whom we could share a coffee or tea. We would love to have a few more people join us on this Psychotactics journey.

So this Saturday I have a tiny request

It would really be nice if you could tell just one friend about Psychotactics.

April 2019

Free from Psychotactics: The $2500 Brain Alchemy Marketing Strategy Workshop

📅 April 30, 2019 | View in Gmail

Free Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/free/brain-alchemy-goodies/

If someone stood on the corner and gave you $25, wouldn’t you be suspicious?

But what if they gave you $250? Or $1000? Would you raise your eyebrows? Even avoid that person?

It depends on the person, right?

Well that person happens to be me. And I’m not giving away $50 or even $1000, but instead a home study version of a workshop worth a chunky $2500.

Is Leadership a disadvantage in a company of one?

📅 April 27, 2019 | View in Gmail

Is Leadership a disadvantage in a company of one?

  Is Leadership a disadvantage in a company of one?

https://www.psychotactics.com/why-staying-small-is-smart/

Big companies talk a lot about leadership. However you and I may not have that big charisma factor.

• What do we have to do to get things done when working with freelancers? • What if we need to work with several team members?

How to Start Up with a Great Niche

📅 April 23, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you define your niche? And how do you know when you’ve found one that’s rewarding?

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

  How to Start Up with a Great Niche

  Load the images to see the cartoon. It works!

https://www.psychotactics.com/profitable-niche-coach/

  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

https://www.psychotactics.com/profitable-niche-coach/ | iTunes

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https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom?refid=stpr | Spotify

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The toughest part of coaching isn’t necessarily coaching itself. Instead, it’s the niche, isn’t it?

Free from Psychotactics: The $2500 Brain Alchemy Marketing Strategy Workshop

📅 April 20, 2019 | View in Gmail

The Brain Alchemy Masterclass is the structure that you need to build your business upon.

https://www.psychotactics.com/free/brain-alchemy-goodies/

If someone stood on the corner and gave you $25, wouldn’t you be suspicious? But what if they gave you $250? Or $1000? Would you raise your eyebrows? Even avoid that person?

How To Get Paid On Time—Three Simple Ways

📅 April 16, 2019 | View in Gmail

Wouldn’t it be a bit of shame that we have no time to look at sheep and cows because we’re

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JBFI.7LT6NEtt1&b=dmNo4skdtRzK8Kng0fl7Ew

  How To Get Paid On Time—Three Simple Ways

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  (This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read online

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What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

Wouldn’t it be a bit of shame that we have no time to look at sheep and cows because we’re trying to get paid on time?

There’s no foolproof system to get paid every time, but if you pay attention to how other industries work, you might never have to chase payments again.

There are three core methods to use:

– The Construction Company Method

– The 100% Payment in Advance Method

– A Downpayment in Advance Method

Let’s look at all three to see which one works for you.

Why Staying Small Is Probably A Smarter Move

📅 April 13, 2019 | View in Gmail

Instead of driving ourselves crazy, we bring in sanity and boundaries to our business.

Why Staying Small Is Probably A Smarter Move

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/staying-small-smarter-move/

Think Big. Really?

Studies show us that scaling up is often disastrous for most companies

But what’s the alternative?

That’s what we look at in this book review—well, chapter review—of Company of One by Paul Jarvis.

Last day for Special Offer: Website Components-How to Create Compelling Pages on Your Website + Special Bonus

📅 April 09, 2019 | View in Gmail

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer-01/

When you buy Website Components-How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website from the 6 April to 9 April 2019 you’ll also get a Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’ (worth $45) absolutely free.

Do you often wonder if your home page, about us page or client acquisition page is working at less than its full potential?

These three pages are critical to any website, and yet we often put the content together on these pages hurriedly.

Announcing: How to Create Compelling Pages on Your Website + Special Bonus (Valued at $45)

📅 April 06, 2019 | View in Gmail

Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer-01/

Hi Seree

When you buy Website Components-How To Create Compelling Pages On Your Website from 6 April - 9 April 2019 you’ll also get a Special Bonus - ‘How To Maximise The Power Of Bonuses’ (worth $45) absolutely free.

What Does It Take To Succeed With Your Business Venture? (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell)

📅 April 02, 2019 | View in Gmail

When your story enters the world, your story is just beginning.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

What Does It Take To Succeed With Your Business Venture? (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell)

March 2019

Announcing! How To Become An Expert In Your Industry

📅 March 30, 2019 | View in Gmail

Presenting: Five Free Article Writing Goodies that helps you quickly improve your articles

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Imagine you had a fairy godmother.

And she gave you one wish: The wish of ‘perceived expertise’.

Why The “End In Mind” Principle Can Severely Impede Our Learning And Progress

📅 March 26, 2019 | View in Gmail

Take care of the prep work becomes incredibly stunning at it, and you will succeed.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

Why The “End In Mind” Principle Can Severely Impede Our Learning And Progress

Announcing: The Secret to Becoming an Expert in your Customer’s Eyes?

📅 March 23, 2019 | View in Gmail

How do you write so that your clients actually read your articles above all that noise?

  Article Writing Image

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How to Ramp Up Curiosity (Even When Using a Controversial Topic)

📅 March 19, 2019 | View in Gmail

However, the very nature of the controversy is what jolts your audience to life.

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

How to Ramp Up Curiosity (Even When Using a Controversial Topic)

Announcing! How to Become an Expert in Your Industry

📅 March 16, 2019 | View in Gmail

The biggest frustration with writing is it drives you crazy. Yet writing is a “language”.

  Article Writing Goodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/article-writing-live-course-form-how-to-attract-clients-with-your-articles/

Announcing: The Psychotactics Three-Hour Meet-ups for 2019

📅 March 14, 2019 | View in Gmail

Get away from the humdrum of your office and have a pleasant morning with Sean.

  Meet Sean D'Souza

https://www.psychotactics.com/meet-ups-international/

The purpose

Get away from the humdrum of your office and have a pleasant morning with Sean and Renuka over coffee in a casual setting.

Announcement: How To Speed Up Your Sales With Client Attractors

📅 March 12, 2019 | View in Gmail

We are in an extremely tough market with lots of competition. So what do

  Client Attractors

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/client-attractors/

You already know that 80% of a sales letter depends on your headline

Announcing! How To Speed Up Your Sales With Client Attractors

📅 March 09, 2019 | View in Gmail

What happens once your customer goes past the headline into the rest of the copy? You already know that 80% of a sales letter depends on your headline And therefore it’s not uncommon to see writers spend many hours testing and re-testing their headline. But what happens once your customer goes past the headline into the rest of the copy? Which are the elements that cause customers to feel an urge to buy your product or service?

Can You Successfully Defend Your Work Against Criticism? (Lessons from Malcolm Gladwell)

📅 March 05, 2019 | View in Gmail

What do you do when your story enters the world? Does it belongs to your readers? How many bad reviews can you find of Psychotactics, online? Possibly fewer than ten, and I’ve personally seen one or two. When you consider that we’ve been online with a marketing site since the year 2000, that’s quite a track record. So why did it bother me when a client wrote a bad review just one bad review? The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it?

Are You Tempted To Use Hype? How To Avoid Hype And Still Get Clients

📅 March 02, 2019 | View in Gmail

But what if you can’t stand hype? Does that mean you roll over and play dead? Hype works exceedingly well, even when the client knows they’re being duped a bit. But what if you can’t stand hype? Does that mean you roll over and play dead? Here’s how you can avoid hype completely, if you wish to do so. And if the hype is so great, that it can’t be ignored, you can use the hype like mental judo.

February 2019

Why Onboarding is Crucial (And Most Companies Ignore It)

📅 February 26, 2019 | View in Gmail

How automation doesn’t become a crutch but is a handy companion. There are three distinct stages before we order a meal in a restaurant. The first stage is when you’re standing outside the restaurant, deciding whether to go in. The second stage is when you get welcomed into the new space. Finally, it’s when you first get acknowledged after sitting down; you get a glass of water, and a menu.

Announcing Goodies: How To Find Your Business Uniqueness

📅 February 23, 2019 | View in Gmail

Biggest mistakes and how to avoid them. How to get to your uniqueness. Have you ever wondered what would it be like to stand out from the competition in a way that customers choose you over everyone else? And what if you were to raise your prices, and they still kept coming? That’s what uniqueness can do to your product or service. Yet most of us seem to know what makes our product or service better than competition.

How To Create A Uniqueness That’s Difficult For Competition To Replicate

📅 February 19, 2019 | View in Gmail

Can others easily replicate this uniqueness? What can you do to be different? Imagine for a second that you didn’t want to buy a notebook. I know I didn’t. Like you, I have quite a few notebooks lying around. I also have a lot of paper. And let’s not forget that I can take notes on my computer and the iPad. In short, who really needs a notebook?

The Crazy Philosophy Of Psychotactics (And Why It May Help You In Your Business)

📅 February 16, 2019 | View in Gmail

Is it important to have a philosophy for your business? And how do you convey the message? When we think of business, marketing tactics and strategy comes to mind, doesn’t it? Philosophy does exist but it may be a bit on the back burner. Yet, for us at Psychotactics, philosophy looms large. Here are three tiny nuggets that you can ponder over and see how they apply to you and how you can use them in your life and business.

Announcing: How To Put That Zing Back In Your Articles ( And Catch The Attention Of The Reader)

📅 February 12, 2019 | View in Gmail

What would make one article better than the other? The answer lies not just in stories. Storytelling seems to be the rage these days. And yet, it’s not new at all. It’s been around for thousands of years. What’s more, it’s not even alien to us. Even as a three-year old, you can tell when a story is really cool and when it’s just plain boring.

Announcing: How to Put that Zing Back in Your Articles

📅 February 09, 2019 | View in Gmail

The moment we have to write an article, we freeze up. What are the elements of a story? Storytelling seems to be the rage these days. And yet, it’s not new at all. It’s been around for thousands of years. What’s more, it’s not even alien to us. Even as a three-year old, you can tell when a story is really cool and when it’s just plain boring. The problem arises when we have to take this storytelling skills to our articles. The moment we have to write an article, we freeze up. The article gets riddled with facts and figures. Or sequences. Or whatever. But we know instinctively that the power of the story is missing. But it’s not just the story that’s important. It’s a story well-told. A well-told story is like a well-told joke. It has zing. And kapow! So what are the elements of a well-told story? Why have they been playing hide and seek with us for so long? Find out right here in this three-part series on Storytelling! You’ll love it. It’s full of cartoons, precise advice—and yes, the zing! That’s what you’ll learn: how to create the zing. Book 1: The Power of Stories—How to Turn Average Stories into Cliff-Hangers Book 2: Signature Stories—How to Create Clear and Memorable Business Stories Book 3: The Power of Drama—How To Create Counterflow (Without Making Your Reader Sick) So have a look right away. http://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling Regards, Sean P.S. Here is what Kyle Newell has to say:“The obstacles that would have prevented me from buying–The Story Telling Mini Series was having enough other story telling products and books already.”I like the simplicity and quick implementation. Just yesterday, I was able to take them out, pull a few ideas and start writing!The specific feature I liked most about–The Story Telling Mini Series is how quick they were to get through.That’s not a bad thing, it’s a great thing. So many time products are just too much information and therefore are never consumed and never implemented.Three other benefits? Gave me a variety of options, gave great examples and helped me to build my knowledge of storytelling.I would recommend this product for sure! It is very easy to understand and implement and most people have no idea that stories are the most powerful way to communicate.Kyle Newell , USAJudge for yourself: StoryTelling Mini Series

Drafts and Revisions: How They Help Avoid Writer’s Block

📅 February 05, 2019 | View in Gmail

You are motivated and didn’t run out of inspiration. So why can’t you write?

  Psychotactics

https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JIIfsm5tcNEtt1&b=JXgwYyxeaWcKwLvUlIC5Jg

  There is a cartoon image here.

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  ((This email contains the complete article. However, you can also read or listen to it at these links: Read

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https://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=KQnf2&m=JIIfsm5tcNEtt1&b=yPA1Mr6Mv8GC3KmHJWNEqw | iTunes

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What should the name, Edmund Bergler be famous for?

If you ever get that question in a quiz, here’s the answer: writer’s block.

That’s because, in 1950, Bergler wrote a paper called “Does Writer’s Block Exist? Bergler wasn’t just shooting the wind. He’d been studying writers for well over twenty years and decided that writers didn’t just “drain themselves dry”.

They didn’t run out of inspiration, either. They were motivated, talented people who just seemed to be unable to write any more.

Bergler decided the best way to “unblock the writer” is through therapy. Yup, psychoanalysis was where you were headed for if you had the “affliction” of Writer’s Block.

Luckily we know a lot more about this so-called affliction today

And at least in some way, Bergler was right. It’s a psychological problem. Gladwell takes on this topic in the chapter on “Drafts and Revisions”. “Writers need to set realistic expectations,” he says.

To avoid that menacing feeling of failure, we all need to set the bar a little lower. A writer often measures their output based on random benchmarks, e.g. 1000 words a day.

Anxiety and frustration are constant companions for such writers. The more pressure you exert on yourself, the more likely you are to put some serious barriers in your progress.

It’s essential for a writer to know how to tackle the writing process

“The truth is, you can’t write a lot in a day. It’s demanding creative work and physically and mentally strenuous. It wears you out,” says Gladwell. And he’s exactly right.

An idea isn’t fully formed when you start writing.

That idea morphs, changes and may even need to be discarded. “I find myself mulling over something in my head for ten times than it takes me to write it,” says Gladwell. “If I have a good page, I’m delighted”, he says.

If you were to look over the shoulders of people who write a lot, you’d find they’re frustrated a lot. And this doesn’t just apply to writing. When I’m drawing a cartoon, for instance, I’ll head to the cafe or the library with no idea what I’m about to create.

All I have is a sort of vague idea or concept, and I’ll put pencil to iPad and doodle. But at first, the ideas are pretty dull.

Then another thought may cross my mind, or I may check Pinterest, and the idea will form into something entirely unexpected. Take, for instance, a drawing I did the other day about “how to warm up your copywriting”. I stared at the iPad willing it to send me an idea, but I had none.

The usual heater, hot sun etc. ideas came to mind, but they were boring. Then I saw a hot water bottle. That set the chain of thoughts in progress, and voilà, I had an idea worth keeping.

But this ideation process is only fun at the end, and it’s inconsistent. The only thing you can guarantee is that you’re going to spend a lot of time thinking, getting distracted and then jumping on the tiniest sliver of inspiration.

Writing is remarkably similar

Recently I was writing the notes for the Sales Page Workshop, and I was blank. Bear in mind this wasn’t a project that was starting out from scratch. I’d conducted this workshop in Queenstown and had slides with detailed explanations.

Even so, I was blankly staring at an image of a panther I’d dragged onto the page. I was sure that the notes somehow connected to this panther, but I couldn’t figure out what to do.

“If you complete just three-four paragraphs a day, that’s great,” says Gladwell

“If you set yourself up to do a lot more than that, you’re really setting yourself up for disappointment. A few good paragraphs represent a substantial achievement”.

Often when I’m writing, I don’t even bother to write at all. Instead, I just outline. I may choose to outline on a plain piece of paper. On other days, I may use the iPad or instead use a mind map software. It’s impossible to tell what mood I’ll be in, but the goal is to clear my thoughts.

A single chapter will have one mindmap, then another and another

By the end of the week, I have raced through six or seven mind maps, but not a single word on the page. It’s maddening, even when I know what’s happening. And what’s unfolding is a sense of clarity. Some writers like Gladwell choose to write a few paragraphs, then stop for lunch and do something else like interviewing.

My system is to get to the cafe, look out blankly at the window and create a mountain of mind maps over several days. When I’m ready to write, I’ve done most of my thinking and refining, and it’s all go, go, go, but no, we’re not headed to the end of the document.

After the drafts come the revisions

I won’t let anyone see my work while I’m creating it. And I won’t write based on what clients want, either. I will write what I need to write, and when I’ve got the entire chapter down or even a few chapters, that’s when I send it out to David G. David is one of two or three people whom I trust to go through my work.

David is a client, not an editor, but he has a certain way of looking at a book that appeals to me. He improves my thought process. Teresa R is the other person whom I’ll rely on a lot.

She tends to be very picky about elements I tend to gloss over. For instance, I once wrote: Everyone knows what a “red moon” is all about, right? And she came back and said no. I had to clean up my writing as a result.

All of these revisions are for books and course notes, but back when I started Psychotactics, I had another client, Chris Ellington. Chris would rip through my work, and I’d be looking at dozens of changes and tearing out my hair in frustration. The revisions come at a later stage, but it’s just as frustrating to deal with them, as it seems to impede your progress.

Instead, what’s happening all the time is your work is improving

With enough time, your ideas get sharper, the concepts are explained better, and your product becomes far more finished than if you just dashed it off in a hurry. All around you, you’ll have business writers who will gleefully tell you how they wrote a book in super-fast time and usually, the text reads like that.

It’s not carefully crafted; the stories lack pace or restraint. The entire book feels like a meal of scrambled eggs—a real rush job. That’s not as if to say you have forever to create a book or an article.

At Psychotactics, we tend to set a deadline

Our course notes are promised to clients by a fixed date, which is usually one month before the course begins. If I’m writing a book, I’ll pre-sell it and give a specific date. And to make it easy on myself, I’ll split a single topic into three books.

Which is why ‘Black Belt Presentations’ has three books—and so does Dartboard Pricing. Could it be one long book? Of course, but the split gives the reader some breathing space, and if you happen to reach the deadline and the project is unfinished, you can still deliver two books, and send the third one a week or two later.

Writing just a little every day, thinking about what you’re writing—it’s all part of the process.

No matter whether you use Gladwell’s system of writing three-four paragraphs or a page or so a day, or whether you use mind maps, it’s all the same. You’re heading to the goal at a glacially measured pace.

Hurry it up, and you’ll put enormous pressure on yourself and head right into the realm of Writer’s Block. But even if you do, go back to the mind maps, or reduce the pace and you’ll find yourself moving yet again.

No Writer’s Block, no psychoanalysis. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

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Meet Sean in Frankfurt: May 1, 2019

Have a look here for all the details: 3-hour Frankfurt Meet-up

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Mental Barriers That Slow You Down (And Derail Your Progress)

📅 February 02, 2019 | View in Gmail

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https://www.psychotactics.com/mental-barriers/

How many books do you read in a year?

Most people boast about how they read hundreds of books a year. That’s what I used to do as well. Until I found that I wasn’t really absorbing any information.

So is speed reading a bad idea?

Well, not entirely, but you need to know when to use it and why. Find out how speed works for you and more importantly, when it fails.

Listen, read and enjoy this series here.

(Look for episode 227)

iTunes

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Two short actionable podcasts on pricing

  Pricing Myths

https://www.psychotactics.com/myth-pricing-overcome/

Persistent Myths of Pricing (And How To Overcome Them): Part 1 and 2

When you’re giving away bonuses, it’s easy to believe you don’t need to give away your best product or service.

The best information always needs to be sold—so you can earn a decent living. And yet, this podcast episode takes an opposite stance. You need to put your best stuff out in front—free.

Yes, give away the goodies, no matter whether you’re in info-products or content marketing; services or running a workshop. Giving away outstanding content is the magic behind what attracts—and keeps clients.

Listen or read this episode here.

(Look for episode 228)

iTunes

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P.S. Will You Tell A Friend About The Podcast?

It would be really cool if you could tell a friend about the podcast.

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Warm regards

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January 2019

Last day: How to join 5000bc (without being on the waiting list)

📅 January 29, 2019 | View in Gmail

Today’s the last day to join 5000bc before we put up the waiting list yet again. After then only a limited number will be able to join every month.

If you’re a business owner, you know how lonely it can be in your world. And having a community to talk to, to work with and bounce your ideas off, is incredibly valuable.

The motto of 5000bc is: be kind, be helpful, or begone.

There’s an old African saying: If you want go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a group. And yes, if you go with a helpful group, you enjoy the journey.

Yes, it’s the last day to join before the waiting list goes up, so get in the community and let’s go far.

Here’s the link: https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

Warm regards, Sean P.S. See you in 5000bc. This offer expires on 7 October 2017 (11:59pm, Eastern USA). https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

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Announcing: How To Join 5000bc (Without Being On The Waiting List)

📅 January 26, 2019 | View in Gmail

You’ve been around the Psychotactics site for a while. And you’ve probably even sneaked a peek at 5000bc (our membership site) and seen that there’s a waiting list.

For the next seven days we’re bringing down that wall. From Saturday 30 September to 7 October 2017, you get the chance to join (without being on the waiting list).

The last time we opened up the waiting list was six months ago. Yup, a long time ago.

You have to judge for yourself. So take a look at 5000bc right away. https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

We’d love to have you there if you think it’s the right place for you :)

Warm regards, Sean P.S. Make a decision today based on what you see. https://www.psychotactics.com/general/special-offer/

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The Power of Downtime (And Why Every Business Requires It)

📅 January 22, 2019 | View in Gmail

Let’s examine why it’s incredibly crucial to your business and your sanity.

  The Power of Downtime (And Why Every Business Requires It)

  The Power of Downtime (And Why Your Business Requires It)

https://www.psychotactics.com/tame-business/#downtime

  (You can read or listen to this short article on the website as well).

https://www.psychotactics.com/tame-business/#downtime

There’s one thing that we all desperately need, and it’s called downtime.

It’s such a simple concept that it almost requires no explanation, but let’s give it a shot, shall we? Let’s examine this important force of business and why it’s incredibly crucial to your business and sanity.

In the early days of the watercolour course, I gave everyone a break for a month.

When they came back, almost every participant was painting a lot better than the month before. Did they practice during the break? Did they access other material?

Some did, but it didn’t explain how almost everyone was better—even the ones who hadn’t picked up a brush at all. The only common element between every one of the participants was a factor of downtime.

Every business requires downtime

Without downtime there’s a lot of do, do, do and not enough time for the brain to process what’s happening. Time away from work is almost as crucial as work time itself.

Which is why we plan the year differently from most people I know

Instead of listing out all the things we need to do and projects we need to complete, we first put in the blocks of downtime. Then we put in the work in between that downtime. It enables us to recharge in a way that’s not possible when at work.

Yet most of us don’t have the luxury of downtime

When we started mentoring my niece, Marsha, for instance, it was a bit like starting up a new business. There was no time to waste. To get her up to speed, I’d tutor her on the way from the classroom to the car. Then in the car, we’d talk a bit and do spellings and practice multiplication tables.

We worked through the week, and for a couple of hours on the weekend.

The school holidays were intensive for her, but also for us, and we often put in 6-8 hour days for five-six weeks on end. When you’re right at the starting point, everything is an uphill journey. However, over time, Marsha has zoomed to the top tier of the class.

Now she still works as hard as she possibly can, but she also has big chunky breaks during the day, week and in the year.

In business, it’s not unusual to have no downtime

The mortgage and bills are starting to grow in untidy piles on your desk, and those payments need to be made. But in time, almost all of us have the ability to take time off.

It almost seems like a silly thing to do, to take time off when the business has just started to pick up.

And yet, it’s what we all need to do. Downtime calms you down, relaxes you, and it helps you come back refreshed.

It’s a force of business

If anything, like the students on the watercolour course, it helps you come back stronger than ever before.

• Plan your downtime. • Start small. • Take a few days off, before embarking on longer breaks.

But ignore the breaks at your peril. A tired brain is not quite as good as a rested one. And certainly not as creative.

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Binge Worthy: The Coaching 3-Part Series

• Why Clients Nod But Don’t Call • How Niches Can Easily Be Found in Recurring Client Problems • How to Start Up with a Great Niche

(Look for episodes 220-222)

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How To Thrive and Succeed In The Midst Of Chaos

📅 January 19, 2019 | View in Gmail

To break free from gravity, we have to have a strategy that enables us to forge forward.

  There is a fun cartoon here

https://www.psychotactics.com/succeed-chaos/

Most of us have grand plans to succeed.

Yet, the moment we start there are a million distractions in our way. Chaos lurches around in our doorway and there seems to be no way out.

At Psychotactics, we had managed to get around most of the chaos but then I was in charge of mentoring my niece.

As she moved from Year 6 to Year 7, it seemed like we were hit by an okinami of chaos.

What did we do to find our way out? How did we manage to avoid the madness that we had no control over? Find out here.

Listen or read this episode here. (Look for episode 226)

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Two More Binge-Worthy Podcasts

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How To Achieve A Lot—The Three Part Formula

• How do you maintain a high productivity level when switching tasks? • How do you get the brain and body to handle the transition? • And how do you manage the transitions with a minimum amount of fuss?

Listen or read this episode here. (Look for episode 225)

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https://www.psychotactics.com/high-productivity/ |

3 Steps To Getting Your Uniqueness Recognised

When you create your business, product or service uniqueness, do you need to test it?

Incredible as it seems there’s little point in doing any testing at all.

Let’s find out why testing is practically impossible and how instead of wasting time on research, you should follow three steps to make sure your uniqueness occupies a permanent part of your client’s brain.

Listen or read this episode here. (Look for episode 224)

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https://www.psychotactics.com/effectively-test-uniqueness/ |

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P.S. Will You Tell A Friend About The Podcast?

It would be really cool if you could tell a friend about the podcast.

Here is a simple link:

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/podcast-friend/

Warm regards

Sean

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How to Negotiate (And Win) When the Odds Are Against You

📅 January 15, 2019 | View in Gmail

The goal of negotiation is to stop acting like a goat. Spot the emotion. Then label it.

  Psychotactics

https://www.psychotactics.com/negotiate-win/

  How to Negotiate (And Win) When the Odds

Are Against You

  There is a fun cartoon here

https://www.psychotactics.com/negotiate-win/

  (From the archives: One of the most read articles. You can also read or listen to this article on the website : Read online

https://www.psychotactics.com/negotiate-win/ | iTunes

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https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom?refid=stpr | Look for episode 180).

A few weeks ago, I started listening to a book that I’d bought way back in late November. I heard an interview with the author, Chris Voss, and I was taken with the concepts he brought up on the call that I started listening to the book shortly after.

And that’s what this article is all about

It’s a look into “Never split the difference: Negotiating as if your life depended on it”, by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz.

It’s important to mention both Voss and Raz because they’re both outstanding. Voss has a wealth of experience, and this is real-life experience with murderers, bank robbers and terrorists.

However, Tahl Raz is the writer, and as a result, the book is spectacular. I rarely marvel at a book’s structure, because by and large books tend to be more about information, which can get tedious. However, this book is masterful in the way it has been constructed. It brings up a concept, explains the concept, tells a story, gives examples and then goes on to succinctly summarise the contents of the chapter.

In this book, you’re going to find out how to win without the other person feeling bad.

No, it’s not win-win in any way. You go in wanting a specific solution to the problem, and you win. And the other party doesn’t feel like it has lost.

How’s that possible?

This article will distil the core stuff that makes the difference

Instead of leafing through the entire book, you’ll get a few core concepts that you can use right away. And then you can go and read the book and the concepts will be more enduring.

Sound good? Well, keep reading.

Concept 1) Going too fast—and why you need to slow down and listen.

About a year ago, our hedge was the bone of contention with the neighbours.

Sure, we’d got the house for a very decent price at the auction, and with it came a hedge that four of five metres high. Every now and then, we’d get the hedge guys to trim the hedge, but it was always a respectable height.

That gave us our privacy, but more importantly, we could look into a sea of green, instead of another house, with a grungy shed on the other side of the fence. And about a year ago, on two separate occasions, something happened that would permanently change our view.

At first, the neighbour cut down the trees near the far side of the fence

To come back and watch the trees hacked was an incredibly rough moment, but it chopped down while we were away on vacation and there was little benefit in getting into a war over trees that were gone forever.

However, the next time we were away, the entire hedge was reduced to the legal height of just two metres, and that’s the way it seems likely to stay. What’s interesting about this whole hedge and tree episode is that the neighbour wasn’t aggressive, to begin with.

If anything, she was overly helpful, calling us to let us know when our TV antenna had gotten ripped off in a storm. How did someone who was on our side, literally move to the other side of the fence and declare a “hedge-war” of sorts?

Author, Chris Voss would say: It’s a listening problem.

Back in 1979, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Harvard Negotiation Project was formed. The goal was to improve negotiation results so that people could be in a better position to take on stuff like peace treaties, business mergers and I suppose, the occasional hedge.

As a result of the discussions at Harvard, the co-founders of the project came out with a book—and idea—called “Getting to Yes”. They mostly seemed to discard the unreliable, primal animal instinct and espoused a more rational, “let’s be friends and fix this together” type of approach.

And yet the FBI, who Chris Voss was a part of, wasn’t getting consistent results in their negotiations.

Even if deals seemingly worked out in the boardroom, the idea of a rational approach was ending up in a bloody mess when it came to terrorists and hostage situations. Which is when two of the most decorated FBI negotiators, Fred Lanceley and Gary Noesner, started asking a simple question.

Their question was directed to 35 of the most experienced law enforcement officers, and the question went like this: How many had dealt with a classic bargaining situation where problem-solving (or logic) was the best technique?

Not a single hand went up.

Then came the follow up question…

How many had negotiated an incident in a dynamic, tense, uncertain environment where the hostage taker was in emotional crisis and had no apparent demands?

Every hand went up.

What this informed the FBI negotiators was pretty clear.

Emotions are the key drivers of our behaviour, not logic. It’s the frustration of some factor that caused the trees and the hedge to be hacked in the way it was. Instead of silly logic and defining our position, we have to step over and listen.

Listening, says Voss, is the cheapest, most effective concession we can make to get the other person on our side.

When people feel listened to, they listen to themselves more carefully. Notice that line again? They listen to “themselves” more carefully. They almost do a double take evaluating the strangeness of their demands. The jagged defensiveness goes down, and they’re keen to help, instead of simply barging in with their demands.

The goal of negotiation is to stop acting like a goat

Instead, always move towards the other side.

• What does the other side need? • What are their monetary, emotional or other needs? • Who do they need to report to? • What constraints are they working with?

Being angry and emotional will merely get them to mirror your behaviour, and you get to a situation of mistrust, which often leads to a standoff.

The way to get control is to give the client the illusion of control.

It isn’t to suggest you’re conning them in any way. However, when the chips are not in your favour, you want to even the odds and get the client to start thinking of you. And the only way to get that going is to start listening.

When both parties want to row the boat in opposite directions, it looks like there’s absolutely no solution

However, experienced negotiators (like my 8-year old niece, Keira, for instance), knows that’s not true. Her mother will be all upset, refuse to give her what she wants and threaten to ground her for a week. Keira switches from “whiny mode” to “listening”.

She says: If I do this, that and the other, can I get it? And almost instantly you are taken back to negotiations you’ve had with your nieces, nephews or children. They know their position is pretty hopeless, and they turn from tiny little devils to skilled negotiation experts.

They listen and turn things around in their favour.

And that’s what we need to do as well if we want to get anywhere, let alone get the negotiation in our favour.

We need to listen. Slow down and listen. However, that’s just one piece of the negotiation puzzle. Listening alone will pay huge dividends, but we need to get the person to realise that we understand. So we do the most obvious thing of all: we use labelling.

What is labelling and how can we quickly use it in our negotiations?

Concept 2) The power of labelling—and why it validates emotions.

Ever seen how some presenters start their speech when they get on stage.

They might say: “Good morning, everyone. It’s good to be here. It’s a wonderful morning, isn’t it?” And while all of this sounds like adorable banter, it’s missed out on a significant opportunity to get right into the audience’s emotional state.

Audience members aren’t sitting around to discuss the weather. And neither is the person across the table from you. While you don’t have to be all business-like, it’s best to get the person across the table to know that you’re on their side.

Most people always talk about themselves

And here’s where you can run a little test. Tomorrow morning tell your partner how you didn’t sleep too well. Almost immediately, he or she is likely to ask you a question or two, but the conversation will swing rapidly to their sleep patterns.

People are so obsessed with their issues that they fail to realise how quickly they take over the discussion. Now imagine you talk about their sleep patterns instead. See what I mean? Immediately two people are talking about precisely the same thing. Suddenly you’re the best “conversationalist” ever.

Negotiation pushes that point a little further with “labelling.”

Labelling is a bit like putting a Post-It on a person’s forehead. For instance, in early January we got a nasty surprise. There was some development work going on in the plot next door. Three houses were being built, and yes, there was the usual earth-shaking noise.

However, nothing prepared us for what came next. The surveyor’s plan indicated that our fence—and the eleven trees on our property, was really within their boundary. As you’d expect, they wanted every inch of their land, and it really did come down to inches. In reality, it was about 12-13 inches at one end and a lot less at the other. Even so, because of the location of the trees, it was about to cause enormous disruption to the landscaping.

How do you get out of a mess like that?

For starters, you listen and keep your cool. Once you’ve moved into your meditative zone, you label the situation. It was clear from the very start that the builders were not happy with this sudden surprise.

On the very day they discovered the boundary problem, they were all raising their hands as if to say, “don’t hate us for this problem”. Which is exactly the label I gave the builders when I spoke to them. I called it “messy”. I said: This is a terribly messy situation for you, isn’t it?

Think about that label for a minute

Normally we’d be likely to say something like: This is a big issue for us. The trees are getting cut down; the fence is going to be destroyed. We’d go on and on about our own problems, which have absolutely nothing to do with them. No, no, no, no, no—that kind of nonsense won’t get you very far.

Instead, use the label. What is the situation? Is it messy? Is it noise you’re negotiating (and it’s noisy?) Does it seem like it’s overpriced? (and hence they are already edgy about the price?) Whatever the situation, you can use labels to identify how the other side is feeling.

And this is what author, Chris Voss, suggests

Spot the emotion. Then label it aloud by using either of the following terms:

•    It seems like...

•    It sounds like...

•    It looks like...

The exact terms are important

You can’t go around saying “I’m hearing that…”. The moment you put the “I” back in the discussion, you’re talking about yourself. It also makes you take personal responsibility for the discussion that follows. And things may go horribly wrong.

However, “it seems like…” is a very neutral statement that feels almost like you’re trying to get to grips on the situation. It also gives the other side a chance to speak. When I said, “It seems like a very messy situation that you want to avoid”, the builder immediately responded to my point explaining what was going on.

He told me about their plans, where they were stuck, and what had been discussed with the architects. The information wasn’t particularly important to this situation, but in many cases, the smallest bit of information is of extreme value.

But what if the other person disagrees?

What if you said:“It seems like you’re uncomfortable with this high pricing”, and they disagree. You can always step back and say, “I didn’t say it was that way. I just said it seems like that”. However, in many cases, if not most, the other person will not go on the attack. Instead, they will explain themselves in a fair amount of detail.

There’s just one big caveat

Once you’ve put forward the label, be quiet.

Deathly quiet.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four, tick, tick, tick.

Wait for them to speak, because you won’t have to wait long

Once you add the label, you’ll get the reaction you need. It’s almost one of “thank goodness, you know how I’m feeling right now”. Now both parties are seemingly rowing in the same direction. You haven’t lost any control. No one is going to eat you for lunch.

However, a standoff has not only been averted, but you’ve got the other side to see you as a partner.

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Binge Worthy

The Incredible Power of Kindness (And Why It Has Nothing To Do With Business)

(Look for episode 167)

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Announcing: Why Most Planning Fails (The Critical Importance of Chaos In Planning)

📅 January 12, 2019 | View in Gmail

I didn’t think that a Chaos Planning System would apply to me. I’m always well organize.

  There is a cartoon here

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So year after year you sit down and create a list of things you want to achieve.

Then suddenly it’s January 2019, and you’ve not really moved ahead as you’d expected. And hey, this phenomenon isn’t new. It’s not like you’re not trying to achieve stuff, but something always seems to derail your goals.

And what’s worse is that you’ve read all the books on planning as well.

Aha…here’s a 35 Page Report: The Chaos Planning System

That will help you move ahead. So have a look at this product and judge the value for yourself.

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Warm regards,

Sean

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“I realized that now I am able to accomplish a lot on my endless “To Do” list”

“I didn’t think that a Chaos Planning System would apply to me. After all, I always thought that I’m well organized. But, after reading the report, I realized that while I am able to accomplish a lot on my endless “To Do” list. I always struggle with finding time to work on important projects and feeling like I got something done.”

Marina Brito, VA, USA

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  Testimonial: Chaos Planning

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“Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

I would recommend this product—It was an easy read and an easy implementation, and since putting it into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

Dan Wagner, USA

Judge for yourself

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

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Passion Projects: How They can completed change your business

📅 January 08, 2019 | View in Gmail

Take time off? Doesn’t everyone want that? So how are you supposed to achieve that?

https://www.psychotactics.com/tame-business/

  

  There is a fun cartoon here.

https://www.psychotactics.com/tame-business/

(From the archives: One of the most read articles. You can also read or listen to it at these links: Read

https://www.psychotactics.com/tame-business/ | iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/three-month-vacation-podcast/id946996410?mt=2 | Android

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom?refid=stpr | Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/6zPiPlgMovxSCdD0bDotMX?si=myv9vdplTAWI-VPueXExeg |Look for episode 154).

In 2010, I got this dazzling idea to do a series of stock cartoons.

As you probably know, I’m a professional cartoonist, and my fascination for Photoshop has lasted for well over 20 years. It seemed like a very good idea to create a unique set of cartoons that clients could use for their blogs, e-books, webinars or presentations.

Then, eight years sneaked up, and now it’s 2019. The cartoons aren’t done.

Passion projects are what feed your soul

A passion project is something that you really want to complete, not necessarily because of revenue or fame. It’s just something that you have to do because no one else will do it. The longer you put it off, the more you feel something chipping away at your soul.

I’ve wanted to write a book on talent; I’ve wanted to write about real education online with “Teacher vs. Preacher”, there’s a website that I started out in 2015, and it’s been on ice ever since.

So much of what’s important to me, to you just seems to circle the airport and never really lands.

However, at least at first, passion projects don’t necessarily feed your tummy

If you were to decide to spend time embarking on a photography project on the side, or writing the novel you’ve always planned to write, there’s almost no guarantee that any of it will bring in revenue or clients.

It’s possible that you may hit pay dirt or hit a wall—at least when it comes to any sort of riches or fame. Even so, now and then it’s important to feed your soul.

Take for instance, Marcus Stout from Golden Moon Tea

Back in 2011, Stout decided to trash 4 out of 5 of his best-selling teas. As if that were not enough, his company had to re-create 75 of his tea blends? What was the reason for all of this upheaval? It was a passion project that Stout wanted had wanted to put into place for a long time.

Around 2011, he changed the way he was personally eating and found he wasn’t keen on drinking a lot of his own tea. “Most people don’t realise it,” he says, “but a lot of tea has chemicals, even if they say it’s natural.” Since he was keen on getting rid of all chemicals and every last toxin, he decided to scrap his best-selling tea.

It wasn’t easy to take on a passion project of this nature

Stout did his homework. He didn’t merely jump into changing the teas without seeing if a market existed. Even so, it was an incredibly difficult decision to make as some of the teas had been superstars all the way back from 1995.

Some of his clients ask for those teas even today, and he won’t stock them or sell them because they don’t meet his standards.

A passion project can be a small undertaking or a complete change in the way you conduct your business

No matter how we look at it, it’s a plane that’s been circling the airport, and you need to get that plane to land. At Psychotactics, this meant walking away from doing courses in the second half of 2017 and early 2018.

The Article Writing Course and other live courses (that means courses that are conducted by me online) won’t show up until mid-2018. In doing so, we walk away from well over $100k-$150k of profit.

Will the passion projects replace that income?

It’s impossible to tell. When we walked away from the Protégé Program back in 2009, we also walked away from $150k a year, with no idea how to replace that income.

Whether you’re dealing with smaller revenues or substantial revenues, the fear and the excitement are remarkably similar

However, a passion project needs to be done. It can’t be postponed forever. All those dreams of what you and I will do when we retire, can’t wait for retirement.

They might be pushed onto the back burner for a while, but at some point, we all have to do what is important to us, even if we aren’t sure it will have a payback.

Getting to New Zealand was a bit of a passion project for us

When we left India, we didn’t know what to expect in New Zealand. We’d never been to Auckland and knew next to no one. We were also leaving a very settled and decently luxurious life back in Mumbai.

The people we’d met along the way told us that it rains a lot in Auckland and it’s really quiet. That to us was our beacon of light. We love the rain and the quiet, and it became our not-so-little passion project.

Making space for “landing those planes” is necessary.

It may not happen right away, but it needs to happen because it’s good for the soul.

What we’ve found as well, is that in the long run it’s been reasonably profitable. Every time we’ve walked away from one thing to put our energy into another, we’ve found it’s helped not just our mind, but our business as well.

A business needs so many things and has so many forces pulling at you in all directions. It’s a tug of war. Get used to it. With a little work and strategy, you’ll be on the winning side.

Announcing: Info-Product Strategy + Execution: Live Workshop in Munich, Germany

The problem with info-products is that we have too much information in our head. Or we have too little. And we quickly get stuck. We are not always sure where to draw the line between an info-product that clients love vs. something that’s overstuffed and largely unusable.

But where do you start? How do you proceed? What do you keep and what do you put aside?

Find out more here: (Early bird price ends 22 January 2019 | 7 seats left |

https://www.psychotactics.com/workshops/info-products-strategy/

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The Brain Audit The Brain Audit has been around for many years and is unique because it has over 800 testimonials on the Psychotactics website and over 100 testimonials on Amazon. Find out—How to market in a way that is respectful to your customers, yet powerfully compelling.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/the-brain-audit-32-marketing-strategy-and-structure/

Testimonial Secrets How to get meaningful testimonials, without needing to ‘bribe anyone’ for it.

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DartBoard Pricing How to systematically increase prices without losing customers

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Fun Stuff

The Overwhelm Virus: How To Get It Out of Your Daily Routine

(Look for episode 203)

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http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom?refid=stpr | Read

https://www.psychotactics.com/overwhelm-virus/ | Spotify

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Presenting: Info-Product Free Goodies

How To Create An Effective Info Product

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Announcing: Why most planning fails (the critical importance of chaos in planning)

📅 January 05, 2019 | View in Gmail

Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/chaos-planning-forget-business-planning-and-goal-setting-start-with-chaos-planning/

So year after year you sit down and create a list of things you want to achieve.

And what’s worse is that you’ve read all the books on planning as well.

Aha…here’s a 35 Page Report: The Chaos Planning System

That will help you move ahead. So have a look at this product and judge the value for yourself.

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

Warm regards,

Sean

P.S. You also get the book—Pronto Learning: Insiders Tips To Speed Up Your Learning

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

“Since putting Chaos Planning into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

I would recommend this product—It was an easy read and an easy implementation, and since putting it into place my stress levels have gone way down. It’s a beautiful thing!”

Dan Wagner, USA Judge for yourself

https://www.psychotactics.com/chaos-planning

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Let’s just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo

📅 January 01, 2019 | View in Gmail

Imagine thirty thousand menacing obstacles in your path to success. How can you win?

  Psychotactics

http://www.psychotactics.com/

https://www.psychotactics.com/art-frodo/

  (From the archives: One of the most read articles. You can read the article on the website as well).

https://www.psychotactics.com/art-frodo/

Imagine thirty thousand menacing obstacles in your path to success

You’re dehydrated. Hungry as hell. And wobbling like a drunk on too much Guinness. Your eyes hurt, your head throbs and your will is all but broken. You’re not even sure you want to go on.

You feel like Frodo

As in the character Frodo, in the final episode of the ‘Lord of the Rings-The Return of the King.’

Terror and dismay gleam from Frodo’s big, expressive blue eyes. In the distance, he can see his goal. But it seems to him like he’ll never get there. He turns to Sam and says in a defeated tone, “Sam, it’s the Eye,” referring to the eye of Sauron - the enemy he must destroy.

And Sam turns to Frodo in a soft, encouraging voice and says, “Let’s just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.”

Let’s just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.

I spoke at the World Internet Summit in Sydney, Australia, a few years ago. And I saw about two hundred and fifty Frodos in the audience.

Confused. Weary. Inundated with dozens of tactics and strategies about the Internet, their eyes stared into nothingness. Frozen stiff at the task of having to build an Internet business from scratch, almost all of them seemed to have a cross too heavy to bear.

And they didn’t exactly have Sam to egg them on

I said to them, like I say to you. “Let’s just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.”

Then we’ll do the next hill, and the next and the next, till we get to our destination.

You’re bound to be struggling. I struggled at Yoga class. I’m a first-class doofus. Five minutes after we start the class, I wonder when it’s all going to end. I look at the ‘human pretzels’ twisting and turning to the left and right of me, and I can’t ever see myself being so flexible. And I despair.

But I’ve got my own personal Sam. I simply say to myself: “Let’s just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo”

And hurrah, yippeee yahooey, I actually made it past

Yoga session No.2.

Presenting: Info-Product Free Goodies

How To Create An Effective Info Product

https://www.psychotactics.com/infogoodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/information-products-live-workshop-form/

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Chaos Planning Forget Business Planning and Goal Setting. Find out—How ‘Irregular’ Folks Get Things Done.

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/chaos-planning-forget-business-planning-and-goal-setting-start-with-chaos-planning/

https://www.psychotactics.com/products/the-brain-audit-32-marketing-strategy-and-structure/

Story Telling Series How to have that zing in your articles—to catch the attention of the reader and keep them interested?

http://www.psychotactics.com/products/story-telling/

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Fun Stuff

The Overwhelm Virus: How To Get It Out of Your Daily Routine

(Look for episode 203)

iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/three-month-vacation-podcast/id946996410?mt=2 | Android

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sean-dsouza/seanpsychotacticscom?refid=stpr | Read

https://www.psychotactics.com/overwhelm-virus/ | Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/6zPiPlgMovxSCdD0bDotMX?si=myv9vdplTAWI-VPueXExeg |

Free Actionable Reports

Report: How To Win The Resistance Game

https://www.psychotactics.com/free/resistance-game/

Report: “Why Headlines Fail (And how to create headlines that work)”

https://www.psychotactics.com/free/headlines-fail/

Presenting: Info-Product Free Goodies

How To Create An Effective Info Product

https://www.psychotactics.com/infogoodies

https://www.psychotactics.com/general/information-products-live-workshop-form/

Privacy and Spam Policy

I don’t rent, trade or sell my email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You’ll not get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.

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