metamagazine.com » Marketing http://metamagazine.com meta-frameworks for personal, educational and business development. Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:23:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Alternative Money Systems http://metamagazine.com/?p=44#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://metamagazine.com/?p=44#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:55:51 +0000 metaman http://metamagazine.com/?p=44 At the moment I am researching some alternative Money Systems for use as an online software system for a LETS job agency in Groningen in the Netherlands (Dutch: LETS uitzendbureau). We will work under the name LETSwerk.nl

Looking at the following softwarelist (http://www.complementarycurrency.org/software.html).
I selected CuroMuto.com as a test environment because it should be able to have multiple currencies and it has a relative small usage fee ($11.50 a month + 0.5% of all transactions) although this system is English based (and I target it for the Dutch market), I hope to be able to get this barternetwork in action.

Just before this I joined http://stroomgeld.ning.com/ (dutch) aiming at an ecosophical approach using Bernard Lietaer’s book ‘The Future of Money’. A good portal-page about complementary economics in the Netherlands (including international links) is: http://complementaire-economie.startpagina.nl/

There are many web sites dealing with alternative money systems and related issues. The following are some of the most interesting (list from: http://www.ces.org.za/misc/links.htm)

Alternative Money Systems

The following resources are to help you understand the nature of money-as-we-know-it and why we need a new money system.

Documents, Books and Articles

Monetary Reform

Monetary History

Miscellaneous

  • Money, Banking and Credit. This site is devoted to the issues of money, banking, fiscal, and monetary policy and their impacts on families and the nation as a whole
  • The People vs The Banks – Class action suit on behalf of the people of Canada alleging that financial institutions are illegally creating money.

Peak Oil

Video

  • CC Video. Collection of videos on complementary currency systems
  • Money as Debt [Google video]
    Paul Grignon’s 47-minute animated presentation of “Money as Debt” tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it is being created. It is an entertaining way to get the message out. The Cowichan Citizens Coalition and its “Duncan Initiative” received high praise from those who previewed it. I recommend it as a painless but hard-hitting educational tool and encourage the widest distribution and use by all groups concerned with the present unsustainable monetary system in Canada and the United States.
  • The Money Masters [Google video]
    How International Bankers Gained Control of America
  • Monopoly Men – Federal Reserve Fraud (1999)
  • Suzao Media
    A good collection of videos on money and debt
]]> http://metamagazine.com/?feed=rss2&p=44 5 Sales Triggers http://metamagazine.com/?p=36#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://metamagazine.com/?p=36#comments Wed, 08 May 2002 13:40:44 +0000 metaman http://metamagazine.com/?p=36 Copywriting Persuasive Ads, what’s the secret?

  • Have general knowledge: be creative, experience the world.
  • Know specific knowledge about the product or service, be an expert.
  • Practice writing, write a lot, every moment you can, letters, etc.

    • Copywriting is a mental process, the successful execution of of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and eventually transfer this to a piece of paper all for the purpose of communicating an idea.

    The purpose is to reach out in your pocket and buy the product.

    The format
    First line: lead-sentence, a few words, second sentence getting you to read the rest.

    Use the next aspects as a checklist for your copy:

  • What’s the best environment to sell the product?
  • Harmonize with the prospect / reader (rapport, get the prospect to say yes, make compliments, harmonize with the environment and product
  • Selling books; based on curiosity, suggestion, a secret in the book
  • Slippery slide in the copy of an ad (over the edge, pitch and tempo)
  • Seeds of curiosity (later I’ll tell you something I never told anyone else, but there’s more, wait till you read what I just discovered, getting interest)
  • Sell with emotion, use logic to justify the purchase (sell the concept with emotion, example: challenging the buyer)
  • Technical explanation; it shows and proves you’re an expert
  • Service; raise and solve the issue if you’re product needs service
  • Trial period; courteous refund?
  • Price comparison; good value
  • Ask for the order, close the deal
  • Summary
  • Product explanation
  • Sexual orientation; be careful not to be too sexist
  • Raising objections and resolve it
  • New feature; highlight them
  • Ease of ordering
  • Clear copy; write for yourself (bigger for upscale audience
  • Rhythm in an add (short and long sentences)
  • Paragraph headings / subheadings (makes the copy look less intimidating; in direct mail: making statements, attention getting)
  • Type face; legible language, clear Seriff style type
  • Physical Facts, mention all facts, size, weight, price
  • Name the price
  • Testimonials
  • Avoid saying too much
  • Conversational tone: First person: I want to…, me, we, our … to a person individual
  • Tell a story in the copy
  • How to structure the content
  • Inquiry generator: first call then sales or direct sales: test!
  • Contest in the add: challenge the reader
  • Branding start up: informative
  • Copy should be long enough to cause the reader to take the action you request.
  • Every communication should be a personal one from the writer to the recipient regardless of the medium used
  • The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion as if you were face to face with your prospect anticipating and raising every question and answering them as if these questions were indeed asked
  • In the editing process you reduce the copy to express exactly to what you want to express with the least amounts of words
  • Selling the cure is a lot easier than selling a preventative, unless the preventative is perceived as a cure or the cure would have aspects of the preventative or is emphasized.
  • Telling a story can effectively sell your product, create the environment or get your reader well into your copy as you create an emotional bonding with your prospect.
  • Use the slippery slide; your reader should be so compelled to read your copy that they cannot stop reading until they read all of it.
  • Keep the copy interesting and keep the reader interested by the power of curiosity
  • The incubation process is the power of your subconscious mind to use all of your knowledge and experiences to solve a specific problem the efficiency of which is dedicated or dictated by time orientation, environment and ego. (take a break)
  • Never sell a product or service, always sell a concept.
  • The mindstretch-effect; the more the mind must work to reach a conclusion, which it eventually successfully reaches, the more positive, enjoyable and stimulating the experience.

    • Psychological Triggers

  • The feeling of involvement and ownership (also visualizing using the product)
  • Honesty (truthful statements, tell all the good and bad things about the product)
  • Integrity (trustworthy
  • Credibility (if price is too low or high)
  • Prove of value for comparison purposes
  • Justify the purpose (compare to similar product, for business tax deductible)
  • Greed
  • Establish authority
  • Satisfaction conviction; I’m so convinced that you’re going to like this product that I’m offering you… the consumer feels the public is going to rip you off (refund the money not used, not used in two years etc.)
  • Nature of the product (perceive the need of the product: burglar alarm, insurance)
  • Current Fads (in the beginning, at peak or slightly past nothing lasts forever) Timing
  • Desire to belong (to special group who own a …, the smartest people own …)
  • The desire to collect (scarcity, several models
  • Curiosity (most powerful element in campaign) in retail: immediate gratification go
  • Sense of urgency; limited supplies (needs prove) (also: example extra offer if the response is within few hours)
  • Instant gratification
  • Exclusivity, rarity or uniqueness
  • Simplicity; is the key to sell any product; test out your ads (dotted line around the coupon)
  • Human relationships (relate to the human using it, good looking people)
  • Reciprocity; if you do a favor, they will want to do a favor back (guilt)

    • This overview is based on Joe Sugarman’s E-book Psychological Triggers

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