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Just the other day, I had a conversation with a television producer regarding a reality TV project of mine that his group is considering developing. “Rob” told me that they are moving into scripted programming in addition to reality TV. And he mentioned that they have a couple of projects they are excited about, but need rewrites.

I’m a produced writer of a fairly big feature film and have been paid large sums of money for my movie scripts. So you would think I would turn up my nose at the idea of doing a rewrite of someone else’s script. Well, you’d be wrong. I tossed out the idea that to get in the door with them on scripted television, I’d do a rewrite on spec. (This means they would pay me for the rewrite only if they decided to use it.)

Rob was impressed with my confidence in my ability to do a good rewrite. And he ended up agreeing to have me submit an original teleplay that I’m in the process of writing.

Offering your services on spec like this can be a great way to open doors to new business opportunities. (Especially these days, when money is tight.) Sure, you could spend the time to do a great job and – for whatever reason – still lose out on the payoff. But it’s worth the risk.

Give some thought to how you might apply this strategy and give it a shot.

[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur and produced screenwriter who has started over a dozen profitable enterprises. For more information on his "Street Smart Business Program," click right here.]

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Back in The Day, copywriting was a leisurely business – almost a pastoral pursuit.

The client’s marketing folks got you on the phone, described the product, told you what they’d tried before and how it’d worked… what they’d been learning and thinking lately… and you brainstormed the themes you might use for a new promo.

A week or so later, a big brown truck would deliver a box crammed with the client’s product, past promos and premiums, his competitors’ promos, his testimonial file, and anything else the marketing people thought you might need to create a barn-burner for them.

Usually, the box would languish unopened for a week or more as you completed other projects. And when it was time to dive in, you might spend a week or more just reading, taking notes, and planning the assault.

Entire days were dedicated to thinking alone: Ruminating on the prospect’s mindset… his emotional state… what he’d seen and responded to (or not) in recent months… his prejudices in favor of or against the client and/or others like him… the sales objections that would need to be overcome (either explicitly or implicitly)… and most important, of course, the prospect’s resident fears, frustrations, wants, needs, and desires.

Copywriters had the luxury of staring out the window for hours, contemplating the competitive landscape, considering how to lift the client and his product head and shoulders above every other spokesperson and product in his niche. Or, better yet, to position the client in a way that would establish him as the leader of a new niche – a niche of his own.

Then, it was time to write. Actually, to spend a few days getting ready to prepare to begin to write: to list the engagement and credibility elements needed… to sort out the offer… to create the outline and organize notes. And, in doing these things, to allow the work to slowly, almost imperceptibly, seduce you into the actual writing.

Two, three, or more weeks later, a first draft would wing its way to the client for review and comments. Two, three, or four weeks later, the final copy would land on the designer’s desk for a couple of weeks of layout – and more copy nips, tucks, and enhancements. Then, after two more weeks at the printer and lettershop, the promo would be in the mail.

In all, the process took “as long as it takes to create a winner” – typically, anywhere from one month to three. Sometimes more. And that was perfectly fine with everybody concerned. Because just to field a small test of a new promo, the client would have to spend $100,000 or more. And if it bombed, they could lose a bundle.

So “getting it right” was far more important than “getting it fast.” Each promotion was as meticulously crafted as a Rodin bronze and as patiently aged as a cask of fine wine.

Then, something terrible happened… @#$^%@!!! Internet!

One morning I woke up and some darned fool had invented the World Wide Web – and the game had completely changed for not just one but four big reasons:

1. It suddenly cost businesses zero dollars to blast a sales message to prospects. So some clients assumed that, since they had no skin in the game, the response to each individual e-mail mattered less.

2. Clients could easily afford to e-mail their prospects not just once but several times each day. The quality of the copy became less important than getting something “good enough, fast enough.”

3. The speed of the Internet radically changed our prospects’ expectations. Where once, the most successful promotions addressed permanent (or at least longer-term) situations, fears, frustrations, and/or desires, many prospects came to expect sales messages to connect with the day’s – or even the hour’s - breaking news.

Then, as if to make things even more challenging, the world itself – especially the financial world – began changing faster.

4. Where a successful direct-mail, print, TV, or radio promo might be used for many months or even years, daily e-mail blasts served their purposes for a single day, and sales pages often became obsolete in a couple of weeks at most.

So while the copywriter caught in the act of crafting direct mail and other pay-as-you-go media messages approximated a Michelangelo extracting a David from a block of marble – a thoughtful exercise demanding every skill at the artist’s command applied over many months - cranking out online promos required speed: e-mails slammed out in an hour or two and sales pages as long as any magalog ever written cobbled together in a few days to a week.

And to make things even more difficult, the simple fact that a company is promoting on the free Internet – notoriously, the realm of fakes, frauds, and rip-off artists – has made establishing iron-clad credibility in sales messages critical even while the time to do so has shrunk immeasurably.

It’s not enough to be good. In this wired world, you must also be fast.

I’m hoping that some of the things I do to write strong copy in a fraction of the time will help you do it, too…

1. I cheat.

Every weekday morning, I spring out of bed in the wee hours, brew a pot of joe, plop down at my desk, and begin to fortify myself for the day ahead.

I know I’ll have a conference call with my financial client at 6:00 a.m. I also know I’ll have at least two e-mails to write for him and that they must be final and to the Web guys as early as possible. I can be fairly sure that Jill, my production scheduler, has lined up an afternoon full of meetings with other clients, and that my staff has plenty of copy for me to write, review, critique, or finalize. And I know that a single new promotional idea or a breaking news event could blow my entire schedule to smithereens without a moment’s notice.

So I start by thinking: “What could I do with the hours between now and that 6:00 a.m. conference call that will give me a running head start on my day?”

Because much of my financial client’s messaging is driven by the news, I jump on the Web to sort out what’s happening in the global economy and to look for themes I could use to drive the day’s e-mails.

The idea here is to anticipate the work as much as I can before the assignment gets handed to me. I spend time thinking about the research I’ll need… the engagement and credibility devices I might use… and anything else I can do in advance to speed the writing process once the project is assigned.

2. I start with my prospect.

As I begin to write, I think about my prospect. What has been his recent experience with my client’s company? What have I done with him in the last few days that might provide clues as to how this e-mail or sales page should begin?

What are my prospect’s expectations as he opens my e-mail or jumps over to my sales page? How can I make this communication a seamless continuation of a conversation the two of us are already having? Are there recent developments or news events that he’s already thinking about and that I should address? What touchstones can I use to get the conversation off to a fast start?

3.I tell them what I’m about to tell them… I tell it to them… I tell them what I just told them.

Getting an e-mail that kind of begins out of the blue is disorienting to a prospect. Instead, I give them a clear, easy-to-follow roadmap that lets them know what to expect from this communication.

In addition to making my e-mails easy to read and providing structure that makes them easier to write fast, this subtle cycle of promising, delivering, and reminding prospects that you delivered what you promised is a powerful way of programming them to believe future promises you make.

4. I establish my client’s credibility early in my copy.

Maybe I do it with a collection of accurate forecasts he’s made… or big profits he’s helped his subscribers achieve… or new testimonials from the media.

For a non-financial client, it could be with the reminder of a discount coupon or free bonding gift we’ve sent the reader recently… or something about our 24-hour shipping policy. Anything that demonstrates that my client brings value to the prospect’s life and that he always does what he promises is of great help in moving them to taking the action prescribed later in the copy.

5. I use bobble-head copy.

The sooner I can get my prospect’s head nodding – agreeing with my premise – the better. So I look for an idea he can agree with to get the conversation going.

Something like: “If Wall Street was a fair place, mutual funds would only make money when they made you money.” Or, for a health product, it could be something like, “If everyone ate right and exercised, almost nobody would have heart disease” – or any other statement that puts my prospect and my spokesperson instantly on the same page.

“Hell, YES!” says the prospect! “This guy and I are alike! We believe the same things! He has my values. He can be trusted.”

6. I guide my reader to the action I want him to take.

Beginning with my mutually agreed-upon head-nodder, I then baby-step my reader to the inevitable conclusion: that NOT taking the action I want him to take would be self-defeating. In other words, I help him connect the dots between the proposition we both agree upon and the action I want him to take.

If each one of these steps is already agreed upon, all the better. If not, I’ll need to provide a proof element – ideally, a fact sworn to by an independent third-party source – that proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the next link in my chain of logic is undeniably true:

“If everyone ate right and exercised, almost nobody would have heart disease.”

“But in real life, it’s not always possible to eat right. And Lord knows, there’s not always time to exercise.”

“That’s why Xnutrient is so crucial. Harvard says it…”

If I’ve done a good job with these steps, I’ve made my case. All that’s left is to tell my prospect precisely what I want him to do. After all, he’s already agreed that NOT coming along with me would be self-defeating.

[Ed. Note: Master copywriter Clayton Makepeace publishes the highly acclaimed e-zine The Total Package to help business owners and copywriters accelerate their sales and profits. Claim your 4 free moneymaking e-books - bursting with tips, tricks, and tactics that'll skyrocket your response - at MakepeaceTotalPackage.com.

Writing powerful copy is just one aspect of making your Internet business a success. Discover how to set up a website, get the search engines' attention, create high-quality products, and more with ETR's Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition. Get all the details now.]

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My phone rings about five minutes before I’m due in a meeting. It’s Verizon – again.

They’ve been calling me at least once a week for the past three months. Every time they do (at least, on the occasions when I pick up), I say the same thing: “Please don’t call me during work hours. I’ll be happy to consider this offer, but I’d rather see it in writing. Can you e-mail me the details?”

I like Verizon. And the offer they want me to accept sounds like a good one. But, aside from the fact that they keep calling me when I’m working, I have a big problem with what they’re doing: They want me to agree to a change in my sales plan over the phone. That doesn’t fly with me. I’d rather get an e-mail or a letter containing all the details, so I know exactly what I’m agreeing to.

Listen, I’m not criticizing Verizon for using the phone to make sales. This is a perfectly good marketing channel that can be an effective way to get people to buy.

But it’s not good for me. And I bet it’s not good for a lot of Verizon’s customers. Instead of relying solely on the phone to make sales, they should be reaching out to me using multiple channels. E-mail. Direct mail. Even text messaging.

This applies to you, too. If you’re trying to attract new customers by using just one marketing channel, you’re probably missing out on a ton of sales. Instead, reach out to them using several different channels. That way, they can respond to you via the method that’s easiest and most convenient for them.

[Ed. Note: Not sure exactly how to reach your prospective customers? Pick up a copy of the Amazon.com bestseller Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business by MaryEllen Tribby and Michael Masterson. In it, you'll find comprehensive guidelines for using 12 proven and effective marketing channels to attract new customers. Get all the details here.]

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“Dear ETR, I was wondering if you accept articles for your newsletter?”

I get e-mails like this on a weekly basis. And I applaud the senders for their initiative. Since ETR has over 450,000 subscribers, it is a good marketing strategy to get your name and ideas – and a link to your website – into our newsletter.

If you have an Internet business, you, too, should be looking for reliable methods of generating traffic to your site and growing your e-mail list. Publishing articles in other people’s e-newsletters is an easy, free way to do both.

But a word of caution: You must adhere to what I call the “relevancy principle.”

You see, you can’t just write any old article, send it to an e-newsletter, and expect it to be published. (All too often, I get submissions like these for ETR, and I have to turn them away.)

First, of course, you need to ask if the publisher is looking for submissions. Next, you should ask for contributor guidelines so you know exactly what the publisher is looking for. Plus, you should read the newsletter you are submitting to. That way, you’ll be familiar with its style and content.

But most important, you need to make sure that you, your business, and your article complement the newsletter.

For instance, if you run a home improvement company, you probably wouldn’t be a good “fit” for an e-newsletter about mutual funds. You’d do better to send articles to newsletters that target real estate investors, new homeowners, or even recently single women.

Abiding by the relevancy principle can help you in two ways. First, it’s more likely that a newsletter publisher will accept your articles. She wants to send relevant, useful information to her readers… so you’ve just made her job easier. Second, you’ll make a stronger connection with her readers – and attract people to your site who are already interested in what your business is all about.

[Ed. Note: Find out exactly how to start and grow your own Internet business with ETR's Internet Money Club Learner's Edition. It comes to your doorstep in a 10-pound box packed full of DVDs, CDs, workbooks, resource guides, and more filled with the tools you need to go from scratch to your own multimillion-dollar business. Get the details here.]

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You’ll feel great – even inspired – when all your brainstorming and research yields a Big Idea, whether it’s for a new product, a marketing campaign, or a headline for a sales promotion. But you’re not done.

See, it’s not enough for your idea to be captured. It needs to be tamed. Polished. Beaten into submission (or whatever other metaphor floats your dinghy).

Because it’s in the execution, rather than the mere inspiration, where you’re going to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack.

Think of it this way.

Some cave guy (or gal) once had an idea for a thing called a “wheel.” We must remember to send him (or her) some flowers. But while we’re at it, let’s not forget to thank the fella (for it was one, Charles Goodyear) who thought up vulcanized rubber in 1844… and Robert Thomson who came up with the first inflatable tire in 1845… John Dunlop, who re-invented it for his son’s tricycle in 1847… and all the other innovators since.

They all took a great idea and made it greater… by working it over, massaging it, pushing forward and making mistakes, and plenty more. It was their sweat equity that made the real difference.

Here’s the good news: As you polish and refine, you’ll discover more ideas. All worth re-working too. Your pool of genius will expand. And pretty soon, you’re not just the guy (or gal) who had that one great idea a long time ago… you’re the one who has lots of great ideas. Even better, you’ll have a reputation as one of the rare few who sees those ideas through.

[Ed. Note: Get even more of expert copywriter John Forde's musings on the creative process, marketing, copywriting, and more at his blog.

Once you've got your Big Idea for a product, marketing campaign, etc. what's next? Why not learn how to turn it into profitable Internet business that could give you income for life?]

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You’ve no doubt heard about how social media is taking over the world – or at least the Internet marketing world. And depending on your perspective, this takeover may seem hostile, especially if you’re new to online marketing and have just started to build your own Internet business.

The sheer volume of different social media types and websites can be overwhelming to new marketers. Between Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and countless others, even seasoned Internet marketing professionals can have trouble keeping up.

It’s important, however, not to let fear and inexperience keep you from a marketing channel that could do wonders for your business. You may be “socially awkward” now, but you don’t have to stay that way. I’m going to give you a few techniques that will help you get started marketing your site through social media, starting with the first and most important one:

• Don’t try everything at once

The biggest mistake new social media marketers make is trying to play catch-up by creating accounts on every social media site they’ve ever heard or read about. This is a surefire way to rapid burnout.

The amount of time it would take to maintain all those accounts would suck any and all time away from running your business. Plus, by trying to juggle profiles and build networks on too many sites at once, you’d do an ineffective job of marketing.

Start slowly. Maybe even start by surveying your current customers to see which social media site most of them use. Once you dip your toe in and get a feel for how a particular site functions, how its users behave and the kind of content/conversations they respond to, you’ll have a better idea of how that site fits with your message. And once you know that, you’ll know if that is a site to keep and nurture or one to scrap. You can ramp up from there.

If you run a political blog or website, for instance, you may find that Reddit members respond to your content better than Digg members.

Or, if you’re a photographer, you may think it’s a no-brainer to open a Flickr account, only to find that you can get more inquiries from users of Google’s Picasa.

Then there’s Twitter. What can I say about Twitter? Okay, I’m not going to lie… I hate Twitter. The minutia of Twitter drives me crazy. But that might be because I haven’t figured out a good use for it. Dell certainly did. They managed to turn Twitter into a million-dollar sales channel for their computers by using it to alert users of new sales and discounts.

But that’s the beauty of social media. There is no right or wrong way to use it. It’s like every other marketing channel. You have to test to find out what works best for your business.

• Have a unique purpose

Another mistake marketers make is using different social media sites to simply regurgitate the same tired message over and over – sometimes with the same exact copy!

How could this be useful to your customers? Why would they want to connect with you through Twitter or Facebook, only to get the same thing they can see on your site or in your newsletter? That’s like telling someone to put on the TV, radio, portable DVD player, and iPod at the same time to watch the same movie.

What your customers want is the equivalent of the special features section of the DVD. They’ve seen the movie. That’s your main content, right? Your main message on your site, in your newsletter, or your blog. Now – to really get to know you and build a relationship with your business and your content – they want the interviews, the outtakes, the deleted scenes, the director’s cut, the commentary. You get the idea.

Here at ETR, for example, we strive to provide additional unique content for you through our YouTube channel. We include things like additional business and copywriting tips, clips from conferences, and even the opinions of your fellow ETR readers.

Because we’ve received so much positive feedback on this additional content, we’re expanding to bring you our soon-to-be-launched ETR TV channel.

The point is to use social media to deliver a different message, a unique spin – to show your personality. Make sure the message is remarkable in a way that’s a bit different from your regular content, and you will keep your customers interested. Plus, you will entice new prospects to start a relationship with you.

• Be genuine

I’ve mentioned this before when talking about using social media for link building. It’s especially important when you’re trying to build relationships with customers and prospects. No matter which site or sites you choose to use, make sure you really are connecting with them and not just hammering them with ad copy.

You are networking, after all. You wouldn’t go to a business networking cocktail reception wearing a sandwich board and handing out flyers. Don’t do it online either. Your customers have needs, their friends have needs, their friends’ friends have needs. Fulfill those needs – even in the smallest of ways – and you’ll have an army of advocates faster than you can say “social butterfly.”

When it comes to social media marketing, the rules are pliable. So long as you are connecting with your audience in a meaningful way, you can experiment and have fun.

I’ll leave you with an example of some really daring social media marketing by Skittles that has the Internet marketing community tweeting in their seats.

Go to Skittles.com and take a look at their new corporate website. Thanks to some clever thinking and a few programming tweaks, they’ve turned their site into a social media extravaganza.

Will this bold move be a success? Only time will tell. Let me know what you think in the comments section here - and feel free to share some of your own social media marketing success stories!

[Ed. Note: How have you used social media to market your business? Which networks do you belong to? Which networks have worked? And which have bombed? Let us know right here.

Social media is just one way to market your business. For a dozen proven methods of connecting with your prospective customers, pick up a copy of Michael Masterson and MaryEllen Tribby's Amazon.com bestseller, Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business.]

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China will lead the world out of this economic slowdown, and the money to be made by investors is beyond your wildest dreams.

Three reasons China will explode: (1) They have no debt and a $3 trillion surplus. (2) They consider 6 percent growth to be a recession for their country. (3) Most important, China’s government puts China first.

One more thing: The Fed just bought up a huge amount of our debt to guarantee that the $3 trillion the Chinese hold will be worth enough to keep them from selling it.

With this move, the Chinese just graduated from emerging economy status to key world player. And that means it’s time for you to make some money.

First idea: China Life Insurance Company (symbol LFC). This is essentially a monopoly that is fully backed by the totalitarian regime in China, and protected from competition by the government. It has a 50 percent market share and has developed only about 10 percent of its potential.

Next idea: China Mobile Limited (symbol CHL). This company has more mobile-phone subscribers than we have people in the U.S. – 470 million. It grew its subscriber base by 6 million just last month. It has no debt, is swimming in cash, and is expected to add 7 million new subscribers per year.

The key to a successful China strategy is the inevitability of the play. Patience will be rewarded, but don’t get antsy if your investment doesn’t fly off the charts. Give it a three- to five-year horizon and you won’t be disappointed.

[Ed. Note: Get the scoop on more emerging investment opportunities from Steve McDonald in Investor's Daily Edge, ETR's sister publication. Sign up for free right here..

Interested in harnessing the power of China through Internet marketing? Check out ETR's China Wholesale Secrets program right here ]

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After a movie has been half-shot, you can’t fire your principal actors. You must keep them because you can’t afford to re-shoot all the scenes they have been in.

Being irreplaceable (for a while, at least) can go to one’s head. One of our
actresses had been getting more difficult every day. She pouted and complained about every glitch. And with a low-budget movie, there are plenty.

One day, for example, I changed a few of her lines and she was sarcastic for the umpteenth time. I asked her, “Hasn’t this ever happened to you before in your professional career?”

She looked at me, astonished, disgusted. “Are you kidding? I’ve never been involved in anything remotely like this in any way.”

If she worked for one of my businesses, I’d have fired her on the spot. To my delight, she reformed the next day and has been great ever since. Still, bad attitudes are infectious. I can tolerate ignorance and even ineptitude in my employees, but never a bad attitude. You shouldn’t either.

You might be wondering why I am dealing with an actress in the first place.

I am in the middle of making a movie.

I’m one week into my third moviemaking venture, and I’m very happy I decided to do this. It’s much more fun than my first two productions were. And it looks like it will be more profitable too.

We are making Grim Fairy Tale, a gory, sexy comedy written and directed by the legendary “Godfather of Gore,” Herschell Gordon Lewis. Many people on the set are working at reduced rates because they are fans of his early work – schlocky but very original movies (e.g., Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs). Herschell has written, directed, and/or produced over 50 movies. But this will be the first one he has written and directed in 25 years.

We are shooting it in St. Petersburg, Florida. I came here for a week to kick off the “principal photography,” as they call it. Herschell has provided an entertaining script, and everybody has been working hard to get this done on time and under budget. The line producers, Andrew and Andy, have done a great job scouting locations, interviewing actors, and procuring support.

We have more than a hundred people involved in this so far, counting cast, crew, and extras. We have two huge cameras, elevated camera lifts, dollies, a director of photography and two assistants. We have two sound technicians, a crew of electricians with huge screens and lighting, trucks, cars, all kinds of gizmos. We have a special-effects crew, a catering crew, a costume crew, a makeup crew. It’s amazing.

Ninety percent of independently produced movies never make a nickel. (The same is true for books and records.) But this one has certain advantages I intend to make good use of:

• Herschell is an icon to horror-film fans.

• Several of the actors – Brooke McCarter and Lloyd Kaufman – are well known too.

• The budget was big enough to make a movie good enough for theatrical release, but not so big that it needs to be a hit to be profitable.

• I’m making a documentary on Herschell at the same, which I should be able to use to drum up interest in Grim Fairy Tale.

• Everybody likes movies.

In getting involved in this, I’ve broken both of my two top rules about entrepreneurship:

• Don’t get into a business you know nothing about.

• And don’t start a business unless you know how to sell the product.

Well, I did know a little about making movies because of my first two attempts. But most of that can be categorized as “what not to do again.”

One of the things I never learned was how to sell a movie. So that’s what I spend my spare time thinking about. How can I market this thing? How can I make the investors happy?

I have three strategies in mind:

1. I will run it in film festivals around the world and hope it gains some attention. I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to get it accepted because of Herschell’s reputation.

2. I will find a distributor to help me market it overseas, to the DVD market, to television, and to theaters. There are not many distributors for horror movies – but, as luck would have it, I met someone just today who, when hearing what it is about and the budget, told me he wants to buy the distribution rights. That’s a good omen.

3. I intend to market it directly to consumers using everything I know about Web-based marketing, including e-mail marketing, social media marketing, public relations, and pay-per-click advertising. In other words, I’m going to employ the strategies that MaryEllen Tribby and I covered in Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business.

I’m most excited about my third idea, because I think that is where the big money is. Nobody I’ve met so far in the world of independent films knows anything about direct marketing via the Internet. There is great potential there. I’m convinced of it.

If you have ever thought about producing movies, here are a few tips – big and small – to speed you on your way:

• Time is always money, but it is especially true in businesses like this where you are working on a budget. Keeping on time means keeping within budget.

• When you are shooting in a building with half a dozen sets, you can always figure out where the scene is being shot by following the electric cables.

• The director of photography is probably the most important guy on the set. He is the person who makes the film work visually. (And film is primarily visual.) The director who doesn’t pay attention to his D.P. is probably a fool.

• Actors make a giant difference. A good actor can make a bad line work. A bad actor will make Shakespearean dialog sound like pulp fiction. (I first figured this out when I directed my own movie. Now I’m sure it’s true.)

• Even minor actors make a difference. I sat through eight takes of a two-line gag this afternoon. And it never worked because one of the actors – a friend of somebody’s friend – couldn’t high-five in a natural way.

• The actual shooting is 80 percent preparation (getting ready) and 20 percent filming (”firing”). Post-production is 100 percent polishing, refining, and perfecting (”aiming”). For “Ready, Fire, Aim” people like us, this can be exasperating.

• Because the process is so exasperating, it is essential to practice courtesy and good manners on the set. Rudeness creates resentment, which quickly results in wasted time.

• If you are not a genius, it pays to keep an open mind. We’ve gotten all sorts of good, specific directorial suggestions from several of the actors, but also from the electrical and sound crew, the makeup artists, and the grips.

• You don’t have to rehearse the lines as much as you think. If you give actors permission to change some of the words, they will often improve the dialog.

• Everybody on the set is distrustful of the producer. He’s the money guy, they know, so that automatically makes them think he’s insensitive to what they’re trying to do. “Actors and movie crews have artistic temperaments,” Herschell told me. “This means they are like children and need to be stroked and complimented a lot.”

That’s the first adventure of Michael Masterson in Movie Land. If you’d like to know more, leave your questions here and I’ll keep you posted.

[Ed. Note: Get dozens of Michael's surefire strategies for getting ahead in business and in life in True Path to Profits: A Master Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Success. Find out more - including how you can get a bonus subscription to Michael's VIP newsletter, Ready Fire Aim - right here.]

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You might assume that respected publications employ battalions of skilled editors who work assiduously to ensure that no errors appear in their pages. Maybe so, but the mistakes don’t always get caught. Here are four that I recently found in major newspapers:

• “When Mr. Biden indulges in his rhetorical overkill of repeating the same phrase three times – the proud men and women of Scranton, he said… ‘wanted the government to understand their problem, to understand their problem, be cognizant of the problem’….”Did you catch it? He didn’t repeat the phrase three times. He repeated it twice.
• “We create elaborate Excel spreadsheets in our head sorting what we would buy….”In our one collective head? Try the plural heads.
• “Indeed, the banjos owned by Mr. Scruggs were nearly priceless.”As the MasterCard ads suggest, the word priceless has some validity when it’s applied to a sunset or time with one’s family. But a rare collectible surely has a price. What’s more, “nearly priceless” is nonsensical.
• “I have known him for nearly two years, and have seen him in a variety of situations… over a glass of wine in his boyish loft in Manhattan’s Tribeca….”The word boyish means “like a boy” or “youthful and innocent.” The word may legitimately be used to characterize an adult male, but can it describe his apartment? Nope. In place of this clunky phrasing, the writer should have told us something about the resident’s furnishings or toys. That would have conveyed a vivid and concrete image.

These examples demonstrate once again that it’s a good idea to express oneself carefully. Sloppy writing and unprofessional editing tend to stop readers in their tracks and distract from the message.

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book recently published by AWAI that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]  

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Sometimes I get good ideas from looking in other business niches and seeing how they might apply to direct marketing and internet marketing.

But every once in a while I also see horrendous ideas that make me ecstatic that I’m not in another industry. Here’s one shocking example…

 The March 30 issue of TelevisionWeek trade magazine featured an article on how, despite the recession, the upcoming Major League Baseball programming season is expected to do well from an advertising standpoint. OK, fair enough.

But I almost fell off my chair reading a couple of lines in the piece…

Nearly Insane Comment #1:  “[Baseball is] DVR-proof, live, exciting, and localized.”

I can see why the quoted TBS executive would like his trade readers to believe TBS’s product (ad space during baseball games) are “Digital Video Recorder proof”. But his comment goes against my experience. As a baseball fan with a DVR, here’s how I watch a game…

1) Set DVR to start recording game at actual start time (say 7:30). 2) Do something useful (work out, cook dinner, write) from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. 3) Sit down and watch game starting at 8:30PM, fast forwarding through all commercials and thus watching a 2.5 hour game in about 1.5 hours.

Direct Marketing Principle Violated #1: Knowing the behavior of your prospects. But it’s understandable that 99% of TV advertisers don’t know this, because of…

Nearly Insane Comment #2: The new “MLB Network Channel” is already being piped into over 50 million homes, but “Nielsen won’t be ready to provide ratings for the channel until after the fourth quarter – after the 2009 season ends,” said the article.

Direct Marketing Principle Violated #2: Measure immediately; cut your losers, run with your winners.

Can you – as a smart Early to Rise reader – even imagine spending probably billions of dollars launching a new business, and not being able to determine your actual “size of your list” for nearly a year? This would be funny if it were not so sad.

One easy way to get good business ideas from other business niches is to think about how you can “migrate” techniques that are working in that niche into your niche – where perhaps no one’s using them yet.

But this example shows equally that keeping on eye on other niches can show exactly what you should NOT be doing!

[Ed. Note: Charlie Byrne is Associate Publisher of Early to Rise. Get up-to-the-minute ideas by following him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/CharlieByrne.]

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