“Chinese Water Torture” is the term I affectionately use to describe the drip-drip-drip of a great autoresponder.
A powerful autoresponder carves deep grooves in your marketplace. It leaves permanent, indelible marks.
Chinese Water Torture eventually gave us the Grand Canyon.
It will give YOU the Grand Canyon, too.
There’s an old saying that you have to tell somebody something 7 times before they remember it. That’s probably true.
7 times is what it takes when it’s something simple.
What about if it’s complicated?
What if it requires some kind of significant adjustment in someone’s personal or business life?
What if they’re not going to do anything until some change occurs in their life and there’s no way to predict when that may happen?
Then an autoresponder is your best friend.
If you have a nice long autoresponder sequence in place, time is on your side.
The other day Glenn Livingston commented to me: “Most people greatly over-estimate what they can do in 1 year. And they greatly UNDER-estimate what they can do in 5 years.”
Amen, brother.
Most people quit about 200 feet before the finish line.
Most people load up 2-3 followup messages. They don’t sculpt them for maximum persuasion and they don’t realize how close they are to victory. They stop, ten minutes from Triumph.
Everybody thinks of me as the Google Adwords guy, and yes, AdWords is the #1 way I collected the raindrops.
But Autoresponders are what gave me my Grand Canyon.
I just had a 2-day 4-man intensive on Wednesday and Thursday and it was really cool to have an office full of people who understood all the Perry lingo and concepts before they got here.
If somebody’s read 100 emails from me in the last 2 years, they’ve gone from cold to warm to hot.
Mostly the reason my Intensive members knew all that stuff was from the drip-drip-drip of autoresponder messages. Tirelessly carving their grooves in the world 24/7/365.
Make sure your AR strategy is worthy of your goals. And keep your eyes open for more cool Autoresponder stuff from me.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
21 Comments on “The power of Chinese Water Torture”
Perry love your work – I’m a school teacher; but I am writing a book – could I sell it successfully on the WWW, using your promotional material? Love the Atheists Riddle – some atheist colleagues of mine hate it! Yea, Yea! Go you good thing! Neil from the land down under,red,dry plains and big crocks!
Neil,
Translate from “book” to google campaign > optin page > autoresponder sequence > blog just like http://www.cosmicfingerprints.com/blog/atheists-riddle/ and use the email updates to send out little drips of the book. Bundle it all together into a book and sell the book.
Perry
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
Hi Perry,
The drip-drip-drip of autoresponder messages,is another persuasive way of keeping the existing customers at feet and also giving room to new customers, but from your references of reinterating your product upto 7 times to be understood, what about if there is any interference in timing, wont it result to falsification or lies?
Anyway, you are doing justies to a long time quest for marketting. You are a gift to this generation, keep it up. Am are enjoing you.
Perry,
I have subscribed to dozens of auto responders over the years on a variety of topics. One reason I do this is to get the feel for what it is like to receive these messages. Of all of the auto responders I’ve subscribed to (and I include RSS feeds in this too) there is only ONE — ONE — JUST ONE — that I haven’t turned off over time. That, Perry, of course is yours (although I have been tempted once or twice).
So, why have I turned all the others off? Because the signal to noise ratio became way too low. The drip drip drip works if the information is of value to those who receive it. I think folks are way to quick to underestimate that need, people read your messages for them, not for YOU.
I wrote a series of auto responder messages for my last company that are still running today (I’ve included the URL above). When people dropped off the end of the campaign of letters we get mail saying “Hey, what happened? I am not getting your great emails any more?”
Personally, if a business is not getting these types of emails then I think they need to greatly enhance their copy for long term prospect maintenance. Of course, if you are getting these emails from your prospects you need to write more copy!!!! Your point, of course.
Only your prospects can tell you this. If you are not getting that message asking for more from your prospects writing more messages may not help you. Listen to what the prospects are saying (or not saying), your copy may not be interesting to Perry, Me, or any other marketers, or anyone else who is not mentally in the space of your prospects.
My successful messages were about very specific technical topics on software development, when I showed them to other marketers they would say “I’d never read this.” Of course not, it wasn’t written to them. However, the people who it was written to started to pay us to do sales calls (4K a day). To me, that is when I began to fully appreciate the genius of the Perry Marshall approach.
Thanks,
-Tom (still subscribed to Perry’s drips)
Anyone got any ideas about a good autoresponder – not Aweber?
Perry,
it’s all about trust, I suppose, and timing, but that is what it takes to really “hear” a powerful message. I’ve learned to trust you, and I certainly qualify to be reminded about not quitting. Just one of those years. So what. No time to quit now. Thanks for being an inspiration. (in addition to all your other great stuff)
Great post Perry… most valuable thing you teach by far.
Lucas Rockwood
Perry,
Love the analogy! BTW, the new pictures look great and fit well with your…dare I say brand?
Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard you say this around 7 times now and it’s just now seeping through my thick skull!
Derek
Sure, you can use the word brand. Long overdue for some new pics!
“Don’t give up 5 minutes before the miracle.”
PS-You might think about an affiliate link to the “9 lies”. Other than the ‘5 Days’it is a perfect intro to Planet Perry.
~Mark
(Or I just cannot find it. Lol)
You can make one in Infusion – just make a custom link to a specific page on the site.
Thanks for the powerful information Perry I must say the statement ” Most people quit about 200 feet before the finish line.” really woke me up and provided me with the inspiration I needed.
Thanks once again Perry
Glenn had a very powerful message about overestimating the short-term and underestimating what can be accomplished in the long term. Our unrealistic expectations about the short term has a real bearing on people quitting 200 feet from the finish line. Everyone who reaches the top spend a number of years struggling before they broke out.
While I know a lot of the things you teach, the benefit in so many of your messages is the reminder and reinforcement.
Keep ’em coming.
I’m not sure if this is the place to post this (if not please delete)
Has anyone here expericence with sending marketing messages by bank account? I thought of this about a year ago but have not tried this so far.
Here is how it can be done: Send $0.01 or €0,01 or whatever to your existing customers by bank. In the description space with the payment write you’re marketing message.
This is (probebly a new) VERY cheap way to contact your customers.
I’m just getting off the starting block here and Perry you’ve been my inspiration. I don’t think I would have seriously considered entrepreneurship if it hadn’t been for your Chinese torture! :)
Thank you!
Hello Perry,
In your article you write:
“If somebody’s read 100 emails from me in the last 2 years, they’ve gone from cold to warm to hot.”
I really think your advice on direct marketing, adwords, email etc. is very good but only reading is not enough it requiers action
Have a good day
Jan Hindrik
Jan,
There is NO substitute for action. People can tell when you’ve got the smell of battle on you.
And…. when you read what is written by another person who is also in the battle, it affects you differently.
Dr. Howell,
Writing is one of those skills that takes time to build up but continues to deliver and deliver once you’ve honed it. Keep the faith.
Perry
“Most people quit about 200 feet before the finish line.”
I have been thinking a lot about this fact lately with the current economic climate [read challenging both good and bad].
In many industries I foresee it will be like an ultimate fighting “last man standing” brawl… it will be interesting to see who will outlast their competitors and navigate through rougher times through smart spending, innovation and the shear will to get back up off the mat.
A good book to inspire you all through the current battle is Seth Godin’s The Dip. He talks of making it through the tough times after the adrenaline subsides… Something many don’t get through to the other side of.
Keep pounding. Be light on your feet. Use your brain. Your competitors will succumb.
Rodney
Your autoresponder message do not sound like the email I get from other marketers.
There is a sense of having an ongoing conversation with you.
It is very difficult to duplicate. I know because I have tried to do the same for my opt-in list. But haven’t been able to duplicate the Perry Marshall magic.
But I keep trying anyway…
“Mostly the reason they knew all that stuff was from the drip-drip-drip of autoresponder messages. Tirelessly carving their grooves in the world 24/7/365.”
LOL Love your stuff Perry :-)