I’m listened to a video sales letter. The guy said that he was homeless, didn’t finish high school, then joined the army. Now, he has all the money in the world and can teach me how to put my sales on autopilot.

I didn’t believe him. Why? Because he rattled through his “story” so quickly, as if he read it on someone else’s page and decided it would work for him too.

I listened to the entire video sales letter more out of curiosity. Then, when I reached the end, I closed the page and went on with my work.

It seems like everyone who’s selling something online has been homeless or went bankrupt or failed in some way. I’ve been to too many marketing seminar where they say the very same thing.

Then, they talk about their successes and then, their discovery of “the secret.” In the copywriting world, this method is called a dip bio. You:

1. Tell people how successful you are today. Million dollar home, convertible in the driveway, trips around the world, all because of the successes in your business.
2. Then say that it wasn’t always like that and you list all your failures. An illness, divorce, bankruptcy, debt, etc. are the things that people want to hear because it helps you connect with your audience.
3. Then end with the secret or the formula that has helped you overcome your adversity and now you want to teach others how to do it as well.

The guy in the video sales letter did #1 really well. He told me about closing on a million dollar home. He did #2 really lousy. And, he did #3 really well since that part comprised about 70% of the video.

What did he do wrong? His dip bio lacked emotion. I didn’t connect with him at all. He showed his million dollar home at the beginning, quickly listed all of his “failures,” then moved on to talk about his product. The only emotion I felt from him was bragging.

A person who does the dip bio really well is Alexandria Brown, the Ezine Queen. She’s a million dollar marketing coach, but always refers to her miserable days when she first launched her business.

• She would wear her one good business suit to every meeting because she couldn’t afford anything else.
• She had to climb 5 set of stairs to her small apartment on the top floor in a dingy building because there was no elevator.
• She ate the same thing every night because she couldn’t afford food on her measly consulting salary.
• She was up at 7am and didn’t stop working until just after midnight.

Filled with emotion. Makes me want to buy anything she’s selling. She connects with me in an emotional way. And that’s what makes a dip bio so compelling.

Think about Oprah. Is the fact that she makes billions the reason why so many love her and eat up her advice?

No, it’s the fact that she was sexually abused when she was a child, struggled with her weight as an adult and told that she was too unattractive to work on television. All these experiences show that despite being a billionaire, she’s as human as you and I.

When people ask me how I got into podcasting, I could easily say “I stumbled upon it, liked it and started doing it,” but that’s so boring. Instead:

• I talk about my layoff in 2004 and stated at that point I would never have anything to do with technology again.
• I launched a coaching business and to promote it, I went to networking events, exhibited at trade shows and printed up really expensive, glossy business cards and brochures.
• After 8 months, I was $50,000 in debt and facing bankruptcy.
• Towards the end of 2005, I launched my first podcast called Cubicle Divas. It was a hobby until I started making thousands of dollars a month and getting lots of attention. Plus, people started asking me how to create one.
• In March 2006, I closed down my coaching business and launched my podcast consulting business. Since then, I’ve made my first six figure income, am one of the most sought after experts in my niche and enjoy my work.

That’s more compelling, huh? Take a look at yourself and write an emotional and compelling dip bio. Share a short version of your dip bio in the comments section below.