Pissing your subscribers off is cleansing. Pissing them off is fun. And even better, pissing them off will likely make you a LOT of money with each "pissed" issue of your ezine .... WITHOUT you lifting a finger to promote.

Literally.

This has been proven to work for me consistently, each and every time I've done it.

And best of all, your loyal followers will LOVE being pissed off.

Here are the three golden rules for pissing your readers off to make a killing with your Web business:

1. Don't go pissing people off for the heck of it.

Contradicting myself? Not hardly.

People don't like to be pissed off for no reason. So PLEASE don't go pissing your readers off with abandon, or your credibility, reputation, and social life will go down the tube. (Didn't you learn ANYTHING from Kumar's e-publishing faux pas a few weeks back?)

And for heaven's sake ... don't make them pissed off at YOU.

The first rule of thumb is to get them pissed off at "the man".

The second rule of thumb is to make sure that they do *not* think that YOU are "the man"!

2. Piss your readers off by showing that YOU'RE pissed off.

I get the most response from readers NOT when I announce good news (I'm getting married! I won a million dollars!).

NOT when I ask for feedback (what kind of articles do you want to read here? Does this hat go well with these shoes?).

And NOT when I offer a reward for their feedback (although this can run a very close second).

It's none of these.

I get the most response from my readers, hands down, when I'm sick OR pissed off ... and tell them about it. Then and only then is when the most heartfelt, personal, one-to-one communications pour in.

There's just something about being pissed off that ignites the pissed-offedness in others, and makes them reach out to you.

Your ezine isn't just a document people read every week or every month. Don't make the mistake of thinking that's so. It's a *community* of people who follow and support YOU through your good times, bad times, sick times, and pissed-off times.

So don't miss the opportunity.

3. Piss your readers off by ... speaking your mind.

Honestly, that's the secret behind this entire thing -- if you can call any of it a "secret"). The more you speak your mind or discuss controversial issues, the more your readers will experience pissed-offedness ... and the more they'll grow to love YOU as a result.

Really.

People appreciate when you're up front with them, and shoot it to them straight. The myriad of testimonials from other "STRAIGHT" readers will tell you that.

The more unafraid you are to express your opinion when it's controversial, the more your readers will LISTEN.

And respond.

Because when you do this, they respect you for breaking the mold, and being who YOU are -- not who some "guru" said you *should* be.

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"But why 'piss them off?' Can't I just be honest with them and achieve the same effect??"
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Get this:

Contrary to what you probably thought as you started this article, I'm NOT advising you to piss people off for the heck of it.

I AM telling you to evoke a strong emotion in your reader, whether that be to piss them off or otherwise.

Get him or her to CONNECT with you to increase readership, subscriber loyalty, and ironically ... sales.

(Oh -- I didn't cover that yet? ;))

Whenever I send off a fiery rant, for instance, I get dozens of replies from readers. I have over 7,000 subscribers now, but I'd get this kind of response when I had half as many.

And the more "forward" my message is, the more sales I get.

For instance, the last time I sent out a hard-hitting issue, sales poured in for the next day or so, one after the other.

But that's not anything special.

The truly amazing part is that I didn't ADVERTISE anything in that issue. Not a thing.

These sales were coming from the people who took the time to visit my "soft/no-sell" *content site*, (HarmonyMajor.com), or to read all the way down to the very bottom of that issue to see the two links to my other direct sales sites.

It was amazing.

But the thing to watch out for when you're pissing off your readers is this:

   That strong of an emotion *can't* be faked.

   To try is to fail.

For instance, I never write an ezine issue INTENDING to make people feel a certain way.

Ever.

And I mean that.

I write this ezine not for the readers, but for me. That sounds pretty backwards, but it works every time.

Ironically, it's when I start *trying* to avoid stepping on toes, offending the two ministers on my list, or catering to any one type of subscriber that I get the LEAST amount of feedback and sales, and the MOST amount of unsubscribes.

Go figure, eh?

But when I write this thing as if I'm talking to myself -- and honestly, I do -- people love it.

Just as in life, the more you try to please people, the more they'll be turned off by you. It's when you stop giving a hoot that they're drawn to you like bees to honey.

Think about it:

Which of your high school classmates had the most animal magnetism?

That stud, the "bad boy", who could give a d$@^ what others thought of him, and dressed and talked as he pleased? Who had the confidence of ten men without being arrogant, and who KNEW who he was?

Or the super-needy computer dude who was always under foot, trying to hang with the big boys, and following ladies around like a wandering, over-eager, and abandoned puppy?

You know the answer to this one.

Remember it, dear Reader, and BE YOURSELF when you write.

It pays.

Note: For more info and an insider perspective on this topic, see the recent forum thread and my reply entitled "You're full of 'em, aren't you?"