Meron Bareket, who’s known as the “Sherlock Holmes” of funnels and conversions. He has the unique background and ability to find the “murderous leaks” in your online sales process — and fix them. When he combines that with his copywriting, you get outsized conversions and record profits. I know this because Meron is a mentoring client of mine. I’ve seen the kind of detective work he does and the massive sales results he’s gotten for clients. Meron can do what he does because he’s a dedicated student of buyer behavior during every step of the sales process. He uses software skills to track how buyers respond to each part of a sales funnel, and he makes adjustments accordingly. But today he’s going to talk about the horrible crimes against marketing he sees people committing all the time. Often not knowingly or intentionally, but the results are the same. No matter how you kill the sale, you miss out on a lot of money you would have otherwise made. In this episode, Meron talks about the seven serial killers that take the life out of your marketing. Some copywriters and business owners know about some of these. Some don’t know about any of them at all. And I’ve never met anyone before who has such a thorough operational knowledge of all of them. Honestly, in my 30 years of marketing consulting, coaching, and copywriting, I was shocked by some of these that I’d never heard of before. We dig in deep to two of the “marketing serial killers” today, which Meron, wearing his “Sherlock Holmes” hat, refers to as “The Case of the Yawn-Inducing Offer” and “The Case of Sir Slapped-A-Lot.” He covers four key questions to replace yawns with eagerness and willingness to buy, in your prospects. And the two things you must have to avoid getting “slapped a lot” yourself!Download.

The famous English writer George Orwell is best known for his book 1984, which is a bestseller and a major cultural signpost in the English-speaking world. But lesser known is a book he published three years before. 1984 was published in 1949. But Politics and the English Language was published in 1946. In this book, Orwell lays out six iron-clad rules for writing, which are pretty good for copywriters, too — with some notable exceptions. We’ll get to those in a few minutes. But first, let me show you what Orwell was worried was happening to the English language. He gave this comparison in his book: From the Bible, Ecclesiastes, 9:11 “I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.’ Translated into the worst of modern English: “Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.” No wonder he was worried. The six rules (we discuss each one, in depth, on the show) Rule 1: Never use a metaphor, simile or other figures of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Rule 2: Never use a long word where a short word will do. Rule 3: If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Rule 4: Never use the passive where you can use the active. Rule 5: Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Rule 6: Break any of these rules sooner than say something barbarous.Download.

Simulmedia, a 10-year-old company based in New York and LA, helps businesses use TV advertising to get better results by bringing in data analytics. Recently Simulmedia launched a marketplace called D2Cx. It’s especially interesting for direct marketers who want to reach consumers on TV without all of the old hoops that you used to have jump through. I reached out to Matt Collins and invited him to come on the Copywriters Podcast to explain this. Some listeners are not ready for TV, but I’m pretty sure some will embrace the opportunity, since the opportunity to scale your business rapidly is simply unmatched by anything else. And it’s more affordable, as I understand it, than any other big-league TV ad opportunity. Matt will set me straight if I’ve got that wrong! Matt, welcome. Matt is Senior Vice President of Marketing at Simulmedia in New York City. Previously, he was VP of Marketing and Communications at Ampush, in San Francisco, which was involved in big-time Facebook marketing. Before we start, I’d like to give everyone a message that no one will mistake for marketing: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Let’s start at square 1, Matt, and thanks again for taking time from your busy schedule: 1. Please give us a rapid tour of your background, especially in terms that would be recognizable to direct marketers and direct marketing copywriters. 2. Now let’s talk about D2Cx. What is it and how does it work? 3. In our earlier conversation, you told me that the minimum spend for D2Cx is $50,000. Could you give me an idea of what a company could get for that amount? 4. I have read that Simulmedia brings data analytics to TV advertising. Could explain what that means, and how that’s different from old-school programs for TV advertising? 5. Are there additional analytics available with D2Cx? 6. In terms of tracking results, you mentioned that there may be new third-party applications on the horizon, in the not-too-distant future. Could you talk about those and what a marketer will be able to measure with them? 7. What about the mechanics of actually producing a TV ad? I know that’s not your primary specialty, but a lot of people in this space are do-it-yourselfers. Is there a way to find out what the standards are? Is this doable if they don’t want to use an ad agency? 8. Anything else that direct marketers and copywriters should know? 9. If someone’s interested in finding out more, what are the next steps SimulMediaDownload.

A rocket scientist describes how a spacecraft takes off. There’s a big difference between the energy and controlled chaos of the lift-off and the regular, cyclical path of the orbit around the earth. What can we learn about this description when it comes to the two basic types of people necessary to make copywriting make money? Plenty. Two conversations started this all. The first one – one of those accidental things about something else entirely, that really sparked my thinking about this. The second one, with a legendary copywriter, really blew it up to get us to this point. What creative people need to know about implementers. It’s almost like the people who write the copy and the people who “get things done” are from another planet. But they’re not. They’re really two sides of the same coin. What does the “implementer” side of the coin look like? What implementers need to know about creative people. For many practical, “get ’er done” people, asking them to understand creative people is akin to asking someone who only speaks English to read something written in Greek. It seems mysterious. And, from the way implementers look at, and operate in, the world, it is. But there’s a way to understand the other side of the coin, and we’ll cover that in today’s show. How do you bring an “implementer” mindset to creativity? This, of course, is the million-dollar question. Lucky for you, we have a million-dollar answer. Maybe even more than one of them. How do you bring a “creative” mindset to implementation? Most creative people would swear that this is impossible. Probably based on their own experiences, that would be a reasonable thing to swear to – or, to swear about. But there’s another way to look at it, and that’s what we do in the show today. The world where cats and dogs can get along? Of course, that’s a metaphor. Well, not completely. I have seen photos on Facebook of a dog and a cat getting along, but, it could have been Photoshopped. The question is a metaphor for the question of creative and implementor people synching up and reducing the friction between each group. Some good ideas here.Download.

A story about my mother and the vacuum cleaner. What objections are and why it’s so vitally important that you know them and overcome them. The best way to find objections. What to do if you can’t find objections out first-hand Handling objections in your copy: • Overcoming copy with a headline • Overcoming copy with a guarantee • Overcoming objections in your bullet points • Overcoming objections in your FAQs • Two powerful ways to overcome objections that many people overlook • How to reduce the strength of objections before they ever occurDownload.

Parris Lampropoulos is one of the few true A-List copywriters in the world, and he is a much sought-after teacher of copywriting as well. This special one-hour session with Parris is a veritable masterclass. He reveals the subtle psychology and strategies behind a sales letter that trounced the previous control and went on to run for over 7 years. At the bottom of this page, you’ll receive a link to download this historic piece of copywriting excellence that Parris explains in granular — yet, easy-to-understand — detail. Never before on the Copywriters Podcast have we had such an intricate and valuable breakdown of a multi-million-dollar winner. Every copywriter and marketer should pay close attention to the wisdom and street-smarts Parris reveals here, for you can use some or many of the techniques he explains, to vastly improve the performance of any promotion you have currently running, or planned for the future. Download the PDF HereDownload.

Show starts with an editorial in a business magazine that condemned negative thinkers. Warning: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Why positive thinking is so important for copywriters — and, really, anyone in business — most of the time. Why it’s a mistake to never allow negative thinking into the copywriting process — and where you should. Three important activities for copywriters that require negative thinking: 1. Mac Ross’s “Four W’s” Here are four questions most copywriters — and most business owners — never dare to ask. But they really must ask them (as painful as it may be) if they want their ads to work. 2. “What could possibly go wrong?” The power of positive thinking can drive you right into a ditch if you don’t keep an eagle-eye out for ditches when you’re driving. Now, this works a little bit differently in the copywriting process, but the idea is just as important. 3. Problem-Agitate-Solve Dan Kennedy made this formula famous, but it’s been around in one form or another for as long as people have had problems, needed some motivation to solve those problems, and needed solutions. But some copywriters get stuck in the “think positive” straightjacket when they try to use it. Here’s what you need to do instead.Download.

What I didn’t start learning about people until I was 40. Warning Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. What “human nature” means How understanding it at the behavioral level makes a difference when you’re writing copy… and you need to get specific behaviors from people reading your copy What happens when you live in an idealized world (read: “should”) about people and how they behave… and how that affects your copy (you’re screwed, your copy’s screwed) Four surprising things about human nature I learned only in copywriting • What people are really more concerned about, as opposed to what they’re “supposed to be” concerned about… • While many people say the greatest motivator is greed… or fear… or love… or hate… what I have discovered is the greatest overall motivator to get people to start reading your copy and keep reading it until they buy is something different. • It’s like completely obvious when you find out about this one, but it’s practically a forbidden subject in school, many homes and houses of worship, and even some businesses. • Before I knew anything about copywriting, I thought branding and advertising were the same thing. As a young copywriter, I thought branding was nonsense and a complete fraud. What I learned about human nature, only last month (October 2018), helped me see the value and the severe (and sales-preventing limitations) of branding. Review of four things about human nature I was only able to learn through Next time: The Power of Negative Thinking!Download.

The newsletter publisher that made more money with people who swiped his newsletter than he did from subscriptions. Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. What swiping is The difference between swiping and stealing (plagiarism) Why swipe files are important How to build a swipe file How to use a swipe file The three levels of creativity (Gene Schwartz, Breakthrough Advertising, p59) 1. Word-Substitute Technique (“the shallowest”) 2. Through Formula (“deeper and more difficult”) 3. Analytical approach (“It means a solution which has cost you days and weeks of painful effort, and which has done its job perfectly—can only be used once.”)Download.

Part 2 of 2 For today’s special Report from the Field, I literally met our guest “in the field,” at the Platinum Mastermind Group a few weeks ago. His name is Ted Prodromou, and he’s known as America’s leading LinkedIn coach. That would be good enough if Ted knew how you could get a job on LinkedIn better than anyone else, but I was extremely impressed that he knew a lot more than that. He knows how copywriters and entrepreneurs can use LinkedIn to make large amounts of money, as he does for himself every month. Ted’s the author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business, and the third edition will be released by Entrepreneur Press next March. I’m so delighted that he’s agreed to come onto the Copywriters Podcast and share some of his secrets. Welcome, Ted! Before we get into the questions, let me share my one and only secret for this podcast: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. 1. Ted, after listening to you, I got the impression that you really see LinkedIn differently than most people see it. Could you share the highlights of what opportunities you see for freelance copywriters, and for owners of small to medium businesses? 2. What are some simple actions a copywriter can take on LinkedIn, to get more copywriting clients? 3. Let’s say a business sells online courses or other kinds of info-products. What are some basic things a business can do to bring in more sales? 4. What are mistakes you see people making on LinkedIn – both really dumb ones, and mistakes that seem like they’re reasonable things to do, but actually aren’t such good ideas after all? 5. Please give us some tips on writing a LinkedIn profile. What are the most common mistakes, and what are your most popular strategies? 6. What writing tips would you suggest for articles and other content on LinkedIn? 7. You have this great set of insider secrets you call the LinkedIn Cheat Sheet. Could you tell us about it, and how our listeners can go get a copy themselves?Download.

Part 1 of 2 For today’s special Report from the Field, I literally met our guest “in the field,” at the Platinum Mastermind Group a few weeks ago. His name is Ted Prodromou, and he’s known as America’s leading LinkedIn coach. That would be good enough if Ted knew how you could get a job on LinkedIn better than anyone else, but I was extremely impressed that he knew a lot more than that. He knows how copywriters and entrepreneurs can use LinkedIn to make large amounts of money, as he does for himself every month. Ted’s the author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business, and the third edition will be released by Entrepreneur Press next March. I’m so delighted that he’s agreed to come onto the Copywriters Podcast and share some of his secrets. Welcome, Ted! Before we get into the questions, let me share my one and only secret for this podcast: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. 1. Ted, after listening to you, I got the impression that you really see LinkedIn differently than most people see it. Could you share the highlights of what opportunities you see for freelance copywriters, and for owners of small to medium businesses? 2. What are some simple actions a copywriter can take on LinkedIn, to get more copywriting clients? 3. Let’s say a business sells online courses or other kinds of info-products. What are some basic things a business can do to bring in more sales? 4. What are mistakes you see people making on LinkedIn – both really dumb ones, and mistakes that seem like they’re reasonable things to do, but actually aren’t such good ideas after all? 5. Please give us some tips on writing a LinkedIn profile. What are the most common mistakes, and what are your most popular strategies? 6. What writing tips would you suggest for articles and other content on LinkedIn? 7. You have this great set of insider secrets you call the LinkedIn Cheat Sheet. Could you tell us about it, and how our listeners can go get a copy themselves? Ted's WebsiteDownload.

Brian Cassingena helps businesses build out their customer acquisition funnels to create major breakthroughs in their sales and profits. He is a former Mindvalley chief copywriter. Brian’s responsible for at last count more than $4 million in revenue coming directly from his copy over the last 3 years. Last year, more than $1.3 million, just for Mindvalley alone. Brian has rolled out more than 20 major funnels, and some of these are making 6 or 7 figures per year on autopilot. Brian’s back with us from last week. Today, he’s going to talk with us about making money with daily emails. 1. Could you describe what sending a daily email means? Is it literally every day? How long are they typically? 2. When was the first time you started or took over a daily email program? Are there any results you can describe? 3. To many business owners, the idea of sending out an email to customer everyday borders on the unimaginable. What do you say to clients to reassure them what they send will be welcomed by customers, and that you’ll have enough to write about. 4. What advice would you give to a business owner who’s working with a copywriter to do daily emails? 5. What would you suggest to a business owner who wants to do it themselves? 6. And if a copywriter wants to approach a client about doing a daily email program, what are some suggestions would you have about how to go about this? 7. I’m sure you’ve seen some big mistakes people make with daily emails. What are some of them? 8. Could you share some inside secrets no one else talks about to make daily emails work? Geniuses Of Copywriting PodcastDownload.

Brian Cassingena helps businesses build out their customer acquisition funnels to create major breakthroughs in their sales and profits. He is a former Mindvalley chief copywriter. Brian’s responsible for at last count more than $4 million in revenue coming directly from his copy over the last 3 years. Last year, more than $1.3 million, just for Mindvalley alone. Brian has rolled out more than 20 major funnels, and some of these are making 6 or 7 figures per year on autopilot. Today, Brian’s going to share some of his MindValley funnel secrets with us. 1. To start with, could you give us a quick summary of who MindValley is, when you worked for them, and what you did for them? 2. Now, before we get into your MindValley funnel secrets, please give us a brief, basic definition of a funnel, so even the least experienced listener will understand what we’re going to be talking about. 3. What was your best-performing funnel for MindValley? Could you walk us through the pieces/steps? 4. The most successful people get to where they are by making mistakes, and learning from them. Could you share a few interesting mistakes you made with funnels, how you corrected them, and what you learned from the experience? 5. You’re working with other clients these days. Maybe still with MindValley, I don’t know, but at best part-time. How do you take what you learned from MindValley and apply it to developing or fixing funnels for clients? (A few nitty-gritty specifics here, please. You don’t have to give away your vast storehouse of knowledge – in fact, please don’t.  But make what you do tell us very real and easy to understand.) 6. What’s the easiest way to change an existing funnel to increase conversion the most? 7. What do you find marketers tend to leave out or overlook with their funnels? 8. Is there a bare-minimum checklist you could share with us (here, not in written form, but in the interview) that every funnel should have? Geniuses Of Copywriting PodcastDownload.

Today our special guest is Debbie Owen, who has her own podcast, The Sales Page Podcast, and is a book-launch strategist and freelance copywriter. She’s agreed to give us a crash course for coaches and consultants in writing copy that brings in business. Here are the main topics she addresses: 1. What’s the biggest mistake coaches and consultants make when writing their own copy? 2. Everyone knows you’re supposed to write down such things as, “What keeps them awake at night? What do they fear? What do they desire?” What else can make a difference in writing copy for a coaching business, when it comes to knowing your avatar, or perfect client? 3. There are so many coaches out there; the competition is stiff. How do you fight that in your copy? 4. Let’s talk about the messaging in your copy. How do you compare yourself to your competition? 5. Many coaches either procrastinate about writing their sales page because they’re afraid of a blank page, or they just sit down and start writing without a plan. What’s a plan they can use to write copy for their coaching business?Download.

Today our special guest is Debbie Owen, who has her own podcast, The Sales Page Podcast, and is a book-launch strategist and freelance copywriter. She’s agreed to give us a crash course for business owners in writing copy that brings in business. Here are the main topics she addresses: 1. What is the most important thing a business owner should start with when they think about writing copy for a sales page? 2. Many business owners try to write copy that creates a desire for the product or service they offer. What’s wrong with this approach? 3. How do you write copy for a sales page that addresses the prospect’s level of problem awareness? 4. What are some typical sales page copy mistakes business owners make when they write their own copy? Debbie's WebsiteDownload.

The Tyranny of “Show, Don’t Tell” If you take it too far, you’ll end up drawing pictures and using no words at all. How do we profitably apply this to copywriting? Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. The origin of “Show, Don’t Tell.” Why you don’t need or want to do it all the time. Where you do need to use it: 1. How your prospect feels now. 2. How your prospect will feel, once the benefits of the offer kick in 3. The experience of using your product or service 4. (Sometimes) What others will say about the prospect after the benefits of the offer have kicked in, and how the prospect will feel 5. How to order the product. The main reason you want to show, not tell, in copy.Download.

Dynasty quote How does that square with the reality about wealth? What does this mean for copywriters? Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. What the numbers say about billionaires. What the numbers say about the wealthy. What about copywriters and direct-response company entrepreneurs? Most successful copywriter/business owner 2 founders Top Copywriters Going to college / not going to college What all successful people I know have in common Taking responsibility for your own education – college or not What I did Don’t buy into the rebellions teenager/cowboy myth But don’t expect degrees or past successes to carry your bags for you The market-proven secret of successDownload.

The folly of trying to get better at “copywriting.” “Inch by Inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life’s hard.” Nobody but a fool would honestly claim that copywriting’s a cinch. But the way a lot of people go about learning it, they make it a lot harder than they need to. Today we’ll take a look at all the things people do that just too hard. Things that take much longer than they need to. Then, we look at what’s faster, easier, and works SO much better. Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Muscle memory for copywriters. - what it is - why all the top copywriters have it. Most don’t realize it. I’ve never heard anyone talk about it before. Not taboo; just like, not a lot of awareness. But I see it all the time with the other A-Listers I know and talk to. Typical ways people go about trying to get better at copywriting: - Just read and study: learn everything - Handwrite sales letters - Just do it – “natural” Only one problem. If all you do is any one of them, that won’t work. If you do all three together, they work – but it’s a tremendous amount of work, and you reach a point of diminishing returns pretty soon. What works better - Muscle memory technique 3 ways to go 1. Begin at the top of a sales letter and work your way down. 2. Start with your weakest copywriting skill. 3. Start with your strongest copywriting skill. -So which one do you choose? -Additional benefits: Besides skill development, there’s another great advantage. Download.

Our guest today is Tim Burt, who’s going to give you the inside story about writing copy for radio and TV commercials. In the last 26 years, Tim has written, recorded and/or produced more than 30,000 commercials worldwide. His clients range from small businesses to global corporations to presidential campaigns He’s the founder of TimBurtMedia.com and has created programs including Broadcast Ad Secrets, The Restaurant Marketing Series, and Broadcast Ad Secrets. Among the publications where Tim has been featured are: Radio Ink, Huffington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Before we get into the good stuff, I have to tell you something that you’ll almost certainly never hear on the radio: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. 1) Could you explain the difference, on radio and TV, between top-of-mind advertising and direct response advertising. 2) What’s the biggest mistake you see retailers make with their advertising? 3) Please explain your concept of using a “gateway drug” on an ad. 4) On a radio or TV ad you’ve only got 60 or even 30 seconds to say something to get someone to go to a store. What are the key parts of message? Could you give a couple examples, where you break down the message and label the parts? 5) What are some of the most interesting reasons business owners give you for NOT doing what you suggest? (Could you mention the top two or three?) 6) How do you answer each reason (assuming the business owner is not a lost cause and it’s worth the effort to answer a reasonable objection) 7) What advice do you have for business owners who are interested in advertising on radio and TV, but aren’t ready yet? 8) What would you suggest for copywriters who’d like to branch out into working with retailers this way? TimBurtMediaDownload.

Ted Nicholas: You can go broke selling people what they need. But you can make a fortune selling people what they want. What did he mean? How do we apply this into what we do as direct marketers? But first… here’s something I want to tell you: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. • A fatal mistake of many marketers (hopefully not you): Trying to sell people something you want to sell them, that they don’t want themselves (i.e. Something you assume they need, or hope they will want). • What works better: Selling people something they are actively aware that they already want. Just offering them a better version. • How to find out what people want, so you’ll know what to sell them. • Two things that get in the way of doing this: - Lack of Marketing Realism - Lack of Marketing Maturity Put the odds on your side! Start out selling people what they want!Download.

Dr. Henry Heimlich story. When I first heard about this, what prompted me to research it more and get all the details? Insatiable curiosity. What insatiable curiosity is, and why it’s so important for copywriters – what we’ll talk about today. Now, you might be curious about what comes next. Well, the suspense is over. Because… Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. • Curiosity is how you get motivated to find the interesting tidbits that make your copy shine, and keeps your readers reading. • Three types of people – and, depending on which kind you are, here’s how you should approach your own sense of curiosity. • What insatiable curiosity looks like for a copywriter. • How to ask questions that people will be willing to answer. • The #1 driver of innovation is curiosity. • Why thinking about stuff after you find out is such a big part of curiosity. Stay curious! Download.

What a songwriting teacher says about how much writers hate to rewrite. It’s not just songwriters. And this reluctance is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, copywriters never make it to the next level in their writing and in their career. We’re going to fix that today! -- Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. -- - The two seemingly opposite puzzle pieces of putting together a magical story for your copy. When creativity meets implementation. Why they are like oil and water — they don’t mix, but most cars need both in order to operate. - What usually happens when a writer sits down to write a sales story for copy. Why faster is NOT better. What happens to make sure a good story never gets done fast with this approach. - What works so much better than the usual approach: Two stages of variation. These tricks come from world-famous writers, but they work just great for every copywriter who uses them. This could be just as fast, or faster, but it doesn’t seem that way until you actually try it. - Why writers normally do what they do — and what they miss, doing things this “normal” way. There’s a very good psychological reason for it. Too bad that, despite the good reason, doing things in this “normal” way leads to self-sabotage. - Why writers resist rewriting, and the heavy cost of this resistance. How totally understandable emotions work against writing good stories. - What to do instead of what people usually do. How to get past typical work-habit blocks to create great stories!Download.

We had Joshua Killingsworth on a few weeks ago, when he talked about how his divorce and child-custody requirements virtually “forced” him to move quickly from another business to copywriting. We got a lot of response and appreciative comments on that show. Joshua also shared his empathy-map process, which gets the copywriter very much in tune with the prospect’s thinking and feeling. Something all copywriters need to do, but, sad to say, not all actually do. Today, Joshua’s going to talk about something completely different. Something that should make him the envy of every freelancer listening to today’s show: How he closes 80% of the prospects he talks to. I’m really excited to hear what he has to say. But everyone should also be excited, as I remind you, that… -- Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. -- 1. One thing you do in your process that seems very smart to me is you make sure your prospect has an offer that makes sense by itself before you’re willing to consider them as a client. This makes sense to me because, without a compelling offer, no client can be successful, no matter how good the copywriter is. Could you talk about how you evaluate their offer and what you look for? 2. Then there’s the client – the person you’ll be working with. We’ve all made the mistake of jumping into a project, only to discover we can’t actually work with the person on the client side. How do you evaluate a prospective client? 3. You have an intermediate step after they make it over your offer and can-I-work-with this client hurdles, and before you take them on as a client. Could you describe that step, how it works, and why you do it? 4. OK, you have a step called “ask the right questions.” Of course, anyone would want to do that. But you have a special purpose in mind. Could explain that? 5. Once you close the deal, you don’t wait – you get right on it. Not everybody does. What’s your thinking on that? 6. And finally, you have a follow-up step that is brilliant. And simple. Yet so many people just don’t take this step themselves. Want to talk about that? Download.

Justin Goff has created from scratch three multi-million dollar direct response companies. His last one was a supplement company that him and his partners scaled from 0 to 23 million in sales in just under 3 years. Justin sold his stake in that company last year, took a year off, and is now helping the biggest direct response companies to boost their response and increase their average order size on their offers. He lives in Austin Texas with his 2 Great Danes, George and Dempsey 1. Justin, you seem to have a very different view of emails for marketing from just about anyone else I know. I remember once on a webinar I heard you say you would pay $5000 for a good email. Could you tell us, how do you look at emails differently than most people do. 2. How did you use emails in the companies you built? Could you talk about some individual emails and the kind of results you saw? 3. The way you do emails – how do you decide what information to put in the email itself, and what to save for the sales page it leads to? 4. If you or someone working for you is doing daily emails, how often are they pitch emails, compared to “content” emails? Is the tone usually the same with both kinds of emails? 5. Effective subject lines in emails – How similar, or different, are they to headlines that work on a sales page? 6. Your emails go into a lot of depth and do a lot of selling. How does a sales letter it leads to, work, with the way you do things? Shorter sales letters? Repeat the info in sales letter? Or straight to an order page? 7. You’re doing some work for a small group of clients with emails. Want to talk about it? 8. How can someone get in touch with you?Download.

Justin Goff has created from scratch three multi-million dollar direct response companies. His last one was a supplement company that him and his partners scaled from 0->23 million in sales in just under 3 years. Justin sold his stake in that company last year, took a year off, and is now helping the biggest direct response companies to boost their response and increase their average order size on their offers. He lives in Austin Texas with his 2 Great Danes, George and Dempsey. 1. Many of our listeners know all about controls, but some don’t. So let’s start with this question: What is “a control? 2. Why do you need to try to beat a control? 3. How do most people typically go about trying to be a control? 4. What do you see as wrong with, or missing from, this approach? And what do you do differently instead? (Justin – here, could you go through the theory/process of working on the whole funnel? If you can and you’re willing to, mention some super-simple math. Like 2 or 3 actual or potential gains you’ve seen, that most people would miss entirely, using the more conventional, limited approach of just looking at the sales letter.) 5. Are there other things you can do that usually work to beat a control? 6. What happens when a control starts to fatigue and you can’t beat it anymore? 7. What should a copywriter expect to charge for this kind of work? 8. What should business owners expect to pay for this kind of work? 9. How can someone get in touch with you? Find Justin on Facebook.Download.

On today’s show, we’ll pick up where we left off last week. Friend requested I give a talk to his group of copywriters and business owners. One of the copywriters in the group asked me: what does it take for a copywriter to go from “good” to great? And what I do work on with people when I coach them. Six things I’ve found… We’ll talk about the first three in today’s show. Warning Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. The Big Three When I start working with a copywriter, 3 questions 1. What do you want? 2. How are you gonna get it? 3. What’s standing in the way? Coaching is based on the answers to these three questions. First two – different for every copywriter. Third one – nearly always, there are six things standing in the way. Last week we talked about the about the first three. #1 Not enough confidence #2 Can’t identify your target customer and get into his/her head #3 Can’t come up with good enough big ideas/hooks #4 1 thing standing in the way: Can’t write killer headlines - some of this is skill - some of this is knowledge: lack of research & familiarity with who customer is and what customer wants - There’s some psychology in writing headlines. I coach clients in getting familiar with stages of the market, and customer sophistication. #5 thing standing in the way: Can’t tell great stories in sales copy - Storytelling is one of the simplest and one of the most complicated things in the world. - Everybody tells stories all the time. It’s a natural human activity. - But it’s a real art to tell a story concisely in a way that captivates your listeners or readers from start to finish - And telling a story in sales copy is a whole different animal #6 thing standing in the way: Can’t write killer bullets - Bullets are like freeze-dried salesmanship - I know one A-list copywriter who rewrites every bullet four times - That’s because he knows one bullet, by itself, can close the sale - It’s true that there are formulas and templates for bullets - But coming up with unique, on-target bullets is a big part of what makes a great copywriter. Recap: 1. Confidence 2. ID target customers, get into their heads 3. Come up with enough good ideas and hooks 4. Killer headlines 5. Great stories 6. Killer bulletsDownload.

A friend requested I give a talk to his group of copywriters and business owners. One of the copywriters in the group asked me: what does it take for a copywriter to go from “good” to great? And what I do work on with people when I coach them. Six things I’ve found… We’ll talk about the first three in today’s show. Warning Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. The Big Three When I start working with a copywriter, 3 questions 1 What do you want? 2 How are you gonna get it? 3 What’s standing in the way? Coaching is based on the answers to these three questions. First two – different for every copywriter. Third one – nearly always, there are six things standing in the way. Today we’ll talk about the first three. #1 thing standing in the way: Not enough confidence. - what most people think about confidence - what I’ve found real confidence is based on - how I help people develop this real confidence #2 thing standing in the way: Can’t identify your target customer and get into his/her head - most people have only a vague idea - some people focus only on demographics - most people have a hard time getting into their customers’ heads because they don’t know how to find out - I give people specific methods, and their copy goes through almost magical changes #3 thing standing in the way: Can’t come up with good enough ideas and hooks - we spend a lot of time working on this - anyone can come up with a headline; far fewer can come up with one that works - but coming up with a Big Idea is entirely another matter. And so much of this is built on the first two – having confidence (and courage to risk), and really knowing the customer. - ideation and understanding customer psychology and deep and subtle levels is very important. - so is not stopping with one idea. This, surprisingly, is controlled a lot by confidence, in a funny kind of way. Recap: 1. Confidence 2. ID target customers, get into their heads 3. Come up with enough good ideas and hooksDownload.

Imagine you like to ride a bike. Maybe you already do. So you ride every day, on mostly flat roads and paths and occasionally a mild hill. Then one day you decide to get in a race. You don’t learn much about it ahead of time. On the day of the race, it’s raining. There are oil slicks on the road. The competitors are going much faster than you are used to. Then gusts of wind kick up. And to top it all, there are hairpin turns on top of steep hills! Guess what – you’re in crunch time. It’s that special moment when all hell breaks loose and you have to follow through with whatever you started. How do you deal with that? Today we’ll talk about • What crunch time is • Why you need to prepare for it • How you need to prepare for it • And what to do when it actually happens Now hear this: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Crunch time happens to everyone. At various points in your career. Happened to me this year (weekend training). Has probably happened to you, too, Nathan? The key is NOT to try to avoid it. The key is to deal with it and come out smelling like a rose. 1. You can wish and hope and pray all you want that Crunch Time doesn’t come before you’re ready for it. But it will anyway. - When it’s likely to come - Why it’s likely to come - What it’s like when it does come 2. Why you need to prepare for Crunch Time. - Conditioning and internalization in your hip pocket - Shit’s gonna happen you had no idea was coming, and you can only learn so many things at once - You’ll have more confidence in the face of uncertainty 3. How to prepare for Crunch Time. -“Drill” in the basics. That is, get good at the core activities of your work. - Develop routines and systems. The less you have to think about and the less you have to decide, the easier it is to ramp up fast and operate faster than you’re used to. - Practice doing business tasks faster, just as an exercise. Notice where you get slowed down. Then, practice doing those things until you can do them a little faster. 4. What to do when Crunch Time comes – whether you’re ready or not. - Clear the decks. Even if you have other important and urgent priorities, getting the job done well and on time has to be JOB ONE. - Eat light. Drink enough water. Coffee as needed, if that’s what you do. You want to feed and hydrate yourself like a high-performance machine. - Go, go, go! And don’t go without sleep entirely. You’ll be surprised that you can do more than you thought you could do. After Crunch Time is over, see how you can arrange some “lazy time” where you catch up on your sleep and let your brain get some air!Download.

We have a special Report from the Field today that reaches deep into one man’s family. Our guest is Joshua Killingsworth, and while people’s last names usually have nothing to do with anything else, in this case, it holds a clue. Because Joshua Killingsworth’s copy is killing it. He’s got a webinar and sales page promo, for example, that converted 65% on a one-thousand-dollar product. He’s created a three-email sequence that is making over $20K a month for a client. With a tiny list, yet. And maybe that’s because he had no choice. Four years ago he was going to lose his share of joint custody of his daughter unless he was available on some weekdays. He became an “accidental copywriter” as a result. Today he’s going to share some of his secrets with you. 1. How did you get into copywriting and what is your background? 2. You have an avatar and empathy map you’ve developed. Something I’ve never heard of before! And you say that you believe the research that produces leads you to higher than normal conversions. Tell us about that. 3. What are the steps you use in your writing process? 4. Where do you get angles from, for your hook, your subject lines. 5. You mentioned you verify everything before the writing actually starts. Not everyone does that. Why do you and what’s your process? 6. A lot of copywriters aren’t sure how to size up a client ahead of time. You have a process for doing that – would you share it? 7. Finally, what takeaways can you give people who want to write their own copy? 8. And if someone wants to contact you, what’s the best way to do that?Download.

A few weeks ago, we had Joe Schriefer on the podcast in a special “Reports from the Field” episode. Joe said something that changed my life, and I’ve been thinking about ever since. As you may remember, Joe heads up Agora Financial, and he was one of the key players in growing it from $25 million a year to $250 million a year. The show as about how to scale up a business dramatically the way Joe has. What Joe said that kept ringing in my mind was: To grow a business big, think like the business is small. In other words, don’t get grandiose. Just do the normal things you do, but do them increasingly better. Don’t get private jets and a yacht. You would think a quarter-billion-dollar business should have a private plane, right. But that’s not how they do things. And that’s important. So it got me to thinking. There are so many people urging others to “think big.” And so many people who have these wild-ass plans that almost always disintegrate into dust. Why is that? What are those people misinformed about? And what can we all do differently so we can think bigger and actually profit long-term from our thinking and our actions? Probably the first thing is to listen to this message: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. 1. What “Thinking Bigger” Means In copywriting and entrepreneurship, it means expanding your vision – the scope of what’s possible. - most common example: increasing your revenue/income - other examples - increasing the number of clients at the same time - increasing the number of different products you sell 2. Why It’s Important Business only moves in one of two directions. Up – it gets larger, or down – it gets smaller. If you try to stay the same size, it’s really a series of episodes of getting larger, then smaller, then larger, then smaller. What a waste of time and energy. If you keep getting smaller, you eventually go out of business. So the only logical way to go is to get larger. To grow. And you need to think bigger to do that. But you need to think in the right way. 3. The Mistake Most People Make - Think of a road trip. You have a map, you have a destination, you think that’s enough. - The thing most people overlook, and this is the big mistake, is they don’t prepare for - what to do when you get a flat tire - how to deal with a road that’s washed out - what happens when you get lost - That is – they don’t know how to solve all the nitty-gritty problems and unexpected events that occur along the way - So, they end up doing what they call “failing,” and give up - There’s a way to avoid this common mistake, and that’s what we’ll talk about today. 4. The True Path - Foundation - You need to get good at the basics - If you’re a copywriter, there are a few skills you need to have under your belt before you venture into the “big time.” Like.. - Research - Coming up with creative hooks - Writing in a persuasive way - Negotiating and maintaining relationships with clients - Meeting deadlines - If you’re a business owner, there’s also a set of core skills you need to have at a certain level of proficiency - Don’t expect you will pick these up “later” after you start to “think bigger.” You need to have them in your toolkit wherever you are now, before you start to go for big, massive goals - You may have heard different. I’ve never seen it end well when someone’s reach exceeds their grasp. Like the old saying goes, you need to prepare, to win. - Why You Can’t Think Bigger Until You Can Sweat The Small Stuff - Large is just a multiplication of small - As hard as it is for most people to come up with good ideas, coming up with ideas is the easy part. - Many people who are good at ideas think implementing is the hard part. - But implementing is easy compared to solving problems that occur, especially problems you weren’t expecting. - Solving problems when the heat is on is really the primo skill - And the only way you’re going to do that confidently and competently in a big way is by getting repetitive practice doing it in a small way. - What I’ve Observed In Big Thinkers I Know Personally - They’re obsessed with details – the right details - They draw on their own experiences and advice they’ve gotten from others who have at least as much experience as they have. Not too much on theory or other kinds of abstract ideas - They’re great problem-solvers. Very creative in that way even if they’re not like your typical creative personality. - They’re decisive. And once they make a decision, they take action. - They’re not huge braggarts or overly humble. More like, matter-of-fact, but just in the larger picture that they see. - My Own Path - I started very “big” – as the news editor of a national magazine in New York, and, I was told, the ambassador for McGraw Hill to Asia, as San Francisco Bureau Chief - It was all a bunch of bullshit. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. - Because: I knew how to report and write articles, and edit articles. I was really good at those things. But… I really didn’t know how to solve problems, manage teams, motivate individuals, or bring in revenue. All of which you really need to do to grow a business, even if the teams and individuals are outsourced contractors and organizations. - I started over when I was 40. I built skills from the ground up and started very small. I had to. I was broke and I didn’t know what I was doing. - These days, I focus on tiny little details my former self would have scoffed at. Not all the time. But I’ve learned to identify and focus on what’s important, and when it comes to solving a problem at the granular level, I’m right there. - To give one example: Often when I do a critique, I’ll find four or five crucial things that can keep a client out of trouble and lead to a huge increase in the conversion from the copy. Being able to identify and suggest that small number of things comes from having worked with hundreds of businesses and having reviewed thousands of sales letters over the last 25 years.Download.

I was looking at a new online MasterClass by Judd Apatow, a film director who specializes in comedies. His bio said he got started in the business at age 15 as a dishwasher at a comedy club… and, you know how the story goes… the rest is history. You’ll hear lots of stories like that – but few in copywriting. Why is that? And what can you do instead? That’s what we talk about today. Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Let’s go over what you need to learn first, and then we’ll talk about putting together an advanced program for yourself. 1. “College” – or, basic training - Basic programs. Two I recommend and have seen consistent results from: SWS and Copy Chief. I’m a big fan of the “person at the top” theory. John Carlton is the leader of SWS, and Stan Dahl makes a point of keeping a complex system working smoothly. Kevin Rogers is at the top of Copy Chief. Both of these guys care more than you could ever imagine, and that makes a huge difference. They and their programs have helped people get way beyond the basics, but that’s on a case-by-case basis and I want to give you something you can count on when you’re just going pro. You can’t go wrong with either of these. - Facebook groups. Not everything everyone says will be valid, but you can get a lay of the copywriting land there. Two that are robust and excellent from everything I’ve seen is: The Copywriter Club, and The Gary Halbert Copy Club. An important thing to look for is the clear-headedness of the people running the group, and their real-world knowledge and experience with copy. Kira and Rob with the Copywriter Club, and Bond and Kevin with The Gary Halbert Copy Club, all excel in that regard. - Books. There are a lot of books these days on copywriting. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, in varying proportions. If I had to suggest only five to start out with, I would suggest these for fundamentals that someone in the early stages can grasp and put to work: 1. Scientific Advertising, by Claude Hopkins 2. The Copywriter’s Handbook, by Robert Bly 3. The Ultimate Sales Letter, by Dan Kennedy 4. Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, by Joe Sugarman 5. Breakthrough Copywriting, by David Garfinkel Each of these books is a course in itself. They are not quick reads, but understand you need to rewire your mind if you are going to become a good copywriter. Most of these books are also suitable for advanced copywriters. The reason I picked them is they are comprehensive, well-organized, and easily understood by a beginner. Start writing. Get some experience. Get feedback. Find out what really works. See if you can sell your own products, or be an affiliate for someone else. Get as much experience you can in as short a time as you can. There are other great programs, groups, books and experiences that someone in their first few years of writing professionally can take advantage of. These are the ones I know best that I think are the surest bets and the best use of your time. Let’s move on to the advanced stuff, now. 2. “Grad school” – or, special ops In a lot of fields, with more organized professions, like law, medicine, or journalism, there are grad programs at many universities. Some of them are very good and produce high-quality graduates who make good money and some of them contribute a lot to individuals and society as a whole. Not so true in copywriter, as best as I can tell. There are a handful of grad programs in direct response marketing but I don’t know of any successful copywriters who have attended them. I’m going to focus here on what I know works, from my own experience, from talking with others, and from what I’ve observed with successful clients. - If you can get into a successful direct-response organization that nurtures and grows copywriters, do it. There aren’t that many. A lot of big direct-response publishers outsource to experienced freelancers. But there are some. Agora Financial and other Agora companies make it a policy to bring in copywriters and develop them, for example. - Seminars with copywriters who are successful and good teachers. Live and home-study. Nathan, you have a home-study online program on email marketing you could tell us about. … I took a lot of these when I was learning, from the best people I could find. I’m not going to make any other recommendations here but a good place to start is people whose copy makes you want to buy, and who have programs that others have said they’ve gotten a lot out of. Sometimes one person, one seminar, even one idea at one seminar can be a real breakthrough for a B-level copywriter who wants to move towards A-level. - Books for more advanced copywriters 1. Breakthrough Advertising, by Gene Schwartz. Breakthroughadvertisingbook.com 2. The Brilliance Breakthrough, by Gene Schwartz. Brilliancebreakthroughbookc.om 3. The Boron Letters, by Gary Halbert. Available on Amazon All three of these books could be read by beginners. But they’ll be much more valuable to anyone with some experience under their belt. - Mastermind Groups You can learn more in a short period of time hanging out with people who have lots of experience and are willing to help others, than you can in a long class with a teacher who understands the theory but has never competed in the battlefields of the marketplace. I co-moderate one with John Carlton and Stan Dahl. I know it’s good because the focus there is entirely on the members and solving their problems. I have a former mentoring client, Travis Sago, S-A-G-O, who’s doing some interesting things you should check out. There are many others, and some of them are good. It’s a powerful format. Do a little research before you join one. I’ve been in different masterminds for nearly 20 years and they’ve helped me way beyond how I can even explain. - Mentoring Find someone who’s been successful themself and likes to help other people develop. I have a mentoring program and openings come up from time to time. Another person two very advanced people I know of have mentored under and gotten a lot from is Parris Lampropolous, with his Copy Cubs program. There are others. Again, choose carefully. 3. Wrap up So these are the five elements of Copywriting Grad School, the way I see it: 1. Get a job at a top-flight direct response organization for a while, if you can. 2. Seminars given by successful copywriters. 3. The three books I mentioned: Breakthrough Copywriting, The Brilliance Breakthrough, The Boron Letters 4. Mastermind Groups 5. MentoringDownload.

Detectives today have a powerful tool in their toolkit – DNA analysis. Except for identical twins and maybe in the future human clones, every person’s DNA is unique, as far as we know. So if there’s a drop of blood, a hair, a small piece of skin, or any number of other tiny little pieces of a person’s body at the scene of a crime, the detective who finds DNA has struck gold. That’s because DNA leaves clues. There’s another kind of DNA you might not have heard of yet. It’s called Breakthrough Copywriting DNA. This kind of DNA leaves clues, too. For example, the first type of Breakthrough Copywriting DNA we’ll talk about today left the clue of $2 billion in the Wall Street Journal’s bank account. In short, Breakthrough Copywriting DNA is a collection of seven themes that have proven themselves to be big winners for copywriters across a wide variety of industries. A few of them are featured as Emotional Action Sequences in today’s episode. But first, let’s feature this: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Emotional Action Sequences What They Are Templates for telling simple stories in your copy that lead your prospects through different defined and predetermined powerful emotions. They serve two purposes. First, to get your prospects “out of their heads” and into their feelings. (Emotion: In music. In movies. To motivate anyone to do anything. Necessary in Buying.) Second, these particular emotions, in these sequences, will not only get prospects into their emotions. They will get into particular emotions that make them much more likely to buy. Their Origin I developed these for my $5000-a-seat Breakthrough Copywriting seminar in Las Vegas. After I gave the people there a 10-year head start on the marketplace, I released them in my book Breakthrough Copywriting, which went on to be a #1 bestseller. People have told me they are so useful that I thought I would share some of them on the podcast. How You Can Find More Of Them Available for about 12 bucks on Amazon, as a Kindle or a paperback. Why You Need To Know Them I critique copy for a wide variety of copywriters and business owners. Last year I did 5 to 10 critiques a month for GKIC. I work with Agora Financial. I also have individual mentoring and critique clients from all over the world. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but one thing I’ve noticed nearly all copywriters have in common is not enough effective, believable emotion. Sometimes there’s nothing there at all – it’s too logical. Sometimes it’s so over the top that it’s not believable. And often it’s so sappy and contrived that it just doesn’t ring true. It ruins the magic of the rest of the copy. The Emotional Action Sequences can help you make your copy more natural and believable, by using everyday situations in a very powerful way. Today’s Selection: Three Types of Breakthrough Copywriting DNA Themes in Advertising History that have made millions. Because these are primal stories that touch and move the emotions in a deep way. Breakthrough Copywriting DNA Type 1: “The Secret Formula For Success & Prestige” WSJ letter – greatest tracked ad in history -- $2 billion The Book Think and Grow Rich – 20 million copies sold. WSJ Letter and Think and Grow Rich: Really the same story. One’s corporate; one’s entrepreneurial. That’s how DNA works. It can adapt to any form. So, for our example, let’s start with the WSJ letter, which has made more money than any other tracked ad in the world, as far as we know. Most high-end public seminars have some version of this DNA in their marketing. Whether it’s for copywriting, marketing, personal growth, or some other specialized niche, very often you’ll find this DNA threading through the marketing materials for the event. Breakthrough Copywriting DNA Type 2: “Your Unrecognized Greatness Has Been Discovered” - The underlying reason people pay: thousands for expensive watches… hundreds of thousands for luxury cars… and millions for yachts. That is, the people who buy them believe they are great, but not getting the recognition for it that they deserve. And by flashing the watch, driving the car, or appearing on the yacht, their greatness will be discovered. - Most people have a feeling that there is greatness inside them that has not been suitably recognized by the world. That’s why this is such a powerful theme to put in copy. - The example I gave in the seminar and I give in the book is Gary Halbert’s famous “Coat of Arms” letter, which has been mailed more than 600 million times. The idea here is: If your family has a coat of arms, then they must be really special. Therefore, you must someone special. In other words, you have unrecognized greatness that has been discovered. Breakthrough Copywriting DNA Type 3: “You Worked Hard and You Deserve A Reward” - Certainly, the concept of social security and private pension plans, like 401Ks, are examples of this type of DNA - Despite recent fashionable ideas like the four-hour workweek and the 10 minute workday, most people, deep down, believe you have to work hard and then you get rewarded for your hard work. - It’s also been my personal experience that, once I learned what were the valuable kinds of work I could do and once I learned how to do them really well, the best rewards came after hard work. -The example from the book is Joe Karbo’s “The Lazy Man’s Way To Riches” full-page newspaper ad. He ran it over and over again in newspapers all across the country and sold tons of books with it. The start of the ad is how he used to work long hours every week and he was still behind on his bills. But once he discovered his lazy man’s way to riches, everything changed. He started making a lot of money and had plenty of time to do other things besides work. I think an important part of what made the copy work was that he showed how he earned the right to make a lot of money, doing less work – by working hard, very hard, at first. His “reward” was the privilege of doing less and earning more. This is a very powerful theme and DNA type. Recap Breakthrough Copywriting DNA types are more than just useful templates for increasing emotion in your copy. They are universal themes that have been proven to work in highly successful tracked sales letters and ads. You can also find them in great works of literature as well as movies and TV shows. What’s important about them is that they resonate with people at a deep level, and when you use them correctly, they can multiply your sales from a piece of copy. So keep them in mind the next time you write. Here are the three we covered today: • The Secret Formula for Success and Prestige • Your Unrecognized Greatness Has Been Discovered • You Worked Hard and You Deserve A Reward How to Get The Complete Set Of All 7 Breakthrough Copywriting DNA Types Chapter 10 of Breakthrough Copywriting Download.

Direct marketers usually hate TV commercials, because they give a bad name to advertising as we see it. That is, they don’t truly sell. But sometimes I like them – not as advertising, really, but as works of art. There’s a very intriguing commercial running right now for Alfa Romeo, the luxury Italian sports car. What intrigues me the most is their tagline. In Italian, it’s La Meccanica Delle Emozioni. And, it’s trademarked. A close translation of the phrase is: “The Mechanics of Emotion.” Today we start our occasional series called Accessing Emotion. And for today’s show, I don’t want to step anywhere near Alfa’s trademarked phrase, but I’m inspired by it. So we’ll call what we’re going to talk about today: Emotional Action Sequences, Part 1. Emotional Action Sequences are proven templates for adding sales-enhancing emotion to your copy. They’re easy to use and I’ll share some powerful ones with you today. But first, and I hope I don’t get too emotional about this: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Emotional Action Sequences What They Are Templates for telling simple stories in your copy that lead your prospects through different defined and predetermined powerful emotions. They serve two purposes. First, to get your prospects “out of their heads” and into their feelings. (Emotion: In music. In movies. To motivate anyone to do anything. Necessary in Buying.) Second, these particular emotions, in these sequences, will not only get prospects into their emotions. They will get into particular emotions that make them much more likely to buy. Their Origin I developed these for my $5000-a-seat Breakthrough Copywriting seminar in Las Vegas. After I gave the people there a 10-year head start on the marketplace, I released them in my book Breakthrough Copywriting, which went on to be a #1 bestseller. People have told me they are so useful that I though I would share some of them on the podcast. How You Can Find More Of Them Available for about 12 bucks on Amazon, as a Kindle or a paperback. Why You Need To Know Them I critique copy for a wide variety of copywriters and business owners. Last year I did 5 to 10 critiques a month for GKIC. I work with Agora Financial. I also have individual mentoring and critique clients from all over the world. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but one thing I’ve noticed nearly all copywriters have in common is not enough effective, believable emotion. Sometimes there’s nothing there at all – it’s too logical. Sometimes it’s so over the top that it’s not believable. And often it’s so sappy and contrived that it just doesn’t ring true. It ruins the magic of the rest of the copy. The Emotional Action Sequences can help you make your copy more natural and believable, by using everyday situations in a very powerful way. Today’s Selection: Three Breakthrough Copywriting Emotional Triggers • Breakthrough Copywriting Emotional Trigger 1: “Anger to Envy to Offer” The psychology of the trigger: Anger and jealousy are two of the most powerful motivators known on Earth. A therapist might tell you they are not healthy emotions, but nobody would argue that they are not widespread. And no matter how emotionally well-balanced we think we are as individuals, they are common to all of us. Nathan, let’s say you and I had a business specializing in helping frustrated corporate refugees start there own businesses. We could use this trigger as part of our copy: The company Terri worked for posted record profits this year, so it really stung when she was turned down for a raise for the third year in a row. She was steaming because the division she ran had brought in more money to the company than anyone else. To rub salt in the wound, Wanda got a sizeable raise and a huge promotion. Terri suspected that was because Wanda spent a lot more time practicing office politics than she did producing for the company. Terri called it The Wanda Insult. She was so mad at the unfair treatment that resolved to start her own business to make things right. And the first people she contacted was us, since we specialize in helping people who were superstars for someone else become superstars in their own business. • Breakthrough Copywriting Emotional Trigger 2: “Appeal To People’s Sense of Larceny” You might think good people don’t steal, and you might be right. But what people who have self-control actually do and what they really want to do are often not the same thing! When I say “appeal to people’s sense of larceny,” I don’t mean sell them instructions on how to rob a bank. The psychology of this trigger has some much more socially acceptable names: “Getting good value for your money,” “Never paying retail,” even “getting something for free!” Fact is, if you can show someone how they can get away with paying less, or even nothing at all, for something they want – in a story – you will stimulate powerful urges that can propel them to buy what you are selling. Here’s an amusing example, I heard on the radio yesterday. It was an ad for blink.com, a home security company. It was for home security cameras. First they talked about no contracts, no wires – and then the announcer said, “You can get three of our cameras for what the other guys charge for one. Plus, use this special code and we’ll give you a 15% discount.” Selling burglar alarms by appealing to people’s sense of larceny. I think that’s ironic! But that’s exactly what they were doing. • Breakthrough Copywriting Emotional Trigger 3: “Factual Format For Emotionally Provocative Language” This is one of my favorites, because it is so convincing. You use the objective language of journalism to establish believability with facts, and you continue to present your information in the factual format of a newspaper article. But notice how the copy gradually transitions into a lot of emotion, which prepares the prospect to be receptive to your offer. This could be for a diet information product: A diet followed by everyday people in Europe for centuries is sweeping the United States like wildfire – and people who could never lose weight before are having some success with it. Called the Mediterranean Diet, this traditional European way of eating has been keeping millions of people fit and healthy for generations with little fanfare. But Americans who have just discovered it are melting belly fat and dropping dress sizes in weeks. And they are shouting from the rooftops! - Notice how it goes from facts in the first three sentences to highly emotional language in the last sentence But Americans who have just discovered it are melting belly fat and dropping dress sizes in weeks. And they are shouting from the rooftops! - But the factual format remains the same. Makes the wild claims more believable! Recap You need to provoke emotion to get people in a buying mood. What we talked about today provides an easy way to do that. Three Emotional Action Sequences: - Anger to Envy to Offer - Appeal to People’s Sense of Larceny - Factual Format for Emotionally Provocative Language How to Get The Complete Set Of All 11 Breakthrough Copywriting Emotional Triggers They’re all in Chapter 10 of Breakthrough Copywriting. 12 other chapters as well!Download.

Donald Burns once helped the world's most hated man find a job. How'd he do it? By using copywriting methods while writing his resume. After all, what is a resume, if not a sales pitch for yourself? Donald gets into what works and what doesn't when it comes to resumes. He's written them for some of the most successful people out there. He even has some tips for copywriters on how they can better promote themselves. This one is a little bit off the beaten path, but jam-packed with gems that you don't want to miss. Donald's Website Executive Promotions LLC Find Donald on LinkedInDownload.

Despite what the rock group the Buggles told us, video did NOT kill the radio star. Our guest in today's special Report from the Field, Daisy Luther, appears regularly on 830 stations through the Genesis Radio Network. But to many people, Daisy is even better known as The Organic Prepper. She runs a very popular and profitable website. I met Daisy personally in late April, at a private dinner in Baltimore for former journalists who have embraced copywriting. Daisy, we’re honored to have you here and welcome to the Copywriters Podcast! Today, Daisy will share details of her business and whatever else we can convince her to share with us. As we begin, let me remind you of something: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. So Daisy, let’s get started. 1. How did you start the Organic Prepper? 2. Can you share how many visitors or viewers your website has? 3. At our private dinner, you shared some astounding information about how much content you create. Could you tell our listeners, if only to give people an idea of what is possible once you really commit to a project? 4. You have an interesting product strategy with relatively low-priced, high-value-content information products. Please explain what you offer and how your publishing and payment system works. 5. What have you learned doing all of this that surprised you? 6. In what ways do you use copywriting to run and grow the business? 7. What advice would you have for our listeners who want to sell unique, valuable content online? 8. What do most copywriters not know that you wish they did? Daisy's Website The Organic PrepperDownload.

Surprise is the “magic excitement dust” of entertainment - Music “High Time,” Grateful Dead. Circa 1970. Very touching country-rock kind of song about a misunderstanding that ended a relationship, and all the self-doubt that followed. Melancholy. Goes where you wouldn’t expect: surprise. Vs. my rewrite (Corny AF) “You said goodbye and held me tight You know I found it heartwarming Yeah, sure, I’ll miss you tonight But I’ll see you in the morning.” : not that surprising Beatles – used a lot of harmonic surprises, putting in a different chord/progression than would be expected. Lennon/McCartney have more #1 hits in history 100 than anyone else. Period. - Same thing in movies, TV and fiction Car chase – A screenwriter has to review all car chases ever done before to do something different, and unexpected: surprise Ending of a thriller or a mystery – for most people, not what they expected (although very clever people can sometimes figure it out): surprise What about copywriting? We’re not looking to create entertainment the same way a songwriter or a screenwriter is. But on the other hand, we don’t want our copy to be boring. Why surprise works to be entertaining: People have, generally, humdrum lives. Here’s how surprise breaks the “humdrum” cycle: - When surprise is exciting, inspiring, leading to hope: Influx of brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin – feels good - When surprise is scary, sad, angering: Influx of brain chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol Effective in either case because, people like to be nudged out of their humdrum lives. And as copywriters, we need to stimulate emotion in our prospects in order to make them receptive to taking action – i.e., buying. So how do we use surprise in copywriting? 1) Surprising new offer / headline / product From last episode: Joe Sugarman – laser beam digital watch “Never press another button, day or night, with America’s first digital watch that glows in the dark.” In 1976, this is quite a surprise. Today, it’s no big deal. But we have to look at copy in the perspective on when it was used. 2) Unique verbs – from John Carlton John likes to use colorful verbs. Cram. Stun. Maim. Crush. Coax. He has a rule that is hard to follow but well worth it if you can do it skillfully: Never use the same verb more than once in a piece of copy. One exception: Don’t put in a lot of synonyms for “said.” It doesn’t sound natural or conversational when you say things like, “He elocuted,” or “She intoned.” It sounds contrived. “Said” and “Asked” are usually all you want to use. 3) Imaginative but easy-to-grasp metaphors and comparisons in stories and bullets. Stuff people don’t expect. Exciting, unexpected images – but nothing too hard to grasp. Smooth as a northern lake on a windless day As excited as a chipmunk who’s just broken into the almond processing plant Making more money than the pharmacist who’s running a meth lab on the side. 4) Surprising pricing / terms. Gary Halbert story – Guthy-Renker – don’t pay for 30 days – tripled response. 5) Surprising bonus! My friend Doberman Dan is really good at this. When you join his membership group, he sends a special gold-colored coin with a custom insignia on it. Recently he sent out a USB thumb drive in the shape of a knight, complete with sword! Which is appropriate for his group, because it’s called “Marketing Camelot-Knights of the Round Table.” Recap: Why surprise works (keeps the brain guessing, entertained … another way of generating emotion) Caution – don’t let your inventiveness take over the sales argument, which is the most important thing in copy. Surprise is the seasoning, not the main course.Download.

My girlfriend has a dog named Sheila, and Sheila’s an Australian Shepherd. Now, Australian Shepherds are working dogs and they always seem to need to have a job to do. Last Tuesday, Deb was sitting down to write some copy on her computer and she told me that Sheila was guarding the door for her. I thought that was interesting. Sheila didn’t know what to do, but she figured out Deb didn’t want to be disturbed. So, Sheila gave herself the job of guarding the door. Smart dog! OK, I’m telling that story to give a shout-out to Sheila. But also to show you something that today’s show’s about: How you can get instant understanding and have people remember more of what you say by communicating in images. You may not remember the whole story I told you, but I bet you understood the idea of a dog guarding the door while a writer was busy writing, and I bet you won’t have a hard time remember it. Why? Because those words, “Sheila was guarding the door for her,” creates a clear, simple imagine in your mind. Dog, door, woman, computer, writing. Simple! This is important for more than the fact that I feel good about Deb being protected when I’m not with her. Because in addition to everything else, Sheila is fierce. It’s also important because today’s show is about getting people to understand you instantly and remember more of what you say. And that’s what we’ll talk about today. First, I would like you to instantly understand this: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. The image-word / word image cycle This is a simple way of looking at how our minds work that I’ve never heard of or seen anywhere else. I think it’s right and I know it’s powerful. Gene Schwartz concept in The Brilliance Breakthrough Here’s his idea: The mind thinks in images, and then it decodes images into words. And when you hear words, it encodes the words back into images. If you can use words to create images, people will have the “coding” work already done for them. They will understand you much faster, and remember what you tell them. Direct quote from the book: “Why do we memorize images instead of words? For a very good reason: One image can be memorized as easily as four or six or eight or even ten words. So instead of storing ten separate facts at once I our memory, we have to store only one.” “Understanding is therefore image-sharing. When you and another person understand each other, you share the same images. When the two of you talk about the same things, you both see the same things. When the two of you talk about doing the same actions, you both see how to do those actions. “You have – on that subject, in that area – common minds. You think alike. And that is what communication is all about.” Why this is important The more quickly, easily, and directly you communicate images in your copy, the more people reading your copy will end up buying. Some great examples This is one show where it’s actually better to hear the examples than to read them. You’ll get more of the visual/image/instant effect as I read these to you. 1) A sentence from my critiques page on garfinkelcoaching.com “I’ve just given you a solid roadmap to begin critiquing your own copy.” Compare to a non-image rewrite of the same sentence: I’ve just given you a set of steps you can use to critique your own copy. Nt terrible – but not as instantly understandable or as memorable. This is much better: ““I’ve just given you a solid roadmap to begin critiquing your own copy.” 2) Joe Karbo, in one of his “Lazy Man’s Way To Riches” newspaper ads: He’s talking about his life after learning direct marketing, where he works only when he wants to. He says half of the time he’ll work 5 or six hours a day. “But about half the time, I decide to read, go for a walk, sail my boat, swim, or ride my bike.” You can just see that… and imagine the life of leisure, and choice, he’s describing. Compare that to this sentence, which I wrote as a non-visual example: But about half the time, I’ll engage in recreational activities. They’re usually outdoors and they involve exercise. But they’re fun. Kinda dull, by comparison, right. Not as powerful as: “But about half the time, I decide to read, go for a walk, sail my boat, swim, or ride my bike.” 3) Hemingway, The Old Man And The Sea: “He was shivering with the morning cold. But he knew he would shiver himself warm and that soon he would be rowing.” Now let’s butcher us up some Hemingway: It was morning and the temperature was low. He was just going to have to deal with it. Soon he would be getting some exercise to start his day. That’s not Hemmingway – that’s boring mediocre. Nothing like: “He was shivering with the morning cold. But he knew he would shiver himself warm and that soon he would be rowing.” 4) Headline from John Carlton ad: “World Famous Street-Fighter will give you a FREE GUN… Just to Prove He Can Take It Away From You Bare-Handed As Easy As Candy From A Baby!” I’m not going to even try to mess with that. Sometimes, you just don’t want to mess with perfection. Maybe I’m just superstitious, but I don’t want to touch it! Still, let’s hear it again and see why it works so well: “World Famous Street-Fighter will give you a FREE GUN… Just to Prove He Can Take It Away From You Bare-Handed As Easy As Candy From A Baby!” You can see it in your mind, can’t you? And it’s so good, it’s pretty hard to un-see it. 5) Joe Sugarman “Laser Beam Digital Watch” headline: “Never press another button, day or night, with America’s first digital watch that glows in the dark.” Now this is 42 years ago. I’m not going to rewrite it. Just let me read it again and see if it kinda shows up in your mind “Never press another button, day or night, with America’s first digital watch that glows in the dark.” You can see it, can’t you? You instantly understand, and if that’s something you’re interested in, you’ll remember a digital watch that glows in the dark! OK, that wraps it up. Look for opportunities to express ideas as simple, powerful descriptions of images. It will make your copy easier to read, more exciting, and it will work better. What I shared with you is a small part of one of sixteen chapters. The Brilliance Breakthrough is a book that will open up your writing and maybe even change your life. I got my copy 15 years ago from Gene Schwartz’s widow Barbara. Then it went out print. Now Brian Kurtz has brought it back on the market and I highly recommend it. It’s not cheap, and it’s worth every penny… and then some. You can find it on at brilliancebreakthroughbook.com. We’ll put that in the show notes, too.Download.

Today we’ve got another Report from the Field, and our special guest, our returning champion, is Joe Schriefer from Agora Financial. Joe, thanks for coming back! So here’s what we’re going to talk about today: Few people will ever get the chance to grow an eight-figure company into a nine-figure company. And far fewer still will ever do this with a company that’s 100% driven by direct response copy, as Agora Financial is. I’ve had the privilege of watching up-close, and maybe adding a little fuel to the bonfire. But mainly, I am in so much awe of the growth of this company. And our special guest today, Joe, is the guy in charge of the company. He doesn’t like titles so we’ll just call him Joe. That’s his name, anyway  Frankly, I didn’t know if Joe would agree to talk about his philosophy of growth. He was reasonably concerned that it would not be of that much interest to that many listeners on the Copywriters Podcast. But I suggested that it would be of great interest, and tremendous value, because at the heart of it, Agora Financial is just a grown-up version of what so many copywriters and small info-marketers are doing with their own businesses. That is, coming up with valuable products, keeping the target customer in mind, and promoting those products using direct response copy. So here we are! Before we dive in, here are some words of wisdom for you: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. By the way, and this is the first time I’ve said this on the show, Agora Financial is one of the clients who gets a legal review before they publish their copy. So if you’ve been wondering if I just made that part up – no I didn’t. But let’s talk about something more exciting than getting an opinion on what’s safe to include in your copy and what’s not. Joe, first, thanks for coming back and welcome back to the podcast! 1. So Joe, I’d like to mention that when we met in the fall of 2014 for the first time, you and Ryan McGrath and I had dinner, and you told me you’d be pretty happy if the company doubled in revenues. But it has grown to five times the size in three-and-one-half years. What’s that been like? 2. What’s the right mindset for growth, from your own experience? 3. I remember when I first met you, you were basically doing three leadership jobs, and you were in the process of training others so you could delegate to them. How important do you think it is for the person who’s ultimately responsible for the business to know every aspect of it inside-out, which I think it is fair to say you do? 4. As I understand it, Agora Financial started out in one niche, financial publishing, and now has expanded into other niches, including health, spy and survival stuff, and even Internet marketing. Could you talk about how you’ve approached this kind of diversification and what lessons you’ve learned? 5. When it comes to growing a company, what should the priorities be? What are mistakes to avoid? 6. Direct response businesses are different in some ways than other, more conventional businesses. I’m not even sure what a conventional business is anymore, but, could you talk about how someone should look at growing a direct-response-based business and what might be different from growing a different kind of business? 7. Finally, since this a podcast about copywriting, I would be derelict in my duties if I didn’t talk about copywriters, specifically. You have helped a lot of copywriters grow in their careers, and with their incomes. Could you tell me, what are the qualities that you’ve found make for success with a copywriter? 8. And once again, in case there are any job openings in the future at Agora Financial, how would you like people to apply for a job there?Download.

Featuring Joe Schriefer We’ve talked about the Big Idea on the show before, but we have a report from the field today with the best expert I know or know of on this topic, Joe Schriefer. Just on the slight chance you’ve never heard of him, Joe heads up Agora Financial in Baltimore, which consists of five publishing companies, or “imprints,” as they prefer to call them. When you put them all together, in my opinion, Agora Financial as a whole makes up the biggest, and most profitable, Big Idea production studio in the world. Joe is a humble man, so I can see you recoiling from your microphone in Baltimore, Joe, as I’m saying this. I do need to disclose that Joe is a friend and client, so you’ll understand the relationship as we continue this podcast. I have my habitual advisory, and then we’ll jump right into it. Here’s the advisory: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Joe, thanks so much for taking time to be here! And welcome to the show. 1. So let’s talk about the Big Idea. I know Ryan McGrath has this great three-step process you’ve talked about before. Could you share it here? 2. Could you talk about copywriters working at AF who have really mastered the art of coming up with the Big Idea, and how they did it? 3. You have an amazing eye for what will work, I’ve noticed. Let me tell you what I’ve figured out, but I’d like you to tell me if I’m right or wrong, and what else you’ve done and you do to keep your eyes and ears sharp. I figure a lot of it comes from a combination of experience of things that have worked, and things that haven’t. Another big piece I imagine that contributes to your ability to “call ’em” is that you read so much copy and keep track of the market all the time. Then, I suppose, it’s really knowing the target customer well. Am I right? And, right or not, what am I missing? 4. So, now that we have a sense of how you’ve learned what works as a Big Idea and how you stay in touch with what’s going on in the market, can you give us a sense of what goes through your mind when you evaluate a Big Idea a copywriter is pitching you? 5. Could you go through the training folks at AF get for generating Big Ideas? 6. Maybe we should have covered this earlier, but I wanted people to get some idea of what a big deal the Big Idea really is. Could you walk us through a few of your favorites, and explain why you like them? 7. For our listeners who would like to get better at creating Big Ideas themselves, what would you recommend?Download.

There’s an old concept in direct response called “dry testing.” Basically, it means you sell the product before you have it. I’ve heard questions about whether it’s legal to do this with physical products, but it seems to me it’s perfectly OK to do that with a course you’re planning to do. People pay now and take the course later. After all, that’s what every single university does, and some of our universities in America, like Harvard, Yale, and the College of William and Mary, are actually older than the United States itself. They were founded before 1776! So this is a traditionally accepted strategy with a proven track record. Innovation is when you take this strategy and bring it into the 21st century. That’s what Nathan did this spring, and in today’s episode, we have a Report from the Field where Nathan will share the method to his madness, and talk about results. But first… speaking of method… try this on for size: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Questions David asks in this episode 1. So Nathan, could you talk about the risk of creating a new product before you know if the market actually wants it, and, in big picture terms, how you mitigated that risk? 2. What were the steps you took? Could you break down your marketing process and copy? 3. What kind of responses did you get from people? 4. How did sales go? 5. What are your next steps? What are your goals with this course? 6. What did you learn? 7. What advice would you offer others who would like to use a strategy like yours? See the sales page and facebook ad at Nathan's website.Download.

Meeting with editor from large subscription newsletter publisher in 2006, at conference. Editor didn’t understand copy all that well – joked that “In our copywriting department, we have two divisions: The division of fear, and the division of greed.” This is a commonly accepted assumption among many copywriters AND among many copywriting gurus… fear and greed are IT. True? We’ll look at that today. Here’s something that’s definitely true: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Why do people say this? 1. What is fear? 2. What is greed? Example of fear that works: from crazyegg.com / looks like it was a product on Clickbank, but the page has been taken down. Hypothetical example of fear that doesn’t really work so well For a pest-control product: Ants have been found to carry deadly diseases including E. Coli, Strep and Staph infections, and Salmonella. What if your family came down with one or more of those diseases? Among other reasons this is not good… Example of greed that works: from: swiped.co Hypothetical example of greed that doesn’t really work so well Warren Buffett sold packs of chewing gum when he was a kid, and now he’s worth $85.8 billion dollars. But you don’t know how to teach your kids how to sell gum. We’ll show you and you can take a cut of their profits. What about the other motivations? - Discount coupon in retail advertising Everyone loves a deal. Is that greed? Not exactly. - Free trial It’s true, people are afraid a new app or a new membership site might not work for them. But is that fear? Or low risk tolerance. Risk-reversal. Not exactly fear. Maybe we should call all this “50 Shades of Fear and Greed” Because there are degrees of emotion that drive, and prevent, purchases. Nuances. Subtleties. And what about fundraising letters? - Richard Armstrong sea turtles letter (1988) - Political fundraising email from Sen. Al Franken’s Senate re-election campaign, 2013, which he won: Let’s circle back to where we started – a subscription dm letter, and the most profitable ad of all time (that’s been tracked): Wall Street Journal “Two young men” letter. (include text-first 5 paragraphs) Is that fear? Well, FOMO. Is that greed? Wanting to be CEO. Also… envy; desire for power, success; wanting to increase career odds. So, not exactly. Major certainty: Copywriting won’t work without stirring some emotion. And nearly all emotions are some form of moving away from something you don’t want (which can be construed as fear) or moving towards something you do want (which can be construed as greed). But there are a lot of steps in between raw fear and raw greed.Download.

A friend with a dog problem – biting. Found a training way to completely eliminate the problem. Product. Lead-genAd was very powerful: Biting dog? First thing they do is try to put your pooch down. Get a much happier solution! He was getting a lot of clicks on the ad. But very few conversions. Turned out the reason was his copy struck a very different tone. While the ad was scary and energetic (Tone 4), his copy was depressed and low-energy (Tone 5). Once he matched the copy to his ad, conversions picked right up. It’s all a matter of tone – in your lead generation, in your copy, and in staying consistent throughout your funnel. We’ll talk about that today. And before we do, get a load of this tone: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. The Importance of Tone - a mismatch will break trust (lead gen and sales page) - a match will keep trust (lead gen and sales page) - everything works better when you pick the right tone How to find the right Tone for your copy - who you are to your clients (persona) - how they want to be talked to - within all that, what works best Why your whole funnel should keep the same Tone - builds trust - does not distract readers into thinking they are being sold - helps set you apart from others The Five Tones Each is valid, but some will work a lot better than others. Again, to choose the right one, you need to think about who you are to your clients, how they want to be talked to, and within all that, which one converts the best. Example: Selling Copy Critiques. A lot of people do it. Their approach is often different. I’m one of those people, but I wouldn’t use all five of these tones. However, I can think of at least one person who would use each one. I’ll let you guess as to who they are. But let’s go through them one by one, because you can use at least one of these tones all the way through a funnel in just about any business. 1. Crazy Energy This is high-octane copywriting. It needs to make sense. But you can rave like a maniac with every word. How would we do this selling copy critiques? Lead gen ad: Get your copy hitting grand slam after grand slam! Headline: Your copy’s like a timid little kitten. Let’s turn it into a ROARING LION! Tip: Keep the energy high and mounting all the way through. And be the kind of person who delivers mile-a-minute, testosterone-drenched critiques. 2. Steady Driving This is steady-as-she goes copywriting. It does have a forward momentum, but it’s calm, friendly, and level-headed. What would it look like with an ad and in a headline to sell a copy critique? Lead gen ad: Step by step to greater results with your copy Headline: Our closely-guarded system for cranking up the response in your copy Tip: You need to have a very systematic, somewhat rational work style and way of interacting with others for this to fully work. 3. Up Close and Personal I would say this is more me than any of the other four. It’s very customized. A combination of systematic and intuitive. Very focused on results but not all that locked-in on how to get them. To use this approach, you need to think about how to describe what’s not a predictable experience. Here’s how I would do it: Lead gen ad: Only ONE approach will make your copy convert better. Let me show you what it is. Headline: You’re not a cookie, right? So why use a cookie-cutter approach with your copy, when a customized approach will work so much better? Tip: You really need to know yourself, and listen closely to what your customers/clients say about you, to use this approach effectively. I’ve collected enough testimonials from already successful clients who say “I don’t know how he does that” to realize that promoting my custom approach will appeal to the right prospect. 4. Serious Danger If you are harsh, paranoid or simply very critical, this is a good approach. It’s completely valid and it works with a sizeable section of the market. The point here is to NOT pull your punches. You’ll really piss some people off, but you’ll endear others to you. You only care about the ones who like your kind of approach. Lead-gen ad: Yes, your copy really does suck. DON’T let it tank your business. Headline: If you’re copy’s not working, you might as well throw in the towel now. But if you can handle the truth about what you need to do, we need to talk. 5. Sad and Gentle This can work with a sensitive subject, especially around health and death. But it’s very hard to pull off effectively. I’m going to give it my best shot in showing you how you would use this to market copywriting critiques. Lead-gen ad: You know how bad you feel when copy doesn’t work? Let’s change that. Headline: I remember the dark days of never being able to make my copy work. Fortunately I discovered something that changed all that, and I’d like to share it with you. Recap: Why tone is important, and consistency is just as important 1. People are attracted to different styles. Make yours very clear, right from the get-go. 2. Consistency of tone builds trust. Inconsistency of tone reduces trust. Go for building trust. 3. It’s easier to write more effectively in a tone that matches how you actually interact with people in the marketplace.Download.

So, I recently bought a new piece of music equipment. It came with a lot of bells and whistles, including: Opening – Eqs and Compressors Supercharger GT 99 Passive EQ 149 Vari Comp 99 Enhanced EQ 149 Solid Bus Comp 99 Solid Dynamic 99 Solid EQ 99 VC 2A 99 VC 76 99 VC 160 99 Total: $991 Doesn’t include other special effects, like reverb and overdrive. Second one, passive EQ – a Manley Massive Passive sells for just over $5K. That’s what a producer is buying something to substitute for. Reviews and expert opinions – comes really close. Results: Charles, in private fb group / Alexa enhancement / comment This is important because I went through a whole review of one piece of music a few episodes ago, based on the savings from the sampled instruments. So this is a totally different side of the bonus. Again, the $1199 does not seem so expensive anymore. What did they do? Packed in multiple strings of bonuses into the offer, to enhance value in different directions at the same time. What are some different ways you can do the same kind of things with your offers? We’ll cover that today, with three “alternative offer formulas” you’ve never heard of before. First, let me offer you this reminder: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Example: Infoproduct. How to make money in the constantly changing world of Facebook. Dress Up Your Offer: Strategy #1: Pack in valuable bonuses, even in groups of more than one kind. Product: Making money with Chameleon Facebook Bonus thread #1: Smart content marketing templates – for posts, memes, and even – gasp – podcasts! Bonus thread #2: An inside secret to cut the cost of your Facebook ads by 80% or more! Plus some ad templates. And an auto-ad-creator script you can throw into photoshop. Bonus thread #3: Facebook funnel fat remover: A 14-point investigative tool to find out where you’re spending too much for new leads in any Facebook campaign. Plus a set of tools to fix the flaws you find. Dress Up Your Offer: Strategy #2: Rework your description to focus more on user experience and results, rather than on features and process. No longer will you be whipsawed like a small boat in an ocean storm by Facebook’s constantly changing algorithms. Now it won’t make a bit of difference to you anymore. Because Making Money with Chameleon Facebook shows you how to make money no matter what they do with the algorithm. Not only that. You’ll use a unique, closely-guarded strategy for bringing in boatloads of cash with Facebook groups. Algorithm changes can’t touch you there! And, you’ll know how to test like a ninja. That will keep your cost per lead down to the bare minimum. Dress Up Your Offer: Strategy #3: Lead with a bonus (financial newsletter strategy). Start piling on other bonuses and then just “throw in” “the main event.” We could start with any of the bonuses in Strategy #1. Let’s choose Facebook Ads Cost Reducer. The whole sales letter focuses at first solely on that. Then, we offer everything else – including the main product – as a bonus. Why dressing up your offer is so important People won’t figure out the value of what you’re offering on their own. But when you carefully and skillfully create an offer that captures their imagination with its value and uniqueness, you’ll make a lot more sales.Download.

Show’s today about what I’m calling “Copywriter-Plus.” As things have become very competitive in the world of copy, this is a new strategy I’ve discovered that could help every copywriter who takes advantage of it. Also - new technology, originally developed in radio -- including recorded brief comments from people mentioned during the show. “Copywriter-Plus” is something you and I, Nathan, have been using for a long time without maybe fully realizing it. I’ll explain what it is, give some real-world, present-day examples with interviews, and tell our listeners what steps they can take to use “Copywriter-Plus” in their own business. Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. What Copywriter Plus Is: Copywriting plus one important different skill. Why It’s Valuable: Convenience for clients, competitive edge for copywriter Our examples: Nathan - Copywriter, Podcast Expert. Me - Copywriter, Coach. Client Example #1: Mike Gianullis, Copywriter and CEO - Started out as copywriter - Built $25 million organization - Recently became CEO - Currently helping clients build online stores - Using cold traffic to get leads - Recently hired three full-time copywriter - What difference does his background as a copywriter make? - [clip] - Also told me, when people approach him with new offers they want him to sell, he can evaluate them quickly and confidently because of his background as a copywriter [email protected] Client Example #2: Meron Bareket, Copywriter and Tech Whiz Brings a full set of tech skills to his copywriting practice. Also has a tech team on call when he needs them. He’s able to find, fix, diagnose tech problems for clients on a project without their having to send things to a separate tech team. And he can manage design and coding people for clients, which they often don’t like to do, or know how to do. Recently he was working on a promotion for a client giving a business seminar. He ran into a nightmare of tech problems which he didn’t cause, because he had only been working as a copywriter. But his tech skills really came into play: [clip] There was one other problem. Once they stopped the emails from being scary, Meron’s investigation also found the sign-up page on the website was not mobile-friendly. He was able to get that fixed in time, and the seminar had the turnout his client originally hoped for. He prefers copywriting to tech work. But his Copywriter-Plus skill came in VERY handy for a client just a couple weeks ago. [email protected] Client Example #3: Brad Nickel, Copywriter and Traffic Expert Brad got started in the ad agency world, and one of the first thing he got really good at was generating traffic from ads on the Web. He learned some tricks of the trade pretty early on: [clip] That was a while ago, and since then he has become successful and best known in his marketplace as a copywriter. But recently he was hired to do a project that a copywriter without traffic skills wouldn’t be able to do... SAAS project, financial industry, incongruency ads<-->web page; not closing; follow-up emails for those who signed up for the free trial but did not buy. And he’s been able to help his conventional copy clients tune up their funnels with what he knows about traffic. [email protected] How To Take Advantage of “Copywriter-Plus” Yourself 1. Inventory your skills - anything you can add now? 2. Any skill you’d like to develop? 3. Something new you’d like to learn and become good at? Download.

Today we’re starting a new special feature of the Copywriters Podcast. It’s called Reports from the Field. These are interviews with people who are not merely EXPERTS – they are also practitioners. Right now they are implementing what they are talking about. We can all learn so much from people who are in the field and taking action successfully. Our first guest on the Copywriters Podcast Reports from the Field is Victor Urbina. I know Richard well because he is in my business owner’s mentoring program. Victor sold his first business at age 12. Think about that. SOLD his first business by age 12. He has taken a traditional business route in life and he’s been very successful. He has an engineering degree and an MBA. He’s been a UPS store franchisee for 10 years. But in 2016, he started Optimum Life Labs, which develops and markets supplements to help boomers and seniors. We’ll talk about his product Joint Nirvana in today’s show, because he has built a business completely on copy and direct response and it is really starting to get traction. Like, making serious money on a daily basis. Before we start, a friendly reminder: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Now… Victor, welcome to the Copywriters Podcast. I really appreciate that you took time out of your busy schedule to meet with us today. 1. How did you get into direct marketing? 2. We started working together last summer. In mid-February, you told me you’ve made more this year with the new supplement business than you made all last year. I just want to clarify that the supplement business had more sales by mid-feb this year than it did all last year, not that I personally made more income Could you share a few key takeaways from your rapid growth and success? 3. It’s not always comfortable to talk about mistakes, but most experienced people agree you learn more from mistakes you made than from your successes. Would you be willing to talk about an important mistake or two you made, and what you learned from it, and what are doing differently as a result? 4. Let’s focus specifically on copywriting. What would you say is the biggest surprise in what you’ve learned about copy / or, about how to write copy? 5. What are the most valuable things you’ve learned about copywriting? 6. With a business based on copywriting, what is the limit you see as to how large you could grow the business? Or is there a limit? Why? 7. I know we have a large group of business owners that listen to this podcast. What would be your advice to business owners who would like to write or understand writing copy better? 8. What are the main differences in running a business like your group of UPS stores, and Optimum Life Labs, which is 100% based on direct marketing copy? 9. What’s the most important thing you’re now able to do in business as a result of your new-found proficiency in copywriting, that you couldn’t do before? Email Victor at [email protected].

This week's episode is a little bit different. David and Nathan do a bit of a freestyle rant on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as it pertains to writing your sales copy. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the topic, here's what we'll be covering. Physiological needs * consumer goods * food * clothing * shelter Safety needs * personal security * financial security * health and well being Social belonging * Fitting in * Trends * Identity brands Esteem * Status symbols * Luxury items Self-actualization * Courses * Self-Improvement materialsDownload.

As a journalist, I was trained to do “news stories” and “feature stories.” A news story started with a quick, curiosity-provoking sentence hinting or outright telling what the story was about. A feature story would start with an anecdote, or a startling fact, or something other than the direct subject of the story. Same as direct / indirect leads. What we’ll talk about today. Because which one you use can have a dramatic impact, positive or negative, on your sales. You need to know which one to use, when, and that’s what we’ll cover. Warning Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Direct vs. Indirect Leads Definition Direct: Where you present a Big Promise or a Problem-Solution that has to do DIRECTLY with what your offer can provide your prospect. Indirect: Where you start on a topic or subject that’s different than what your offer is really about. Both are legitimate. The thing is, there’s a lot of confusion about which is which, and when to use each type. We’ll clear that up today and it may change some minds on how to use each type. Before we got there, let’s look at an example of each type. Simple Example Say I was promoting a new course on copywriting Direct: If writing’s too hard, takes too long, or is not getting you the results you want, here is a way to make it easier, faster, and much more profitable. Indirect: First time I met Jim Camp… Both are legitimate Classic Way The Difference Is Described From Great Leads, published in 2011 Key point: The less aware the audience is, the more indirect you want your lead to be. The situation is not that simple today, and we’ll explore and explain that in this episode. Take A Look at Real Life When are we direct in a conversation with a friend? Urgency Problem-solving When are we indirect in a conversation with a friend? Delicate situation Persuasion “Shooting the breeze” To get clarification in our own minds (side note: coaching) Writing sales copy should be like talking to a friend. So maybe, just maybe, we should look at direct vs. indirect leads that way. And, with that in mind… 2018 Version of The Difference Between Direct and Indirect Leads Great Leads: Indirect lead focuses on clarification for the customer who doesn’t know much about your offer (or the problem it solves). But there’s a much more important and widespread use for indirect leads these days… and that’s for persuasion. Especially when you’re selling the kind of offer that everyone is real clear about, as well as the problem it solves… but the offer is so overpitched that a direct lead would immediately get deleted or thrown away. So – direct lead You already know the prospect – or, at least, they know you or your business Especially, when they’ve bought from you before Particularly, when you have a high-end upsell offer… either immediately after the sale, or later on down the line And, most of all – WHEN THEY HAVE A PARTICULAR, URGENT PROBLEM that they haven’t been able to find a satisfactory solution for. And you have a unique and appealing solution that of course they haven’t seen or heard of before. How to Do A Direct Lead Get right to the point Big Promise Or, Problem-Solution Example: conversation at a marketing conference about critiques How to Do An Indirect Lead Probably the best single way is to start with a story or a metaphor – or, best of all, a story that’s also a metaphor. Example – conversation at a marketing conference. Start w How to Transition from an Indirect Lead to Your Body Copy “Just as... ” “I mention that because… ” “Suppose you were to do the same thing with… ”Download.

Story about recent critique client: a couple good ideas; 20. Mandy’s question about my creativity, from her podcast interview: Question 2: One other thing I noticed about reading your testimonials… your clients are impressed with how fast you come up with great ideas. He also has this ridiculous talent for coming up with copy, like, effortlessly. It would take me at least 30 minutes to come up with what he comes up with in 30 seconds. —Fran Rengel, CEO, Enrich Marketing, Inc., Austin, TX After WEEKS of struggling to find the perfect lead for a promotion I was working on, David nailed it in only 37 seconds flat. Doberman Dan Where did it come from? I actually eat my own cooking. Today I’ll share some of the recipes with you. Before we get started on Monster Creativity, a reminder: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims… and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity… you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Monster Creativity - What it is: the ability to generate consistently good ideas – and a lot of them. - Where does it come from? - Research and stored knowledge - Experience: successful and unsuccessful, and reflection to be able to quickly spot what’s good and what sucks - Flexibility and release of fear of looking stupid - How do you develop it yourself – that’s what we’ll cover John Cleese’s breakthrough observation - It’s a skill - Skill beats talent in the long run – and it’s much more reliable in the marketplace - What are the skills and how do they fit together? Resilience beats Perfection, every time - What I learned from Richard Armstrong - What resilience is, and why it’s so important - Deliberate practice and mental representations (created by smart repetition) - How resilience and smart repetition LEADS to perfection Where Math Fits In How many combinations of six elements can you make, where you use all six? The answer comes from a branch of mathematics called combinatorics and is used in algebra, calculus and mathematical analysis. It’s really a simple thing. It’s called “factorial” Six factorial is: 6 times 5 times 4 times 3 times 2 times one. Six factorial is 720. 720 different combinations. And all you need is five or 10 good combinations for monster creativity. The Power of Negative Thinking Sometimes you need to do something conceptually similar to what’s called “an acid test” in accounting – that is, if all hell broke loose, how long would this business last? With ideas, the question is different: In what situations would this claim NOT be true? You want to then either toss or fix the idea so it’s true enough of the time to make it valid. Summary Recipe #1: Read widely, talk to people, take notes, learn to mindmap, put ideas or segments of ideas down on paper Recipe #2: Let resilience overcome your perfectionism. Develop mental models of what successful practical creativity looks like. Recipe #3: Respect the mathematical concept of factorials. Make more combinations of ideas than you need. Then sift through them to find the best ones. Then, acid-test them to see how strong your finalist ideas actually are.Download.