Today, let’s talk about staying with big copy projects, once you get started. You know, they say “begun is half done.” That’s true, but then there’s the other half, and that’s where we run into trouble sometimes. The half that’s not done yet, but still needs to get done.
We’ve covered the steps of how to write a sales letter before and we’ll cover it again, but that’s not what I want to talk about today. This is more about how you need to prepare and what you need to do when you’re working to finish your project and have the best copy you can have.
I’ll give you a hint as to where we’re going. I’ve invented something called the Frustration-Flow Scale. All the way to the left is frozen in frustration. All the way to the right on the scale is floating in flow. Effortless and fun.
The trick is to get on the right side of the scale and stay there, for as long as possible, as often as possible.
So all the things we’re going to talk about today are ways to get to and stay on the right side of the frustration-flow scale as much as possible. Not so much so you have a nice day, as, if you are in a flow-state, you are much more likely to get your project done.
Look at it this way. You’re doing a jigsaw puzzle. You’ve got a round piece and a round hole where it looks like it should fit. Frustration would be struggling, pushing, scrunching, scheming to get the round piece in the round hole. Flow would be just slipping it in without so much as giving it a second thought.
That said, in what we’re doing today, getting to flow is the end result. It’s how we want our work to go, but you can’t just “drop into it” with being prepared. Frustration will derail you over and over again if you haven’t done things ahead of time to prevent it.
Think of frustration as a series of detours that keep you from arriving at flow. It’s much harder to keep going on a big project when you keep banging your head on the wall or get your momentum interrupted because there are things that need to be done before you can move forward.
Today’s show is about heading them off at the pass -- that is, clearing away the frustrations in advance. Or, doing what you need to do, ahead of time, to be prepared for steps in the process so they don’t turn into huge stuck points that mire you down.
We’re going to move quickly through three sets of skills and knowledge that will help you get the dang thing DONE: First, mechanics. Second, market knowledge. And third, mindset. And I’ll suggest some resources along the way to help you with these things.
Here’s a cheat sheet for after you’ve listened to the show, to review all of these skills, and the kind of knowledge you need to line up.
1. Mechanics: Learn to do the little things extremely well (learned from Guy Michelmore).
Breaking a complex idea into smaller, simpler parts
Mapping out your sales letter into chunks
Getting human stories
Writing compelling headlines and subheads
Using picture words
2. Market Knowledge
Historical knowledge
Real-time knowledge
Human nature knowledge
3. Mindset
Focus
Flexibility
Faith
Flow
Resources mentioned in the podcast, with links:
$100 MM offers, by Alex Hormozi
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737475731
The Brilliance Breakthrough, by Eugene Schwartz
https://brilliancebreakthroughbook.com/
Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich, by David Garfinkel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1683501454
Scientific Advertising, by Claude Hopkins
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0844231010
How to Make Your Advertising Make Money, by John Caples
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083C548ZZ
How to Write a Good Advertisement, by Victor Schwab
https://www.amazon.com/dp/162654963X
Triggers, by Joe Sugarman
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O3QEFSK
https://www.brain.fm/
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