TCC Podcast #197: Writing Copy for Women (and Men) with Lorrie Morgan

Red hot copywriter Lorrie Morgan is our guest for the 197th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. As a stay-at-home mom she looked for a job that she could do from home. When a client asked for a 52-part auto responder, she knew she had to get serious about the craft. And she shared her decades of experience, as we asked about: •   her journey from actor to copywriter to direct response guru •   what she learned from her mentors (and who they are) •   what it takes to “write fearlessly” … Lorrie breaks down what she did •   the “pain-in-the-butt” writing exercise that makes you into a better writer •   what she did to attract clients when she was just starting out •   what she learned from moving 16 times before she graduated from high school •   how she uses an alter-ego to go beyond her limitations and write copy •   self-care and how Lorrie makes sure she feels good enough to write well •   the biggest mistakes her copywriter clients make •   the differences between writing for men and women •   the “tarket” trick for connecting on a deeper emotional level in copy •   the process of writing her book and why she wrote it •   what’s on Rob’s vision board (and why Kira might need one) •   why Lorrie wears a cowboy hat to events •   what is was like to work on Baywatch—the truth about David Hasslehoff Lorrie shares some great advice to copywriters who want to grow. To hear what she said, scroll down and click the play button. Or scroll a bit farther for a transcript. And if you’re really serious about getting better as a copywriter, subscribe to the podcast (so you don’t miss an episode) and leave a review.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Baywatch Gary Halbert John Carlton Kevin Rogers Pauline Longdon Todd Herman Ignite Your Moxie Ali Brown Andre The Giant Lorrie’s website Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground   Full Transcript: Kira:   This episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Underground, the place to find more than 20 templates, dozens of presentations and topics like copywriting, marketing, mindset. A community of successful writers who share ideas and leads and a copywriter club newsletter which is mailed directly to your home every single month. Learn more at thecopywriterunderground.com. Rob:   What if you can hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits, then instill an idea or two to inspire your own work, that's what Kira and I do every week at The Copywriter Club podcast. Kira:   You're invited to join the club for Episode 197 as we chat with Red Hot copywriter Lorrie Morgan about the differences between writing for men and women, why she wrote her book, Ignite Your Moxie and what it's about, what she's done to create a profitable copywriting business, and how she landed a job working on the set of Baywatch. Welcome, Lorrie. Rob:   Hey, Lorrie. Lorrie Morgan:   Hey, good to be here, you guys. Kira:   Great to have you here, Lorrie. So, let's start. As much as I want to ask you everything about Baywatch right away, I feel like we should wait to hear about that. But let's start with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter? Lorrie Morgan:   Oh yes, everyone has a story. Nobody wants to be a copywriter when they're a little girl, do they? So, I have a journalism degree. But I always wanted to be an actress. So, this is the rambling version, but I'll try to get to the point real quick. So, I moved to California, which is where I live now, to be an actress. We'll jump into the Baywatch a little bit later, too. But I'm a terrible actress, it turns out. I just really like the whole idea of it. So instead, I got married and I had children, which was wonderful. And then, I ended up going getting divorced and had to get a job. Oh, no. And the whole time I was working in corporate, I was dying to be home with my kids again and be a stay-at-home mom again. And I was like, "Wait a second, I can write. There's no reason why I can't write from home." And this was in the 90s, right, when the internet was starting to get to be a thing. And my boss ended up retiring at my business and I just never got another job. I'm like, "I'm going to figure out how to be a writer from home." And I focused on doing like press releases and stuff like that. And then, a client came to me, who wanted me to write 52 autoresponders and I'm like, "What the hell is an autoresponder?" And that was my introduction into copywriting. And he introduced me to Gary Halbert, the style, and Dan Kennedy. And I'm like, "Oh my God, where has this been my whole life. This is what I want to do." This is in 1999. And at this time, there weren't the dozens and hundreds of copywriting trainings that there are now. So, you really had to either work for an agency which I did not do, or you just had to figure it out on your own. And so, I just became obsessed within, I copied letters by hand, I found out who was the best. I think what pushed me over the edge was hiring John Carlton to be my mentor. And he really held my feet to the fire and made me get good really fast. And I went to a lot of events and it bubbled up from there. So, that's how I started Red Hot Copy, was in the 90s, so I could be with my kids. Rob:   I love it. So, I'd love to know more about the mentorship with John Carlton. We've never had the pleasure of having him on the podcast, but I've heard very good things. I've seen him speak a couple of times. And I've seen a lot of the material that he puts out including some of his best sales pages. Tell us a little bit about that mentorship and the kinds of things that you learned and did while you were working with John. Lorrie Morgan:   Wow, John is my favorite mentor. I've also mentored with Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy both later on down the line. But John is amazing because he is a no-bullshit-guy. Pardon my French. But he will tell you like it is. And he makes you do the work. So, he was hard. He sent me crying from the room many times like, "Oh, I'm never going to be able to do this." And then, he told me, "Look, I'm hard on you because you're good. And I want you to be better." And so, there were no cutting corners or no pats on the head. You really had to earn his praise. And I think I did because he actually started having me come to his live events to be the "female voice of reason" in the room or just interpret how women like to buy. Because as you know, it's a big boys' club when copywriting was getting started. It's only just changing, I would say, in the last five years. So, I was one of the few women who had any visibility way back then. And I've been around for a long time. So, working with John has been wonderful. And the kinds of stuff he would teach is to just like write your copy, balls to the wall, just full out and then you can go back and edit, you can walk it back. But it's hard to amp up your copy after you've already written it. So, no holds barred, just go for it, and write just fearlessly. That's the thing I learned from him most is just to write fearlessly. Kira:   Wow, I love that lesson. And to get a little bit deeper into that, I'm hearing that I'm like, "Oh, I want to write fearlessly." How do we do that? How do copywriters write without fear and especially if they feel lit up even hearing those words, what can we do to break it down so we can do that better and do more of it? Lorrie Morgan:   A lot of us have the imposter syndrome going on. That's a big buzz phrase going on right now. But it's really true. And the way you can overcome feeling like you're a fraud is to get really good at it. And so, you've got to do the work. You can't shortcut reading all those materials like reading Gary Halbert, reading John Carlton stuff. Everything he's written, I've read. And like I said, I've gone to all of his events. Dan Kennedy is another one. The guys and gals who have been there and done that. You really need to take the time to roll up your sleeves and get in there and do the work. You have to study it. And I mentioned when I first started, handwriting a sales letters. That's a really great way to get down to the skeleton of what's underneath copy and you start to see there's a pattern. There's a rhythm to copy that you can't necessarily see when you first start just reading it. When you write it, there's something about going from your head to your hand that really lights up your copywriting skills in a way that nothing else really can. So, I would definitely recommend doing that, rewriting sales letters out by hand. I know it's a pain in the butt, but it works. If anything, it is a shortcut to learning things and learning how people who are the masters turn phrases. And also when I'm writing copy, I will read good copy before I sit down to write it because you've got to have personality in your copy and you have to have a voice that comes through in your copy or just his milk toast and boring. So, just to get inspired, a lot of times I would read John Carlton's. Nobody writes like John, as he's unique. And I'm not trying to write like him, but it is inspiring to read somebody who really knows what they're doing, and watch all the stops that they hit and stuff. So, I recommend doing that, getting in there. Rob:   Lorrie, clearly you understood the value of investing in yourself and in training and coaches very early on. How did you find clients? What were the things that you were doing to attract this first couple of clients to your business? Lorrie Morgan:   That's a great question, actually. Because it does ebb and flow. And especially when you're starting out, I really relied on live events to meet people. There's something about meeting somebody face to face. And unfortunately,