Copywriters Podcast

Our returning champion is Joshua Lee Henry, with a first: He came by to do a GUEST Old Master’s Series show. Joshua asked me if he take a new look at the work of John Caples, the great copywriter and author. I said OK, as long he talked about something different than we have talked about on the many shows we’ve already done on Caples. Joshua put together a collection of unique items that filled the bill. So I was really happy to bring him back for this special show! As you may remember, Joshua is a high-powered copywriter and copy chief for Agora. He started his career 13 years ago writing fundraising letters for victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Joshua has been pastor of a megachurch and as a freelancer, has written for such famous clients as Jay Abraham, Brian Tracy and the Zig Ziglar corporation. Today, we found out what he discovered, digging into the archives of John Caples. Joshua broke it down into six lessons: 1. 4 Ways to Profit by Removing The Guesswork 2. How to Secure Testimonials 3. Appealing to the “Lazy Instinct” 4. The Value of Illusion 5. Write Long and Boil It Down 6. The Most Important Quality for a Writer is Sincerity Joshua rose to the challenge and we appreciate him for it! Here are a couple links: A training program Joshua’s part of: World of Financial Copywriting, https://bit.ly/3CaB9S8 And if you want to reach Joshua personally, his email is: joshualeehenry @ activatemyadvertising.com Download.

Our guest today is Meg Casebolt, founder of Love at First Search and host of the Social Slowdown podcast. I think the key words are “love” and “slow,” and let’s see if I’m right. Meg’s been very successful with a long-term search-engine optimization strategy she uses for her clients. One example that you should find interesting: Meg’s client Sara Frandina showed up third for the keywords “conversion copywriter” -- and this was organic, not an ad -- yesterday when I searched for that term on Google. Third on the first page of organic search for “conversion copywriter.” Not too shabby! You may remember legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga had a huge success with the headline “Get Rich Slowly.” Well, Meg’s approach is similar. She doesn’t go for the black-hat tricks and other gimmicks popular among some marketers. “We don’t believe in quick-fix formulas that promise the world—but break your heart when you see they don’t work,” she says. One key element of Meg’s long-term, long-lasting approach: The strategic use of empathy in keyword research. Empathy, which could be seen as an appropriate expression of love. It’s an approach I’ve never heard of before, in the specific way Meg talks about it. So I was very excited to talk with Meg about it. She began with a great example -- a stark contrast between a bad example of empathy (that is, hardly any empathy at all) and the good use of empathy. This was for keywords in weight loss. From there, Meg shared her four strategies for coming up with a comprehensive empathy-based keyword strategy: 1. Empathize with your customers’ journey to find an answer 2. Understanding the WHY / Setting yourself apart 3. Providing a solution 4. Be empathetic when developing content This was a very valuable look at how to thrive in today’s content-based search engine environment. Meg’s website is: https://loveatfirstsearch.com/ Download.

Now that it’s late January, you should be well into your New Years Resolutions or goals for the year, or maybe decided, “Ah… I’ll wait till next year.” What I’d like to do is niche down to just copywriting. Do you have copywriting goals? I’ve got five skills or skill sets that are worth improving this year, and I want to give you a peek under the hood. Every one of these can put more power in your copy and more profit in your pocket. They’re not flashy but they are high-octane. And I’ve found the most successful people never stop improving, so it’s worth at least considering these and see if they feel like a fit. So there are the five skills. You probably have most or all of them already. The idea is that by getting better at any one of them, you copy improves in multiples. Skill #1: Research We talked about three kinds of research: fact research, emotional research, and situational research. Most people know what fact research is, and even getting better at this could really help anyone’s copywriting. But emotional research and situational research take copy to a whole new level. Skill #2: Rewriting Building off this quote from Ernest Hemingway: Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote the first part of A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit. When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself. We talked about what real rewriting is like… why it’s so important… and the best way to do it. Skill #3: Metaphors We were so fortunate to have the Queen of Metaphors, Anne Miller, on the show a few weeks ago. We talked about her book, The Tall Lady With The Iceberg. Tucked away in the back of the book are a series of very practical, valuable routines on how you can get better and better at using metaphors in your copy—and everywhere else! We cover those in this part of the podcast. Skill #4: Go Beyond Swiping There’s a level of copywriting that Gene Schartz talks about in “Breakthrough Advertising” that goes way beyond swiping, or simply following formulas to come up with a headline or body copy. Gene says, “The idea for an ad or a headline demands its own shape. It cannot be fitted into someone else’s solution. The problem defies a formula. And the third, analytical approach -- with no answers, only guideposts and questions -- offers the only way.” We talked about these three levels of copy creativity here. Skill #5: Get Better At Identifying and Writing To Your Prospect’s Level of Market Awareness This another one of the many gems from Gene Schwartz’ book Breakthrough Advertising. Here are the five stages in a nutshell: Stage 1- Ready to buy your product Stage 2- Has heard about your product, but doesn’t want it (yet) Stage 3- Wants a product that does what yours does -- but doesn’t want yours (yet) Stage 4 - Has a need, but doesn’t see connection between his need and your product Stage 5 - Complete unawareness We talked about getting more familiar with these five stages, and how to use them. One more thing: If more than one of these appeals to you and you’ve already decided to improve the skill or skills, don’t dive into all of them all at once. Better to do one at a time. Maybe one a week, or one every two weeks, or one a month. But, if you can, do something every day to improve one of these skills, and stick with one for at least a week, you will find you have some impressive breakthroughs in 2023. Book links: The Tall Lady With The Iceberg, by Anne Miller https://www.amazon.com/Tall-Lady-Iceberg-Metaphor-Metaphorically/dp/0976279444 Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz https://breakthroughadvertisingbook.com/ Download.

We’re back from last week with Joshua Lee Henry, who shared the first five of his 10 Commandments of Compelling Offers. As you may remember, they were great. To refresh your memory, Joshua is a high-powered copywriter and copy chief. His first appearance on Copywriters Podcast was a few months ago, when he gave us a great interview on putting together compelling leads. And, like I said earlier, today, he’s back with part two of The 10 Commandments of Compelling Offers. It’s not surprising that Joshua would be sharing his own copywriting version of the 10 Commandments, since 12 years ago, Joshua was a pastor for a megachurch with more than 5,000 members. It was at that time he began is copywriting career, writing fundraising letters for victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Fast forward to 2018, when Joshua started freelancing and wrote for big names including Jay Abraham, Brian Tracy and the Zig Ziglar corporation. Like a lot of high-performing copywriters, Joshua moved under the umbrella of Agora, where he has written promotions that have made millions. These days, he is copy chief for Money & Markets, an imprint of Agora’s Banyan Hill company. Now before we get to part 2 of the 10 Commandments, allow me to share with you this Prime Directive: 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. 6. Take Away a. Makes prospects qualify themselves. Which is a stronger sale and better customer. b. Reenforces prospects buying decision. c. Reduces refunds and cancels. d. Play hard to get. Don’t be desperate/needy. e. People want what they can’t have. f. Example from entrepreneur coaching program: “If it’s going to be tough to scrounge together $5k…OR you can’t imagine investing that much in anything, no matter how much more precious time and additional income it gives you…Then chances are this program is not for you. Likewise, if you have any doubts that we can deliver the goods…No hard feelings, just don’t apply.” g. Example: “10X Fortunes is exclusive and aggressive by design. This service is ONLY for people interested in making an extreme fortune, fast. And have the guts to go after a new 1,000% winner, every month this year.” 2. 7. Risk Reversal a. Shows skin in the game. b. Carries the burden of proof. c. Different than a satisfaction guarantee. d. Try before you buy offers. e. Bill my later offers. f. Example from options service: “Test Drive Wednesday Windfalls Options Service for the next 30 days for only $1. Then, at the end of the month, if you’re happy with the gains you’ve made and want to continue...Do nothing and we’ll automatically upgrade you to official membership at the normal annual price.” g. Example from investing service: “When we make our first 1,000% winner, I’ll PAY for your second year’s membership” h. Example from online marketer: “If it doesn’t work, I’ll pay you $200.” 3. 8. Guarantee/Warranty a. Satisfaction, quality or performance based. b. Questions asked and no questions asked. c. 100% Money-back? There are other options (i.e., different service/product, offering a second year, discount on another item, gift card, etc.) But money-back is perceived as the safest offer. d. Longer guarantee is better. e. Make it conditional, upon a customer behavior. f. People know they’re going to cancel when they order. Most everyone else will forget to cancel unless there’s a big problem. g. Example: Real estate marketing biz that required agents to submit their marketing materials printed on their stationary before eligible for the refund. h. Example: Have to have completed a certain amount of modules in an online course. i. Example: Must attend all online course sessions over a period of time to be eligible for a refund. j. Example from investing service: “If we don’t make at least 12 triple-digit winners this year, I’ll pay for your second’ years’ membership” k. Example from Patriot Health Alliance: “Give Patriot Power Greens a fair and honest try for at least 30 days. If, after trying a full canister, you don’t feel like you have more energy, clearer thinking, better digestion, a healthier heart and less pain when you move around then I want you to simply send back any unused canisters along with a simple 1-page note giving me your honest feedback of the product. Just a simple handwritten note will do. Just write your honest feedback on a sheet of paper and put it in the box along with your order when you return it. We’re putting all of the risk on our shoulders and backing your order with a never-before-seen 200% money back guarantee.” l. 4. 9. Deadline a. People need to be pushed to act sometimes. b. Make it a real deadline with real consequences. c. Give them a waiting list if they missed out. d. Build up the FOMO for next time. e. After a few days reopen and send them an email about an available opening. f. Example from real estate investing biz: “But FAIR WARNING — after these 100 spots are filled this special edition of the Investor’s Toolkit will be removed from the market.” 5. 10. CTA a. Tell people exactly what you want them to do. b. Make the buy button or CTA absolutely clear. c. Repeat the CTA several times. d. Have only 1 CTA per marketing piece. e. Make it a two-step ad. I.e. download this report, then a CTA for booking a consultation or “strategy session” f. If needed, switch up the CTA at later stages in the funnel. g. Example: Ability to call in to tele-sales at the lifetime upsell. h. Example: Giving a phone number to call Joshua is one of the instructors in the World of Financial Copywriting program. You can get more info about it here: https://bit.ly/3CaB9S8 And if you want to reach Joshua personally, his email is: joshualeehenry @ activatemyadvertising . com Download.

Our returning champion is Joshua Lee Henry, the high-powered copywriter and copy chief. You might remember him from a few months ago when he gave a tremendous interview on putting together compelling leads. Today, he’s back with The 10 Commandments of Compelling Offers. Not surprising, since 12 years ago, Joshua was a pastor for a megachurch with more than 5,000 members. It was at that time he began is copywriting career, writing fundraising letters for victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Fast forward to 2018, when Joshua started freelancing and wrote for big names including Jay Abraham, Brian Tracy and the Zig Ziglar corporation. Like a lot of high-performing copywriters, Joshua moved under the umbrella of Agora, where he has written promotions that have made millions. These days, he is copy chief for Money & Markets, an imprint of Agora’s Banyan Hill company. The last time he was here, after he gave us great information about leads, I asked Joshua if he had more that he’d like to share. He has a very busy schedule, but he managed to squeeze in some time for us, to talk about compelling offers. He started by giving us some important pinpointing information about how detailed and elaborate your offer can be. But he emphasized that the more of these commandments you combine, the stronger your offer is. The first commandment covers what you get, but it’s way beyond a laundry list of the components that make up the package of what you’re selling. Joshua shared some techniques to strengthen the “WYG” (what you get). Second, third and fourth commandments go into great (and valuable!) detail about explaining the price. Putting $(number) in your copy just ain’t gonna cut it, as you undoubtedly know if you’ve been writing long-form direct response copy for specialized offers. Joshua gave some powerful tips about presenting price justification, payment terms and special discounts. He also gave strong examples of price-related copy from successful offers across the web. And the fifth command is a detailed breakdown of bonuses and premiums—what they are and how they work. Some new ideas as well as some important established truths it always helps to be reminded of. Joshua went into so much detail that we only had time for five of the 10 commandments on today’s show. He promised to come back next week to give us the remaining five. Joshua is one of the instructors in the World of Financial Copywriting program. You can get more info about it here: https://bit.ly/3CaB9S8 And if you want to reach Joshua personally, his email is: joshualeehenry(at)activatemyadvertising(dot)com Download.

If you’ve ever wondered what a metaphor is and how to use metaphors in your copy, today you will get your questions answered. Because we have a guest who I consider to be the reigning expert on the question, Anne Miller. She’s author of “The Tall Lady With The Iceberg.” For my money, it is the best book ever written on how to use metaphors to sell, to explain, and to win people over. Anne understands and teaches this information better than anyone else I’ve ever seen. She’s also a coach, speaker and seminar leader. Her huge client list ranges from Columbia University and The Wall Street Journal to Revlon, Citibank and Yahoo. As well as clients in Australia, South America, Europe and Asia. Dozens and dozens of household names and major niche organizations. For us in the copywriting world, Anne’s expertise in creating and using metaphors is what excites me the most. Many copywriters and business owners use metaphors, but not too many people do it all that well. And that’s about to change today. Anne covers a lot of ground on today’s show. Here’s what I ask her: 1. What is a metaphor, anyway? 2. Why are metaphors so important? 3. You have a very handy four-step metaphor workout. Could you share it with us? 4. What are the main ways we can use metaphors in communication? 5. Could we talk about a few different kinds of metaphors, with examples 6. How about which mistakes you should avoid when using metaphors? You can get in touch with Anne on her website: https://www.annemiller.com Here’s the link to her book, The Tall Lady With The Iceberg: https://www.amazon.com/Tall-Lady-Iceberg-Metaphor-Metaphorically/dp/0976279444 Download.

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Meet Peter Visser, an online education entrepreneur teaching trading in stock and Forex markets. His 'zero-claim' ads lead to pitch-free webinars, generating six figures monthly. Discover his ad strategy, return on ad spend, and successful webinar funnel approach.

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