Copywriters Podcast

So, with the year 2021 just days behind us, I thought it would be fun to reminisce about my early days as a copywriter. It was definitely a second career for me. I had started out as a business journalist. Of course, not knowing anything about copywriting when I first started, I assumed writing copy couldn’t be all that different from writing news and feature stories, right? I was about as wrong as I could be. And, of course, I found out. I learned the hard way. I seem to have developed a knack for learning that way. I don’t know if I can save any new copywriters from the painful lessons I had to learn the hard way, but hope springs eternal. And who knows, even experienced copywriters might remember something they had forgotten, or, get some new ideas from hearing the old truths. Each of these things I talk about on today’s show are now like iron laws that I remember, observe and respect every time I sit down to write copy myself, or critique copy for my clients. Resource: Copywriters Podcast Episode 174: Believability in Copywriting https://copywriterspodcast.com/index.php?podcast=1110 youtube: https://youtu.be/FQS3JViJqn4 Download.

Our guest today, Chris Haddad, sent shock waves through the copywriting world a couple weeks ago, with the launch of his much-awaited online training program called “The P.I.G. Method.” “P.I.G.” stands for “Punch in the gut” and I would say that’s a fairly universal description of how Chris’s copy in his video sales letters affects viewers. When you watch one of Chris’s promotions, or read his copy, you go on an emotional roller coaster ride that’s right up there with what you experience with a blockbuster Hollywood thriller. Chris does have a background in theatre and film. But his greatest accomplishments, I would argue, have come in the digital marketing space. Chris has created products and promotions for them which have brought in millions of dollars and caused quite a stir in the marketplace. However, The P.I.G. Method is the first time, as far as I can tell, that Chris has revealed his secrets of how he puts the promotions together. Which is something a lot of people have wanted to know for quite a while. On today’s show, we covered Chris’s experience with actually writing the copy for his promotion of The P.I.G. Method. That might seem ho-hum to you, but not to me. I’ve written copy for my own products, and I’ve always found it to be a challenge, since I’m the client as well as the copywriter. It’s not impossible, but there are just some roadblocks to get out of the way. Chris, however, didn’t have the same problem so many other copywriters have had. It was especially interesting to hear him describe his own writing process, and you might be able to pick up some valuable tips for yourself, writing any copy -- for your own products, or otherwise. Chris also gave us some new sneak peeks at a few of the gems inside his P.I.G. method.Download.

Our guest today, Chris Haddad, sent shock waves through the copywriting world 10 days ago with the launch of his much-awaited online training program called “The P.I.G. Method.” “P.I.G.” stands for “Punch in the gut” and I would say that’s a fairly universal description of how Chris’s copy in his video sales letters affects viewers. When you watch one of Chris’s promotions, or read his copy, you go on an emotional roller coaster ride that’s right up there with what you experience with a blockbuster Hollywood thriller. Chris does have a background in theatre and film. But his greatest accomplishments, I would argue, have come in the digital marketing space. Chris has created products and promotions for them which have brought in millions of dollars and caused quite a stir in the marketplace. However, The P.I.G. Method is the first time, as far as I can tell, that Chris has revealed his secrets of how he puts the promotions together. Which is something a lot of people have wanted to know for quite a while. On today’s show, we covered the product creation process, which is especially tricky for a copywriter or anyone else who has to reverse-engineer their own method and techniques. Not quite like doing brain surgery on yourself, but, it is a challenge because for most people, especially high performers, actually figuring out your own process and spelling it out for others is difficult. That’s because so much of the information is intuitive, or what is frequently known as “unconscious competence.” Chris also gave us a sneak peak at a few of the gems inside his P.I.G. method.Download.

Today's podcast comes from a handful of idea generators I found in "The Copy Book —How Some of the Best Advertisers in the World Write Their Advertising." I found out about this book from our friend Sean Vosler, who's been on the show before. It's over 500 pages long, and while it's interesting, most of it does not really apply to direct response copywriting, which, after all, is what this show is about. Nevertheless, there were a few gems I found that are great idea generators for all copywriters. So that's what we're going to focus on today. We've got seven idea-generators, coming from four different copywriters. I'll mention their names as we get to each one. Obviously these are people who know their way around writing advertising. And, like I said, I carefully selected each idea generator because I can see how you can apply this to what you're doing when you're writing copy yourself. The Copy Book https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/graphic_design/all/43914/facts.dad_the_copy_book.htm Download.

We have an extra-special guest today, and I will tell you about him after I tell you about his book. Nine years ago, someone -- and I’m sorry I can’t remember who it was -- told me about this amazing book called “The Micro-Script Rules.” I went crazy when I got it and have been recommending it to people ever since. Fast forward to earlier this fall. My client Billy Broas emailed me, having recently spoken with the author of that book, Bill Schley. He wanted to introduce the two of us. Long story short, Bill is what I would call an expert in branding that sells. In fact, he’s the only person I know who has a pretty foolproof system for creating branding that rockets companies to the top of their niche. He’s been doing that for about 30 years -- companies of all kinds. I was able to get him to come on the podcast and talk about that. Normally we direct marketers are a little hesitant to listen when anyone talks about branding, but I promise this. You’ll want to hear what Bill has to say. That’s because he’s worked in New York City at Ted Bates and Company, where legendary branders came up with household names that are still around today, decades later. Bill was a part of that process, but like a lot of young people in New York at the time, he never got a clear explanation on how to do this. He was just supposed to watch and “get it.” Lucky for him, he did, and that led to him doing it successfully over and over until he was able to figure out consciously what he was doing intuitively. It all starts with the Big Idea, and Bill has some insights and how-to’s about that which are clearer and better than anything I’ve ever heard before. When he worked at the agency in New York, he was just supposed to watch and “get it.” Lucky for him, he did, and that led to him doing it successfully over and over until he was able to figure out consciously what he was doing intuitively. And that’s the first thing we talk about on the show, where Bill gives us some revolutionary perspective about branding and the Big Idea. Then, we go on to talk about The Micro-Script Rules, one of my favorite marketing and copywriting books of all time. For everyone besides Bill, here’s a hint as to why I like it so much, and it’s the little quote above the title: “It’s not what people hear, it’s what they repeat.” And the subtitle is, “How to tell your story (and differentiate your brand) in a sentence… or less.” Pretty powerful ideas. Finally, the special surprise. Bill tells us about something coming in a few months that everyone should be interested in. Link to Bill’s book, The Micro-Script Rules https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JMWD9GZ Download.

Kenneth Yu, expert on the most persuasive story structure on Earth, shares how he used religious story structure in copywriting to create a successful business offer. They discuss the power of storytelling in building emotional resonance and community, the influence of worshiping a higher entity in different markets, and creating a tribe of loyal customers. They also talk about the power of movements and community in shaping reality and changing the world.

We’re back with an episode in the Old Masters series -- four Old Masters, in fact. These four people are the co-authors of the book “The Principles Of Advertising,” first published in 1915. I ran across it while tracking down something else I had learned about from Copywriting Historian Sean Vosler, who has been on this show before. The authors are: Harry Tipper, Harry L. Hollingsworth, George Burton Hotchkiss, and Frank Alvah Parsons. It’s interesting to see how much has changed and how little has changed in the last 100 years. Of course the world has changed and the channels of communication are different. But people are pretty much motivated by the same things they always have been. And what works in ads hasn’t changed that much, either. So the book we’re going to look at today was published over 100 years ago. It was written as a textbook and that should scare anyone off. But the good news is, two of the authors are ad professionals, and two are professors. The language is a little old-fashioned, but the information is practical and clearly comes out of real-world experience. The book has 33 chapters! Far more than we could cover in one podcast, or even two. So I selected two big-picture chapters and three chapters about copy, and we have some of the most important and usable points from each one. Now if you’re a copywriter, you might think the big-picture stuff isn’t really necessary or relevant. And strictly speaking, it’s not. But look at it this way: If you were a skydiver, sure, you’d want to know how to put on a chute, how to jump out of a plane, and how to open your chute well before you hit the ground. But it would probably also be a good idea to get a general understanding of how gravity works, and that falling objects pick up speed at 32 feet per second every second. Same idea here. Besides, all this general context stuff will directly help you, as a copywriter, get more sales from your copy. Not the skydiving stuff, but the advertising stuff. The book is out of copyright now, and available free as a PDF download from Google Books. Here’s the link: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Principles_of_Advertising/vFdCAAAAIAAJDownload.

When you need some good advice for your business, who you gonna call? My way of looking at is pretty simple: You need someone who knows it, not only because they’ve studied it, but because they’ve also done it. Successfully. In the best of all possible worlds, more than once. For instance, if you wanted to take a cooking class, would you choose a class given by someone who has read all the cookbooks… watched every episode of “Master Chef”… and knows where you can get the freshest ingredients in town… but has never cooked a meal for anyone besides himself? Of would you want to learn from someone who has a decent education in food preparation but has also cooked and served hundreds of meals to happy customers, friends and family? Me, I’d choose the second one. Because he’s not only a teacher, he’s a doer. Now, you may know Nathan Fraser as the announcer and co-confabulator on Copywriters Podcast, but today you’re going to discover another side to Nathan. He’s also an experienced entrepreneur and copywriter who has gone through the trials and tribulations every successful businessperson goes through before they find out what really works. Just a few weeks ago, Nathan released a new book called Start-U Cheat Codes: Success Shortcuts For Your Start-UP (Or Small Business). I rushed to get a copy as soon as I found out about it and I was floored. By how simple it was. By how powerful it was. And by how had nuggets for ANY business in it. While it is pure gold for a start-up, it’s also a can’t-miss diagnostic tool for any business of just about any size. I talked Nathan into discussing it today. You probably think I’m kidding, but at first he thought I was kidding when I asked him to do a show about it with me. I wasn’t. You’ll see why in a minute. I told Nathan: I truly don’t know if you realize how much pared-down wisdom you packed into that book. It reminds me of “Obvious Adams,” a simple, short book that we talked out previously on this show. The reason it does is, it covers the basics so well, so simply, so elegantly, it’s hard to miss the essentials when you read it. And that’s rare among business books. I was wondering if we could talk about your own history as an entrepreneur. Your experiences, in a nutshell, and what got you to where you are today? So, as I see it, your book sets out to solve a lot of problems start-ups and small businesses face all the time, and they don’t really know how to solve them. Could you talk about the problems you see, both with start-ups, and with small businesses that are only performing at a fraction of their potential? You’ve also seen people who solved some of these problems, starting with yourself. Could you tell us how you discovered the path to success, and how you’ve helped others do the same? There are a couple of key things in your book that really stood out to me, and I was wondering if you could talk about them. The first one is the idea of the “Genius Zone.” I think that’s so important for people to understand. The other thing is multiple streams of income. Someone with a job usually has just one. Many business owners have only one. Could you talk about having more than one and what that looks like? Finally, tell us more about the book. How have people responded, and how does everyone else get a copy if they want it? And they should! link To Start-Up Cheat Codes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HRPXFGRDownload.

We’re back with our Old Masters Series, and this is the last part of a four-part series -- What Your Prospects Most Want To Know. I would add, what is it that they want to know right away, and whether or not you tell them might decide whether or not they keep on reading? The answer is still: What will your product, or service, do for me? But this time, we’re going to take it from a different angle. Up to now, we’ve talked about what your product can help them do, gain, and save. But this time, it’s what your product will help the prospect be. This is different and may in many ways go deeper than before, because this is about identity. So here’s what we’re going to do today. We’ll go over seven things Schwab found prospects want to know if your product can help them be. I’ll show you how and why. We’ll cover some examples you are probably familiar with in general, like product categories, or in specific, like promotions you’ve probably heard of. Again, let me remind you that Vic Schwab spent 44 years working in advertising and kept a lot of notes. Everything here is based on testing and very scrupulous observation, with an eye towards what stimulates inquiries and what generates sales. From the eye of a master. That’s because Ad Age magazine called Schwab “the greatest mail-order copywriter of all time.” In 1941, he wrote a series of five articles for Printers Ink magazine and titled the series “How to Write a Good Advertisement.” In 1961, he expanded that series into the book, “How to Write a Good Ad.” The book is so important that my mentoring clients and I spend almost half a year going through this book in a special way I’ve developed. It’s as good in its own way as Gene Schwartz’s “Breakthrough Advertising.” In short, I’d saw Schwab’s book is a gold mine for copywriters. Also, a quick reminder: Everything in this and the other three podcasts in this series come from page 47… the first half of the page. That might seem like a lot of podcast based on very little information, but remember, he spent 44 years testing and tracking ads and reviewing other top-performing ads. So it’s condensed practical wisdom. The book and the link: How to Write a Good Advertisement, by Victor Schwab https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Good-Advertisement-Copywriting-ebook/dp/B01AXJ7SES/ Download.

The market research company Ipsos recently did a poll that found 46% of Americans believe in ghosts. I found that annoying because they didn’t ask Americans how many of them believed in monsters. It’s so important which words you use when you’re taking a survey. Ipsos also found that 7% of Americans believe in vampires, and 6% believe in zombies. With Halloween coming up, I thought this would be a good time to do a show about monsters. Specifically, the Five Monsters of Copywriting. Especially for all the copywriters who can’t go trick or treating because they are locked in a room on a deadline. Now, look. The Ipsos poll also found that 88% of parents eat their kids’ Halloween candy. So I guess being a copywriter on deadline isn’t as bad if you’re a parent. But let’s talk about these Monsters. They are the very things that keep us from writing. I saw this sad plea for help on Twitter on in late September, from newspaper humor columnist Alexandra Petri. She wrote: “Friends if you see me on here next week, please bang a rolled up newspaper on a table nearby. So that I get startled and scuttle away. I am supposed to be working on my book.” Imagine that. She thinks that her friends can scare the monsters away from her by banging a rolled up newspaper on the table, miles away from wherever she is at the moment. Well, what are these monsters, anyway? Everybody knows about these monsters, at least vaguely. Everyone at least has an inkling. But we’re not afraid to talk about things other people are afraid to talk about. Even if we are afraid of those things ourselves. You know, they say the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem. That may be as far as we get with some of these monsters. Other ones, we might have a solution or two so you can scare that one away WITHOUT having to get someone else to bang a rolled up newspaper on the table. These are monsters all of us face every day. Some of us have learned how to deal with them some of the time. A few of us deal with them well almost all of the time. You’ll want to listen to see how many of them you recognize, and maybe get some new insights on what you can DO about them!Download.