Copywriters Podcast

Today we have one of the world’s great teachers and practitioners of direct-response copywriting on the show — Don Hauptman. You’ll see what I mean about teaching in a moment, when Don shares the most successful copywriting techniques he’s learned in 45 years — techniques you may not be using, or not using as well as you could, yourself. As a copywriter, Don’s accomplishments are legendary. He’s a ten-time winner of the Newsletter on Newsletters promotion award for subscription acquisition packages. Don’s the copywriter who created the ads with the classic headline “Speak Spanish Like A Diplomat.” Those ads (and variations of it, such as “Speak French Like A Diplomat,”) sold tens of millions of dollars worth of language course in many languages for Audio-Forum. His work has been featured in college advertising textbooks and collections including “Million Dollar Mailings” and “The World’s Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters.” These days, Don’s officially retired. But he still does pro bono marketing, consulting and fundraising work for non-profits and friends’ businesses and professional practices. Also, Don’s the author of a very valuable book, “The Versatile Freelancer,” which he’ll tell us about later. In the show, Don talks about the techniques that give copy its power, persuasiveness, motivation and credibility. These are techniques that keep readers reading, and gets them to respond the way you want them to. Don says, “In a lot of copy I see, these principles are absent, omitted, overlooked. Why? And how can you avoid these mistakes?” And then he proceeds to explain what they are, how they work, and how you can put them to work in your own copy. 1. Adding human interest to your copy. One step copywriters skip is finding and adding the inherent drama of stories that add to the emotional response of the reader. He shares some examples from highly successful ads and reveals the hidden psychology behind these successful stories. 2. Making your proof convincing. Credibility overcomes reader/listener/viewer skepticism. But vague generalities and promises made but not backed up won’t get the job done. Don shares which details he used, and how he used them, to create conviction in readers, which leads to the “yes” we’re all looking for. 3. When content market brings prospects closer to buying. Sometimes the best way to make a sale is to give something valuable away first. Don explains how he did this in some of his winning promotions, and the proven best ways to use these techniques yourself. Don’s book, “The Versatile Freelancer” http://versatilefreelancer.com Download.

We’re back with another show in the Old Masters series today. First I need to tell you about something you probably never knew about before: The RCA principle. I end up telling even some of my advanced mentoring clients about the RCA principle, which I learned about from Joe Karbo in his book “The Lazy Man’s Way To Riches.” The RCA principle is a copywriting concept that goes like this: “Build the best radio you can, and take as many parts out of it as you can until it stops working.” In copywriting terms, that means: Write the best (whatever) you can, and then whittle it down to the smallest number of words, possible. So that’s the RCA principle. Sounds simple enough, right? All you have to do is write big and then edit it down to as tight as possible. The problem is, most people I talk to about this have NO IDEA how to do this. Fair enough. I didn’t learn this in school myself. Even on the college newspaper. Even in my private tutorial with the department chairman who used to write for Time magazine. So, to do today’s show, I had to turn to the Old Master of concise, powerful writing himself, Rudolf Flesch. You know him already through the readability index he helped create, although you may not have realized it. If you look for a readability score on your copy, as many writers do, that comes directly from Flesch’s work. He was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1911. In 1938, he fled to the United States to escape the Nazis. By 1943, he had earned a PhD in Library Science from Columbia University. It was then and there he developed the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, which has evolved into the “readability index” that so many copywriters use today. I took one of his books, The Art of Readable Writing, and cracked it open like a walnut. Then I picked out the most important pieces… … .to show you how to use the tools of an Old Master to implement the RCA principle. On the show, we go over these five steps, harvested from The Art of Readable Writing. And, as a special bonus for Copywriters Podcast subscribers, we also showed an equivalent step each time for achieving a Joe Karbo RCA principle result. 1. Research and organize KARBO EQUIVALENT: Design the biggest, best radio you can. Don’t build it yet. Just design it. 2. Give shape to your idea KARBO EQUIVALENT: Build the biggest, bestest radio you can. 3. Make longer words shorter KARBO EQUIVALENT: Use chips, PC boards, or anything else you can to make the big bad radio work more efficiently, 4. Organize your copy with shorter words into a chronological story. KARBO EQUIVALENT: Rearrange the parts of your big new radio into the smallest space possible. 5. Edit ruthlessly to get your story into the fewest words possible. KARBO EQUIVALENT: This is where you take out all the parts of the radio until it stops working. The Art of Readable Writing, by Rudolf Flesch link (for used copy): https://www.amazon.com/dp/006011293X Download.

Former prisoner turned successful copywriter, Jesse Moskel, shares his journey of using copywriting to cut his prison sentence in Thailand. He discusses finding work as a copywriter, his discovery at an AWAI meeting, and tips for attracting clients. The episode dives into overcoming challenges, navigating the copywriting industry, and the importance of mindset shift for success.

We’ve got another episode today in our Old Masters series. New York City, 1892: An advertising man named George P. Rowell starts a weekly advertising journal called Printer’s Ink. Decades later, another man, George Laflin Miller, started writing a column for Printer’s Inc., under the pen name “Aesop Glim.” In the 1940s and 1950s, Aesop Glim’s column was the Copywriters Podcast of the time, as best I can tell. I couldn’t find out much more than that about Mr. Glim, also known as Mr. Miller. But I did find in my bookcase the book “How Advertising Is Written — and Why.” This book has some terrific, unique ideas and techniques, and we’re going over them today. The book is concise, only 150 pages. But it’s powerful. Eight chapters, with three to nine meaty sections in each chapter. I’ve cherry-picked four key ideas that I haven’t seen presented this way elsewhere. We’re covering the bare bones of Aesop Glim’s ideas and filling in the blanks with our own examples and comments. 1) The substitute for inspiration — is saturation! Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, saturate your mind with • facts • experience • knowledge about user experience “The trouble with inspiration is that — like luck or lightning — you can’t possibly tell when it will strike.” 2) Headlines - 3 steps Headlines need to “reach out from the page, seize the lapels on your prospects, and persuade them to read the first paragraph of your copy.” 3 steps of the job of the headline 1. select the right prospects 2. “arrest” them 3. persuade them to read your first paragraph 3) The Rudyard Kipling Secret For Copy - Minus One We’re going to have our first poetry reading on Copywriters Podcast. Title - I keep six honest serving men I KEEP six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. Aesop Glim left out “how.” So: when - where - who - what - why Example: Yesterday (WHEN), in Australia (WHERE), one of my clients (WHO) had a major breakthrough (WHAT) because of one stunning idea he swears he’ll use from now on to write copy (WHAT). Next-level tip from Aesop Glim: Put most of your copy in the present tense. Same sentence that way: In Australia, one of my clients is having a major breakthrough because of one stunning idea he swears he’ll use from now on to write copy. Present tense in headlines: Compare Old Dutch Cleanser Chases Dirt to Old Dutch Cleanser Might Conceivably Remove The Accumulated Filth If Properly Applied Use singular instead of plural: Easier to visualize one hour one cake of soap one man … than a lot of them. 4) 3 things that have to happen for an ad to work. The ad must be 1. seen 2. read 3. believedDownload.

Our special guest today, Doberman Dan, has been a direct-response copywriter and serial entrepreneur for 33 years. He’s started four of his own nutritional supplement business, and sold three of them. As a copywriter, he specializes in the health, fitness and bodybuilding markets. But he’s written in many other markets as well. Our special guest today, Doberman Dan, has been a direct-response copywriter and serial entrepreneur for 33 years. He’s started four of his own nutritional supplement business, and sold three of them. As a copywriter, he specializes in the health, fitness and bodybuilding markets. But he’s written in many other markets as well. Dan’s work has appeared in Entrepreneur Magazine, Penthouse, Investors Business Daily, The National Enquirer, and many other newspapers and magazines. He’s been publishing The Doberman Dan Letter for the past nine years, and it counts many of the world’s most successful marketers among its subscribers, including me. We’re going to a wild ride through Dan’s life and times today and find out how his unusual experiences — and there are many — have contributed to what he knows and teaches about copywriting. He’s been publishing The Doberman Dan Letter for the past nine years, and it counts many of the world’s most successful marketers among its subscribers, including me. We took a wild ride through Dan’s life and times today and find out how his unusual experiences — and there are many — have contributed to what he knows and teaches about copywriting.Download.

One of my best-performing sales letters took three months to write. A big part of the time it took to write it had little to do with the headline or the rest of the copy. The letter crushed it. Literally. We broke the server the first day. This was for a small company and total sales were over $1 million on their mentoring program I had written the sales letter for. To prepare for that letter, I sought out stories from people in the marketplace who would end up being prospects and customers for the mentoring program. When I did the interviews, talking to people who were very different from me, I learned things about their motivations and their preferences that never would have occurred to me on my own. I don’t think the letter would have broken $1 million in sales or sold out in three days if I hadn’t done the work to get those stories out of prospective customers. Today, we talk about getting stories before you start writing your copy. In this fast-paced show, we cover: >Why it’s important to get stories from clients and their customers — two reasons most copywriters never consider >How most people screw this up… and… how to fix this >Who you want to talk to (far more types of people than you think now) >How you want to talk to the people you’re getting stories from (vitally important — makes all the difference) >What kind of questions to ask >What you want to get from the people you interview >What to do with what you getDownload.

In the offices of the most successful direct marketers in the world, when a promo isn’t making the money it should, you’ll hear most people speak these three words: “Call David Deutsch.” Because he’s the guy who can fix it. And, he’s our guest today. David’s promo’s have come close to pulling in $1 billion in sales. He’s written for Agora and the company formerly known as Boardroom (it’s now called Bottom Line Publications). David works with copy teams in the U.S. and around the world. He’s the author of Million Dollar Marketing Secrets and Think Inside The Box, two books I’m proud to say I have in my most important bookshelf (the one closest to my computer). I’m also proud that David’s a friend as well as a colleague. Today he’s going to talk about something you might have never thought had anything to do with copywriting. My goal, by the end of today’s show, is for you to see how it has EVERYTHING to do with copywriting. That topic is pitchmen. From Billy Mays and Ron Popeil to the carnival barker at the county fair, pitchmen — and pitchwomen — hold some secrets that make our copy better. And David knows more about them than you would ever imagine. Here’s what David talked about with us on this special show: - How he got into studying pitchmen. - Who pitchmen are and why what they do is so close to writing copy - Why he has studied pitchmen (and why you should, too) - With a pitchman, it’s NOT “all in the wrist” — it’s all in the VOICE - What pitchmen do all the time that the best copy does as well - Think word choice is important in copy? Take a close look at what pitchmen do! - How and when pitchmen reveal the product they’re pitching - How pitchmen MAXIMIZE the chance that every prospect will buy There’s so much good info in this show you may want to listen to it more than once! Go to David’s website and get a free report: “Copywriting from A to Z” www.DavidLDeutsch.comDownload.

John Caples is best known as a pioneer and master practitioner of testing copy, but he was also a brilliant copywriter. His first year writing copy, he wrote an ad with the headline “They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano… But When I Began To Play…” which is famous to this day. He taught copywriting at Columbia Business School in New York. Caples is truly an old master, and that’s why we’re including him in our Old Masters Series. His book “Tested Advertising Methods” has so much value for copywriters we could barely cover a few parts of a few chapters. But it’s easily available on Amazon, and I’ve included a link at the bottom of the show notes on copwriterspodcast.com Here are the key points. Much more detail in the recorded podcast itself. 1. The kind of headlines that attract the most readers Based on tests, usually headlines with a combination of self-interest and curiosity, work best. Sometimes, adding or implying “quick and easy” will boost response even further. 2. How to put enthusiasm into your copy Forget about everyone except your prospect… write fast… get worked up… let momentum launch you into a wave of enthusiasm. 3. Simple hacks to get more opt-ins Lots of proven “little” things will increase your response dramatically. Most people fall short here on some of the basics. 4. Simple hacks to multiply your copy’s selling power The key word here is “simple.” Fight every urge to be philosophical, elaborate or flowery in your writing. Tested Advertising MethodsDownload.

When I first started learning how to write copy, everybody told me “read Scientific Advertising.” It’s a book written at the beginning of the 20th century, over 100 years ago, by Claude Hopkins, who many consider the father of direct-response copywriting. I did read the book. I read it again. In fact, I read it 15 times. For today’s show, I reviewed it. This is part of our Old Masters series. I pulled out five powerful takeaways and we’re going to talk about them and how they apply to copywriting today. In the show notes on copywriterspodcast.com, you’ll find a link to get the book on Amazon. All I can say is, it’s well worth it. One of the most valuable books I’ve ever read. Here are the key takeaways. Much more detail on the podcast itself: 1. The only purpose of advertising is to make sales “Advertising is multiplied salesmanship.” Ask this question about your sales copy: “Would it help me sell them if I met them in person?” 2. The right headline can increase sales by 5 to 10 times. You can use your headline to target a particular type of prospect. The trick is to call out the type of qualified prospect that there are the most of. 3. Psychology is the gas in the engine — and the GPS — of all advertising. We can’t actually read people’s minds. But we can keep track of all their different behaviors. And the more specific things we know about what people respond to, and how they behave, the better our copy will perform. 4. The more specific you are, the more people will believe you. It’s always a bad idea to lie about specifics. But it’s always a good idea to include as many meaningful specifics as you can. “Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck… [but] the weight of an argument can often be multiplied by making it specific.” 5. How to guarantee your advertising WON’T make a profit. You can lose a lot of money by trying to change people’s habits. “It is a very shrewd thing to watch the development of a particular trend, the creation of new desires. Then at the right time offer to satisfy those desires.” Link to Scientific Advertising on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0844231010Download.

Today we return to our new series called “Old Masters,” and we’re going to look at another list from Maxwell Sackheim’s book, “My First 65 Years In Advertising.” Sackheim started in direct mail in 1906. In 1927 he was a co-founder of a highly successful direct-mail business, The Book-of-the-Month Club. He wrote a very famous ad with the headline, “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?”, which ran for 40 years and was always profitable. The list we’re going over today is called “Seven Deadly Direct Mail Mistakes.” But don’t worry if you don’t do direct mail yourself. It’s based on hard-won wisdom and it applies just as well today with Facebook ads and funnels as it does to actual direct mail. (Seven deadly Direct Mail mistakes) 1. Failing to Give The Reader a Good Reason to Open Your Envelope This applies to ALL forms of direct marketing. Almost all forms involve more than one step — whether the first step is opening the envelope, responding to a print ad, or clicking on a Facebook ad. Be sure that you’re giving your prospect a strong reason to take the FIRST step. Cheat Sheet Question #1: Did I give me prospect a good enough reason to take the the first step? 2. Failing to Give The Reader a Good Reason for Reading Your Mailing Every step of the way through your funnel, make sure you give your prospect a good reason to read it and move on to the next step. Cheat sheet question #2: Did I give my prospect a good enough reason to read this copy and move on to the next step? 3. Making Trivial Tests Important tests are of major elements that can really affect response. Headline, lead, offer, pricing, for example. Test the things that are most likely to make a real difference in response. Cheat sheet question #3: Make sure you’re testing elements of your copy that are likely to make an important difference. 4. Making Sales, Not Customers It costs a lot to acquire a customer. Why WASTE that money when you can turn it into profit by making additional offers to each customer? Cheat sheet question #4: What am I doing to increase the lifetime of each customer, and extend the lifetime value? 5. Believing that People Won’t Read Long Letters “People read long books, take long trips, watch long movies and plays, and read long letters — provided they justify the time. They must be interesting. They must promise a profit, in entertainment, in money, in enlightenment.” Cheat sheet question #5: Am I providing all the information my prospect needs—and doing it in a compelling way? 6. Letting the List Go to the Last “The reasons many mailings fail is that they are directed to too many wrong people.” Same is true for ads and other types of copy that are targeted wrong. Cheat sheet question 6: Am I targeting the right people? 7. Forgetting that Your Letters Are You “Every letter you send is your personality on paper. Whether you mail one or one million, each letter tells who YOU are.” Cheat sheet question #7: Am I writing to my customers like I would talk to a friend?Download.