Copywriters Podcast

Linda Perry is a copywriter in a couple niches, but she’s on with us today to share something most copywriters could not talk about the way she can. Linda is a mindset coach, and she came about her knowledge and wisdom in the trenches. You see, Linda learned about mindset where it really counts: In federal prisons, and in the courtroom. Linda was a criminal defense attorney for 17 years and she saw first hand the difference that mindset makes in people’s lives. She also learned a lot that she was able to apply to copywriting, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to get her to talk about that today, too. Linda works with copywriters and entrepreneurs on their mindset and messaging, because while most people bellyache about money, underneath earning power and success are first, mindset, and secondly, how you present yourself in words to the world. So says she, and I agree. So Linda -- welcome, and thanks for joining us. Let’s dive right into mindset. I have heard that at Kira Hug’s and Rob Marsh’s events, they call you the “Mindset Girl.” Affectionately! Could you give us a brief rundown on what mindset is, and how it affects copywriters? You have a story about Justin Blackman you said we be OK to share. Would you tell us about it? Now, as for messaging, or branding — you’ve said that most copywriters don’t need to hire you to do it for them, but it’s important for copywriters to have a unique brand message. Talk to us about that, if you would. Again, what about Justin Blackman? As our case study poster child for the podcast. And finally, money. Besides what we’ve already covered, what can you tell us about the relationship between money and mindset? Also, I wanted to ask you what you learned in your 17 years as a criminal defense lawyer that we can use in copywriting? You have a course coming up called “Master Your Mindset.” Tell us about it. We’ll put a link in the show notes: Linda's WebsiteDownload.

In Hollywood they have a joke about screenwriters: “He’s so creative, he doesn’t know how to put on a white shirt and tie.” It’s a lame joke, but it’s supposed to be a compliment. The screenwriter isn’t a boring suit. He’s more creative than that. There was one guy who was head and shoulders above everyone else in creativity. He invented brainstorming. His name was Alex Osborn. He wrote bestselling books on creativity. Most people know about his book “Your Creative Power” but his last book, “Applied Imagination, Principles and Procedures of Creative Problem Solving,” is much harder to find. Even though it was a best seller when it came out in 1953. Many people think this was his best book. And most people today could use some tips from the master on creativity, since that will get you better conversions faster than anything else. So we’re going to dip into his most important work today. In today’s show, we look at six things: 1. Why a more detailed look into creativity? It’s misunderstood. Some copywriters think it’s wasted time, and some people have the wrong idea of how to do it. But when it’s done right, it’s the most powerful way you can improve the response rate on your copy. Because it can improve so many aspects and dimensions of your copy. 2. The all-importance of imagination - Imagination (according to Osborne) is the only kind of thinking that you can’t depend on computers for And Osborne quotes a famous novelist, who 100 years in advance predicted an event that shook the world: “Whatever one man is capable of conceiving, other men will be able to achieve.” 3. The Creative Problem-Solving Process In copywriting, creativity is all about solving copy problems. The problem is almost always, how do you present information to your reader in a way that they are motivated to take the action they want. There are three steps to creativity, according to Osborn. Most business owners and copywriters skip over the first one or two of them. We cover all three. 4. Preparation and Analysis - go hand in hand Authors Michael Hyatt and Dan Pink team up with Alex Osborn to makes some very important points. If you get what this part is about and make it your own, you’ll cut years off your learning curve. 5. The basis of idea-finding One thing most people do when they’re brainstorming almost guarantees they’ll fall short of what they could come up with. We talk about it here. 6. Principles and Procedures of Idea-Finding We reveal the two — and only two — powerful techniques Osborne identified and refined for successful brainstorming. 7. Wrap-up Finally, a common-sense secret for how to get better and better at brainstorming and coming up with killer profitable ideas.Download.

Imagine a day in the future when you can’t use lead magnets or other opt-in marketing methods to get new customers. Imagine that you can’t use outbound telemarketing anymore either. Now imagine that this has nothing to do with government regulation or anything like that… but one of the warmest, friendliest companies on the planet … or so you thought… has made your job impossible. Well, that day is coming – and it might be as soon as September 17th. That company is Apple. And Meron Baraket, the Sherlock Holmes of marketing, has done some detective work to discover all this… and he’s got PROOF! We start with how Meron discovered this… including a little-known patent that spells really bad news for online marketers. Things could start to get bad Sept. 1 of this year… and will only get worse from there. The key phrase is “disposable email addresses.” Apple’s patent and plans for its next version of the operating system for iPhones really changes the game. Meron explains why. There’s also a real threat against businesses that use telemarketing coming soon. Meron gives details on this episode about that, too. He’s also going to do a one-time free online mastermind to get into solutions, with some guest experts. To sign up, go to: TheDayAfterEmail dot com Download.

We start with some very powerful copy from the great Bill Bonner, which is written in a way most copy is not written. For the purposes of today’s show, we’ll call this “writing copy in scenes.” Writing this way makes the copy come across as very immediate and real… and sets up the reader in a very good way for what comes next. In today’s show, we talk about: - What writing in scenes means, and why it’s so much more powerful than simply writing with either facts, benefits, or the type of stories most copy contains - The big difference between writing in “narrative” style, and writing in scenes - A couple of examples from outside copywriting that make “scenes” crystal-clear - How writing in scenes works, and why it works - A simple way to get started writing your copy in scenes - Some additional tips from another renowned writing teacher - The four parts of your copy where writing in scenes will make the biggest difference in influence, and conversions! Download.

Special guest Sam Carlson, an expert in online traffic and conversion for local businesses, shares valuable insights on creating successful Facebook campaigns. He discusses overcoming restrictions, mindset for winning on Facebook, effective techniques, and avoiding pitfalls. The podcast delves into strategies for running successful campaigns, the balance needed in local advertising, and showcases a clinic's successful case study. Explore the launch of Breakthrough Copywriting book, lead generation success, driving clinic traffic, and insights into the Next Level Facebook Ads Podcast.

From Kenny Werner’s book: Effortless Mastery It’s for jazz musicians, but one thing he wrote applies very much to brainstorming ideas for copy and marketing campaigns: In a chapter called “Fear-Based Composing,” he writes, “The most anxious moment for a composer is starting at a blank piece of paper.” Before I go on, I’d say, that’s true for copywriters too, isn’t it? He continues, “It is much easier to edit material than it is to create from nothing. Putting notes on paper without attachment is a great start.” I’ll comment here that “without attachment” means, without caring if it’s good or not. Let me continue now, “Once you have created ‘some stuff,’ you can begin to edit. Through the process of variation, you can create more music or improve upon what you’ve got. However, any sense of attachment to the work prevents you from seeing the possibilities. “For example, whatever notes you write can be developed by varying the order, the octave, the transposition, and so on. If you do this without any emotional attachment, without the need to create anything worthwhile (the same old trap), you are likely to come up with more attractive sets of notes. Putting some of them together, you can create longer ideas from the embryo of your original random choices.” OK. Now, I’m going to add a couple of things for copywriting and marketing. My experience and belief is that this works best when you already have a goal in mind: What you want your marketing to do. And when you know who your customer is, and you know a good bit about what you’re selling. But that said, you can do a lot of really powerful stuff following the idea that I just read to you. I imagine if you’ve never tried anything like this, you might find the whole notion scary, or think that it’s complete bullshit. But it’s not. It’s proven. And you can find a way to make it work for you. We’ll talk about it today. First, the big argument - structure and formula versus brainstorming and risking Second, the importance of minimizing risk Third, Innovating to solve problems, rather than to express yourself Fourth, how to get thereDownload.

This is especially for business owners. About half of my mentoring clients are business owners. Now when I meet business owners who don’t already have some copywriting skills and experiences, they end up falling into one of three camps: 1. Those who know they want to learn copy 2. Those who are thinking about learning copy but aren’t sure that it’s a good idea, and 3. Those who have felt some pressure to learn copy but really don’t want to. I don’t think one-size-fits-all when it comes to business owners learning to write copy. So I want to look at both sides of the question today, and even offer some tips that all business owners can use to make more money for their business. We cover: The 3 Reasons Certain Kinds of Business Owners Definitely SHOULD learn to write copy, and why this will help you with your business. Even in ways you’ve never thought of before. The 3 Reasons Other Kinds of Business Owners Probably SHOULD NOT learn to write copy, and how it could screw things up for you if do. If You’re A Business Owner Who Wants To Learn Copywriting, Some Things You Should Do (Including One Thing Copywriters Probably Wouldn’t Do) Some Tips For All Business Owners On How To Use Copy To Make More Money In Your BusinessDownload.

A client of mine made an interesting discovery. When he wrote short emails, he got mediocre click-through. When he wrote longer emails, he got a higher click-through. But when he condensed the longer emails down to the length of the original short emails, he got the highest click-through rate of all. Why is that? We discussed this and the answer we came up with is what this podcast is about. In short, intensity. It raises response rates consistently for my client in split tests to a high six-figures list. And I think everyone who deals with copy needs to know about this. What we cover in today’s podcast: 1. What intensity in copy is; why it’s important; and when it’s especially necessary to have intensity in your copy 2. The discovery, and the easiest way to infuse your copy with intensity 3. Another thing to do to maximize the intensity of your copy 4. Urgency, and not just in your close 5. The ultimate driver for Download.

OK. Everything you’ve heard about not using humor in copy, be prepared to reconsider all of it. Because of our guest today, Jon Buchan. A few years ago, Jon freely admits, “I was desperate for sales after my word of mouth work dried up.” He continues: “I got hellishly drunk one night and wrote a completely absurd cold email. “I was still tipsy the next morning and decided it was still a good idea to send it to pretty senior Marketing Directors at big brands. “To my astonishment, it worked. I got the most amazing complimentary responses and requests for calls/meetings. Here is the favorite response Jon received: "My colleague forwarded me your spam email and we would like to meet you to discuss opportunities." From his crazy drunk email, Jon has met with senior decision makers at RedBull, Pepsi, Symantec, Hewlett-Packard, HSBC, Barclays and countless other global brands, exciting start-ups and regular ol’ small and medium businesses. Since then, he’s used the same style to get senior editors at large publications to respond to me and publish his clients' content. He says he’s also used it to help people get as many job interviews as they want - and to meet people he really looks up to. Today he’s going to share his story on the copywriters podcast. First, and I really don’t think there’s anything funny about this at all: 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. So Jon, welcome and thanks for joining us. 1. First, could you tell us a little about your business, and the full story about the drunken email. 2. What has happened as a result? You’ve gotten into the funny-copy-training business, right? 3. The old-school rule is no humor in marketing IF you want to get sales results. You seem to be turning this on your head. Let’s talk about that. 4. Could you give us some tips for what to do and what not to do for our listeners if they want to try your approach? 5. You have a Facebook group and a product. Want to tell our listeners about these things, and how they can take advantage of these opportunities? Charm Offensive WebsiteDownload.

Our guest today, Ken McCarthy, has been at the forefront of Internet marketing and copywriting from the start. To give you just one in example, way back in 1994, he sponsored a conference about making the Internet a place where you could do business. Before then, it was a business-free zone. His featured speaker was a pioneer of the time, Mark Andreessen, who went on to co-found one of Silicon Valley’s most important Venture Capital firms. OK. Let’s fast-forward 20 years to 2014. Five years ago. Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, one of the world’s top data analytics firms, wrote this in Time magazine: In 1994, a former direct mail marketer called Ken McCarthy came up with the clickthrough as the measure of ad performance on the web. From that moment on, the click became the defining action of advertising on the web. See, it’s one thing to come up with an idea. It’s another thing entirely to be recognized as the guy who came up with it, by a leading industry authority in Time magazine. As a copywriter or business owner, why is this important to you? Here’s why. Ken’s also a copywriter. A marketer. He’s made a lot of money that way. And recently he pointed out that there are some key things no one’s been teaching that he’s decided he’s willing to share. With you. On this podcast. Things that, if you put them to use conscientiously, could make you a lot of money. Ken, thanks for being here. There’s one other thing I want to tell our listeners about themselves before we dive in: 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. Topics Ken covered on these calls: • Though Ken never wrote for clients — only for his own business — he claims to have made more money “in a short time than many copywriters make in a long career.” • Some basics of copy that most people who teach, or talk about copy, gloss over or miss entirely. Ken dug in and shared nitty-gritty stuff that brings in the bucks. • Ken’s discovery of a hidden treasure trove of John Caples ads (that most people have never seen, to this day)… and what he learned from that. • And many other gems — the kind of stuff that has earned Ken high respect, both in the “big-box corporate world” of advertising, as well as among the hardest of the hard-core direct marketers Ken's Website KenMcCarthyDotComDownload.