Copywriters Podcast

How do you make Facebook actually work? That’s becoming an increasingly urgent question for copywriters and marketers across all niches. We have one answer for you today, with our special guest, Sam Carlson. He’s an online traffic and conversion guy, with a specialization in local business marketing. His agency is called 25th West. Sam and his team use digital marketing strategies to grow private medical practices. Facebook likes what they did so much that they featured 25th West on their Facebook Business™ page as a case study. We’re going to talk about that today, and a whole lot more. Sam is also Co-Host of The Next Level Facebook Ads Podcast, and I highly recommend it. We asked Sam these questions: 1. Writing ads and creating campaigns on Facebook, seems to me, like being forced to write while wearing handcuffs, and with a special pen that runs out of ink when you try to write certain words. That is, there are restrictions, that for most ad writers — especially direct-response copywriters — run counter t

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

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 Busi

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 publicat

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

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

The TV series “Perry Mason” was an important part of my youth. It also turns out the writer who originally created the characters for the show was, for a time, the world’s best-selling author. With more than 300 million book sales to his name, Earl Stanley Gardner was a real-world expert on how to communicate with large numbers of people in an emotionally compelling way. In today’s show, we extract some secrets from a book that details the years of work, and important discoveries, Gardner made in his never-ending quest to learn how to write the perfect story. The book is called “Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer: The Storytelling Techniques of Erle Stanley Gardner.” Its authors are Francis L. and Roberta B. Fugate. You can get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OQ6XDHQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_P9sRCbXJEMSQR Here’s what we cover in the podcast: 1. Gardner’s carefully refined five-point checklist for the perfect plot While this checklist is for fiction, there’s a lot in there that will also hel

Our guest today is notorious and endlessly fascinating: Ben Settle. He’s an email specialist, author, anti-professional, and novelist. People go nuts over Ben. Including me. I once wrote to him, “You’re the f’in’ hottest email copywriter on the Web now.” But I wasn’t alone. Our recent guest Richard Armstrong says, “I start my day with reading from the Holy Bible and Ben Settle’s email, not necessarily in that order.” And the normally sober Gary Bencivenga admits. “Good copy intoxicates me. Yours is high proof. I’m enjoying it.” Well, that pretty much gives you the picture of what other copywriters think about Ben. He’s like… amazing! But Ben brings another skill to the party. While it is morbid, I have a morbid fascination with it and Ben has agreed to tell us about it today. He writes horror fiction. Let me read you this from the promo copy for Zombie Cop: The Enoch Wars, Book One. "The blood was still warm and there was meat and what looked like veins between his teeth - hanging out like dental floss." Nobo

Our returning champion is copywriter Doug Pew. He was kind enough to be a guest a couple of months ago, when he talked about The Music of Copywriting. Doug is currently working on a couple of books about copywriting, but that’s not why he’s here today. The reason Doug agreed to come on and speak is The Copywriters Podcast itself. That is, Doug found himself in a bind a few weeks ago. The kind of bind every copywriter both dreams of and dreads. An onslaught of work no normal human could possibly handle. Including insane deadlines. And regular life carrying on apace. Did Doug survive it? We’ll leave you in suspense to let Doug tell you the story. But what’s most interesting is not the sheer number of words, emails, pages of sales letter, etc. that Doug produced in a stunningly short period of time. What’s most interesting is how he did it. And how we were able to help. In the same way, I hope we can help you in the future. We get into all the details in this episode, which is useful and entertaining in an unusu

With Brandon Frederickson Brandon is a stock market guru, turned marketer - turned copywriter. He’s managed product launches for the likes of Jeff Walker and he’s currently a copywriter for Stansberry Research, the 2nd largest division of Agora. Brandon specializes in product launches and maximizing long term value and retention. He does this by understanding how to build long term relationships with clients through marketing and copy, and by working deep inside of funnels to maximize net revenue. Brandon’s entrance into the world of direct marketing is at once impressive and hilarious. And, maybe, instructive and inspirational to anyone just getting started. Also, there are nuggets for every marketer who’s willing to listen deeply and think about his great origin story. There’s a big difference between money and fame. Or, between cash and glory. Sometimes rich people also get a lot of fame and glory, but more often than you’d think, people who act rich don’t even have next month’s rent in the bank. Brando

Three books I’ve been picking through for other projects, from entertainment fields, reminded me of the way we’re writing copy today: Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy, by Robert Jourdain The Writer’s Journey, 2nd Edition, by Christopher Vogler Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting, by Robin Frederick The rules used to be that copy was NOT to be entertaining. And that seems to have changed. But here’s one thing that has never changed, and never will: How it was in the past How it is now Three things that brought us to where we are today technology changes: ipad, netflix, amazon prime changes in news and politics social media: ad rules, plus the rise of content marketing How things are different now What to do differently be more aware of everyday life -- what’s going on around you, how you feel, how others probably feel use graphics to tell your story learn about engagement techniques from film, fiction, music What not to do, even today don’t turn your marketing into a comedy show or a mini-dramatic movie don’t take your

Richard Armstrong is a top A-List copywriter and I’m proud to say he’s my friend. He’s written for all the big mailers: Agora, Boardroom, Rodale, Kiplinger’s, Reader’s Digest, and many others. The late and extremely picky William F. Buckley, Jr. once allowed that Richard’s writing is “terrific.” The legendary Gary Bencivenga called Richard “one of the best copywriters on the planet.” And the great Dan Kennedy simply said of Richard, “I envy his talent.” Gotta agree with Dan on that one. I envy Richard’s talent, too. But envy has never prevented me from having a guest on this podcast. Today Richard’s going to talk about con artistry — and there’s a perfectly legitimate reason for that — as well as some storytelling stuff you’ve probably never heard before. 1. Richard, we’re going to talk a lot about copywriting today, but I want to start by plugging your excellent new book, The Don Con, and ask you just a little about your research for that. Specifically, what did you learn about who con artists are and what t

A row of dominoes can shed some light on the secrets of the close in copywriting. So can • Picking an apple • Checking out at the grocery store • Asking someone to marry you What do all these things have in common? We explore this in today’s show. What’s important to remember is nothing happens all by itself, and that’s excruciatingly true when it comes to closing the sale. Study all the power closes and tricky closing techniques you want. They won’t do you a bit of good until you understand where they fit into the Greater Scheme of Things. We outline what makes up that Scheme in today’s show. It all has to do with creating the right energy… doing the right kind of preparation… and putting in a vitally important component right before the close. Actually, we’ll do a lot more than outline this stuff. We’ll dig deep into the nitty-gritty. And finally, after all this time, you’ll know what the secrets of the close really are!Download.

Our show today features superstar public speaker and Internet marketing trainer Tom Antion, who shares some expert info about the red-hot topic of public speaking for copywriters and business owners. Why is this important? Because “the copywriter’s journey,” as we’ll call it, goes something like this: - You start out learning to write copy. Big mystery - Suddenly, it becomes clear as something you write “hits” - Then, almost just as suddenly, the floodgates open. You have more clients than you have time to write for (on time) - Eventually, you learn to write faster - You start to make amazing money - Then, a funny thing happens. You notice that your clients — especially those selling info-products, seminars, and courses — are making even more money than you are. As in, a LOT more. Now, there’s nothing wrong with their making more money than you do. And, if you’ve played your cards right, you’re still getting paid pretty well as a copywriter. Even so, at this point in your “copywriter’s journey,” (and the same

A little-known book called “The Act of Creation” by Arthur Koestler says that there are three states of mind all creative people use in the process of coming up with new ideas. Broadly stated, these three states are: 1. Humor 2. Scientific Thinking 3. Art While knowing about these is somewhat useful for the process of writing copy, being able to write copy that inspires these different states of mind in prospects while they are READING your copy is even more valuable. I’ve never seen anyone talk about them the way Koestler does, or even mention this book except one of the world’s greatest living creative geniuses, whose identity I reveal on the show. Then we go through each state, one-by-one, giving specific techniques and examples for each state. Variety is the spice of life, and variety in your copy is the key to more conversions. We pay particular attention to the high-wire act of using humor in copy. It’s generally not a good idea. But there are ways to adapt the principles of humor so rather than coming

Driving around Orange County in Western New York. What a police officer told me that, years later, really helped my copywriting. How you lose readers… and sales crater Very few people talk about this, and when people do, they tend to give it the short shrift. But not us. We’re going to give it the long shrift in today’s episode. Why everyone struggles so much with this problem The best “greased chute” copy is not only seamless; it’s virtually invisible to the untrained eye. Most people not only don’t know what the words are, but the strategy/psychology behind them. If that’s you, relax and rejoice! All is revealed ahead. Solution #1 - Logic Logic is very compelling in moving the reader along. But how do you use it effectively without coming across as stuffy or aloof? You’ll see! Solution #2 - Comparison This is like using a metaphor, but a lot simpler and, frankly, easier to do. It’s a powerful technique. Solution #3 - Random Phrases that work Sometimes it’s simpler than you think. But you gotta use

Before they start writing copy, people always ask me about a version of the same question: How can I make my copy succeed? But, strangely enough, after they’ve written their copy, their questions turn in a different direction. They are almost always the same question: Why did my copy fail? Today we’re going to talk about three things that really answer both questions. But before we do, let me answer a question I find on a lot of people’s minds. The question is, of course, what is the essential nature of copy and what should I do about it. How I discovered the Golden Triangle of Copywriting This whole episode came about after I did three critiques in a row one week. All experienced, successful copywriters. And all had the same three problems. Which were all very possible to fix. But my clients weren’t aware of these problems as something to look for after they finished their copy. So I thought it would be really helpful to do a podcast about them. Each problem is connected to the other two. So I put them into

We have a Special Report from the field today. In fact we might want to call it a fast-track masterclass in music and copywriting. Our special guest today is copywriter Doug Pew. He also happens to have a doctorate in classical music composition from the University of Cincinnati. He’s won awards for his music and he wrote an operate which was performed at the Kennedy Center. Plus, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the prestigious Ferydyrik Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland. Now, since this is the Copywriters Podcast, Dr. Pew has agreed to give us an in-depth look at some prized secrets only composers know, that we can use ourselves to make our own copy much more compelling and profitable. And it will be easy for you to understand, even if you don’t know anything about music other than what you like to listen to. Doug, welcome, and thanks in advance for all the hard work you’ve done putting your part of this show together. Before we get into this exciting material, I have a message that could well be ca

How a TV interview with legendary singer/songwriter Robbie Robertson put the icing on the cake for me about a crucial problem in copywriter — on towering copywriter Gene Schwartz revealed on an obscure video, and certainly is Gene’s biggest secret for all copywriter. Something not even found in “Breakthrough Advertising.” The big problem with how people go about writing copy: We’ve got to shake old habits. The most important revelation is, contrary to what most people think, copy is not “written.” This new method makes things so much easier, and makes results so much better. What Gene Schwartz said about his biggest secret: It’s a completely new and unique perspective, but it’s really consistent with everything else Gene says. Just takes it to a new level. And, interestingly enough, it’s also remarkably similar to the way Robbie Robertson wrote his most iconic hit song. The pieces of the puzzle you want to put together: A quick review of the initial work you want to do in order to take full advantage of Gene