Copywriters Podcast

Wouldn’t you love to have a confidential chat with a copywriter working at the highest levels of our business? Well, we can’t provide the confidential part. This IS a podcast, after all, not a Signal chat. But today’s guest, Cain Smith is on the front lines of some of the biggest businesses using direct response. So we can provide the copywriter working on the highest levels of our business part. Cain’s client list includes real estate giant Grant Cardone, financial publishing giant Agora Financial, fitness and nutrition giant vShred… as just three examples. His experience spans infoproducts and ecom, low-ticket and high-ticket, long-form and short-form funnels. And we got him to come on to tell us what he’s noticing at the cutting edge. Because his observations, when put into action, can mean more money in your pocket. But I wouldn’t think of asking Cain a thing until I first reminded you that Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sen

It happens to all of us, and can you remember a time where you wondered: “Is this really good copywriting? It seems like what I should write, but somehow it’s not clicking.” Here’s why you wonder. There’s a well-known saying from the Navy SEALs: "Under pressure, you don't rise to the level of your expectations, you sink to the level of your training". That goes far beyond the world of the Navy SEALs, of course. It’s true in all of life. Well, one thing I don’t think we’ve taken a good enough look at it: As copywriters, how were we trained? I don’t mean for copywriting specifically. I mean for writing at all. See, how you were ORIGINALLY trained to write can easily override what you know you SHOULD do as a copywriter. We’re going to take a good look at that today, and see what we can do about it. What we cover in today’s show: School-style prose clearly informs readers but doesn’t motivate immediate action. Remember: your goal isn’t to describe things—it’s to prompt your readers to act now. Journa

Our special guest today, John Jantsch, is going to tell you about what could be the single most valuable sentence you have in your business for getting clients and customers. John’s the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller Duct Tape Marketing, as well as three other books. Now when John talks about “core,” I’m pretty sure he’s not talking about your abs, lower back, and hip flexors. No, the single most valuable sentence John’s referring to is your core message. That’s something he also calls your “talking logo.” John says, “Like a traditional printed logo, a talking logo is a tool that allows you to communicate verbally the single greatest benefit of doing business with your firm. “A talking logo is a short statement that quickly communicates your firm’s position and ideally forces the listener to want to know more.” And at the end of the day, that’s exactly what every business wants, isn’t it? John also trains and licenses small business consultants around the world, so you’ll definitely want

You could have written the greatest copy in the world. Perfectly targeted with a killer offer. Great price. Unique and highly desirable. But I can tell you one way it is guaranteed NOT to work. And that’s if nobody reads it. Don’t laugh; it happens. There are a couple more than a dozen crucial things you must know and consistently DO to make your copy as easy to read as possible. Most people know some of these things. Very few people seem to know all of them… or at least USE all of them consistently. Which is a shame. Because every little thing that makes your copy even a little harder to read ends up costing you sales, more often than not. Today, we’ll show you how to put a stop to this. Here’s a preview of what we'll talk about: 1. Use short sentences. 2. Keep your paragraphs short. 3. Use bullet points for lists 4. Use short subheads and lead-ins. 5. Use simple language. 6. Write in the active voice. 7. Cut out extra words. 8. Highlight key phrases (bold or italics) 9. Write like you’re hav

Ever get frustrated with what happens when you try to get an AI to write something? According to Google Workspace Labs, the average prompt people give an AI is nine words or less. Nine words! The AI needs a lot more information than that to do a decent job for you. But the question is–what information? Today, we’re going to take a look at how AI goes so very wrong for so many people—and give you some proven ideas on what to do about it. -- Here’s a great general model for prompts, which has been shared in social media by Open AI President Greg Brockman: Here's the attached image transcribed into text form: >>The Anatomy of a Prompt<< Goal I want a list of the best medium-length hikes within two hours of San Francisco. Each hike should provide a cool and unique adventure, and be lesser known. Return Format For each hike, return the name of the hike as I'd find it on AllTrails, then provide the starting address of the hike, the ending address of the hike, distance, drive time, hike durati

Do storytelling skills REALLY make a difference for you? Just ask our special guest today, Parker Worth. Parker decided he had enough of high school at 16. His first job was cleaning toilets. From there, he went to electrician school and, after a few years, got a job traveling around the world as an electrician. But his own story really starts to take off when he discovers social media. That led to this advice for him: “Just hop on Twitter.” At first, not much happened. But one day he got a powerful idea: Put the story of his life so far into a thread. He says, “I published it. I went to sleep. And woke up with millions of views and messages.” Today, Parker has nearly 44,000 followers on TwitterX, more than 20,000 on LinkedIn, and multiple six-figure businesses. One of his biggest secrets is his discovery of what makes certain social media stories, news stories, and ad stories stick. He’s shared that with us today. Here’s what we asked him: 1. What are some of the most common mistakes you see wit

Today we’re talking about three new ways to use ChatGPT for copywriters and business owners, and another development from another company which is a lot lower priced than ChatGPT’s a month for its premium service. We’ll also talk a little about some other specific ways to use OTHER AIs, but a lot of our focus is on ChatGPT. Now, to be clear, I wasn’t all that hot on ChatGPT 18 months ago. But in the AI world, 18 months is more like a couple of decades. Things have changed and definitely gotten better with ChatGPT. Particularly, in the last few weeks, the introduction of two new versions: Operator, and Deep Research. Now, at $200 a month, the combination of these two new services is 10 times as expensive per month as plain old ChatGPT. But if you need to get a lot more done more quickly in certain areas, they could definitely be an asset for you. We’ll go in depth on three ways to speed up key valuable tasks today. Recap: Try Operator for… Segmenting your list, based on what they’ve done before Coordinating

One meeting of the minds reigns supreme above all others in copywriting–and that’s when the copywriter understands and addresses the same thoughts that are most pressing in the minds of their best prospect. Our returning champion today is the incredible Caleb O’Dowd. He was here a few weeks ago when he told us some closely guarded secrets from his book “Monetization: How To Optimize Sales Funnels and Skyrocket Back Ends.” Caleb has worked in some of the toughest and most competitive industries in the world, and he has repeatedly launched and scaled businesses up to seven and eight figures - all through the smart use of great copy and strategic sales funnels. But what was behind the thinking and the copy that went into those promotions? Smart research–something Caleb knows quite a bit about. Although he a legend in his own right among insiders in direct response marketing, Caleb has the rare distinction of having been mentored by the late Gary Halbert, one of the greatest copywriters of all time. Today C

One of the greatest insiders in direct response today is not primarily a copywriter, but a graphic designer. Actually, our returning champion Lori Haller is a designer… and so much more. She works side by side with many of the greatest copywriters of our time to help create control-beating packages, for clients like Boardroom, Healthy Directions, Dr. Al Sears, Nutri-Health, KCI Communications, and Agora. She has coached clients around the world, and she is an in-demand speaker and trainer. I’ve only scratched the surface of Lori’s incredible and long list of credentials. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more or who has done more. Her company, DesigningResponse, based in Germantown, Maryland, has built a reputation for creating award-winning, sales-generating direct mail, online promotions, space advertising, and product development. Today she’s going to share some of her secrets for using design to get better conversions from your copy. Here is what we asked her: 1. You are well known f

27 Years Ago, pop singer Cher asked us this question: “Do you believe in life after love?” … and it promptly rocketed to the top of the charts, selling 11 million copies of the song. Today, in 2025, a better question—especially for copywriters—is “Do you believe in sales without belief?” It’s a question our returning champion today, Billy Broas, has thought about a lot, and mastered the answer to. And he’s written a book about it, which I highly recommend and we’ll talk about later in the show. Billy has led a very interesting life. He’s a beer brewer and beer judge. In fact, he started teaching cohort-based courses online 11 years ago, on, wouldn’t you know it, beer tasting. But he has also done a lot in marketing, advising top entrepreneurs and working in more than 100 niches, including such unusual ones as vegan fitness, Kundalini yoga, and machine learning. He has some unique and valuable perspectives on marketing and copywriting, which everyone should know about. I’m also proud to say Billy was m

Two of the most confrontive words in a conversation are “Prove It!” Nobody really likes to be challenged about how true what they are saying. But when it comes to writing copy in the real world, you have to expect that prospects WON’T believe you. In fact, the more they like a claim you make, the more skeptical they will be. Why? Because of human nature. And also, because they’ve been disappointed before. You can almost imagine them in a cover band, screaming at you, “We won’t be fooled again!” Now, there is a proven strategy to overcome this doubt and replace it with confidence. And that strategy, of course, is simply to include proof of what you say in your copy. But many copywriters don’t use proof well… or they don’t use enough of it… or, even worse, they don’t use proof at all. Big mistake. Today we’re going to take some big steps on the road to recovery. Section 1: The Psychology of Proof focuses on matching proof types to where your customers are in their buying journey. The big takeaway

Confidence in copywriting isn’t just about choosing the right words—it’s about embodying conviction in every line you write. In this episode, we explore the hidden ways self-doubt seeps into your messaging, sabotaging conversions before your prospects even realize why. From subconscious hesitations to subtle linguistic hedging, you’ll discover how these confidence leaks silently erode trust and diminish persuasive impact. But awareness alone isn’t enough. We’ll walk through the exact mental shifts and tactical adjustments needed to eliminate uncertainty from your writing. You’ll learn how to recognize weak spots in your copy, reframe fear-based thinking, and develop a writing style that projects absolute certainty. Whether it’s overcoming imposter syndrome, handling client criticism, or refining your tone for maximum persuasion, this episode provides the mindset tools necessary to write with authority. If you’ve ever felt like something was "off" in your copy but couldn’t quite pinpoint the issue, this

Today we look at an old and very true saying: It’s not about the money you make, but about the money you KEEP. There’s an old joke about a guy who loses money on every sale, but, he says, “I make it up in volume.” We’re not talking about back ends or affiliate sales here. Things can go sideways in your business if you’re not making enough sales, or your profit margins are too small. Or upside down, like the guy in the joke. But you’ve got an even a bigger problem even if you’re making enough sales and your margins are good—but the sales don’t stick. When people decide they don’t want what they bought, you’ve got tons or refunds. Maybe even chargebacks. So here’s the thing we’re going to focus on today: You only keep the money you make when the customer decides to KEEP what they bought from you. And we’ll really dig into how to keep more money by reducing or eliminating refunds and chargebacks. Recap of what we talked about: In Section 1, we talked about why buyer’s remorse happens. We learned

We’re past the point of wondering about or fearing AI when it comes to copywriting. At this point, the big question is: What do I need to know, do and have to make it work for me? I say that because copywriters at all levels of skill and in all niches are using AI in all kinds of ways. It’s no longer the new new thing. It’s a part of the business, and it continues to grow in importance and ability to do more and more complex things really well. But you have to grow with it. Many people think they can say “write like the world’s greatest copywriter” and AI will read your mind. It won’t. It will read millions of pages of data in its own library and they may or may not have anything to do with what you think great copy is like. So we decided to put together a show today to talk about three things you need to get AI working for you with copywriting. So you can avoid the frustrations of the past. Those three things are: Mindset Skillset And Toolset. Here’s a recap of what we talked about today: Mind

We have a very special guest today. A legend among insiders, Caleb O’Dowd is a master marketer and copywriter. He has been launching and scaling businesses from zero to seven figures and eight figures, through the smart use of great copy and strategic sales funnels. In more industries than I can count. Including some of the most brutally competitive. I was thrilled when Caleb agreed to come on Copywriters Podcast for many reasons, especially the one that he has written a new book: Monetization: How To Optimize Sales Funnels and Skyrocket Backend Profits. Caleb also had the rare and prized opportunity to work with famous copywriter Gary Halbert a while back, and their time together alone makes for a world-class education in direct marketing and copywriting. Hang on tight. This is going to be a great show! -- Caleb’s book: Monetization: How To Optimize Sales Funnels and Skyrocket Backend Profits. https://www.amazon.com/Monetization-Optimize-Funnels-Skyrocket-Backend/dp/B0CWQMM5PZ Download.

At the highest levels of copywriting, big financial publishers ask copywriters to do a “re-lead” when they want to increase conversion on a proven offer. What’s that? A re-lead is basically a reframing of the intro to a sales letter, in the hopes that the reframing will spur greater sales. And it’s probably no coincidence that when my mentoring clients show me copy they’re having trouble with, the first thing I look at is the headline and lead. A revamping of those two things — the beginning of the sales letter — will fix a conversion problem more often than any other fix. Today, we’re going to take a systematic look at three ways to reframe your headline and lead, in search of greater conversions. It’s a great way to start the New Year! Just as this is a great way to start copywriters podcast: Download.

You could say the purpose of a sales funnel is to create desire that leads up to a sale, but these days, if that’s what you say, you’ve left out an important part. A part that very well could make the difference between a sale and no sale. With trust in general at such an all-time low and the feeling of isolation so rampant, people want a little more. They want to feel like you, as a business or a businessperson, care. Both about them personally, and the things they care about. You don’t need to be the personal Oprah of their very being. You’re not granting them wishes or completely improving every aspect of their lives. But if you’ve got a good offer, you’re improving some aspect of their lives. And if you can create a relationship in your messaging that includes the spirit of caring, your sales will do much, much better. Here’s a recap of what we’ll cover on this episode: -First Contact: Making the Right First Impression How to identify and speak to your prospect's immediate pain point Creating an ir

Our returning champion is Brenna McGowan, the master of the pre-launch. Today she’s going to tell us about a special pre-launch technique called Anticipation Marketing™. Perhaps the best advantage it gives you is it puts you front and center in your prospects’ minds, and at the same time gets them eagerly looking forward to getting the full details about what you’re going to launch. Maybe even more important is that it revolves around one word: Trust. As we’ve talked about here before, and as you know, right now trust is at an all-time low. Lots of reasons for this, but you don’t want low trust to interfere with your launch. Anticipation Marketing helps you build trust by gradually getting them familiar with your new offer, in an unobtrusive and exciting way so they just can’t wait for the launch itself! Your free personalized launch calendar from Brenna: https://brennamcgowan.co/launchcalendar Download.

It’s the day before the day of the night before Christmas as we put this on the air, and a very unknown year looms ahead. One thing for sure, no matter what happens: The market will be more unforgiving in 2025 than it was in 2024. Why? It’s simple. Competition keeps growing. So does impatience among almost all consumers, and mistrust among many of them. What this means to you, as a copywriter, is now more than ever, you can’t afford to do a half-assed job on your copy. Sounds pretty bleak and terrifying, I know. But wait? What’s that whooshing sound? It’s Copywriters Podcast to the rescue! You see, we’ve put together 10 absolute “musts” for your copy to give it the tippy-top chance of converting to a sale. And we’re going to share all of them today on the show, and even in the show notes so you won’t forget anything. Here are the 10 MUSTS: 1. Remember your copy is about your prospect and how your product will improve their life. It’s not about you, your business, or your product. 2. Make a list o

So, we’re right in the middle of the Christmas shopping season as we come to you this week, and I’m wondering: Have you figured out how to delight your customers and fatten up your bank account? If you haven’t you’re not alone. Many copywriters and businesses don’t know exactly what to do to join in the holiday buying and selling fun… so they don’t do anything. Which is a shame, because there’s a ton of people out there just looking for a good excuse to buy something. So this podcast is my gift to you. It has enough practical how-to content to be a paid product, but since you are loyal Copywriters Podcast listener or viewer, we’re going to give it to you so you can join in the fun for the next few weeks… if you want to. Now, one word of warning. We’re going to give you 11 last-minute ideas. Some of these are as easy as pie to implement. Other ones require a lot of fine-tuned skill and the ability to handle some high-precision operations all at once. I’ll warn you about which ones are not for the faint