Copywriters Podcast

Surprise is the “magic excitement dust” of entertainment - Music “High Time,” Grateful Dead. Circa 1970. Very touching country-rock kind of song about a misunderstanding that ended a relationship, and all the self-doubt that followed. Melancholy. Goes where you wouldn’t expect: surprise. Vs. my rewrite (Corny AF) “You said goodbye and held me tight You know I found it heartwarming Yeah, sure, I’ll miss you tonight But I’ll see you in the morning.” : not that surprising Beatles – used a lot of harmonic surprises, putting in a different chord/progression than would be expected. Lennon/McCartney have more #1 hits in history 100 than anyone else. Period. - Same thing in movies, TV and fiction Car chase – A screenwriter has to review all car chases ever done before to do something different, and unexpected: surprise Ending of a thriller or a mystery – for most people, not what they expected (although very clever people can sometimes figure it out): surprise What about copywriting? We’re not looking to create en

My girlfriend has a dog named Sheila, and Sheila’s an Australian Shepherd. Now, Australian Shepherds are working dogs and they always seem to need to have a job to do. Last Tuesday, Deb was sitting down to write some copy on her computer and she told me that Sheila was guarding the door for her. I thought that was interesting. Sheila didn’t know what to do, but she figured out Deb didn’t want to be disturbed. So, Sheila gave herself the job of guarding the door. Smart dog! OK, I’m telling that story to give a shout-out to Sheila. But also to show you something that today’s show’s about: How you can get instant understanding and have people remember more of what you say by communicating in images. You may not remember the whole story I told you, but I bet you understood the idea of a dog guarding the door while a writer was busy writing, and I bet you won’t have a hard time remember it. Why? Because those words, “Sheila was guarding the door for her,” creates a clear, simple imagine in your mind. Dog, door, w

Today we’ve got another Report from the Field, and our special guest, our returning champion, is Joe Schriefer from Agora Financial. Joe, thanks for coming back! So here’s what we’re going to talk about today: Few people will ever get the chance to grow an eight-figure company into a nine-figure company. And far fewer still will ever do this with a company that’s 100% driven by direct response copy, as Agora Financial is. I’ve had the privilege of watching up-close, and maybe adding a little fuel to the bonfire. But mainly, I am in so much awe of the growth of this company. And our special guest today, Joe, is the guy in charge of the company. He doesn’t like titles so we’ll just call him Joe. That’s his name, anyway  Frankly, I didn’t know if Joe would agree to talk about his philosophy of growth. He was reasonably concerned that it would not be of that much interest to that many listeners on the Copywriters Podcast. But I suggested that it would be of great interest, and tremendous value, because at the h

Featuring Joe Schriefer We’ve talked about the Big Idea on the show before, but we have a report from the field today with the best expert I know or know of on this topic, Joe Schriefer. Just on the slight chance you’ve never heard of him, Joe heads up Agora Financial in Baltimore, which consists of five publishing companies, or “imprints,” as they prefer to call them. When you put them all together, in my opinion, Agora Financial as a whole makes up the biggest, and most profitable, Big Idea production studio in the world. Joe is a humble man, so I can see you recoiling from your microphone in Baltimore, Joe, as I’m saying this. I do need to disclose that Joe is a friend and client, so you’ll understand the relationship as we continue this podcast. I have my habitual advisory, and then we’ll jump right into it. Here’s the advisory: 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’r

There’s an old concept in direct response called “dry testing.” Basically, it means you sell the product before you have it. I’ve heard questions about whether it’s legal to do this with physical products, but it seems to me it’s perfectly OK to do that with a course you’re planning to do. People pay now and take the course later. After all, that’s what every single university does, and some of our universities in America, like Harvard, Yale, and the College of William and Mary, are actually older than the United States itself. They were founded before 1776! So this is a traditionally accepted strategy with a proven track record. Innovation is when you take this strategy and bring it into the 21st century. That’s what Nathan did this spring, and in today’s episode, we have a Report from the Field where Nathan will share the method to his madness, and talk about results. But first… speaking of method… try this on for size: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most

Meeting with editor from large subscription newsletter publisher in 2006, at conference. Editor didn’t understand copy all that well – joked that “In our copywriting department, we have two divisions: The division of fear, and the division of greed.” This is a commonly accepted assumption among many copywriters AND among many copywriting gurus… fear and greed are IT. True? We’ll look at that today. Here’s something that’s definitely true: 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. Why do people say this? 1. What is fear? 2. What is greed? Example of fear that works: from crazyegg.com / looks like it was a product on Clickbank, but the page has b

A friend with a dog problem – biting. Found a training way to completely eliminate the problem. Product. Lead-genAd was very powerful: Biting dog? First thing they do is try to put your pooch down. Get a much happier solution! He was getting a lot of clicks on the ad. But very few conversions. Turned out the reason was his copy struck a very different tone. While the ad was scary and energetic (Tone 4), his copy was depressed and low-energy (Tone 5). Once he matched the copy to his ad, conversions picked right up. It’s all a matter of tone – in your lead generation, in your copy, and in staying consistent throughout your funnel. We’ll talk about that today. And before we do, get a load of this tone: 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 re

So, I recently bought a new piece of music equipment. It came with a lot of bells and whistles, including: Opening – Eqs and Compressors Supercharger GT 99 Passive EQ 149 Vari Comp 99 Enhanced EQ 149 Solid Bus Comp 99 Solid Dynamic 99 Solid EQ 99 VC 2A 99 VC 76 99 VC 160 99 Total: $991 Doesn’t include other special effects, like reverb and overdrive. Second one, passive EQ – a Manley Massive Passive sells for just over $5K. That’s what a producer is buying something to substitute for. Reviews and expert opinions – comes really close. Results: Charles, in private fb group / Alexa enhancement / comment This is important because I went through a whole review of one piece of music a few episodes ago, based on the savings from the sampled instruments. So this is a totally different side of the bonus. Again, the $1199 does not seem so expensive anymore. What did they do? Packed in multiple strings of bonuses into the offer, to enhance value in different directions at the same time. What are some different ways you

Show’s today about what I’m calling “Copywriter-Plus.” As things have become very competitive in the world of copy, this is a new strategy I’ve discovered that could help every copywriter who takes advantage of it. Also - new technology, originally developed in radio -- including recorded brief comments from people mentioned during the show. “Copywriter-Plus” is something you and I, Nathan, have been using for a long time without maybe fully realizing it. I’ll explain what it is, give some real-world, present-day examples with interviews, and tell our listeners what steps they can take to use “Copywriter-Plus” in their own business. 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

Today we’re starting a new special feature of the Copywriters Podcast. It’s called Reports from the Field. These are interviews with people who are not merely EXPERTS – they are also practitioners. Right now they are implementing what they are talking about. We can all learn so much from people who are in the field and taking action successfully. Our first guest on the Copywriters Podcast Reports from the Field is Victor Urbina. I know Richard well because he is in my business owner’s mentoring program. Victor sold his first business at age 12. Think about that. SOLD his first business by age 12. He has taken a traditional business route in life and he’s been very successful. He has an engineering degree and an MBA. He’s been a UPS store franchisee for 10 years. But in 2016, he started Optimum Life Labs, which develops and markets supplements to help boomers and seniors. We’ll talk about his product Joint Nirvana in today’s show, because he has built a business completely on copy and direct response and it i

This week's episode is a little bit different. David and Nathan do a bit of a freestyle rant on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as it pertains to writing your sales copy. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the topic, here's what we'll be covering. Physiological needs * consumer goods * food * clothing * shelter Safety needs * personal security * financial security * health and well being Social belonging * Fitting in * Trends * Identity brands Esteem * Status symbols * Luxury items Self-actualization * Courses * Self-Improvement materialsDownload.

As a journalist, I was trained to do “news stories” and “feature stories.” A news story started with a quick, curiosity-provoking sentence hinting or outright telling what the story was about. A feature story would start with an anecdote, or a startling fact, or something other than the direct subject of the story. Same as direct / indirect leads. What we’ll talk about today. Because which one you use can have a dramatic impact, positive or negative, on your sales. You need to know which one to use, when, and that’s what we’ll cover. Warning 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. Direct vs. Indirect Leads Definition Direct: Where you present

Story about recent critique client: a couple good ideas; 20. Mandy’s question about my creativity, from her podcast interview: Question 2: One other thing I noticed about reading your testimonials… your clients are impressed with how fast you come up with great ideas. He also has this ridiculous talent for coming up with copy, like, effortlessly. It would take me at least 30 minutes to come up with what he comes up with in 30 seconds. —Fran Rengel, CEO, Enrich Marketing, Inc., Austin, TX After WEEKS of struggling to find the perfect lead for a promotion I was working on, David nailed it in only 37 seconds flat. Doberman Dan Where did it come from? I actually eat my own cooking. Today I’ll share some of the recipes with you. Before we get started on Monster Creativity, a reminder: 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 indus

Native Instruments purchase - $1200 for a hard drive filled with music software and virtual instruments. This cost me more than a lot of my guitars! I called my sales engineer at Sweetwater, Brian. What he explained to me. What I’d be able to do… what I would not have to spend… or take time learning. Suddenly, it didn’t seem that expensive. Think about what it would have cost to do that in real life. Rent Davies Symphony Hall. $2500 minimum – already more than twice what I paid for the software. And that does not include • Hiring a trumpet soloist • Hiring a woodwind ensemble, with flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, saxophones, contrabassoons and bass clarinets. • Or hiring a string section, with cellos, violas and violins And that’s just for starters. Add to that the cost of professionally setting up microphones and recording the instruments; then, mixing and producing the finished piece. We’re easily now between $3000 and $4000 just for 10-1/2 seconds of music. So now you can see how suddenly $1199 was no

I got this small rubber ball to squeeze to strengthen the muscles in my left hand, when I started playing guitar again a couple years ago after a 40-year “break.” You want your copy to be as strong as possible, too. Remember that good copy has a job to do… to move qualified prospects to take action. That takes muscle! Today’s episode tells you how to make your copy more muscular. 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. These are seven easy-to-use tips. You might want to cut and paste the show notes from our home site, copywriterspodcast.com, and make yourself a little checklist. Use the checklist to go over your copy after you’ve written it,

On June 23, 1965, a group out of Detroit called The Contours released a record which became a big hit. The tune was written by written by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, and it was called “First, I Look At The Purse.” Many other groups covered this song afterwards, including the Jay Geils Band. It’s a very interesting song… but, when it comes to critiquing copy, I have my own version. Actually, I don’t have a whole song, just a title at this point. Maybe someday I’ll write the song and then release it first on this podcast, Nathan. We could even do it as a duet. But for now, just the title. It’s… “First I Look For The Hook!” In any piece of copy, your hook’s so important. We’ll get into what it is in a minute, and how you can find your best hook for any copy you’re writing. This will be a revelation to a lot of people. But before we do, first an important announcement from your conscience: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is

Copywriting is a lot like magic. With good sales copy, you can hold a reader captive. You can take them on a journey and open them up a world of opportunities. You can spell out some words and cast a spell on your readers. David Allan is both a copywriter and a magician. He joins the podcast this week to share some of his knowledge with our listeners. We talk about the overlap between his two worlds, including the skills he's been able to bring over from one to the other. David reveals some of the secrets of human nature that makes magic work. Then he explains how those same aspects of our nature apply to persuasive sales copy. This one is a "must listen" episode. Download.

How does copywriting apply to a sales funnel? David Allan joins us to break it down. We start with the 5,000-foot view by exploring what funnels are and how they work. Then, David goes over some simple rules to follow when building your sales funnels. We cover some of the most common mistakes people make when crafting their sales funnels. And David shares some of his favorite resources for people to learn more. If you're trying to build out a full-fledged marketing machine for your business, this is the episode for you. Download it now.Download.

When I first started copywriting, I had a real disadvantage. I had been a journalist, and the underlying belief -- at the time -- was that people are rational: You simply give them the facts, for and against, and they will make a reasoned decision. So when I started to see promotions that were working based on emotional appeals that seemed foreign and bizarre to me, I didn't understand. It took a while. But eventually, I came to realize what every successful copywriter realizes: that people are motivated by forces that had nothing to do with what I had learned in school, or on the job as a working journalist. One way I came to make sense of all of this was by looking at what's known as "the Seven Deadly Sins." That is -- all of these things you were NOT supposed to do and feel, were, in fact, what motivated large numbers of people to act and to buy. That's what we'll be talking about today. Warning Copy is powerful. You're responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common

1 Bob story "Like my family's kitchen." My experience was a little different - Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford. I knew how to ask questions - but still hadn't learned how to ask engaging questions that helped people to open up. That's what I've spent the last 40 years learning, and I'll share what I can today with you. 0.1 Warning 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. 2 What interviewing is It's not an interrogation It's a conversation starts with building rapport Stan Russell - Jerry Richardson, The Magic of Rapport http://a.co/e3JqwHo Comes from experience, common sense, skills training, clarity of your purpose of the interview -- and, resea