Killer Email Copy From Tellman Knudsen & Josh Burns
Just got this email from Tellman Knudsen. Boy oh boy is this good stuff. Story about how Josh Burns landed a full-time gig with Tellman and went on to be mentored by Vin Montello. Wish I could cut and paste the full thing with the graphics but here's the copy. Dig this.
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So Malkie, I'm in the middle of a teleseminar and I glance out my window into the driveway. In pulls a beat-up car, with a muffler ready to fall off... out of which steps a disheveled looking guy with an overgrown beard, with a fluorescent yellow file folder in his left hand. I knew without a doubt what was about to happen... The doorbell rang, right as I was making my pitch... then it rang again, and a third time as I cringed - hoping the 1500 people listening to the call couldn't hear the distraction. It was this guy, a very persistent guy with the self-dubbed nickname of "Bonkus" who had somehow tracked down my address and was desperately trying to apply for a job that I didn't want to give him. He didn't get it. (he was applying to be my assistant) - but what he did get turned out to be 100 times more profitable than what he thought he wanted. Read on to find out how "Bonkus" AKA Josh Burns single-handedly went from failing data-entry clerk into one of the most sought-after copywriters on The Internet. SHABAMBO! -Tellman "The highest-paid skill on the planet" - Mark Joyner, #1 Best-Selling Author The Highest Paid Skill On The Planet (AKA: Copywriting For People Who Don't Write Copy) by Josh Burns One grey morning in 2008 I woke up - stuffed my resume into a bright yellow folder, and headed out to try and snag a job with none other than Tellman Knudson. Little did I know that a year later, I'd pen an email for him that raked in over $36,000 in less than 24 hours. Let me tell you, that was a step up from washing dishes and doing data entry. Josh Burns, Professional Copywriter & Firebreather Fast forward to today, and I'm a full time, professional copywriter, and I couldn't be happier. Writing copy is by far the most lucrative skill I've ever learned. In this Newsflash, I'm going to open up my skull and give you a chunk of my brain. I want you to take it, internalize it, and turn it into cash. The reason most people DON'T write copy is because of this misconception that writing copy is "too hard" - probably because of bad experiences in high school English class or something. The truth is, it's not all that difficult to write good copy - but we copywriters do love to talk about how complicated it is, if only to inflate our own sense of importance in the marketplace. After all, if everyone could write stinging ad copy, we'd be working for beans. Or in my case, washing dishes again. See, I never went to copywriting school. In fact, before I ever went through a home study course on copywriting, I wrote an ad that I used as a cover letter - crammed hastily into that yellow folder on that grey day... And little did I know that one page ad would land me a job writing copy for one of the top marketers in the world... Now, I want to point out that while you might not know me, you've definitely read my words before. I write a lot of copy for Tellman, in fact I'd say about 35-40% of our marketing was pulled directly out of my brain. Emails, videos, sales pages, squeeze pages, you name it. Here's the cover letter I wrote that got me a job at Overcome Everything - I didn't have any outside help - just a computer, a goal, and a few hours with a nice strong beer...  The point here is - if I could write something persuasive without even knowing what I was doing - then there's no reason you can't write a killer sales message to sell your product or service (or an affiliate product for that matter)... I did a lot of things wrong in that cover letter / ad, but I still managed to get Tellman's attention and interest. Moreover, I got him to want my brain enough that he took action and hired me. Success! So what I want to do is give you a few tools you can use to make the task of writing copy a lot easier, faster, and more profitable. After all, why spend $6,000 for a top copywriter when you can write your own copy and keep the rewards? You'll not only be saving money, you'll be learning the most valuable skills on Earth. The first thing to do when you sit down to write a sales message is to HULK OUT: (Yes, that's a picture of me with Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk at a party) When you hulk out you're not worried about "perfect." The idea here is to write something rough - something choppy and crappy and bad. Trying to make writing "perfect" is futile. It never gets finished, you get stuck on page one, and getting stuck isn't a great way to make progress in your business. Perfect = Procrastination. Done = Dollars. So get your message done by following my quick little process here - it combines two of the best principles for writing ads I've ever come across: First I like to Follow Leo Burnett's three steps to a good ad: 1) Here's what I've got 2) Here's what it does for you 3) Here's how you get it. Write down a quick description of what you're offering, what it does for your customer, client or patient, and how they can get it from you. Doesn't have to be long, or fancy, or "good" - but if you're missing one of these points in your sales message you'll be screwed, so start with the basics. Make sure people know what you're offering, why they should want it, and how they can get it - everything else is secondary. Once you're solid on that, move on to: A.I.D.A. AIDA is as old as time itself (or at least as old as your parents). If you've ever seen that scene from Glengarry Glenross you probably know it by heart: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Ask yourself - have you grabbed Attention right away? If not, then it's time to look at some of the proven headline formats you see everywhere and do some creative adapting. Take note - I'm not talking about plagiarizing, or copying and pasting, but *finessing*. Take the format, or even just the rhythm of the headline and plug in your own details, benefits and ideas. Next is Interest: Ask yourself - are you getting your reader interested? For instance, if your product or service helps people lose weight, don't just try to get em interested in how your diet or pill or exercise works, make them crave the end result, which could be: Looking like a supermodel on the nude beach in Europe this summer... Fitting into those skinny jeans from college... Getting ooh's and aah's on the way into the office... Attracting a significant other with their new sexy physique... Then, spark desire... Desire is born from the absolute certainty that comes when your prospect truly believes that yes, "this will work for me." To get to that point of intense desire, you need to prove you're for real... Talk about all those other side benefits that your product or service offers, and show proof at every turn. "Before and after shots" are a staple in the weight loss world - but there are hundreds of ways to prove that what you're saying isn't just hogwash. You can use: Screenshots (Always clear them with your business attorney first) Testimonials (likewise, get them OK'd by legal counsel) Product Demonstrations Endorsements Reviews The list goes on for days... Last, you've got to ask for Action. This is where people screw up big time. Too many good sales messages lack a clear and concise call to action. Tell them what to do to give their money to you. It really can be that easy. Say: "here's how to order" - then, tell them exactly what to do - either fill out an order form, call a 1-800 number - whatever it is, tell them exactly what to do to give you their money... If you hit all those points, you're ready for the last round of writing before the "fine tuning" : Fleshing out the story: Once you get their attention, you need to keep it. A story about you, your product or service, or a person like your target customer will keep that attention and drag them right through your sales message - right through all those benefits that make them drool with delight... Through all that proof that gets them filled to the brim and dripping with desire - and right up to that moment of decision where they either lay down the dough, or walk away wanting. Point is, you don't get them to that moment of decision if you don't drag em through your message by the eyeballs. The classic advertising storyline is: Everything was bad because of problem X, then product Y came along and made everything better again, now everything rocks. You start in the darkest night and bring 'em on home to the shining light. If you follow my advice and just HULK OUT and smash through your sales message in one glorious sprint, you'll have something you can work with. It may suck, it may convert like crap, but it's something you can improve on. Josh Burns Just down the road from The Tellmansion Brattleboro, VT. P.S. Remember, Done = Dollars. Perfect is Procrastination. |
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