You Have A Gun To Your Head - Which ONE Would You Choose?

if budget is a concern... john carlton's kick ass copywriting secrets. Most likely you have that one...

if budget isn't of concern... gary bencivenga's retirement dvds.

a more obsolete one that many people haven't heard of before, but it probably gave me the best lessons on both copy and marketing... are eben pagan's altitude, gurumastermind, and his other stuff. more mindset related, but SO relevant.

yeah, definitely eben's stuff took my copy to the next level... because you really dig deep and get into the motivations and mindset of WHY people buy.

Plus, the doctor of copy, craig clemens, he's got a TON of copy info in there that more than paid for the course. craig is one of the best alive, and since he doesn't have a course, per se (he's also in print persuasion masterclass with eben) this is the next best thing.

heck, just craigs copy info in the gurumastermind course was priceless... and it's step by step as well. eben is more mindset and craig is more nuts and bolts, but it's helped me a lot.

Craig Clemens?

Never heard of him. Does he have a website?

Sounds like someone I should look into if he's as good as you say.

I've probably got everything Joe ever did.

Hey Rezbi,

Good question.

Here's my advice to you.

1. Write a lot of copy. Different formats... different media... different target markets. The more you write copy, the easier it becomes to take what you already know and put it into action. It makes it even easier to take new tactics or techniques you learn and put THOSE into action.

2. Read winning sales copy consistently. I try to read at least one control piece every day. I may not have the time in a given day to read the entire piece but I do read something every workday. It's a great way to get your creative juices flowing.

3. Consider getting mentored by a veteran copywriter or copywriting coach. There's enough threads in this forum that explain the reasons why so I'm not going to waste time repeating it here. IMHO, the best answers you'll get will be delivered by the best questions you can come up with for your mentor.

4. Develop some copywriting allies. Network and find some other working copywriters at the same level (or slightly better). Make it a point to talk with them by Skype/email/etc... help each other out with objective critiques, sympathetic ears, or a strong verbal butt kicking when needed.

Coursewise... like a few other people mentioned already, I'm not sure you need another course to study. You already have a pretty strong copywriting and marketing foundation.

On Ebay, sometimes you can find old John Carlton seminars like his "License To Steal" one.

To date, the best copywriting course I've ever seen is Clayton Makepeace's Quick Start Copywriting System. It contains a mind-boggling amount of training materials... copywriting-wise, I can't think of anything not covered in it.

Best of luck,

Mike

Ill tell you what Rezbi,

At your level the best thing you can do is to study hundreds of sales letters in depth. Thats where you will see the real secrets, in the work itself.

Its the difference between studying Michaelangelo's writings on artwork and going down to Capella la Sistine and studying it for yourself

I think you are being suckered into buying more crap with the idea that "there is a secret"

There isnt one. Spend time mastering what you already know. Its now HOW MUCH you know but the DEPTH of your mastery that makes all the difference.

For example Clayton shows in depth how he makes world beating controls step-by-step. Why isnt everyone suddenly writing world beating controls like him? Because it takes time to master. You dont just read words in a book and suddenly know how to surf.

Same is true with copy.

The basic formula has been unchanged

Get Attention
Build Interest
Channel Desire
Motivate them to Action

If you do those four things, you have a sale. Its not HOW MUCH you know but HOW MASTERFUL you are at it.

As they say in New York

"How do you get into Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice."

I think you'd be better off doing a couple thousand split tests and learning from that than you would chasing the Gurus tails

Experience is the ultimate teacher

Have you tried looking in Dan Kennedy, marketing courses, Vincent James, Jeff Paul, How To Marketing, Copywritng, and Consulting Products ? I've got a ton of stuff from Jeff Paul and Dan Kennedy that is hard to find elsewhere...

What about Drayton Bird's stuff? I'm sure you have everything...

I know Jason Fladlien gets some awesome copywriting and marketing stuff every once in a while - Jason Fladlien Products

hey rezbi,

I actually commend you for wanting to learn more about the craft.

can you suffer from info overload? sure, but it also shows me that you're
willing to continuously learn and get better... which i think ALL great writers
strive to do.

hell, i've been copywriting for 12 years and have written well over 500 letters,
but i still have that inner yearning and drive to keep reading, learning, and
soaking in more.

I do find that it sometimes backfires... in that it all starts to become more
cluttered and cloudy in my head, when i'm soaking in too many books and
courses... but it's nothing a few days away from it all can't fix.

i think you're 100% dead on with offering critiques, heck, do them for
free because it will help you get used to the process of looking
at letters, seeing where they can be improved, and more importantly....
showing your prospect that you can help them.

i've probably landed hundreds of clients... all from offering a free critique.

and i've spent many thousands of dollars on google adwords without
landing clients... so in my eyes, the free crits help to build trust, likability,
credibility, etc... and also with the Cialdini factor of influence... reciprocity.

When you do a critique for someone, and it really is great value and
helps them out a lot... they feel it deep down and many times, that's
the factor that gets them back to you for the fixing of the problem.

back to eben pagan for a moment, he mentions in his course that
all marketers should do 1 on 1 consultations with prospects, so you
can actually start to learn what makes people tick, what
emotions they deal with, how it leads to their actions, why
they buy, etc...

i can personally say that doing critiques, phone consults, etc... it
didn't make me a better copywriter as much as it made me a better
client-getter.

so, even though some may say you're trying to learn or do too much,
i commend you for wanted to become better at your craft. true pros
never stop learning...

These are my favorites at this time...

... David Garfinkel and Brian McLeod's program at Fasteffectivecopy.com

... John Carlton's Simple Writing System

... Ad Magic by Brian Keith Voiles

... Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

... Billion Dollar Marketing Secrets by Ted Nicholas

... The Secret of Selling Anything by Harry Browne

Find an A-List copywriter who currently holds several controls with the big mailers who's willing to mentor you. And then pay whatever he/she asks.

VL

Of course, I have no idea about the specifics of your individual situation, but after years of reading how-to books on every kind of writing imaginable, I don't know how much more that I can reasonably assimilate. Whenever the urge to expand my knowledge base creeps up, I start writing immediately and the desire for further education is mercifully extinguished.