What makes a great copywriter?

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Lewis from MyNoteTakingNerd.com addresses a question that came up on Colin's Cult of Copy group: What makes a great copywriter?

Why Some Copywriters Are Outstanding And Most Are Not

(I don't know Lewis or have a connection. Also, there is a link at the end of the post to one of his paid reports.)

From the post:

"Another famous copywriter I can remember when asked, cited “Fearlessness” as something that is a commonality in the top earning copywriters."

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"In this discussion with his high end clients he spoke about this crippling presupposition the majority of people go into any kind of selling/influence situation which is that the person that they’re attempting to influence gets to say, “yes” or “no”. This is horrible."
#copywriter #great #makes
  • Profile picture of the author ECTally
    Originally Posted by joe golfer View Post

    ... about this crippling presupposition the majority of people go into any kind of selling/influence situation which is that the person that they're attempting to influence gets to say, "yes" or "no".
    Sounds awfully familiar...
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  • Hey Joe,

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this here! I also owe you thanks for sharing the David Choe piece here as well, you stud.

    Part of me wants to say that John Carlton was where I heard the bit about "Fearlessness" being one of the attributes of the world class copywriters. It makes sense that it's something he'd say being how much edge is poured into everything he's written over the past couple of decades, but I can't remember for sure. It just as easily could've been Halbert or Kennedy.

    But I know for sure who told me about that bass-ackwards presupposition - Joseph Riggio. This man isn't a copywriter but he DEFINITELY exudes a fearlessness in his environment. He is absolutely certain in his ability and his conversational teaching style he uses in his intimate workshop settings. When learning from him, you clearly get the strong sense that you are in the hands of a MASTER OF COMMUNICATION. I cannot recommend this man highly enough to anyone who is serious about mastering the art of influence. Positively brilliant.

    Now for anybody who's wondering what the link is at the end of this post, I'm glad you're doing so.

    After I finish every one of my blog posts I consider what resource I offer that can extend someone's education on the topic I've just covered. A blog post can only teach so much. Even a 5,401 word beast like this one.

    So in this post I'm talking about what I believe outstanding copywriters have in common with each other. So I look at my inventory of notes I've taken and am proud of what I pulled from Eben Pagan's "How To Be Creative and Innovative" course and feel the lessons he talks about in it are perfectly suited to someone wanting to be an amazing copywriter.

    So, as a PS. I include a breezy three paragraph mention about these notes and give you a link to go find them if you wish. The tone is always, "Cool if you want to check this out. Cool, if you don't."

    You might see my PS's and think they could use some polishing up or could be even more persuasive. I wouldn't argue with you on this point. The thing is, after battling for two, three days with a post making sure it's gold in my eyes, I am just SO DONE with the piece and I want to get the hell out of there.

    So if my PS's look like an 'oh by the way' afterthought, that's because they aren't the star of the show; the content above is, and so the PS. gets treated accordingly.

    I want to thank you one again Joe for sharing this labor of love here and for sharing the David Choe piece as well. I'm deeply grateful that you thought enough of it to showcase it here.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
      Originally Posted by Note Taking Nerd #2 View Post

      Part of me wants to say that John Carlton was where I heard the bit about "Fearlessness" being one of the attributes of the world class copywriters. It makes sense that it's something he'd say being how much edge is poured into everything he's written over the past couple of decades, but I can't remember for sure. It just as easily could've been Halbert or Kennedy.
      It was probably John Carlton.

      I have this quote of his in my files...
      The world will not invite you to the feast. You must burst in, demand a seat, and take it.

      Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author James Fame
    Enjoyed the article, thanks for the share Joe.

    It really boils down to the first step of the AIDA model - Attention. The only way to get attention is to be as distinct as possible from the relative background "noise". And to sustain it, you need some form of relevance or curiosity.

    James Fame
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    Fire me a pm if you have a question. I build businesses and provide consulting. I do not do finance/money/internet marketing niches. Fitness, self-improvement and various others are welcome.

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  • I don't have the source handy, but this article made me think of something I read that said when many high achievers were children, they had a very encouraging parent of the opposite sex. The kids grew up to believe in themselves, and that things were going to go well for them.

    One example I can think of: I just read another of Jack Welch's books, and he had a very supportive (pushy?) mother.

    Now in Hollywood, it's the opposite. You have a terrible childhood with lousy parents, come out here to "show everybody," get famous, and then spend your time wrecking high-end sports cars and five marriages.
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    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
    - Jack Trout
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    • I've never read any of Jack Welch's books before Joe.

      My business partner Dexter was impressed by his first book but I haven't let myself read it. But now I'm even more inclined to go pick it up, since you've revealed this part about him having a doting mother.

      There's a man I highly recommend you check out who has done exhaustive research on the commonalities of mega-achievers and his name Dr. Gene Landrum.

      I was turned on to this power house of a man by Dan Kennedy almost ten years ago and I still think he's the most important person Dan has ever introduced me to. Hands down.

      In his book - Gene Landrum, Ph.D. - "Profiles of Power and Genius- Fourteen Geniuses Who Broke The Rules" he goes through and cites all the commonalities of these game-changing personalities . . .
      • Napoleon Bonaparte
      • Walt Disney
      • Isadora Duncan
      • Amelia Earhart
      • Adolf Hitler
      • Howard Hughes
      • Maria Montessori
      • Rupert Murdoch
      • Edith Piaf
      • Pablo Picasso
      • Helena Rubinstein
      • Marquis de Sade
      • Nikola Tesla
      • Frank Lloyd Wright
      Upon first reading this book, I was ignorant to the impact some of these people made on the world, even to the extent that I had never even heard a few of these geniuses names. But after reading this, I'll forever be blessed with having them on the forefront of my mind, for inspirational reference.

      And of course, Hitler's name is associated with negativity but nevertheless, this man made a massive mark on history and will always be remembered for what he accomplished on his ill guided mission to rule the world. And Gene felt there was something to be learned from how he was wired.

      But now coming full circle to this topic of doting parents.

      I too Joe, have heard this premise put forth that a father can be the most influential figure in a daughter's life and a mother can be the most influential figure in a son's life. I've heard this from Gene but also from David Deida and I'm sure with how much I geek out on influence material, I've heard it a few other places as well.

      Here is an excerpt from the book I linked to above that lends some insight to Gene's thoughts about our childhoods . . .

      SUCCESS AND FAILURE IMPRINTS

      These subjects learned to be powerful and successful during their impressionable youths or through some metamorphosis, crisis, or other experience that molded them with the key traits for success.

      Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence said: "Emotional learning is lifelong . . . and can have a profound impact on temperament , either amplifying or muting an innate predisposition".

      Jerome Kagan, the eminent Harvard psychologist, has studied childhood development and believes all infants are born with a proclivity for being timid, bold, up-beat, or melancholy. But he found that those predispositions are often altered even while in the crib. In his study he found that "the emotionally competent children spontaneously outgrew their timidity."

      Goleman observed that "we are not necessarily limited to a specific emotional menu by our inherited traits . . . Our genes alone do not determine behavior; our environment, especially what we experience and learn as we grow, shapes how a temperamental predisposition expresses itself as life unfolds".

      Harvard pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton found that infants in a crib learn "success" and "failure" by interacting with their environment.

      In a study where children were taught to place blocks together in their cribs, Dr. Brazelton found they were either imprinted with a "greatness" or a "hangdog" image of themselves, depending on their success or failure in the block experiment.

      He said those who failed would express their failure in their demeanor and take on an expression which said, "I'm not good. See. I've failed." Brazelton's children had what I refer to as a "failure imprint," which results in a losing persona that continues on into adulthood unless modified with a "success imprint".

      Brazelton observed that those children who experienced "success imprints" -- putting blocks together successfully would beam with a bright-eyed look of omnipotence that communicated "Tell me how great I am."

      Success begets success and failure begets failure, making it critical to imbue oneself with successful experiences instead of failure experiences, both of which are destined to be replicated later in life.

      END OF EXCERPT

      David Choe, the world's highest paid artist, talks about how his mother brain-washed him to believe he was the world's greatest artist. And the most handsome. He could do no wrong in her eyes with his art and this was the gasoline that fueled his talent and allowed it roar to brilliance.

      Frank Lloyd Wright's mother brain washed him into believing he was the reincarnation of a Norse God, something like that, I can't remember the specific God but it was a God of European myth.

      So these little kids, when looking to their parents had what some people might consider an "irrational" cheerleader that contributed to them feeling they reigned supreme and that good things were supposed to come to them. And it paid off.

      What I learned from this book is, I believe to be 180 degrees different than the stage/screen parents that muscle kids into doing what they want them to do. It seems to me that these parents have some agenda for themselves that extends to them mooching off of the fame and wealth accrued by their kids.

      Having this agenda would encourage them to "push" the kids because they DIDN'T think they reigned supreme. It seems like when kids need to be forced to practice something, that they really don't want to be doing in the first place, BUT that they have been recognized as having some skill at doing, that there's an implication there that they AREN'T awesome and that if they "really want to beat the competition" they'll "take this thing seriously" and devote all their time to it.

      It seems to me, that with any of the mega-sucessful personalities covered in this book and others I'm thinking of, who had parents supporting them, the parents were in the background and didn't want any spot light on them and only were recognized as being significant because their child praised them.

      On the other hand, with celebrities kids parents with an agenda to help themselves to their kids fame, it seems like they're trying to nudge their way onto the camera any chance they get - Kris Jenner - Kardashian pimp, Jessica Simpson's dad, etc.

      Look at Justin Bieber.

      Whether you like him or not, the kid is talented. You may believe that he's turning into a complete douche but I think one of the contributors to this would be him not tuning as much into a positive form of "you are god" that I imagine came from his mother, who he's probably not listening to all that much these days.

      I didn't even know this kid had a mom until I saw part of that documentary film that was done on him where it showed her helping him do his thing and rooting for him while he was singing on the street - but not pushing him to anything. Big difference between "rooting for" and "pressuring".

      And I believe Bieber is still getting encouragement, but it's a distorted/dirty kind of encouragement from people who are trying to bum off of him, judging from his actions as of late (pissing in a restaurant's kitchen?).

      It reminds me of Mike Tyson who at the pinnacle of his success, had guys on his payroll who's only job was to walk behind him and tell him "He was the man!" The world saw how well that plan worked out.

      Encouragement from douche bag hanger-ons was nowhere near as meaningful for Mike as was the encouragement of the man he looked to as a Father, Cus d' Amato. Cus instilled in Mike and brainwashed him into believing that he was going to be the heavyweight champion of the world, when Mike was just a punk kid who'd had barely started boxing under his tutelage. And Mike made that conditioned belief come true becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever.

      When Cus died, Tyson went embarrassingly straight downhill even though everyone, including Don King, was telling him he was the greatest.

      I wonder if this kind of crash is waiting in store for Bieber based on him surrounding himself with empty, low level encouragement? Only time will tell.

      But what I do know is that if you want to read the notes I took on an interview done with Dr. Gene Landrum, where he talks about more of these commonalities that amazing entrepreneurs have in common with each other, and see an amazing story of Richard Branson's childhood that shaped what he was able to accomplish, you definitely want to see this blog post here . . . Personal Improvement Insights Into Why The Founders Of Businesses Are So Misunderstood

      I want to thank you Joe for encouraging me to think on this topic and delve deeper into it. It's so important to keep at the forefront of my mind especially since I'm helping family members raise their kids.
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      • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Note Taking Nerd #2 View Post

        And of course, Hitler's name is associated with negativity but nevertheless, this man made a massive mark on history and will always be remembered for what he accomplished on his ill guided mission to rule the world. And Gene felt there was something to be learned from how he was wired.
        Say what??? "Associated with negativity". Bit more than that my son. Try "associated with wholesale mass-murder/genocide/destruction of cities/priceless cultural heritage". Yes - that's a "massive mark on history". The man was a psychopath and a drug addict. Genius my arse.

        As for your premise about great copywriters needing to have "fearlessness". Lot more to it than that.
        And a lot more than "imagination and creativity" or whatever it was whatisface above stated.

        Sick of hearing you guys drone on about Carlton, Kennedy, Halbert et al.

        Likewise the new age, touchy-feely, law of attraction BS "Shit works out in my favor in my universe".

        What a load of complete bollocks.

        I could tell you what makes a great copywriter. But I very much doubt you would listen. And it's a pointless exercise anyway. But I'll give you a hint - it starts with proper research.


        will always be remembered for what he accomplished
        Uh huh. He sure did a great job on exterminating 6 million Jews, hundreds and thousands of gypsies, homosexuals, mentally-retarded. Can't deny him that.

        But wait...there's the autobahns and the Volkswagen. Mustn't forget that.
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        • Profile picture of the author max5ty
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          • Profile picture of the author dimlicht
            Hey guys,

            First off, I'd like to admit that I'm quite easily amused, so please bare with me if you get annoyed by my occasional lol's at myself.

            I might be new to the forum and everything but I'd like to share some of my experiences with you all

            Starting this year I released my first products, on the dutch market that is, but they generated over 1.5k sales, and my products aren't exactly cheap. So far I launched about 4 products, and all of them reached top 10 best converting all time in matters of weeks. Sure it's still a very small market (The Netherlands), but as a total newbie marketer I think it's quite an achievement. But I'm NOT here to brag.

            Having said that, I'm also a HUGE controlfreak, meaning I haven't done a lot of outsourcing yet,
            and decided to write and split test my OWN copy.

            I've found out that how well something sells depends entirely on the copy. Now my salespage always consists of 1 video with powerpoint slides and me telling some kind of story.

            A story; something that captivates the listener, which speaks directly to them, instead of to "a demographic that person just happens to belong in". Something that speaks to their imagination, and more importantly, their feelings. Because feelings and emotions are a direct result of thoughts, and emotions evoke new thoughts.

            And a copywriter, a good one at least, needs to jump INSIDE that vicious circle, and implant an idea.
            Entirely Inception style if you will. Sprinkle some Michael Bay on top and presto. You've got a killer.

            But not really

            Looking back at inception, there's a hidden truth in this message that a salescopy tries to implant an idea in the user's brain, as if the user came up with this idea himself. Or herself, for all the feminists. Kidding.
            Aaanyway. We do this by:

            -Researching the THOUGHTS of the listener, your prospect, and try our best to FEEL the pain their problems bring.
            - Next you go totally Derek Ogilvie style and SENSE (lol) what these pains, or emotions, are trying to tell that person. In other words, what needs to be done about this problem. BUT NOT in a way like you are usually told:
            "Locate the problem, address problem twice, provide solution, make your solution seem like the only one"
            No, you use that little bit of empathy you internet scumbags (lol) have left and try to actually feel what these emotions are trying to tell that person.
            End the problems quickly: "suicide. robbing a bank. revenge. screaming bloody murder."

            Now these are the things you need to address in the second paragraph of your copy. Is it ethical to use your prospects' fears against them for your own profit? That's up to you to decide. I'm not a bloody philosopher.

            It's either that, or you totally aim for the magic money button style in IM. I think we all know how that works.
            You basically write a long story about how YOU don't have to do squat and still make a gazillion^bazillion dollars in 17,7 seconds.

            Right, because now you have your prospects 'hooked' you create an opening in their mind. This will be processed in two ways:

            Every decision you make is balanced in your brain. Literally.
            In decision-making your frontal lobe and amygdala go berserk. The more neurons that connect both, the faster you'll be at making decisions. And right now, you want your prospect to make the decision to read on and receive more psychological IM warfare. First of all the amygdala 'weighs' the emotions to consider whether or not they are viable, whether or not they are even worth considering to be processed by the frontal lobe.

            Now IF they pass this test, the emotion proceeds to the frontal lobe, where the decision is made. This is I/O. Stop or go. Keep or trash.

            Do or don't.

            Now a GOOD copywriter knows how to literally HACK into this.

            Because the chain [amygdala+frontal lobe] does not necessarily have to be processed like I stated earlier. You can either eliminate the amygdala Or the frontal lobe in this process to make the decisionmaking work out for you, the seller, or the copywriter. At least for the guy who gets paid to write.

            Having said that. I'm not getting paid in any way to write this ****.

            So I'm gonna wrap it up nice and tight for the guys that go LOL TL;DR ahjksdfakhfjagdkf

            A good copywriter can go into a bar, and use the most random of objects, say an empty eggcarton, to pick up the hottest girl around. Why? Because a good copywriter can tell an intriguing story that captivates demands attention and subtly plant hook after hook after hook inside that woman's mind, eventually giving her the idea; that she's going to convince herself to drop to her knees and open her mouth and go insanely RedTube style on this copywriter and she'll feel like a better person afterwards.

            My two cents. An explanation can be found reading between the lines of this post. YOLO
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
    I agree that fearlessness is an essential trait to writing copy.

    Funny thing...

    One of my current clients hired to make a big impact for his very first product.

    But he's extremely protective about his reputation.

    He doesn't like the hype, or what he calls hype, in even the top performing DR campaigns.

    So I made the copy fairly subdued - while still maintaining the crucial bit of edge that's necessarily to keep people's attention.

    He liked it.

    But the more he sat with it, the more uncomfortable it made him feel.

    I've been coaching and encouraging him to go through the copy and highlight what he likes and doesn't like.

    But I've also been trying to get to the root of his discomfort.

    I said:

    "If there's something in there you don't feel is totally scientifically correct, we can fix that.

    If you don't feel like there's enough of your organic voice in there, we can fix that too."

    So again...

    I agree that fearlessness, which I interpret as going against the grain of what's totally proven (in concept, not necessarily technique,) is critical to have real staying power as a copywriter.

    So what do y'all do to coach your clients - when they're uncomfortable with coming across as being "salesy?"

    Just curious.

    By the way...

    Great find Joe.

    Mark

    P.S. I always say: It's not hype, if the copy resonates with your target prospect. But I realize that some people look at anything that's in a sales context as hype. It's certainly interesting.
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    • Hey Mark,

      What you bring up here . . .

      So what do y'all do to coach your clients - when they're uncomfortable with coming across as being "salesy?"

      . . . is a pain in the ass.

      It's a pain in the ass because more often than not, logic almost never has any weight in this conversation as the concern stems from the clients beliefs surrounding "influencing other people" and "selling".

      One of my favorite solutions to dealing with this concern is to not deal with it.

      We teach clients how to address us. We do this through the content in our blog, in our newsletters, in our social media messages, in our books/products. If in our voice out to the world, we make it clear that this is not behavior that you accept and you spell out the origins of these dis-empowering beliefs... how they get in the way of a business owner being as successful as they possibly can... and you lay out that you know the difference between empty hype . . . and influence with integrity and you show examples of the two side by side... I think you'll repel the clients with these screwy beliefs, convert some people who once had shitty beliefs and attract clients who already "Get It" and are happy to have found a person like them who is on the same page with them.

      Marketers who only write "text book style" content don't use their content in a way to convey their values and I think this does them a great disservice in that they get people showing up to them who don't meet their qualifications for being an ideal client for them - a good fit - a person they'd cherish building a working relationship with because they are both on the same level.

      This is a situation that is common for copywriters to get themselves into if they're starving for clients and they just take anyone shows up.

      A copywriter's world can transform radically when they take on the presupposition I talked about in this blog post Joe shared at the top of this thread.

      For me, it’s never about taking your money.

      I’ll take all the money you want to give me where I can provide value. And if I can, I’ll get you to give me more money than you’re comfortable giving me if I know you get great value in return for doing so.

      I have no hesitancy in taking your money. I have no hesitancy in persuading you to give me your money as long as I’m convinced that there is an equitable or greater return in value to you.

      If you want to give me your money and I don’t believe I can fulfill the value that this money represents, I won’t take your money.

      Part of value to me, is our values being aligned so that I'm not arguing with you about long or short copy, salesly or hypey copy, deploying the copy instead of just sitting on it, etc. If I sense you're going to be a pain in the ass to deal with, I won't take your money.

      But that’s all about me.

      This attitude allows me to be in a position that is tremendously powerful in terms of the leverage I hold.

      You can’t say, “Yes” or “No” to me. I have to decide if it’s “Yes” or “No” for you.

      Now let's see how an absolute master marketer conveys this point, not through content marketing, but directly in the salesletter selling their service that recently learned about while taking the notes for the Dan Kennedy $5,9995 per-person 7-Figure Academy...

      Dan introduced Jay Abraham to the audience at this seminar in a way I’ve never seen someone introduce him or any other marketing legend before.

      He skipped around and read chunks of copy from his salesletters that he used at one time to get people to call and do a consultation with him.

      I’m gonna list some of what Dan read of some of Jay’s classic lead generation salesletters because they’re highly useful in reminding what a bad ass Jay is AND they serve as brilliant examples of how to position yourself masterfully in the eyes of strangers you’ve never done business with before.

      Behold the Abraham brilliance from two ads with the headlines of . . .


      “How To Hire The Best Marketing Consultant In America On A Risk Free Basis Where You Pay Him Only If His Work Pays Off For You – Read this announcement to see if you qualify
      to be one of Jay Abraham’s clients”

      “California Marketing Wizard Offers To Perform $250,000 Dollars Worth of Turn Key Profit Enhancement For Your Business . . .
      If You Qualify”

      “You may have read about him in . . .” and then there’s a list of a bunch of media.

      The message this is meant to convey is that you must have read about him even if you don’t think you’ve haven’t or . . . if you haven’t read about him, you must be living in a cave or something and be out of the loop. . . but that today is your lucky day because you’re about to be in the loop.

      “You’ve probably read more than a few of the ads he’s written for clients since they’ve appeared in publications with a combined readership of 178 million readers. His powerful salesletters and prospect lead generating mailings have been mailed to slightly over a 125 million consumers and business men resulting in something in the range of a $1 billion dollars worth of combined gross sales for his satisfied clients.”

      That passage is a creative example of making use of meaningless numbers (readership and people mailed to) and connecting them to a desirable result in order to come up with an awesome positioning statement.

      “Over the past 15 years for example, he has developed 165 separate advertising, marketing, and promotional mailings and sales strategies and techniques for successful enterprises of every imaginable.”

      “He is also one of the most desired … the fees he charges are UNREAL.”

      “Before I fully explain what kind of companies might qualify for Jay’s free $250,000 consultation offer, let me tell you how Jay works with a client. How Jay begins is based entirely on where the client’s opportunities are the greatest . . . (long list about all the opportunities that can be unearthed). In a lot of cases he concentrates on re-selling old customers most effectively. He’s also been known to develop entirely new business pursuits for clients.”

      “Can he help your business? Maybe. Maybe not. But you can find out with just one fascinating call. The number to call is . . . When you do speak with Jay’s assistant, he will ask you a dozen very specific questions. These questions are not calculated to invade on your privacy but rather to help Mr. Abraham determine whether or not he can be of profitable service to you and frankly whether you represent enough increased profits to make it worth his while.

      What else should you know before you call? Jay works with clients in a slightly different manner than you may be accustomed to. They all either come to him or they deal with him by phone, fax or mail. Jay rarely if ever visits a client. Why? Two reasons: 1) Actually, first the man is an absolute coward when it comes to travel. And this is especially true when it comes to traveling by airplane. Therefore he has his clients deal with him by phone or in person at his office or his panoramic ocean view hill top home. This by the way is not because Mr. Abraham is autocratic, aloof or stubborn but rather because quite simply, he is totally and completely afraid to fly.”

      “Keep in mind that it’s more important for Jay to perform at peak performance in this relationship than it is for you to. Particularly as long as it is up to Jay to create, develop, test, and perpetuate all your marketing for your company.”

      “Here are the four principal conditions that must exist in order for it to make sense for you to call . . . (followed by the criteria)”

      All of this copy just sets Jay up to gather new clients in a way that suits him as well as sets him up to appear to be brilliant and not easily accessible; the opposite of desperate. No one responding to this ad has any reason to complain about traveling to him or about paying high fees. He put that right out there and makes it known this is the normal and customary way clients deal with him.

      I love it. And so does Dan. He told Jay he wished he’d stolen this copy and used himself over the years.

      Bottom line: I think the best way to keep people from even bringing this up is to #1) not write hypey bullshit and #2) come up with a code of conduct for you want relationships to be with clients #3) teach people in your salesletters and content what is and isn't acceptable behavior and thus who should and shouldn't call you.

      We can't be mad or frustrated with clients for breaking rules that we didn't tell them existed in our relationship.

      I hope this has been helpful Mark and I feel gratitude towards you for inspiring me to remind myself of such an important lesson which can never be heard too often.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raymond Duke
    Hi. First post here.

    I think a great copywriter understands the person that the copy is written for. They understand them at a personal level. They've spent time with people like that person in real life, and access those experiences...those memories...in their copy.

    A good copywriter will go to a knitting Meetup to understand the needs, language, and problems of people who knit, if necessary.
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    • I love it Raymond!

      This reminds me of Clayton Makepeace talking about someone who was writing to the senior citizen market, going and hanging out at an old folks home to better understand what was at the forefront of the minds of people who were so different than he was in the mind, body, and spirit.

      It seems like if this copywriter was dead set on reigning supreme in this market, it would be highly valuable for him to make it a ritual to volunteer at this old folks home to not only be service to fellow human beings but to also absorb more insight into the mindset of a person in their golden years.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tinkerbell
      Originally Posted by Raymond Duke View Post

      I think a great copywriter understands the person that the copy is written for. They understand them at a personal level. They've spent time with people like that person in real life, and access those experiences...those memories...in their copy.
      Nice to meet you, Raymond. I believe your answer is correct.
      Thanks for posting it.

      Tina
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      • Profile picture of the author ScottDudley
        In my opinion a great copywriter is able to enter the prospects world and build the bridge between the prospect and the product.

        A great copywriter doesn't need to use hype, tricks, NLP, or any type of black hat tactic to attempt to convince the prospect to buy.

        This all results in the reader being totally mesmerised by the copy, and being able to relate to what the copywriter is saying.
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        Scott Dudley is a direct response Copywriter from Perth, Australia, who also specializes in writing sales letters and emails for his clients. You can see samples of his portfolio at http://scottdudley.net/blog/portfolio/ or contact him on Skype by adding the username: Scott_Dudley

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  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    After reading that article, I'm pi**ed off. I feel like I forced myself to sit and listen to someone sloooowly drag their nails down a chalkboard.

    Any who...

    Fearlessness doesn't have anything to do with being a good copywriter. Not a bit.

    Saw on the news about a naked guy running down the middle of I-90. Pretty fearless...and stupid.

    A good copywriter is creative and has a great imagination.

    There's a great big fat gigantic humongous lack of imagination among most copywriters.

    Oh wait...another quote from Schwartz...Halbert...Kennedy?

    Too many copywriters wait for one of their gurus to sanction something before they think it's a cool idea...then they join 457,932,095 other copywriters who jump on board and copy the same chit.

    Those who lack imagination will always be blown in whatever direction the latest hyped up fad blows them...
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      Fearlessness doesn't have anything to do with being a good copywriter. Not a bit.

      Saw on the news about a naked guy running down the middle of I-90. Pretty fearless...and stupid.
      If you don't know the difference between fearlessness and stupidity, we've got problems.

      Putting out a campaign and concept that stretches what's proven to convert in any given market IS fearlessness. And without copywriters and marketers being willing to push the envelope, we just become endless swipers who have nothing new or original to contribute to direct response. Now that's stupid.

      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      A good copywriter is creative and has a great imagination.
      Yup. But what's imagination and creativity - without the sack to take action on something that could just as easily flop... as make millions?

      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      Too many copywriters wait for one of their gurus to sanction something before they think it's a cool idea...then they join 457,932,095 other copywriters who jump on board and copy the same chit.
      Ha! Exactly. My case is resting quite nicely.

      That's why it takes fearlessness, audacity, vision and just knowing that you're going in the right direction, even if it's against the grain, that makes innovative, imaginative copywriters so revered and quoted (and swiped.)
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      Do you want a 9 figure copywriter and biz owner to Write With You? I'll work with you, on zoom, to help write your copy or client copy... while you learn from one of the few copywriters to legit hit 9 figures in gross sales! Discover More

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      • Profile picture of the author max5ty
        Originally Posted by Mark Pescetti View Post

        If you don't know the difference between fearlessness and stupidity, we've got problems.

        Putting out a campaign and concept that stretches what's proven to convert in any given market IS fearlessness. And without copywriters and marketers being willing to push the envelope, we just become endless swipers who have nothing new or original to contribute to direct response. Now that's stupid.



        Yup. But what's imagination and creativity - without the sack to take action on something that could just as easily flop... as make millions?



        Ha! Exactly. My case is resting quite nicely.

        That's why it takes fearlessness, audacity, vision and just knowing that you're going in the right direction, even if it's against the grain, that makes innovative, imaginative copywriters so revered and quoted (and swiped.)
        How fearless is it to sit and peck away something on your computer?

        Fearless is the guys that go into combat. Fearless is someone that risks their life to save others.

        Fearless is not putting out a sales letter thinking you're the bees knees because you "told it like it is". Your wife or girlfriend may think you're a hero because you're a fearless typer...but really Mark...
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        • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
          Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

          How fearless is it to sit and peck away something on your computer?

          Fearless is the guys that go into combat. Fearless is someone that risks their life to save others.

          Fearless is not putting out a sales letter thinking you're the bees knees because you "told it like it is". Your wife or girlfriend may think you're a hero because you're a fearless typer...but really Mark...
          Words change lives; change the world.

          How is sitting at the computer (putting your imagination into expensive words - hoping to strike a deep emotional chord in people) fearless?

          If you don't know the answer, there's nothing to talk about.
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          Do you want a 9 figure copywriter and biz owner to Write With You? I'll work with you, on zoom, to help write your copy or client copy... while you learn from one of the few copywriters to legit hit 9 figures in gross sales! Discover More

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          • Profile picture of the author max5ty
            Originally Posted by Mark Pescetti View Post

            Words change lives; change the world.

            How is sitting at the computer (putting your imagination into expensive words - hoping to strike a deep emotional chord in people) fearless?

            If you don't know the answer, there's nothing to talk about.
            If you wanted to change lives and change the world...you wouldn't be pumping out a sales letter asking someone to send you some money.

            You need to pay your bills...trying to act like you're changing the world might be your so called branding stuff that you claim you're the only one that knows about...but you're the only one buying that line.
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    • Profile picture of the author max5ty
      Originally Posted by BrianMcLeod View Post

      LOL...

      I really do respect Mal and his abilities. He definitely knows his stuff.

      Mark Pescetti I'm sure is good at what he does too.

      The OP, even though I don't know who he is, probably has good intentions.

      Sometimes when I comment I'm just trying to start a dialogue.

      I don't care if someone wants to rip on me...if you think I'm missing the mark somewhere, let me know.

      Hopefully nobody takes my comments as too harsh.
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  • I agree with the guy who said

    "being the customer" is what helped them dominate as a copywriter"

    Having this type of insight helps a person to write effortlessly to their audience.

    To connect with them on a deep level. and to satisfy their needs.

    the sale then comes automatically.

    couple that with an abilty to sell in the real world and you've got a really strong copy guy waiting in the wings.

    Another thing that's important I believe is the love of writing copy.

    I don't want to be anything else in life.

    I don't want to write novels or do this for the money.

    I just want to write copy.

    So If i write for a client and we dont hit the conversion rate we want the first time I have no problem writing and tweaking till we do.

    its a pleasure and i would do it for free if i had to. thank god I don't.
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    "Peter Brennan is the real deal, In the first 12 hours we did $80k...and over $125k in the first week...if you want to be successful online, outsource your copywriting to Peter"
    Adam Linkenauger

    For 12 ways to sell more stuff to more people today...go to...www.peterbrennan.net
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