Process Thread: Learn Copywriting

[Jimmyy]

I admire your ability to follow-through on this challenge! It's very inspiring.

I've gotten through about half of Scientific Advertising so far, but feel like I barely remember what I've read. Were you doing anything extra (stuff like taking notes maybe) to increase memory retention while you were reading in step one?

Notes are the 3rd part of the challenge. You'll find that you'll actually remember most of the general concepts and philosophy being taught even if most of the detail gets forgotten, I found it quite subconscious. It does get a bit mechanical reading through the books (especially RC Letter book) and much of the style seems out of date or doesn't really sell to you like it did to people back then. The thing you have to keep reminding yourself is that these ad's and techniques DID sell like crazy! Keep your eye out for why these ads were selling and what underlying psyche they were tapping in to, doing that at least helped prevent me from blasting through pages without taking anything in

 

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[leono]

Bam! Done with At 60 Miles An Hour The Loudest Noise In This Rolls Royce Is The Ticking Of The Electric Clock!

Also, I charted out what I want to do for the rest of this part of the challenge based off of what I tend to average with my hand writing (28 paragraphs a day). Here it is:

1. Why Men Crack [finish in one day]: Thursday, March 13th, 2014
   
2. How To Collect Social Security At Any Age [finish in one day]: Friday, March 14th, 2014
   
3. The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter [finish in two days]: Saturday and Sunday, March 15th - 16th, 2014
   
4. The Lazy Man's Way To Riches [finish in one day]: Monday, March 17th, 2014

And something I've learned is planning is good, great even, because it's gives me focus, but it's only really useful after I've had some experience doing the activity! Because any time before that, I'm just guessing and wasting time. So, instead what I find myself doing is just coming up with a preliminary plan, something super basic (and takes me like 5 seconds to come up with!), to get me started. Then, I wait until after I've done the activity, the task, for a while to get super specific and detailed (come up with deadlines, project, and whatnot).

Anyway, up next: Why Men Crack!

 

[leono]

And I don't know if anyone else is having a problem with their writing hand tiring out, but I read a couple of solutions to this.

Problem: Your writing hand is tiring out or it hurts to write.

Cause: One of the reasons why you're having pain in your hand is because you're tensing it and/or griping the pen too tightly!

Solution:

1. Relax your grip! (Don't hold the pen so tightly!)
2. Buy better pens! (So, you don't have to press down as hard to write.)
3. Take breaks! (Every so often, spend a few minutes shaking out your hand and applying pressure to it to get the blood flowing back into the problem areas.)

Hope this helps someone!

 

[leono]

Boom! I'm done with Why Men Crack and How To Collect From Social Security At Any Age!

Up next: The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter! GO!

 

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[leono]

And I'm doneeeeeeeee! I just completed The Admiral Byrd's Transpolar Expedition Letter and The Lazy Man's Way To Riches! This marks the end of this part of the mission: write out by hand the following ads --

• Do You Make These Mistakes in English? (March 6th, 2014)
  
• What Everybody Should Know About This Stock and Bond Business (March 7th - 10th, 2014)
  
• The Nancy L. Halbert Heraldry Letter (March 7th, 2014)
  
• How To Burn Off Body Fat, Hour-by-Hour (March 11th, 2014)
  
• At 60 Miles An Hour The Loudest Noise in This Rolls Royce is The Ticking of The Electric Clock (March 12th, 2014)
  
• Why Men Crack (March 13th, 2014)
  
• How To Collect From Social Security At Any Age (March 13th, 2014)
  
• The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter (March 14th - 15th, 2014)
  
• The Lazy Man's Way To Riches (March 15th, 2014)

Up next: Part II -- write out by hand any ads you find written by the following copywriters:

• Gary Bencivenga
• Dan Rosenthal
• Joe E. Kennedy
• Pat Garrard
• Steve Brown
• Drew Kaplan
• Claude Hopkins
• Joe Karbo
• Ben Suarez
• Joe Sugarman
• Gene Schwartz
• Gary Halbert

And what I've decided to do (because I don't like how I rushed through it the first time) is go ahead and look for ads written by each of the copywriters Gary recommends, but this time, look only for ads written by the copywriter I'm working on. For example, if I was working on Joe Karbo, I would spend a day or so looking for ads writing by him, so that the next day and beyond (depending on how many ads I find) I could work on hand writing them, then moving on to Ben Suarez, and so on.

So, what's truly up next is: looking for ads for Gary Bencivenga!

GO!

 

[Young-Gun]

I'm really impressed and if I had the time to spare, I would love to sit down and do this.

Being able to sell makes me feel I could leave home, go to any city or country in the world, and make myself a living there.. even get rich.

It's a skill that will never go out of fashion - evergreen. Like having a mechanical inclination, there's really no end to the uses for copywriting.

Maybe after I finish dealing with my hiring problems I will come back to this thread - I'll certainly need to do a new stage of marketing in order to drive business to pay for the new employee wages.

A first-time customer doesn't buy your product... they buy your copy.

Of course, a repeat customer doesn't buy your copy... they buy your product and service.

But, you have to get them in the door somehow. Have to steal them away from your competition.

Copy is what does that the first time. I like how you're putting it first-and-foremost in your studies at the moment. Wish I could join you!

 

[oldscool]

Leona I honestly feel like you are going to be a star. You seem to be more militant about this challenge then I am. I wondered who would emerge out the group to be the cream of the crop. As in most things in life many are called, but, few are chosen. Keep rocking.

P.S. I'd like you to share the sales letters you find from:

• Dan Rosenthal
• Joe E. Kennedy
• Pat Garrard
• Steve Brown
• Drew Kaplan

 

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[leono]

I'm really impressed and if I had the time to spare, I would love to sit down and do this.

You can! Just set aside some time to do it. That's how I did it. I carved out time to make it happen. When I started I was so excited to do this that I naturally started waking up in the middle of the night. Sometimes, I'd be wide awake and reading at 1:30. Now, though, I've "settled down" to waking up by 4, sometimes 5 in the morning, so I can work on copywriting first thing in the morning.

Also, I use to watch a whole lot of tv and just waste time. It's funny (actually it's really quite sad) how much time I wasted on nonsense. And I'm still not perfect today, but I don't watch half as much tv as I use to, and now that it's finally starting to get warm, I'll be watching even less because I'm gearing up to go outdoors more! Exercise! Next step: lose the weight!

Sorry... Anyway, my point is: Just. Get. Started. Everything else will get figured out along the way. Oh! And commit yourself to working on this every day, even if it's just for a little bit, even if it's just 5 minutes because you won't regret it.

Wish I could join you!

You can.

 

[leono]

Leona I honestly feel like you are going to be a star. You seem to be more militant about this challenge then I am. I wondered who would emerge out the group to be the cream of the crop. As in most things in life many are called, but, few are chosen. Keep rocking.

Aw! Thank you! :embarrased:

P.S. I'd like you to share the sales letters you find from:

• Dan Rosenthal
• Joe E. Kennedy
• Pat Garrard
• Steve Brown
• Drew Kaplan

No problem! I'll share all the links I find. I'll them post here and in your thread: Gary Halbert 30 Day Challenge Copywriting Group.

 

[leono]

Ads by Gary Bencivenga:

• Lies, Lies, Lies: http://www.theryanmcgrath.com/bencivenga1.pdf
• Marketing Bullets: http://www.marketingbullets.com/index.htm
  
• The Bencivenga Dvd Course: http://www.marketingbullets.com/b100dvd.htm
• Skousen High-Income Alert: http://web.archive.org/web/20090210...usenhighincomealert.com/visitor.php?offer=260
• Do You Make These Mistakes in Job Interviews: http://web.archive.org/web/20101024200715/http://www.greatvaluebooks.net/jobcopy.html
• The Great Olive Secret: http://www.theoliveoilsecret.com/
• Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil: http://web.archive.org/web/20130530190149/http://www.freshpressedoliveoil.com/oliveoil.htm
• Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club: https://www.freshpressedoliveoil.com//a/APHKFB2011
• The Rosengarten Report: http://web.archive.org/web/20070325005105/www.davidrosengarten.com/landing_page.asp
• "Real" Artisanal Vinegar Club: http://web.archive.org/web/20121231093844/http://www.freshpressedoliveoil.com/vinegars.htm
• How To Launch Your Own Business: http://advertisingcopyswipes.com/gary-bencivenga-rare-advertising-copy-example-swipe-file/

And I found 2 more links you might want to look at (not ads). The first is just a link to Gary Bencivenga's archives. The second is a link to a bunch of interviews a man named Clayton Makepeace did with some great copywriters, one of which is Gary Bencivenga. And I'm mentioning these two because Gary Halbert recommends somewhere in his newletter to read everything you can find on, about, and written by successful copywriters, so I'm adding these as well. Here they are:

• Archive: http://www.marketingbullets.com/archive.htm
• Interview: http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/copywriter-tools/interviews-with-top-copywriters/

PS: Sometimes Gary Bencivenga's website won't load, just type it into the wayback machine, and you're good to go! Peace.

Up Next: Lies, Lies, Lies! And this might take me a while... Oh well, ... GO!

 

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[Payden]

Please excuse my ignorance but can someone explain to me what copy writing it?

 

[jon.a]

Please excuse my ignorance but can someone explain to me what copy writing it?

Here you go...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting

 

[Payden]

Here you go...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting

Thanks. I should have been able to find that. I just couldn't seem to find anything besides the other type of copyrighting.

 

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[jon.a]

Thanks. I should have been able to find that.

Yup

 

[djax06]

This is a great way to learn copy forsure.

I did the 30 day (or 45 day or whatever) and it was fine and dandy but the real learning came in the form of deliberate practice.

Since I didn't have products of my own I'd just find affiliate ones, regardless of what they were, set up a FB campaign to a pre sell landing page written by me, and see what happened.

All your learning combined with real experimenting like that will be explosive.

Or to a lead capture and email market them.

Good work though.

Didn't see it but have you re-written Bencivenga Bacon? Really good but facking huge!

 

[Benp16]

Almost done with my first ever copy writing book: "The Ultimate Sales Letter" and I feel like a new writer. Just looking at my work 3 months ago is embarrassing compared to what I am creating now. Once I finish it i'm gonna try the challenge and really take my skills to the next level.

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

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[leono]

Right, well, change of plans because my hand is killing me! So, what I'm going to do is:

1. Take a break for the next couple of days and give my hand (and arm for that matter!) a chance to heal because it just hurts now. I wake up with both of them -- my hand and my arm -- sore, and after I've written for a while they begin hurting. I actually feel pain in the muscles of my biceps, the palm of my hand and my fingers, the index and middle fingers, that is.

2. Buy a fountain pen. I've been reading that writing with a fountain pen helps to improve a person's ability to write for long durations of time because they don't require you to press down for writing. So, I'mma try it out and see what happens!

3. Go back to writing these ads out by hand. Why? Because I'm not giving up. Gary recommends to do this, so that's what I'll do. I just need to give my hand and arm a bit of rest. Hopefully, the fountain pen helps, but either way, fountain pen or no fountain pen, I'm in it for the long-haul! Even if I can only write a page a day, I'm going to write these ads out by hand! It's just matter of how fast I'll be able to write them. Hopefully, with some rest and a fountain pen quickly, but either way it's gonna get done! Go!

Up next: take a break!

 

[sambreaker20]

I just want to understand what your doing I want to learn copy but didn't know where to start. Are you learning how to copy in 30 days by reading the books and then handwriting copy by successful copywriter so you can get a feel of their thought process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[leono]

I just want to understand what your doing I want to learn copy but didn't know where to start. Are you learning how to copy in 30 days by reading the books and then handwriting copy by successful copywriter so you can get a feel of their thought process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not quite... What I'm doing is everything Gary Halbert recommends on this page: http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/zfkj_hands_on_experience.htm

What I've found is it's going to take longer, way longer, than 30 days if you do everything he recommends. You don't have to but he did recommend it for a reason!

 

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[Isness]

I just want to understand what your doing I want to learn copy but didn't know where to start. Are you learning how to copy in 30 days by reading the books and then handwriting copy by successful copywriter so you can get a feel of their thought process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey! I am not currently invested in copy myself, but I am a fan of the basis for leono's journey with the Gary Halbert letter.

As for starting out, I found this link that offers insight: http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/zfkl_first_step.htm

Quotes (from the Link) relevant to your query:

"You should not read any other books until you have read Scientific Advertising at least twice and preferably, three or four times. In fact, David Ogilvy feels so strongly about this book that he says no one should be allowed to create advertising until he has read this book at least seven times. I can't disagree. And the reason you should read this particular book several times, before you read anything else is, it will give you a hard-core, bedrock foundation of truth that will make it difficult for other authors who are "pretend experts" to lead you astray with their "silly notions" about what makes marketing work."

"You'd better be careful of what you read and to whom you listen because, if you are not first grounded in the bedrock fundamentals, you can end up bewildered, broke and hopelessly disillusioned."

"So, the real first steps to becoming a wealthy direct mail/mail order entrepreneur are:
1. Ground yourself in the fundamentals.
2. Heighten your awareness of "What's Working Now".
3. Capture ideas, headlines, techniques, thoughts, etc. on 3x5 index cards and review them (deal them out on your kitchen table or desk like you would a deck of cards) at least once a week."

He will go into greater detail on all these bits of information, so definitely head over to that link. Hope it helps!

 

[leono]

Whew! And I'm done! Finished Lies, Lies, Lies!

And it took me awhile to figure out what to do, but I've did it! I've figured out how to keep up a pace that will allow me to write up to 20 pages a week, and that's by breaking it up. Break up my writing "session" into smaller chunks, so that I don't tire out as quickly because what happened before was I kept trying to brute force it, but I couldn't. My hand would hurt, my fingers would hurt. Even my freaking arm and shoulders would hurt! But now that I've figured it out, I"ll try to keep this pace up for my next ad. And hopefully, I'll be able to finish this one in one week, specifically 3 days, because I plan on writing 4 pages a day. Let's go!!

Up next: Marketing Bullets

 

[leono]

Finished Marketing Bullets!

And the biggest lesson I learned and keep having to relearn is I can only do one thing at a time.* "Multitasking" does not exist. For example, by writing here, I'm effectively saying "no" to other things like say doing more copywriting work. Everything requires time.

Anyway, up next: The Bencivenga Dvd Course! And I've already gotten started on it, and plan on finishing it in sixteen days... Let's go!

*Excludes things like talking and walking, but sometimes I even fail at that...!

 

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[leono]

Whew! Finished The Bencivenga DVD Course! And it took me awhile... I actually lost track of time! :embarrased:

But I'm moving on!

Up next: The Skousen High-Income Alert!

And since it's only 3 pages. I'll get it done in one day. I eat 3 pages for breakfast. After The Bencivenga DVD Course sales letter, I see it for what it truly is... a snack! To be devoured quickly and easily for the next task. It's practically a break. Let's go.

 

[leono]

Done with the Skousen High-Income Alert!

Up next: Do You Make These Mistakes in Job Interviews

And since it's only 4 pages long, I'll also finish this in one day: tomorrow!

 

[leono]

Finished:

• Do You Make These Mistakes in Job Interviews? and...
  
• The Great Olive Oil Secret!

Now working on: Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil

Since this one is 9 pages, I'll finish it in 3 days!

 

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[Simon Ashari]

When are you going to write sales copy for yourself and your products?

 

[leono]

When are you going to write sales copy for yourself and your products?

When I finish the challenge. "One thing at a time" is my new motto.

 

[leono]

Done with Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil!

Up next: The Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club.

And since it's 16 pages, I'm aiming to complete it in 2 days. Let's see what happens... GO!

 

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[leono]

Done with The Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club!

Currently working on: The Rosengarten Report!

And I feel behind on The Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club, but did finish it, so I'm happy about that! Now, I'm working on The Rosengarten Report and aim to get it done in 3 days, on May 5th, 2014. Let's see what happens...

 

[Simon Ashari]

@leono

Do you feel your copywriting skills improving?