Why copywriting is a bunch of Bull$h^t and you shouldn't learn it...

[Boo Blizzi]

Your friend wasn't a good Copywriter - that doesn't devalue the act of learning it. There isn't "one thing" to learn...

Every book and article on writing copy starts with "who is your audience?" and apparently your friend skipped that part.

I was just about to make this very comment.

To the OP - your friend sucks as a copywriter because he didn't start with the first step which is researching and understanding his "starving crowd" (to quote Gary Halbert)

Coincidentally, this is exactly why you have succeeded in the examples you mentioned. You offered people who are starving for excitement, a change of pace, a better life, more business, etc exactly what they were hungry for in plain language.

 

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[StevieB]

I agree that some copy is now filtered as 'spam speak'. Which is typically a copied version of copy. It's basically a template and people start seeing it as spam. MJ posted an example of this in his 'boiler plate' pitches thread.

I think that copy can be useful but to learn it as a skill and be knowledgeable in how to apply it, not just reading a bunch of material and copying what other's have done word for word practically. Just searching through this forum is an example. I have looked at threads that the content of the initial post was almost the same but the way it was stated and the title varied greatly. One got much more responses than the other.

 

[MitchC]

The secret of the 'Rolls Royce' advert's timeless power is that it contains barely any adjectives.

Reading Gary Halbert and all of those guys books and letters teaches you a lot more than just copy. The main thing they teach you is that copy is in fact far from being the most important thing. I think another author mentioned that somewhere as well? Something about Needs?

 

[Michael Moore]

So let me tell you a story...

Let's call him Joe...

Joe spent the past six months "learning" how to write long form sales copy. Went through multiple courses, spend SIX MONTHS learning tips and tricks of writing the best sales copy you can think of.

He was trying to learn copy, but wasn't taking any practical action...so I decided to help him out. We partnered up on one of my magazines that I don't have time to grow myself, and I gave him the task of emailing CEOs of companies to get their product advertised in front of our 170,000 readers.

"Dear Friend,

Boy, do I have the opportunity of the lifetime for you...but only for a limited time so you have to act now!"

^THIS was the beginning of the sample email he drafted (to a CEO). It only got worse from there.

The moment I saw "Dear Friend", I puked in my mouth.

And it happened at the worst possible time. I just finished eating some [HASHTAG]#vegan[/HASHTAG] bacon. Too much info? I think it's that new vegan Tai Lopez diet...

ANYHOW - back on track.

"Dear Friend!?"

TO THE CEO OF A BUSINESS.

He said "what do you think?"

My reply? "TEST IT!"

Oh, and here is a sample email that you can test it against. 50 emails of his "dear friend" and 50 emails of something along the lines of.

"Hey!

I'm from __________ magazine and we feel that your product would be a great fit for our 170,000 readers.

Here's my # and email to talk more if you're interested"

something like that...it took me 5 seconds to write - and just offered them something instead of trying to sell.

A few days ago, Joe messages me "Andrew - I sold $450 worth of ads to people in the first 2 weeks!"

Awesome! Which email worked best?

"Nobody replied to the first one."

So here is the thing about sales copy...

I spent the last 2 years fascinated by unconscious influence and persuasion....Sales copy, NLP, and some other crazy stuff you haven't even heard of.

I not only wanted to improve my business, but my dating life....and then I learned one thing that truly WORKS...Using this one thing - the following unfolded (some dating example).

• In August 2015 - 3 days before I was leaving Scottsdale to drive up to Seattle, I meet a girl on tinder. Within an hour of meeting her, she said she was going to quit her job, voluntarily repot her car, and move to seattle with me for 3 months.
• In December 2015 - Within 30 minutes of meeting a girl - She was about to sell her car, quit her job, and leave her 2 year old son behind with her mother to travel the world with me!
• Might close a 5 figure per year contract with a large company with almost zero effort...

In both dating instances I said no (and I only use those examples to show how powerful this is..)....but the important thing to note is this...I DIDN'T USE ANY OF THOSE SALES TRICKS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

In all three instances, I had something great, and other people wanted a part of it! They sensed the energy behind it. 99% of people's lives are BORING from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep.

If you and your brand can be that POSITIVE ENERGY that livens up their day.....they will sense that and want part of it. For the girls, they sensed my freedom and adventure. For the business....they sensed a large reach for his business...

Yes, I am not arguing that the principles behind the sales psychology work - they do.... and you can learn those very quickly. (but not always in the internet marketing spammy way).

When walmart puts on a discount - they play into scarcity - but the discount ends when they say it ends.

But the important thing to learn here is that people can unconsciously sense when you have something AMAZING you are about to offer them.

Does anybody realize @SinisterLex 's first lesson on his EPIC sales copy thread?



Going forward - I feel that I'm going deeper into the phase of - telling stories and creating that positive emotional experience for people - so I am always the positive energy that sticks out during their day. For business relationships - I'm going in to build deeper relationships and make friends (even with customers - which I do that anyway -I don't even view my customers as customers).

Be real. Be authentic. And don't spend MONTHS trying to master ONE small part about business.

I didn't even know sales copy when I acquired my first 900,000 app downloads...

How can YOU and your brand be the light that brightens your customer's da

So let me tell you a story...

Let's call him Joe...

Joe spent the past six months "learning" how to write long form sales copy. Went through multiple courses, spend SIX MONTHS learning tips and tricks of writing the best sales copy you can think of.

He was trying to learn copy, but wasn't taking any practical action...so I decided to help him out. We partnered up on one of my magazines that I don't have time to grow myself, and I gave him the task of emailing CEOs of companies to get their product advertised in front of our 170,000 readers.

"Dear Friend,

Boy, do I have the opportunity of the lifetime for you...but only for a limited time so you have to act now!"

^THIS was the beginning of the sample email he drafted (to a CEO). It only got worse from there.

The moment I saw "Dear Friend", I puked in my mouth.

And it happened at the worst possible time. I just finished eating some [HASHTAG]#vegan[/HASHTAG] bacon. Too much info? I think it's that new vegan Tai Lopez diet...

ANYHOW - back on track.

"Dear Friend!?"

TO THE CEO OF A BUSINESS.

He said "what do you think?"

My reply? "TEST IT!"

Oh, and here is a sample email that you can test it against. 50 emails of his "dear friend" and 50 emails of something along the lines of.

"Hey!

I'm from __________ magazine and we feel that your product would be a great fit for our 170,000 readers.

Here's my # and email to talk more if you're interested"

something like that...it took me 5 seconds to write - and just offered them something instead of trying to sell.

A few days ago, Joe messages me "Andrew - I sold $450 worth of ads to people in the first 2 weeks!"

Awesome! Which email worked best?

"Nobody replied to the first one."

So here is the thing about sales copy...

I spent the last 2 years fascinated by unconscious influence and persuasion....Sales copy, NLP, and some other crazy stuff you haven't even heard of.

I not only wanted to improve my business, but my dating life....and then I learned one thing that truly WORKS...Using this one thing - the following unfolded (some dating example).

• In August 2015 - 3 days before I was leaving Scottsdale to drive up to Seattle, I meet a girl on tinder. Within an hour of meeting her, she said she was going to quit her job, voluntarily repot her car, and move to seattle with me for 3 months.
• In December 2015 - Within 30 minutes of meeting a girl - She was about to sell her car, quit her job, and leave her 2 year old son behind with her mother to travel the world with me!
• Might close a 5 figure per year contract with a large company with almost zero effort...

In both dating instances I said no (and I only use those examples to show how powerful this is..)....but the important thing to note is this...I DIDN'T USE ANY OF THOSE SALES TRICKS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

In all three instances, I had something great, and other people wanted a part of it! They sensed the energy behind it. 99% of people's lives are BORING from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep.

If you and your brand can be that POSITIVE ENERGY that livens up their day.....they will sense that and want part of it. For the girls, they sensed my freedom and adventure. For the business....they sensed a large reach for his business...

Yes, I am not arguing that the principles behind the sales psychology work - they do.... and you can learn those very quickly. (but not always in the internet marketing spammy way).

When walmart puts on a discount - they play into scarcity - but the discount ends when they say it ends.

But the important thing to learn here is that people can unconsciously sense when you have something AMAZING you are about to offer them.

Does anybody realize @SinisterLex 's first lesson on his EPIC sales copy thread?



Going forward - I feel that I'm going deeper into the phase of - telling stories and creating that positive emotional experience for people - so I am always the positive energy that sticks out during their day. For business relationships - I'm going in to build deeper relationships and make friends (even with customers - which I do that anyway -I don't even view my customers as customers).

Be real. Be authentic. And don't spend MONTHS trying to master ONE small part about business.

I didn't even know sales copy when I acquired my first 900,000 app downloads...

How can YOU and your brand be the light that brightens your customer's day?

WTF is vegan bacon, dont tell me I really dont want to know
Love the article

 

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