
	When you sit down to write your copy, do you shake in fear because of the terror of the blank page? Or, maybe you’re not terrified, but you’re frustrated because you don’t know where to start? Today we talk about a game-changing method developed by one of our industry’s great Old Masters, Eugene Schwartz. He delivered a powerful secret in an obscure talk he gave in the early 1990s to Rodale Press. You won’t find this secret in either of his landmark books, Breakthrough Advertising or the Brilliance Breakthrough. The secret is explained in these words from his talk:

“You do not write copy. You assemble it. You ware working with a series of building blocks and putting the building blocks together, putting them in certain structures. You’re building a little city of desire for your person to come and live in. You are assembling claims that are simply images that people will pay for.”

The key idea here is assembling, not writing. And that’s a very important insight. Which we’ll really get into today.

Resources:

Copywriters Podcast notification list: https://www.garfinkelcoaching.com/podcast/

My new book, The Persuasion Story Code: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ

Download.

Eugene Schwartz’s Best-Kept Copywriting Secret

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping


	When you talk about your product and you get that deer-in-the-headlights look, what gives?

In the best of all worlds, it’s simply that the prospect doesn’t understand what you’re saying.

And that very much could be because you’re the man or woman who knows too much.

I’m talking about the curse of knowledge—when you’ve gotten all this expertise, which you needed, but you forgot to take the next step of simplifying it and putting it into appealing marketing language so your prospect can instantly understand and appreciate the value of what you’re offering.

The curse of knowledge is real.

But it’s curable.

We’ll look at what it is and how to cure it on today’s show.

There’s lots to learn, but I recommend my book, The Persuasion Story Code, as a way to use stories to break the curse of knowledge. Here’s the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ
Download.

Beware The Curse Of Knowledge


	First weekend in May, the #1 show on Netflix was an origin story.  Not a real origin story, but a total fabrication for comedy purposes. It was a movie called Unfrosted.

It’s important for copywriters for a couple of reasons.

The first is the power of a product name.

The movie was a totally fictional story about how Kellogg's popular toaster pastries became a hit in grocery stores.

It's hardly a spoiler to tell you the name they settled on that led to the big bucks: Pop-Tarts.

How they got there is a big part of the totally made-up plot.

Also, there's a great cameo by actors Jon Hamm and John Slattery, who play two leading characters in the series Mad Men.

In the new Netflix movie, they play out-of-touch New York admen who come up with totally wrong product names.

Later in the movie, when they hear the name Pop-Tarts, one of ’em grumbles an admission of defeat:

"That'll sell."

So that’s the first important lesson for copywriters:

Gotta get the name right!

But there’s a second lesson that’s maybe even more important, since copywriters often don’t have control over the product name anyway.

And that lesson is this:

People love origin stories.

Yet I’ve found a lot of the time, copywriters don’t know how to put an effective one together, and how to use it once they do.

We’ll cover that today on the show.

My book, The Persuasion Story Code:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ

Download.

The Incredible, Versatile Origin Story


	Every day it gets worse–the struggle to get people’s attention.

It’s always been hard, but never like this before.

Too many things and people are competing for our attention at any given moment.

This may seem like a particular problem for copywriters, since we’ve been trained to start every message with a headline or a subject line.

Nothing wrong with that, but there is a way of using words that is scientifically proven to get and hold attention better than anything else.

And that’s a story.

We’re hard-wired at birth to blot everything else out, except a life-threatening emergency, when a good story is being told.

So, how do you tell a story in a headline? Or in your lead? Or in your opening paragraph?

Without, you know, launching into an old, tired, never-ending hero’s journey story or a nightmare story?

Well there is a way, and it’s much easier than you think.

Since you’ve already been exposed to it for years without realizing people were using stories that way.

The Persuasion Story Code:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ

Download.

New Ways To Open Your Copy With A Story


	Time to talk about a taboo subject that needs to be discussed: The truly awful clients copywriters inevitably get, and how to set things right with them (or make a Quick Draw McGraw exit)!

We’ve all had them. That can’t be changed or avoided.

But what to DO about them?

That can be learned, from an expert who’s been there, done that, and figured it out!

Our special guest today is A-List Copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm, author of the great new book Client Badassery Secrets: How Copywriters Can Earn MORE, Run A Thriving Freelance Business, And Cut Out The Client Bullshit

I’ve read it and it’s really good.

Kim’s just the right person to write this book, too. She’s worked as an executive with big direct-response publishers where she hired copywriters, and also someone who has written copy for some of the best-known publishers and supplement companies in the world. And plenty of other clients, along the way.

Today she’s going to tell us about the seven kinds of clients you meet on the way to copywriting “hell,” and how to avoid their tricks and traps and come out ahead.

Kim’s book, Client Badassery Secrets: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGV7MZ8P

Kim’s website:
https://kimschwalm.com/

Download.

Nightmare Clients And What To Do About Them, with Copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm


	After you’ve finished your copy, how do you know that you 
got everything right and haven’t left anything out?

There are several good ways to double-check, but I don’t 
think there’s one more fun than Jack Turk’s Killer Copy 
Checklist.

It’s an 8-page PDF, written and presented like a comic book.

But it’s serious stuff, in an easy-to-take form.

Today Jack’s going to tell us about the checklist and make it available to you free… free… free of charge.

To understand why this is such a good checklist, you need to know a little bit about Jack.

He’s our returning champion, and we’re really happy to have him back today!

Jack has decades of experience writing for corporations like Microsoft and Kodak, as well as a number of small businesses including dentists, attorneys, even magicians. 

As the voice of Dan Kennedy at GKIC and many other high-profile thought leaders, his sales copy has generated millions of dollars in sales and he’s now known as the world’s FASTEST Copywriter.

Jack was also host of the highly successful Copywriting Summit, and was kind enough to invite me on to talk about headlines and hooks.

Today he’s going to walk us through his Killer Copy Checklist. It’s as good as anything I’ve ever seen, and a whole lot more fun!

Get yourself a free copy of Jack’s Killer Copy Checklist here: www.writekillercopyfast.com/checklist 

Download.

Eugene Schwartz’s Best-Kept Copywriting Secret

Download our free app to listen on your phone