Copywriters Podcast

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.

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.

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.

If you’re a copywriter and you’re itching to build a business, what should you do?

You probably have many options. But if you’d like to know whether building your own agency is the right way to go, we have some valuable information for you.

Today’s guest, Andy Strote, has built two agencies. The first one, Fireworks Creative, grew from 2 to 30 people in five years. Andy and his partner sold the agency to a large company called Cognicase.

Six months later, he started another agency with one partner and one employee. That agency is called Context Creative. After 15 years, the agency had grown to have a staff of 28, and Andy sold his shares to his partners and returned to freelancing.

But he wrote a book about what he learned in 20 years of starting, managing, growing, and selling two agencies. The book is called How to Start a Successful Creative Agency, and of all the people I know, he’s the one to write that book!

Andy’s going to share some of those lessons and secrets today.

Andy’s book: How to Start A Successful Creative Agency

https://www.amazon.com/Start-Successful-Creative-Agency-Photographers-ebook/dp/B092CM9WTM

Download.

Once you can start using stories effectively in your copy, you have for all practical purposes developed a marketing superpower.

But don’t stop there.

Because the difference between a story and a STRONG story can be the difference between high-test gasoline and rocket fuel.

One will get you there faster… but one will get you there a lot faster, and go a lot further!

Strong stories are the rocket fuel in your sales copy.

And we’re going to talk about 5 ways to make any story stronger today.

Develop your superpower with The Persuasion Story Code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ
Download.

If you wanted to build your own home from scratch, it would be a good idea to talk to someone who’s done that, right?

Same thing with a sales funnel that generates a level of income you can barely imagine.

How do you build one?

My advice is:

Listen to our returning champion, Aaron Gentzler.

Because he’s been there and done that.

Multiple times.

For example, Aaron led a team in growing a newsletter business by a factor of 12, from $4 million to nearly $50 million a year.

Another example: Aaron wrote a promo in 2008 resulting in tens of millions of sales. His promo was so good that others in the company used his copy as a template, resulting in tens of millions of more sales.

More than 10 years ago, when Bitcoin was trading at about $500, Aaron published research urging investors to learn more about crypto and speculate prudently. Anyone who took his advice in 2013 would have increased their investment by more than 100 times. As we’re recording today at the beginning of April, Bitcoin closed yesterday at $65,270.

He’s done a lot more since then and is doing great things today.

I mentioned those three examples because Aaron has a bold and steady knack for taking promotional ideas and turning them into money—lots of money.

And if you’re looking for some clues as to how to do the same with a promotion you’re thinking about or working on, you’re in luck.

This is Aaron’s third time on the show, and he’s agreed to come back today and share some of his best secrets for massive business growth.

FREE training on building a funnel that won’t quit, from Aaron and his partner Shawn Twing.

Starting on Tuesday, April 23, so sign up now:

https://fullfunnelformula.co/?affiliate=dgarf

Download.

Today we have a special edition of the Old Masters Series.

I’ve convened a “board meeting” of six of our favorite Old Masters: David Ogilvy, Vic Schwab, Joe Sugarman, Gene Schwartz, Claude Hopkins and John Caples.

If you’ve read Think and Grow Rich, you know how Napoleon Hill used to have imaginary meetings with dead presidents?

Well, this one’s like that, but a little different. I’ve taken actual quotes from these six featured Old Masters and organized the quotes into three categories, to answer the question:

How can you improve the quality and response of your video ads on Facebook, youtube and TikTok?

You’ll be surprised and maybe delighted to find out that these guys had some wisdom they published before there even was an internet that applies 100% today—and we’ll show you how.

Because some things never change.

Download.

Last week we had A-List Copywriter Donnie Bryant on to tell us that the era of salesmanship in print is over for copywriting, to be replaced by showmanship in print.

He added that knowing how to sell is still a top priority, but today it’s almost imperative that you do it in an entertaining context.

Donnie’s right. We’re in an entertainment era, that’s for sure.

A couple days ago I was watching a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter from the Washington Post describe some major breaking news with her prediction of how it would play out in the future in a movie. She started her description by saying, “In the Netflix version… ”

Let’s just for a moment go back to the 1970s, when I was a journalist myself.

Can you Imagine the summer of 1974, after Nixon resigns, Woodward and Bernstein on with Walter Cronkite, saying, “I think in the movie Robert Redford should play Woodward, and Dustin Hoffman can play Bernstein.”

Never woulda, coulda or shoulda happened.

In 1974.

But that was then and this is now.

And here we are. It’s Netflix’s world. We just live in it.

So how does all this apply to copy?

Not as much as you might imagine… but a lot more than you probably think.

We’ll talk about that today.

Get: The Persuasion Story Code http://shorturl.at/pzAEQ

Download.

For years, copywriters have been bowing down to a pivotal moment in copywriting history when John E. Kennedy revealed to Albert Lasker that advertising is, in fact, nothing more than “salesmanship in print.”

That happened in Chicago in the early 1900s.

Today, a modern-day copywriting visionary from Chicago, Donnie Bryant, says it’s time to update the definition.

Donnie is our returning champion. He was on a couple months ago to talk about his great new book, Subject Line Science.

But this time, he’s got a new idea that may stop you in your tracks.

Donnie knows whereof he speaks. He has generated over $130 million in sales for his clients, which include Agora Financial, Dan Kennedy’s GKIC and Early to Rise.

And he has shared the stage with copy legends like Parris Lampropolous, Clayton Makepeace and the other David, David Deutsch.

We take a deep dive into Donnie’s stunning new idea today.

Donnie’s Book, Subject Line Science:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPRRS2LK
Download.

If you’d like to know what goes on behind the scenes in the world of financial copywriting, our guest today has the inside story. Aaron Gentzler is CMO of Mauldin Economics, a major financial publisher based in Northern Florida. He’s been in the business since 2006 and tells us about his own journey, as well as some of the experiences he’s had training and advocating for younger copywriters.

Just as important, he’ll let you know what he has seen that spells bad news for people trying to get their foot in the door in the first place. Plus, he shares in-the-trenches insights about what works and what doesn’t work with stories in copywriting.

My book, The Persuasion Story Code

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ
Download.