Copywriters Podcast

This is a Manifesto and an Exposé. People ask me all the time what I do in my mentoring of copywriters and business owners.

I mean, what did I do to earn the tagline, “The World’s Greatest Copywriting Coach?”

I’ve decided to come clean. It’s never been a secret, but now that I think about it, I just don’t talk about it all that much. In dribs and drabs, sure.

But never the full monty. Until today.

Today’s show is for two types of people:

First, anyone who’s interested in the kind of mentoring I do and might want to bring me on as a mentor.

But second, anyone else who mentors copywriters or wants to.

Look, there are far more people who want to be mentored than I’ll ever be able to work with one-on-one.

So if you can take my 10 rules of copywriting mentoring and put them to use with your own clients, have at it. This is an open invitation.

To learn more about my mentoring, go to: https://garfinkelcoaching.com

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These days, more than ever before, it’s not merely

optional that you stand out in the marketplace. For

the listeners of this podcast, that is true whether you’re

a copywriter, a marketing consultant with a specialty,

or a business owner.

You need to stand apart from the crowd especially these days because the marketplace is so crowded and getting more so every day. You want to be known for something specific.

In the best of all possible worlds, you want to be the “go-to” person for what you do.

Brenna McGowan, who is our returning champion today, figured that out and did something about it. Even though what she does is relatively innovative and not the most crowded part of our field, she found a way to stand out, big-time.

Brenna’s specialty is pre-launches—warming up your market by letting them get to know you even before your launch begins. That’s what she told us about when she was on the show a couple months ago.

But now she’s back to talk about a multi-day virtual event she hosts every few months, called “Behind the Launch.” It’s pretty exciting and she’s agreed to reveal a lot on today’s show.

To get Brenna’s pre-launch cheat sheet and get on her list, to find out what she’s up to and get advance notice of her next event, go here:

https://brennamcgowan.co/cheatsheet/

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One of the first two books I devoured and then recommended to people who bought my course was by Old Master Joe Sugarman, who passed away two years ago. The book was called “Advertising Secrets of the Written Word.”

Just about everything in that book is valid today, and Sugarman writes like a friendly human being, not an imposing overlord of advertising. It’s a very easy book to read, but it is chock-full of detailed, high-powered value.

Today, as we continue our streak of Old Masters Series episodes, we’re going to talk about the book and talk about Joe.

The good news is, the whole book is available for less than half of what I paid for it in 1999. And I marvel at how much good stuff he was able to get in there.

We’re going to cover some of his most important points today.

Resources:

(same book, new title, better price):

The Adweek Copywriting Book, by Joe Sugarman:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470051248

My new book, The Persuasion Story Code:

http://shorturl.at/pzAEQ
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Today we’re going to talk about an emotion that gets short shrift in copywriting, but I believe is the most powerful of all when it comes to motivating people.

That emotion is: Envy.

It’s controversial, because there are so many prohibitions against it.

We’ll talk about those today.

But it’s also widespread, from solopreneurs to marketing from the largest corporations in the world. Some observers have suggested, for example, that Apple is expert in making its products objects of aspirational desire by creating envy, subtly, in its ads.

We have a lot more examples of envy in marketing, some of them very concrete, in today’s show.

To find out more about coaching: https://garfinkelcoaching.com
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How do you put together a seven, eight or even nine-figure promotion?

(Just in case you weren’t sure, “nine figures” means north of 100 million dollars. And yes, you’re about to meet someone who has written a promotion that took in more than $100 million.)

But in fact, there are precious few copywriters who have done all this and will tell you how. However, our special guest today is one of the few who can, and will—and he’s Henry Bingaman.

All told, Henry’s copy has generated well over $300 million. He’s written blockbusters for Newsmax, Natural Health Sherpa, and Money Map Press, as well as other top publishers.

And just as important to me, Henry is both trusted and feared by those at the top.

I can’t think of a better way to demonstrate trust than by what top copywriter Marcella Allison said: “I practically have Henry Bingaman on ‘speed dial’. Seriously. Whenever I’m faced with a difficult choice, or major business or career decision, he’s the first person I reach out to!”

And as for fear, it’s the right kind. The legendary late Clayton Makepeace said, “Henry is on the short list of copywriters I would never dream of going up against. He really is that good.”

So now you know a little about Henry. But what you’re going to hear about on today’s show is Henry’s awesome Seven Stories method for writing powerful, long-lasting, chart-topping sales letters and VSLs.

Free bonus from Henry: “8 Questions To Discover Your Big Idea”

https://www.henrybing.co/idea/

Download.

You can have the greatest product, the greatest headline, the greatest targeting, the greatest offer, and the greatest price.

But you know what’s going to torpedo your entire promotion in a New York minute?

It’s: if your prospect doesn’t believe you.

We covered one aspect of believability last week, but we have some fresh tips today.

Because believability is the pass/fail test every ad must pass in order to work.

Period.

But that’s not the end of the story.

In today’s Old Masters Series episode, we draw on the considerable wisdom of the great John Caples, and a new book I just found out about.

Unlike the classic Caples work Tested Advertising Methods, this book is readily available on Amazon for the low, low price of $8.86. And the Kindle is even less.

It’s called Making Ads Pay, and it’s worth far more than the asking price.

In this book Caples has a whole chapter on making ads believable. We’re going to talk more about that today.

Making Ads Pay, by John Caples: https://www.amazon.com/dp/048648601X

Download.

You can have the greatest product, the greatest headline, the greatest targeting, the greatest offer, and the greatest price.

But you know what’s going to torpedo your entire promotion in a New York minute?

It’s: if your prospect doesn’t believe you.

Believability is the pass/fail test every ad must pass in order to work.

Period.

But that’s not the end of the story.

In today’s Old Masters Series episode, we draw on the considerable wisdom of the great John Caples, and a new book recommended on twitter/x by a current copywriting master and friend of the show, Doug D’Anna.

Unlike the classic Caples work Tested Advertising Methods, this book is readily available on Amazon for the low, low price of $8.86. And the Kindle is even less.

It’s called Making Ads Pay, and it’s worth far more than the asking price.

In this book Caples has a whole chapter on making ads believable. We’re going to talk about that today.

Making Ads Pay, by John Caples: https://www.amazon.com/dp/048648601X

Download.

What do the world’s most experienced, successful copywriters really think? What if I could get them all together in one room and ask them to share their best ideas and techniques on specific copywriting topics they know most about?

If you’ve ever wondered those things, you’re not alone. Our special guest today, Jack Turk, wondered the same thing.

And next week, he’s going to give you an answer, at no cost to you, to hear what some of the world’s top copywriters have to say. Including David Deutsch, Dave Dee, and another David, I can’t remember his name right now.

Plus many more!

Jack’s going to tell us all about it midway through the show. You should know he has decades of experience writing for the big guys, like Microsoft and Kodak. Plus many smaller businesses including dentists, attorneys, even magicians.

As the voice of Dan Kennedy at GKIC and of many other high-profile thought leaders, Jack’s sales copy has generated millions upon millions of dollars.

Plus, he’s now known as the world’s FASTEST Copywriter.

You can sign up for free access to the Copywriting Summit here:

https://go.360summits.com/t?orid=579093&opid=150

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When you’ve got to make a pitch to a prospect, whether in person or in writing, you face a weird paradox:

The more successful the prospect, the less time they have for you.

Cramming a ton of benefits into a short pitch tends to work against you. Who can process all that data in such a short period of time.

Lucky for you, there’s another way. It’s called “stacking microstories.” Today I’ll show you how to put together a complete pitch that takes less than five minutes to deliver. You can use this for any product or service.

You could put it in an email or on a sales page. And you could deliver it in spoken form to a prospect.

I’ll give an actual demo of a microstory stack that takes far less than 5 minutes, so you can see for yourself how this works.

Get The Persuasion Story Code here: ‪

https://www.amazon.com/Persuasion-Story-Code-Conversational-Storytelling/dp/B0CFCVDZ7T

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If you’re thinking hiring a copywriter OR you’re

considering getting a coach, you might be wondering:

What can a copywriter do for me that a coach can’t?

And vice-versa: What can a coach do for me that a

copywriter can’t?

Coaching and copywriting are two professions that have grown impressively over the last 20 years. The Internet and a fast-changing world have a lot to do with it.

But a lot of people are unclear on what they do and what kind of results they provide. Because while both copywriters and coaches are in the business of helping people get what they want, the ways they go about it are as different as night and day.

Today our special guest is Sean McCool. He’s been writing hard-hitting, high-earning sales letters for large publishers like Agora and Stansberry Research for 15 years, plus he’s worked for a lot of smaller direct-response oriented businesses, too.

The important thing to know up front is Sean is also a life coach with clients including actresses, children’s book writers, entrepreneurs and even a member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

So, like me, Sean is a coach as well as a copywriter. I thought it would be fun to talk about the similarities and the differences. One thing it will do for you as a viewer or listener is put into sharp relief what copy can and cannot do for you… and whether you should be on the lookout for a coach yourself.

Sean’s website is: https://seanmccool.com

And you can find his podcast here: https://persuasionbythepint.com/

Download.