Copywriters Podcast

Let’s talk about something small.

Very small.

Small enough that most copywriters are forced tooverlook it, most of the time.

Because we’ve all been trained to think in termsof big persuasive assets.

The sales letter… the long-form VSL… the casestudy… the big story that carries the whole argument.

And those still matter.

But that’s not what most of us are writing mostof the time.

Most of the time, we’re writing in tight spaces.

Openings… transitions… subject lines… leads….things like that.

Now, we think about those things, for sure. Weworry about those things. We obsess over those things.

But rarely do we think thatwe have room to tell a whole story in those cramped, constrained spaces.

Well, recently I’ve been workshopping a new bookcalled Microstories.

It’s the next step of a new kind of story aftermy book The Persuasion Story Code.

Microstories is a book about compressed persuasion.

See, I kept noticing — in my own work and in thework of other copywriters — what I noticed was that sometimes, the smallestnarrative fragments were doing the heaviest lifting.

Stories that were just one sentence.

Or a mere two lines.

And that small fragment would establish credibility…or soothe an objection… or even, shift a belief.

All without announcing itself as “a story.”

I’m going to share some of my early work fromthe new book today. Stuff you can use right away.

My latest book, The Persuasion Story Code:

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

The big secret of success, whether it’s in investing… in professional sports… or in copywriting, is one in the same: A focus on, and a mastery of, the fundamentals.

The legendary basketball player Michael Jordan put it this way: “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”

We’ve never done a show that just focused on copywriting fundamentals, so what better time than now?

And one of the best sources of an expert list of the fundamentals is John Caples, in his book Tested Advertising Methods. There was nothing fancy or intellectual about what Caples said or did, and yet he was one of the greatest direct response copywriters of all time.

So our Old Masters Series turns to the late John Caples for source material. Based on his book, we’ve put together a list of fundamentals that everyone should remember and practice.

It’s easy to forget or get distracted by the latest shiny object, but ultimately, to win, you always have to go back to the fundamentals.

That’s what we’re going to do today.

RESOURCE:

Tested Advertising Methods, 5th Edition

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130957011

Our returning champion is Clive Cable, who was here a few weeks agotalking about his new book Neurocopy.

As Nathan and I got to know Clive a little better, we found out he hasbeen doing a LOT with AI and copywriting that frankly we haven’t seen anyoneelse do.

For example, he has a story-lede generator that comes up with a big idea for asales letter or VSL, and then writes a unique story lede to start the piece.

Clive’s created a bot that writes like Gene Schwartz–but he only uses itto write the FIRST PART of a piece of copy. He has another bot that writesprobably the best kind of close he’s ever seen.

And he’s taken research to a whole new level using AI.

Beyond that, he’s taken the late Chris Marlowe’s brilliant 21 questionprocess for creating copy briefs, and automated it using AI.

And there’s even more.

Clive is putting together an agency to help copywriters and companies,using his suite of AI tools, to do one of four things:

1. Beat a control

2. Do in-depth research

3. Figure out why something’s not working, and

4. Write brand-new copy, right out of the box.

We’ll talk later about how you can reach out to Clive if you’d like tofind out more about what he’s doing.

But for now, you might want to know Clive got started as a door-to-doorsalesman, offering home improvement products and services for as much as$25,000 a pop–and closing an amazing two out of every three people he talkedto.

He’s also an experienced copywriter, and has generated over £40 million,which is over 50 million dollars, across 12 different industries.

Clive also built a supplement company that generated £24,000 a month,selling products including colloidal silver, prebiotics and aerobic oxygen.

We’ll dig into what Clive’s doing with his virtual AI copywriters.

https://clivecable.com/

Dante Aligheri was a copywriter kind of guy. Rather than write in the stuffy, formal Latin which is what everyone else was writing in the 14th century, he wrote in the home boy people’s language of Tuscan.
Dante’s masterwork was The Divine Comedy, and his last line was
“L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle”
Translated into English, he’s talking about Love–the kind of love that moves the sun and the other stars.
Thus proving that even in medieval Italy, LOVE was recognized as the most powerful motivating force in the Universe.
Yet, how do we tap into that in our copy and take advantage of this irresistible force.
Today’s extremely special guest, Nathan, is here to tell you. Of course you already know Nathan extremely well as the co-host and producer of Copywriters Podcast.
But today he’s going to step out of the virtual control room to tell you how to make your prospects fall in love and obsess over your offer, which is something you really need to know, once you think about it.
Nathan's website
https://cultishcontent.com/

It’s a full-blown crisis. As if writing copy wasn’t hard enough, there’s a new demand falling on the plates of copywriters more and more.
And while maybe it’s not fair, it IS real. And it’s important that you know about it, and know what to do about it.
Good news. We’ve got just the person to explain what it is and how to come out ahead, looking like a million bucks and being a hero, whether you wear a cape or not.
The crisis is one of Design. These days, just as more and more is being expected of copywriters on the word and strategy side, so is more being expected on the Design side.
That doesn’t mean you have to be a full-fledged designer to get copy jobs. You don’t.
But you do need to know your way around what a well designed ad or web page looks like.
And there are details you need to understand and offer ideas about.
And our very special guest today and returning champion, Lori Haller of Designing Response, is here to sort it out and straighten it all out for you.
Lori works side by side with many of the greatest copywriters of our time to help create control-beating packages, for clients like Boardroom, Healthy Directions, Dr. Al Sears, Nutri-Health, KCI Communications, and Agora.
She has coached clients around the world, and she is an in-demand speaker and trainer.
I’ve only scratched the surface of Lori’s incredible and long list of credentials. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more or who has done more.
Her company, DesigningResponse, based in Germantown, Maryland, has built a reputation for creating award-winning, sales-generating direct mail, online promotions, space advertising, and product development.
She knows from up-to-date information in the field what are the new demands and expectations being placed upon copywriters. And she will talk about that today.
Lori’s website:
https://lorihaller.com
Reach Lori directly on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-haller-b2840717

These days people talk about neurochemicals a lot. Chemicals like dopamine, and cortisol, and the love chemical, oxytocin.
I’ve always wondered how these chemicals are affected by copy, and how much it matters.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered what our very special guest was doing! His name is Clive Cable, and he’s not only written a book about this, he has a complete system to evaluate copy based on the neurochemistry the copy will cause, and the buying behavior that chemistry will lead to.
The book is called Neurocopy, and it’s the first systematic work I’ve ever seen that shows how copy stimulates certain chemicals, and how those chemicals make people want to buy.
Clive is a trailblazer with his pioneering work. But I want to make it clear that he’s not some ivory tower guy sitting in a white coat in a lab measuring blood levels of dopamine and endorphins with a clinical chemistry analyzer.
No, Clive’s one of us. He got started as a door-to-door salesman, offering home improvement products and services for as much as $25,000 a pop–and closing an amazing two out of every three people he talked to.
He’s also an experienced copywriter, and has generated over £40 million, which is over 50 million dollars, across 12 different industries.
Clive also built a supplement company that generated £24,000 a month, selling products including colloidal silver, prebiotics and aerobic oxygen.
All of which to say that nothing he says about the process of buying and selling is theoretical. He’s lived it and he lives it.
And he’s a great salesperson!
I can also say that after I read through his book, I started to feel the effects of cortisol, which is a feeling of high stress, right before high-stakes events, and the effects of endorphins, which is a feeling of relief and satisfaction, after those events ended well.
There’s a lot more to all this, as we’ll find out today.
Link to get Clive’s new book, “Neurocopy”
https://www.lulu.com/shop/clive-cable/neurocopy/paperback/product-w4qjdmn.html

We’re really at a crisis point for a lot of marketers.
It’s not just that ads keep getting more expensive.
It’s that it just gets harder and harder to get and keep prospects’ attention.
And with everything being engineered and optimized by AI and CRO, stuff ends up looking more and more the same. And that only works against you.
You know you need to stand out–but how?
Well, the best way to get and keep attention is, and always has been, a story.
But how long is a story?
I mean, a Hero’s Journey story can take hours.
And even the type of compact tales I introduced in my book The Persuasion Story Code can take two to three minutes. That’s not very long, but at a time of shrinking attention spans, it’s still too long.
Now, you can try using outrageous hooks. But in addition to shrinking attention spans, you’re also fighting against rising levels of skepticism and outright distrust.
If you say something that gets attention but just isn’t believable, you’re still sunk.
So, what would be ideal to solve this problem?
It would be a persuasion story you could tell in 15 or 20 words.
Impossible, you say?
That’s what I thought until I really started working on it.
One of my clients, Ari Nirsissian, helped me quite a lot in the development of my thinking and writing of these new kind of attention magnets, the one-sentence microstory.
It really is a story. It really is persuasive.
And it really is short!
Just the right size for today’s attention spans.
Today I’m going to show you, step by step, how I developed three of them… and how I combined them into one electric three-sentence paragraph, which takes less than a minute to read out loud.
Resources:
To find out more about my book The Persuasion Story Code, check out this link to the Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ
And to find out more about my coaching for experienced copywriters and business owners, go to:
https://garfinkelcoaching.com

Today’s show is for every talented copywriter stuck in the feast-or-famine cycle of business and would much rather get paid well, to reflect the enormous value their copy is bringing to their clients.
We have a very special returning champion on the show today, Dr. Harlan Kilstein. He has just released a book called Value-Based Copywriting. Originally presented in a $997 seminar, this material has changed the lives and of course careers of some very fortunate copywriters.
This book solves the problem faced by thousands of copywriters–not getting paid for what their work is worth.
Harlan is a renowned entrepreneur and copywriting expert known for his innovative approaches in marketing, mindset, and personal development.
With decades of experience at the intersection of psychology, persuasion, and business strategy, Harlan has built a reputation for helping individuals and companies unlock explosive growth through compelling communication and breakthrough thinking.
He’s also a former educator with a doctorate in education. And, Harlan’s a very successful copywriter himself and an expert in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and hypnosis.
He’ll bring all of this, and more, to bear today. So you may want to take notes while you’re listening to today’s podcast. Lots of money-making information you will be able to use immediately.
Harlan’s new book:
Value-Based Copywriting: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GCCR64DC
My book The Persuasion Story Code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ