Kickass Copy Strategy: Onboard Like Martha
“What would Martha do?” That’s what I ask myself whenever I invite people over. (I’m talking about Martha Stewart, btw.) See, I imagine that when Martha has people over, she greets her guests with a...
View ArticleHow to Curse in English
My mom is bilingual, and there’s this story she loves about a Spanish-speaker who wants to learn how to curse in English. So it goes like this: The guy meets this group of Americans, and they agree to...
View ArticleThat Time I Got Into an eBay Fight…
The story contains a valuable sales copy lesson, though, so all was not lost. So, there I was, on eBay. And I found the holy grail: My beloved discontinued jeans in my exact size, in my favorite wash,...
View ArticleSome Babies Are Ugly
You gasp, but it’s true. Now, I’m talking about product babies, of course. Your business baby. Because a lot of times, there’s something wrong with them. Something customers complain about… Or...
View ArticleHow to Lose Prospects and Repel People
I couldn’t look away. I knew what was coming. I’ve seen it happen before. Someone in a Facebook group was about to go down, down, down, in a burning ring of fire. Let’s call him Craig. Here’s where...
View ArticleHow to Add Value With A Moldy Petri Dish
It was a petri dish of funk. I’d left it out in my living room, just like the directions said. Closed it, sealed it, and waited. Two days later, there was mold growing in it. Ew. So much ew. That was...
View ArticleIf You Give A Prospect a Cheese Cube…
Real value. That’s what I’ve been talking about this week. Last week I told you about Craig, who claimed to add value… But was really just pitching himself over and over. And yesterday I told you about...
View ArticleA Check-Up for Your About Page
Your About Page is kinda like a biannual dental cleaning. Hmmm…let’s unpack that. 🙂 See, I had my teeth cleaned earlier this week, like a responsible adult person. And like all dentists, he’s making...
View ArticleNo-No Words…
“Are there words you HATE to see in sales copy?” That’s what someone asked me last month, at a lunch-and-learn kind of event. My answer? Yes, of course! The so-called word “impactful” makes me cringe…...
View ArticleYou Use a Blue Button, the Sales End…
Opt-in buttons: Blue or red? Or aquamarine? Maybe eggshell white? Do I put the button above the VSL or below? WHICH WILL CONVERT BEST?! As Neo would say, “Whoa!” Let’s back up… What if I told you that...
View ArticleAn “Unsubscribe” Lesson from Total Bastard Airlines
Some marketers freak out if they get too many unsubscribes. And some will even follow up with each and every person who leaves their list… I guess to beg them to come back? It seems kinda obnoxious....
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Why Your Prospects Think You’re Full of It
Check out my latest post, over at Copy Chief! In the article, you’ll discover: Why your copy raises red flags, even if you’re being 100% honest and selling a proven product… How to use the “Yeah,...
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Made You Click! Subject Lines Worth Swiping
Like a lot of copywriters, I keep a swipe file for inspiration. However, instead of keeping it to myself, I thought I’d share the subject lines I’ve been swiping lately. Basically, if a subject line...
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Surfing the Wave of a Mass Desire
In my last post, I talked about where Big Ideas come from. And today I wanted to talk about another part of a winning Big Idea: Mass desire. This is one of my favorite copywriting tips from the...
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Want Me to Help You Build Your Inspiration/Swipe File?
Would you like for me to help you build your inspiration (aka swipe) file? If you’re not familiar with the term, an inspiration/swipe file is a file copywriters build for themselves that’s full of...
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A Jill of All Trades, Master of One
Some of the best copywriters in the world are a little bit all over the place. They get really excited about a lot of things … maybe too many things. They’re Jills (and Jacks) of all trades. I’m this...
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Copy Lessons from a Book I Hated
This book was part of my copy cub homework with Parris Lampropoulos, and I hated reading it. In fact, I read the last several chapters as quickly as I could, specifically because I didn’t want to have...
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Reader Mail: “What does it mean to sell the concept first?”
This is an email I received this week: I’m starting to read some control copy. I followed Parris’ (Lampropoulos) advice about getting on the Second Opinion mail newsletter. I’ve been studying the small...
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Don’t use big numbers in copy, unless you do this
One of the coolest things about copywriting is how much psychology goes into it. (Okay, maybe we have different ideas of what’s “cool.” But I read psych books for fun, so. <—#hugenerd) Anyway, since...
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How to write kickass copy, 2x faster
Last week, I wrote two lengthy emails in the same time it takes me to write just one. And not only did I write twice as fast, but I wrote these for my mentor Parris Lampropoulos. If you don’t know...
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