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Tag: copywriting

  • What the hell does this have to do with sales?

    Everything.

    If you’re going into conversations without a firm script or outline (at minimum) what is you even doing?!

    Write down questions you think they’re going to ask you.

    Then answer them.

    Write down the reasons they will give for not signing up.

    Then address them.

    Write down how you make your clients more money.

    Then explain it.

    Write down what you do that nobody else does.

    Then charge money for it.

    Writing is sales. Sales is writing.

    Abracadabra the hell out of your sales conversations and you’ll pull money from thin air.

    Yet another fantastic demonstration that magic perfected thousands of years before anyone thought to put two and two twogether.

    Alright. It’s Saturday. Time to listen to WNCW radio & have a crazy good breakfast with the family.

    See you bright and early Monday morning with more ideas on how to get you paid.

    Best thoughts,
    ~Jonathan

    PS: Have questions about your business, marketing, persuasion, or anything else that you’d like me to answer? Hit reply to this email, write it out, and hit send. This is my real email address and I read every single email that I get. (and I answer almost all of ’em, too!)

  • Objection, your honor.

    Ugh. I can hear it. Another “but I’m a special snowflake and here’s why I’m not a writer” excuse thinly veiled as a legit reason.

    Here it is: “Jonathan, I talk. I don’t write.”

    Yeah? And?

    I’m a talker too.

    I get paid to talk.

    and you know what I do?

    Write it all down before I say it so I can figure out the best way to say it in the safety of my own imagination before I have to say it for real.

    I learned how to do this in high school.

    I was a competitive debater. I was in the National Forensics League.

    And I don’t like to brag, because it makes me a HUGE nerd, but I maxed out the points I could get for Lincoln-Douglas debate. *

    pushes up the glasses (that I don’t wear) to emphasize the point*

    Most of my Saturdays were spent arguing with other nerds about stuff like whether or not we should have the death penalty.

    Light topics like that.

    What did I do before going into the first round for each new topic?

    Organize my thoughts. Also called “writing shit down so I can get a handle on it.”

    That’s why I say everything is a writing problem.

    Figure out how to write better, and everything gets better.

    And it’s especially useful if you’re “not a writer.”

    You can write 100 versions of your idea before committing it to video when you record your next YouTube video.

    Don’tforgettolikeandsubscribeandsmashthatnotificationbellsoyoudon’tmissoutonnewvideoseveryTuesday.

    1. Write it a bunch.
    2. Say it once.
    3. Profit

    There you go.

    Another excuse bites the dust.

    Get to writing why dontcha?

    Best thoughts,
    ~Jonathan

  • What happens when you write?

    All the good stuff you’ve been looking for, that’s what.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, of course.

    There’s just so much you can write about.

    • Your inspiration
    • Your process
    • Competitors
    • Case studies
    • Processes
    • Projects you like
    • How you think about current events
    • Evaluating claims
    • Answering client questions
    • Entertainment

    Ev-er-y-thing.

    And each piece you write (and also share) is another invitation for the right people to get to know you.

    (Don’t worry about the wrong people getting to know you. They won’t care enough to actually read much of what you write, so it’s a self-correcting non-problem. Neato!)

    The more you share, the more they know, the more they understand, the more they fall in love with your mind.

    And that’s what we’re all here for, MIND READING.

    Share your thoughts. Share them often & broadly & loudly.

    OK?!

    Good.

    Best thoughts,
    ~Jonathan

  • Everything is a (fill in the blank) problem.

    Starting with an aside; bear with me.

    Before we dig deeper into The Current Topic™ I want to give you a heads up that it’s Tuesday so that means there’s a new YouTube video up.

    I call attention to one of the most common lead generation strategies I see, and then I explain why it does more harm than good to a business.

    Give it a watch here.

    BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM

    What do you think is an everything problem?

    Government? People? Money?

    What’s at the root of all your problems?

    Is it you?

    On any other day I’d probably agree with you (but, like, in a loving way).

    Today, however, you’re off the hook.

    Today we talk about copywriting!

    That’s an industry insider word for “writing things that gets people to do stuff.”

    I call ’em Power words!

    Abracadabra-I-create-as-I-speak words.

    Having trouble landing that job? Probably not saying the WRITE things.

    Can’t get a date? You’re probably not Cyrano de Bergerac.

    (I will confess to mangling the spelling for his name and Google was helpful as ever in its ever-so-helpful condescending “did you mean this?” way)

    Having trouble selling that kick ass e-book that you poured your life & soul into? You’re probably using the wrong words to talk about it on social media.

    Your stage show sucks? I bet words have something to do with it.

    Can’t get investors?

    You get the idea.

    Words are how we get the things we want.

    I mean, we can also use violence, but that’s bad m’kay? Don’t do it. Bad.

    So yeah, learn the power of persuasive writing and you unlock a whole universe of possibility.

    Think about it.

    Best thoughts,
    ~Jonathan

  • Words Are Magic

    Words Are Magic

    Just now I was looking out the window letting my mind wander as I do quite often, and a weird thought popped into my head.

    Put the right words in the right order and you can get someone to give you money, fall in love, or even start a war.

    That’s magic.
    Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful skills you could ever hope to work on. And why writing instead of speaking? When you speak, you might in front of a room full of 2,000 people but you’re only going to connect with them in that moment. If you write the same words, you now can reach anyone from then until the end of time.
    There are authors who died centuries ago, but whose thoughts remain just as relevant today as when they were first written. (I’m looking at you Marcus Aurelius. . .)
    If you want to get better at writing words that create action (specifically someone taking dollars out of their wallet and handing them to you), then check out the Boron Letters. It’s a series of lessons framed as letters from a father writing to his son from prison.
    The website is atrocious, but don’t let that keep you from digging in. There’s gold in there.
    Go find it!