A member of Copy Chief posted a thread this week to say that they were feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. They didn’t understand why copywriting seemed to come easily to others, but felt like a [...]
I strongly believe every business owner should be their own first copywriter. No one else has the passion for the product, the market, or understands WHY you created a solution to a problem, [...]
I’m not one to dwell on the negative aspects of marketing. You could spend all day there. And many people do. I’d rather be creating something better, wouldn’t you? It’s amazing that we have the [...]
I recently told you about my first paid copywriting gig. How it came from a copywriting forum called The Copywriting Board (the same one I modeled Copy Chief after) and… … how I beat out [...]
Everyone remembers their first paid gig. It changes you for good. No matter how big or little the pay, the fact that a person of reasonable intelligence has decided to send you money to perform [...]
You and I both know that hiring a freelance copywriter is not exactly the same as hiring other types of contractors. That’s because no other contractor will represent a client, their voice, and [...]
If your website is taking longer to build than the Taj Mahal, then you’re doing it wrong. Or, your designer’s doing it wrong. All I can tell you is it’s wrong. I know this, cuz I’ve been there. [...]
…(as we escaped the law!) Let’s imagine that you and I were thrown together by some random “madcap” movie plotline… Something really zany, like I’ve been falsely accused of a bank [...]
… to produce a single gallon of syrup. I was watching an interview with the great documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, when he cited that fact. Of course, that sent me down a three-hour [...]
Smack dab in the middle of the most anxious moments (Presidential election coverage) of the most anxious year (uh, this one) on record… where EVERYWHERE you look, EVERYONE is talking a mile a [...]
What makes the difference between a piece of copywriting that stirs a deeply positive emotional reaction in the reader… and one that has them trashing it immediately. Or worse… [...]
A few years ago the direct response copywriting industry had a SERIOUS PROBLEM… There was only one place online for copywriters to connect with clients, and to put it bluntly, the place [...]
My recent post about “Entrepreneurial DNA” really struck a chord. I heard from subscribers on both sides, some who consider themselves “gamblers” willing to take “risky action in hopes of [...]
In 1962, a seven-year-old boy named Edward boarded a ship with his family and sailed from the life he knew in Holland to a new life in America. The family had no money. All their [...]
Wanna know what defines an entrepreneur? It isn’t the “billion dollar” ideas… Or the scrappy rebelliousness… Or even the ability to create revenue. Those things are inherent in most [...]
Rather than tell you the answer, I’d like to show you… by sharing this incredible exchange between a member of my community who left nursing to become a freelance copywriter, and a [...]
I bought an acoustic guitar from a pawn shop in Louisville, KY. This was around 1994. I was living on the road, touring the comedy circuit, with lots of time to kill between shows. [...]
It thrills me to meet new copywriters at their enthusiastic best. I love guiding them through to the next levels, helping them avoid the nasty traps that derail progress. Looking back to when I [...]
Ever done this one? You block a day on your calendar to write sales copy. You’ve pushed off starting a bit perhaps, but you know what you’re doing… there’s still plenty of time to get it done on [...]
Back in 1990, I drove almost nonstop from my barely furnished apartment in Clearwater, Florida, up and over to Dothan, Alabama for my first ever road gig as a comic. I was still trying to make it [...]
That line from Elton John’s “Honky Cat” has been ringing in my head lately. The song is about a guy who grew up on the farm with dreams of moving to the big city… When I look back, [...]
You’ve surely seen the hilarious viral video ads for products like Squatty Potty (with the famous ice cream-pooping unicorn), Purple Mattress, Lume Deodorant, and Poo Pourri. Those ads are made [...]
On a trip to Los Angeles, I came across the car wash where I had a conversation with a famous stranger that changed my life forever. (Here’s the story as I told John Lee Dumas on this [...]
There’s a single copywriting skill with the power to launch a career, win the respect of your peers (and heroes), and even have clients paying you just for the possibility of hiring you for major [...]
![[TAM] Ep 140: Elin Marie – Elin’s Ten Step Control-Beating Copy Process](https://copychief.com/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/Episode_140-370fjj2bez5w40mdw21hc0.jpg "[TAM] Ep 140: Elin Marie – Elin’s Ten Step Control-Beating Copy Process")
![[TAM] Ep 139: My Best Advice For Freelancers](https://copychief.com/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/Episode_139-370fjj2bez5w40mdw21hc0.jpg "[TAM] Ep 139: My Best Advice For Freelancers")
How’s your business been treating you so far this year? Is it the friend you can’t wait to wake up to? Or the beast looming in the next room? People with “real jobs” don’t quite understand how it [...]
My son Ben did something really ignorant last week… … and I’m so proud of him for it. He’s going to a new school next year – a start-up school – and all the students are pitching in [...]
This will sound strange coming from a guy who lives in Florida, but… I love the month of July. Yes, it’s hot here. Stupid hot. Not fit for humans hot. Yesterday I even saw a lizard wearing a [...]
The following is a series of emails sent about a serious epidemic in online marketing circles. Email 1 Subject: Do you suffer from “shiny tactic syndrome”? (a quick test) Here’s a quick test to [...]
The Next Million Dollar Copywriter Live Hangout with Brian Kurtz and Kevin Rogers This epic live summit sought to help direct response copywriters and companies discover better ways to work [...]
Enjoy a “chief’s only” Blab we held all about how to create and monetize a quality podcast…
No doubt about it… … short social videos are good for your business. They grow your authority, your reach and help you sell more of what you’re offering. IF you do it right. [...]
I’m about to get all serious up in here today. There’s an alarming trend happening with freelancers and entrepreneurs that needs to be called out. People I’ve spoken with are more confused and [...]
Do you know why 90% of small businesses fail in the first year? If you ask the owners themselves they’ll say, “we ran out of cash.” Yet, you and I both know that really means…. there was lots of [...]
One of my all-time heroes is Jim Rohn. An inspiring motivational speaker and author, Rohn also knows how to give good quote. (My favorite of Jim’s is: “Never wish life were easier; wish that you [...]
1. Accepting a small role in someone else’s success, rather than creating big wins of your own. Freelancers, the good ones, often suffer from what I call “the sickness”. Which means they posses [...]
Copy Chief Thread Copy Chief members can see the community feedback on Wardee’s sales letter that led to a 400% peak boost in conversions.
One of the biggest questions I’m asked when teaching copywriters to write sales letters is this: “How do I choose the right avatar?” Coming right at the start of the research process, the [...]
Your fingers are numb. Your brain is mush. And your eyeballs are practically popping out of your face, over-stimulated by the gallons of caffeine you’ve consumed. Man, the all-nighter you’ve just [...]
Now when it came to ‘morning’ writing rituals, no-one could touch Hunter S. Thompson. According to his biographer, his day started at 3pm with a glass of Chivas Regal and a packet of Dunhills [...]
The first time I met Dean Jackson on the (now) famous white couches in Celebration, FL, he asked me a question… “How long could you sit on this couch and do nothing before it had a [...]
This is the story of how I was able to “weasel my way” into John Carlton’s world. All the way from a guy he’d barely noticed writing about him on marketing forums — to eventually becoming a [...]
Chris Tomasulo was the first guy to introduce me to direct response copywriting. He showed me some sites and a few letters that looked weird and unappealing to my untrained eye. Chris patiently [...]
Sales influencers are those things put in place to guide buyers to the sale. Sometimes they are obvious, sometimes pretty stealth. Last week I shared a video walking through Manly Beach and [...]
How many sales influence factors can you spot through the lens of my iPhone over six minutes around Sydney? (there’s at least 1 per minute) See the sales influencers revealed in this post. [...]
First morning back in Tampa from Australia. What an adventure. 19,298 miles and 180 handshakes over 7 days. So much to share with you this week from James Schramko’s incredible live [...]
Today I’m going to share an important lesson about using empathy to relate to your prospect in a sales letter. This is an issue I’ve concentrated on a lot for two reasons… 1. [...]
1. Stop traffic. Once a small crowd has gathered Joe waves his audience in closer as a “courtesy” because it “saves me shouting.” He promises, “I won’t ask you for money” to differentiate [...]
In his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, author Greg McKeown recalls his days as a first year law student in England. On a trip to the U.S., an executive mentioned casually, [...]
I received an email from a subscriber in Australia yesterday with a common theme. It opens like this… “My question is, how did you find the transition from being a comedian to a [...]
My first year into freelance copywriting, I had a serious problem. The Problem: Information overload. You know this one, right? That feeling that there is so much good information about how to [...]
Billy Gardell is the star of the hit sitcom “Mike & Molly” on CBS (with co-star Melissa McCarthy). We began our comedy careers together in 1988 and we’ve been great friends [...]
A subscriber named Tony asked: I’m a freelance copywriter who’s trying earn his crust by being a student of the game, and stalking Big Dog such as yourself to get my game face on. [...]
Can you look at any sales letter or video and know exactly which parts are making the sale? Imagine what a direct marketing super-power like that could be worth. Talk about your “unfair [...]
Can a sales letter create the same kind of chest pounding intensity as a killer guitar riff blasting through a stack of Marshall amps? Do your words reverberate in your reader’s head like [...]
There are many valuable lessons about effective copy in the rhythm and timing of comedy. There’s also great lessons in the art of joke writing. Styles vary greatly among comedians… [...]
“You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking… you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here.” – Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver (1976) Copywriting [...]
There’s Only One Way To Make Men Enjoy Shopping For Clothes – And Trunk Club Did it Think back… When is the last time you were truly blown away with a buying experience? You [...]
Did you watch Jimmy Fallon take over as the host of The Tonight Show this week? It’s hard to fathom how much pressure he was under to get this moment right. The last time NBC attempted to [...]
There are a million ways to get attention online. But what you do with that attention is the X-factor that determines how much money you can make with the internet. Unless you’re as [...]
Hi Friends, Just back from John Carlton’s Action Seminar – a torrid 3-day affair between the sharpest minds in marketing and the most elite group of copywriters ever assembled. I [...]
A 60-Second Sales Hook is a short story-driven sales message that instantly establishes Know, Like and Trust with your best prospects. You can think of it as the World’s Greatest Elevator [...]
A reader asked… Q: How do I write effective sales copy without losing my genuine voice or coming across too hypey? Good question. “Hype” can be a subjective term, so… A: [...]
Long-time subscriber, Orleatha, asked a great question about what to do when… Q: “I’m too close to my product to see all the reasons why people should buy it.” A: This is a great question, [...]