Copywriters Podcast

If you wanted to build your own home from scratch, it would be a good idea to talk to someone who’s done that, right? Same thing with a sales funnel that generates a level of income you can barely imagine. How do you build one? My advice is: Listen to our returning champion, Aaron Gentzler. Because he’s been there and done that. Multiple times. For example, Aaron led a team in growing a newsletter business by a factor of 12, from $4 million to nearly $50 million a year. Another example: Aaron wrote a promo in 2008 resulting in tens of millions of sales. His promo was so good that others in the company used his copy as a template, resulting in tens of millions of more sales. More than 10 years ago, when Bitcoin was trading at about $500, Aaron published research urging investors to learn more about crypto and speculate prudently. Anyone who took his advice in 2013 would have increased their investment by more than 100 times. As we’re recording today at the beginning of April, Bitcoin closed yesterday at $65,270. He’s done a lot more since then and is doing great things today. I mentioned those three examples because Aaron has a bold and steady knack for taking promotional ideas and turning them into money—lots of money. And if you’re looking for some clues as to how to do the same with a promotion you’re thinking about or working on, you’re in luck. This is Aaron’s third time on the show, and he’s agreed to come back today and share some of his best secrets for massive business growth. FREE training on building a funnel that won’t quit, from Aaron and his partner Shawn Twing. Starting on Tuesday, April 23, so sign up now: https://fullfunnelformula.co/?affiliate=dgarf Download.

Today we have a special edition of the Old Masters Series. I’ve convened a “board meeting” of six of our favorite Old Masters: David Ogilvy, Vic Schwab, Joe Sugarman, Gene Schwartz, Claude Hopkins and John Caples. If you’ve read Think and Grow Rich, you know how Napoleon Hill used to have imaginary meetings with dead presidents? Well, this one’s like that, but a little different. I’ve taken actual quotes from these six featured Old Masters and organized the quotes into three categories, to answer the question: How can you improve the quality and response of your video ads on Facebook, youtube and TikTok? You’ll be surprised and maybe delighted to find out that these guys had some wisdom they published before there even was an internet that applies 100% today—and we’ll show you how. Because some things never change. Download.

Last week we had A-List Copywriter Donnie Bryant on to tell us that the era of salesmanship in print is over for copywriting, to be replaced by showmanship in print. He added that knowing how to sell is still a top priority, but today it’s almost imperative that you do it in an entertaining context. Donnie’s right. We’re in an entertainment era, that’s for sure. A couple days ago I was watching a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter from the Washington Post describe some major breaking news with her prediction of how it would play out in the future in a movie. She started her description by saying, “In the Netflix version… ” Let’s just for a moment go back to the 1970s, when I was a journalist myself. Can you Imagine the summer of 1974, after Nixon resigns, Woodward and Bernstein on with Walter Cronkite, saying, “I think in the movie Robert Redford should play Woodward, and Dustin Hoffman can play Bernstein.” Never woulda, coulda or shoulda happened. In 1974. But that was then and this is now. And here we are. It’s Netflix’s world. We just live in it. So how does all this apply to copy? Not as much as you might imagine… but a lot more than you probably think. We’ll talk about that today. Get: The Persuasion Story Code http://shorturl.at/pzAEQ Download.

For years, copywriters have been bowing down to a pivotal moment in copywriting history when John E. Kennedy revealed to Albert Lasker that advertising is, in fact, nothing more than “salesmanship in print.” That happened in Chicago in the early 1900s. Today, a modern-day copywriting visionary from Chicago, Donnie Bryant, says it’s time to update the definition. Donnie is our returning champion. He was on a couple months ago to talk about his great new book, Subject Line Science. But this time, he’s got a new idea that may stop you in your tracks. Donnie knows whereof he speaks. He has generated over $130 million in sales for his clients, which include Agora Financial, Dan Kennedy’s GKIC and Early to Rise. And he has shared the stage with copy legends like Parris Lampropolous, Clayton Makepeace and the other David, David Deutsch. We take a deep dive into Donnie’s stunning new idea today. Donnie’s Book, Subject Line Science: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPRRS2LKDownload.

If you’d like to know what goes on behind the scenes in the world of financial copywriting, our guest today has the inside story. Aaron Gentzler is CMO of Mauldin Economics, a major financial publisher based in Northern Florida. He’s been in the business since 2006 and tells us about his own journey, as well as some of the experiences he’s had training and advocating for younger copywriters. Just as important, he’ll let you know what he has seen that spells bad news for people trying to get their foot in the door in the first place. Plus, he shares in-the-trenches insights about what works and what doesn’t work with stories in copywriting. My book, The Persuasion Story Code https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQDownload.

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 Download.

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/ Download.

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/pzAEQDownload.

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.comDownload.

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 Download.

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 Download.

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.

When you start a launch, do ripples of fear tie your stomach up in knots, because you feel like you’re starting from zero and you feel you’ve got way too far to go, and not enough time to get there? It’s a common problem, and one today’s guest set out to solve. Brenna McGowan is a launch strategist, copywriter and the creator of what she calls “Anticipation Marketing.” She’s developed a system so the water is warm even before you jump in to start your launch. She has a complete pre-launch strategy that comes before the launch, and her clients have tripled and even quadrupled sales as a result of using the pre-launch approach Brenna recommends. I was introduced to Brenna by Joshua Lee Henry, who you’ll remember from many shows he’s been on here. Joshua Lee told me that Brenna read my book The Persuasion Story Code and told Joshua Lee that many of story types mentioned in the book were central to her pre-launch strategy, which she’s going to tell us about today. To get Brenna’s pre-launch cheat sheet, go here: https://brennamcgowan.co/cheatsheet/ Download.

When you sit down to write an email, you are presented with a barrage of questions and problems. Not only how to get it opened, but how to get click-throughs. An even bigger problem which most people don’t deal with is, how does your subject line affect the number of sales you ultimately make? Our guest today, returning champion Donnie Bryant, has spent a lot of time thinking about these questions—and a lot of time rigorously testing different approaches to come up with some definitive answers. Donnie has written a great new book, “Subject Line Science,” which we’ll talk about today. To refresh your memory, since it’s been three years since Donnie was on the show, Donnie has generated over $130 million for his clients, which include Agora Financial, Dan Kennedy's GKIC and Early to Rise. He's shared the stage with copy legends like Parris Lampropoulos, Clayton Makepeace and the other David, David Deutsch. Today Donnie is going to zero-in on his current focus, which is email subject lines. I’ve read his book and you should too—I’ve learned a lot. But even before you see his book, you’re going to learn plenty on the show today. Get Donnie’s book here: https://subjectlinescience.com/ Download.

What do you do when copy is coming in fits and starts… or, worse than that, you are staring at a blank page, which is staring back at you? Our returning champion today, Dr. Doug Pew, has some answers for you. What he has to say is information and specific steps you’ve probably heard nowhere else before. And Doug should know. He’s written music performed at Carnegie Hall and an opera that was featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He’s also written a lot of other sophisticated music. And plenty of six- and seven-figure copy, too. Doug has developed a can’t miss method for getting out of “stall” and into flow. I’m really grateful and amazed that he’s agreed to share it with us today. You can contact Doug by email: doug@dougpewcopywriting.com Download.

When you’re writing a long-form sales letter, you’ve got to cover a lot of info, and some of it is quite detailed. The problem is, how do you keep your reader engaged and keep the excitement building all the way through? And suppose you know you need to use stories but you are so tired of worn-out hero’s journey stories? Our returning champion today, Joshua Lee Henry, recently solved those problems and wrote a home-run promo featuring a very exciting expert, a veteran of high-level military intelligence. He ended up using a number of persuasion stories and he’s agreed to come on the show today. To tell us what he did, why he did it, and how he did it. RESOURCE: My book, The Persuasion Story Code https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ Download.

Have you ever written a really good sales page or video sales letter script, and you’re sure you’ve done everything right, but it’s still not converting the way you know it should? Sometimes it all boils down to that final push. More than a call to action, the final push is a collection of simple but crucial elements to help your prospect get across the finish line. These tips were discovered from rigorous testing and study by an old Master, Clyde Bedell. We’re going to share some of his best ones on today’s show. So, we’ve done a couple of different Old Masters series episodes before on Clyde Bedell. To refresh your memory, besides being a highly successful advertiser, he was a prominent teacher. For example, he built a national sales training program for Ford Motor Company in the 1930s. When he was teaching copywriting at Northwestern University, he couldn’t find a suitable textbook, so he wrote one. That turned into “How To Write Advertising That Sells.” It was first published in 1940—13 years before I was born. The book is 8-1/2 by 11 and a massive 539 pages. It’s pretty hard to find a copy these days, but I found one copy on Amazon for $736. Lucky for me, I got my copy years ago when it was easier to get and not quite as expensive. Today we look at Chapter 8, which he simply called “Try For Action.” It’s chock-full of tips on how to get your prospect across the finish line to click the buy button. Download.