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How To Get New Clients

Mike Shreeve is the man behind the curtain for a lot of successful people. He joins us this week to discuss how to stop chasing clients, and instead, get them chasing you. Here are just a few of the topics covered in this week's episode. - Could you talk about your own experience getting clients: What you’ve done, what you’ve learned, what you’re doing differently today than you used to? - W...

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Episode 021 - Copywriting Lessons from Journalism

When I first started writing copy, it looked so easy. I had been an award-winning journalist and had nabbed the San Francisco Bureau Chief job for a large news organization. I thought it would be breeze… but that wasn't how it happened. Not at first. Copy looked very simple and straightforward to me, and, on the surface, a lot like news stories. And I was good at writing those fast! Now, the m...

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Episode 020 - Copywriting with Hypnotic Language

You can improve the persuasiveness of your copy by using hypnotic language. This episode shows you how. About 10 years ago, I took a series of seminars on how to sell from the platform when you're giving a speech. The teacher was good… really good. I decided to try to figure out why he was so good. I asked him, "It sounds to me like you're taking a sales letter and making it horizontal – that...

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Episode 019 - 8 Ways to Improve Copy Performance

What if you have some copy and you'd like it to convert better? In this episode, David shares some closely-guarded secrets on how the pro's do that. Let's say I could show you a very special slot machine. This one only takes quarters. Every time you put four quarters in, you get five quarters back. Pretty soon, those extra quarters start to add up. Wouldn't you want to play a machine like that all...

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Episode 018 - When Copy Is Not Enough

Sometimes you'll make more sales when copy is only PART of the picture. This episode is how copy "plays well with others." If you've ever bought a direct mail list, you can get a typical compiled list for as little as 10 cents to 25 cents a name. Sometimes for even less than that. A compiled direct mail list is usually put together from publicly available records. It doesn't tell you anything abou...

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Episode 017 - The Big Idea - Part 2

How do you create a Big Idea? Remember what Steve Jobs said about saying no to 100 good ideas before you say yes to the thing you've got to focus on? That means you've got to come up with some good ideas first- You don't necessarily need 100, but "you've got to turn over a lot of rocks" to find what you're looking for. - The key thing is going through the process of coming up with great ideas, not...

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Episode 016 - The Big Idea - Part 1

Some copy ideas change history. They're called "Big Ideas," and that's what today's show is about. He and his team pretty much redefined the music industry, the face of personal computing, and the way we use our phones. I'm talking about Steve Jobs, of course. In 2009, Fortune magazine said, "the past decade in business belongs to Jobs." In 2017, Recode, a tech website, said, "No single device wi...

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Episode 015 - Putting People and Personality in Your Copy

A blockbuster Hollywood movie can make hundreds of millions of dollars in a matter of weeks. Here's how you can cash in on one of its major secrets in your copy. Nearly 20 years ago, I used to hang out with my friend John Cantu. We would meet once a month at Mel's Diner on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco's Richmond District, and we'd talk about all sorts of things. Before Cantu and I ever met, he...

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Episode 014 - Getting Inside Your Prospect's Head

One of the biggest keys to improving conversions with your copy is getting inside your prospect’s head. This episode reveals proven methods to do so. When I held my Breakthrough Copywriting Seminar in 2005, one of my special guests had everyone there on the edge of their seats. It was Brian Keith Voiles. He told us how he got into his prospect’s heads. I was stunned myself by the thoroughness ...

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Episode 013 - Why People Really Buy

This episode covers eight reasons people buy. You’ll get an example with the same product so you can see how to apply any one of these reasons in your own copy. When I first started writing copy, I was overwhelmed with all the differences from what I had known and done before. As a journalist, there was a certain set of rules and a format to follow. Copy seemed to turn everything on its head. I...