You know, every night I fall asleep to the same book. Each and every time.

… but I’m not sure if this is the best book to fall asleep to. Maybe you can tell me.

See, this book does two things at the same time:

1 – It inspires the heck out of me, so much so that my brain starts filling with ideas faster than gas prices could ever hope to rise…

2 – Because it’s so dense, I get sleepy…

But sometimes the thoughts keep me up. Like last night, even after I put the book down I had so much brimming in my brain. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the thoughts to think themselves out of my mind.

(Which, by the way, is an important lesson I learned long ago – when you have those late-night thoughts, resistance is futile, isn’t it?)

The book I’m talking about is Robert Collier’s The Robert Collier Letter Book.

… while it doesn’t have the most creative title ever (lol), man is this thing good.

It’s easily the most powerful book on copywriting and marketing I’ve ever read. It’s full of so many examples too that you could just swipe and send out.

Last night, I came across an interesting passage that inspired this here rant…

Robert was talking to me (yes, to me, and only me ) about cleverness in sales letters. He said that if you make a letter too clever, you’ll get lots of great comments on it…

… but few orders.

However -

If you make people forget they’re even reading, that’s when the magic happens.

So what exactly does Mr. Collier mean by this, and how can we hope to accomplish this seemingly difficult task?

Two ways. Well, there’s a lot more than two, but for the sake of not turning a blog post into a 400 page book, we’ll stick with two for today.

1 – Don’t be clever. Be straight-forward. Concise. Practical. Sincere.

2 – Be yourself.

Now, #2, I think, is the more difficult of the two. Because when I say “be yourself,” I mean tap into your own unique voice.

You have a “person” inside of you who expresses just what you want to say, whenever you want to say it.

… you don’t always let’em out, but he’s there (I don’t want to exclude anyone reading this post – but for the sake of brevity I’m just going to say “he”. Pretend I’m saying he / she though, k? )

It’s the voice that comes out when you sit down to write an e-mail to a friend about an important subject.

Or when someone close to you is hurt and you offer comfort.

Or when you’re so excited about something that just happened that you talk the ear off of the first person willing to listen.

A lot of us are very careful about what we say – and how we say it. But in these moments we let that drop, and just say what’s on our minds. And it always comes out perfectly.

No doubt. No hesitation.

That’s what I mean when I say “be yourself”.

… because when you write in that voice, you’re what I like to call “a real human being”.

You’re not a sales letter template. You’re not an e-mail template. You’re not a pitchy salesman who doesn’t give a damn about the person on the other end of your letter.

“A real-life, bonafide human being.”

People who have mastered sales have mastered authenticity.

So, now that we’ve covered part 1, now it only seems right to talk about how to get there.

I wish there was a concrete answer that worked for everyone, but part of the price of being unique is we’re all different.

So naturally, we all have different ways of getting in touch with ourselves.

I know for me what works best is reading something written by someone who is really “in their voice.”

Or hearing someone speak who is.

As soon as their sincerity hits my ears, or my eyes, I snap out of whatever state I’m in and feel that calmness come over me that comes with being in touch.

It also comes with meditation, deep thought, great conversation, writing.

But to be honest, I don’t even have a set plan for myself. Whenever I need to tap into that place, I just make it my intention. And then, one way or another, I get there.

The path seems to change every time though.

… which means I’m going to have to give you an answer that you might not like.

No one on this planet has the ability to connect you to yourself other than yourself.

Other people can help you get there – but you’re the one who ultimately makes the connection. So only you can find what works in the moment.

I wish I could tell you, “Do x, y, and z,” but this is one of those things that just doesn’t work that way.

What I can tell you is try to think of things that inspire you – that shake you out of the comatose of routine and day-to-day mundane-ness.

That’s a great place to start. Once you start feeling that tickle in your stomach, you’ll know you’re gettin’ there.

Talk soon,

David

I recently read a sales letter from a guy named Ross Browning.

I wanted to share it with you because I really appreciated something cool Ross did with his copy…

He got creative.

Creativity is extremely under-played in copywriting these days. Most of what’s out there is badly written templates that have been recycled over and over and over again.

…But the worst part is the people who use these templates put no effort into making them original. They simply plug in their product name, and publish it to the web.

I say let’em have at it.

Because for those of us who do put effort into creating something unique and original – we get noticed.

When you take the time to craft a unique sales message – just by doing that you’re distinguishing yourself from your competition.

Why?

Because they’re probably using worn out templates, or something dull, dry, and frankly, boring.

Now, Ross took a very unique angle on a very old tactic…

The tactic? He held a sale. Nothing original there.

How he did it? Well, that’s another story.

He gave one of the funniest, and most personable, “reasons why” I’ve seen lately.

Here’s what he did…

Ross told the story of his newborn child. And how, when she was born, this teenage girl photographer came and took pictures of the baby with Ross and his wife.

And THEN – the girl left, and came back a little while later with a full slideshow of the pictures on her Macbook, with beautiful, emotional music playing.

…That’s just not fair, if you ask me.

“Get me those pictures!” his wife told him.

So he needed a quick $600. Turns out the teenage girl was quite the saleswoman, and charged quite a fee.

So to get that $600, he was holding a sale.

Pretty cool, right?

However, taking just a few minutes to come up with a good “reason why” makes such a drastic difference. You could really relate to Ross’s message, and you wanted to help the guy out!

Especially the parents out there. I’m sure they went bonkers over that letter.

Let’s check out another example…

One of my favorite copywriters of all time, Gary Halbert, was once asked by a friend of his…

“Gary, I want to get a book on copywriting today. What should I get?”

Gary thought a moment, and then handed him his favorite novel.

“What’s this?” the guy asked.

And then Gary said something like, “You’ll get more out of reading master storytellers than you ever will reading a ‘how to’ book on copywriting. After all, copywriting is storytelling, and that guy has it down like no other.”

So… If one of the most renowned copywriters of all time is urging us to use creative story telling in our writing… We probably should, right?

What’s your take on all this?

David

Awesome news… My life partner (and business partner), Louisa Levit, won this super-competitive logo competition, and she’s gonna be published in a book!

Lou is a KILLER graphic designer – and the logo she created for this thing is absolutely brilliant.

Here – Lou and I got together some samples of her work to show you (hey – it’s fun to show off from time to time )…

The Logo That's Being Published - "Green Clean Moving" - an eco-friendly moving company

Deux Maries Frameshop

Cover for a DVD info product

Our business card (mine says copywriter...)

Me and Lou on vacation

Pretty awesome stuff, right?

Like I said, Lou is super talented. The first logo (the one that won) is just brilliant. It’s for an eco-friendly moving company.

Now for a funny story about Lou with great copywriting tips hidden inside…

So, the other day I wanted to go to the local bookstore at like 9:50pm, get some coffee, hang out, and get some work done till they closed at 11.

Here’s the thing…

The cafe closes at 10:00 even though the store closes at 11:00.

Lou only wanted to go if she could go to the cafe.

“It’s gonna close by the time we get there – it’s practically 10,” she said.

“Actually… It’s a 2 minute drive, and it’s 9:50 – if we leave right NOW we can make it!” I told her.

All of a sudden she leaped off the couch – ran to the door – put her shoes on, and we were off.

Now here’s the lesson in all of this…

Urgency works!!!

Right as we were getting into the car, I realized what an awesome copywriting lesson that was. Knowing there was only 10 minutes left got her moving like a track star.

Before? She was as likely to get off the couch as a slug is likely to chow down on salt.

So if you find you’re not getting the response you’d like – add some urgency! Put a deadline on your offer, raise the price after the first X amount of orders, or something similar.

I’ll leave it to your imagination to come up with the best option for you

Have a great one,

David

David here – and before I get into e-mail marketing I just want to remind you guys about my 4-week LIVE coaching program – Copywriting Domination.

Because at 12pm EST tonight – I’m taking down the page.

-You’ll learn how to write copy that sells your product or service to ANYONE in your target market

-You’ll learn how to identify your target market – and get to know exactly what they need to read in a sales message in order to buy

-You’ll learn how to write a headline so appealing that someone would have to force themselves NOT to keep reading

-And of course-  you’ll have private access to me during EVERY call to ask any and all questions you have

Get on track to writing six-figure copy by clicking here:

Turning words into cash… and cash into your dreams.

Also, with the 100% money back guarantee you have nothing to lose, right?

Now – for some e-mail marketing

People are selling products and services more and more from one simple thing…

Writing an e-mail and clicking “send”.

They don’t even send people to a website – they just provide everything in the e-mail.

Too crazy to be true?

Click play to learn how you can do it for your own business.

Email Marketing

So, is e-mail marketing the new sales letter? Are websites becoming more and more obsolete?

You tell me. Let me know your thoughts in a comment.

Talk soon,

David

First off – speaking of cool copywriting tricks – my coaching program has gone live and is quickly selling out. This thing is going to be CRAZY. You will walk away feeling, and writing, like a copywriting pro.

And if you don’t?

Why, I simply refund you in full. No. Questions. Asked.

Click here to check it out: http://www.acupofcopy.net/1.html

Okay… Now didn’t I just promise you a cool copywriting trick?

Here it is…

It’s very simple, but one of the most powerful realizations I’ve ever had about copywriting.

This “trick” will get you laser-focused on what exactly to say – and what NOT to say. Because often what you shouldn’t say is just as important to know as what you should.

Okay, here it is…

Ask yourself this question on ANYthing you’re writing copy for…

“Why is buying this product the biggest no-brainer ever?”

You’ll be amazed how quickly your brain pops out the most potent, compact reasons why your readers will want to buy your product or hire your services.

…And you’ll quickly cut through all the crap, too. You won’t write a single word of fluff. Everything you write will be for one purpose: to sell.

Now, I told you it’d be simple!

But you have to at least try it out!

And you can change the question around too, to make it work better for you.

Like…

“Why would someone have to be the dumbest person on earth to not buy this product?”

Or…

“What are all of the reasons that make this product the absolute BEST purchase someone has ever made?”

See, two things happen…

The first is your mind gets on track to answering that question. The way your sub-conscious works, when you ask it a question, it tries its best to come up with answer.

Often, I’ll ask that question, procrastinate for a few hours, and later that day I write brilliant copy. All because I focused super hard on the question, then let it simmer.

The second is you’ll get really enthusiastic about your product – and excited to write about it in your copy.

Enthusiasm is contagious.

Buyers have a sixth-sense for it. When you believe in your product, and you’re excited about it – it shows. People can feel it in every word you write.

Someone can write what “should” be the greatest copy ever – but it might be missing that one little thing… excitement.

Being excited puts you leagues ahead of everyone else – because most people write just for cash. But when you have a deeper purpose – when you really believe in what you’re selling – you’re on a whole ‘nother ladder.

Because remember…

That’s what copywriting is for. Selling stuff that helps people. Nothing else. And when you come up with the biggest reasons why someone would have to be a complete fool to not hire you or buy your product – you’re practically at the finish line.

So ask yourself that question, and then furiously write down whatever comes out of your brain.

Just write a raw, uncensored list. Don’t hold back.

Then, take those ideas, and turn them into well-written copy.

Oh, and let me know what you think.

Good luck, my friend

David

Been a while since I put up a post – I’ve been SUPER busy lately (as I’m sure you have too).

With that said – I have an awesome post for you today that’ll make writing headlines faster and easier, and the headlines you write will be way more effective.

But first, let’s refresh our memories with one really simple thing…

And that’s that headlines have a very SIMPLE purpose:

To call out your target market, and GRAB their attention.

Now, pay close attention to the word ‘GRAB’…

…Notice that I didn’t say “get their attention” or “make them interested”. A headline needs to convince someone that whatever they’re doing can wait a few minutes while they read your website or ad.

So to do that, you probably want to address the most BURNING issue or desire they have, right?

Right.

So to do that – follow this formula:

1. TALK to your customers, and find out their #1 frustration, and the #1 benefit they’ve gotten from working with you

2. Look for patterns in the answers, and find the most common ones

3. Work the biggest frustration/desire into your headline – and leave everything else out

Now, on #3 what I mean is that a lot of people try to fit every possible benefit into their headline.

This does 2 things…

First, it makes it so the benefits don’t really stand out because they’re all clumped together.

Second, if everyone knows everything they’re going to get out of your product before reading the page – why would they keep reading!?

Give’em just enough to keep’em goin.

For example…

If you check out my coaching page headline – it says something like: “How you can boost your monthly income by 5 figures or more by… Writing words down on a piece of paper?”

I stick to one benefit – boosting your income. And I give a “hint” about how you’ll do it (“writing words down on a piece of paper”).

Now go write some headlines!

Of course nothing beats practice. So write, write, write! I usually write about 10-15 headlines before I really find a good one – so just keep that in mind.

It’s OKAY to get stuck, and it’s OKAY to not get it right the first time.

Till next time,

David

Got an AWESOME interview for ya.

My good friend and business partner Bedros Keuilian agreed to spill the beans on how he achieved such massive success. This interview is not only full of awesome advice, but inspiring too, as you learn how Bedros went from living in a tiny, run-down house, to living in a giant property in a really nice section of Southern California.

Just click below to get started!

Interview with Bedros Keuilian

If you have trouble with the player, right click “Download” and select “Save Target As”

Talk soon,

David

p.s. If you enjoy the interview leave Bedros a comment about it

I hope you are having an awesome day/night/morning/whenever it is you’re reading this.

I have a very special interview for you with my very own brother, Steve Hochman, who has personally been a mentor to me both in business and in life.

Steve went from living on the hardwood floor of his ex-girlfriend’s mother’s floor, to now earning close to 7 figures a year (and without a doubt he’s hitting 7 figures this year).

And the cool thing is he constantly helps personal trainers and boot camp owners skyrocket their incomes to live the incredible life that he now does.

Anyway, click play below to get started. Steve reveals some CRAZY-GOOD marketing/copywriting tips that you can instantly apply to your own business.

Oh, and if the audio seems to skip at places, it’s because our connection cut out a couple times, but we always picked back up where we left off.

(By the way – the first 2:30 is me and Steve laughing and goofing off. So if you just want the pure content, skip ahead to 2:30)

Also – in the beginning we talked about special ed for a second. Steve really was in special ed all through school, so we’re not two jerks picking on people who were born with mental deficiencies!

Actually, that’s part of why Steve’s story is so cool because he was a kid who no one thought would succeed, yet he didn’t listen to a word of anyone, took massive success by the reins, and now lives an awesome life with his wife and two daughters out in California.

Here’s the interview. Enjoy

To learn more about Steve Hochman, and pick up some incredible marketing tips, click this link: Fitness Marketing.

Talk soon,

David

Hey,

Click play to get started. You might want a pen and paper around because this stuff is note-worthy. Hope you get a lot out of it

Talk soon,

David

Today’s post is about the three stages of writing great copy.

Everyone’s writing process differs – but practically every copywriter on the planet goes through these 3 stages in their writing, from Gary Halbert to John Carlton.

In writing your own copy, there’s a great chance you go through these stages too.

But there’s a good chance that you’re not even aware that you’re going through these stages.

And as a result, you might get frustrated, and bogged down when you write copy.

You might think things like, “I just can’t write copy like those other guys do…”

Or… “I’m just not cut out for writing copy…”

Or… “Yeah, I see you using these things really well – but when I try they just don’t seem to work.”

If you’ve had thoughts like these, then there’s a good chance it’s because you just haven’t embraced these 3 stages to writing copy

Once you embrace them, though, things will change.

The frustration disappears and you’ll wonder why it was ever there in the first place.

Writing copy will be a fun and joyful process. I don’t care if you’re the worst writer on the planet – those self-defeating thoughts in your head are not true!

And though at times you may doubt yourself, once you embrace these 3 stages you won’t let it get to you. You’ll confront your doubt and turn it into confidence.

So that’s the point of today’s post – to clear your writer’s block and make writing copy a joyful, wide-open path.

The 3 stages:

1. “I Dunno”

In the first stage, you’re faced with the product/service you’re going to write about. You have a target market identified. Basically, you know who you’re going to sell to, and what you’re going to sell them.

So you research. You research your product/service inside and out. You research your target market inside and out. Find out what they want, and how you can give it to them. Find out their problems, obstacles, dreams, etc., etc., etc.

2. “Get to work!”

Then, you take all of this research you’ve done and you get to work. You pour it all out onto paper, or into the computer, in the form of copy. Things are looking good.

And then…

You get stuck. Or you start to doubt if what you’re writing is good. You cross out headlines, erase whole paragraphs, re-write other sections… but nothing seems good enough.

At this stage, a lot of people give up. They slap something together and call it a day, or they just stop trying altogether.

3. “Like Magic”

For the few who trudge on…

Something clicks and suddenly you “just get it”. You go back to that computer screen or notebook and write the most brilliant copy that product/service has ever seen. It flow “like magic”. And it sells like crazy.

Those are the 3 simple stages nearly every writer on the planet goes through, regardless of their writing process

Not everyone goes through these stages in that order, but they go through them.

And when it comes to that 3rd stage, most think the magic “just happens”, or it “happens by luck".”

But you can get to stage 3 as consistently as 2+2=4

When I say “something clicks and you suddenly get it” – what I mean is you can induce these “click” moments. It’s really simple too.

See in response to my own periods of writer’s block, frustration, and bogged-down-ness…

I’ve developed a method to get through it, so you can tap into your inner-brilliance and write highly inspired copy.

I call it my “You’re stuck… So what?” method

Let me break it down for you…

Every time I write copy, I know I’m going to get stuck.

Before I write a single word, I accept that it’s going to take more than one sitting to make it into brilliant, profit-driving copy.

So when I get stuck, it’s no big deal. I say, “so what?”

In fact, every time I get stuck, I’ve learned that it’s because a big, big, big idea’s coming.

And that idea just might revolutionize the piece of copy I’m writing.

Because right on the other end of that deep, perilous trench of writer’s block is a wealth of great ideas.

Here’s how you get there.

First…

Accept that getting stuck is a part of the process –and believe it or not, it’s a productive part! It just means that your mind is concocting a great idea. If it were a software, it would say, “Please wait, profit-creating thought in progress…”

(you might even want to print that line out and hang it on the wall)

Then…

Go back to your research. Look over the same information you already have for hours and hours. Don’t look for anything specific, just read through it and take in as much as you can. If anything stands out, make a mental note of it.

Then…

Do nothing. Just let all of that info soak in. Let the ideas percolate. Give the “software” of your mind time to process. Take a walk, eat an orange, treat your loved one to a great meal. Do something enjoyable, and don’t even think about the copy.

Because soon after that…

Those ideas will come to fruition. They’ll fully develop in your mind, and want to get out!

You’ll become like a boiling tea pot, steaming with brilliant ideas. And you’ll rush over to your computer and type out every word that comes to your head.

Sometimes I type so frantically that Lou, in another room at the opposite end of the house, yells to me to keep it down because she can hear my typing from the other end of the house.

You can have this experience too, time after time, like clockwork.

Just embrace the 3 stages, and you’ll get there (without all the unnecessary frustration). Follow the method I’ve laid out for you and the good ideas will come, with no frustration along the way. Just good times.

And if you have any comments/suggestions/breakthroughs to share – please do so in a comment

Till next time,

David