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

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

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

As thanks for being my reader in my first year of blogging, I wanted to do something special for you.

So I recorded this video on boosting website sales (it’s practical tips – the cool thing is these tips helped someone who I coached to increase her monthly income by 5 figures within a week or two of implementing them).

So – without further ado here’s the video

Peace,

David

p.s. I know the video ended kinda abruptly but that was all I had to say lol. I accidentally cut off the part where I said, “Bye”. Terrible of me, I know.

p.p.s. Could the freeze frame on the video be any weirder? lol (that’s the picture that shows up before you click play).

Something really funny happened to me the other day.

And at the same time I appreciated that I know marketing and copywriting. So without further ado, it’s time for…

“Story Time with David”

(crowd goes wild!)

So the other day I went to one of the national parks in the area. It has these really nice trails that go along the Chattahoochee River here in Georgia.

Beforehand I got a really nice lunch, some decaf (I quit drinking regular coffee due to having way too much of it – that stuff’s addicting), and then I headed off to the park.

But when I got there… I TOTALLY forgot that there’s a $3.00 parking fee.

They make you put $3.00 in an envelope, and then tear this thing off the envelope and hang it on your rear view mirror. Then, periodically, an officer wil come by and check the number on the envelope with the number on the thingy on your mirror.

And if you don’t pay you get like a $50 ticket.

So here’s the deal…

There was no way I was driving back home. I’d already made it to the park, so in my mind, I was staying at the park.

So I thought to myself… “How can I feel safe about parking here, so I can enjoy my hike at the river without thinking every second that a $50 ticket is wating for me back at my car?”

And then I spotted a piece of paper.

And the copywriter in my went wild.

I thought, “I know! I’ll write a letter, put that inside the envelop instead of $3.00, and woo the police officer who comes by to check and see if people paid with my copywriting skills.”

And then things got even better…

As I frantically looked around my car for a pen – guess what I found –

A baby blue marker.

Cha-ching.

I wrote that letter in the most girly handwriting I could. Top that off with the baby-blue marker (don’t ask me why that was in my car, I really don’t know) and that letter looked like a genuine 16-year old girl wrote it.

Here’s what the letter said:

Dear Officer,

I’m sorry, but I don’t have any cash on me today.

If you need to give me a ticket, I completely understand.

Warmly,

D

And guess what?

I still got a ticket…

LOL no just kidding – I DIDN’T get a ticket!

Whoo go me! I had a great, two-hour hike at the river, came back to my car, and saw absolutely no pink slip of doom telling me I owed $50 for not paying $3.00.

So what can we learn from this? (Besides to always have some cash on hand…)

Lesson #1: Always match your message to your audience.

See, most park rangers are men. And most male cops give women a break (I don’t mean any of this in a sexist way – it’s just how things usually happen). Even more male cops will give a teenage girl a break.

By making myself appear to be a teenage girl… Wait that doesn’t sound right… I mean, by making my handwriting look like a teenage girl’s – I provided my target audience [the park ranger] with a voice that he would sympathize with [helpless teenage girl who forgot her money].

Lesson #2: “Everyone craves a feeling of importance” –Dale Carnegie

This is a powerful truth of human psychology. See, in most cases, people try to argue with a cop. They try to talk their way out of a ticket. People get angry at cops a lot of times, too.

So for the officer to feel important, he has to give a ticket. If he gives in to the argument, or succumbs to the rage of the person he pulled over, then he gives away his power, and he feels unimportant.

In my letter, I gladly welcomed the ticket: “If you need to give me a ticket, I completely understand.”

By doing this, I put the officer in a position where he gains his feeling of importance by not giving me a ticket.

Notice the word “need” there, too.

Sub-consciously he’s going to think: “Do I need to give a ticket? Well, no, I guess I really don’t.”

Or at least that’s what I was counting on. And the fact that I didn’t get a ticket means it must have worked.

…But then again Lou (my wonderful life partner) thinks that just no ranger came by that day.

So she pretty much burst my bubble lol

And, sadly, she might be right. But I really don’t think she is! Wait, hear me out:

It was on a Sunday – one of the busiest park days. Officers always check on the parks on the weekends.

But anyways, I guess we’ll never find out

Either way, we can walk away with some good lessons (I know I did).

Talk to you soon,

David

p.s. Leave me your comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts

p.p.s. Also, I swear I don’t make a habit of impersonating teenage girls lol

Today we’re getting right down into the nitty gritty, because if there’s one thing that’s going to make your copy blow away your competition – it’s your USP, or Unique Selling Proposition.

A quick story to help you understand what a USP is (then I’ll show you a real-life example of how to go about finding yours)…

I know this guy who’s extremely ADD, ADHD, and a bunch of other acronyms that basically mean he’s hyper as hell and has trouble sitting still.

Growing up they put him on all kinds of meds, like ritalin and stuff. It would help a bit, but he was still a really hyper person. But because doctors attached all of these labels and diagnoses to him, he felt there was a problem with who he was, and he got really insecure. He tried to change into someone else.

This kinda worked for a while – but his true nature would always slip out. I mean, if this guy sat down for more than ten minutes at a time you’d think his ass would catch fire because he’d jump up out of his chair and pace back and forth just to settle down some.

And then he met this girl in Miami…

And this girl really loved him for who he was – ADD, ADHD, and every other acronym and all.

And this did wonders for his self-esteem: suddenly he didn’t care about hiding his true nature, and he started to think that there was something wrong with the doctors – not himself.

And you know what? He was right.

See, when he accepted himself for who he was, this “weakness” of his turned into a strength. He became able to channel his energy into everything he did – and he quickly became extremely successful…

…because he figured out that his energy was contagious!

He could get other people feeling hyper as hell too, and motivated to go out and accomplish all of their dreams. And now, people see his ADD, ADHD, and every other acronym he has as part of his charm. It’s one of the many things that makes him unique. He’s not himself without them.

That’s his USP (unique selling proposition).

Do you kinda see what a USP is now? Can you maybe make the stretch to see how you can make this concept work for your business?

If you’re still on the fence, let me help you out…

Here’s a real-life example…

Say there are 10 personal training gyms in one area. All 10 get amazing results. And all 10 advertise like crazy.

How would you go about differentiating yourself from your competition?

First you’d probably want to see what your competition has going on, right? (duh!)

Okay, so say you checked’em out and all 10 have great equipment, and great facilities – friendly trainers, and clients who laugh and smile a lot throughout the workouts.

But there’s something that your trainers do at your facility that none of these other places do…

You have the most off-the-wall exercises that anyone’s ever seen!

Your trainers do stuff like giant tire flipping…

They’ll get on a bike, hold down the breaks, and make their clients drag them by a cable (my brother actually used to do this – no joke! and his clients loved it!)…

They do giant hammer swinging…

And a ton of other crazy, fun, outrageous exercises every time their clients show up that make them feel the greatest sense of accomplishment.

They never know what to expect when they come for a work out – just that they’re going to have a great time.

That could be your USP. Your gym has the top of the line equipment, but you prefer going outside in the parking lot and doing crazy exercises that are fun as hell. Your energy is off the charts.

If someone is looking for a complete and total experience in a workout – you’re the guy to call. Sure they’ll get results and have a great time at these other places…

…but if they want to experience something that they’ll never experience anywhere else in their entire lives, you’re the gym to call.

So basically, as you can see, a USP is a unique look at your business that separates you, and elevates you, above your competition.

It just puts you in a whole ‘nother league.

For a brand new business it could be that they’re going to work extra hard and give every project 110% because they need satisfied customers to compete with the other businesses who have been around for decades…

For an info product it could be that it’s presented in a really down-to-earth and entertaining way – not like those other products that might have great info, but are boring as hell…

It could be that your company uses the greenest way of doing things, so by choosing you people are helping out the environment…

Or it could be something as simple as when someone calls you, they won’t get a machine that tells them to press 1 for this and 2 for that – but they’ll immediately talk to a real-life human being…

Hey, it could even be that you’re extremely ADHD and contagious!

My point is, when you find what’s special about your business – what it is about you that no one else on this planet – then no one can compete with you. Literally.

Because if you’re completely unique – then there’s no one else like you.

And if there’s no one else like you, then there’s no one to compete with! When you set your foot down on who you are, and what’s unique about you and your business, you’re also making a statment to the world that says…

“This is who I am. If you’re like me, too, or if you like the way I do things, then we’ll make a great fit.”

You’re drawing a line in the sand, and people will admire you for putting yourself out there and making a strong statement.

Here are some questions to help you uncover your USP:

1. What is it about me that makes me a unique individual?

2. Why do people like me and want to do business with me?

3. Why do people constantly choose me over my competition?

4. What are my greatest strengths as an individual? As a business?

5. What was a defining moment in my life? Why was it such a defining moment? What did I learn about myself in that moment, and about life in general?

Then scroll down and post your answers in a comment!

Looking forward to reading’em

-David

Been a little while since I posted… Things have been crazy lately! But the good kind of crazy. The kind that means bills are getting paid and food is being kept on the table

Last weekend (or was it the weekend before? <_<) I was at FIS, the Fitness Info Summit, in Orlando. Holy cow I was forced so much substantial, in-depth information about creating and launching information products that my head nearly exploded by the end of Day 2, and for about 2 days later I was a muttering zombie who just stared at the wall, brain fried, trying to process it all.

Yeah, this was pretty much me after FIS.

Plus, my bro Steve Hochman brought me up on stage. I’ll post the video when I get it. We’re pretty ridiculous together. I think you’ll get a good laugh out of it.

But anyway! Onward!

I’d like to demonstrate for you guys the power of story. There is literally no more powerful way to enter into the heart and mind of your reader than through a story.

Allow me to demonstrate…

Here’s a not-story:

Stop and ask yourself…

• Are you tired of being overweight?
• Are you ready to lose 5 pounds this week?
• Are you frustrated because nothing has worked, from diet pills to personal trainers?
• Do you want to feel great about yourself in a swimsuit when you go to the beach?
• Do you want to see your reflection and love what you see?

Here’s a story:

Jane always wore a one-piece bathing suit when she went with her friends to the pool. She thought she was doing everyone a favor.

“No one wants to see my fat stomach!” she’d say.

Her whole life she’d been overweight, at least 80 pounds overweight, so she got used to the “looks” people always gave her. She got used to people laughing at her. And she got used to the feeling that she wanted to be anywhere in the world other than inside her own skin.

Now let me ask you…

Which of these made you want to read more? Which one sucked you in and really spoke to you as a human being? Which one could you connect with?

Assuming I did a good job, it should be the story! Can you see how my story communicated everything those bullets did, but it did so without being so forced and obvious?

Now, I’m not saying that the bullets were BAD – bullets very similar to these have been proven to sell. They work. All I’m saying is that if you want to take things a step further – a story is necessary too. A story can communicate everything bullets can, just more subtly and hypnotically.

However, both are necessary, because some people will just skim and read headlines and bullets. But for the people who stop and read what’s inbetween – hit’em with a story.

Stories slip right past our defenses – we let them in. When they’re touching and sincere we drop our guard and become absorbed, entranced, in what they have to say.

I’ll leave it to you to connect the dots of what this means for your copywriting.

Till next time,

David