Blog

  • How to SOLVE your lack of sales (it’s not ALWAYS with better copy!)

    9:22am
    Saint Paul

    Ever have a promotion that went well

    But not quite as well as you expected?

    Maybe it was the audience… didn’t like the offer.

    Maybe it was the offer… not valuable enough.

    Maybe it was the copy… not compelling action.

    There’s an idea in direct response marketing that:

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  • ChatGPT ate his lunch

    1:14pm
    Saint Paul

    “Hmm. That’s pretty good,” the embarrassed webinar host said.

    He was selling his copywriting course as a way to beat AI.

    And to show off, he asked his partner to demo using ChatGPT to write an email.

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  • Final score: 203 to 205

    11:33am
    Saint Paul

    “Batting 1000!” I say to my young son Sam.

    See, last night was his first-ever baseball game.

    The Rookie League.

    And from the time he woke at 6am… until we left for the ballfields at 6pm… he very much did NOT want to go.

    His team had only held two practices. He was worried that he didn’t know the rules well enough.

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  • Why “experts” have skewed your idea of successful marketing

    2:34pm
    Saint Paul

    I have tattoos.

    They’re leftovers from my younger years.

    And now… as my kids are growing… I wish I didn’t have them. Because my tats give my kids a reason to—someday—mar their own beautiful skin.

    They’re not my only shortcoming, I know.

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  • Digging for Denny Hatch’s Gold

    A few years ago, I wrote to Direct Response Copywriter Denny Hatch.

    He wrote the book “Secrets of Emotional, Hotbutton Copywriting” (summary here) and I was trying to get a copy.

    Denny told me that he’s got a guy working to get it republished.

    I checked in with Denny again last month. I asked if he was open to record a podcast.

    You know, dig for a little gold, here in the Goldmine.

    Denny responded:

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  • Multiplying Words for Profit

    12:43pm
    Saint Paul

    One of the challenges with writing copy… is providing your audience with enough detail to sell them on the idea, product, or service you want them to buy.

    See, in test after test, long sales copy tends to sell better than short.

    This of course depends on your market, the product, the price-point, the market saturation, awareness of your solution, the business’ reputation, and the copy itself. And probably more things too, like the economy.

    Now, toothpaste is $3. That’s not a huge purchase, and people always want it. So there isn’t a ton of effort to put in there.

    But if you hook a reader… and you have something expensive that they want… then you’ll want to answer questions and handle objections in your copy.

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  • Mario Kart Spoils Everything

    Monday, May 1
    9:34am

    “I’m terrible! I’m horrible!”

    My son was already in a bad mood.

    I wouldn’t let him use the 120-volt outlet to build a cardboard and tin-foil lamp for his bed. (The repurposed-LED-flashlight solution wasn’t powerful enough for him).

    And after he settled down and read a book, we went to play a little Mario Kart.

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  • 3 Ways to Get New Ideas FAST

    12:49pm
    Saint Paul

    One of the worst feelings is when you’re stuck for new ideas or motivation.

    As a direct response copywriter I’m tasked with creating copy for new promotions, emails, websites, social media posts and more… multiple times a day.

    And while I’m usually on track, sometimes I just feel behind.

    Ring a bell for you, *|FNAME|*?

    Here are three tricks I use to get myself moving.

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  • What’s on your To-Do List?

    9:31am

    Saint Paul

    What’s your To-Do list looking like today?

    I ask because this past weekend I started reading “The Ultimate Sales Machine” by Chet Holmes.

    In this book, Holmes advises making lists of your To-Dos. Limiting it to six items or fewer. And tackling the hardest one first in the morning.

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  • Unpaid Invoice

    9:44am

    Saint Paul

    Today’s lesson: get paid up front.

    See, I have a client with an unpaid invoice for work I’ve done.

    The last time this happened—10 or 12 months ago—the client ghosted me.

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