In my early days of “blogging for dollars,” I got some advice about affiliate marketing: If you’re going to promote a product like, say, a standing desk, you should ALWAYS include a “clickable” picture that links to the product. The reasoning being: People like to click on pictures. So if you make sure to link […]
Continue readingNothing makes me happier as a teacher than seeing a student take the ball and run with it. Subscriber Chad is one of those. He’s been paying attention and implementing—and his list is starting to perk up and take notice. Chad recently forwarded me an email he got from one of *his* subscribers. Chad says: […]
Continue readingOnce I had a chance to interview one of the best-known bloggers in the programming niche. Toward the end of the interview, I made a rookie blunder: I asked a question with the main purpose of trying to impress the guy, who at the time I really looked up to. I don’t remember exactly what […]
Continue readingIn an email last week I described how I might go about constructing a “myth busters” email course to sell a product about learning the Go programming language. Subscriber Craig replied with a question: Wondering how your approach to this would work for selling a service (like we do for PodcastMotor)? I find that a […]
Continue readingLast week I signed up for an email course from a well-known guru in the “launch-a-best-selling-book” niche. I won’t name names here—I don’t want to beat up on the guy, since he seems to really know his stuff. For all I know he might be killing it with this course. I doubt it though. From […]
Continue readingOne of the biggest challenges when you’re climbing the copywriting and email marketing learning curve is: Looking at what’s working in other niches and businesses and reverse-engineering it to find the principles you can apply to YOUR business. Software developer Wojciech is at that point. He asks: ~~~ I enjoyed your series on email courses […]
Continue reading“You ever write a ‘sideways sales letter’?” I was deep in some sticky code for the iOS app I was coding when the Skype message from my copywriting mentor popped up. I had no clue what he was talking about—all I knew is, I was about to find out. At the time I was holding […]
Continue readingMany moons ago, when I was still learning the online marketing ropes, I bought into this really crippling lie. I can even picture where I was when this lie sank its talons into my brain: Pushing a shopping cart toward the checkout at Wal-Mart, a podcast chirping away in my ears. The guest on the […]
Continue readingCopywriter Nick confides: Damaging confession: I hate doing research for clients…especially when their field is dull -OR- like a current client, their offer is clearly inferior (he’s trying to sell a Ford Pinto for Tesla Model 3 prices, to boot)… Do you have a game plan mapped out for doing kick ass research as quickly […]
Continue readingGet a few marketers together in the same room for a bit, and it won’t be long before someone brings up “avatars” or “personas.” That’s because they’re excellent tools for understanding and connecting with your customer. Too often though, I see entrepreneurs and marketers who invest the time and effort to put together an ideal […]
Continue reading“Welcome” email with an email course—yea or nay? That’s what life coach Ed is wondering: Hey Josh – Here’s a question for you. What are your thoughts on sending the first email lesson right away vs sending a welcome email first followed by the first lesson coming a bit later. I’ve seen it done both […]
Continue readingMarketing and SEO consultant Shae has a tough problem: I have a couple of clients in the recruitment (bricks and mortar biz based in Australia and has two target audiences: job seekers and employers) and an online life insurance broker and I’m trying to convince them to send daily emails the way you do. But […]
Continue readingGot a massive kick out of this from reader Jason: Subject: Auto-responder disaster and the kindness of friends Hi Josh I wanted to tell you about my brief, disastrous (and not so disastrous) foray into email auto-responders. So I finally plucked up the courage to create my first list auto-responder welcome email series for new […]
Continue readingIn the Email Copywriting Workshop I launched last month (which is just wrapping up), student Ram queried: If I keep on repeating the same structure, won’t my mails look very routinized and formulaic over time? Will people trust me with my stories any more? Very valid concern. In the workshop, I handed the students a […]
Continue readingIn college my career dream was to become a journalist. So halfway through my sophomore year, I took a job as the assistant editor of the student newspaper. There was a lot about this new role that intimidated me. Like calling strangers up on the phone and grilling them for facts and quotes for my stories. And […]
Continue readingGot a sad story for you today… A while back a subscriber (we’ll call him “Wally”) reached out and asked whether I’d recommend my “flavor” of email marketing for his specific brick-and-mortar business. As it happened, he works in an industry that’s rife with misinformation and con artists—while also serving customers who are poised on […]
Continue readingThis weekend I had REALLY humbling experience. Here’s what happened: As part of my recommitted to physical fitness, I recently enrolled in this intense program designed to build strength through gymnastics training. My goal someday is to be able to perform impressive moves like the Iron Cross, handstand pushups and one-arm pullups. One of these […]
Continue reading!!! There— Just burned through the rest of my 2016 ration of exclamation points. I like to waste ’em like this so I don’t get tempted to use them in a non-ironic context. Because exclamation points are usually the first sign that you’re listing dangerously toward *hype*… And I HATE hype in marketing. So does […]
Continue readingSubscriber Stuart runs a website to help lonely singles find love online. And he’s worried about coming on too strong in his emails: He asks: Do you try to sell in every email? For my drip series, there’s a PPS in every email with a different reason to order online dating profile feedback from my […]
Continue readingRecently I found myself engrossed in some of the most gripping email copy I’ve seen in a while—so good I couldn’t stop reading. This particular email told the story of a young software developer who realized that his employer was REALLY working him over… Even though he was highly skilled at his job, he was […]
Continue readingBefore I joined the “dark side” and became a conniving copywriter… I spent several years working part time as a newspaper reporter. One of the biggest challenges of that job was just getting people to talk to you. Your typical “Joe Lunchbucket” (my editor’s name for the guy on the street) has a healthy distrust […]
Continue readingBefore I got into copywriting, I had a side job as a home photographer with a local real estate agent. Whenever the realtor would go to list a home for sale, he’d bring me and my professional lighting equipment in for a couple of hours to make sure the property looked presentable. (Most real estate […]
Continue readingBefore the days of the interwebs, when humanity was still shuttling paper missives to and fro on the backs of weary postal carriers… Smart marketers used a technique called a “stick letter.” A well-written stick letter would almost always boost profits, reduce refunds and increase customer satisfaction. This same approach works with email courses too—and […]
Continue readingWhen I’m talking to “civilians” (i.e. business owners who aren’t experienced marketers) is: If I’m not careful I can end up coming across like a complete psychopath. That’s because I usually start the conversation off by looking for PAIN. I ask probing questions about what their customers are experiencing in their day-to-day lives. I’m looking […]
Continue readingA few weeks back my alarm went off as usual at 4:55 a.m. And when I grabbed for my iPhone, I saw that I had a message waiting from Bryan Harris. If you don’t know Bryan, he is THE MAN when it comes to building your email list. He’s created an excellent program called Get […]
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