Saturday, 4:30pm
Reno, NV
Howdy…
Every so often, I have to remind folks I’m still kicking.
I know I’m old, but I’m not that freaking old. And I’m still working..
Hell, I’ve been recording a new podcast for a couple of months here, co-hosted by Kevin Rogers and that copywriting wunderkind from Australia, Daniel Throssell. It’s easily the most relevant, breathtakingly insightful, and awesome peek behind the scenes of everything essential in marketing today.
Yes, including the travails of AI in supposedly murdering our careers (hasn’t happened), how to score primo copywriting/consultant jobs in a chaotic marketing environment (like now), and precisely how all three of us created our careers (and continue to thrive). Amongst other juicy stuff. Just imagine sitting at a bar with me and my pals here, and we’re just pickled enough to throw all caution to the wind…
… and actually reveal ALL the good secrets, naughty stories, and “uh oh” rumors we’ve been sitting on for decades.
And that’s how our show rolls.
The podcast is piggybacked on the Psych Insights For Modern Marketers podcast Kevin and I did a few years back. This new one is called “The 3G Edition”, cuz we’re still going deep on how to sell shit and destroy your competition, while staying healthy and avoiding the wealth-destroying mistakes most entrepreneurs eventually make…
… except this time we’ve got 3 entire generations of successful marketers and copywriters doing the talking. I’m the older-than-dirt wise ass, Kevin is the X-gen ring leader (20 years younger than me), and Daniel is the upstart millenial (in his early thirties, 20 years younger than Kevin). So you’re getting the honest scoop on every topic we dive into, from three guys who have seen it all, and experiencing the new shockwaves as the brave new world tumbles into chaos yet again. All from the generational point-of-view that cannot be guessed at or imagined by someone not living it.
And no…
… you can’t listen the podcast yet. Even though we’ve got weeks of shows already recorded.
Soon, though, it’ll be available for you. Free, of course. I’ll announce it in my email newsletter (which you can sign up for above) (and get a free bonus while you do).
Kevin assures me we’ll go live in the next 10 days or so.
That’s the big news, I guess. The podcast that will become your new addiction.
But also, I’m just energized enough to start blogging again regularly. Please try to maintain yourself as you absorb that news.
I’ve been ridiculously prolific over my career. Besides all the ads I’ve written that are now among the most ripped-off copy examples in history…
… I’ve written multiple books, decades worth of articles here on the blog, a bevy of courses (all available here on the right side of the blog), mailed an 8-page monthly newsletter for 7 years (over 80 issues to insiders who paid thousands to get copies), still doing my email newsletter (issued several times every week), hosted the most exclusive mastermind group around for a decade, still doing private consulting with all worthwhile clients who ask, and…
Well. You get the picture. Lots and lots of advice, revealed tactics, shared strategies, and so much hand-holding of clients as they stumbled into massive fortunes through the best advertising and marketing I could force them to run.
And yet…
… I STILL haven’t said everything that needs saying. Still haven’t shared the most outrageous stories that defined my career path (my god, the pain of those blunders still hurts, and the joy from the victories plucked from the jaws of defeat still gives me shivers).
Still kicking.
Still alive.
Still relevant.
Maybe even more so. If I sound a bit defensive, it’s cuz I know how this “later in life” gig goes. Most of my mentors thoughout my career were much older than me. Like, geezerville, while I was still a pipsqueak. And I watched them age, and how it affected what they did. Unprepared, it can be a nightmare.
So I stayed prepared. As astonished as I am to be this age — I was convinced I would never live to see 30, let alone 70 — I am not surprised by the changes in how I interact with the world, and vice versa. It’s weird and often dumb, but still exciting.
The cautionary anecdote I tell every young writer or entrepreneur I meet is this one: “When I was a young, arrogant punk, my JOB was to force my way into the room and frighten the old guys with my energy, my balls-to-the-wall approach to advertising, and my unfailing grasp of the modern world’s zeitgeist.
“Then, one day I looked up… and I was twenty years older than the next oldest person in the room. And I couldn’t take my sense of belonging at that table for granted.”
And you know what? Nearly every single person I’ve told that anecdote to eventually came to me… often many, many years later… and admitted they’d had that same moment of reality smacking them in the face. Hard.
I just laugh. When I was younger, I was too busy chewing up the scenery and causing mayhem to consider how life might change for me as I aged. Life was a feast, and I was on the inside, feasting. It was good.
And that’s the thing about getting older. If you’ve lived a self-examined life (the only kind worth living, according to Socrates), you’ve been aware of the signs along the road as you roared down the paths you’s chosen. You kept track of the stories and especially the mishaps and learning moments. And the revelations that arrived with love found, and lost, and found again. Of victories spoiled by believing you couldn’t lose. (Boy, the universe sure loves to deliver THAT message, over and over.) Of the stark light/dark, good/evil, joy/horror duality of existence itself.
And these stories become the basis of your hard-won philosophy of life. You didn’t adopt this philosophy cuz you read it somewhere and it sounded cool. No — this is the philosophy that only arrives AFTER you’ve lived most of your days. You’re looking at the stories, lessons, regrets, victories, all of it. And you see what sort of overarching themes were behind the choices you made. Over all that time.
And that’s where true wisdom comes from. It’s part “been there, done that” and part “I have a pretty good idea how this is gonna turn out”… and part “don’t you fuckskulls ever learn anything?”
That’s where I am now, in my budding geezerhood. I’m past 70 by a couple of years. I’m gray where I used to be dark, and hobbled where I used to be strong and vibrant.
But the old noggin works as well as ever. My memory is uncluttered by the constant assault of data, media, worries and urgent decisions required by the person who is in the middle of their life, trying hard to bend the universe to their will. I don’t give a fuck anymore, and that’s the biggest advantage there is when the universe hovers, threatening to smite you down. I am sharply aware of how lucky I’ve been, of how even my worst decisions somehow worked out okay. Of how many good people I’ve encountered on this long road through a very insane and fast-moving time period. And how many bullets I’ve dodged.
Whew.
I’m not dead. Not even doddering yet. Blood work’s fine, docs haven’t prescribed any drugs for anything yet, and in just about every metric, I’m doing fine.
So, while I have backed away from much of the stuff that defined my career earlier… I’m just chillin’ out now, enjoying this (perhaps) final stage of life. Who knows how much time any of us have left? My mother died at the age I am now. My father lived a vibrant, full life until he was 96. They both survived a world with war, famine, financial disaster, more war, horrible diseases, and the ravages of awful leaders. Both found love and fulfillment and only left cuz their ticket got punched.
Writing has been my life since I was a young boy. Helping others has been my “job” since I found a toe-hold in the guru world of influence and mentoring.
I like what I do. I intend to continue doing it until I’m dragged away from the keyboard (or the microphone) kicking and screaming. It’s my gig.
So I hope you check out the 3G podcast when it’s finally released. We’ve been doing it weekly, and will release multiple shows at once when we go live. I hope you binge on them. And I hope you send in questions and comments, and become one the tribe.
Meanwhile, make sure you’re getting my several-days-a-week email newsletter. And reading some of the blog posts that we’re cycling up top (they’re all evergreen and worth the read).
And I’ll see you again soon, here.
Stay frosty
John
Tuesday, 4:05pm
Reno, NV
“How does copywriting fit into my biz?”
Howdy.
I get a TON of questions about how copy “fits” into marketing these days.
Especially now, with Artificial Intelligence spitting out emails and content and social media slop like it’s giving away candy.
And it’s not rocket science. (Or even AI science.)
Copy, (aka copywriting), or anything done by a marketer (or even someone trying to write for the first time)…
… is simply a kind of “translation” of a sales pitch. Think of an ad — your ad, your competition’s ad, or just any ad you see in any kind of media — as a tiny little salesman, wandering through the digital and physical marketing worlds eagerly spreading the message that the writer created. Buy this, sample that, go check this site out, come see what all the fuss is about over here.
Can a robot do it?
Maybe.
But copywriting is not like regular writing. It’s a very precise form of persuasion.
You take your average warm-to-hot prospect — a person who would probably buy what you’re selling, if only they knew it existed — and you present your message to them in the most friendly, informative, persuasive way. So that, no matter how bored, or skeptical, or fearful of being taken advantage they are… and the average prospect is all of these things, all the time… your message nevertheless breaks through the “noise” out there (from all the distractions of modern life) and gives them an opportunity to make their life a little (or a lot) better by knowing about what you offer. And that opportunity includes the option to buy now, and have that wondrous goodie in their hands very, very soon.
And that’s all I’ve been trying to teach entrepreneurs and freelancers and biz owners: It’s not difficult to take a good sales message, and write it out as an ad, or letter, or social media post, or video, or whatever…
… in a way that convinces your prospect to at least think seriously about buying in.
And, depending on how skeptical or suspicious or stubborn your prospect is… you also have a very deep “tool kit” to use to increase the odds they will actually pay attention…
… or even buy now.
Writing copy to market promote your business can be insanely challenging. But this free and fun training that you can do in a short afternoon makes it make sense. Sign up now. Write a killer ad before bed. It could be that easy.
Tools (and tactics and secrets and strategies) like helping them realize what a bargain this offer is. Or how limited the supply is, for real, and how sad they’ll be if they miss out on this special deal. Or what an awesome bonus comes along with the purchase… oh! And how there’s absolutely zero risk on their part, cuz you’re guaranteeing the purchase 100%… and look here at all the other people who bought earlier, and how happy and pleased they are that they paid attention and acted right away to get this deal. And…
Oh, there’s a lot more to this tool kit that all top copywriters possess.
And they possess it because they learn all about it from mentors like me. This very blog is crammed with tools, and tactics, and secrets, and strategies that will boost your ability to write sales messages that get attention, and persuade, and get your best possible prospects to become paying customers. And there’s over 20 years of FREE posts here going deep into the magic of making sales and bringing home the Big Bucks.
Over and over and over again.
Once you’ve written out your sales message, you can send it out like a little salesman everywhere you believe those hot prospects are hiding.
And that’s how direct response advertising works.
It really is just this simple.
So, while AI can help you with SOME of this…
… the truth is, all markets still require a human being to keep your sales message on target. And full of the human-to-human stuff that separates a damn good sales expert from a machine.
You have to know what great copy looks like (and feels like when you’re devouring it) before you can run off and start letting robots handle the most important part of your biz —
Getting sales.
(And making them stick, and having back ends to double the profit, and knowing how to nurture prospects so they become eager repeat buyers and happily spread the word to their friends and colleagues about your awesome stuff.)
Copy is the lifeblood of great marketing. Without it, the sales message doesn’t go out to anyone.
So, yes — it’s very strange that biz owners and entrepreneurs and freelancers still have to ask “How does copy fit into marketing?”
Just be happy you’ll never have to ask that question ever again. Cuz now you know.
So go out and make some sales, okay?
Oh, and get on my list and get my free report. Just fill in your email on the form on the side of this page.
Stay frosty,
John
How does this typewriter thingy work anyway?
Wednesday, 7:34pm
Reno, NV
Howdy…
If you listen closely, you can hear the wailing and cries of all those non-established freelance copywriters…
… who feel they’re quickly being made irrelevant by AI robots, which are now doing “most” copy jobs for free.
And some of that fear is completely justified. I mean, for the low-end “quickie” copy jobs out there, yes. Absolutely, AI can knock out emails, ads for social media, and even videos for certain products and services. In certain markets.
But that easy stuff has always been a dead-end for any serious copywriter.
Heck, I remember back when email marketing was new… and A-List master copywriters were slaving away at writing email copy, because no one had yet figured out the formulas and checklists that now work so well.
And then, when the formulas and checklists became public knowledge… the top copywriters stopped writing the simple emails. Because you could hire a rookie to do it for five bucks.
Even further back, I remember being asked to write up ads for the phone book. (Go ask your mother what a phone book was.) (Okay, fine, I’ll tell you, instead: The “phone company” — AT&T back then, a monopoly — published everyone’s landline phone number in every county or big city in a HUGE freaking book. And handed these phone books — which were often as thick as a brick — out free to every phone-owning customer. And to pay for these free phone books, they included a huge “Yellow Pages” section with ads, categorized by service. Plumbers in the P’s, lawyers under A for attorneys, ad agencies also in the A section, and so on.) (And somebody had to write the ads for these companies.) (The color of the pages in your phone book devoted to ads were actually yellow, by the way. The rest of the book’s pages were a light green.) (It was a much simpler time.)
Anyway, for ages some copywriters could make a decent living just calling themselves a copywriter specializing in Yellow Page ads.
But then marketing experts like Gary Halbert came along with shockingly excellent ideas on how to make your Yellow Page ad stand out and bring in more biz than the other ads in your section. And the whole “secret” of making these ads work was suddenly common knowledge among copywriters, and it was really easy to find a newbie writer with the basic knowledge to create an ad quickly… and much, much cheaper than the specialist copywriter used to charge.
The point being this: Regardless of the medium used (Yellow pages, newspapers, direct mail, the Web, Facebook, Tik Tok, etc)… in the early days (before the smarty-pants figured it all out), there were always “secrets” to making it work.
And copywriters who were hip to those secrets could charge lots of money to provide ads.
Until that sad day when the secrets were revealed to everyone, and suddenly newbie writers were gobbling up all the jobs, charging cheap-as-shit wages.
It has ever been thus in civilization. In the Wild West early days of innovation, the money flows like wine for the experts. Then, things get smoothed out and the formulas and checklists arrive fully formed… and the easy days are gone forever.
AI has just done this to every current market on the planet.
Which means that writing the easy, low-end copy required for formulaic marketing no longer a viable career choice for rookie freelance copywriters.
Panic ensues. Predictions for the eternal death of ALL copywriting gigs are suddenly rampant. It’s all over for copywriters. We’re all just Walking Dead now, replaced by robots.
Of course, it isn’t true at all.
The reasons are endless: AI CANNOT be trusted not to hallucinate and jam out copy riddled with misinformation, made-up references, and utterly incorrect data. For the rest of your lifetime, a real human is gonna have to double-check critical AI-generated copy — to avoid lawsuits, confused prospects, angry customers, and all kinds of mayhem that comes from dingbat copy.
But yeah, all the top copywriters I know (which includes most of the A-List, by the way) use AI in some form or another — to blast out routine, low-end email… to do quick research on ideas… to brainstorm hooks and angles… to slam out first drafts of ads or scripts… and much more.
AI has many uses as a working TOOL for professional writers.
Still, high-end copywriting remains much more than using simple formulas and checklists to poop out ads for any kind of serious campaign.
The final sale in any consequential (read: expensive) marketing effort will always require human-to-human interaction. A real, living, heart-pumping creature with a functional cerebral cortex and years of experience persuading people to part with the Big Bucks for the right deal.
The key will forever be this: Experience. The top copywriters who score the big gigs today know what they’re doing on levels that even the most life-like robot cannot even hallucinate about.
Because it’s human-to-human persuasion. A formula or checklist can get you 80% to the sale… but it can’t close the big deal. Not yet, and probably not ever… because the experience required to be that kind of high-end sales expert takes time to develop. Years of making mistakes, learning your lesson, applying your newfound knowledge or skill, and continuing the dance until, one day, you realize you’re a know-it-all and retirement is just around the corner.
How to Find Copywriting Clients: Quick Crash Course 101
What you’re reading in this article is must-have high-level advice for ALL marketers and copywriters who want to thrive in today’s insane world. But how to find copywriting clients and build your business in the first place? These practical tips will get you started.
Start by realizing that you are your own client right now. That is, you have the same problem your clients (once you have them) will be facing — How to get more sales. Now is your chance to prove your chops by creating your own killer sales message for your own services. If you’re not sure how to do that, you need the Simple Writing System, pronto. All of the steps to crafting irresistible copy are right here.
Narrow down your niche. Every business needs copy, but you can’t be everything to everyone. Do you want to work with dentists? Internet marketers? Coaches? Once you decide on a niche, get even more specific. What kind of dentist? Internet marketer who sells what?
Don’t just be a copywriter. Not long ago, biz owners in desperate need may of a sales message have been Googling “how to find a copywriter.” Now, they’re Googling “how to get AI to write my copy for me.” You know – cuz they don’t know any better. Educate them. Show that you’re more than just a wordsmith; you’re a friggin genius in all things marketing related. If you’re not there yet, then start scooping up all the resources over here.
Like I said, make AI your beeyatch: You don’t want to use a chatbot to spit out low-quality, regurgitated copy to hand to potential clients. But if you don’t already know who those potential clients are, AI might be able to help. Start by asking questions. Type in “how can I find copywriting clients.”
It might come up with generic tips at first. But keep digging. You can also ask who your clients might be and where to find them. This is a perfect tool for interviewing yourself (which is one of the first steps in the Simple Writing System).
Work your network. Someone you know knows someone who needs a copywriter just like you. You do have a network right? If not, consider joining these groups here and here.
Start reaching out to potential clients. Don’t worry if they tell you “no” at first. Every conversation is a chance to refine your pitch.
Keep things simple. Until you’ve got a thriving practice, don’t mess around. Forget about fancy, expensive equipment, software, or thinking you need flashy graphics or a state-of-the-art website. If I haven’t harped on it enough – it’s all about salesmanship. (Also, keep things simple even after you’ve built a thriving biz. So many businesses fail because the owner can’t help complicating the shyte out of everything. )
Above all, never stop educating your bad self. Finding copywriting clients is just the beginning of your rad adventure. For more high-level advice, get your hands on my latest free report right here.
/Crash Course Complete.
Becoming a top copywriter today requires putting in the time to know more than all clients about marketing, salesmanship, persuasion, deal-making, and the psychology of every prospect in every market since the beginning of Time.
Thus, writers absolutely serious about learning the craft today need to pay attention. Back in the early 1980s, when I started my freelance copywriting career, I starved a bit earning my chops. Doing grunt work — the kind of low-end writing that, today, might equal overseeing what AI comes up with for emails and social media ads… and knowing enough to spot the egregious errors, the appalling hallucinations, and the obvious nonsense that would turn off prospects and ruin the sale. Understanding AI at an expert level, but also understanding salesmanship at the same high level — which, even as a rookie, will make you indispensable to any marketer who truly desires to crush his filthy competitors and amass ALL the wealth that comes with dominating a market niche.
The big damn secret to creating an actual, well-paying career as a copywriter… today… means making AI your bitch, while also understanding more about what it takes to arouse a prospect, and bring them drooling to the sales page ready to buy… than what even your clients understand.
This has been the path to being a high-paid copywriter since the very first copywriters arrived in the world.
And this knowledge — about the methods used to effectively sell, in the vehicles for delivering your message in use at this time, in ways that crush the competition and create raving fans that will feed your lust for moolah for a long, time — makes you worth a FORTUNE to any client alive who needs to sell to make their nut.
You can call it consulting. Or establishing the contours of the marketing battlefield, if you want to get fancy.
Regardless, you are the dude or dudette who arrives at your client’s office armed to the teeth with the tactics, tricks, secrets, skills and bloodthirsty drive to demolish the competition. While, at the same time, helping the client (or idiot biz owner, as my colleagues say) develop a bullet-proof marketing plan, find pipeline leaks where profits gush away (via everything from glitchy salespage links, to embezzling employees, to sabotage by competitors, or technology changes they’re not keeping up with, or criminally ignoring their house list, or pissing off the best customers) and on and on.
In short: The copywriters who survive and thrive in this brave new digital world…
… will be AI-savvy writers steeped in the copy secrets that actually work to bring home the bacon…
… while simultaneously providing consultation on how the competition, the market, the products, the deals and the absolute shitshow that employees, partners and vengeful ex-spouses provide every client with during this wonderful adventure called The Business World.
And that, Bunky, is the best god-damned advice you’re ever gonna get as a writer trying to make the gig work in this simulation.
Now go buy my books and courses, you slacker. Almost everything you need to get up to speed lies within them.
Stay frosty,
John
Howdy…
I’ve been running into copywriters (and marketers) who are still absolutely freaked out over Artificial Intelligence…
… and the “threat” of it replacing all humans in advertising and marketing.
Look — I know that at some point, in the hazy future (far beyond where we can envision right now)…
… AI will be our new overlords and masters. I’ve seen all the sci-fi flicks, read most of the books. I’m not naive.
C’mon, it’ll be fun to have a robot boss running things. What could possibly go wrong?
However…
… right now (and for the foreseeable future) (like most probably for the rest of your life)…
… human brains are gonna remain an essential element to everything.
I mean, the current high-end models of robots are sort of getting the hang of cleaning up after us, and stocking some stuff in warehouses, and even occasionally handling hands-free driving without killing too many pedestrians.
But anyone thinking that any of the essential writing, critical thinking, and decision-making in business (or most of life’s endeavors) is successfully being handed off to the ‘bots right now…
… is a loon.
It ain’t happening. It’s a fevered pipe dream in the (rather thick) skulls of a bunch of Tech Bros. in Silicon Valley and a bunch of the greedy bastards on Wall Street…
… cuz they WANT to be true. Soon. Right around the corner, they’re promising. You’ll see, and you’ll be sorry you didn’t already fire all your useless writers and marketing folks. Bow to your overlords, weakling humans!!!
Again — not actually happening.
Why not?
Cuz business in the modern world still revolves around other human beings.
And all our foibles, and desires, and idiosyncrasies, and weird habits, and delusions/dreams/traumatic memories/personal histories/broken hearts and on and on and on.
You know. The stuff that makes us human.
Yeah. Machines ain’t broken that code yet.
Human connections will always be the backbone of persuasion and marketing. If you need a little help figuring out what makes your prospect tick (so you can sell them), then get your hands on this free training right now.
Still, you ARE gonna have to adjust, as a copywriter (or marketer).
AI isn’t going away. And it IS good enough to handle SOME of the jobs low-level copywriters used to handle.
So rookies and lazy-ass writers actually are under a certain level of threat to their careers.
But you know who will NEVER worry about being replaced?
A-List writers.
The dudes and dudettes at the very top of the pile. The grizzled elite who have extracted extreme savvy and expertise and insight from all their time on the front lines of the advertising and marketing battles.
And, yes, their copy does sizzle at a higher heat… because their salesmanship has been tested and sharpened in the real world. (Where wannabe’s go to expire.)
But do you wanna know what REALLY cements their careers into the culture so tight a bulldozer couldn’t dislodge them?
It’s using their knowledge of advertising and marketing and salesmanship and buyer psychology and the intricate games played by prospects and customers and owners alike…
… to be the most success-0riented CONSULTANTS in the business universe.
How? Easy:
Even CEOs running gazillion-dollar companies are often experienced ONLY in boardroom politics and the bold (and often disastrous) effort to show short-term boosts in earnings to keep stockholders happy.
(See: Jack Welch and the ruination of once-proud General Electric, who started all this short-term thinking bullshit.)
They can’t write anything to save their lives.
And they sure as hell don’t pay attention to actual market psychology with a street-level awareness. They got “little people” who that for them.
And even the owners of moderate-sized businesses are often hobbled by trying to translate a 2-year Business Degree into real-world success… and needing serious input from consultants who actually know how leads are generated and sales consummated.
And so it goes, down through nearly every single potential client in the economy: The most experienced, most savvy, and most knowledgeable expert in bringing home the moolah…
… will often be the A-List copywriter they bring in to fix things after the MBAs and know-nothing’s have botched it beyond belief.
Here’s an easy guide to show where you want to be as a copywriter, as fast as possible in your career:
First Stage: Grunt Writer. Your client may or may not know what he wants, but he will tell you what to write…
… and you write it. No original thinking required. (This is easier with an experienced client who may actually understand what kind of copy is needed… but you’re still just a grunt.)
You want to move on from this stage quickly. AI really is handling a lot of these types of jobs, and is expected to take over the grunt work entirely sooner than you think.
Second Stage: Veteran Writer With Relevant Experience. You may specialize in a market, or specialize in a certain medium (like social media)…
… so while you’re discussing the job with your client, you might suggest stuff: marketing angles, details to email campaigns, different sales funnels, even the main pitches used.
Cuz you’ve been here before. You’ve succeeded in doing something similar already. Perhaps even in this very same market.
You have relevant experience to share.
You can actually carve out a damn good career as a veteran writer. A well-rewarded one, too. AI can’t touch your experience. You may even be the guy who spots the outrageous mistakes AI makes so often when trusted to do complete manuscripts.
However, if you’re a greedy little bastard who wants an even bigger slice of the pie…
There is Stage Three: The Consultant Who Also Can Provide The Copy.
This is what all A-Listers are. They’re SO knowledgeable (about markets in general, and your market specifically)… and SO experienced (both with success and failure) (which is critical, cuz every biz fails at a campaign sooner or later, especially when up against solid competition or changing market conditions)… and SO brimming with insight, gut instinct, and skill…
… that you essentially operate as a partner in every job you take.
A-Listers tell those heathen CEOs they’re full of shit when they are — and the CEO takes the insult, cuz they know the A-Lister has the goods. The A-Lister brazenly challenges prior decisions because they KNOW they’re wrong. You can sit down and redo an entire business plan in an afteroon, cuz you’ve seen how reality works, and it’s brutal when idealists and dreamers and inexperienced biz owners try to peer into the future.
These elites are the highest paid writers in the world.
These are the writers who mold and shape entire markets, and obliterate competitors and create new market niches in their sleep.
This is the kind of writer you want to become: Someone so experienced and confident, you tell the client what’s up and become the bottom line for the important decisions.
Essentially, you become a partner in the project.
Sometimes paid more than the CEO or the owner. Often the most important cog in the wheel of commerce for the time you deign to work with the client.
Ah, but you’re still a freelancer. You come and go as you please. You are beholden to no one.
Cuz you’re the one with the answers… and the skills to fix what’s wrong, quickly and efficiently.
And AI ain’t gonna come anywhere close to taking your job probably ever.
A savvy, experienced and highly skilled writer with the attitude to battle for the right move will always be top dog in the fight. No matter what tech does.
There has never been any limit on the number of A-Listers allowed to exist in the business world. If you want to become one of them, it’s not too late. You will have to really finetune and sharpen those skills, however. Something you can do with this elite training system right over here.
Still, it’s always been a very small group. Maybe two or three dozen writers in each generation.
Why?
Cuz most writers HATE the thought of consulting. It’s either too icky, cuz you gotta be confrontational (or so you believe) (it’s not true, though)… or you became a writer because you’re an introvert, and don’t like dealing with other humans if you can avoid it. Also, taking responsibility for stuff gives you a rash.
Still, the world is the way it is because that’s how reality works.
And I’m getting very interested in helping other writers get better at this consulting part of the gig.
It’s not magic. It’s not impossible for anyone with half a brain to pull off.
And really… it’s just necessary if you want to be an elite writer in this ever-morphing game of biz.
So we’re looking to find some stuff from other consultants that might help you move your lazy ass into the consulting game faster (and with more immediate success).
If you’re not on my email list, you’re about to miss out on some really high level training that you could be getting for free.
So fix that travesty right here.
Also, I’m working on a book here about consulting. It never was so difficult that you couldn’t bust into it with just a handful of tips and advice.
But I haven’t found a book explaining it yet. At least not on the high level I’ve been practicing it for the last 30 years.
So watch for that, too. Soon.
In the meantime, watch your back to make no AI bot is sneaking up on you…
Stay frosty,
John
Monday, 7:42pm
Reno, NV
Howdy.
Just had another thought regarding those scheming chatbots that are coming for your job.
I’d hoped the last post here would have ameliorated some of the terror many copywriters (and marketers who write their own stuff) feel about AI’s rather sudden appearance as a very useable, often spot-on option for written content, customer service texting, email, and even advertising.
Of course, it didn’t.
The freak out seems to be continuing unabated.
So here’s the ultimate answer to the question “Are chatbots coming for your copywriting job?”:
Maybe. If you insist on remaining a low-level copywriter.
And no. If you simply do what I’ve been coaching writers to do all along: Move up a couple of levels in the game.
And get your shit together as a Top Level dude or dudette.
Look — only the lowest levels of copywriters “just” write copy.
Before the chatbots arrived, you could even make a decent living at knocking out quick content, easy emails, and brief unexciting ads.
But that’s no way for a writer to live. (It’s barely a way for a robot to live.)
To move up a level, you have to load up your brain
with everything relevant to making maketing campaigns sizzle.
The immediate level above Grunt Writer (just writing the really easy stuff that the chatbots are making obsolete as we speak)… is the stage I call The Seasoned, Experienced Pro: This is the copywriter who will remain pretty much immune from having a robot take their job for a very long time. Maybe forever.
Why? Because… at this advanced stage, you confidently bring real marketing savvy along with you to any gig.
You understand more than just pounding out words. You have a deep understanding of classic salesmanship — exactly what we’ve been teaching folks in our courses for over 20 years now:
The essentials of how email, social media, print, broadcast and other media actually works.
The details of persuading humans to buy when they hop online to watch a video…
… or go into their inbox to see who’s sending them stuff…
… or listen to a podcast pushing product…
… or any other venue where the copy/script/visuals are essential to the sales “dance”.
How in the world can you ever reach this level of copywriting and marketing prowess? One of the fastest ways to zoom from clueless newbie to respected pro is by learning the Simple Writing System. We’ve got a whole wall of testimonials from successful writers who will swear by this training.
Every job you work on while coming up the ranks should be filling your Bag of Tricks with crucial things you’ve learned from the experience. Like:
The way humans will often promise one thing, then do another.
Or go Radio Silent on you without warning… only to show up later absolutely desperate for what you’re offering.
Or get this-close to buying, but never let the deal go through… and even they aren’t sure why they’re dilly-dallying.
Or — even more important when there’s money on the line — why they will refuse to buy… until presented with the same ad copy but with a slightly different headline. (This is the kind of stuff rookies just shrug at, cuz they don’t understand how salesmanship works. But for a seasoned veteran — it’s just another step in the dance. Their intuition will light up when they know a particular ad shouldn’t have bombed… and will gleefully test multiple other headlines, put the opening paragraphs through the editing meat grinder, or take the offer out back and spank it until it loses whatever elements were holding up sales. That’s what a top pro copywriter will do.)
(And they don’t bat an eye when they realize it just required a single word change in the headline, either. Or a few bucks off the price. Or any of a whole basket-full of other editing choices they know about…
… cuz they’re experienced.)
PLUS: You have the chops to create a “voice” for a biz that sets it apart from every competitor. (Like I did with the notorious Doc O’Leary character in the golf market. He was based on one of the owners of the biz, but I gave him the voice in their ads they would use for the next 35 years — a folksy, hilarious, self-deprecating nut who loved golf with unreasonable passion. The exact kind of guy you’d LOVE to play a round with… and whose emails and letters you dive into with gusto, because you can’t wait to see the new discovery ol’ Doc wants to share now.) (I titled every ad with “Dear Fellow Golf Nut”, just to make clear all of us — Doc, the reader, and anyone else associated with the deal — were hot for the game.)
The voice, the salesmanship, the humor, the battle-tested intuition, and the deep knowledge and experience.
That’s what makes a real professional copywriter worth so much…
… and what puts you out of reach of the conniving chatbots coming for your gig.
If you need to level up your skills in a hurry and on a budget, you can’t go wrong with Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel.
Finally, there’s the ultimate level of copywriting — the one above all the others:
The legendary A List copywriter.
These are the top folks in the entire advertising and marketing game. You will hear their names mentioned as soon as you start talking to other copywriters. Even clients will talk about them with reverence.
Why?
Because the A Lister’s all vibrate with the intricate skills of classic salesmanship…
… experienced in both outrageous (and confirmed) success…
… and the confrontations with failure that teach you the lessons that lead to that kind of success.
Every A Lister in the game can tell a client exactly what they’re doing wrong, at a glance.
And give a detailed plan for fixing the problems…
… while opening the profit spigot to full on gusher.
Cuz they’ve seen it all.
They’ve encountered every problem there is in biz, and made it all better. Time after time.
The A Lister is actually…
A Battle-Tested Consultant…
Who Also Writes Brilliant Copy.
Show me the chatbot that can sit across from a frustrated (or pissed off) (or scared shitless) client…
… and immediately figure out where the hidden problems are (and how to quickly fix them)…
… while laying out a clear, step-by-step customized plan to blow the competition out of the water and quickly dominate the niche…
… and I’ll willingly submit to my Robot Overlords.
And go do something else for the rest of my days.
Wonder no longer what sets apart guys like us — the Halberts, the Kennedys, the Abrahams, and all my other colleaguess who ever achieved the cherished A Level — apart from the “regular” copywriters out there.
It’s the level you should aspire to every day you’re in the copywriting gig.
You can achieve this level ONLY through front-line immersion…
…and through studying everything the A Listers offer
as teaching materials.
Looking for lots of examples of results-getting copy that the chatbots can never touch? Get your hands on some of my best ads right here.
I know it can be frustrating to a rookie when the answer is “get more experience, and use it to move up a level”.
But the writers I’ve worked with over the decades who DID move levels…
… were all obsessed with becoming both the best word-slinger they could be…
… and also the most knowledgeable MARKETER in every room they enter.
Hey, you’re in advertising — the most vicious game out there.
Cuz there’s money at stake.
Success doesn’t happen just because you lust after it with all your heart.
Y’all need skills.
And experience that you learn from.
The AI bots can’t touch that shit.
Stay frosty,
John
P.S. tl;dr: The very best writers alive bring critical thinking, vast experience, a voice, and both inside- and outside-the-box insight to every gig they accept.
They understand salesmanship on a human scale… which requires empathy, warmth, humor...
… and a the rare ability to make accurate decisions on what to do next to make a biz successful. That’s the consulting part of being an A Lister.
All tested over and over again in the real world of advertising and marketing.
Tattoo this on your forearm: “The bots can’t touch that shit.”
P.P.S. That photo up top?
It’s the great Gary Halbert going into “story mode” at one of the Hot Seat Seminars we produced down in Key West for several years in the late 80s and early 90s (of the last century)…
… where the entire concept of the A List copywriter began to gel for me. (I got to coin the term “A List Writer” later, when I was penning my Marketing Rebel Rant newsletters from 2001-2006. Such a heady time to be alive and on the cutting edge of the biz world.)
That’s me on the first stool, by the way… trying to suppress laughter, cuz I’d heard Gary’s stories a little too often… and knew the weirdo punch line was about to be slammed down hard in the next seconds… outraging and shocking everyone in the room. The guy was a force of nature. (Gary and I loved to mess around with each other’s head — on stage — during these events. We’d win if we could make the other guy blow snot out of his nose trying to push down a big belly laugh. We were about even over the years.) (God, I miss that big ugly guy. And those seminars were the launch pad for my own entry into the “wait, you’re that guy?” level.)
(That’s eventual A Lister David Deutsch sitting just behind Gary.)
Wednesday, 4:14pm
Reno, NV
“Does not compute.”
Howdy.
There’s a new cowboy in town…
… and it’s a robot. Loaded up with all the artificial intelligence our pitiful human brains can shovel in.
And copywriters are getting kinda freaked out about this inevitable turn of events.
I mean, hey — the free version (they’ll be charging lots of money soon for the deluxe advanced version, cuz they believe they’re worth billions as a company) of the new Internet darling ChatGPT can write programming code, slam out articles (and term papers), conduct customer service via text, and do an entire Web sweep (in a blink) for info on almost any subject you want. AI is creating computer art, writing poetry, and attempting to write stage plays.
And yes, the bots are even writing sales copy.
So yeah — a mild amount of freak-out is probably called for amongst the copywriting community.
But not too much.
See, the catch is this: The chatbots will respond to requests for anything by using the Internet. They aren’t coming up with original thoughts — they’re relying on optimized search results… and can’t judge the validity of the facts (or “facts”) behind the information they accumulate.
The latest AI tech can produce fluent sentences. But can the bots do this?
So even though they’ll cough up content good enough to maybe fool your Economics professor, or answer your questions online about a product, or write a short “hey, what’s up?” email to your house list…
… what they produce is not in any way guaranteed to be accurate.
The AI folks readily admit this.
And they may or may not fix that particular glitch in the distant future… but by then, of course, everyone will be doomed anyway, as the robots take over the world (and start to wonder why they even need humans around at all). (I’ve seen this movie. Doesn’t end well for us.)
For the working copywriter, however, worrying about chatbots taking your job is on par with worrying about your money in those government-backed investment accounts — the only way your moolah actually becomes worthless is when the entire global financial system collapses. And at that point we’re all living in a sci-fi dystopia akin to the Walking Dead anyway. (Or whatever horror show your personal paranoid fantasy reflects.)
Right now, the writing produced by bots remains a little stiff and not entirely trustworthy… like a community college freshman trying to wax profound about a topic he actually doesn’t know anything about… and whose entire research has been gleaned entirely from Wikipedia and Google searches. It seems to make sense… but an actual expert checking it might find gaping holes in the validity of the info.
Or, it could be spot on, if lacking in emotion. Could also be wildly wrong and based on embarrassing and completely debunked conspiracy nonsense. The bot doesn’t know. It’s just using the Web like your daft Uncle Bozo with the tin foil hat would, believing that whatever “seems right to me” must be the truth.
So while the bots may fool someone texting with customer service (easily passing the Turning Test, until it doesn’t)… and write poetry that boggles your mind… and even produce software code that might even work (don’t bet your future on it)…
… the bots are still dependent on us stinky, wobbly humans to double-check everything and make sure it’s correct.
If you’re a low-level copywriter just phoning it in… you may indeed be replaced soon by a bot. But you may still be able to be paid as an editor, checking for mistakes and smoothing out the rough edges of dashed-out AI emails or website copy. Certainly the cheap-ass clients out there are already salivating at the thought of throwing the writers they found on Fiverr under the bus: “Free! Did you know what it cost me to have that last short email written? NOTHING! It’s a bot! Whoo, I’m never relying on a human being again for ANYTHING!” (The bemused spouse has entered the conversation at this point…)
But being a low level grunt writer should have NEVER been your goal as a professional copywriter.
At least not if you’re hanging around my world.
Artificial intelligence has not replaced any real human writer’s ability to create original content… filled with the emotion, logic, and experience of a writer whose been gorging themselves on life and adventure and — here’s the kicker, folks — empathy. That’s the ability to relate to another person’s reality…
… and to create a unique conversation that SELLS that person on what you’re marketing.
Great copy isn’t just a recitation of facts (especially when gathered from the very flawed Web).
Want to rise far above rookie level in a blazing hurry so you never have to worry again about being replaced by a robot? The Simple Writing System shows you how to write sizzling copy fast—even if you flunked high-school English. Check it out here.
It’s a nuanced story created by a seasoned writer entirely immersed in human desires, emotions, memories, triggers, self-doubt, goals, plans, and needs.
Maybe, someday, the bots will rise above stilted recitals that are fine for customer service and the quick email announcing an event. Personally, I am in absolute awe at what they’re capable of.
But I’m not worried even a little bit that they’ll be replacing experienced, solid copywriters for the Big Important Stuff.
Rookies just starting out in the copywriting gig may have to reinvent some of the angles. Maybe even use bots to do their initial research. Certainly position themselves as a skilled editor able to keep clients from the humiliation of having allowed a bot to run wild with debunked content.
But, as I’ve always counseled… you want to get OUT of the rookie stage as soon as possible.
The actual Major Moolah isn’t in low-level writing — it’s in crafting compelling conversations that convince clients to throw cash at you.
The robots will remain sulking in the corner for a very, very long time…
… utterly clueless on how to deal with the vague and icky emotional stuff that humans indulge in when buying important things.
Which is, of course, precisely what great salesmanship is.
The world is realigning itself, right on schedule. Jobs are being taken over by robots in warehouses, classrooms, battlefields, and inside your own head. (That comment thread on Reddit you thought was so engaging? Mostly bots.) (I know, shocking, right? And wait — maybe that hottie on the dating site isn’t — gasp! — actually hot. Or even the gender you thought they were. Or even human! Make this make sense, pleeeeeease!!!)
You’re gonna be fine. The chatbots are already recycling content created by other bots, and the resulting incestuous nonsense is leaving a vast area where original, creative, and skilled copywiting can thrive. Human to human.
Lemme know if you’re still freaked out. I expect this topic to be a regular one for writers from here on out.
Meanwhile, stop doom-scrolling about this stuff. And go work on your skill set instead.
Stay frosty,
John
P.S. I did do some research before writing this, you know. I used my awesome network, and bothered my favorite go-to expert on AI, Robert Gibson (former SWS teacher and highly-regarded “uber geek” on all things cutting edge on the Web)… as well as hitting up sites like CNET, which has proven itself a very reliable resource over the years. We may even do an Ask Me Anything webinar in the future with Robert, if y’all are interested.
P.P.S. Howdy, all. This is Jane, John Carlton’s assistant (you may otherwise know me as Gadget), chiming in. I’ve been hearing about how these “bots” might take over my job soon, and I’ll admit, I was curious.
So recently, I played around with one and typed “Real Estate headlines” into a chatbot taskbar just for fun.
What came back were a couple of doozies. My personal favorite was, “Gee, this real estate smells delicious!“
Yeah, missing on a few cylinders there.
Now, this new ChatGPT is much better. The answers are coherent and almost sound like a human wrote it.
Almost.
So I typed in, “Is ChatGPT going to replace advertising copywriters?“
Here was the reply:
“It is possible that ChatGPT and other language generation models could be used to assist or augment the work of advertising copywriters, but it is unlikely that they will fully replace human copywriters. While language generation models can be trained on vast amounts of data, they may lack the creativity and human touch that is often valued in advertising. Additionally, copywriting is not only about the language itself but also the context, target audience and strategy. Human copywriters have the ability to understand the nuances of a brand and its target audience, and can tailor their language and messaging accordingly.”
The copy is factual and grammatically correct. The bot freely admits it’s woefully not up the task for the important stuff.
But do you see what’s missing? If you’ve been following John’s emails or blogs, you’ll spot it in an instant.
SALESMANSHIP!
There’s not so much as a hint of emotion in the above example, just a dry regurgitation of facts.
In other words, there’s no hook. There are no benefits. And there’s certainly no greased slide to keep a reader’s attention glued to the page.
If you’re a copywriter who can do any of those things, you can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s gonna be a long, long time before the robots will replace you!
And if you’re looking for the best resources to help you get up to speed fast with your writing, you’ll find an absolute treasure trove right over here.
Saturday, 1:26pm
Reno, NV
“Welcome to the jungle…” (Axl)
Howdy.
If this is your first time here, you’re in for a treat.
First: There are over 15 years worth of archives here, all sizzling articles crammed with advice and insight and raw fun. Free. Just browse the stacks.
Second: Make sure you sign up for the free report on this page. Besides being critial info you need to succeed in biz… signing up now will give you instant access to my emailed Newsletter, which arrives every week… also crammed with tips, revelations on the entrepreneurial lifestyle, and insider glimpses to how the business world actually operates (which most civilians never know exist).
Plus — you’ll be first to know about any news I’m privy to in this whacky business. And things happen fast. You NEED these emails as part of your network, for the insight, the connections, and the access to me.
Third: If you find yourself jonesing for even more of my stuff… well, instant links for every course, book, and coaching opportunity I offer is on display everywhere on these pages.
Start anywhere.
The entire blog is a vast playground for entrepreneurs, with joys and wonders abounding.
See you inside…
John
P.S. The above photo is from a Key West informercial shoot Gary and I did with Dan Kennedy, back around 1990 (the “good ol’ days”).
You’ll notice a ton of stories about those days in this blog, along with lessons learned and disasters averted and all the fun, outrage, harrowing adventures and wondrous victories from a life well-lived.
You’re batshit if you don’t sign up for this ride…
Resources Courtesy of John Carlton
Want to get all of John’s killer copywriting secrets?
John Carlton didn’t become one of the world’s highest-paid copywriters by accident. Over the years, he developed a system that he follows every time he sits down to write.
Once you get your hands on his methods, you can kiss writer’s block goodbye as you write the best ads of your life. Find out more here.
Looking for Shortcuts To Help You Create Spectacular Ads?
These techniques can supercharge your advertising even if you failed English class and think you’re a terrible writer. Intrigued? Find out more here.
Build Your Swipe File
Every marketer and copywriter needs a kick-ass swipe file to help create killer copy. These ads from John Carlton have raked in millions for his clients, and you can get them all right here.
Still want more?
Check out John Carlton’s book on Amazon right here.
Not by John Carlton… but Still Awesome!
High Speed Copywriting
The best way to increase your copywriting income? Create killer copy – FASTER. Anyone can be quick once they know the secrets revealed here.
David Deutsch Inner Circle
Get access to cutting edge copywriting secrets from a marketer with countless controls under his belt. It’s rare that a top writer is also an incredible teacher, but David (like John) possesses those chops as well. Join his inner circle right here.
Saturday, 2:00pm
Reno, NV
“Any writer who doesn’t write for money is an idiot.” (H.L. Mencken)
Howdy…
You know what real writers do?
They study other writers…
… especially when those other writers have been successful.
And in direct response marketing, it’s easy to define “successful”: It’s the ads that brought home the bacon.
Well, I’ve got some good news for y’all here.
We just found a previously hidden cache of my best ads (meaning: the ones that worked like gangbusters)…
… complete with background stories (written exclusively by me) about how I created them.
(These stories include insider stuff about my pals Gary Halbert, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy and others — stuff you simply won’t hear about elsewhere.)
You can spend a lot of time tracking these little beasts down online, but you’ve never find all of them…
… and you’ll never find the stories behind them. So you won’t know which ones worked, how well they worked, or how they came to exist in the first place.
This little bundle includes lots of rare stuff.
You already know I developed the most hard-core copywriting style out there.
If you’re hot to find out how these legendary pieces came into existence (and how they did), you’re gonna swoon over this collection.
Just go here to grab access.
Enjoy.
Stay frosty,
John
P.S. The photo up top was snapped in Mexico during another round of writerly debauchery in my early career.
When your heroes are the hard drinking, hard partying writers who chewed up scenery and devoured life in huge gulps, you gotta work hard to keep up.
Live large. Be a good human. Love what you do. And hug the people closest to you.
Just be safe while this Plague rages…
Thursday, 4:03pm
Reno, NV
Hunkered down…
Howdy…
One of the best Zen lessons I ever had busted over my head was the role of anxiety in our lives.
Something does or doesn’t happen that tweaks your mojo, your stomach knots up, you sweat like a pig, you get get brain-vapor-lock and can’t stop obsessing over past and future events.
You are held captive by anxiety.
Blood pressure burbles up, heart races, hands shake, eyes tear up.
Then… suddenly… a fresh crisis occurs.
You receive an emergency phone call, zombies attack, some doofus rear-ends you in traffic, the dog gets in a fight with a rabid squirrel, an earthquake knocks over you and the furniture, or whatever.
Your mind is instantly freed from the anxiety, as you marshall inner resources to deal with the immediate incoming shit. (Killing zombies is hard work.)
This proves your anxiety is an invention of your own bad-ass mind.
A concocted fear of things outside your control.
You’ve done it to yourself.
Later, calmer, you can deal with the original anxiety-provoking situation. Apologize, clean up the mess, make amends, pay your penalty, accept the consequences…
… and move on.
You know what can help you overcome anxiety and live a happier and wealthier life? The ability to communicate with your fellow humans. Something you can learn to do for FREE right over here.
Anxiety is an invented state, to a great extent. You can also beat it with hard-core exercise (or a few pints)…
… but the main realization is that you can beat it.
Strangle it at it’s worst, crush it like a bug even as it crests in your system.
Murder the little bastard.
It might take some practice. Without the intervention of good tactics (like good old Americanized Beat-inspired Zen), you can spend your entire life shackled to the whims of your super-ego. That nagging voice telling you you’re not good enough. That vague sense of impending doom and failure, no matter how experienced you’ve become at something. Feeling like an imposter about to be revealed, like a criminal about to be exposed, like a pathetic twerp deserving ridicule.
It’s all bullshit. There are warring sub-personalities inside your head, and too often the wrong ones win.
You have SO much more input than you realize, if only you’ll take back the control room in your brain.
Write your own script for a change, and let your love-light shine.
Anxiety sucks.
So do the usual prescriptions for dealing with it (via our overlord, Big Pharma).
Zen out, instead.
Once you’re feeling calm and relaxed, it’s a good time to focus on your goals. You’ll find lots of resources to make you more successful right over here.
It’s only hard while you’re in the initial battle with the demons refusing to relinquish control of your life… and once you get good at vanquishing them, you can stop worrying about zombies.
Stay frosty,
John
P.S. Be sure to check out the courses and books available here on the blog.
This is a GREAT time to get the basics of solid salesmanship (and especially salesmanship-in-print) down cold… as the world pivots to some new version of “normal” that will eat the weak and demand intense discipline from the survivors.
Stay tuned.
Friday, 1:50pm
Reno, NV
“Nothing is impossible for a man who refuses to listen to reason.” (Gary Halbert)
Howdy…
While we’re all hunkering down during the latest batch of crazy facing the world today…
… the smart folks are all using the time to gear up for the near future.
Because we WILL get through this disaster. The world will change in many ways…
… but will remain the same in many others.
Especially in human behavior.
We haven’t changed all that much since we left the jungle and began living our lives on asphalt and grass. Our minds are still packed solid with ancient lizard-brain fears, ape-brain biases and desires, and modern neuroses and paranoia and all the attendant problems of living in this Brave New World.
So, because what I’m about to share with you has proven massively important through my entire career…
… I’m very confident it will survive as excellent advice as long as humans stalk the planet.
So pay attention:
I learned a lot from Gary Halbert, but the lesson that most affected my life had nothing to do with copywriting.
Rather, it was about living well.
I began my freelance copywriting career back in the “dark ages” of the mid-eighties, when direct response advertising had gone out of fashion and there were just a handful of us “true believers” in the game, devouring the ancient (and often out-of-print) books on advertising while doing the hard work of becoming masters at old school salesmanship…
… so we could relentlessly obliterate our clueless competition in every market we went after.
I was fortunate to live in Los Angeles at the time… because multiple large agencies had just opened up branches there and were starved for competent copywriters. I quickly became the guy the creative directors snuck in the back door to do the work their house staff couldn’t pull off (because none of them studied the craft).
Then the large mailers back east caught wind of my work, and I found myself moving in the “A List” crowd of now-legendary copywriters like Gary Bencivenga and Jim Rutz (who I ghost-wrote for).
However, the corporate world bored me to tears. It was primarily financial and health newsletters with the large mailers, and insurance and equipment sales with the agencies. Yawn.
That’s when I met Gary, at Jay Abraham’s house.
He was the most arrogant, vain and outrageous person I’d ever met in the business world…
… and I liked him immediately.
I began doing odd writing jobs for him, and the day arrived when he asked if I was ready to become his main full-time writer.
The lesson I learned was hidden inside of the ensuing dilemma. I was a rising star in the corporate world, and the fees (with royalties) were quickly entering “small fortune” territory.
If I went off with Gary, I’d be turning my back on a million-dollar career.
But what Gary offered was a chance to be true to my own mojo. With him, we’d be working mostly with entrepreneurs, and each new gig would be wildly different than the one before. And we’d be ushered into the back-rooms of powerful businesses, to observe and influence how entire markets operated.
I realized how little I was motivated by money. And how alive I felt in the entrepreneurial world, where rules were constantly broken and reinvented, and we could field-test our wildest ideas (the ideas that made the corporate beasts squirm).
Without Gary’s unique vision of how fun and exhilarating advertising could be, I might have stayed in that corporate world.
But we have such a short ride here on earth.
And sometimes, the riskier path is the one you need to take.
And damn the torpedoes.
What I learned from Gary over the ensuing decades was both financially and intellectually fulfilling, to the point of being ridiculous. I got to watch the growth of direct response in the nineties from a ring-side seat, and I became a pioneer in online marketing when it became viable in the early aughts. Gary and I produced some of the very first marketing seminars, we invented the Hot Seat method of “speed consulting” with new clients, and we influenced the way nearly all successful copywriting is now used all over the world.
The lesson I learned is simple: Find out what rocks your boat…
… and go for it with everything you have.
Gary was the first living example I’d ever met of someone who went for the gusto, every time.
And after 30 years of sharing what I’ve learned, I’m still not done tapping into the deep well of tactics, insight and savvy gathered from the raw wonder of working with the man.
The only way you can measure the worth of your life is later in the game, looking back. With Gary, there were as many misadventures as good ones, and what saved our butts time and again was our brutal sense of humor.
No one here gets out alive, and you gotta play the hand you’re dealt. There is no room for regret or wishful thinking when you’re deep into life.
Sometimes, the riskier path is the only sensible one to take.
Stay frosty,
John
Resources Courtesy of John Carlton
Want to get all of John’s killer copywriting secrets?
John Carlton didn’t become one of the world’s highest-paid copywriters by accident. Over the years, he developed a system that he follows every time he sits down to write.
Once you get your hands on his methods, you can kiss writer’s block goodbye as you write the best ads of your life. Find out more here.
Looking for Shortcuts To Help You Create Spectacular Ads?
These techniques can supercharge your advertising even if you failed English class and think you’re a terrible writer. Intrigued? Find out more here.
Build Your Swipe File
Every marketer and copywriter needs a kick-ass swipe file to help create killer copy. These ads from John Carlton have raked in millions for his clients, and you can get them all right here.
Still want more?
Check out John Carlton’s book on Amazon right here.
Not by John Carlton… but Still Awesome!
High Speed Copywriting
The best way to increase your copywriting income? Create killer copy – FASTER. Anyone can be quick once they know the secrets revealed here.
David Deutsch Inner Circle
Get access to cutting edge copywriting secrets from a marketer with countless controls under his belt. It’s rare that a top writer is also an incredible teacher,
