If you are ever looking for political influence in a new country, or maybe just a new copywriting client, then the following might be valuable:
A few months ago, I wrote about Alkibiades, an Athenian politician and general who was the ancient world’s Donald Trump.
Alkibiades once cut off his own dog’s tail. The people of Athens were shocked and outraged at the cruelty. “Good,” said Alkibiades. “At least they aren’t talking about the really bad stuff I’ve done.”
Alkibiades switched allegiances several times. First he served Athens. Then Sparta. Then the Persian empire. Then back to Athens.
He did this 1) because he always became hated wherever he stayed for a while and 2) because he had an uncanny ability to become loved wherever he decided to move.
How?
How did Alkbiades, who was hated, envied, and despised wherever he stayed, become quickly loved wherever he moved?
Simple. He turned chameleon.
When Alkibiades moved from luxurious Athens to spartan Sparta, he dropped his personal chef, threw away his perfumes, and packed up his fancy clothes.
Instead, he started bathing in cold water, gnawing on dry Spartan bread, and forcing down the infamous Spartan black broth.
Pretty soon, the Spartans, who had initially been suspicious of Alkibiades and his allegiances, started to wonder that this man could ever have lived in decadent Athens, because he was so clearly a true Spartan at heart.
So there you go. Like I promised. The key to political influence in a new country — or to new client work, if that’s the kind of thing you’re after.
Perhaps you see exactly how to apply the story of Alkibiades to getting new client work. Perhaps you don’t.
In that case, you can look inside my Copywriting Portfolio Secrets, where I lay out and expand on this idea of chameleon positioning, and apply it to the hunt for new clients.
Chameleon positioning is how I won some of my longest-running, most profitable copywriting jobs — and I didn’t even have to become hated anywhere along the way.
But you might hate me for this:
Pretty soon, I will pull both of the free bonuses I currently offer with Copy Riddles, put a bow around them, and turn them into paid products.
For now though, you can still get both bonuses — Copywriting Portfolio Secrets and Storytelling For Sales — for free.
You can get them for free if you get Copy Riddles, which, in case you are not overflowing with client work, is something you might want anyhow. As Vasilis Apostolou, formerly a senior copywriter at Agora, wrote after going through Copy Riddles:
I wish I had John’s bullet course when I was starting out. It would have saved me tons of frustration… and shaved months off my learning curve.
To save yourself some frustration, shave months off your learning curve, and find out how to win yourself new client work: