What to do with offers that don’t sell

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Yesterday, I was on a call with a business owner I’m helping to make more money from his list.

He has an offer that used to sell well, but hasn’t been selling lately.

“Seems like there’s just no interest in my list for it these days,” he said.

I know the problem. I’ve had it myself. I also know the fix.

“Raise the price,” I told him. Here’s the logic:

There might still be demand in your list for your non-selling offer, but people need a reason to move. Nothing moves people like, “Before the prices goes up!” Announce the fact and you might make sales, even though haven’t been able to make sales for a long while.

But what if you announce you’re raising the price and still nobody buys? Two options:

Option one is that they buy at the higher price some time in the future.

Don’t scoff. It’s perfectly reasonable.

I was on a call recently with another business owner who runs a big list and a big business around that list. He flat out said, “If an offer is priced at something like $300, I don’t bother with it. I know it’s gonna be for newbies and it’s not for me.”

The fact is, we all evaluate value based on price.

Something with a lower price almost inevitably has lower perceived value. Something with a higher price has higher perceived value.

So an easy way to increase the perceived value of your offer is to raise the price — and to very reasonably attract sales you would not have attracted at the lower price.

“But yeah but yeah but what if it still doesn’t work?”

That’s option 2. And option 2 is you’ve won.

I figure it’s better to have a $30k “one-day intensive” that nobody buys than a $3k “one-day intensive” that nobody buys. Look at Jay Abraham. He built his entire positioning on that core idea.

You don’t have to do like Jay and charge $30k for a day with you.

But if you have a higher-priced offer, whether anybody buys it or not, it becomes anchoring for all your other prices.

It puts you into a premium category, and it makes all your other offers seem reasonable by comparison.

Plus it gives you a higher-value asset that you can now repurpose. A $2k course that you legitimately sell, whether anybody buys it or not, still makes for a legitimate $2k value if you give it away as a bonus or if you bundle it in with other offers. A $30k “one-day intensive” legitimately makes a 20-minute consultation with you worth $1,000.

Earlier this year, I ran a cohort with a small group of people about running a price increase promo.

Since that cohort went well — the people who participated made money, and I was happy with running it — I’ve just decided to run it again.

Basically, my offer is:

You run a price increase promo to your list, and I act as your Mentat. Hopefully you make a nice amount of money in a short amount of time from your price increase promo. One way or the other, you come out ahead in terms of status and positioning and the relationship with your list.

Do you have a list? Do you wanna run a price increase promo? Do you want my help and guidance on which offer to increase the price of… how much to increase it by… and how to run this to your list for the best possible effect?

If so, hit reply. I wanna hear what you’re up to. If I feel I can help you run a successful price increase promo, I’ll give you more details about this price increase promo cohort.

Don’t write like you talk or write

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I am sitting right now, on a leather couch, on top of a blanket. In front of me is a glass door, through which I can see a green hill on the horizon, a highway with cars and trucks going from left to right, a bridge, and some utility poles.

I am telling you what I can see because I want to activate two neural pathways in your brain.

That first paragraph, with the “green hill” and “blanket,” does something different inside your head than the second paragraph, with its “activate” and “neural pathway.”

I read an interesting article today. You can find it linked below if you are the curious kind. The gist:

In 1953, an English teacher created a list of 2300 essential English words that cover everyday word use, both in speech and writing. The words were intended for teaching students of English as a second language, and cover around 90% of spoken speech and about 80% of written speech.

In 2023, the list was updated. It was expanded (2800 words)… some 1953 words (“butter”) were taken out because they are not common any more… other words that weren’t common in 1953 (“budget”) were put in because they are common now.

The article I read today asked, what changed? What’s different between essential English words in 1953 and 2023?

In short, impersonal and abstract words (“judgment,” “concept”) became more common. On the other hand, concrete and immediate words (“towel,” “wrist”), which stand for things that can be seen, heard, smelled, eaten, worn, smelled, touched, or felt in your body, have become less common.

So what? As the article says:

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This shift matters because abstract and concrete words are processed by our brains in different ways. When you read “axe,” your brain doesn’t just decode letters, it reaches for something: an image, a weight, or a gesture. The word activates both a verbal label and a sensory trace. Psychologists call this dual coding: Concrete words travel through two channels, verbal and sensory; abstract words travel through one. Two channels mean two retrieval pathways, which is why concrete words are “stickier,” easier to hold in a line of thought and faster to recall. Abstract words, on the other hand, are purely verbal, and have to be understood through language alone.

To put it another way: Concrete words are easier for us to process because they are bundled with a web of associations, tactile experiences, and memories that anchor their meaning.

===

So don’t write how people talk or write, today, in 2026. Instead, write like they talked and wrote back in 1953, or better yet, in 1853, with more images and concrete verbs and nouns that people can feel or see or touch.

Do this and your words will affect readers more dramatically.

Actually, scratch that. “Affect” and “dramatically” are both new fluff from the 2023 list.

What I meant to say was, your words will amuse, annoy, disgust, needle, offend, puzzle, shame, and tempt readers more. (All those are 1953 verbs that didn’t make it into the expanded 2023 list.)

If you’re curious about the article I read, and the towels and wrists we’ve lost, and the concepts and judgments we’ve gained:

https://pudding.cool/2026/07/essential-words/

Fantastic copywriting skills considered harmful

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Point 1:

A couple days ago, I asked people in my Skool group what offer they want to make to their list in the next week.

Many of the folks in my group are copywriters, and many of those who aren’t copywriters by trade still know a lot about copywriting because they do marketing for their own businesses.

When I asked about offers, there was talk of things like:

* 1-1 coaching

* Courses, full or condensed

* A research system

* Longform sales pages

* 5-minute trainings and hour-long workshops

* Order bumps

Point 2:

Today, I went into Travis Sago’s Royalty Ronin community.

I am a paying, card-carrying member of Ronin. I’ve been making a habit of promoting it, and and easy way to promote it is simply to go in there every week and see what’s up.

Today, I saw a post by Travis about auctions, specifically about a recent auction that made $50k in 24 hours. Here’s the relevant bit, relevant to that offers discussion above, and relevant if you sell online:

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Because the Fun Auction…

Does NOT require fantastic copywriting skills.

The CORE is…

Get ______________! Bids start at $1.

The BLANK is something they REALLY, REALLY WANT, which is worth far more than $1.

It’s funny to me…

That TRAINED copywriters fuck this up more than newbies.

NOBODY WANTS a proven system, coaching, 1:1, orthodontist services, drills or an AUCTION BTW!

If what’s in the blank…for $1…doesn’t make their HEART do a flip…find something that will squirt dopamine into the lizard brain.

===

Travis is saying you don’t need fantastic copywriting skills to sell VIA AUCTION, and that copywriting skills might even be harmful.

I’d add that this goes way beyond auctions.

I’ve seen people with a lot of copywriting skill, whether professional copywriters or business owners, who have spent tens of thousands of dollars to learn copywriting, do a terrible job of selling online.

Most often, the reason why they are so terrible at selling is what Travis says above. They focus on couldn’t-care-less deliverables rather than outcomes that make people’s heart do a flip. (I’ve made this mistake myself, btw, plenty of times.)

Point 3:

Last December, I ran an auction in my Skool group that pulled in $31k in 24 hours, and that could have legit pulled $70k+ had I just taken the money that was offered me.

The reason that auction popped was, like Travis says above, the BLANK that people REALLY, REALLY WANTED.

When I polled for interest in my blank, I got about 50 people saying they would bid to get it, with 6-7 people saying they would bid whatever it takes to win. A couple of people even said they might take out a zero-interest credit card to be able to bid enough to win (I discouraged this, even if it was said in jest).

Lemme wrap this up.

If you have an audience and a working offer, my ongoing offer is to help you run an auction, and do everything:

* Craft a HEART-FLIPPING auction offer

* Come up with post-auction offers that move those deliverables you got and focus on, the 1-1 coaching, the courses, the 5-minute trainings and hour-long workshops

* Write all copy (I’ll keep my fantastic copywriting skills in check)

* Run and manage the auction itself

* Sell, sell, sell after, to the people have raised their hands by bidding

IMPORTANT: I charge nothing up front. For every $10,000 I send you in sales, shoot over $2500 to me AFTER the money is in your bank account.

If you’re interested, hit reply and we can talk more.

And if you don’t have an audience or a working offer, specifically if you’re a working copywriter…

… you would be served well by seeing how Travis creates and presents his own offers.

It will make you into a more valuable copywriter, and clients will be willing to pay you much more, and will fight to keep you working with them… instead of you having to chase them for a little gig here or maybe there, today and maybe again in five months’ time.

But more important, if you get good at creating offers, then when you try to sell your own stuff, you will have a real shot of getting 50 people to reply YES and even a few people who say they will pay whatever it takes… rather than hearing crickets, seeing tumbleweeds, and feeling the chill of a desolate wind.

I’ve learned more about offers from Travis than anybody else.

If you wanna learn something also, Travis offers a 7-day free trial to Royalty Ronin. 7 days is not long, but it’s enough to pick up one or two good ideas that you can implement for your client (or yourself) today, and it can give you a sense if Ronin is for you. If you’re interested:

https://bejakovic.com/ronin

This email is brought to you by ExxonMobil

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Since 1972, ExxonMobil has been putting a tiger in America’s tank. Now, Exxon wants to put a tiger in your online business…

I don’t know what happened, but suddenly I’ve started getting sponsorship offers via my email software.

Apparently, all these brands I’ve never heard of, have no interest in, and do not want to endorse are offering me ~$1 for every click I can drive to their app/free trial/20% off coupon.

No thanks. All my corporate love and loyalty is already reserved for first-comers like Goldman Sachs, TicketMaster, and Exxon. I’ll promote them even without getting paid.

But it did get me thankn’.

I’ve never directly offered classified ads in my newsletter.

I also don’t want to make a thing out of classified ads in general, because I in general don’t want to allow people to think money can buy me (it can’t, not even if you got a lot).

I have a small audience, but a dedicated one, and also one that includes lots of successful business owners and marketers with lots of money.

If you are interested in advertising in my newsletter, hit reply.

I’m curious about what your offer is.

I’m happy to tell you if it could work well to my list, and if not, if it could be tweaked or twisted in some way that could work. And if it can, maybe we can come up with a classified ad deal that’s a win for you, for my readers, and maybe even me.

Announcing: Handraiser Email Challenge

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Yesterday I sent out a 14-word email to my list. I have gotten a few dozen responses to that email so far.

Some of those responses have already turned into conversations with people who have membership or group coaching offers selling for $1k+.

A number of these people I had never talked to before, even though I have written emails trying to attract their kind and have had offers that are relevant to them.

Point being:

Ultra-short handraiser emails. Try ’em if you haven’t. They lead to conversations.

Sometimes those conversations won’t go anywhere except to teach you a bit about who’s on your list, and what they’re up to, and that they like you, and that you’re doing good by writing emails.

Other times, it turns out that the person you’re talking is somebody you can help to fix a problem or to get an outcome they want. And the fact that you’ve exchanged a few 1-1 emails can make an agreement to work together in some way very easy and natural.

“Yeah thanks Bejako,” I hear you saying. “Thanks for the vague WHAT to do, without giving me any specific or concrete HOW TO. I want HOW TO. I need HOW TO. I’m crying out for HOW TO. And yet you don’t hear my cries, or you cruelly ignore them.”

I hear you and I’m not ignoring you.

Right now, I’m running a Handraiser Email Challenge. It’s free.

If you have an email list, and you know you should do something with it, but it all seems like such a chore… if in the past you’ve had failed promotions or launched offers that nobody wanted… if you have no money and rent is due…

… then the right handraiser email might be all you need to fix things.

You can get my help with it, now, for free. If you want it, here’s where to go:

https://bejakovic.com/house

Why all copywriters are secretly pervy

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Spoiler: It’s not just copywriters.

Yesterday, I wrote an email with the word “bondage” in the subject line.

What did that word make you think of?

I happen to know what a couple of my readers thought — what Jordan Parker and his wife Diana thought.

Jordan and Diana have a one-stop agency to help creators grow, helping out with everything from tech to sales to delivery. (From what I know, Kieran Drew is one of their clients, but there are other big-name creators too.)

Jordan and Diana both read my emails. And in response to the bondage one yesterday, here’s what Jordan wrote me:

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Me: “Bondageeeeee 🥳“

Also Diana: “Bondage? Why are you copywriters all secretly pervy??”

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Why indeed? Here’s why:

In the words of the greatest living copywriter, Gary Bencivenga, “As a marketer you only have one power, and that’s to anticipate what people are going to think.”

If the word “bondage” in my subject line made you think of bondage in the leathery, chainy, pervy sense, rather than in the biblical sense of slavery and subjugation (Exodus 20:2, King James Version), then I did my job as an influence professional.

Like I said, it’s not just copywriters who are “secretly pervy,” or rather, who tease and insinuate in a way that suits them, when it suits them.

Other influence professionals do the same. Salespeople obviously use word choice and structure to influence, as do hypnotists, pick up artists, comedians, …

Maybe you see where this is going.

I have a book all about bondage influence techniques common to 10 overlapping disciplines.

All 10 of these disciplines have in common that they move people from A to B, without force or lying, by power of anticipation and occasional clever word choice alone. This knowledge can help you make money — or even get into some pervy situations. If you wanna find out more:

https://bejakovic.com/new10commandments

Free advertorial + no bondage

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Lemme tell you about my recent positioning fail, so that we’re on the same page, or so you can maybe avoid the same:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to a guy who runs a big ecom business.

He had heard of my “free advertorial” offer and was interested.

We got on a call. At the end, he asked if I would sign an NDA.

I figured it’s harmless. I’ve never revealed any insider secrets from businesses I’ve worked with, and I don’t mind signing a paper to say I won’t do it in the future. I said, “Sure, send it over.”

The NDA arrived. Except it turned out it was not just an NDA. Actually, it was a noncompete agreement as well, and how.

First, the contract was asking me to agree I would never work with any of the dude’s competitors.

When I refused that, the dude took the offending clause out. He put in a new clause that said I could never use any knowledge or insights gained via working with him with any other clients.

I politely bowed out.

As with everything else in my life, this is my fault.

I didn’t really make it clear to this guy how I am going into this whole “free advertorial” thing.

I’m not a copywriter looking for work. In fact, I might very likely farm out the work to one of the copywriters I am coaching inside my ongoing advertorial cohort, and simply copy chief them to make sure the result is up to my standard.

Rather, I’m going into this “free advertorial” deal as an investor. I’m looking to partner with business owners, contribute valuable assets, tangible and intangible, which I own and will continue to own and have control of, and take a cut of any profits we generate together.

I am certainly not willing to put myself in a situation of voluntary bondage to anybody.

If you’re a copywriter looking to graduate to a new level, and partner with businesses instead of serving clients, I’m sharing my positioning fail with you because you might somehow benefit from my experience.

And if you are not a copywriter, but own an ecom store yourself, or if you know somebody who owns an ecom store, my low-pressure, low-risk, zero-bondage offer still stands. You can find out more about it here:

https://bejakovic.com/do-you-want-a-free-advertorial-for-your-ecom-brand/

How to make a $5 offer easy to sell

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This morning, I shut off the cart and concluded my Daily Emails 101 experiment. Results:

* 155 sales

* About 65 first-time buyers

* A sales page conversion rate north of 33%

In my book, that makes this Daily Emails 101 experiment a success.

What done it? Is the usual threesome? An amazing list of dedicated readers and customers… an irresistible offer… my hypnotizing copy?

Yes, yes… but I would like to wager, there’s something else as well.

The price of Daily Emails 101 was just $5.

That alone won’t do it. There are plenty of $5 offers that don’t sell a single copy. So price alone ain’t it.

What is it is that, most of the time, I sell things that are $197 or $997 or $5k.

Yes, $5 is genuinely cheap, particularly for all I was giving away with Daily Emails 101. But $5 is extra cheap if you’ve been on my list for weeks, months, or years, and you’ve seen me promoting other, much more expensive offers with success. Human beings live by contrast.

My point for you today is two-part.

One part is to raise your prices. Once again, people live by contrast, and if you have at least some expensive offers, it makes everything else easier to sell.

The other part is that once you’ve raised your prices, to remind your readers of your high prices regularly, and to justify those prices, so that, whether people buy or not, they know you and your high prices are for real.

Speaking of:

Today, I would like to tell you about my Copy Riddles program. Copy Riddles sells for $997 and has been for years. Several hundred people have bought it and gone through it, some when it wasn’t yet priced at 997, many at $997.

Copy Riddles is the best thing I sell.

I created it 5 years ago, back when I was still orienting this email list to copywriters alone. The sales page for Copy Riddles reflects that.

The fact is though, Copy Riddles is a course in effective communication and persuasion, and it is relevant to if your business involves written communication of any sort.

I would love to repackage Copy Riddles in industry-specific versions tailored to investment fund managers who communicate with investors via reports… to trial lawyers who need to craft persuasive arguments… to carpet cleaners and HVAC installers who do their own marketing.

Maybe one day. For now, if you are interested in learning how to persuade using words, based on hundreds of millions of dollars of tested advertising, in a way that ensures these insights get burned into your brain rather than slip in one nostril and out the other, then take a look at the Copy Riddles sales page.

Yes, you might have to put in a bit of brain work to see how this program targeted at copywriters could be useful to you in what you do.

That’s the cost.

The payoff you can get for that cost is to be the first in your industry to download this proven influence and persuasion knowledge into your brain, and have first-mover advantage for months or years over all your competitors, at least until I create that specific version of Copy Riddles for your industry.

If you’re interested in the full details on Copy Riddles:

https://bejakovic.com/cr

Pumpkin deadline for Daily Emails 101

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Today at 11:59pm PST I’m closing down my Daily Emails 101 offer. This is the last email I will send about it before the deadline.

Over the past four days, 100+ people have taken me up on Daily Emails 101.

What will happen with this offer in the future? We will see. Like I say on the sales page, this offer was an experiment. The experiment was successful, so now we’re moving to stage two. But more about that maybe another time.

For now, one last pitch about Daily Emails 101, before this offer turns into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight.

Daily Emails 101, in its pre-pumpkin stage, walks you through the first 101 days of writing daily emails and making money from your email list.

If you’ve never written daily emails before, you might (reasonably) think, “Oh nobody wants to hear from me every day! It’s just too much!”

Well, just yesterday I sent out a reminder about this ongoing offer, to which I got a reply from a reader:

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Thanks for the reminder, John!

I saw your first email about, got distracted, and meant to get back to it.

But this one caught me at my computer. So I got it!

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That’s the value, or one part of the value, of following up relentlessly. You make more sales, because people legit missed your earlier messages or they simply got distracted.

But that’s not the only benefit of daily emails.

With daily emails, you become more an expert and an authority in your field.

You build up a stronger relationship with your audience so they even look forward to your daily emails, instead of being puzzled or annoyed when they hear from you once every three weeks.

And maybe most important to me personally, you end up with much more security and stability both in your work and personal life.

Anyways, Daily Emails 101. Good until tonight at 11:59pm PST. If you wanna grab it now, before you get distracted and pulled away from this popular offer:

https://bejakovic.com/de101/