My brush with death yesterday

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Yesterday, I was driving back from a seaside stroll. I was lost in thought as I sped down an empty two-lane road that cut through olive groves and patches of pine.

My shoes were sopping wet. During the stroll, I had decided to wade into the water (story for another time). So there in the car I was thinking… what would be the best way to dry them?

Suddenly, I snapped to attention.

There was a car up ahead, coming towards me. Something was off — a cloud of dirt from the side of the road had just exploded into the air next to the car.

I saw the right side of the oncoming car lift off the ground.

In the next moment, the rest of the car followed.

The entire car took off into the air, rolled over, and came crashing down on its roof on my side of the road, about 20 yards in front of me.

I pulled over and opened my eyes wide to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Nope. Awake.

I got out and approached the smoking upside-down hulk.

Somebody started crawling out from the driver’s-side window. A young guy, maybe 20 years old.

“Are you alive?” I asked.

He stood up, then immediately doubled over and put his hands to his face. “I just don’t know what happened,” he said. He straightened up. There was a bit of blood by his temple but otherwise he seemed fine.

More cars started arriving and pulling over, up and down the road.

Pieces of the wreckage were lying all along the asphalt. The back of the car, which I guess was the first part to hit the ground, was completely detached.

Smoke was coming out from under the engine, or rather, above the engine, since the car was now upside down.

The guy crawled back in to get his phone. He crawled out and started calling somebody.

A couple of other dudes walked over. “You gotta be careful,” one of them said to the driver while inspecting the underside of the car. “These roads can be slippery.”

The line of pulled-over cars was growing. People were getting out and looking on from a distance.

One woman, along with her kids, started walking towards the wreck and yelling in a mild panic that somebody should call the fire department, because the car will soon set on fire. Still, she kept walking nearer and nearer, her kids in tow, drawn in by the crash.

At this point, I realized I’d done all I could here. As the first responder, I felt it was my duty to also be the first abandoner.

And so I got in my car, turned around, and headed back where I came from, wondering about the strange sight I just saw.

And only then, it hit me:

Had I been a second or two further up the road, this thing would have landed right on top of me.

I don’t know how resilient the roof is on my current ride (a 20-year-old Audi that I borrowed from my mom)… but I doubt it would stand a direct hit by a ton and a half of falling metal.

I don’t really have a good takeaway for you, because this story is still too fresh in my mind — I am writing to you from the past, about 40 minutes after the event.

All I can say for sure is that seat belts save lives. And also perhaps this:

Be careful what message you send to the universe. Because just the day before this happened, I wrote an email making fun of people who write emails based on what just happened to them earlier in the day. And well, here we are.

Last thing:

Since I’m still alive, I feel I should celebrate, and make you some special “I’m not crushed” offer.

But I’m a little unprepared. So let me do something I’ve never done before and I’m sure to never do again:

Free consulting.

My need to somehow give thanks is your opportunity. I’ve made 3 slots available over the next few days:

1. Tomorrow, Saturday Dec 11 at 7pm CET
2. Sunday, Dec 12 at 10am CET
3. Tuesday, Dec 14 at 2pm CET

Each slot is good for 20 mins, exactly.

During that time, you can ask me your most pressing questions about writing copy… freelancing… email marketing… advertorials… positioning… or really anything else copywriting or marketing or inner-game related.

I’ll tell you all I know and that fits into 20 minutes… without any hedges about “that’s reserved for paying customers only” or “wait for my upcoming product on that topic.”

Hell, you can even get me to do work for you, helping you with copy or sketching out new ideas. Whatever we can squeeze into 20 minutes.

So if you want to take me up on this opportunity, here’s what to do:

1. Write me an email and…

2. Tell me which one (yes, only one) of the above slots you want to take up and…

3. Tell me what you want to discuss, what questions you have, or why you want this consulting. Be specific and be brief — 5 sentences max.

I’ll go through the applications I get for each time slot in the order I get them. And for each slot, I will choose the first application that sounds like somebody I can help.

And if you’re wondering what my criteria are for that… here are a few questions/motivations that I am not likely to engage with for these consulting calls:

1. “I just found out about copywriting. I feel it could be good for me… but it also seems really tough. What do you think?” (It’s not so tough and it won’t be good for you.)

2. “What’s your number 1 copywriting book I should read? (I advise you to get rid of the “number 1” mindset.)

3. “What do you really think of Daniel Throssell’s Black Friday campaign? (Read my email tomorrow if you want to know that.)

Final caveat:

I’ll record these consulting calls. I have no plans for them at the moment. But they will be mine to do with as I please — to give away, to sell, to let languish on Google Drive.

If that doesn’t bother you, and you want to get my creativity, experience, and knowledge to work for you… then take a moment, think what you really want my help with, and then write me that email, following the steps I laid out above. And then, buckle in.

Getting hosed by trolls and haters for the win

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A quick but slippery story today about dealing with trolls and haters:

Back in 1978, the TV show Taxi went on the air. It had an ensemble cast of past and future stars: Tony Danza (who became one of the biggest TV leading men of the 80s)… Christopher Lloyd (who became Doc in the Back to the Future movies)… Danny DeVito (who became the Penguin, among other things).

Oh, and then there was also Andy Kaufman.

Kaufman was famous already. And he would become more famous still, thanks to his kooky and anti-humor characters on Saturday Night Live and David Letterman.

Anyways, it was a few months in, and the cast of Taxi was gelling. They liked working with each other. They felt they were on to something big — the ratings were good.

But there was a problem:

Tony Danza really didn’t like Andy Kaufman.

“I was a team player,” Danza said. “And this guy is meditating in his car. He’s eating seaweed. He doesn’t come to rehearsal. But when we have a gag reel, he doesn’t make any mistakes. That galls you too.”

Danza decided to do something drastic to provoke Kaufman. He wanted to make it clear to Kaufman that his better-than-you attitude wouldn’t fly.

“I’m not proud of this,” Danza said. “But I took a fire extinguisher. It was a water fire extinguisher, not chemical. And I shot him with it, figuring he would get mad.”

But no.

Andy Kaufman just stood there.

Danza emptied the fire extinguisher.

But Andy Kaufman just kept standing there, blinking and looking harmless as usual, focusing his baby-sphinx gaze on Tony Danza.

“I was so frustrated,” Danza said. “Because he didn’t do anything.”

Frustrated? Sounds like a win for Andy Kaufman. And get this:

Fire extinguisher now spent, Danza apologized. And over the coming hours and days, he decided to take a second look at Kaufman.

At the time, Kaufman was doing a show on Sunset Boulevard. Danza decided to go.

“The show was the craziest show I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I started to think, holy mackerel, this is something really different.”

The two performers went for milk and cookies after the show (no joke). And over time, Danza ended up considering Kaufman a pretty close friend, and an amazing performer.

And in case you’re wondering:

I am not saying that you should allow yourself to get hosed down to win over trolls.

But I am saying that remaining emotionally detached in the face of various haters can be transformative. To you and to them both.

In the short term, once your troll or hater empties out his provocation hose and still finds you unfazed… well, it’s a win for you.

And who knows? In rare cases, maybe the troll will even become converted, and decide to give you a second, less hateful look.

But easier said than done, right? Because, like me, perhaps you find it hard to stay emotionally detached.

In that case, you might want to take a page from the book of Andy Kaufman:

Invent a character and play him in real life.

It doesn’t have to be a completely different character, either. It can be somebody who looks like you… lives your life… shares your experiences… but is still different enough where it counts.

Maybe ​you can’t picture what I mean. So I’ll let Andy Kaufman illustrate.

Below, you can find his most bizarre, moving, and provocative appearance on television. Try to decide where reality ends and the character begins.

But before you go watch that, I want to say something serious. I have an email newsletter. I put so much work into it. But almost nobody is signing up. It breaks my heart. I know this sounds cliche… but would you sign up to it, please?

The secret of the weasel

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I was talking to a girl once and she said, “What do you think, if I were an animal, what animal would I be? What animal do I remind you of?”

The fact is, she reminded me of a bear — in all the best ways. But I couldn’t say that.

​​I tamped it down and said she made me think of a lioness.

“Hm ok,” she said. “Do you wanna know what animal you remind me of? But wait, I don’t know the name in English.” She went rooting around her phone.

“This!” she finally said with a big smile. “So cute it is!”

I looked at the picture. My animal doppelganger was staring back at me with dark, beady eyes. I started to laugh. It was a weasel.

The girl, who was not a native English speaker, just shrugged. For her, the story ended there. I’m sure she’s forgotten all about it since.

But I knew the double meaning of the word “weasel” in English. And so, my brain lit up and I laughed. I wrote down this story as soon as I could, and here I am, telling it to you now, a few years later.

And in case you’re wondering what my point is:

Many people will tell you that the secret to good emails is so simple. Just talk about what happened to you today. Then milk it for some sort of a lesson and presto! Immediate influence.

I disagree.

For the vast majority of people, myself included, I think this “bland breakthrough” style of emailing is a terrible approach.

Because except for a few rare storytellers, those types of emails rarely come together to surprise and delight. They rarely light up the reader’s brain the way my brain lit up at being (favorably) compared to a weasel.

Instead, all you get is the girl’s reaction — a shrug, and on to the next thing.

Maybe you don’t see the distinction I’m trying to make. So let me give you an example of an email that turns the light on.

It comes from one of the bonuses I’ve been putting together for my now-ended Influential Emails training. This bonus — “My 12/4 Most Influential Emails” — includes my 12 most influential emails, as well as 4 emails by other marketers that influenced me the most in my copywriting career.

The example I want to give you is one of these “other” emails. It was written by Ben Settle and it’s been stuck in my head for years.

I asked myself today why this email had such an impact on me.

​​I came up with two things. I won’t spell out what they are, but I will tell you I worked both of them into this email that you’re reading. Plus you can also see them in action in Ben’s email at the link below.

And in case you’re wondering whether it’s really worth your time to click and read another email right now… let me put it this way:

If you could write something today… and have it stick in other people’s minds so strongly that they share it and promote you to their own attentive audience, even years later… do you think that could be valuable to you?

If you say yes, then take a look here:

https://bensettle.com/blog/the-secret-of-the-beer-thief/

Copy Koala Millions™

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What if your pillow could do more than just help you sleep at night?

What if it could do something unbelievably good for you…

Like instantly give you MORE powerful copywriting skills than years of study ever could…

Putting your brain into full “copy god” mode as soon as you wake up in the morning…

Allowing you to effortlessly stamp out royalty-producing sales letters, emails, and Facebook ads IN JUST A FEW MINUTES’ TIME…

Knowing you’re now automatically and effortlessly zooming towards your wealth and income dreams… while burying the gnawing doubts and insecurities that have held you back for so long?

And what if it could also implant into your head ALL the copywriting courses you’ve ever bought…

While dramatically increasing your productivity… opening up secret doors to new opportunities… and skyrocketing your status in the industry?

Wouldn’t that be INCREDIBLE?

Well, when you consider the latest breakthrough, peer-reviewed studies on creativity and learning… from the most well-respected universities and research departments on the planet…

Or if you ask the countless thousands of women and men of all ages, from all walks of life, who have found this email before you…

You’ll find that this is not only possible…

But you should actually EXPECT your pillow to deliver you all of this and more.

And all it takes is just a tiny, 10-second tweak to your night-time routine that you’re about to see…

Ok, I’d like you to slowly emerge from your hypnotic trance and become aware of the real world once again.

The truth is, I do not yet have a magic offer called Copy Koala Millions™, which transforms you into an A-list copywriter while you sleep. But I have been working on it.

The backstory is that I went on Clickbank a few days ago. Among the Clickbank top 10, three weight loss offers all showed the same trend:

* Lose weight by stuffing your face (Biofit)

* Lose weight by sucking on smoothies (Smoothie Diet)

* Lose weight by sipping coffee (Java Burn, which I modeled for the copy above)

In each case, the mechanism is NOT some exotic discovery or awesome invention.

​​Instead, the mechanism is a beloved everyday activity. In fact, it’s probably something the prospect is already doing all the time.

So that’s how I got the idea for Copy Koala Millions™. Because lying down to sleep is one of my beloved activities. There are few things that thrill me as reliably as putting my head to pillow each night. I can’t be the only one, right?

It’s the old direct response advice:

Come up with the ultimate, magic-wand offer. Promise your prospect all the outcomes he could ever dream of… done for him by some benevolent external genie… who smiles kindly and shushes away all the objections your prospect used to have.

So that’s step one. Figure out exactly what your prospect would irrationally love to hear.

Step two is to then dial it back or pay it off so your offer isn’t a complete hoax.

In the case of Copy Koala Millions™ I’m happy to say I deliver fully on the promise.

At a special launch price of just $67, I’ll sell you an mp3 player preloaded with copywriting audio courses, masked with pink noise.

Simply turn on Copy Koala and place it under your pillow at night — takes just 10 seconds. You can also upload other courses you’ve bought if you want. In case you don’t have a pillow right now, I’ll be selling that as a $197 upsell.

Normally, at this point in my email, I would invite a response. “Write in and pre-order Copy Koala Millions™,” I would say, “at a special 75% discount. Offer good only until this Thursday.”

But I’m a little hesitant to do that. We haven’t yet ironed out all the kinks with the pink noise and I don’t want to get swamped with orders I can’t fulfill. So I’ll hold off for today.

Instead, I’d just like to point out that the underlying idea might be valuable to you. Because the weight loss market is definitely buying this “coffee” mechanism right now.

​​And the weight loss market is like New York City — the fashion that’s popular there today will be popular everywhere next year. Might be worth keeping an eye on. I know I will be doing it. And if you want to find out what new trends I spot, sign up here for my email newsletter, and prepare to be hypnotized.

7-time Mr. Emailympia’s self-improvement habit

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Werewolves were still roaming around when I woke up this morning. The clock showed 4:51am.

I lay around in the dark for a bit. I imagined laying around some more… but no! I jumped up, grabbed my stuff, and raced off to the 24-hour gym.

In case you’re starting to break out in a cold sweat, thinking this email is about seizing the day by the tail… don’t worry. The fact is, I should have stayed in bed.

Because in a few minutes, there I was at the gym, sleepy and foggy-brained. Somewhere in this haze, I thought it would be a good idea to lift a weighted barbell over my head.

My mind was elsewhere. My muscles were tired. I staggered forward under the unexpected weight… braked by standing up on my tiptoes… swayed back and forth… and almost dropped the barbell, plates and all, onto my skull.

A moment later, I stood there, looking at the now-harmless barbell on the floor. And I remembered something that 7x Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger once said:

“Doing an exercise once with awareness is worth ten times an exercise done while distracted.”

Good advice for the gym.

But maybe you don’t care for the gym.

Maybe you just care for better marketing and stronger copy.

In that case, I can share a related idea by 7x Mr. Emailympia, John Bejakovic.

Here’s a little habit I used to practice in the old days of writing this email newsletter.

First, I made a list of what I called “1% improvements.” These were things that I knew made for better emails… but that I didn’t practice regularly. Not with any awareness at least.

My habit was to pick one of these 1% improvements each week. And for the rest of the week, with each email I wrote, I consciously and awarely practiced that idea.

Result?

Wealth, fame, and, like I said, 7 Mr. Emailympia titles so far. And who knows what the future holds? Hollywood stardom… a career in politics… or maybe marriage to a Kennedy.

So I’d like to suggest to you:

Make your own list of “1% improvements.” Pick one each week. Bring your awareness to it. And watch your returns compound, just like they are doing for me.

“Incorrect,” I hear an accountant saying. “In order for returns to compound, you have to keep your investment alive. And you said you stopped your 1% habit. Therefore, you are not compounding anything, you meathead.”

Fair point. So as of today, I’d like to announce I’m picking up this “1% improvement” habit again.

I won’t spell out which specific habit I’m working on this week. Maybe you can spot it in today’s email. And if not, don’t worry. You get another chance tomorrow. I’ll be back.

A quick and valuable moral about storytelling

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Today I’d like to tell you a fable and before you run away…

​​I want to highlight that this fable can be very valuable and worthwhile to you. At least if you write regular emails or if you tell stories to persuade or sell. So let me jump into it:

A rooster was pecking his way through the manure. Click — his beak hit on something hard. “Why, it’s a diamond,” said the rooster. “Such a precious thing. To somebody else, it might be worth a fortune. But it does me no good. I’d much rather have a grain of barley instead.”

And the moral is:

Impractical, luxury items are foolish. They offer no help when your stomach is empty.

Agreed? Agreed.

Except…

Perhaps the moral is this:

The finest, most valuable things are wasted on those who cannot appreciate them.

Umm… who’s right?

You probably know this already, but a single story can have many morals. So why not use the story many times in many ways?

I’m telling this to you as much as to myself. Because I’ve written over a thousand of these emails to date. Some of them contain great stories that I “spent” to illustrate a specific idea. Silly.

So the moral is:

If you write regular emails or if you have to persuade or sell to earn your barley… then start collecting your stories. Even the ones you’ve told before. You never know how you will be able to use them in the future… to impress a new moral on set of roosters who finally appreciate your value.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another story and another moral. Well, the story might be the same. In any case, if you’d like to hear more from me, sign up to my newsletter here.

Excuses for the perfect murder

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“Come on Bobby, get in the car! We’ll give you a ride!”

“No, Dickie. It’s just a couple blocks. I’ll walk.”

“Get in Bobby! Quit being such a wet blanket! I want to show you my new tennis racket!”

On May 21 1924, two Chicago teenagers, Nathan Leopold and Richard “Dickie” Loeb, rented a car. It was the first step of their plan for the afternoon’s perfect crime.

Leopold, a former child prodigy, was 19. He had just graduated from the University of Chicago and was preparing to enter Harvard Law School.

Loeb was 18. A year earlier, he had graduated from the University of Michigan as the youngest graduate ever.
​
Leopoold and Loeb drove slowly down the street. They spotted their chosen victim. 14-year-old Bobby Franks, Loeb’s second cousin.

It was supposed to be the perfect murder. A demonstration that Leopold and Loeb were supermen. Because Leopold was a big reader of Friedrich Nietzsche. He was fascinated by Nietzsche’s idea of the superman — the rare, unusually gifted man who can rise above common morality.

Besides, Leopold thought, he and Loeb were too smart. They had planned everything. Nobody could ever catch them.

Leopold and Loeb cajoled Bobby into the car. A few moments later, they knocked him out with a chisel, dragged him to the back seat, and strangled him.

​​They then disposed of the body in a pre-planned location, 25 miles south of Chicago. They washed the upholstery of the car and went on with their lives.

“Err… fascinating stuff, Bejako,” I hear you say. “But why are you creeping me out? Where is this story going?

All right, let me get to it.

Yesterday, I talked abut a squeaky-clean guru who seemed to blatantly lie about his backstory to please the audience. I promised to wrap that email up today.

So the first half of what I want to tell you is:

Sell a transfer of responsibility.

Because Leopold and Loeb did not succeed in carrying off the perfect murder. An act of Providence interfered.

Loeb’s horn-rimmed glasses slipped out next to the body of Bobby Franks. The glasses had a custom hinge that could be traced back to only three people in Chicago, Loeb among them.

At the subsequent trial, Leopold and Loeb’s lawyer focused all his efforts on avoiding the death penalty. He gave a 12-hour-long closing statement, which has become a classic of American law. He supposedly brought tears to the judge’s eyes.

The lawyer managed to keep Leopold and Loeb from the gallows. He persuaded the judge to spare them in spite of the gruesome and senseless crime… in spite of the innocence of the victim… and in spite of the public outcry for the two young supermen to be hanged.

So how did the lawyer do it?

First, he admitted that Leopold and Loeb had done the deed.

And then, over those 12 hours, he explained the real blame lay at the feet of Loeb’s domineering governess… of nature and evolution… of bloodthirsty newspapers… of callous university professors who exposed the two teenagers to ideas they were not ready for… of the Macmillan publishing company and its reckless spreading of inflammatory books… and of course, of Friedrich Nietzsche.

In other words, the deed might have been Leopold and Loeb’s. But the fault was everybody else’s. And the judge bought it.

Just imagine:

If an appeal like this can sway an impartial, third-party, external judge… what can it do for a partial, first-party, internal judge?

That’s what I’m talking about. Transfer of responsibility.

That’s why smart marketers find ways to take that internal judge in the prospect’s mind.. and show him how all those bad outcomes in the past are everybody else’s fault. And not only that.

Smart marketers also make the prospect believe any possible bad outcomes in the future won’t be his fault either.

But perhaps you’re worried about the bad future outcome of this email never finishing. So let me really wrap it up.

My conclusion is that a transfer of responsibility is something you want to sell to people…

But it’s not something you want to buy yourself. Or at least I don’t.

Because I’ve learned from direct marketing how powerful this drive to escape responsibility can be. And I’ve since noticed it in myself as well.

I’ve also learned that trustworthiness and authority can be easily bought online.

That’s why I’ve made it a personal policy not to get attached to online personalities. Even the ones I like and feel I can trust.

Of course, I consider their ideas. But I take on the responsibility of deciding whether these ideas are something I should believe in and act upon… or not.

Perhaps that’s a policy that makes sense for you to adopt as well. And you know. Not because I say so.

Last thing:

If you like reading Friedrich Nietsche, you might like my email newsletter. Here’s where you can give it a try.

About those “nice and genuine” gurus…

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I got the following earnest question a few days ago:

“Among all of the A-List direct response copywriters that you’ve been able to meet, who was the nicest and most genuine? And did he/she share a golden piece of advice that made a difference in your development as a writer/marketer?”

As for the one golden secret whispered to me by an A-list copywriter… there was none. I studied the same stuff that’s available to everyone, much of it for free or in affordable old books.

But as for that nicest and most genuine part… well, let me tell you a story. I’ve told this story before, but it seems to need repeating.

Some time ago, I found myself in a semi-private setting with a successful online guru. I won’t say who he is or what he sells. But I will tell you he is a genuinely nice guy. Warm, cheery, helpful.

And not only that. He’s also very clean-cut. A true family man, very devoted to his faith.

So in this private setting, I listened to this guru tell his origin story.

It was dramatic, inspiring, and really ideal for that setting. I won’t retell it here because I don’t want to identify the guy. But let me compare it to the first time the Joker tells his backstory in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight:

“You wanna know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker and a fiend. And one night…”

A few days later, I heard a recording of a different semi-private event. One I had not attended. It featured the same genuinely nice, clean-cut guru telling his rags-to-riches origin story.

Again, I won’t retell it here. But it’s comparable to the Joker saying a bit later in the movie,

“Do you wanna know how I got these scars? So I had a wife who tells me I worry too much…”

In other words, the story finished in the same place. But all the details, big and small, leading up to that point, were different.

A completely different origin story. Incompatible with the first version I had heard. But again, perfectly fitted to this second environment.

So what’s my point?

Rather than spelling it out, I’d like to invite you to draw your own conclusion today.

But if you really want to know the unsettling lesson I take away from the story above… well, I’ll share that with you in my email tomorrow. You can sign up here if you’d like to read that.

Hidden desires of would-be copywriters

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Last night, a friend sent me an interesting article that Kevin Rogers of Copy Chief had written. The article is about MMA fighter Conor McGregor and features 14 points — a lot. The one that stood out to me was this:

#2 – Know what your audience REALLY wants.

Do you really know what your audience wants? Most people think they do, but there are often subtle differences in what they want… and what they REALLY want.

In the UFC winning is not enough. Sure, Conor is a professional fighter, and fans like to see wins.

But what the audience and organization REALLY want is a “finish”. They want to see one competitor knocked out cold on the canvas.

Hidden desires. Hidden from the world. Hidden from ourselves.

Maybe you think that the desire to see somebody knocked out isn’t so hidden. Fine.

So here are a few more tricky and subtle examples of what some markets REALLY want. They come from copywriter Chris Haddad:

1. Numerology. Not really about divining the future or understanding the universe. People in this market really just want to feel special.

2. Bizopp. Not really about the millions or even the lambo. People who go for these offers really just want to feel competent… and wipe the smug, dismissive look off their brother-in-law’s face.

Which begs the question… what do people in the “become a copywriter” niche really want?

For many of them, it’s not about making money… or writing as a new career… or the independence that comes with this job.

I know this for a fact. Because there are proven and well-trodden paths to success as a copywriter. But in spite of knowing the path, these people never take the first step. And if they take the first step, they never take the second.

I’ll be honest with you:

I don’t know what these people are really craving. Not on a primal level. Maybe you have some ideas and you can tell me.

Or better yet, maybe you don’t know either… because you yourself really are after the money, the new career, or the flexibility and freedom.

If that’s the case, I can point you down a well-trodden path to success. The path that I’ve personally taken. I’ve written up all the directions inside a little guidebook I’ve titled:

“How To Become A $150/hr, Top-Rated Sales Copywriter On Upwork: A Personal Success Story That Almost Anyone Can Replicate”

This book has my best advice for the early years of being a copywriter, whether you’re on Upwork or not. The how-to info inside is underpriced by a couple of factors of magnitude.

And as I wrote last night, I will be retiring this book permanently in a couple of hours. Depending on when you’re reading this email, the book might already be gone.

One final point about this $5 investment:

The information in this book won’t transform you into a copywriting success. You gotta take those steps yourself.

But if you are willing and able to put one foot in front of the other… then this book will point the way. Plus it will give you valuable tips and shortcuts it took me several years to discover.

​​So if you’ve got $5, and you want this before it disappears, here’s where to go:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork ​​

Become a copywriter by tomorrow

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Yesterday, reader Michael Harris wrote me to say:

I just wanted to let you know that I bought your Upwork book last week or the week before. I read it in an hour or two.

Yesterday, I got around to updating my profile and began bidding on jobs. Today, I closed my first job.

I used all of your tips and tricks (even the ‘hack’ you removed from the book) and landed a job in a day.

Full disclosure: I’m not new to copywriting, but I am new to Upwork as lead generation. The rate for this job is dog shit, but it’s the first step in getting started on Upwork.

I think the biggest takeaway I took from your book is this; don’t try to be clever. Just give them what they want, as long as it’s the truth.

My proposal was about 3 sentences long. Nothing fancy. Just what they wanted to see. 15 minutes after I sent the proposal I’d been hired. Nice.

Thanks for your help John

My point is, becoming a copywriter doesn’t have to take years. Even months.

You anoint yourself in this field. You can do it from today to tomorrow.

“Whoa there John. Can’t you read? Michael said he was already a copywriter and just using this as new source of leads.”

If that’s what you want to focus on, so be it. But let me offer another perspective:

Back in 2013, after wining his UCF debut, future two-division champion Conor McGregor gave an interview. McGregor is a master of self-promotional boasting and bluster, on a level that matches former President Donald J. Trump.

And yet, here’s what McGregor had to say about his confidence and invincibility:

“I’ve lost MMA fights. I’ve lost boxing fights. I’ve lost so many fights in the gym. I lose all the time. It is what it is. Any true martial artist will know in order to succeed at this game you must lose a fucking shitload of times.”

The good news is, you’re not aspiring to be a pro MMA fighter. You don’t need to risk getting your leg snapped in two. You don’t need to get your head kicked in. You don’t even need to expose your soft throat to strangulation until you’re an inch away from death.

The worst that can happen to you is you write something… the client comes back, tearing his hear out (not yours) and screaming, “What is this mess? Who told you you could be a copywriter?”

Tell ’em it was this guy, John Bejakovic, whose email newsletter you read.

And once your emotions subside in a few hours’ time, then start looking for your next gig. And as you do it, think how, in the future, you can avoid the big mistakes you made in that first job.

Again, that’s the worst case. And it ain’t all that bad.

The more likely case is, you deliver something… it’s okayish… particularly for the crap wage you’re getting paid. That’s a real success, and something you can build off.

But you know what?

You either get this or not. I’m just telling you this to be fair.

Because I mentioned a while ago that I will be retiring my Upwork book. Well, the time has come.

I will remove it from Amazon tomorrow night, after the final Influential Emails call, probably around 10pm CET.

I’ve promoted this book a few times before. It’s got my best advice for the early years of being a copywriter, whether you’re on Upwork or not. The how-to info inside is underpriced by a couple of factors of magnitude.

It’s going away tomorrow, for good. So in case you want to get it before it disappears, and maybe even apply some of the information it contains, here’s where to go:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork