One is the loneliest number

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It being Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and it being a fact that, in spite of looking everywhere, high and low, I still don’t have a sweetheart, a date, or anybody who could possibly serve as a Valentine, I have to admit the following truth:

One is the loneliest number.

No, come on. Get real.

I am an incorrigible bachelor, and whether by nature or by longstanding habit, I’ve found I almost never get lonely, even after months spent alone. (Although it does turn me quite weird, more so than usual.)

But still.

One is the loneliest number… of clients.

Yesterday, I teased a mystery A-list direct marketer and copywriter, who is helping a small and select group of copywriters profit from the crisis, confusion, and uncertainty in the market right now… by doing something that no copywriters are doing now, at least none that I know of.

I asked for a show of hands from those who are interested.

A good number of people replied.

I followed up for more info.

Some replied to my followup.

One curious thing stood out. Multiple people wrote they are working as copywriters… and they have precisely ONE client.

I remember from my days of being a freelance copywriter, it’s a stressful situation to be in, particularly if you don’t have a reliable way of getting more good clients.

I remember periods of time of not even looking for new clients, because the search seemed futile, and simply spending my days delivering the work I had, and either praying for a miracle or waiting for the axe to drop.

I’ve been thinking of kicking off a group with the mystery A-lister to help with this.

The idea being, this group would be a place where this A-lister would talk about how he gets clients by going to businesses no other copywriters or marketers are going after… and how he turns those clients into 5- and 6-figure paydays.

Is this group something you’d be interested in?

If so, tell me a bit about where you’re at right now with your copywriting biz, and what even has you interested in this.

If I feel there’s enough serious interest, as evidenced by people actually replying in meaningful ways, I’ll make this group a reality.

If not… no problem. I’ll just go and sulk, on my own.

 

Offer for copywriters

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I’ve been talking to… a guy.

He’s a legit A-list direct marketer and copywriter.

He has made millions with his own businesses… he’s been hired by the biggest brands (like Agora) to help them start entire new ventures….. he counts legends in the DM world as close personal friends.

(Among these close personal friends is the #1 authority I have mentioned over and over and over in these emails.)

Back in 2021, at the height of the covid confusion, this A-list marketer and copywriter ran a small group program.

He personally worked with a select group of copywriters and helped them profit from the crisis, confusion, and uncertainty in the market then… by doing something different from what all other copywriters at the time were doing.

Now, 5 years later, with AI taking jobs (and copywriting gigs), and with the overall market wobbly and unsure outside the NVIDIA-OpenAI cross-investment bubble, he is doing it again.

He is putting together a small group of copywriters whom he will help to profit from the crisis, confusion, and uncertainty in the market right now… by doing something that no copywriters are doing now, at least none that I know of.

Is this something that interests you?

If so, hit reply and let me know.

It’s as easy as ABC

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Maybe you’ve heard?

Google and Meta are now on trial for creating apps that are addicting to children.

No?

You haven’t heard?

Well I have heard. Or rather, yesterday I read an article about it.

I have little to say about the actual substance of this case, since I have neither children nor any apps, but I thought something else in the story was very interesting.

Trial lawyer Mark Lanier, who is representing the plaintiffs, was using all kinds of sticky messaging strategies. A few examples:

1. “They don’t only build apps; they build traps.”

2. “They didn’t want users, they wanted addicts.”

And my favorite…

3. “This case is as easy as ABC. Addicting the Brains of Children.” [Lanier also had some toy blocks to spell out ABC]

I looked up this Lanier guy.

Turns out he’s one of the biggest trial lawyers in the US. He’s represented plaintiffs against big corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Merck, and has been able to win ~$20 billion in damages for his clients.

And get this. In an asbestos damage trial, Lanier used the same ABC strategy as in the recent Meta and Google trial:

“This case is as easy as ABC. Asbestos, breathed in, causes cancer.”

My point for you today is as easy as ABC:

Aphorisms. Boost. Conversions.

(Particularly if you can get them to form an “ABC” acronym.)

If you’re interested in more ways to make your message sticky and persuasive, I have a book recommendation for you.

It’s a book I’ve read only once but that has been immensely sticky in my head, in part because the entire message of the book is summed but up in an easy-to-remember acronym (you’ll have to read it to find out).

I think this book is so important if you thrive or starve by how well you persuade people that I have repeatedly said I would include it in the first-semester required reading of my mythical AIDA School.

In case you’re interested in getting your hand on the ABC’s of effective messaging:

https://bejakovic.com/sticky

Follow up about yesterday’s follow up

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Yesterday, I sent an email telling readers to:

1. Find out who their highest-LTV customer is

2. Reach out to that customer and simply catch up

A couple hours after that email went out, I got a message from a long-time reader who runs a paid newsletter, which she sells via a $2k yearly subscription. The reader wrote:

===

What a great idea, John!

I sorted my Google spreadsheet and found 11 current subscribers stood out as paying in the 5 figs, some of whom surprised me.

Sent them each a nice note since no one in [industry] answers the phone, while they do respond to emails.

Every one of them responded within an hour. Several good convos came out of this.

Also reached out to 6 expired subs worth over 5 figs.

One is in between jobs and will sub once they land somewhere.

Two have retired and miss the blog dearly.

One is waiting for the new 2026 budget to open.

One just re-upped their subscription and thanked me for the reminder.

===

That’s-a what I’m a-talking about!

Particularly impressive I thought was the last line, about somebody who had lapsed as a customer, and who ended up making a $2k purchase after being hit with a little reconnect message.

This morning, I took this to heart and created a spreadsheet which I titled “Follow Up Systems.” It’s a more structured way to follow up with people than simply counting on a kind guardian angel to remind me to do it. My spreadsheet has following columns:

* who

* when (eg. email, Skool)

* where

* about what

* next followup date

* next followup content

I noticed that creating this spreadsheet already took a lot of anxiety around the topic of followup out of my head.

Today, I found myself following up with people just so I could fill in the spreadsheet.

Tomorrow, I figure I will add any conversations in there that have stalled in the meantime.

And then in the days that come, I will sort this spreadsheet by the “next followup date” column, and follow up with people I said I should follow up with then.

Maybe it’s worth creating a spreadsheet like this for yourself right now, if you’re looking for clients, referrals, JV partners…

… except, that’s just the structure, the scaffolding.

What about the content? The stuff you actually send to people?

I figure you have a few options:

1. You can wing it each time.

2. You can craft your own system based on what worked and didn’t work for you.

3. Or you can take somebody else’s system that works.

The Notorious Nick Bandy has a system that works, called Ghostbuster Sequence.

It’s a series of 5 mostly templatized/somewhat adaptable followup messages you can send to clients, referrals, JV partners to get them to say yes or no.

Either a yes or a no is ok. What’s not ok is not following up at all or sending one message and treating silence as a reply, and letting it eat away at your little entrepreneur heart.

Btw, when I say Nick’s system works, here’s a recent story he shared about it:

===

Last year I set my eyes on an A+ potential partner, he tried ghosting me. I even wrote about him on the sales page for The Ghostbuster Sequence.

I busted the ever-loving ectoplasm out of that ghost…

Totally flipped the script…

Got HIM chasing ME.

But I got busy…went to Singapore…hibernated for a month, chillin’ with my wife and toddler.

I’m a busy and very important guy.

🦥

He kept following up…over and over again.

And today? Just sent over his entire customer and lead database.

The LIFEBLOOD of his business.

THIRTY THOUSAND CUSTOMERS.

30k!

Do you know how hard I’m rubbing my hands together right now? With an average deal size of $20k and up?

To me. Some random guy. I’m dressed like a K-Drama fanboy in my profile picture. You should not trust this dude with your business. But he did.

Why? Because I’m the best copywriter in America?

No.

Because I read this 9-page, poorly formatted PDF and I know that NO isn’t NO.

===

That 9-page PDF Nick read?

It’s Nick’s Ghostbuster Sequence, which he himself rereads and applies.

The Ghostbuster Sequence will set you back a mighty $54. But it could legit be worth tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars to you if you only put it to use.

If you wanna get it, and better yet, want to start using it today, in just five minutes from now:

https://bejakovic.com/ghostbuster

What’s the name of your highest LTV customer?

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I’m a bit strapped for time today, dealing with the Wrath of God in the form of another family crisis.

As a result, it’s late in the day — almost 10pm my time — and I still haven’t written my daily email.

So let me send out an email I have been meaning to send out for a while:

Who is your highest LTV customer?

I’m not asking for a psychological profile or demographic description.

I’m asking for a specific name.

You don’t have to tell me.

But you should know it yourself.

If you do know, reach out to that person today.

(I did it myself, just this morning.)

Start a conversation.

Find out what they’ve been up to lately.

Ideally, get them on a call and just listen.

I promise:

You will be enlightened. You will come out of it with new offer ideas. You will feel better about what you do (surprisingly important, particularly if you sell something vaporous like I do, magic spells that make money appear out of thin air).

And what if you don’t know the name of your highest LTV customer?

Then find out.

In case you use ThriveCart, like I do, but you don’t know the name of your highest LTV customer, I can help you out.

Reply to this email, and I’ll send you a Google Sheets spreadsheet you can clone and drop your ThriveCart transactions in, which will calculate per-customer LTV for you.

And now, back to the Wrath of God.

17 ideas for charging more

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I wanna write a new book about the art of charging higher prices:

How to overcome your own mental blocks around charging more…

How to make the technical changes that need to be made to your offers and positioning…

How to get people to happily pay you at new and higher prices.

I don’t know yet how I will organize this book. But I do have a bunch of ideas for the content to include.

Since one of my ideas for charging higher prices is to give away stuff for free in certain circumstances, here are 17 ways to charge higher prices, for you to use and profit from today:

#1. Just double your prices right now, without waiting, and then make whatever changes this new price forces you into

Yes, ​it can be done​.

#2. Specialize

People will pay more for an all-black German shepherd than they will for a mottled mixed-breed mutt, even if both ultimately have two ears, four legs, one tail, and the ability to bark.

#3. Sell an outcome, not deliverables

In other words, ​sell the house, not the hammer​.

#4. Deliver a more complete outcome

(I heard this advice from a “sales closer agency” that takes people’s $5k offers and turns them into $50k offers, and makes their clients and themselves tens of millions per year.)

Example: if you sell a live event, then instead of selling just entry to the event and what’s inside, sell a package that includes a hotel room, a flight, transportation from the airport, and maybe dinner at a fancy restaurant with the organizers of the event. And charge a premium on top of each.

#5. Sell a bigger outcome

instead of helping people get a client worth $1k, help them get a client worth $10k. Instead of helping them close one $1k client, help them close three $1k clients.

#6. Guarantee the outcome

My $31k auction went to $31k ​in large part because of the guarantee​.

#7. Sell something scarce vs. something common

You might have something legitimately scarce (“the last five copies ever that will ever be printed”) or you can have something artificially scarce (“only five spots open this entire year”).

#8. Sell yourself vs. selling your solution

If you have an audience and your audience likes you, you can sell yourself first and foremost. This is a special and easy kind of scarcity that nobody can take away from you or challenge you on.

As an example, consider the dozens of “how to write emails” courses that popped up over the past 2-3 years. Many of them sold, and well — to the audiences of the person creating the course, and to nobody else.

#9. Go after the Maverick segment rather than the Goose segment of your market

For more on this distinction, ​check here​. Or ​read this​ to see where I first got the idea.

#10. Go to a richer market

Example: ​people wanting to learn improv comedy vs. trial lawyers​. Who will pay more?

#11. Position yourself as the premier solution

A few examples: ​Rolex, Harvard, Jay Abraham​.

#12. Offer “real-world value” bonuses vs. “valued at” bonuses

The information in this email is “valued at” $10,000, by me personally, based on my extensive research and deep introspection.

Do you think I could use this “valued at $10k” email as a bonus for a legit $10k offer, and make the $10k offer feel effectively free?

No?

You don’t think so?

Well, maybe you will, after I take this information and turn it into a 4-week cohort I start charging $10k for, and start selling over and over to my list.

#13. Ask for future money rather than present money

The most money I ever made while working as a freelance copywriter came to me after I asked a client to let me write emails for them for free, on commission only.

They agreed, and offered me 20% of the profits made.

In this way, it became routine for me to get paid $500 for an email it took me 15 minutes to write, and $1k per email was not unheard of either.

There’s no way the client would have agreed to pay me such rates out of pocket. But out of profit? Different story.

#14. Get your prospects thinking what it costs not to buy rather than what it costs to buy

This is ​a classic lesson from sales trainer David Sandler​.

#15. Reframe or repackage your core offer into something valued more

I once put on an entire $197 training about this… but for just one example, ​take a look here​. (Just don’t write me asking for the offer at that link.)

#16. Charge for things you do for free now.

Research… replying to emails… sales calls…

… who says you have to do them for free?

Charging for such things automatically pushes everything else up also. Your perceived value rises. Plus you now have something you can anchor your other offers to, or offer as a real-world-value bonus.

(On the other hand, it can be better to give things away for free than to discount them. I’ll just leave it at that for now.)

#17. Change format

Books sell for $-$$. A one-evening Zoom training sells for $$-$$$. A course sells for $$$-$$$$. An in-person training sells for $$$$-$$$$$.

Same info, same outcome, but the format affects how people value that info, and what they are willing to pay for it.

… and that makes 17.

Did I miss anything? Do you have extra ideas for how to charge more?

Let me know, and maybe I will include your ideas in my new book, and put your name up in the “acknowledgements” marquee, with lights shining on it, right at the front. Thanks in advance.

Can I pay you $1.5k for sending one email?

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Maybe I can.

(Hat tip to the Notorious Nick Bandy for this idea.)

The background is this:

I’m looking for partners to run an auction for, using their offers and their audience.

(I ran an auction with my own offer and my own audience back in December. It brought in $31k. ​Case study here​.)

Not everybody makes for a great auction partner.

But if you’re working with a client who is spending $200/day on ads… or sending regular emails to a list of a few thousand souls or more… or has a community of a few hundred members or more… they might be a good partner for an auction.

My deal to you is this:

If you have a client who meets one of the criteria above, hit reply. I’ll give you a message to send to your client. The message will make you look good to them, and will put my offer of an auction partnership in a normal-sounding way into their head.

If you so choose, you then send the email to your client…

… and if I end up partnering with your client on an auction, I’ll pay you $1.5k or 10% of my cut of the auction profits, whichever is greater, just for putting me in touch with them.

Plus, if you want, you can ride along with me, and work alongside me to actually carry out this auction, and be privy to the behind-the-scenes offer design, and planning, and selling.

That way, you can can get invaluable experience you can use to run an auction of your own, or with partners, just like I’m doing.

(Of course, if you have no interest in ever running an auction, and you just wanna get paid for sending an email, that’s perfect too.)

So?

Worth hitting reply, and maybe sending one email to your client?

Can I help you make a buncha sales via… an auction?

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I ran an auction in my Skool group back in December.

It brought in $31k (case study here).

I’m planning to run more auctions with my own audience.

But if you have been hearing chatter about auctions, but don’t want to go to the trouble of running one yourself, maybe I can help?

My offer is:

I’ll run an auction for you, with your own offers and your audience.

For every $10,000 I send you in sales, shoot over $2500 to me AFTER the money is in your bank account.

I’ll take care of everything involved:

* Coming up with the offer stack

* Writing posts

* Managing the auction itself to make it fun or even magical for your audience

* Closing all the sales

(Of course, if you wanna be involved in any of these steps, you can be, to whatever extent you want.)

And if you have an email list, but no community where to run an auction?

I’ll set that up and cover it 100%.

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

For solopreneurs making $10k+/month

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If you are a solopreneur or service provider making $10k/month or more, here’s an offer you might be interested in:

Less of YOU.

As in, you might be interested in trading in the business you’ve managed to build up so far with sweat and hustle… for a new business that can scale profitably, and that isn’t 100% tied to your energy, your availability, and your brainpower.

This offer, which goes under the name ScaleTribe, is being made by Michal Eisik.

If case you don’t know Michal, this transition is one she has made herself.

Michal started out as a busy and overdelivering freelance copywriter back in 2017.

She has since launched several courses (with hundreds of students)… a paid community… and a marketing agency… all while having not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but SIX (6!) children.

Plus as she wrote when she joined my Monetization Mastermind community, “Monday and Thursday evenings are sacred for netball.” (I had no idea what netball is. I looked it up. It turns out to be English basketball with a weird hoop.)

The reason Michal can do the course and the community and the agency is because she is smart and works hard, but also because she has formed a small but dedicated team of 5 people around her, and she has developed systems to actually get those people to deliver results that meet her standards.

(Smart and hard-working alone would not give her time enough to do a fraction of what she does, and still have time for 6 kids and twice-a-week netball.)

Michal ran the first ScaleTribe cohort last year, with 30 people — copywriters, owners of design agencies, brand experts, creative directors, and founders. Here are some of their experiences:

#1. “Before joining ScaleTribe, I was working myself to the bone, overloaded with projects, and trying to stay on top of every detail. They helped me finally hire VAs and get two digital courses up and running. Most of all, they changed the way I operate and view my business.”

#2. “ScaleTribe gave me everything I was hoping for. I’ve been able to use my time so much more efficiently by outsourcing and delegating work which doesn’t require my level of skill or knowledge.”

#3. “Being part of a group of like-minded business owners navigating similar challenges was incredibly grounding. But the biggest shift for me was in management: I gained real structure and direction.”

#4. “…actually got me to take action and refine valuable processes.”

#5. “It pushed me to finally do things I’d been thinking about for ages, things I’d watched others do but never got around to myself.”

Michal is launching ScaleTribe for the second-ever cohort next week (gulp, very soon).

It’s a big purchase and a big decision. I don’t expect you to make up your mind now or to buy based on this short email.

If you are interested, you can get more details on the following page:

https://bejakovic.com/scaletribe

… and Michal will also be hosting a webinar about ScaleTribe next Tuesday at 2pm EST, where you can get to meet her and see if you vibe with her. If you wanna register for that:

https://bejakovic.com/michalwebinar

I’m now offering a $5 typo bounty

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Ever since I published my most recent book, “10 Commandments of Con Men, Pick Up Artists, Magicians, etcetera” last May, I have been running ads on Amazon to promote it.

Inevitably, whenever I start to stray far afield from the homey little village that is my email newsletter audience, and into the dark woods and wastelands of the cold traffic Internet, I find that people are not as kind as forgiving as they are back home. For example, here is a new 3-star review of my book:

===

meh… Reads like advertising copy… Oh wait it is, at the end of the book he is asking you to subscribe to his email list. save your money and go to the source material. At one point he says he is using a 24-word title to stand out… to me it looks more like key-word packing.

Oh yes… there are typos, repeated lines, bad formatting, bad book layout, inconsistent spelling of peoples names… Seriously dude, proofread your work.

===

I went on an emotional rollercoaster when I saw this review.

First, anything at 3 stars or below hurts my fragile ego.

But then my ego bounced back when seeing that this review really has nothing to say about the content of my book, meaning the ideas or even the writing inside. It seems to be solely focused on finding things to pick at, like typos.

As for those, I did proofread my book multiple times. I caught some typos, but not all. I then had a number of beta-testers of the book proofread the book, and they caught some more. But it’s certainly possible that some typos snuck through.

So let me take a page from Joe Sugarman’s book, and make you a deal:

If you find a typo in my new 10 Commandments book, write me to tell me about it, and I’ll PayPal you $5. ($5 will cover the cost of the book if you’re getting it on Kindle.)

The only thing is, I will only reward the first person to find a given typo, and I’ll be documenting the reported typos in ​this Google Doc​. The sooner you send me your caught typo, the more likely you are to get a typo bounty.

If you have my book already, maybe reread it and see if you can catch me?

And if you don’t have my book, maybe get it now and give it a read?

Beyond just trying to get the spelling and formatting right, I put a lot of work into the ideas in this book, and into finding interesting stories to illustrate those ideas.

To prove that, here are some more favorable reviews, many of them, though not all, from folks closer to home, meaning this email newsletter:

#1. “The information John shares is invaluable for both your personal life and your professional life…especially if that professional life involves influencing others.”

#2. “This book seriously is a must read as you will understand at a deeper level human nature.”

#3. “Full of practical advice, information and life-changing wisdom.”

#4. “It’s got new and useful ways to look at sales and influence, that I’ve been testing and enjoying.”

#5. “I see it becoming one of those books I read at least once a year. It’s that good!”

#6. “I’ve read a lot of books in this space and this is one of my favorites. He skips over the common knowledge and dives into really eye opening insights.”

#7. “If the human mind intrigues you, then read this brilliant little book by John Bejakovic.”

For more info, or if you need a copy:

https://bejakovic.com/new10commandments