Influential Writing Archives

How to keep your readers from feeling cheap, cheated, or used

May 25, 2025 by John Bejakovic

I got an email yesterday from Parker Worth, whose online profile describes him as “just a guy with a neck tattoo.”

Maybe Parker’s a bit more — he’s got an online audience of over 70,000 people spread across X and LinkedIn and his email list, and he’s built a nice business on the back of it, teaching people how to write online.

Parker is apparently reading my new 10 Commandments book. He wrote in to say:

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Loving the book so far man.

Super refreshing especially in the age of AI Amazon garbage.

Will give it a solid review once finished

===

On the note of AI garbage, a telling story:

While doing research for this book, I was looking for articles that discuss the use of misdirection in the movie The Sting, which I reference a few times in the book.

Not only did The Sting win the 1973 Oscar for best original screenplay (and Hollywood screenwriters are one of the disciplines I profile in my book) but the movie is a realistic depiction of how con men used to play the “big con” (and con men another group I profile in the book).

So while looking for something on the use of misdirection in The Sting, I found a 2,000-word blog post, published in mid 2024, that discussed exactly this topic in depth.

At first, the blog post seemed highly relevant to what I was looking for and had me nodding along.

Gradually a few small tells started to show — odd discrepancies with character names and plot twists from the actual movie, which I’ve seen a bunch of times and know well.

Finally, as the blog post recapped the climax of the movie as it never happened, I realized this was completely made up AI garbage, which had nothing new or unique or even true to say about what I was interested in. Realization made, I cursed at my laptop for a few minutes and made particular note of this blog to make sure I never come back there and waste my time again.

Point being:

You can fool some of Bejako some of the time, but you can’t fool all of him all the time.

I’m not sure what my point is beyond that except to say, these days, it’s more important than ever to give people something that feels real.

This is not new with AI. It started long before, with the ability to automate your communication (via things like email autoresponders), and even before that, with mass media that allowed one person to speak to thousands at the same time.

None of us wants to feel cheap, cheated, or used.

That’s why I spent so long doing research for my tiny new book, reading dozens of other books, watching hours and hours of obscure videos on YouTube, digging through 100-year-old newspapers, and thinking up how to integrate my own real-world experiences from my past and present careers of writing sales copy, picking up girls on the street, and selling myself to prospective clients on sales calls.

I discarded ten times the material that I finally deemed was actually good enough to include in the published version.

That’s ok. I believe all this research and prep are a major reason why I’ve heard from so many people, like Parker above, who tell me that they love the book. If you would like to see if you might love it as well:

https://bejakovic.com/new10commandments

Somebody has beat me to the 10 Commandments of Con Men

May 11, 2025 by John Bejakovic

As you might know, I have been working, toiling, grabulating for the past two years on my new book, full title:

10 Commandments of Con Men, Pickup Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters

I had a minor heart attack earlier when I discovered that somebody has already beat me to the core concept. An Austrian con man named Victor Lustig, who lived and scammed in the early 20th century and who apparently sold the Eiffel Tower twice (!), apparently kept a list of 10 Commandments of Con Men. Here’s old Victor’s list:

1. Be a patient listener

2. Never look bored

3. Wait for the other person to reveal any political opinions, then agree with them

4. Let the other person reveal religious views, then have the same ones

5. Hint at sex talk, but don’t follow it up unless the other person shows a strong interest

6. Never discuss illness, unless some special concern is shown

7. Never pry into a person’s personal circumstances (they’ll tell you all eventually)

8. Never boast – just let your importance be quietly obvious

9. Never be untidy

10. Never get drunk

Are you impressed? Yes? No?

All I can tell you is that, after I read Lustig’s 10 Commandments, I personally took a big sigh of relief. I found his 10 Commandments rather dull and uninspiring, and fortunately, I found that there’s zero overlap (well, minus the hinting at sex talk) between his commandments and the 10 Commandments I have in my new book.

Most importantly, I was reminded once again that the value is almost never in the ideas (ie. commandments) themselves, but in how those ideas are presented, illustrated, and made to shine.

That’s why it took me so long to complete my book. And complete it I did.

I can tell you that, following two years of ups and downs, missed deadlines, and a few dozen readers writing me messages to the effect of “done is better than perfect,” I am proud and a little nervous to announce that my book will finally be published.

When?

Tomorrow.

Why not today?

Well, maybe Lustig was on to something. Don’t pry into my personal circumstances (I’ll tell you all eventually). Meanwhile, I have nothing to promote to you today — but I will tomorrow.

Platform is magic

May 9, 2025 by John Bejakovic

I went for a walk this morning and as I was dodging the puddles from last night’s rain, I listened to a podcast, a conversation between James Schramko and Dean Jackson.

In case those names are not familiar to you, both belong to Internet marketers who have been in the business a combined 50+ years.

Both James and Dean have made many millions of dollars for themselves and many more for their clients and customers.

Whatever. The point is simply that, in the little corner of the Internet where I live, these guys are influential and established and respected. I’ve known about each for many years, and I’ve been paying attention to both intensely over the past year.

This morning, while listening to the podcast, James Schramko talked about changes he had made to his business following the advice of his friend, a guy named Kory Basaraba.

That caught my attention and maybe made me step into a puddle.

The fact is, I’ve known Kory for years. A few years ago, back when I was still doing freelance copywriting stuff, I even worked with him.

Through this experience, I know Kory is smart, successful, and established. But on hearing his name being mentioned on a podcast, by two people I follow, I felt some sort of electric jolt.

I don’t know how wide of a reach this Schramko/Dean podcast episode might get. Maybe a few thousand people, maybe tens of thousands? In any case it’s not Joe Rogan.

It doesn’t matter. My opinion of Kory, while it was positive before, suddenly jumped. He got the warm bright glow of a star in my eyes.

Of course, I’m a hardened cynic and a bit of a wizard when it comes to knowing influence spells. So I quickly shook my head to clear my mind from this strange persuasion.

But I wanted to share this story with you, such as it is, for a bit of motivation.

I don’t understand what it is about having a platform. Maybe I’ll figure it out one day.

Right now, my best answer is that having a platform is simply magic.

A few hundred or a few thousand people around the world listen to you. It’s not a tremendous amount of reach or power. But it doesn’t matter.

The very fact of having a platform, of speaking to a group of people, gives you status and authority and charisma, and even the power to transfer that to others, simply by mentioning their name. That’s magic.

The motivating part is that, if you haven’t done so already, you can do this same thing for yourself.

Nobody’s stopping you from starting a podcast, or writing an email newsletter, today.

Like I said, you don’t need a tremendous overall audience to have a tremendous influence on the people who do listen or read to what you have to say. I can vouch for that from personal experience, having been both on top of the platform at certain times, and in the audience, looking up, at other times.

I know nothing about podcasting. But I know something about newsletters. Such as for example, that the more often you send emails, the greater your influence over the people in your audience.

And with that in mind, let me point you to a service that can help make it easier to send something every day, so you can work your magic quickly:

https://bejakovic.com/deh

Announcing: 1% Writer

May 3, 2025 by John Bejakovic

Today I’d like to clue you in on a new offer called 1% Writer.

It’s not my offer.

I’m not even an affiliate.

It’s Kieran Drew’s new offer to go along with his upcoming birthday.

I asked Kieran recently if he’d be one of the people to read my new 10 Commandments book and give me feedback. He turned me down because he was busy putting this new course together.

But Kieran made me a deal, which was that he’d promote my new 10 Commandments book to his audience when I do publish it.

In turn, I said I’d gladly promote his 1% Writer to my audience.

The thing is, I haven’t seen, read, or profited from 1% Writer myself. (It’s a live cohort course, delivered by email, which will kick off next week, May 8.)

I’m still happy to promote 1% Writer to you, for the following two reasons:

Reason #1 is Kieran himself.

In case you don’t know the guy, he has a huge audience (something like 250,000 people across various platforms), and he’s made a huge amount of money in a few years’ time by selling stuff to that audience (north of $1.2 million).

Kieran’s done it all with nothing but his little typing fingers.

Clearly, he knows a thing, two, or maybe even three about how to succeed online by just writing.

What’s more, he’s directly coached a bunch of other people who have gone from zero to hero in that space, so he knows how to pass his knowledge on to others.

I’ll also say I read Kieran’s newsletter myself, when I’ve largely started to ignore most of the other people I used to follow online.

Add it all up and the sum is that I know, respect, and endorse Kieran for what he does in general.

Reason #2 I’m happy to promote 1% Writer is that it costs a whopping $33, or $1 a day. (The course lasts for 33 days, since Kieran is turning 33, and apparently there’s a mathematical connection between the two facts.)

What do you get for $33?

Says Kieran, this course has his best advice, compressed down into 33 lessons, about how to grow your audience, build authority, and turn your ideas into income.

He also says it’s the highest value-to-dollar ratio product he’s made.

I’ve happily promoted Kieran’s high-ticket courses in the past, and I’ve seen the thought and care and value he’s put into those offers.

If he says 1% Writer is the highest value-to-dollar product he’s made, I believe him. That takes nothing away from his high-ticket offers, but it does make 1% Writer an attractive offer, and one to consider seriously.

Of course, you make the final decision. To help you do that, you can find out the full details about 1% Writer, including that May 7 deadline, on the page below:

https://1pw.kierandrew.com/

Mr. Malaprop

May 1, 2025 by John Bejakovic

About a month ago, my friend Sam forwarded me a WSJ article about a Ford executive named Mike O’Brien. Over the course of his decades-long career, O’Brien compiled a list, 2,229 items long, of his colleagues’ corporate malapropisms. A few examples:

“I don’t want to sound like a broken drum here, but…”

“Let’s not reinvent the ocean.”

“It’s no skin on our back.”

“Too many cooks in the soup.”

“We need to talk about the elephant in the closet.”

Last night, I called my mom. She’s one of the people I’ve sent an early draft of my new 10 Commandments book to. Being my mom, she’s found the book tremendous. “I’m just so impressed that you know so many facts, and can refer to all these stories, and know the names of all the directors and the screenwriters of the movies you talk about…”

I had to set my mom straight.

It’s writing. Writing.

My mom wouldn’t agree with this, but the fact is, in real life, I’m not all that smart, educated, or informed.

I say stupid stuff all the time. I don’t remember names or dates at all. I’m prone to using cliches and saying generalities. I’ve definitely slipped into worse malaprops than the ones above from O’Brien.

But in writing, it doesn’t matter. In writing, you can take a moment to think. You can look things up. You can pack your writing full of relevant facts. You can edit, so you don’t publish something that ends up stabbing you in the foot.

I don’t know if anybody needed to hear that or not.

In any case, my new 10 Commandments book, which will have a chapter about the elephant in the closet, is nearing publication.

Yesterday, I made an offer related to this book, or maybe asked for a favor. Let me repeat that once more:

Do you have an audience of your own? A newsletter, an online community, a local book club or bingo group?

What I want is for you to promote my book when it comes out. Of course, that means nothing to you and does nothing for you. I don’t know what I can offer you to make it worth your while to promote my book when it comes out, but I am open to all kinds of ideas, from straightforward to outlandish.

If you are open to it as well, at least in theory, hit reply. Let’s talk, and maybe we can figure something out that works for both of us.

The day after

April 29, 2025 by John Bejakovic

Yesterday around 1pm, I finished writing my Daily Email Habit puzzle and was about to upload it to Kit. But my Internet had stopped working. The odd thing was I checked my phone, and not just the wifi was down, but it looked like the cellular network, too.

I shrugged and went to take a nap because… I live in Spain.

I woke up twenty minutes later. The Internet was still down. I looked inside the fridge to see if there was anything interesting happening there. It was dark. Aha. The power was out.

I opened the the circuit breaker box — all the circuit breakers were fine. I opened the front door of my apartment. The hallway outside was dark except for the emergency light.

Ok. So the power is out in the entire building. There was a notice a few days ago about some utilities work being done, maybe this was it.

I decided to go to the gym, because there was nothing else to do. The elevator wasn’t working so I took the stairs. On my way down, I passed a couple with a baby who were climbing up. The woman was carrying the baby, while the guy, panting, was carrying the stroller. Lucky for them, they live on just the second floor (the building has 12).

As I stepped out into the sunshine, I saw a bunch of people standing around on the street and talking. All stores, restaurants, and banks were dark and empty. I guess the was power out everywhere in my neighborhood?

I passed by a local brunch place. The waitress was explaining to the guests, “It’s everywhere! My boyfriend in Madrid says it, there’s no connection anywhere.”

I got to the gym, which was dark, silent, and full of people. I did my workout among suppressed grunts and increasingly stifling air (the AC wasn’t working).

I heard one of the trainers explain to somebody that this power outage is happening “en toda España.” Somebody else said Portugal too. Others were saying it’s in France and Italy as well (turned out to be exaggerations).

I walked back home. Drivers were carefully stopping at every zebra and intersection because the stoplights weren’t working either.

The streets were packed with people. Neither the metros nor trams were running. The whole city seemed to be either standing on the streets or walking home because no work could be done. An alarming number of women were sitting on park benches and reading books.

Convenience stores were the only thing that was somewhat open. Each one had a queue of people waiting at the front door. The store owners were letting in people one by one to do basic shopping if they could pay in cash.

As tends to happen, the sun started to set. I went for a walk and saw firefighters in front of a pharmacy beating down the rolling security shutter. It must run on electricity. I guess the firefighters were trying to close it by force for the pharmacists, to prevent a breakin at night.

I stood on my balcony as night fell. I was looking forward to seeing the city in total darkness for once. But it wasn’t to happen.

It turned out some buildings still had electricity — the fire station next door, various hotels, an entire neighborhood off on the hillside.

Still, Avinguda Diagonal, the main artery next to my house, was almost entirely dark. So was my little street. My own apartment was even darker.

I made a salad for dinner — the only food I had left in the house that didn’t require a stove to prepare. I had to move the cutting board to the window because the counter where I normally work was so dark I was afraid I would chop off a finger tip while slicing the cherry tomatoes.

By around 9:30pm, my apartment was like a cave. There was no Internet and I had switched off my phone earlier to conserve the battery. I lay on the couch and turned on the backlight on my Kindle to read in darkness.

Around 10pm, I heard cheering and clapping outside. A neighboring block had gotten its power back. But my block and most other blocks around me were still in the dark.

I went to bed around 10:30pm, feeling exhausted. I guess following the natural light cycle does that to you.

And then, some time during the night, I’m guessing around 2am, I woke up to loud beeping. My fridge was back and it was helpfully signalling that the temperature of the freezer was dangerously high.

All that’s to say, as of this morning, everything’s normal once again, and without even an interruption in my daily email cadence.

I have to admit I was actually looking forward to the possibility of a continuing power outage, and to having a proper, unavoidable excuse to not writing my daily email today. What would that be like? I’ve been writing a daily email for years now, every day, without fail. I was excited by the prospect of change. That’s something for me to think about.

Meanwhile, I can tell you that the curious day yesterday reminded me of a curious book I’d read two years ago. In fact, this book was the first book of my year-long Insights & More Book Club, which brought together a few of my readers specifically to read books that offered a mind-bending new perspective.

The first book of the book club fit the bill.

Even though the book is 100 years old, it was written in a particularly interesting and influential style, which I think can be relevant for anyone writing online today.

It also did lead me to moment of real insight, a perspective shift, which sticks with me to this day. I mean, even to yesterday, when I was really thinking about it.

If you’re curious, you can find the book, or maybe even read it yourself, at the following convenient link:

https://bejakovic.com/masses

What matters more than results

April 28, 2025 by John Bejakovic

Last year, a dude with some personal domain email address signed up to my list.

I make a habit of doing a bit of detective work on new subscribers. This led me to a New York Times article about the dude from 2015.

At that time, said the article, he was the manager of an investment fund with $35 billion under management.

I wrote him a 1-1 email, as I do sometimes with new subscribers, to say hello, to mention the article about him I had dug up in my snooping, and to ask what a person of his profile is doing signing up to a daily email list like mine, about writing and marketing and effective communication. He replied:

===

I basically do the same thing I did for the pension fund, but now for a small group of direct clients. I also run quite a bit of money for other investment advisors and their clients. I manage about $1.2 billion total – I’m a solo shop, do it all myself.

I decided a few years ago that I wanted to be out of the public eye – 20 years was enough, so I’m pretty secretive and off the grid.

My results are still among the best in the country, but I’ve learned in the retail investment world perceptions matter more than results. So I generate best in class returns mostly for myself and personal pride.

My business actually runs and grows off the image I portray to clients and prospects. I’ve learned that I’m lucky enough to have the ability to naturally make complex things simple, which people are dying for in the investment business.

I’ve developed a somewhat unique way to communicate, mostly using very focused, simple communications. Especially in the world of AI, I think this skill will matter more than most. So I’ve become a closet student of writing, copywriting, communication, etc. That’s how I can across your newsletter. I bought your book too.

===

I thought that was curious and wanted to share it with you.

Here’s a dude who, so you might imagine, lives and breathes by measurable results. I mean, either he makes his investors money, or he doesn’t. Either he outperforms the other guy, or he doesn’t.

Except, as he says, that doesn’t really matter, not as much as perception, as the image he portrays to his clients and prospects.

That’s something to keep in mind, if you yourself work in a field that’s supposedly results-based, and particularly if you work in a field that’s more fuzzy and wooly.

So how do you build up and maintain an image that clients and prospects are willing to pay for?

The message above from the investment advisor spells it out.

I can only add that he also told me he sends “clients and prospects periodic emails about the markets, my strategy, etc.”

Maybe it’s something you could profit from too? If you’d like my help on that:

https://bejakovic.com/deh

A question I’ve been dreading

April 18, 2025 by John Bejakovic

Last week I got a question, one I’ve been dreading, from long-time reader Neil Sutton.

Neil is an architect by day and by night, he puts on his copywriting pajamas and works as a copywriter helping businesses who want architects as clients…. which I have to say is kind of brilliant. Anyways, Neil wrote:

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Hey John,

Here’s a picture of me eating a PopTart and scrolling through my Bejako emails, trying to find where I missed the email about your new 10 Commandments book launch.

[Neil included a gif here, showing a small monkey, possible a rhesus macaque, eating a pop tart and scrolling on a phone]

Did I miss it?

===

The back story is that, some time in February, I had the bright idea to publicly announce a deadline — March 24,2025 — by which I will finish and publish my new book, titled:

“10 Commandments of Con Men, Pick Up Artists, Magicians, Door-to-Door Salesmen, Hypnotists, Copywriters, Professional Negotiators, Political Propagandists, Stand Up Comedians, and Oscar-Winning Screenwriters”

Well, the deadline came, the deadline passed, no emails went out announcing the book because the book is still not finished or published.

I failed with my self-assigned public deadline, and a few people, Neil among them, have spotted something off.

I can only tell you that just this morning, I finished the introduction to the new book, which was the last part waiting to be written. The book just has to go out to a few folks for edits + suggestions. The cover is already done.

All of which means the book will be finished and published…

Who knows when. I’ve burned myself already by setting and publicly announcing a deadline I failed to meet. I won’t be repeating that mistake again.

Two things are for sure:

One, I am working on it. And two, I will get it done.

In the meantime, if you haven’t read my original 10 Commandments book, you might find that interesting and valuable.

The original 10 commandments book was successful enuff that I decided to copy the core concept, the structure, and even the cover style for the new 10 Commandments book.

If you’re looking for ideas to help you influence others, or just to better understand your own mind, then take a look here:

https://bejakovic.com/10commandments

How to make your 1:1 coaching an easy yes

March 18, 2025 by John Bejakovic

A couple days ago, business coach Steph Benedetto posted the following in my Daily Email House community:

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I’ve written 110 emails by now and the journey has been nothing short of amazing with many hidden benefits that really belong on the sales page. 😍

I expected to get increased clarity about my message, and was surprised right away about just how much clarity it gave me.

I figured there would be increased reader engagement, but I had no idea the depth of connection it would create.

But here are some of the benefits I didn’t see coming:

– New offers appear that I never planned to write. Somehow they appear out of thin air!

– Building out my sales letter with testimonials and a double guarantee — without sitting down to “work on my sales letter.”

– Love letters and comments from readers.

– My business is evolving with new events and services as I type them.

– My personal growth journey is documented in these emails; it gives me a place to articulate insights and take them deeper through sharing.

– Two people inquiring about my new 1 Year Being Unstoppable Mentorship with the disclaimer “it’s not affordable.” I didn’t see that coming!

[Steph then goes to share as proof a bunch of love letters she got from her readers and customers, and then concludes with…]

It really is building up desire to work with me. When I reach out to people who are engaging to explore 1:1 coaching with me, they’re an easy yes.

Daily emails have helped me see the value of me being me and sharing it, with all my quirks and flaws.

This is some life-changing shit, my friends. If you write the emails, the magic will happen. ✨

===

I’ve long been crowing and croaking about the many benefits of writing daily emails. Steph does a great job recapping these many benefits, and she even lists a couple benefits I myself haven’t experienced yet. But there’s something else I want to highlight in this particular email.

I followed up with Steph to ask what exactly she does to “reach out to people who are engaging to explore 1:1 coaching with me.”

She replied:

===

I invite people to a conversations on most days, not just from email comments. It’s the way most of my clients happen. If a reader is responding to me and I know them, it’s easy to invite them to connect. The context will vary. If I don’t know them yet, I might invite them to a chat about their question or comment.

===

In my experience, this is a pwerful 2-step playbook that a lot of people could profitably use, particularly those selling high-ticket coaching, products, or services.

I could run on about this and share my own experiences applying Stephs daily email + one-on-one reach-out system. But the fact is, I’m at the airport as I write this, waiting for my smiling plane to board, which really and truly leaves me with just enough time to say the following:

Reaching out to your best prospects one-on-one is a very underused tool.

But it’s only likely to be practical and profitable once you’ve laid the ground work of building relationship, stirring desire, and changing minds, which is what daily emailing is all about.

If you’re not writing daily emails yet, or even if you are, but not very consistently, then I can help you either start the habit, or stick with it and be consistent. For more info:

https://bejakovic.com/deh

Reader warns me against being a Negative Nancy

March 1, 2025 by John Bejakovic

A long-time reader replies to my email yesterday:

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Hey John

First – as I stated in a couple of my previous replies to your emails – I love reading yours. (I am subscribed only to two daily newsletters and one is yours)

It gives that chill vibes and interesting reading type of feelings.

And since, I like reading your emails and planning to do so as long as you write, wanted to share with you that today’s email brought a feeling of negativity (it could be me only though).

No intention to judge, just sharing the impact of your email left on me.

===

I’m not 100% sure what this reader meant to convey. If I’m reading into it, I guess he meant that negativity is negative, and negative things are negative. “Don’t be a Negative Nancy,” that kind of thing.

And yes:

It’s good idea to keep your emails light and positive. And yet…

It’s a better idea to change things up from time to time, to keep people from dismissing you by thinking they know what you’ll say next. And then…

It’s a best idea to be congruent, and to never sound like you’re trying to cover up your real thoughts or feelings, or come across as half-heartedly spinning scat into sucrose.