Persuasion

How to properly toot your own horn on Upwork

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A while back, I was lurking in the CopyHour Facebook group when a post caught my eye.

By the way, CopyHour is a course offered by Derek Johansen.

It’s a structured take on Gary Halbert’s idea of neural imprinting — basically, copying out successful sales letters by hand each day.

Anyways, the post in the CopyHour group was by a guy going through the course, and trying to get started on Upwork as a sales copywriter.

He was asking for feedback on his profile overview statement. That’s the description about yourself you put on Upwork to tell potential clients about yourself. The trouble is, copywriters, especially new copywriters, mistake this for an opportunity to display their copywriting skills.

That’s exactly what this guy did.

He wrote a long, conversational post.

He tried to make the skeleton dance (“I’m new and inexperienced but that means I’ll work extra hard”).

And he even used a “secret” lead.

In my opinion, this is not the right way to toot your own horn as a sales copywriter on Upwork. So I responded to this guy with my thoughts, which might be relevant to you as well if you’re starting on Upwork:

1. Don’t be clever. There are good clients on Upwork but they are outnumbered by people who need miracles for under $50. To me it seems your description would appeal more to the second group than to the first.

2. Don’t apologize for starting out. The majority of people offering services on Upwork are incompetent to begin with — odds are, you’re already better. Instead, tell potential clients in detail what you will do for them, and give them reasons to believe you will deliver (beyond just trying hard).

You see, Upwork is basically a B2B platform.

People who are searching for freelancers on there already have a pretty good idea what they need. They just want to make sure you’re it. And that’s why fancy copywriting tricks that are designed to suck in prospects from cold traffic will only get in your way.

Instead, I think it’s much better to be direct with your Upwork self-description.

Yes, there are some tricks to making your description stand out, and making it more convincing. Though it’s more about putting on your marketing hat, rather than your copywriting hat.

Anyways, if you want to find out what these tricks are, and how I used them to write my own Upwork profile, you’ll be able to read about it in my upcoming book on the business of Upwork freelancing.

I’m planning to finish this book by the end of the month.

And if you want me to notify you when it’s out, simply sign up below:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork-book-notification-list/

How to influence the President of the United States to take action

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President Ronald Reagan put his index cards down and looked around the room.

“Has anybody else seen this movie?” he asked.

His National Security advisors shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. Nobody else had seen WarGames, the Matthew Broderick movie that was weighing on Reagan’s mind. So the president described the plot:

A teenage hacker randomly dials numbers using his 1980s computer modem.

He gains access to a military supercomputer.

He starts playing a game with it, not realizing that the computer is connected to the entire nuclear arsenal of the United States.

And he comes within a thumbtack of initiating World War III.

“Could something like this really happen?” Reagan was asking.

Nobody knew.

So General John W. Vessey Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would look into it.

One week later, the general returned with the report. “Mr. president,” he said, “the problem is much worse than you think.”

Long story short, Reagan set a process in motion that culminated with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 3 years later. This is still the main piece of legislation on the sensitive topic of hacking.

But here’s the thing.

How did General Vessey come up with that report within just one week?

Well, it’s because a group of scientists working within the government were already concerned about the very same issue. Analyses had been done. Papers had been written. And the outcome of all this well-researched and deliberate data was:

Nothing.

Crickets.

Instead, it took a Hollywood movie, which Reagan watched for entertainment, to get anybody to act.

That’s the power of a story.

It’s become a cliche to say that our brains are wired for stories.

But that’s because it really appears to be true.

Nothing seems to convince, entertain, and move us quite like a story.

Nothing even comes close.

Anyways, if you want more on the topic of stories (and weight loss supplements), take a look at for my upcoming book.

It will talk about stories, and how to use them in your emails to sell health products.

The book is free if you sign up to get a copy now.

Here’s the link with more info:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

AI summer is here

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Back in the 1980s, artificial intelligence faced a cold, barren winter.

Funding became scarce.

Researchers started abandoning the field.

And critics piled on, saying that the big promises AI was supposed to fulfill did not and will not happen, ever.

Well, the winter is long gone.

And summer seems to be here.

I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I don’t feel like playing chess with you any more

I just read a fascinating and frightening article that confirms it.

DeepMind, an artificial intelligence lab owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, has come up with a new little program called AlphaZero.

AlphaZero plays games.

Things like Go and chess.

The thing is, it doesn’t need any human help.

You don’t have to teach it, train it, or tweak it to the specifics of the game.

You just tell it the rules.

And within a few days time, the thing learns how to play on its own.

How good is it?

Well, within three days, this Skynet embryo taught itself to play Go.

And it then beat another DeepMind program, which made history earlier because it beat one of the best human Go players on the planet. (This earlier program required months of training and hand-holding, unlike AlphaZero.)

Now Go isn’t real life.

It’s not even poker.

But just wait.

I’m sure the guys at DeepMind are already working on it.

You might think I’m bringing this up because I’m afraid DeepMind and AlphaZero are coming for our copywriting and marketing jobs.

That’s not it. (When Skynet arrives, who’s gonna care about advertorials any more?)

Instead, I think this story is a good illustration of an important and valuable principle. The idea is this:

Creating something new will often sweep away hard and narrow problems.

AlphaZero has been designed to play any game, and incidentally, it learns to play better than any human-designed program that plays just one game.

As in AI, so in persuasion. It just might be described using different words.

For example, copywriting and marketing experts Matt Furey might say, “Stop solving problems. Create instead.”

Daygame guru Jon Matrix might say, “Play to win, don’t play not to lose.”

However you say it, I think it’s an important idea to keep close to your heart at all times.

In my own experience, it seems to have a magical ability to guide you to easy (or easier) success.

Anyways, enough about Skynet.

Back to more earthly things.

Such as weight loss supplements, plantar fasciitis insoles, and kidney disease ebooks.

If you sell any of those — or something like them — you might be interested in my new book. It talks about email marketing for the health space, and it brings together some lessons I’ve learned by writing copy for those exact products above.

For more info:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Romancing the story

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Diane Thomas was working late one night at the Coral Beach Cantina on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Even though Thomas had a degree in business from UCLA and a background as a copywriter, she was now working as a waitress.

Tonight, she  was just about to close up.

And that’s when he walked in.

Handsome.

Confident.

Famous.

Michael Douglas.

Douglas was already a big deal in Hollywood at this point, both as an actor (The China Syndrome, Coma) and as a producer (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest).

So Thomas rolled up her apron and took her shot.

You see, just like everybody else in Hollywood, Thomas had written a movie script.

So she approached Douglas and she pitched him on it.

Long story short, Douglas bought the screenplay off her…

Produced the resulting movie…

End even starred in it.

I just watched it. It’s called “Romancing the Stone,” and it not only made Douglas an even bigger star in Hollywood, but it also transformed Thomas’s life (and even led to her death, but more on that another time).

But here’s the thing.

The above story — specifically, the late-night restaurant meetup — is most likely made up.

Yes, there is a legend that says that’s exactly how it happened.

But the truth seems to be that, in spite of being a waitress, Thomas actually had an agent, who shopped her script around town for just one week, before Douglas snatched it up .

In spite of this impressive true story, the accidental cafe meetup seems to sell better.

Now, I recently wrote how “the accidental discovery” is a powerful story motif, which seems to be stronger than whatever truth it was based on.

The “chance meeting” motif, like in the story of Diane Thomas, seems to be something similar.

It’s something to keep in mind when you’re writing to persuade an audience.

Or when you are thinking of how to present the history of your product or service.

Anyhow, on an unrelated note, I am still romancing my book on email marketing for the health space.

If you want to get a free copy when it’s out, you just have to sign up (no casting this time). Here’s the link:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Scientists confirm the seductive power of this hidden button

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A new scientific study out of the University of Reading confirms:

Deep inside the human mind, probably shaped by millions of years of evolution, there is a hidden and very powerful button.

If you can reach in and press this button, you can seduce almost any person.

You can get them to act against their own interests.

You can even get them to willingly expose themselves to physical risks. In fact, in the scientific study I mentioned, people were willing to risk electric shocks when this mental button was pressed.

And what do people get in exchange for all this pain and misery and risk they take on when this button is pressed?

It’s not their physical needs that are satisfied.

It’s not money, or status, or validation they will get.

Instead, the gains are trivial, meaningless, and passing.

What’s more, the poor seduced person whose button has been pressed knows this up front, and still allows for the seduction to happen. That’s because — and this is what this study was all about — it seems this button activates the same brain area as physical hunger. It blocks out everything else, and focuses our motivation on just this trivial goal.

And here’s the kicker:

This button isn’t hard to press. It can be done without talent. Almost mechanically. Over and over, dozens of times a day.

If you’ve read this post carefully, you know what the button is and what I’m talking about. I’ve even written about it on this blog earlier.

And I’m going to write about it some more. As you can imagine, pressing this button is a great way to get people to buy — and to enjoy buying.

That’s why you can find out all about this big red button, and how to press it over and over, in my upcoming book:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Secrets of the dead magus

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I read today that Ricky Jay is dead.

It was strange to read, because I’ve spent a lot of time this year reading about the man and watching videos of him performing. (I’ve even mentioned him on this blog before.)

While alive, Ricky Jay was (so the experts say) one of the best sleight-of-hand artists in the world. He could also turn playing cards into weapons, and throw them in such a way as to pierce the thick pachydermous outer layer of a watermelon. He was a historian of magic, an author of a dozen books, and a chronicler of bizarre or transgressive occupations, such as confidence men, bearded ladies, and mind readers.

I’m still waiting for my copy

And if you are interested in copywriting and persuasion, Ricky Jay was definitely somebody you could learn from.

Why?

My feeling is that magic, as practiced by top performers like Ricky Jay, is about controlling the audience’s attention, about painting mental pictures, about entertaining, about building curiosity, all the while guiding people to a tightly controlled desired outcome — the magician’s desired outcome. With some small tweaks, that also sounds like the job of a copywriter, or more broadly, any persuader.

So no pitching about email marketing from me today. Instead, I will leave off with an immoral anecdote about a time that Ricky Jay asked for advice from one of his idols and mentors, Dai Vernon:

“Professor,” I protested, “I really want to know how I can improve my technique and performance. I want to take lessons from you. I really want advice.”

Vernon smiled his patented half smile, and with a delicate movement of his eyes beckoned me closer. I leaned forward with anticipation, almost unable to contain my excitement, about to receive my benediction from the master. “You want advice, Ricky,” he said. “I’ll give you advice. Fuck as many different women as you can. Not the same one. Not the same one. Fuck many different women. Many different women.”

If you want to learn more about Ricky Jay, I can recommend the wonderful article that introduced me to the man, a New Yorker profile from 1993 titled “Secrets of the Magus.” Here’s the link:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/04/05/secrets-of-the-magus

Roger Federer offers a bit of negotiation wisdom

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Last night, Roger Federer lost in the semifinals of the ATP year-closing tournament.

This means that Federer, possibly the greatest player who has ever played tennis, still has just 99 titles under his belt.

Asked by a journalist whether he needs that elusive 100th title, Federer responded:

“I don’t NEED it. I will breathe air if not.”

It might sound as if Federer is simply debating semantics, or that he’s even a little testy after his loss.

That’s not what’s going on.

Here’s a bit from an interview earlier in the week when he was asked a similar question:

“Personally I’m still not thinking of the number 100. I won’t let that get in my head, make me go crazy because it should be something I’m excited about and not something I should feel extra pressure about.”

This exactly mirrors what negotiation coach Jim Camp says.

One of Camp’s main rules is not to get needy. In other words, don’t trick yourself into thinking you need something when you actually don’t, and when you have all the things (like air) that you actually do need.

There was a time when I didn’t fully get the importance of this.

“There’s no difference,” I used to think, “between really wanting something and needing it.”

If that’s how you feel now, I won’t be able to convince you otherwise.

All I can do is tell you that I noticed, personally, that needing something actually seems to take place in an entirely different part of the brain than wanting that same thing. It seems to be an entirely different chemical process, and an entirely different emotion.

In short, even though it might seem needing and wanting are closely related, in truth they couldn’t be further apart.

As Jim Camp himself wrote in his book Start with No:

“As a negotiator aspiring to excellence, you must, at all costs, avoid showing need. In order to avoid showing need, you must never feel it. You do not need this deal. But what happens if we simply substitute the word and the emotion ‘want’ for ‘need’? The dynamics change. […] ‘Need’ is death, ‘want’ is life.”

I doubt Federer read Camp’s Start with No, but he seems to have learned the same lesson on his own.

And even though he only has 99 titles to his name, it’s hard to say his focus on wanting instead of needing has left him with a lack of motivation or success.

Something to think about, whatever your chosen field is.

A special note if you happen to be in the health field and you want (not need) more effective marketing:

You might like my upcoming book on email marketing in  the health space.

Along with advice on actually writing emails and structuring email marketing sequences to sell supplements and health info courses, this book will also have a section on the mindset you should adopt to be successful in today’s marketing-saturated world — such as the Roger Federer/Jim Camp lesson above.

Anyways, if you’d like a free copy of this book when it comes out (I’m planning to sell it for $17 when it is out), put your red RF headband on, and sign up at the link below:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

The good, the bad, and the ugly of product names

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What’s in a name?

Quite a bit, my young Shakespeare.

I should know, having been blessed with an almost unpronounceable, unreadable name for all but a small part of this planet’s population (“John” is just my “professional” name).

As for people, so for products: names matter.

Yes, sometimes a great product can sell even in spite of an awful name (hello Psycho-Cybernetics).

But why not give yourself the best advantage by having both a good product and a good name?

Let’s look at some products I’ve bought in the last year to see what makes a good name:

“Quit in 6”

Buck Flogging’s course on making it with your own business. Buck says a good name will say what a product is, while a great name will say what a product will do for you. I guess he took his own advice.

“Email Client Machine”

Ben Settle’s product explaining how to get booked with clients using his email tactics. A good name in my opinion: it also says what it will do for you, and the word “machine” draws attention because it’s unusual in this context.

“Energy Blueprint”

Ari Whitten’s course on increasing your (physical) energy. There was a spate of these “blueprint” courses over the past decade. Today I think “blueprint” products have become cliche, putting this name into the good-but-not-great category.

“Dartboard Pricing”

Sean D’Souza’s product on how to set and raise your prices. It’s named after the methodology — how to set your prices — rather than the outcome. However, it definitely gets bonus points for the unusual, attention-grabbing term “dartboard.”

“Email Players”

This is Ben Settle’s monthly newsletter on email marketing. I think the “Players” bit is a reference to Gary Halbert and the way he used that word. If that’s true, then I don’t think this name is really about what the product will do for you… rather, it’s about the identity of the kind of people that Ben wants to assemble as his customers. Knowing Ben’s emphasis on building relationships, this would make sense.

So what makes a good name? I’d say you have two options:

Appeal to self-interest.

Or appeal to identity.

The decision will depend on what kind of clients you want to get, but that’s a topic for another day.

Either way, you get bonus points if you can make the name fresh (of course, without making it confusing).

Here’s why I bring all this up.

I’ve been playing around with the name of my upcoming book on email marketing for the health space (the ugly “Health Email Splash” has gone out the window).

Whatever the final name will be, the offer remains the same. If you sign up now, you can get a copy for free when it comes out. Here’s the link:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails

How to sell UFOs to skeptical, jaded audiences

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Last Friday, a British Airways pilot spotted something strange through her cockpit window.

She was flying from Montreal to London, and as her plane neared the coast of Ireland, she saw a bright light approach her plane — before seeing it veer off at great speed to the north.

“Astronomical, it was like Mach 2,” said a second pilot about how fast this mysterious light was.

To this day, nobody knows what this strange thing was.

Maybe, just maybe, it was a UFO. After all,

“UFOs spotted off Irish coast under investigation”

was the headline this story ran with, and it’s the headline that caught my attention this morning, so I can report on it to you now.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve written before how I like to haunt tabloid websites and sex forums and conspiracy theory Facebook groups.

That’s not how I found this particular story, however.

I actually came across it on Hacker News.

This is a news website where serious and professional nerds go to do intellectual battle with each other, submitting serious and professional stories (mainly about programming and business), and showing off their intelligence by writing comments that illustrate how nobody can make a fool of them.

And yet, the above story, flimsy UFOs and all, made the front page of Hacker News, alongside articles about new programming languages and $8 billion company exits.

What explains the success of this clickbaity story?

Well, I believe it was a combination of two things.

The first clearly being the curiosity-evoking power of UFOs.

But you have to remember that this story bubbled up among an audience of very left-brained, logical, skeptical engineers and computer programmers.

So there’s a second, more subtle, but equally crucial element that allowed this story to go viral.

And it’s something that can be used to sell as well as to simply draw clicks.

In fact, if you’re in a crowded, jaded marketplace such as weight-loss supplements, this second element is absolutely crucial.

I’ll discuss this second element in full detail in my upcoming book on email marketing for health products.

This book is not out yet, but if you want to get a free copy when I do finish it, you can sing up here:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails

Jim Camp and the desert kite

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Somewhere in the Middle East, there’s an area called the Black Desert.

Apparently, it’s a horrible place, dry and barren and inhospitable to life.

The Bedouins who knew this area best even called it Bilad esh-Shaytan — the Land of Satan. (It rather sounds like Mordor.)

Anyways, deep inside the Black Desert, there are these strange formations:

Low walls, made up of loose stones, which stretch out for miles at a time.

They were first discovered about a hundred years ago, by aviators flying overhead, who named them “desert kites.”

An ancient sales funnel in the Black Desert

For a long time, nobody knew who made these desert kites, or when, or why.

Scientists now believe they were used for hunting large herds of gazelles and antelopes.

The gazelle herds would come upon these walls.

And unsuspectingly, they’d keep walking along.

And walking.

And walking.

And eventually, they would fall into a man-made enclosure, where the locals would have their grisly way with them.

So what’s the point of all this?

Well, let me explain it with an anecdote from negotiation expert Jim Camp:

“According to family tradition, my great-grandfather used to say about one of the mules on his farm, ‘To get his attention you have to hit him between the eyes with a two-by-four. When you have his attention, he can see what he ought to do.'”

Jim Camp taught people how to win negotiations.

And one of the pillars of his approach was the idea that you have to create a vision of pain in your adversary’s mind in order to get a real decision or action out of them.

The trouble, however — according to Camp — is that people are not mules.

Meaning you can’t just blind them with the pain, the way his grandfather would do to the mule with the two-by-four.

Instead, you have to guide them along gently, allowing them a little bit of emotional respite, while still using pain to move them along to your intended destination.

So to sum up:

Yes, people aren’t mules.

But they might just be gazelles.

And in that case, your sales copy becomes a desert kite built out of your target audience’s pain, gradually leading them where you want them to go.

If you want to see how this can be done in practice with email, specifically for the grisly goal of selling health products, here’s where to go:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails