Copy Riddles

How to get Joe Biden to send you (or your grandma) a birthday card

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Did you know that:

White House greetings for anniversaries of couples married at least 50 years or for birthdays of people at least 80 years old can be arranged. Send name, address and date of event six weeks in advance to: The White House, Attn: Greetings Office, Washington, DC 20502-0039. Free. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-greeting

This new little fact lit up my brain when I first read. “I’ll be damned! Who knew?”

“Thanks for the tip,” you might say, “but so what?”

Well, so I can tell you the following personal fact, which might be relevant to you:

I first got interested in copywriting because of the promise of freedom and money.

But I managed to stick with copywriting for all these years — when I didn’t manage to stick with most other things for even a few weeks — because the actual work of copywriting caters to my nature.

The fact is, I am like a little ferret.

I’m a curious animal… I love to stick my nose into different things… and I get excited to find out I may in a few short decades be eligible to get a birthday card from the President.

And my point is:

There are many areas of life where none of this is any kind of asset. I mean, you don’t want your doctor, your financial advisor, or even your hair dresser to be easily distracted or addicted to novelty and surprise.

And yet, these things are definite assets if you are a copywriter.

So if you’re not a particularly curious person, then copywriting might prove to be a challenge and a slog, in spite of the other benefits.

On the other hand, if you are curious and a little ferret-like by nature, it can be a definite advantage in this business. It can lead you to success even if, like me, you’re not suited to much else.

But let’s get to business:

The White House factoid above is a sample of a source text at the heart of my Copy Riddles program.

Not all the source texts inside Copy Riddles are as novel or surprising as this one.

But still, many people who’ve gone through Copy Riddles have told me they enjoyed the source texts. Others said that besides getting copywriting skills into their heads, the Copy Riddles process was actually informative and fun.

​​Like copywriter Sonam Zahrt-Tenzin, who wrote:

CopyRiddles has absolutely lived up to my standards and far beyond.

It is helping me grow and understand the persuasive elements of copy on a level I didn’t anticipate being possible so soon. I would go as far as to say that I think most people should start learning about copywriting this way. I love how much thought you have put into your analyses and the solid examples that you tie theory back into.

(Also, the source texts are either informationally valuable by themselves or entertaining/amusing– so thank you for your good taste.)

It’s very kind of Sonam to say that, and it’s more boasting than I would usually do myself. So for the sake of good taste, let me wrap it up.

Copy Riddles is open for enrollment until this Sunday.

If you’re the curious type, and you’re curious for more info on Copy Riddles, then peek your little nose into the page below while there’s still time:

https://copyriddles.com/

Copy Riddles if you want ’em or not

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Today I’m reopening Copy Riddles for a few days.

This brief enrollment window will close this Sunday at 12 midnight PST. The actual Copy Riddles program will kick off next Monday, January 31, 2022.

If you are by chance already convinced that you want to join Copy Riddles, you can do that at the link below.

If you’re not convinced that you want to join Copy Riddles… or you don’t even know what Copy Riddles is… it might also be worth visiting link below.

Because that’s where I’ve laid out exactly what this program is. And I’ve built up my best case why Copy Riddles can quickly and pretty easily implant A-list copywriting skills into your head.

But perhaps you are certain you do not want to join Copy Riddles.

And perhaps you’re wondering where your lighthearted copywriting insight is for the day.

In that case, I’d like to tell you about the “super fun” tactic one elite copywriter has found to  keep his prospects reading past his lead… and ultimately buy. Yes, even in cases when his lead is a little weak.

If you’re curious about that, the answer is still to click the link below and read the page that appears.

So whether you’re highly aware… mildly unaware… or firmly opposed to the power and value of this program I call Copy Riddles… the only suggestion I have for you is to click below and take the next logical step:

https://copyriddles.com/

If they pirate, they pay attention

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Here’s a confession from a once-broke, today-very-rich Internet marketer:

I was living in an apartment that cost $250 a month.

And I had about a month’s worth of living expenses left.

So I couldn’t afford to shell out the $2k it cost to buy any of Dan’s courses.

So I did something I’m not very proud of these days – I went to the dark parts of the web and torrented his stuff.

I found his advanced sales letter course…

His Wealth Attraction course…

Lastly I downloaded his holy grail – Influential Writing – which in my mind is the greatest information marketing course ever made.

I went through all of these on repeat for months.

Anytime I was working, I’d be listening to a Dan Kennedy course.

Maybe you know who wrote this. It’s Justin Goff.

Justin wrote that email a couple years ago, the day the whole direct response world thought that Dan Kennedy had died.

Justin also thought Dan was dead. So he wrote an ode to Dan, and said Dan was his “greatest mentor.”

And I can believe it.

I can also believe that it was Dan’s stuff that helped Justin get successful. That without it, Justin might not have made it, at least not as quickly and as richly.

In the marketing world, it’s popular to say, “If they pay, they pay attention.”

It’s also popular to mock those who pirate, steal, and share paid content. Here’s a recent bit from Ben Settle on the matter:

These criminals all end up fetching peoples’ coffee or begging for change for a living eventually. Bums to the end. Irony is, if they spent half as much time working on themselves & a legit business as they do pirating products, they’d be multi-millionaires many times over.

Writing this makes good business sense for Ben.

But obviously, not everybody who pirates stuff winds up begging for change (see Justin above). And vice versa.

Many people who honestly pay for stuff get nothing from their purchase except the rush of handing over their money.

And in case you’re wondering what I’m getting at, let me tell you a personal story:

A few days ago, while surfin’ the Internet, I surfed upon a membership site that claims to have the recordings of the Influential Emails training I held last November.

I don’t know whether this site actually has a copy of the recordings and resources I shared with people after the training ended… or whether they just copied my sales page and are baiting people into handing over their credit cards.

And I don’t really care much to find out.

Because I feel I’ve done right by the people who paid to join me for Influential Emails. Those who joined me, who paid attention, and who end up implementing the ideas I revealed… will profit much more than what they paid me.

At the same time, I respect the fact that they gave me their money. That’s why I don’t entertain requests for free copies of my paid stuff… or even offer discounts on the current price.

But on the other hand, if there is somebody out there who does pirate my stuff… and ends up profiting from it also… well, I won’t set my hair on fire about it.

​​In fact, I imagine I will still somehow benefit from it, in some unseen or indirect way, somewhere down the line.

So my point for you is:

Pirate all you want.

No, wait, that’s not actually my point. My point is:

Pay attention to the good information out there, whether it’s available to you for free or whether you have to pay for it. And then — key point — put that information to work.

Or don’t. Because maybe you’re ok with fetching other people’s coffee. Of course, maybe that won’t happen to you.

In any case, let me make you a free offer right now:

My Copy Riddles program will be re-launching later this month. I’m trying to get a few more people to find out about it before it gets pirated and shared into oblivion.

And if you help me get the word out, I’ll give you something in return.

This free thing will only benefit you if you consume it… and then put it to work.

But if you do that, it could lead you to self-respect, ongoing client work, and thousands of dollars in your pocket. For the full details:

https://bejakovic.com/free-offer-niche-expert-cold-emails/

Things “worthy of compliment” in 12 of my competitors

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I recently finished reading a book called NLP about NLP by two NLP experts, Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner.

I’m interested in somehow patching a few Y2K-sized bugs in my own brain software, and so this kind of neural programming stuff is right up my alley and then through a little door.

Anyways, at one point in the book, Andreas and Faulkner advise the following:

“Find what’s worthy of compliment in your competition. Since you have been encouraging yourself to be complimentary to others, your senses have been opened and relaxed. You will have undoubtedly found yourself acquiring the skills of others without directly concentrating on them.”

Too easy? Who knows. I decided to try it out.

But then right at the start, I hit a snag. I had trouble coming up with my “competition.”

There’s nobody I really think of in that way. That’s the whole point of writing daily emails and creating unique offers like Copy Riddles.

But ok — ultimately, I am competing for people’s attention, for space in their inbox, for their hearts and minds, and possibly for their learning and growth dollars.

So I made a list of 12 such competitors. They all either write daily emails or have something to do with direct marketing.

For each competitor, I listed the first thing that came to mind — stuff they do, which I admire.

​​It turned out to be a surprisingly fun and eye-opening exercise. I suggest it to you — whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or freelancer.

Perhaps you’re curious about my list. You can find it below, with the names stripped out. After all, my goal today isn’t to name drop in bulk or to call people out.

But perhaps you can still guess who I have in mind — all are people I’ve mentioned previously in my newsletter. And here’s what’s worthy of compliment in each:

1. Willingness to get on camera regularly in spite of having the charisma of a bag of lentils
2. Community management
​3. High-priced offers
​4. A business built around a single core product that’s been running for years
​5. Emotional copy in spite of being very emotionally flat as a person
​6. Personality-based emails
​7. Writing fast
8. Surprising historical anecdotes
9. List building
10. Self-aggrandizement
11. A deep trove of personal experience and interests
​12. A really unique viewpoint

If you’re in the marketing and copywriting space, all these people will probably be familiar to you.

​​Except perhaps #8. He is well-known, but is not in the marketing space.

A​nd #12. He was once a direct marketer, but is today something… not quite definable. If you’re curious, I’ll tell you more about him, including his name, in my email tomorrow. You can sign up here to read that.

Superficial copywriting formulas vs. the meta level of writing copy

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I promise to pay off today’s headline long before the end of this post. But just for a second, humor me and imagine you’re high up in the mountains, far away from civilization.

The sun is starting to set behind the mountain peaks, and shadows are getting long. Cold air is streaming in from the pine forest that surrounds your camp. And maybe, just maybe, you think you heard a wolf howling in the distance.

“Time to build a fire,” you say with a little quickening of your step.

Luckily, there is plenty of kindling from the pine trees around you. All you need is a spark to get the fire going.

So you find a nice piece of flint. It’s about the size of a remote control and fits into your hand just as nicely.

Now in case you’re wondering what I’m on about, let me start paying off the headline. It’s related to a question I got a few days ago from Daniyal, who’s going through my Copy Riddles program. Daniyal wrote:

Can you talk about the meta level of bullet writing or copywriting in general?

Cause I realized that I was focusing more on the type of bullet I’m writing in the superficial sense like How to or a question or some other sort…

But going through the lesson I realized that you’re teaching us to focus more on the deeper level as in the promise bullet or the warning bullet.

It’s a good question. And my best answer to it is the above analogy of the piece of flint.

You take your piece of flint back to your camp. You gather your kindling. You kneel down, and you look at the flint in your hand. You turn it around and see many different faces and facets to it. Some dull… some shiny… some covered with a bit of dust and dirt.

You pick a facet that looks promising. And you strike it against another rock. Once, twice, three times.

But no fire. You just can’t get a spark to fly with that side of the flint.

So you look at your flint again. You bring it closer to your face. You move it further away. And you find another promising facet. Strike again.

But still no spark.

You try yet again. A third facet. It didn’t look great at first. But after you rub off some of the dirt and dust from it, you realize it might be the one. You strike it against another rock and —

Spark. Fire. Warmth and light.

And the wolves, which were gathering around your camp and starting to lick their chops… they grumblingly put away their forks and knives… and they start discussing where else to go for dinner tonight.

I guess you see what I’m saying.

Whether you’re writing bullets or any other copy, then your copywriting tricks… your “How to” formulas and “What never” templates… your power words like “secret” and “amazing” and “trick”… these are just the polishing and the rubbing and repeated striking of your flint.

It’s critical. But it’s never enough on its own.

So if you’re not getting a spark to fly, then turn your research and your source materials — your flint — around in your hand. Look at it from up close. From far away. And pick another facet to try.

Because if you don’t… well, then the hungry wolves of failure and indifference will soon sniff you out. And they’ll say, “You know what? That guy looks pretty stubborn. I have a good feeling about him. Let’s go there for dinner tonight.”

Maybe that won’t help you. Maybe it will.

But if you want some more meta-level ideas on writing copy… as well as occasional copywriting tips and tricks to help light that spark… then head over here to safety before it gets dark and the wolves come out.

2-year-old copywriter wants a deadline extension

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I’ve got an inspirational or perhaps sobering message for you today.

To tell you about it, let me first say that last week’s Copy Riddles launch was fantastic. Beyond all my expectations. It’s now time for people who signed up to see how I deliver on the promises in the sales letter.

But there’s one person who won’t see any of that. He wrote me about 3 hours before the deadline to say:

1. He only found my list two days earlier, so he doesn’t trust me.

2. He’s willing to give Copy Riddles a try since there’s a money-back guarantee.

3. He has read Gary Bencivenga’s Marketing Bullets. So unless he finds something new in Copy Riddles in the first few weeks, he will ask for a refund.

4. He’s been getting ready to start working as a copywriter for two years. If Copy Riddles gets him his first client, he will want to become an affiliate. Otherwise, again, refund.

5. Right now he only has cash on hand. He needs to go to the bank to deposit it. But his kids are asleep at home, plus the car is in the shop, and it’s near midnight anyhow. So he would like to sign up tomorrow, 12 hours after the deadline.

This reminded me of a girl I went on a date with once.

As soon as we sat down at the bar, she informed me that most guys are terrible — her last date put his hand on her knee. But she has a good feeling about me.

Then she launched into her education history (very smart)… work history (very successful)… current job (very important, yet underpaid).

She finished up her sales pitch by saying she is a great cook. In fact her father (she still lived at home) much preferred her cooking to her mother’s cooking.

She crossed her legs and she sighed. “I really feel like we have a connection,” she said with a smile. “When do you think we can meet again?”

On that date, as today, I glanced at the clock on the wall and calculated how many seconds separated me from safety.

Fortunately, the seconds today passed quickly enough. I closed down the Copy Riddles cart in time — at the exact time I said I would. I wrote back to the 2-year-old copywriter above. “The offer is now closed,” I said, “and it wouldn’t have been a good fit anyhow.”

So let me get to the sobering/inspiring thing I promised you:

Not long ago, I examined the things in life where I’ve succeeded. This includes copywriting.

“What were the common elements?” I asked myself.

There were three. I wrote about number one a while ago. I’ll tell you about number two today. It was this:

I had no other options. Maybe not in reality… but in my head.

And so it’s clear, this doesn’t mean I was shouting SPARTAAA as I charged off into battle. Or that I gritted my teeth and set fire to the boat that could take me home. Or that I staked my future first-born child on a lotto ticket… because “I’m all in.”

No, none of that.

Instead, all I had each time was a subtle and quiet voice, somewhere in the back of my head. I wasn’t even aware of this voice at the time. It whispered that the only possible way is forward. That I should focus my energy in looking for ways to succeed, rather than bracing myself against failure.

I’m not sure if this “forward only” voice is the only way to get what you want.

But I do know that every time I had the opposite of this voice in my head… like the guy above has about copywriting right now… every time like that, the end was always failure. A waste of time. A waste of money. A waste of emotional energy. It would have been better to recognize that early on and go do something else.

So that’s the sobering message. The inspirational message is this:

If you’ve got this subtle and quiet “forward only” voice whispering to you, or if you’ve got the self-discipline to cultivate it, then as Shakespeare said, the world’s yer erster.

There might be setbacks and humiliations and difficulties ahead. But you will succeed. At least that’s how it’s been for me, every time this blessed voice landed on me.

And on that note, I want to tell you about a book I won’t be offering much longer.

It’s my how-I-made-it-as-a-freelancer-on-Upwork book. I wrote it two years ago. It’s up on Amazon for a grand total of something like $5. And it’s got my best advice for the early years of being a copywriter, whether you’re on Upwork or not. Sometimes I still reread it, to remind myself of valuable client lessons I’d learned and since forgotten.

And like I said, I won’t keep this book available much longer. One reason is that the how-to info inside is underpriced by a couple of factors of magnitude. I’ve got other reasons too, and maybe you can guess them.

So to wrap up:

The book won’t go away today or tomorrow. But if you want to get it, I suggest you get it now.

Because if it’s gone, then no amount of “I was cooking spaghetti in the kitchen and so I couldn’t hear the deadline” excuses will work.

But if you’re working on that “forward only” voice, I guess I don’t need to tell you that. So let me just point you where to go for more information:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork-book

Deadline in the air tonight

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“You know the song by Phil Collins, ‘In the Air of the Night’
About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drownin’
But didn’t, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?”
– Eminem, Stan

I just found out that Phil Collins’s famous hit In The Air Tonight is not about a drowning that Phil witnessed. I thought it was for years, apparently like Eminem and millions of other people. But no. It turns out to be just an urban legend. Says Phil:

“So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, ‘Did you really see someone drowning?’ I said, ‘No, wrong.’ And then every time I go back to America the story gets Chinese whispers, it gets more and more elaborate. It’s so frustrating, ’cause this is one song out of all the songs probably that I’ve ever written that I really don’t know what it’s about, you know?”

I know, Phil. It’s gotta be frustrating. Still, it’s a hell of a story… and maybe you should have kept quiet about the bland real origin of the song.

But whatever. Phil can’t hear me. Maybe you can. So let me admit why I bring all this up:

In The Air Tonight has been playing in my head all evening long. In part, because it’s getting late. In part, because I don’t want to be accused, like that mysterious person in Phil’s song, of standing by and not lending a hand to a drowning man.

So here’s me, making a last effort to help you out:

The deadline to enroll in my Copy Riddles program is nearing. The cart will close in a few hours, at midnight PST.

Maybe you couldn’t care less and you’re just fine, right where you are. But if you have any interest in enrolling in Copy Riddles, consider this a lifebuoy I’m throwing you. To grab it and use it while there’s still time:

https://copyriddles.com/

More pie: How to sometimes get what you want, even if you can’t afford it

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Before he became a master copywriter, back when he was still a young man, marketing legend Claude Hopkins tried to get a better paying job.

And he tried to do it by talking about his poverty.

No dice. The boss wasn’t moved. He thought struggle and poverty were good for a young man.

So Hopkins admitted his true ambition.

He wanted to eat more pie. There was a boarding house that served pie every night, but he couldn’t afford to live there.

Turns out, the boss loved pie. He couldn’t bear the idea of a man being denied pie. What’s life without pie.

So he hired Hopkins, at a better salary, and even invited the young man to his home — to eat pie, of course.

I mention this because over the past week, a few people have written me to get free access to Copy Riddles. They cited their poverty and bad circumstances.

I turned them away. You can probably guess my reasons:

1. I like to get paid, and even people who are in bad circumstances can often pull together the money for things they really really want.

2. Letting in people for free because isn’t very cool to people who pay.

3. There’s a lot of truth to the idea that, unless you pay for something, you don’t value it.

You’ve probably heard all these arguments before. The only extra thing I can add is to suggest that, if there’s something you really really want, and you absolutely 100% can’t afford it, then talk about your lust for pie — or whatever your true ambition is — rather than about your poverty. It might open more doors.

That however, is not an invitation to write to me about your love of pie. It won’t get you an invite to my house for dinner, and it won’t get you into Copy Riddles for free.

In fact, nothing will get you into Copy Riddles for free, at least for this next round, which kicks off on Monday. But enrollment ends even sooner, tomorrow, Sunday night, at midnight PST.

So if you’d like to join and you can afford to do so… or even if you can’t afford it, but you can somehow scrape together the money because it’s really really important to you… then here’s where to go:

https://copyriddles.com/

Unavoidable price increases that leave you sick in your stomach

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“Who will ever hire me after this?”

When I started working as a copywriter, I was charging a mighty $15 an hour.

“No matter,” I told myself. “It’s shit money. But I won’t stay here for long.” Because I had a plan. After I completed the first five jobs, I would raise my rate to $20/hr. Then I’d be living large!

So the first five jobs came and went. I raised my rate. Nobody noticed. I still found work, even while charging more for the same.

After five more jobs, I raised my rate again, to $25/hr. This time, I felt a little uneasy. Still, nobody noticed. I found work at the new rate.

Things were going ok for a while…

But then, I did something that felt borderline illegal. 10 new copywriting jobs came and went. And that meant, according to the price increase schedule I’d set for myself, I should go from $25/hr… all the way to $40/hr.

“That’s like an $80k a year salary! For the same work I was doing only two months earlier! At less than 1/3 the rate!”

I was nervous. Almost sick in my stomach. “Who will ever hire me after this?” I thought. I imagined all the copywriting clients of the world folding up their arms… banding together in a picket line, and saying… “Enough is enough! $40 an hour! For clacking on a keyboard! Who do you think you are — Stephen King?”

But no picket line ever formed.

Instead, within the space of about two and a half years, I went from $15/hr to $150/hr.

After every price bump, I still got work. I ended up making more money. And I found better clients than I had been working with until then.

Today, I no longer have an hourly rate. But the point stands:

You have to raise your prices regularly.

And if you’re anything like me… and you’d rather work on developing your skills than on growing your business… then set an unavoidable price increase schedule for yourself. And then stick to it, without thinking, delaying, or wavering.

Because odds are there will never be a good moment, a moment where you feel worthy of getting paid more.

Of course, maybe this is not relevant to you.

Maybe you’re ready to get paid as much as you can, as soon as you can, and you have no mental blockages about that.

But if you are a little skill squirrel, the way that I am, then set a schedule for yourself. It worked great for me. And it continues to work great.

And on that note, I would like to bring the conversation gently to my Copy Riddles program… which is open for enrollment, at the current price, until this Sunday.

This is the third time I’m running this program.

Each time I’ve relaunched it so far, the price has gone up.

That’s because I have a simple strategy. “Did I make more money than last time?” Then up goes the price.

And since I made more money this time than last time, the price of Copy Riddles will go up again, the next time I run it, some time in early 2022.

I’ve got a feeling it will be worth it at that higher price also, and people will still buy.

In part, because other copywriting courses are still way more expensive, and people are buying those.

In part, based on the feedback I’ve gotten from people who have gone through Copy Riddles, who say it’s full of copywriting aha moments.

In part, because I know first hand the effort and thought I put into creating this program… and because I know I would have gotten value out of Copy Riddles earlier in my copywriting career, or even now, had somebody else thought to create it instead of me.

But none of that is really a proper pitch for Copy Riddles.

For that, check out the link below.

All I really want to say is that, if you’ve ever wanted to buy something, but the price shot up before you got it… leaving you feeling uneasy, or maybe even a little sick in your stomach… well, here’s a chance to save yourself from that feeling in the future.

Assuming that is, that you have interest in joining Copy Riddles. Enrollment closes this Sunday at 12 midnight PST. To grab it at the current price, or for more info:

https://copyriddles.com/

How I manipulated you, and how I might do it again

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It’s true. I shamelessly manipulated you. I might do it again. The worst thing is I’m so jaded I don’t think it’s a big deal any more.

I’ll explain everything. Let me start with this question I got two days ago, when I announced that enrollment for Copy Riddles is open again. A reader named Fanis wrote in:

I just read your entire sales page word-for-word and I love the concept!

The only thing that concerns me is you often talk about “getting away with extreme promises”, selling “uninteresting products”, “make up stuff”, and similar things. Now I am not against any of those, it’s just that my style of copy relies very heavily on bold honesty and staying away from over-hyping. Do you think Copy Riddles will still work for me? I really don’t want to be asking for a refund later (I’ve done it once and I hated it, because I hate it when they do it to me 😝)

It’s a fair question. Fanis is referring to these two bullets in the Copy Riddles sales letter:

* How A-list copywriters shamelessly make up facts and figures. Yep, they make up stuff, and you can do it too. It makes your copy more persuasive… and, as long as you follow what the A-listers do, the FTC won’t come a-knocking.

* The sneaky 7-word phrase Gary Bencivenga used to get away with making extreme promises. Gary was famous for providing proof in his copy… but this has nothing to do with proof. It’s pure A-list sleight-of-hand.

As I replied to Fanis, the objections he raises go to essence of what copywriting is. And that’s controlling attention and creating heightened emotions.

This means 1) stripping out details in your copy that don’t help your case (ie. not telling the whole truth)…

And 2) using reliable ways to get people more amped up than they would be normally.

That’s exactly what’s happening in those bullets above.

For example, it’s true that A-list copywriters sometimes make up facts and figures in a special way. But in every case I’ve seen of this technique, there was nothing devious or criminal about it. (Well, there was that Gary Halbert bullet with the “world-famous sex therapist”… but there’s a story behind that.)

In fact, the technique I’m describing in that bullet is worthwhile, solid, and maybe even unexciting. So of course, to sell that technique, I chose to omit those unhelpful details. And not only that.

I also chose to amp up the language and make it as dramatic as possible. “Shamelessly make up facts and figures.” What’s to be ashamed of, if you’re not doing anything criminal or devious? Nothing. Hence shameless, which is a powerful word to use in copy.

Because as you may have heard, people make decisions at an emotional level. Yes, you may have heard it. But you may still not get it, not deep in your gut.

So let me give you a second example, which might make you feel it:

Maybe you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Maybe not, had I written a less dramatic headline for today’s post. “How I heightened your emotions, and how I might do it again.”

“Sounds interesting,” you might have said. “Maybe later.”

That’s why I chose to use a more emotionally laden phrase. Manipulated you. It says much the same thing, but with negative connotations. And so, here we are.

Perhaps you’re inclined to shrug this example off. Perhaps you give me a free pass. After all, you’ve read halfway through this post already. Or maybe you kind of trust me.

But you shouldn’t discount what I did in today’s  headline. Because like I said, it goes to the essence of what copywriting is.

Like it or not, you’ve gotta poke, prod, jolt, shock, creep out, and unsettle people. You’ve gotta highlight what you want them to see, and hide everything else.

At least, that is, if you want to write sales copy… if you want to make decent money at it… and if you want to avoid struggling against the powerful current of human psychology.

Perhaps you’re not ok with that.

Perhaps, like Fanis above, and like me once upon a time, you’re still hoping you can write copy that “relies very heavily on bold honesty and staying away from over-hyping.”

If so, all I can say is godspeed. Maybe you will prove me wrong. Or maybe we will see each other again one day, after the market has broken your back.

But if you’ve made peace with consciously manipulating other people, both so you can 1) make money for yourself and 2) get solid, worthwhile, if unexciting solutions into the hands of people you’ve manipulated…

Then you’ll find that bullets are the #1 copywriting tool in more situations than you would ever believe.

And if you meditate on that sentence, you might be able to suck out a valuable persuasion lesson. But if you can’t get it, you can find it explained in round 6 of Copy Riddles, which you can sign up for until this Sunday, at 12 midnight PST. For more info on that:

https://copyriddles.com/