This is the most revealing letter I’ve ever written. I’m going to share some secrets with you today that I would normally only reveal to my private clients.
If you want to look behind the curtain and see how influence is really done – keep reading.
But first, here’s a story that’s all too familiar. Tell me if you can relate.
You stare at your computer screen in disbelief.
Zero sales. That can’t be right.
You refresh your Stripe account for the 3rd time. Still no sales.
Your palms begin to sweat. You can feel your shoulders roll forward as your chest begins to tighten. Your anxiety builds. Your breathing increases. You can’t focus. Every fiber in your body wants to run away. Yet you remained locked in your chair, praying for a miracle.
You poured everything you had into this latest promotion. You followed all the ‘expert’ advice. You spend months creating your offer and preparing your followers for this day.
It was supposed to be the day all your hard work paid off. Yet here you are.
Your mind begins asking questions you can’t answer:
Why is my marketing not working? Why won’t they buy? Why does it feel like the world has conspired against me to destroy my business along with my self-esteem?
You need a break. So you do what we all do. You escape to social media where you find a steady stream of braggarts who can’t stop talking about all the success they’re having.
What stings most is you know you’re as good, if not better, than all your competitors. Yet while their status and influence grows, you suffer in obscurity.
While they’re making millions, you’re living hand-to-mouth.
And the worst part? You have no idea what you’re doing wrong. Much less how to fix it.
Today I want to create clarity out of that confusion. But first let’s discuss…This is the most revealing letter I’ve ever written. I’m going to share some secrets with you today that I would normally only reveal to my private clients.
If you want to look behind the curtain and see how influence is really done – keep reading.
But first, here’s a story that’s all too familiar. Tell me if you can relate.
You stare at your computer screen in disbelief.
Zero sales. That can’t be right.
You refresh your Stripe account for the 3rd time. Still no sales.
Your palms begin to sweat. You can feel your shoulders roll forward as your chest begins to tighten. Your anxiety builds. Your breathing increases. You can’t focus. Every fiber in your body wants to run away. Yet you remained locked in your chair, praying for a miracle.
You poured everything you had into this latest promotion. You followed all the ‘expert’ advice. You spend months creating your offer and preparing your followers for this day.
It was supposed to be the day all your hard work paid off. Yet here you are.
Your mind begins asking questions you can’t answer:
Why is my marketing not working? Why won’t they buy? Why does it feel like the world has conspired against me to destroy my business along with my self-esteem?
You need a break. So you do what we all do. You escape to social media where you find a steady stream of braggarts who can’t stop talking about all the success they’re having.
What stings most is you know you’re as good, if not better, than all your competitors. Yet while their status and influence grows, you suffer in obscurity.
While they’re making millions, you’re living hand-to-mouth.
And the worst part? You have no idea what you’re doing wrong. Much less how to fix it.
Today I want to create clarity out of that confusion. But first let’s discuss…
What Does it Mean to be an Alchemist of Desire?
Despite the rosy picture most people paint about entrepreneurship, running a business is hard.
That’s what freedom is. It’s hard.
Most people say they want more freedom and control over their lives until they get it. Once the stress and overwhelm sets in they start looking for the eject button.
If you own a business you know the kind of stress I’m talking about. You’re constantly beating back feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. You face rejection constantly while trying to maintain a sense of optimism.
And it doesn’t take long for you to realize that there is a lot of catch slogans about entrepreneurship that aren’t true.
- The best product DOESN’T always win.
- Just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come.
And what’s the biggest truth about business that nobody talks about?
Whatever business it is that you think you’re in; You’re really in the marketing and the sales business.
The hardest thing you will ever do in business is to find someone with both the DESIRE and ABILITY to buy from you – and then convince them to do it.
When it happens it can feel like alchemy.
At first you don’t know how it works or why. You might think it’s the quality of you product or the level of service you provide your clients. But that has nothing to do with it.
Sales don’t happen because your product or service is better. They happen because you do a better job of explaining that value to your prospects.
It’s How You Create Magic in Your Business
Every great alchemist knows you need a bit of magic to turn lead into gold. In the world of business that magic power is called copywriting.
Whether you’re writing an email, a social media post or a script for your next Youtube video…
EVERYTHING you create for your business is ‘copy’. That’s why it’s the one skill you can’t ignore.
Great copy acts like a magnet. It draws in your ideal prospect. It helps you build trust and authority. It lowers their defenses and increases their desire for your product or service.
Literally everything you do to bring in money to your business hinges on your ability to communicate your value. And every marketing or sales message starts with you putting words on paper.
And NEVER forget,
It’s Real Hard to Go Broke With a Steady Stream of Qualified Leads Showing Up Every Day
In the last 30 days I’ve added 912 new subscribers to my email list.
The leads came primarily from people subscribing to this newsletter. The rest came from one of my free lead magnets.
That’s 912 new people who are now in my circle of influence.
Many of them will become clients of mine. Some will simply read my newsletters and apply what they learn. A few will get massive results and become advocates for my coaching program.
I’ve learned the most profitable skill in business – How to build a list of qualified prospects and convince them to do business with me.
Unfortunately…
Getting Qualified Leads Today is Harder Than It’s Ever Been
Today we live in an age of abundance. Every movie is available on-demand, every product…just a few mouse clicks away. Information is abundant and mostly free.
Reaching your ideal prospect is easier than ever. But simply showing up isn’t enough anymore. Your prospects aren’t just apathetic. They’re downright indifferent.
Every day your prospects get hit with 6,000 – 10,000 promotional offers. From banner ads to TV commercials to that 22-year-old “life coach” on social media.
Your prospects are looking for a reason to ignore you. Every communication is met, not by an attentive and interested audience but an apathetic consumer looking for the exit.
If you want your marketing to stand out you must become an alchemist. You must learn the skill of copywriting. Let me show you one framework you can use to make sure your message always has maximum impact.
As the great copywriter Gary Bencivenga once said, “We’re trying to play catch with our prospects, but they’re playing dodgeball.”
Here’s Exactly How to Get More Leads and Make More Sales
1. What is the Objective?
What do you want your communication to accomplish?
Do you want to:
✦ Attract the attention of your ideal client?
✦ Deepen the connection with an existing client?
✦ Make a sale?
✦ Gain acceptance for a position or idea?
✦ Increase Loyalty?
✦ Create advocates who will defend you in public?
Knowing what you want to achieve is the first step in improving your skills as a communicator.
2. Answer the Big 4 Q’s
Who is Talking? Why are You Talking Now? Why Should They Listen? Why Should They Keep Listening?
Who is Talking?
During this phase of the offer you must work to clearly establish your:
- Authority/Celebrity
- Credibility
- Affinity
- Likability
- Personality/Voice
This is harder than it seems. You have to be able to talk about yourself while still making it relevant to your audience. Nobody wants to sit and listen to you talk about how great you are until they know what’s in it for them.
In my Copy Clinic this year I’ll be teaching you 3 strategies that will allow you to do this.
Why Are You Talking Now?
This is your first step in creating urgency. Your prospect needs to know what has prompted you to reach out to them now. There are plenty of reasons you could choose from. Here are a few.
- A recent change or upcoming event – Having a baby, buying a home, going on vacation.
- An approaching deadline – Graduation, tax day, marriage.
- A new breakthrough or discovery – A new report or study released, hacking the Youtube algorithm, a new investment product for seniors.
- Outrage or Attack of a Common Enemy – Election fraud, sports team caught cheating, corporate exec indicted.
To make this easy I created a 12-month Calendar that lists several events each month that you can use to answer the question, “Why are you talking now?” Just reply to this email and ask me for it. I’ll email it over to you.
Why Should They Listen?
If you don’t explain why your audience should listen to you they’ll quickly lose interest and move on. Here are a few things that will hook them in and hold their attention.
- Link your authority/credibility to relevance and urgency
- Your unique qualifications
- Secret Information (we want to believe secret information has been kept from us)
Why Should They Keep Listening?
Don’t assume that once you have their attention you’ll keep it. You must continue to maintain the intrigue to keep them engaged.
The easiest way to do this is using what’s called an open loop. It’s a process of posing ideas or questions that aren’t immediately answered. A good alchemist knows how to layer a series of open loops into their copy to hold their audience’s attention.
There are at least 2 in this letter. Can you find them?
Attendees of my Copywriting Clinic this year will be learning this technique by creating a series of open loops for their offer.
And Here’s the Real Magic
If you’ve ever seen a magician work you know their secret lies in what ISN’T seen. The sleight of hand, the misdirection. A great magician never reveals his secrets.
Lucky for you I’m not a magician. So here’s all the alchemy in this letter you didn’t see…
Part of the reason for this letter is to promote my Copywriting Clinic happening November 17th & 18th . You probably noticed the two plugs I gave earlier.
But I doubt you saw all the subtle copywriting techniques I used to hold your attention this whole time. So here they are…
I opened with a bit of intrigue, promising to reveal secrets I would normally only share with my top clients.
Once I had your attention I created an open loop by refusing to share the secrets right away. Instead I tell a story – One I knew would cut like a dagger to the heart of the perfect Copy Clinic attendee.
At the end of the story I opened another loop when I wrote:
“Today I want to create clarity out of that confusion. But first let’s discuss…”
At this point, your mind needs to resolve two questions that have been left unanswered.
But I needed to connect the title of today’s letter to the subject of copywriting. So I talk briefly about what it means to be an alchemist of desire.
Next, I made a declarative statement to make sure I had you focused on the right thing. I said:
“It’s Real Hard to Go Broke With a Steady Stream of Qualified Leads Showing Up Every Day”
This is what’s known as a Reframe. Entrepreneurs blame their business woes on a variety of things. I don’t assume everyone reading this will understand that all their problems would be solved with more qualified leads. By making this simple statement I focus all your attention on one solution.
But I’m not done yet.
After identifying the problem and providing the solution I wanted to create some additional pain. So I reminded you that:
“Getting Qualified Leads Today is Harder Than It’s Ever Been”
I can’t have you thinking it’s easy to get leads, (as if you would ever think that)
So I provide some proof. I explain how the increase in demand for our attention has made it harder to reach an indifferent audience.
This also plays on one of the 7 Psychological Switches we all have: The Need for a Scapegoat.
No one wants to admit their copy sucks. Or that they’re a terrible communicator. They need someone (or something) to blame. I was able to do that while still reinforcing the need to improve your copywriting skills.
That is no small feat!
Finally, it’s time to share some knowledge and close one of the loops I opened. That’s when I laid out the Big 4 Framework.
I shared a template with you for improving your communication. If you’ll use it every time you write it will dramatically improve the results you get from your copy.
But I still have one more loop to close. The first one.
I needed to share the secret with you. I needed to pull you behind the curtain and show you just how much work goes into becoming an influential writer.
You see, copywriting isn’t a creative exercise. It’s an engineering exercise.
Let me give you one more example from this letter that illustrates my point.
Odds are you didn’t read this letter from top to bottom. Most likely you skimmed the letter first. That’s what we all do.
I wanted to make sure that as you skimmed you became more and more intrigued. So I used a technique called, “The Sales Letter Within a Sales Letter.”
Go back and reread all the sub-headlines of this letter. Better yet here they are in order.
“What Does it Mean to be an Alchemist of Desire?” “It’s How You Create Magic in Your Business”” It’s Real Hard to Go Broke With a Steady Stream of Qualified Leads Showing Up Every Day” “Getting Qualified Leads Today is Harder Than It’s Ever Been” “Here’s Exactly How to Get More Leads and Make More Sales” “And Here’s the Real Magic”
If all you did was skim the letter you still got the gist of what I’m talking about. And each sub-headline builds on the intrigue and begs you to start reading from the top.
That’s what I mean when I say copywriting is an engineering exercise.
Once you learn these techniques you can use them without your prospects ever realizing it.
Had I not shared them with you today you might think this was just another helpful newsletter. You’d assume that the growing desire in your belly to attend the Copy Clinic and become a master communicator was of your own making.
Now you know the truth. You simply met an ‘Alchemist of Desire’ who shared a few of his secrets with you.
Talk soon,
P.S. I hope I didn’t overstep this week. I firmly believe that copywriting is the closest thing to magic powers that we can have as humans. It’s the one skill that’s made me the most money in my life. Today I wanted to share some of that magic with you. I hope you enjoyed it.
P.P.S. See how I used the last sentence of this letter to tie the entire letter together? That’s another technique to ensure your audience leaves feeling satisfied.
P.P.P.S. 90% of people will read the P.S. before the letter. Don’t neglect this area. It’s a great way to create more intrigue.
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