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We’re going through massive and disruptive upheavals all over the place, and of course copywriting is no exception. I’m seeing the need for a complete mindset shift to survive, thrive and even dominate in copywriting. It’s curious to me that the mindset shift is a return to the garden. I know that phrase means a lot of things, depending upon your background. What I mean by a return to the garden is, going back to basics. From the first glimmers of online marketing to the original Facebook analytics and now the unstoppable march forward of AI… ironically, all the non-human things those advances caused are being stripped away from the copy that gets results. What stands out is genuine human messaging, just like in a store or at a bar or at a Starbacks, one person talking to another. These days, more than anything else, that’s what works. With everything that’s happened, we need to make a conscious shift in mindset to get back to the garden and write the kind of copy that was working before all this technological intrusion started and messed things up. And that’s what I want to talk about today. Listen closely–it will make a big difference for you. If you’d like help shifting to this new mindset and developing the skills to go with it, check out my coaching program: https://garfinkelcoaching.com

As we return to our hit Old Masters Series segment, Copywriting 101, I’d like to let you know that the first edition of John Caples’s book Tested Advertising Methods was published in 1932–that’s 94 years ago! Caples updated the book more than once over the decades–the last edition was published in 1998. But the interesting thing is, over that 60 plus year span, the fundamentals remained the same. And they haven’t changed in the last 30 years, either. Just in the same way that storytellers still refer to Aristotle and scientists and engineers still depend on Newton’s three laws of motion, copywriters can reliably depend on the fundamentals Caples laid out. We are going to explore six more of them today. And if a little voice in your head is asking, “What the heck are we doing reviewing fundamentals?!”, let me remind you of what basketball legend Michael Jordan said: “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” RESOURCE Tested Advertising Methods, 5th Edition, by John Capleshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130957011

The future for copywriters and AI is pretty clear: AI will not replace copywriters. But… copywriters who know how to use AI will replace those who don’t. Sounds simple enough. However, once you get into it, you realize using AI to create copy that converts sounds easier than it is. And the question boils down to: How do you do it? I’ve been wrestling with that question for a couple years now, and I’ve found the answer. If you already know how to write copy without AI, there’s still some work involved to write copy with AI… but it’s a lot easier. If you really don’t know how to write copy, there are some things you need to learn… or help you need to get… in order to create copy that works using AI. Either way, there’s a path for you to be one of the copywriters of the future… one who knows how to use AI to write copy. That’s what we’ll talk about today. Finally, the best way to find out about the upcoming workshop where I’ll be teaching the five skills and how to get a superior competitive position is to make sure you’re on my Friday email list. If you get an email from me every Friday, you’re on it. Obviously. If not, go to https://persuasionstorycode.com And sign up at the bottom of the page. You’ll also get the first two chapters of my bestseller The Persuasion Story Code, absolutely free. And we’ll post the link in the show notes.

Once again we’re back to our Copywriting 101 segments in the Old Masters Series, picking up where we left off a couple weeks ago. This is about copywriting fundamentals. It never hurts to review them, and if you weren’t grounded in fundamentals to begin with, it’s never too late to learn what they are. One of the best sources of an expert list of the fundamentals is John Caples, in his book Tested Advertising Methods. There was nothing fancy or intellectual about what Caples said or did, and yet he was one of the greatest direct response copywriters of all time. So our Old Masters Series turns to the late John Caples for source material. Based on his book, we’ve put together a list of fundamentals that everyone should remember and practice. It’s easy to forget or get distracted by the latest shiny object, but ultimately, to win, you alwayshave to go back to the fundamentals. That’s what we’re going to do today. – Tested Advertising Methods, 5th Edition https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130957011

Let’s talk about something small. Very small. Small enough that most copywriters are forced tooverlook it, most of the time. Because we’ve all been trained to think in termsof big persuasive assets. The sales letter… the long-form VSL… the casestudy… the big story that carries the whole argument. And those still matter. But that’s not what most of us are writing mostof the time. Most of the time, we’re writing in tight spaces. Openings… transitions… subject lines… leads….things like that. Now, we think about those things, for sure. Weworry about those things. We obsess over those things. But rarely do we think thatwe have room to tell a whole story in those cramped, constrained spaces. Well, recently I’ve been workshopping a new bookcalled Microstories. It’s the next step of a new kind of story aftermy book The Persuasion Story Code. Microstories is a book about compressed persuasion. See, I kept noticing — in my own work and in thework of other copywriters — what I noticed was that sometimes, the smallestnarrative fragments were doing the heaviest lifting. Stories that were just one sentence. Or a mere two lines. And that small fragment would establish credibility…or soothe an objection… or even, shift a belief. All without announcing itself as “a story.” I’m going to share some of my early work fromthe new book today. Stuff you can use right away. My latest book, The Persuasion Story Code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ  

The big secret of success, whether it’s in investing… in professional sports… or in copywriting, is one in the same: A focus on, and a mastery of, the fundamentals. The legendary basketball player Michael Jordan put it this way: “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” We’ve never done a show that just focused on copywriting fundamentals, so what better time than now? And one of the best sources of an expert list of the fundamentals is John Caples, in his book Tested Advertising Methods. There was nothing fancy or intellectual about what Caples said or did, and yet he was one of the greatest direct response copywriters of all time. So our Old Masters Series turns to the late John Caples for source material. Based on his book, we’ve put together a list of fundamentals that everyone should remember and practice. It’s easy to forget or get distracted by the latest shiny object, but ultimately, to win, you always have to go back to the fundamentals. That’s what we’re going to do today. RESOURCE: Tested Advertising Methods, 5th Edition https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130957011

Our returning champion is Clive Cable, who was here a few weeks agotalking about his new book Neurocopy. As Nathan and I got to know Clive a little better, we found out he hasbeen doing a LOT with AI and copywriting that frankly we haven’t seen anyoneelse do. For example, he has a story-lede generator that comes up with a big idea for asales letter or VSL, and then writes a unique story lede to start the piece. Clive’s created a bot that writes like Gene Schwartz–but he only uses itto write the FIRST PART of a piece of copy. He has another bot that writesprobably the best kind of close he’s ever seen. And he’s taken research to a whole new level using AI. Beyond that, he’s taken the late Chris Marlowe’s brilliant 21 questionprocess for creating copy briefs, and automated it using AI. And there’s even more. Clive is putting together an agency to help copywriters and companies,using his suite of AI tools, to do one of four things: 1. Beat a control 2. Do in-depth research 3. Figure out why something’s not working, and 4. Write brand-new copy, right out of the box. We’ll talk later about how you can reach out to Clive if you’d like tofind out more about what he’s doing. But for now, you might want to know Clive got started as a door-to-doorsalesman, offering home improvement products and services for as much as$25,000 a pop–and closing an amazing two out of every three people he talkedto. He’s also an experienced copywriter, and has generated over £40 million,which is over 50 million dollars, across 12 different industries. Clive also built a supplement company that generated £24,000 a month,selling products including colloidal silver, prebiotics and aerobic oxygen. We’ll dig into what Clive’s doing with his virtual AI copywriters. https://clivecable.com/

Dante Aligheri was a copywriter kind of guy. Rather than write in the stuffy, formal Latin which is what everyone else was writing in the 14th century, he wrote in the home boy people’s language of Tuscan.Dante’s masterwork was The Divine Comedy, and his last line was“L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle”Translated into English, he’s talking about Love–the kind of love that moves the sun and the other stars.Thus proving that even in medieval Italy, LOVE was recognized as the most powerful motivating force in the Universe.Yet, how do we tap into that in our copy and take advantage of this irresistible force.Today’s extremely special guest, Nathan, is here to tell you. Of course you already know Nathan extremely well as the co-host and producer of Copywriters Podcast.But today he’s going to step out of the virtual control room to tell you how to make your prospects fall in love and obsess over your offer, which is something you really need to know, once you think about it.Nathan's websitehttps://cultishcontent.com/

It’s a full-blown crisis. As if writing copy wasn’t hard enough, there’s a new demand falling on the plates of copywriters more and more.And while maybe it’s not fair, it IS real. And it’s important that you know about it, and know what to do about it.Good news. We’ve got just the person to explain what it is and how to come out ahead, looking like a million bucks and being a hero, whether you wear a cape or not.The crisis is one of Design. These days, just as more and more is being expected of copywriters on the word and strategy side, so is more being expected on the Design side.That doesn’t mean you have to be a full-fledged designer to get copy jobs. You don’t.But you do need to know your way around what a well designed ad or web page looks like.And there are details you need to understand and offer ideas about.And our very special guest today and returning champion, Lori Haller of Designing Response, is here to sort it out and straighten it all out for you.Lori works side by side with many of the greatest copywriters of our time to help create control-beating packages, for clients like Boardroom, Healthy Directions, Dr. Al Sears, Nutri-Health, KCI Communications, and Agora.She has coached clients around the world, and she is an in-demand speaker and trainer.I’ve only scratched the surface of Lori’s incredible and long list of credentials. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more or who has done more.Her company, DesigningResponse, based in Germantown, Maryland, has built a reputation for creating award-winning, sales-generating direct mail, online promotions, space advertising, and product development.She knows from up-to-date information in the field what are the new demands and expectations being placed upon copywriters. And she will talk about that today.Lori’s website:https://lorihaller.comReach Lori directly on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-haller-b2840717

These days people talk about neurochemicals a lot. Chemicals like dopamine, and cortisol, and the love chemical, oxytocin.I’ve always wondered how these chemicals are affected by copy, and how much it matters.So imagine my surprise when I discovered what our very special guest was doing! His name is Clive Cable, and he’s not only written a book about this, he has a complete system to evaluate copy based on the neurochemistry the copy will cause, and the buying behavior that chemistry will lead to.The book is called Neurocopy, and it’s the first systematic work I’ve ever seen that shows how copy stimulates certain chemicals, and how those chemicals make people want to buy.Clive is a trailblazer with his pioneering work. But I want to make it clear that he’s not some ivory tower guy sitting in a white coat in a lab measuring blood levels of dopamine and endorphins with a clinical chemistry analyzer.No, Clive’s one of us. He got started as a door-to-door salesman, offering home improvement products and services for as much as $25,000 a pop–and closing an amazing two out of every three people he talked to.He’s also an experienced copywriter, and has generated over £40 million, which is over 50 million dollars, across 12 different industries.Clive also built a supplement company that generated £24,000 a month, selling products including colloidal silver, prebiotics and aerobic oxygen.All of which to say that nothing he says about the process of buying and selling is theoretical. He’s lived it and he lives it.And he’s a great salesperson!I can also say that after I read through his book, I started to feel the effects of cortisol, which is a feeling of high stress, right before high-stakes events, and the effects of endorphins, which is a feeling of relief and satisfaction, after those events ended well.There’s a lot more to all this, as we’ll find out today.Link to get Clive’s new book, “Neurocopy”https://www.lulu.com/shop/clive-cable/neurocopy/paperback/product-w4qjdmn.html

We’re really at a crisis point for a lot of marketers.It’s not just that ads keep getting more expensive.It’s that it just gets harder and harder to get and keep prospects’ attention.And with everything being engineered and optimized by AI and CRO, stuff ends up looking more and more the same. And that only works against you.You know you need to stand out–but how?Well, the best way to get and keep attention is, and always has been, a story.But how long is a story?I mean, a Hero’s Journey story can take hours.And even the type of compact tales I introduced in my book The Persuasion Story Code can take two to three minutes. That’s not very long, but at a time of shrinking attention spans, it’s still too long.Now, you can try using outrageous hooks. But in addition to shrinking attention spans, you’re also fighting against rising levels of skepticism and outright distrust.If you say something that gets attention but just isn’t believable, you’re still sunk.So, what would be ideal to solve this problem?It would be a persuasion story you could tell in 15 or 20 words.Impossible, you say?That’s what I thought until I really started working on it.One of my clients, Ari Nirsissian, helped me quite a lot in the development of my thinking and writing of these new kind of attention magnets, the one-sentence microstory.It really is a story. It really is persuasive.And it really is short!Just the right size for today’s attention spans.Today I’m going to show you, step by step, how I developed three of them… and how I combined them into one electric three-sentence paragraph, which takes less than a minute to read out loud.Resources:To find out more about my book The Persuasion Story Code, check out this link to the Amazon page:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQAnd to find out more about my coaching for experienced copywriters and business owners, go to:https://garfinkelcoaching.com

Today’s show is for every talented copywriter stuck in the feast-or-famine cycle of business and would much rather get paid well, to reflect the enormous value their copy is bringing to their clients.We have a very special returning champion on the show today, Dr. Harlan Kilstein. He has just released a book called Value-Based Copywriting. Originally presented in a $997 seminar, this material has changed the lives and of course careers of some very fortunate copywriters.This book solves the problem faced by thousands of copywriters–not getting paid for what their work is worth.Harlan is a renowned entrepreneur and copywriting expert known for his innovative approaches in marketing, mindset, and personal development.With decades of experience at the intersection of psychology, persuasion, and business strategy, Harlan has built a reputation for helping individuals and companies unlock explosive growth through compelling communication and breakthrough thinking.He’s also a former educator with a doctorate in education. And, Harlan’s a very successful copywriter himself and an expert in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and hypnosis.He’ll bring all of this, and more, to bear today. So you may want to take notes while you’re listening to today’s podcast. Lots of money-making information you will be able to use immediately.Harlan’s new book:Value-Based Copywriting: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GCCR64DCMy book The Persuasion Story Code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ

Life must have been at least a little frustrating for our Old Master on today’s show. His name was Walter Weir. He was a very active and successful copywriter and advertising professor, but he must have constantly run into resistance along the way, since so many of his ideas were ahead of their time. Walter Weir was born in 1909 and he died in 1996. He published a couple of books which are nearly impossible to find today. Maybe the publisher, my old employer McGraw-Hill, took them out of print quickly because the ideas were so far ahead of their time that they didn’t sell very well. I don’t know. What I do know is I was fascinated by his ideas. Here are 5 takeaways from an exploration of Weir’s writings and thinking, from today’s show: 1. Write copy that you truly believe, because people can feel it when you don’t. When you don’t believe it, your reader won’t either. And if your reader doesn’t believe it, they won’t buy. 2. Use words that people can FEEL as well as merely understand. Forget about clever word-plays. Say stuff they can feel in their bones. 3. If you’ve got a group going over the copy, write the copy yourself. By yourself. Just you. While a committee can review, only one voice can lead. 4. Forget about features and benefits. Instead, present a description of something someone would feel good about using. People don’t tend to buy just to HAVE something. They buy to FEEL something. 5. Cut everything that doesn’t sound like something a real person would actually say. Because unless it sounds like a human, it won’t reach one. Download.

If you’re involved in copywriting in any way, you know right now we’re at an inflection point. Things have been changing fast over the last two years, and show no signs of slowing down. People who hire copywriters tell me it’s harder than ever to find a good one… yet people who write copy for a living, many of them, tell me it’s really hard to find good-paying work. There’s clearly a disconnect. AI has a lot to do with it. The very definition of what a copywriter is, and what a copywriter does, seems very much in flux. Today I want to suggest five copywriting goals for 2026. These are based on how I was able to help my own mentoring clients solve problems and develop their marketability over the past 12 months. I work with established copywriters and business owners who use direct response, and what I helped them with on a very personal, customized basis would be a good idea for most everyone who listens to this podcast. Links: Copywriting Mentoring: https://garfinkelcoaching.com Persuasive storytelling: The Persuasion Story Code https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFD2KXNQ Download.

It takes a lot of courage and a lot of confidence to do what our special guest today has done… and that’s fire all his clients and start an email-based business. But Alin Dragu did just that, and he’s here to tell us about it. He’s the best-selling author of the book Meaningful Marketing, he spent 5 years as direct of marketing at one of the fastest growing churches in the US, and 3 years as the VP of growth at a Christian marketing agency. Alin is definitely a copywriter’s copywriter. He’s obsessed with reading novels and old fiction letters. And he admits he’s secretly obsessed with luxury watches, something Nathan’s a collector of as well. Finally, in case you end up taking Alin to dinner, which probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, you should know he says he’s never refused a steak, ever in his life. Now, here’s what we asked him: 1. So Alin, could you give us a quick tour of what you do? 2. I’m very interested in your S-L-O framework that you use to write all your emails. Could you walk us through that? 3. So as I understand it, your funnel works something like this: - you make youtube videos that promote your lead magnets - when people get the lead magnets, of course they opt-into your list - every day you send one, and I quote, “very entertaining story” while also plugging one of your products - and you get sales every day. I was wondering if we could go through one of those stories and you could break it down for us–like, say, the “I spent $613 on coffee” story? And talk about what makes a great story? 4. You are in a very email-list-dependent business. How do you deal with the issues that come with that, like trolls, unsubscribes, and delivering content every day? 5. You need to come up with a new idea every day. How do you do that without running up against burnout? 6. OK, you do something a lot of people are afraid to do. It’s something Nathan and I strongly recommend, though. Tell us how you sell in every email and get people to keep opening the next email? 7. So tell us about who your list is for and how someone can join. -- Link to get on Alin’s list: https://alindragu.com/ Download.