I spent much of 2022 working with a company called Agora. (They’re still one of my clients.) They’re probably the biggest direct response publisher in the world — with revenues of around $1billion a year. Now, as you can imagine, you don’t get to that size by accident. You need to be doing some really […]
How Agora thinks about marketing Read More »
Right now, the copywriting world is obsessed with ChatGPT. It’s a chatbot that is pretty good at creating content. For example, I just asked it, “What’s the most important technique in copywriting?” It replied: “One of the most important techniques in copywriting is to focus on the benefits of your product or service, rather than
Should copywriters be worried about ChatGPT? Read More »
“As I stepped out upon the landing, my heart was already down the stairs.” Those may be the greatest opening lines in the history of pop music. They’re from the song Next Time Around, by Elvis Costello. And Elvis is a master of the opening line. Here are just a few of them… “Don’t tell
The Elvis Costello secret to opening an email Read More »
This video – which lasts five and a half minutes – is about an email sent by an 11-year-old girl scout. The email features 13 powerful copywriting techniques.Techniques you can use to increase the response to your own emails. After you watch the video – which is hilarious, BTW – I’ll walk you through those
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Chances are, you’ve heard about The Queen’s Gambit – a Netflix series about a female chess player. You may have also heard that it’s sparked an interest in the game. In fact, lichess – the #1 online chess site – has seen a 27% increase in players since the series debuted. So what’s this got
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About 12 years ago, there was a rumour. The rumour was that email providers – including Gmail and Yahoo – would start charging to deliver email. So, if you wanted to email someone, it would cost you money. Not much. Maybe one or two cents. But it would no longer be free. Among email marketers,
The 2 types of email marketers Read More »
There was an interesting discussion on Linkedin the other day. It was about how often you should email your list. A fellow copywriter (but not a fella’), Gwen Hutchings, said you should only send emails when you have something worthwhile to say. And I agree. But, at the same time, Lora Horn (another copywriter and
How often should you email your list? Read More »
“Ugh. Who’s going to read that?” It was Saturday morning and I had an idea for an email. Problem was, when I wrote it, it sucked. Fortunately, by using a copywriting trick, it was easy to fix. I’m going to show you the first draft, explain why it sucks, then show you the improved version.
A simple trick to fix boring emails Read More »