A-List Copywriter Marcella Allison breaks down one of her longest-running controls. As you may know, a control is a piece of copy you write once and that continues to bring in royalties until another piece of copy can beat its conversion rate. In Marcella’s case, the control we’re talking about has been running for 11…

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I have been known to say that I think customer avatars are bullshit. The reason is that most people approach it completely wrong. That’s why I was so excited to sit down and chat with Allison Carpio about her novel approach to finding and understanding your customer on the deepest level. This is a must…

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Over time, I’ve learned that certain phrases signal an impending disaster. Some of them sound innocent, but can reveal serious problems with the project, the client, or the product. I reveal them all (and what they really mean) here:   And just in case you forget, here’s all the phrases to watch out for (print…

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On this site, you’ll rarely see the words “always” or “never” But this is an exception. You should never go into a prospect call blind. You should always be prepared with both questions and comments about what your prospect is up to. And it doesn’t have to take long. Here’s how to create a “one-pager”…

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Often a client will write copy for you on a call. But getting every call transcribed was prohibitively expensive for me. That is until I found Rev.com. Check it out:

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There are a few basic questions I ask EVERY. SINGLE. CLIENT. Whether I’m writing short landing page copy or a 186-line-item launch sequence. This is the bridge between the admin and the creative phase. Before work starts, I need the following: Paid Invoice Signed Contract Market Research Survey This survey does a few things. First,…

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In addition to playing copywriter, I also occasionally play client. I hire writers for support on my projects, as well as on behalf of clients. I know what it’s like to be on the other side, and also that sinking feeling when you never hear back from a prospect. That’s why I put together this…

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“He who asks the questions controls the conversation.” This is one of those phrases that is said so much, we tend to forget its power. I once saw Jay Abraham do a live Q&A. It was incredible to me how he was able to get to the heart of the issue, oftentimes solving the problem,…

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Before adding someone to your calendar, get payment. This prevents booking the time and having a no show or cancellation. First send an invoice. Then, send an email with instructions. Here is a template for those instructions.  

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