High-Level Copywriting Insider Info

Wouldn’t you love to have a confidential chat with a copywriter working at the highest levels of our business? Well, we can’t provide the confidential part. This IS a podcast, after all, not a Signal chat. But today’s guest, Cain Smith is on the front lines of some of the biggest businesses using direct response. So we can provide the copywriter working on the highest levels of our business part. Cain’s client list includes real estate giant Grant Cardone, financial publishing giant Agora Financial, fitness and nutrition giant vShred… as just three examples. His experience spans infoproducts and ecom, low-ticket and high-ticket, long-form and short-form funnels. And we got him to come on to tell us what he’s noticing at the cutting edge. Because his observations, when put into action, can mean more money in your pocket. But I wouldn’t think of asking Cain a thing until I first reminded you that Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. Here's what we asked him: 1. Since you've got your finger on the pulse at a pretty high level these days, what would you say is the one big change in copywriting that most people aren't aware of yet? 2. How did you get started in copywriting, and how did you end up where you are now? 3. What have you noticed about e–commerce and how does this present opportunities for direct-response copywriters? 4. What’s going on these days with long-form VSLs? 5. What are some modern sales formats that are working better than old-school long-form VSLs? 6. What are some simple testing strategies copywriters and marketers are using successfully? 7. Where do you see direct-response copywriting heading in 2025? To contact Cain: [email protected] d.]]>

It happens to all of us, and can you remember a time where you wondered: “Is this really good copywriting? It seems like what I should write, but somehow it’s not clicking.” Here’s why you wonder. There’s a well-known saying from the Navy SEALs: "Under pressure, you don't rise to the level of your expectations, you sink to the level of your training". That goes far beyond the world of the Navy SEALs, of course. It’s true in all of life. Well, one thing I don’t think we’ve taken a good enough look at it: As copywriters, how were we trained? I don’t mean for copywriting specifically. I mean for writing at all. See, how you were ORIGINALLY trained to write can easily override what you know you SHOULD do as a copywriter. We’re going to take a good look at that today, and see what we can do about it. What we cover in today’s show: School-style prose clearly informs readers but doesn’t motivate immediate action. Remember: your goal isn’t to describe things—it’s to prompt your readers to act now. Journalism, blogs, and content writing focus on entertaining or informing readers without directly driving immediate responses. Don't just guide your reader through the facts; clearly show them exactly what to do next. Technical and scientific writing deliver clear, factual instructions but lack urgency. Don’t simply explain—combine facts with emotional appeal to inspire immediate action. Corporate or military writing provides structured, formal information but rarely persuades readers to take quick action. Drop the formalities; clearly invite your readers and give them a reason to act immediately. Traditional advertising-agency writing builds emotional connections and brands but often delays immediate response. Remember John E. Kennedy’s words: “Advertising is salesmanship in print.” Keep your copy action-oriented, clearly instructing your readers exactly how and when to respond. d.]]>

Our special guest today, John Jantsch, is going to tell you about what could be the single most valuable sentence you have in your business for getting clients and customers. John’s the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller Duct Tape Marketing, as well as three other books. Now when John talks about “core,” I’m pretty sure he’s not talking about your abs, lower back, and hip flexors. No, the single most valuable sentence John’s referring to is your core message. That’s something he also calls your “talking logo.” John says, “Like a traditional printed logo, a talking logo is a tool that allows you to communicate verbally the single greatest benefit of doing business with your firm. “A talking logo is a short statement that quickly communicates your firm’s position and ideally forces the listener to want to know more.” And at the end of the day, that’s exactly what every business wants, isn’t it? John also trains and licenses small business consultants around the world, so you’ll definitely want to hear what he has to tell us today. Special offer for both marketing consultants and business owners: https://dtm.world/growth d.]]>

You could have written the greatest copy in the world. Perfectly targeted with a killer offer. Great price. Unique and highly desirable. But I can tell you one way it is guaranteed NOT to work. And that’s if nobody reads it. Don’t laugh; it happens. There are a couple more than a dozen crucial things you must know and consistently DO to make your copy as easy to read as possible. Most people know some of these things. Very few people seem to know all of them… or at least USE all of them consistently. Which is a shame. Because every little thing that makes your copy even a little harder to read ends up costing you sales, more often than not. Today, we’ll show you how to put a stop to this. Here’s a preview of what we'll talk about: 1. Use short sentences. 2. Keep your paragraphs short. 3. Use bullet points for lists 4. Use short subheads and lead-ins. 5. Use simple language. 6. Write in the active voice. 7. Cut out extra words. 8. Highlight key phrases (bold or italics) 9. Write like you’re having a conversation. 10. Write directly to the reader. 11. Use numerals for numbers. 12. Use Morse Code (ellipses and long dashes) 13. Front-load what’s important. 14. Replace complex descriptions with simple ones. d.]]>

Ever get frustrated with what happens when you try to get an AI to write something? According to Google Workspace Labs, the average prompt people give an AI is nine words or less. Nine words! The AI needs a lot more information than that to do a decent job for you. But the question is–what information? Today, we’re going to take a look at how AI goes so very wrong for so many people—and give you some proven ideas on what to do about it. -- Here’s a great general model for prompts, which has been shared in social media by Open AI President Greg Brockman: Here's the attached image transcribed into text form: >>The Anatomy of a Prompt<< Goal I want a list of the best medium-length hikes within two hours of San Francisco. Each hike should provide a cool and unique adventure, and be lesser known. Return Format For each hike, return the name of the hike as I'd find it on AllTrails, then provide the starting address of the hike, the ending address of the hike, distance, drive time, hike duration, and what makes it a cool and unique adventure. Return the top 3. Warnings Be careful to make sure that the name of trail is correct, that it actually exists, and that the time is correct. Context Dump For context: my girlfriend and I hike a ton! We've done pretty much all of the local SF hikes, whether that's presidio or golden gate park. We definitely want to get out of town – we did mount tam pretty recently, the whole thing from the beginning of the stairs to stinson – it was really long and we are definitely in the mood for something different this weekend! Ocean views would still be nice. We love delicious food. One thing I loved about the tam hike is that it ends with a celebration (Arriving in town to breakfast!) The old missile silos and stuff near Discovery point is cool but I've just done that hike probably 20x at this point. We won't be seeing each other for a few weeks (she has to stay in LA for work) so the uniqueness here really counts. Now, what we’ve talked about today will get you to the next level with your AI prompting. But if you want to jump up to a much higher level, once again we’re going to recommend the AI Novus Copywriting Mastermind. Jason Parker has figured out how to get AI to write amazing copy, all kinds of copy, that requires very little editing. Complete email campaigns. Hooks for ads. Advertorials. Lists of compelling benefits. And that’s just scratching the surface. Nathan and I are both members, and Jason invited me to become a partner in the business. We meet every Thursday, and all the calls are recorded. You get ready to use AI agents when you join. It’s a terrific value. To find out more, just send an email to [email protected] She’ll be glad to walk you through what’s available and answer any questions you may have. d.]]>

Do storytelling skills REALLY make a difference for you? Just ask our special guest today, Parker Worth. Parker decided he had enough of high school at 16. His first job was cleaning toilets. From there, he went to electrician school and, after a few years, got a job traveling around the world as an electrician. But his own story really starts to take off when he discovers social media. That led to this advice for him: “Just hop on Twitter.” At first, not much happened. But one day he got a powerful idea: Put the story of his life so far into a thread. He says, “I published it. I went to sleep. And woke up with millions of views and messages.” Today, Parker has nearly 44,000 followers on TwitterX, more than 20,000 on LinkedIn, and multiple six-figure businesses. One of his biggest secrets is his discovery of what makes certain social media stories, news stories, and ad stories stick. He’s shared that with us today. Here’s what we asked him: 1. What are some of the most common mistakes you see with people telling stories online? 2. How can you tell a story in one sentence? 3. What frameworks do you use to tell stories about your clients, or stories about your client’s clients? 4. What is digital storytelling, and why is it so important? 5. The internet is busier than ever before. So how can someone’s business cut through the noise? 6. Do you have a step by step process to write stories on any social media platform that get millions of views? 7. Could you tell us about your Mad Scientist Research Course? Parker’s contact info: Email: [email protected] Social media: X: https://x.com/worth_parker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parker-worth-120380270/ Newsletter: https://parkerworth.com/page/facebook-ads-v2/newsletter/ Course: https://parker-worth.mykajabi.com/mad-scientist d.]]>

Today we’re talking about three new ways to use ChatGPT for copywriters and business owners, and another development from another company which is a lot lower priced than ChatGPT’s a month for its premium service. We’ll also talk a little about some other specific ways to use OTHER AIs, but a lot of our focus is on ChatGPT. Now, to be clear, I wasn’t all that hot on ChatGPT 18 months ago. But in the AI world, 18 months is more like a couple of decades. Things have changed and definitely gotten better with ChatGPT. Particularly, in the last few weeks, the introduction of two new versions: Operator, and Deep Research. Now, at $200 a month, the combination of these two new services is 10 times as expensive per month as plain old ChatGPT. But if you need to get a lot more done more quickly in certain areas, they could definitely be an asset for you. We’ll go in depth on three ways to speed up key valuable tasks today. Recap: Try Operator for… Segmenting your list, based on what they’ve done before Coordinating social media posting Collecting and analyzing customer feedback Try Deep Research For… Thorough competitive analysis SEO and keyword strategy Finding content opportunities Try AI Brainstorming For Coming up with content ideas Coming up with email ideas Coming up with social media ideas Call to Action: Find out more about the Chat GPT Operator/Deep Research upgrade and see if it’s worth it for you. d.]]>

One meeting of the minds reigns supreme above all others in copywriting–and that’s when the copywriter understands and addresses the same thoughts that are most pressing in the minds of their best prospect. Our returning champion today is the incredible Caleb O’Dowd. He was here a few weeks ago when he told us some closely guarded secrets from his book “Monetization: How To Optimize Sales Funnels and Skyrocket Back Ends.” Caleb has worked in some of the toughest and most competitive industries in the world, and he has repeatedly launched and scaled businesses up to seven and eight figures - all through the smart use of great copy and strategic sales funnels. But what was behind the thinking and the copy that went into those promotions? Smart research–something Caleb knows quite a bit about. Although he a legend in his own right among insiders in direct response marketing, Caleb has the rare distinction of having been mentored by the late Gary Halbert, one of the greatest copywriters of all time. Today Caleb will give us some highly important tips and insights regarding research. Probably a few valuable things you’ve never heard before. This is going to be a powerful 30 minutes, so make sure you’re listening closely and ready to take notes. Caleb’s book, Monetization: How To Optimize Sales Funnels and Skyrocket Backend Profits. Get it Here d.]]>

One of the greatest insiders in direct response today is not primarily a copywriter, but a graphic designer. Actually, our returning champion Lori Haller is a designer… and so much more. She 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. Today she’s going to share some of her secrets for using design to get better conversions from your copy. Here is what we asked her: 1. You are well known for saying “Copy is King, Design is Queen.” Could you talk about that? 2. Help us understand the importance of what needs to go at the top of a sales page. What are the key elements and the reason for designing that way? 3. Could you walk us through what you do in your three-part copy review. (take your time and be as thorough with this answer as you like) 4. I’ve heard that you have an approach where the design can force the reader to go through the copy in a certain sequence. How does that work? 5. How do you match images with the people who will be reading the copy? 6. As a designer, what do you do to get into the prospect’s head? 7. Summing up, what are the top three or four things a copywriter should know and remember about the role of design? RESOURCES Lori’s website: https://lorihaller.com Lori’s videos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-haller-b2840717/details/featured/ d.]]>

27 Years Ago, pop singer Cher asked us this question: “Do you believe in life after love?” … and it promptly rocketed to the top of the charts, selling 11 million copies of the song. Today, in 2025, a better question—especially for copywriters—is “Do you believe in sales without belief?” It’s a question our returning champion today, Billy Broas, has thought about a lot, and mastered the answer to. And he’s written a book about it, which I highly recommend and we’ll talk about later in the show. Billy has led a very interesting life. He’s a beer brewer and beer judge. In fact, he started teaching cohort-based courses online 11 years ago, on, wouldn’t you know it, beer tasting. But he has also done a lot in marketing, advising top entrepreneurs and working in more than 100 niches, including such unusual ones as vegan fitness, Kundalini yoga, and machine learning. He has some unique and valuable perspectives on marketing and copywriting, which everyone should know about. I’m also proud to say Billy was my mentoring client, way back when. And since then he has been successful in so many ways. But before we hear what he has to say, I think you should hear what I have to say: Copy is powerful. You’re responsible for how you use what you hear on this podcast. Most of the time, common sense is all you need. But if you make extreme claims... and/or if you’re writing copy for offers in highly regulated industries like health, finance, and business opportunity... you may want to get a legal review after you write and before you start using your copy. My larger clients do this all the time. 1. How has studying argumentation changed the way you approach copywriting? 2. How do the tools of philosophy, like syllogisms, help in structuring better marketing messages? 3. What is a valid and sound argument, and why should copywriters care about these concepts when crafting their copy? 4. What is the biggest mistake content creators make when producing free content? 5. How does the Belief-Building approach tie into the Five Lightbulbs? 7. Tell us about your book Simple Marketing For Smart People Billy’s book, Simple Marketing For Smart People: The One Question You Need to Win Customers without Gimmicks, Hype, or Hard Selling https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1MQZXP Bill’s previous podcast about his 5 Lightbulbs model of marketing: https://copywriterspodcast.com/index.php?podcast=1398 on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTvfcB12CRk d.]]>