Secret #5
The Most Valuable Skill You’ll Ever Learn
“Every product has a unique personality and it is your job to find it.”
Joe Sugarman
The most valuable skill you’ll ever learn is copywriting. People ask, “Is it worth learning how to write copy, or should I outsource it to somebody else?” The answer is yes. You need to do both.
However, I think Gary Halbert said it best.
“. . . Which brings me to a crucial point. If you are in need of truly world-class copywriting, you’re probably going to have to learn to do it yourself. You see, the few of us who really can do it, write copy that sells, are so much in demand, you can’t even think about hiring us unless you’re willing to spend an arm and a leg. Even then you’ll still have to wait in line.”
One of the greatest copywriters in history is telling you to learn how to do it yourself. Why? Because it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg and you’ll have to wait forever to get that copy back from the copywriter.
Why should I learn to write sales copy when I can outsource it?
We all need to get good at writing sales copy for several reasons. The first one is speed. If you need it fast, it’s expensive. It’s one thing to hire somebody to write a sales letter for you when they can fit it into their schedule and you get it in two to four weeks. But when you say, “Hey, I need a sales letter by next week.” They respond, “Okay. Here we go. That sounds great. I’ll be glad to charge you my next week prices.”
The second reason is you don’t want to be held hostage. Whenever somebody else is doing a critical business task for you, you are held hostage, even if they’re benevolent. They have control, and there’s not much you can do about it. Also, if you’re not good at writing sales copy, you don’t know if their copy is good or not.
The third reason you need to get good at writing sales copy is to make changes on the fly. Sometimes it takes longer to explain the corrections you need somebody to make than to do them yourself. From my experience, no matter what you get back from a professional copywriter, you’ll have to make changes. Whether they are giving you their first draft, their third draft, or their fifth draft, you’ll have to make changes. They don’t know your business. They don’t know your niche audience. They don’t know your product. They don’t know everything as well as you do. You’re still going to have to work on it. Oh, and it will cost you more money to get somebody to rewrite something that’s not working.
When you hire somebody to write copy for you, they’re going to write copy for you. Is that sales copy going to work? You won’t know until you run it. Whether it works or not, you have to pay them. You better know whether copy’s good or not if you’re going to hire somebody. We’ll talk more in another chapter about how to hire somebody to write copy for you.
When it comes to good sales copy, you need to be able to create it. You need to be able to recognize it. You need to apply copywriting principles in everything you do. You can’t isolate copywriting as a skill you don’t need to develop, recognize or access. You will need a sales letter. You will need a video sales letter script. You will need ads. You can’t say “I don’t do copywriting. I’m the owner of the business. I’m the author, the creator and the manager of this whole process.”
You need to create great copy because being good at sales copy helps you with content creation—speeches, webinars, Facebook Live, everything you’re going to do. The ability to create copy spills over into all these areas and helps you sell more.
Develop A Copywriting Mindset
A copywriting mindset is a dual thinking path. Let’s say you’re doing a Facebook live video and you’re talking about the three things, or the three ways, or the big secret to this or that. Suddenly, you’re getting to the end. While still talking, in the back of your mind you’re thinking, “It’s time for the close. Now I need to say something to invite them over here to do this. Let me give them a benefit and then let me give them an invitation statement.” I know what you’re thinking, “Damn, Jim, will I be able to do that?” Yes, you can! You can develop the discipline of the copywriting mindset and do it on the fly.
For instance, when teaching you about sales copy, I might close with: “Those are the three reasons why you have to get good at copy. By the way, if you want a cool shortcut to create amazing headlines, I invite you to check out Funnel Scripts at funnelscripts.com . We have a really cool 60-minute training you can watch where we teach you 3 great secrets about copy. Also, you can see a demo of this amazing, push-button tool that gives you over 50 different copywriting hacks for everything from sales letters, to headlines, to bullets, to video sales letters, to stealth closes and more. Go ahead and check it out.”
That is what you need to be able to do. How do you develop this copywriting mindset?
You can’t think, “I don’t need to know anything about sales copy because I can outsource it.” That’s stupid. I know it’s wrong to call your customers stupid, but you probably won’t have read this far and still be thinking that. I’m not calling you stupid; I’m calling the other people stupid. It’s us against them, which by the way is a cool secret.
You need to be good (or at least proficient) at sales copy first, then you can choose which jobs you do and which jobs you outsource.
It’s all about knowing how to apply those principles and being able to use them that makes a huge difference in your business. If you want to get good at copy, I’ll tell you the best way to get good at copy fast. It’s like getting good at pull-ups or getting into shape.
First, you have to commit. Second, you have to practice. Third, you have to do it every single day . . . even when you don’t feel like it. It’s not something you turn on and off. It is something you become. You have the copywriting mindset. That’s how you do it. It’s commitment, practice, and doing it every single day.
Commit to getting good at it. Then do it and practice it. Before you can be great, you have to be good. Before you can be good, you have to be bad. Before you can be bad, you have to try. You have to do something. Then you need to pay attention to and measure your results. What’s working and what’s not? It’s just like with working out. I can tell you for the last six years every rep, every push-up, every mile down to the second how long it took me to run each one and the total number of exercises, circuits and everything else. Why? You have to be able to measure your progress and results in order to improve your results moving forward.
Next, you do what works and stop doing what doesn’t. The only way you’re going to know the difference is to do a bunch of it. The great thing about the web, social media, and cheap traffic, you get feedback not in weeks, not in months, not even in days. You get feedback instantly whether what you’re doing is working or not. This is a fantastic opportunity to get good at copywriting just because you can get so much feedback so fast.
Study people who are doing it well. Look for mentors. These are people who teach you in print, in books, and through live coaching. It’s just like working out. When I committed to getting in excellent shape, I found the best coach I could find to help me accomplish my objectives. Navy SEAL, Stew Smith, trains people to go into the special forces—Navy SEALs, Green Berets, MARSOC / Raiders, and Air Force Pararescue.
He coaches me to this day. When I started working out, I could do only one pull-up. Now I can do 33 pull-ups in a row, which somebody would tell you for a 50-year-old guy is almost impossible. It’s the same thing with writing copy. You have to learn to flex those muscles. You may not be capable of writing a million-dollar sales letter yet. But, with enough practice, you can create a million-dollar sales letter faster than you think possible.
The other way to get good is to learn with your wallet. I’m not telling you to spend a ton of money on courses on how to write copy. I want you to pay attention to the copy that either makes you spend money now or in the past. Think about it. If the copy in someone else’s funnel, video sales letter, or Facebook video makes you spend money, you need to dissect that. You need to learn which sales messages work on you and why.
Here’s the reality. We are members of our own target market 999 times out of 1,000. Either you are a member of the target market you are going after, or you were a member of the target market you are trying to help. If the copy makes you spend money, it’s good copy. You need to pay close attention to it.
How long does it take to become an expert at copywriting? It’s a lifelong commitment. It doesn’t just happen. You don’t reach that point where you’ve “arrived.”
I’ve met some copywriters who are “masters.” They’re egotistical and give off the aura, “Don’t talk to me because I’m cool.” It’s a bit of a turnoff. Mastering copywriting is a never-ending process. You don’t get into shape and then decide you don’t need to work out for the rest of your life. Within a month of eating nothing but bonbons, beer, cake, steak, and all those other things, you could undo years of hard work.
Even though it’s a process of developing and keeping that copywriting mindset, you can hack the process. Here’s how: do it in stages. You don’t need to master everything. But you need to do certain things in a specific order.
First Step: Become great at creating headlines.
Shameless plug: FunnelScripts.com will help you create amazing headlines in about 15 minutes. You can spend weeks and months developing your swipe files, or you can plug your content into the swipe files and wisdom of the ages when it comes to headlines using Funnel Scripts. The choice is up to you. The number one copywriting skill you must have to become an expert is to get really good at headlines. We’ll spend more time on headlines in the next chapter.
Second Step: Become good at writing bullets.
Why do you need to write good headlines and bullets? Because every single piece of copy you will write will have a headline. The first words people see on a page, the first words you speak in a video sales letter, the title of your posts on Facebook, all use the principles of compelling headlines. Bullets that describe benefits or arouse curiosity create pressure in people to get them to take the action you desire.
In a Chapter 9 I’ll give you the ultimate bullet formula, but we won’t go over that now. When you write compelling headlines and bullets, you will jump far ahead of your competition. It’s almost pathetic what an advantage you’ll have.
Then you need to get really good at calls to action and explaining and framing offers. Become good at copywriting in this order. You might think you need to get good at explaining your offer first. No, you don’t. If your headlines suck, nobody will pay attention to your offer (or even see it).
However, if your headline grabs people’s attention, if your bullets build pressure and create curiosity in people, if your call to action is compelling, then your offer can suck, and you’ll still make a lot more money than if your headlines suck and everything else is perfect. That’s why I tell you to do this in stages. That’s how you’re going to quickly become an expert and develop that copywriting mindset.
Summary:
Resources:
FunnelScripts.com —get free training and access to software that helps you get all of your sales letters, scripts, and webinars slides written (in under 10 minutes) without hiring an expensive copywriter!