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In this episode, Raleigh Norton shares his incredible story of a skydiving accident (just a few months ago!), the lessons learned from adversity, and how intentional mindset shifts can transform your life and business. Discover insights on mastering craft, the importance of a clear 'why,' and navigating AI's impact on creativity. 00:00 The Skydiving Incident: A Life-Changing Experience 06:16 Lessons Learned from Adversity12:50 Raleigh Norton's Journey: From Hawaii to Scaling.com19:56 The Importance of a Proper 'Why' in Business 27:29 Transformative Mindsets: Learning from Life's Challenges 37:17 Transforming Challenges into Opportunities 38:05 Navigating the AI Landscape 39:58 AI's Dual Nature: Shadow and Light 44:38 The Role of Human Creativity in an AI World 50:19 Mastering Craft in the Age of AI 57:23 Building in Doses: The Path to Mastery 01:05:08 Believing in Your Potential CONNECT ON SOCIAL → instagram | / rayedwards → facebook | / rayedwardsonline → twitter | / rayedwards → tiktok | http://tiktok.com/therayedwards → linkedin | / therayedwards THE AUDIO PODCAST
Join Ray Edwards and Joe Barton as they explore faith, entrepreneurship, health, and the transformative power of trusting God through life's challenges. And yes - the $30M sales letter will be revealed! (Or is it - the $100M sales letter???). Discover how faith influences business decisions, health journeys, and personal growth in this inspiring conversation. CHAPTERS 01:14 Meet Joe Barton: A Journey of Faith and Family 03:02 The Birth of Barton Publishing and Its Success 06:08 From Ladybugs to Kidney Stones: The Start of a Business 09:01 Faith and Entrepreneurship: A Divine Connection 11:52 Health Challenges and Personal Growth 1 4:54 Childhood Context: A Story of Healing and Faith 23:41 The Impact of Family and Faith on Business 26:33 Current Business Landscape and Future Aspirations 30:35 Navigating Affiliate Marketing and E-commerce Challenges 33:52 The Impact of Advertising Changes on Business 38:19 Facing Financial Hardships and Tough Decisions 40:37 Shifting Perspectives on Business and Life 49:02 The Responsibilities of Wealth and Generosity 54:04 Building Temple: A New Venture in Health and Faith Barton Publishing - https://bartonpublishing.com/ Build Templ: Let Your Training Be Worship - https://buildtempl.com/ CONNECT WITH JOE BARTON ON SOCIAL → LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joebarton → Twitter - https://twitter.com/joebarton → Website - https://www.joebarton.com CONNECT WITH RAY ON SOCIAL → instagram | http://instagram.com/rayedwards → facebook | http://facebook.com/rayedwardsonline → twitter | http://twitter.com/rayedwards → tiktok | http://tiktok.com/therayedwards → linkedin | http://linkedin.com/in/therayedwards LISTEN TO THE AUDIO PODCAST
In this episode with speak with Robert Bly - author of The Copywriter's Handbook and one of the best direct response copywriters of all time - about how to write copy that sells, how to become a great copywriter, and how to find amazing copywriters if you need them.
If you're trying to market a product or service, chances are at some point you've wondered: - How do I get people to buy from me? - Which words will sell? - How can I write in a way that gets people to take action? - How can I write sales copy that works, but isn't sleazy or slimy? Or even - How can I write effective sales copy without losing my authenticity (and feeling like a slime bag?) In this episode, copywriter Zak Columber takes the mystery out of copywriting. Zak Columber helps online business owners earn more revenue through systematic customer research, well-crafted direct response copywriting, and authentic storytelling. His work as a marketing strategist and copywriter has driven over $6.8 million dollars in revenue to date. In this episode, Zak reveals some of his best copywriting secrets — minus the mystery, pretentiousness, and scammy vibes that you might get from other marketers. We cover: - How to inspire your audience to take action and buy from you, without resorting to sleazy tactics or making people feel worse about themselves - How to build trust with your audience - Why customer research is so important, and how to do it. (Hint: Zak offers a bunch of specific questions you can ask when talking to customers — take notes!) - Zak's #1 way to improve your marketing overall - Why copywriters can help — or massively mess up your business, and what you should know before hiring someone - The importance of active listening, and how it can set you apart from 95% of other marketers - A simple template for writing subject lines that will get people to open your emails. - Why marketing does not equal social media, and what you should do if your business relies heavily on social - How to connect with your audience AND make room for your own unique personality and style. (Yes, authenticity matters, even in marketing!) And when you're done listening, don't forget to grab the customer research bonus resources Zak mentions. Get them here: https://zakcolumber.com/blog/research-into-revenue-1 And here: https://zakcolumber.com/blog/research-into-revenue-2
Text Me A Question!Struggling to convert followers into paying customers? Discover the proven 3-step system to build a profitable online sales funnel that attracts high-quality leads and turns them into raving fans and loyal customers. Learn how to finally monetize your audience and scale your business to new heights in this episode!
Anita Anello shares her journey from a successful corporate career to homeschooling her children and starting her own consulting business. She discusses the challenges and benefits of homeschooling, the importance of support for working women, and how to overcome fear in starting a business. Anita emphasizes the value of community and mentorship, and provides insights on finding the right business coach. She also shares her favorite books and resources for personal and professional growth. Listeners can reach out to Anita for more information and connect with her through her website and free offerings. In this conversation, Anita Anello discusses the importance of building relationships and creating a profitable business. She shares insights on overcoming challenges and obstacles in entrepreneurship. Takeaways Homeschooling requires careful balancing of work and family life, but it offers the opportunity for intentional and meaningful education. Supportive communities and mentorship are crucial for working women to navigate the challenges of balancing work and family responsibilities. Overcoming fear is essential in starting a business, and having a clear plan and support system can help mitigate risks. Finding the right business coach is important for personal and professional growth, and it is essential to vet potential coaches based on their expertise, values, and track record. Continuous learning through books, podcasts, and other resources is key to personal and professional development. Building strong relationships is crucial for success in business. Creating a profitable business requires a strategic approach and a clear vision. Entrepreneurship comes with challenges, but perseverance and resilience are key to overcoming them. Anita Anello helps corporate women of faith in the tech industry who want to break free of corporate life and develop a consulting business by providing spiritual guidance and support as they transition in a new phase of their career. She offers practical advice and resources to help them establish and grow their consulting business, such as tips for building a client base, setting rates, and finding a healthy work-life balance as they work towards their goal of working 20 hours a week while making 2-3 times their previous income. Recommendations: Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan Atomic Habits, by James Clear How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards Contact Anita: Facebook: TheRippleAffect LinkedIn: Anita Anello Website: AnitaAnello.com (therippleaffect.net) Instagram: @the.ripple.affect LinkTree: the.ripple.affect | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree
In this episode, Jo & Vicky talk about improving your lead generation and getting in front of people who want your service, piquing their interest and persuading them to get in touch, so that you can turn them into customers. Jo & Vicky share how they have done that in their businesses. This episode will provide you with 5 simple tips that will immediately improve the effectiveness of your lead generation so that you can secure more business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Lead generation is essentially how you get new customers. Show your face. If you can, include a family picture. People want to know who they are hiring. Use your name, not just your business name. Look at your website from a client's point of view. Can they easily navigate it and find what they need? Making your qualifications and awards the focus of your website will not help potential customers find what they need from you. Remove the fluff and learn how to write copy that sells. Ask how people found you and focus on improving that lead source e.g. Google Maps and Facebook. Put in place prompting processes. That makes sure that you touch base with customers regularly. Ask for reviews and reply to them. Don´t ignore negative reviews. Jo & Vicky explain how to tackle them in a way that will help your business. BEST MOMENTS ‘When it is full of dog pictures, it actually turns people off, because there is no way for them to know who they are going to be working with. ´ ‘You really do have to start thinking about that customer journey.' ‘Identify your main traffic driver… ask where are people finding me?' EPISODE RESOURCES How to Write Copy That Sells - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Write-Copy-Sells-Step-Step/dp/B07VFQBXB7 SOCIALS https://www.tiktok.com/@letstalkdogbusiness https://www.youtube.com/@LetsTalkDogBusiness ABOUT THE HOSTS Meet Jo and Vicky! They bring a combined 25 years of expertise in the canine industry. Jo, with a background in corporate business, and Vicky, a dedicated advocate for rescue organisations, form an unstoppable team. Beyond the mic, their lives are a whirlwind – managing two successful businesses, pursuing a full-time university degree, and parenting two little ones under four. Each of their homes combined is a lively menagerie, housing five dogs and an abundance of chickens. PODCAST DESCRIPTION The ultimate hub for dog business enthusiasts! Join hosts Jo and Vicky as they unravel the entrepreneurial journey within the canine realm. This podcast delves deep into the business side of owning a dog business, spotlighting inspiring stories of individuals who've seamlessly woven their passion into a profitable lifestyle. Tune in for candid discussions on the human behaviour behind dogs, strategies to attract dream clients, and a behind-the-scenes look at Jo and Vicky's collaborative training ventures. Get ready for client interviews, tales behind the dogs, and insightful perspectives from actual dog owners on what they seek in a trainer. This is your go-to source for navigating the dynamic world where business meets the wagging tails.
The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast
#773 How effective is the marketing copy around your products? For many entrepreneurs, this is one of the aspects of online business they struggle with the most. And the truth is, there are no shortcuts to great writing. So, how do we generate compelling stories and sales pages? There's no one better to answer this question for us than the godfather of modern copywriting himself, Ray Edwards. Ray is the author of How to Write Copy That Sells and Read This or Die. His expertise is priceless, and today, Ray delivers an absolute masterclass on marketing communication in the age of AI. You'll hear us explore his PASTOR framework to guide you through every step, from positioning your products to making sales and getting incredible testimonials. Listen in because Ray and I also share the most powerful ways to leverage tools like ChatGPT to take your marketing game to the next level fast! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session773.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Are you going through a problem or a challenge and think there's nothing you can do? When facing adversity, we have the tendency to lose hope in ourselves, break apart, and slowly fall into the darkness, especially if it's something that may permanently affect our lives. If you are in this situation, remember that a problem always has a solution and that you can live a better life. Reading the book “Read This Or Die” will encourage and empower you that no matter how big the problems you face, you can survive them.Ray Edwards is a renowned leading expert on the art and business of copywriting with over 40 years of experience. He hosts the well-known podcast show called “Ray Edwards Show” and is the best-selling author of the books How To Write Copy That Sells and Read This or Die!: Persuading Yourself to a Better Life. Tune in as Ray shares what copywriting really is and the most important thing a copywriter should do. He would also discuss his experience of being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and how it led him to write his book, Read This Or Die. Resources Read This Or Die Book Site Ray Edwards' Site Ray Edwards on Facebook Ray Edwards on linkedin Read This or Die!: Persuading Yourself to a Better Life on Amazon
Ray Edwards is a Communications Strategist, Copywriter, and the author of "How to Write Copy That Sells".He's also the creator of The Copywriting Academy™, the Certified Direct Response Copywriter program, and The Ray Edwards Copywriting Agency. He's also the author of Read This or Die!: Persuading Yourself to a Better Life.
Episode 268 - How to write copy that sells in your Fashion Business! Hello, Great news! Our latest course, "How to Write Copy That Sells in Your Fashion Business," is now available, and for a limited time, you can save a massive $490 when you enroll. In this course, you'll gain: ✨ Invaluable skills to craft persuasive and compelling copy. ✨ Strategies to boost sales and conversions in your fashion business. ✨ Insider tips and techniques from seasoned copywriting experts. ✨ Real-world examples to supercharge your marketing materials. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to transform your fashion business. Secure your spot and save big today! GET ACCESS TO THE FULL METHOD! To your copywriting success, Maristella Ebooks4Fashion.com #FashionCopywriting #FashionMarketing #Ecommerce #Copywriting #Sales #Marketing #Fashion #CopyTips #Digital #Brand #Conversion #Content #Style #Trends #Selling #Success #Retail #Influence #SEO #Chic #Words #Podcast #Tips --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ebooks4fashion/message
Discover why is it better to copy something that's been working rather than being original Learn the advantages of having a swipe file and how can use it to write a star-seller copy Understand why looking for copywriters in-house isn't always the best solution to your bad sales Resources/Links: Want to learn more about how to write copy that drives sales? Click here: bly.com Summary Do you want to learn how to write a copy that actually sells without the stress? Writing copy isn't supposed to be difficult if you have the right people and techniques for the job. An effective copy can be modeled from something that is already working, rather than original. Robert Bly is a freelance copywriter and author of 100 books. Grab a pen and take down notes as Robert talks about what differs from a copy that's just good from one that works and actually sells. He also shares how you can write your own A-level copy that guarantees engagement and sales! Check out these episode highlights: 02:21 - Robert's ideal client: My ideal client is twofold. Number one, I only work with clients that are direct response or direct marketers that could be online. It could be multi-channel. 03:41 - The problem he helps solve: The standard answer would be getting more sales, more clicks, or conversions. But the problem that clients really have is they tell me I can't get a copy anywhere that's right. 04:55 - The symptoms of the problem: The two symptoms. One is the obvious-- bad numbers. They say, "I ran this Google campaign." "Send it to my landing page." And it's like zero or it's very low! 05:58 - Clients' common mistakes before consulting Robert: Here's what I think a lot of clients quite naturally, and I think it's fine, will inhouse. They have staff or employees who will write their own copy. 07:18 - Robert's Valuable Free Action (VFA): If they want to write better copy and do it themselves, or have someone on their staff do it, that copywriter should keep what we used to call in the good old days, I don't know if you use this today, a "swipe file". 08:58 - Robert's Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Want to learn more on how to write a copy that drives sales? Click here: bly.com 10:02 - Q: How do you get from B-level copy to A-level copy? And really stand out as a copy. A: I think the quick definition of A-level copy is it's a big idea. In other words, it's not "seven reasons to buy a garden hose". Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode: “It's better to model after something that you know is working than to be brilliantly creative and original.” -Robert BlyClick To Tweet Transcript (Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast) Tom Poland 00:10 Welcome, everyone, to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. I'm Tom Poland beaming out to you from the Sunshine Coast in Australia. I'm joined today by Robert Bly, a.k.a. Bob. Welcome, sir! A good day from Down Under. Where are you hanging out? Robert Bly 00:22 I am hanging out, as I always do, in New Jersey, on the east coast of the USA. Tom Poland 00:27 New Jersey Turnpike, they've been John Malkovich. Right? Robert Bly 00:30 That is one of our major roads. The Turnpike, and the parkway, Tom Poland 00:35 Not a fun place to get dropped out onto the sidewalk, probably, but anywho! So how do you- I mean, in New Jersey, you're really close to New York, right? Robert Bly 00:42 Very close to New York. And if there was no traffic, it could literally be a 15-minute drive. But, these days, there's always traffic. Tom Poland 00:51 So is New York like a big brother to New Jersey? Is that sort of chip-on-the-shoulder thing between the two that sometimes there's a sibling rivalry? Robert Bly 00:59 Yeah,
Sarah Stockdale, Founder of Growclass, shares 3 copywriting exercises to write copy that sells. Download the free powerups cheatsheet: https://marketingpowerups.com/034
“Integrity becomes important to you when you realize it may be one of the last things you have any control over. We can be in integrity instantly when we own up to, and fess up to, where we really are, as opposed to where we want people to think we are mentally, emotionally, physically, financially.” - Ray Edwards Ray Edwards Ray Edwards is a renowned copywriter and a friend. Ray's incredible journey of overcoming adversity and embracing life has been nothing short of inspiring. From redefining his identity to learning how to live the best possible life with Parkinson's, Ray has shown immense courage and resilience. He is the author of Read This or Die and How to Write Copy That Sells. In this episode you will learn: How to master the PASTOR framework to enhance your writing and marketing skills. How cultivating integrity and positive self-talk for personal growth and success is vital. About Ray's experience with groundbreaking surgery for Parkinson's treatment. Episode Resources: Read This or Die on Amazon How to Write Copy That Sells on Amazon Episode 238 of the Find My Catalyst podcast - Ray Edwards - Copywriting, Sales and Coffee Catch up on our last 3 episodes: Experience Mindset with Tiffani Bova Building a Winning Culture: Lessons from the Frontlines with Dan Bradley Slap Shots and Sales Strategies with Jacquelyn Nicholson Connect With Us! Instagram YouTube Twitter LinkedIn www.findmycatalyst.com Please share this podcast episode with friends and colleagues and leave us a review and rating via your favorite podcast platform.
Get ready to learn and dive into the most important aspect of running a successful business- having a solid sales system!
Starting your own online coaching business comes with a lot of new words and lessons to learn. Including... What is "copy"? What is "copywriting"? What is "launching"? And what do new coaches need to know about these three words that can greatly impact your coaching program sales? Listen to this episode to tip toe into the world of launch copy with expert Launch Copy Coach, Chelsea Wallace.
For those who have wondered, this post will explain what I work on and how I function as a "million-dollar writer." It is my hope this will stimulate you into taking the required steps to earn significantly more income than you do now. After I spell out how I manage to create a million dollars in revenue, I'll give you a simple 3-step roadmap to increase your own income. (By the way, even though I am describing the life of a writer, virtually all of what I'm about to share will work for any freelancer or business owner.) Links My Copywriting As A Million Dollar Business April Workshop - Want to work on building your business together, live and in person? There are a few seats remaining for my upcoming workshop this April. These seats will sell out - Click Here For Details and Availability. Read This or Die - Click to preorder my soon-to-be-released book, Read This or Die. Notes From This Episode This subject seems slightly impolite to write about. Like many, I was taught from my earliest years that it is impolite to talk about politics, religion, or money. I routinely violate all three of these directives, however, so this is not new territory for me. Let's begin… I am not writing to boost my own ego. I am writing to answer a very frequently-asked question: "How does a writer make a million dollars?" This is a great question, because the industry income average for freelance writers is just under $5,000 per year. When someone asks me how, as a writer, I make a million dollars, they may not actually express it, but what they really want to know is: "How does a guy who writes ad copy, who has never published a book I've even heard of… how does that guy make a million dollars?" And of course, ultimately, the real question burning in their heart is: "Could I do that? Or even half that?" That's what people really want to know and that's what I want to share with you. Before I get to the tactical stuff like: • How do you get paid?• What are your rates? • How do you get clients? It's imperative that I share 3 Prosperity Principles for Writers. PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #1: YOU MUST DISCOVER YOURSELF Many writers and other creatives have a not-so-secret fantasy. They labor intensely for years on a masterpiece, hoping that an influential publisher or literary agent will "discover" them, and they'll be catapulted to fame and fortune. That's a nice fantasy, but with one problem: it doesn't happen that way. It never does, or at least almost never. Okay, rarely it happens. But you're more likely to be struck by lightning on the same day you win the Powerball, than you are to be "discovered" in this way. You must discover yourself! You must identify what makes you different, what "special sauce" you add to this common craft (writing) that makes you a distinctly differently voice on a common subject. In what way are you a player with a unique, unduplicable advantage? We spend 3 full days answering this question definitively in our Dreamstorm Workshops, using our Core Thesis Process; obviously, if you don't already know the answer to this question, you'll need to spend some time on it, PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #2: YOU MUST PROMOTE YOURSELF To succeed, dear Reader, you must realize you are not actually in the "writing business." You are in the business of You, Incorporated. It is your unique personality, and the fascinating persona you share with the world, that shapes how that world sees you. Done right, this can make you an irresistible character to whom people are attracted as their chosen and trusted authority. Done wrong, this can break the ties between you and your readers. Specifically, instead of promoting and advertising your highly-developed craftsmanship as a writer, you must be in the business of promoting you. You cannot rely on word-of-mouth, or critical acclaim, or impersonal ad campaigns. You must conscientiously promote yourself, and intentionally craft the way customers perceive you. If you have interest in knowing HOW it is I do all this, and want to see the detailed steps I take, let me know your interest in the comment section. Enough interest expressed will generate a new post on this "Implementation" phase. But for now, on to… PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #3: YOU MUST GET OVER YOURSELF You might be disappointed to learn that your dream of being a purely creative being whose hands are never "sullied" by crass commercialism or "manipulative" marketing are mere fantasy. This may be hard to swallow, but you need to get over yourself in this regard. So, let me get the disappointing stuff out of the way right upfront: 1. This approach may require a readjustment of what you think of as "craft." The kind of writing I do is very specific: direct response copy. This is copy meant to result in a sale. It's copy that moves the reader to buy. Personally, I find the craft of writing sales copy to be endlessly fascinating and fun. While you may not choose to write sales copy (arguably the most lucrative kind of writing available to the average writer), you may also have to spend a little less time writing poems about the secret lives of elves. 2. My approach is not an "instant income" strategy. This whole system of "writing as a business" has taken me a few years to figure out and build up. I am able to pass on some hard-won lessons (like those in this post), which I believe may considerably shorten your learning curve. You can go faster than I did. But it's still not instant. And I'm constantly learning new things. You and I are very much works in progress. 3. There is more than one way to achieve a million-dollar income as a writer. For instance, there is a writer (whose name you would not recognize) who writes 3-4 books a year and gets paid $300,000 – $400,000 for each book. He's a ghostwriter. You'd be shocked to learn how many New York Times best-selling books with famous names on the covers were actually written by this one ghostwriter. Another writer I know raked in a million dollars last year writing content, white papers, and annual reports for big corporations. As I said, my way is not the only way. But it is worth noting that though the kinds of writing differ, the basic ideas I share here apply to every wealthy writer I know. 4. In my experience, a million-dollar writing business means you're selling more than "just" writing. You will probably find it necessary to offer products and services that are not strictly writing (but which you would not be able to sell without your foundational work as a writer). It's the rare writer who can merely write and cash checks (our ghostwriter friend notwithstanding). I'll dive more deeply into this in the next section. 5. This whole endeavor requires me to use a four-letter word that will shock and offend some people. But I feel the use of this word is required to communicate the force of my argument. The four-letter word is: w-o-r-k. Work! Ya gotta put in the effort! This is a glimpse "behind the curtain," and you may or may not like what you see. Then again you may find it encouraging to know there is a proven path to prosperity as a writer, and you don't need a fat contract from a big publisher to pull this off. You can simply decide, and then go do it. "The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation; it is only available by labor … the greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. That is when we must learn to reap without complaint if the amounts are small and to reap without apology if the amounts are big … you must either get good at sowing in the spring or begging in the fall. The soil says: don't bring me your need, bring me your seed." — Jim Rohn HOW I GET PAID The first thing to know is I "fudged" a little on my income – it wasn't really $1 million last year. The actual number is closer to $1.2 million. The second thing to know is I didn't get to keep most of it. Where did it go? A lot of places: • The IRS and the State of Washington got their portions, of course. • Then there are payroll taxes, Social Security, etc. • Employee salaries. • Affiliate commissions. • Vendors and independent contractors. • Other business expenses. • There are the medical expenses related to my little neurological disorder. • Plus we finished paying off all consumer debt, which at its height topped $400,000.(I'm actually embarrassed by this. I learned a lot through the mistakes which landed me in so much debt – perhaps I'll share more about that journey in a future post.) So, you can forget asking me for a loan. I didn't sock a million into the bank. But I'm not complaining – the Edwards household did, and still does, quite well. With all that out of the way… here's where the money actually comes from. How I get paid. Product Sales Product sales are far-and-away our biggest source of revenue. These include high-ticket items ($1,000 and up) sold mostly via PLF-style launches, advertising, purchased solo email campaigns, and organic website traffic. "Day with Ray" Consulting This is where I meet with a single client (or their team). I require this meeting before Private Client Copy Engagement. The "Day With Ray" costs $15,000 if you come to me in Spokane, WA, or $20,000 plus private air charter if I come to you. What do we do in such a meeting? It depends on the client (everyone is different, so there is no template for this). I grill the client for the first hour or so, and generally this will lead to a discovery of the 1-3 most powerful "levers" we can pull in their business to increase revenue and profits, while providing the business owner with less stress and more peace of mind. Private Client Copy Engagement After a long period of protesting that I was no longer writing for clients, I am finally giving in to market demand. I am accepting a very few assignments wherein I personally run the copy project and write the copy. This is prohibitively expensive for the client, and if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Also, I require that all Private Clients pass a rigorous application process, and agree to my admittedly unreasonable demands (100% compliance with my advice, 100% commitment to running my copy as written, 100% commitment to testing and tracking, payment of a percentage of gross sales to be made quarterly, and acceptance of my total lack of availability for "chummy chats," psychological counseling, and babysitting sessions). I charge a minimum of $150,000 payable up front. Maximum four clients per year, booked well in advance. Royalties These are payments on gross sales of Private Client projects. They also include royalties on co-created projects and revenue share deals. This is becoming a more significant percentage of my company revenue. Please do not contact us looking for me to do your marketing for free and offering me a percentage. I only do these deals when I know the person well, know the company and market well, and when it is my idea. Group Coaching Group coaching has been lacking in my portfolio of services until recently. Experiments thus far show it to be fun and profitable, as well as extraordinarily valuable to participants. These are online groups of up to 20 people at a time, who receive coaching and feedback from me once per week for a finite period (usually 6-12 weeks). Workshops I host a few small group workshops that focus on a single theme or outcome each year. Participants pay a premium fee ($5,000 – $10,000) and must qualify through application. These consist typically of three intense and productive days that can significantly alter the course of the client's business and life for the better. Private Masterminds Small group Mastermind Alliances involve a strict application process, membership requirements, and required compliance to meeting attendance and participation. Affiliate Commissions We generate commissions through the recommendation of products and services we ourselves use. This accounts for about 7% of our company revenue each year, but nearly 18% of our annual profit. Why is it so profitable? All we do is promote the product. We don't actually do any work, creation, or customer support. REIC Membership This is our newest offering. Members receive a printed newsletter each month with my best (and freshest) thinking, a monthly video training, a live Q&A once per month, and more. We are launching this in September 2017. Those methods fairly well sum up how I earn my income. HOW I GET CLIENTS My marketing system is not immediately obvious to most. It is complex, carefully thought out, and rigorously tested. I am constantly experimenting. Every "thing" we do is designed to point to all the other "things" we do. Client Attraction vs. Client Pursuit Client attraction is foundational. Long ago I decided I did not wish to "chase" business, but prefer instead to let business chase me. So, I have carefully designed a ubiquitous system for attracting a steady flow of possible clients and customers from many different streams. This adds up to a large flow of potential business at various levels of engagement and investment, all swimming (upstream if necessary) to me. Some of the "pools" from which I attract business include: • Podcasting. This is one of the most intimate mediums available. Podcast listeners have me literally "in their head" for an hour per week (or more, if they binge-listen… and many do just that from our library of nearly 300 episodes). This is a curiously powerful medium. Numerous customers have listened to 1-3 episodes and proceeded directly to a $5,000 – $10,000 purchase. • YouTube channel. This is a new, experimental marketing tool for me. I have been enjoying playing around with the possibilities, and have now settled on a strategy going forward. Look for a slight shift in focus on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks. The goal, as with all third-party media, is to move people off third-party properties like YouTube (and Facebook, and Twitter, etc.) and onto my email list. • Social media. While many claim direct money making power through social media, my approach is to use it to attract and build a bond and relationship with my tribe, and then move them from social media to the media I own, i.e., my email list. • Printed newsletter. Already mentioned once, this is not only a product but also a marketing tool. Since the largest primary segment of my audience is made up of writers (meaning, presumably, they're also readers), having a print newsletter is vitally important. Print media carries more impact than electronic media. This is not something I'm guessing at. According to this Millward Brown study, brain scans demonstrated the same message presented to the human subject printed on paper lights up more areas of the brain than the electronic equivalent. More areas of the brain lighting up equals more engagement. • Speaking. This is a way that I accomplish a number of objectives: for instance, I like to travel. I want to travel to exotic places. So, I have a speaking engagement next month in Hong Kong, primarily because I've never been there. This will also afford me the opportunity, as do all speaking engagements, to establish personal contact with a new group of people, perhaps add them to my mailing list, and maybe generate a few clients along the way. Speaking automatically grants you a certain amount of gravitas and authority. As far as generating clients, this is an indirect benefit of speaking. I do not hock or pitch my services from the stage. I do, however, strategically communicate that I am available to be hired by the right people, and that I have products available for people who are not ready to hire me. Perhaps I'll write more about this at a later time. • Books. Both physical and Kindle versions of my books are available. I currently have three books that are relevant to my business as a copywriter and marketer, and by the end of next year I plan to have no less than 10. The current books are How to Write Copy That Sells, Moneywords, and Just Get Started. These books generate a certain kind of prospect or client. They are engineered to do so, and also provide valuable content. And, as with speaking, having a book in hand conveys on the author a certain amount of authority and credibility which cannot be gained in any other way. • Guest posts/appearances. From time to time I guest-post on the blogs of other people. I also appear on other people's podcasts as a guest interview. Once upon a time, I did this indiscriminately and would post or appear anywhere asked. The demands on my time have become so overwhelming I now have to choose more carefully. Each decision whether to appear on a podcast or write a guest post is a tactical decision designed to support my overall business strategy. For more on my thinking about this, see this book with my friend Tom Schwab, Podcast Guest Profits. That, in a nutshell, is how I get new clients. I admit it is condensed and leaves out a lot of details. The subject deserves a book of its own. The above will get you started and will have to do until I write that book. HOW I RUN MY WRITING BUSINESS This is not an exhaustive description of methodologies and practices for running a business, but a brief overview of some key principles that I believe help keep my business lean and growing. Minimal staff. Once upon a time, I wanted no staff at all. This came after having been responsible for hundreds of people in my corporate position in radio broadcasting. But I finally realized I was limiting my growth by not hiring employees for my personal writing business. So now we have a few full-time employees and a number of independent contractors. We try to keep the staff as minimal as possible, but no smaller than needed. I have seen more than one friend destroy their own business by over-hiring. I'm determined not to make this mistake. Remote workers. Rather than limit my pool of prospective employees to people who live in my hometown, we simply look for the best people for the job. This means we have hired staff from all over the place. In the US, we have workers on our team in Tennessee, Colorado, California, and elsewhere. For more on how to orchestrate a remote workforce (because there are some unique challenges), I highly recommend the book Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried. Employees vs. Contractors. I am not offering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. You should seek the services of a qualified professional to answer those questions. I can tell you that in my experience there is a difference between an employee and contractor in terms of mental attitude and dedication to the job. This is not to say that contractors don't have a place. In my work as a freelance copywriter, I am, after all, an independent contractor. However, the person who is a full-time employee in your company can devote 100% of their working efforts to you. You must see that makes a difference. I'm not saying one is better than the other; I'm saying there's a place for both. Client Selection. Anytime I'm going to be personally interacting with clients, such as on a copywriting or marketing project, I use a selection process. The prospective client will have to convince me that I want them as a client. This may sound arrogant, but it is not meant to be so. It actually serves all parties concerned. If I do not have good chemistry with the client, if our working styles do not match, or if we have mismatched expectations, that is a recipe for discord and upset. Contentious, negative, or sketchy people do not make the list. And if they do somehow sneak in, once we discover these fatal flaws, they are invited to go elsewhere. Immediately. PRIORITIZING PRODUCTIVITY I place priority on stewarding my most valuable non-renewable resource – time – as if it is treasure. Because it is treasure. Thus productivity gets priority. My Morning Success Ritual. This is vital to my most productive days. While I don't manage to get this all in every day, I'm getting better at it. My goal between is to achieve 95%+ compliance with this ritual every day. The days when I follow this MSR, starting the minute my feet hit the floor out of bed, are invariably my best days (most productive, most joyous, most satisfying). Probably because the most important things were done first – like prayer, reading, meditating, journaling, exercise, etc. And they are done when I'm still in the "NDZ": No Distraction Zone (meaning no email, no voicemail, no phone calls, etc.) Writing. The first thing I must do each day after my MSR is complete (and after I have showered, driven to the office, etc.) is WRITING. I am primarily a writer. You can always tell who the writers are – they're the ones who are writing. This is my #1 Revenue Producing Activity (RPA). At this point my phone is off, I have still not checked email, not checked voicemail, etc. Still in the NDZ. I write for a large block of time at the beginning of the day — often 4 hours. NOTHING gets to interrupt the writing — including (especially) the clients for whom I may be writing. Fortress of Solitude. This is the most important and perhaps the most controversial piece of advice I can give you. You must construct for yourself a "fortress of solitude". While I do not pretend to be Superman, I do take inspiration from the Man of Steel's secret hideaway. The Fortress of Solitude is the place Superman goes to be in absolute solitude. A place of silent contemplation. This is the place he goes to think, to learn, to plan, to rejuvenate. Some of the ways in which I've done this are: I never answer incoming business calls. They're always screened, dealt with, and if I really need to speak with the person a call is set for Call Day. I have only one day per month that I make phone appointments (Call Day). I make all phone appointments on that day. If that date cannot work for a person seeking a phone conversation with me, my assistant will schedule them for the next month. I schedule all my interviews on one day per month, grouped together so that I can take care of this task all in a single day. My daily schedule is relatively free from appointments. This creates large blocks of time for me to do what I do best, and what is most important for generating revenue in my business: writing, creating content, and recording (either audio or video). For more details on why I resort to these extreme measures, please see No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, by Dan Kennedy. Rest. In order to deliver the very best work to my clients and partners, and to still leave room in my schedule for rejuvenation (sleep, family time, time with God, and time to just plain relax)… I have to guard my time vigorously. And I have to be on guard against what Dan Kennedy calls "Time Vampires". They will suck the life out of you. I Don't Check Email, and I Only Get One Email Each Day. My auto-check feature in Apple Mail is turned OFF. I only get email when I press the "Check Mail" button. I check it once per day, Monday thru Thursday. Usually around 4 pm Pacific. All my email is screened by my assistant, who compiles the relatively few messages I must read or respond to. She sends those to me in a single email at the end of each day. This is one of my policies that tends to be unpopular with those who are "urgency addicts", and who want me to have a constant email discussion about all manner of things with them. I refuse to sacrifice my highest valued commodity (time) for the sake of what usually amounts to trivia. I suggest you adopt the same policy. I Avoid Meetings Like the Plague They Are. Any meeting that lasts longer than 15 minutes is probably too long. Not always, but most of the time. Any project that requires multiple meetings each week is probably in trouble. Long meetings = inefficiency at best, and postponement of the inevitable at worst. (As a sidebar: frequent short meetings are just a disguised way of having long meetings. HEAR ME: if you have "meeting-itis", either you just want an excuse to talk about work instead of doing it, or something is wrong with the project … something another meeting won't solve). Phone Meetings / Conversations. Same as in person meetings, only worse. Conversations and phone meetings should be 15 minutes or less and have a predetermined purpose and ending time. These all take place on aforementioned Call Day. Instant Messenger. Any Flavor. (I'm looking at you, Slack). Just say no. The only time I use it is when I have SCHEDULED events on Skype or Zoom (usually interviews). I am NEVER "just available" to be interrupted. (If I was, that would mean that I was either doing something unimportant or that I was doing NOTHING. If I'm doing something unimportant… WHY? And if I'm doing NOTHING, it's a PLANNED nothing and it's important that this not be interrupted!). I HATE TEXT MESSAGES. The end. Office Hours. Yes, I have an office outside my home. I lease currently. I'm considering buying an office building. I keep regular business hours most of the time: Mon – Thurs, 8 am – 5 pm Pacific. By the way, my office phone is answered by a LIVE HUMAN (not some stupid voicemail torture device) Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm Pacific time. Why do I have the phone covered even when I am out of the office? Because other members of my team keep different hours… and because emergencies DO happen, and I like to be available if a TRUE emergency arises. My phone team knows how to reach me in those cases. WHY THE EMPHASIS ON NOT BEING INTERRUPTED? Interruptions cost you dearly. As a writer, I know that allowing myself to be interrupted by a client or vendor ("Hey Ray – got a minute to talk about the new logo?") can seem harmless… but it isn't. That interruption costs me (a) the state of "flow" I was in while working, maybe impossible to recover, (b) the time of the interruption itself, and (c) the time it takes me to get back into the "zone" with what I was working on… minimum 20 minutes, maybe longer. I can't afford to let that happen. My clients and customers can't afford for me to let that happen. I once had a client who loved to call me at 11 pm at night and talk for two hours. I tried to tell him I worked set hours and was available at those times, but he didn't seem to understand. When our first project was finished, I fired him. His dysfunction did not automatically become my problem. Be warned – people will WASTE your time if you let them. Will you let them? Be polite, be loving… but don't be a victim. In the end, if you guard your time, you are being most respectful of other people. Think about it: if you allow yourself to be interrupted, or your time wasted when you should have been doing something else… who suffers? Your clients. Your customers. Your family ("Sorry honey, I have to stay late because I wasted 2 hours today listening to the web team make excuses…"). You're not serving anyone by being a poor steward of your time. WHAT TO DO NEXT Here's the 3-step plan I promised you to help increase your own income. It's quite simple: 1. Choose just one of the practices I listed above – the one that excites you the most. 2. Put that practice to work in your own business, and use it until it begins to produce results. 3. Now pick a new practice, add it to your daily/weekly/monthly routine, and repeat the process. (Don't stop doing the new "thing" you started in Step 1. Keep doing all the activities, and as you add them one by one, you will likely see a corresponding surge in income. I am not promising you any income results, just sharing what has worked for me. Your mileage may vary.) If this post has struck a chord with you, please let me know in the comments, and ask any specific questions you have. I'll endeavor to answer as transparently as possible. Finally, if you did find this post useful, I pray that you put it into action. So, here's my question for you: What ideas from this post will you implement and what results do you hope to see? How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. Questions or comments? Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice. Get the Transcript and Video https://rayedwards.com/612
For those who have wondered, this post will explain what I work on and how I function as a “million-dollar writer.” It is my hope this will stimulate you into taking the required steps to earn significantly more income than you do now. After I spell out how I manage to create a million dollars in revenue, I'll give you a simple 3-step roadmap to increase your own income. (By the way, even though I am describing the life of a writer, virtually all of what I'm about to share will work for any freelancer or business owner.) Links My Copywriting As A Million Dollar Business April Workshop - Want to work on building your business together, live and in person? There are a few seats remaining for my upcoming workshop this April. These seats will sell out - Click Here For Details and Availability. Read This or Die - Click to preorder my soon-to-be-released book, Read This or Die. Notes From This Episode This subject seems slightly impolite to write about. Like many, I was taught from my earliest years that it is impolite to talk about politics, religion, or money. I routinely violate all three of these directives, however, so this is not new territory for me. Let's begin… I am not writing to boost my own ego. I am writing to answer a very frequently-asked question: “How does a writer make a million dollars?” This is a great question, because the industry income average for freelance writers is just under $5,000 per year. When someone asks me how, as a writer, I make a million dollars, they may not actually express it, but what they really want to know is: “How does a guy who writes ad copy, who has never published a book I've even heard of… how does that guy make a million dollars?” And of course, ultimately, the real question burning in their heart is: “Could I do that? Or even half that?” That's what people really want to know and that's what I want to share with you. Before I get to the tactical stuff like: • How do you get paid?• What are your rates? • How do you get clients? It's imperative that I share 3 Prosperity Principles for Writers. PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #1: YOU MUST DISCOVER YOURSELF Many writers and other creatives have a not-so-secret fantasy. They labor intensely for years on a masterpiece, hoping that an influential publisher or literary agent will “discover” them, and they'll be catapulted to fame and fortune. That's a nice fantasy, but with one problem: it doesn't happen that way. It never does, or at least almost never. Okay, rarely it happens. But you're more likely to be struck by lightning on the same day you win the Powerball, than you are to be “discovered” in this way. You must discover yourself! You must identify what makes you different, what “special sauce” you add to this common craft (writing) that makes you a distinctly differently voice on a common subject. In what way are you a player with a unique, unduplicable advantage? We spend 3 full days answering this question definitively in our Dreamstorm Workshops, using our Core Thesis Process; obviously, if you don't already know the answer to this question, you'll need to spend some time on it, PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #2: YOU MUST PROMOTE YOURSELF To succeed, dear Reader, you must realize you are not actually in the “writing business.” You are in the business of You, Incorporated. It is your unique personality, and the fascinating persona you share with the world, that shapes how that world sees you. Done right, this can make you an irresistible character to whom people are attracted as their chosen and trusted authority. Done wrong, this can break the ties between you and your readers. Specifically, instead of promoting and advertising your highly-developed craftsmanship as a writer, you must be in the business of promoting you. You cannot rely on word-of-mouth, or critical acclaim, or impersonal ad campaigns. You must conscientiously promote yourself, and intentionally craft the way customers perceive you. If you have interest in knowing HOW it is I do all this, and want to see the detailed steps I take, let me know your interest in the comment section. Enough interest expressed will generate a new post on this “Implementation” phase. But for now, on to… PROSPERITY PRINCIPLE #3: YOU MUST GET OVER YOURSELF You might be disappointed to learn that your dream of being a purely creative being whose hands are never “sullied” by crass commercialism or “manipulative” marketing are mere fantasy. This may be hard to swallow, but you need to get over yourself in this regard. So, let me get the disappointing stuff out of the way right upfront: 1. This approach may require a readjustment of what you think of as “craft.” The kind of writing I do is very specific: direct response copy. This is copy meant to result in a sale. It's copy that moves the reader to buy. Personally, I find the craft of writing sales copy to be endlessly fascinating and fun. While you may not choose to write sales copy (arguably the most lucrative kind of writing available to the average writer), you may also have to spend a little less time writing poems about the secret lives of elves. 2. My approach is not an “instant income” strategy. This whole system of “writing as a business” has taken me a few years to figure out and build up. I am able to pass on some hard-won lessons (like those in this post), which I believe may considerably shorten your learning curve. You can go faster than I did. But it's still not instant. And I'm constantly learning new things. You and I are very much works in progress. 3. There is more than one way to achieve a million-dollar income as a writer. For instance, there is a writer (whose name you would not recognize) who writes 3-4 books a year and gets paid $300,000 – $400,000 for each book. He's a ghostwriter. You'd be shocked to learn how many New York Times best-selling books with famous names on the covers were actually written by this one ghostwriter. Another writer I know raked in a million dollars last year writing content, white papers, and annual reports for big corporations. As I said, my way is not the only way. But it is worth noting that though the kinds of writing differ, the basic ideas I share here apply to every wealthy writer I know. 4. In my experience, a million-dollar writing business means you're selling more than “just” writing. You will probably find it necessary to offer products and services that are not strictly writing (but which you would not be able to sell without your foundational work as a writer). It's the rare writer who can merely write and cash checks (our ghostwriter friend notwithstanding). I'll dive more deeply into this in the next section. 5. This whole endeavor requires me to use a four-letter word that will shock and offend some people. But I feel the use of this word is required to communicate the force of my argument. The four-letter word is: w-o-r-k. Work! Ya gotta put in the effort! This is a glimpse “behind the curtain,” and you may or may not like what you see. Then again you may find it encouraging to know there is a proven path to prosperity as a writer, and you don't need a fat contract from a big publisher to pull this off. You can simply decide, and then go do it. “The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation; it is only available by labor … the greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. That is when we must learn to reap without complaint if the amounts are small and to reap without apology if the amounts are big … you must either get good at sowing in the spring or begging in the fall. The soil says: don't bring me your need, bring me your seed.” — Jim Rohn HOW I GET PAID The first thing to know is I “fudged” a little on my income – it wasn't really $1 million last year. The actual number is closer to $1.2 million. The second thing to know is I didn't get to keep most of it. Where did it go? A lot of places: • The IRS and the State of Washington got their portions, of course. • Then there are payroll taxes, Social Security, etc. • Employee salaries. • Affiliate commissions. • Vendors and independent contractors. • Other business expenses. • There are the medical expenses related to my little neurological disorder. • Plus we finished paying off all consumer debt, which at its height topped $400,000.(I'm actually embarrassed by this. I learned a lot through the mistakes which landed me in so much debt – perhaps I'll share more about that journey in a future post.) So, you can forget asking me for a loan. I didn't sock a million into the bank. But I'm not complaining – the Edwards household did, and still does, quite well. With all that out of the way… here's where the money actually comes from. How I get paid. Product Sales Product sales are far-and-away our biggest source of revenue. These include high-ticket items ($1,000 and up) sold mostly via PLF-style launches, advertising, purchased solo email campaigns, and organic website traffic. “Day with Ray” Consulting This is where I meet with a single client (or their team). I require this meeting before Private Client Copy Engagement. The “Day With Ray” costs $15,000 if you come to me in Spokane, WA, or $20,000 plus private air charter if I come to you. What do we do in such a meeting? It depends on the client (everyone is different, so there is no template for this). I grill the client for the first hour or so, and generally this will lead to a discovery of the 1-3 most powerful “levers” we can pull in their business to increase revenue and profits, while providing the business owner with less stress and more peace of mind. Private Client Copy Engagement After a long period of protesting that I was no longer writing for clients, I am finally giving in to market demand. I am accepting a very few assignments wherein I personally run the copy project and write the copy. This is prohibitively expensive for the client, and if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Also, I require that all Private Clients pass a rigorous application process, and agree to my admittedly unreasonable demands (100% compliance with my advice, 100% commitment to running my copy as written, 100% commitment to testing and tracking, payment of a percentage of gross sales to be made quarterly, and acceptance of my total lack of availability for “chummy chats,” psychological counseling, and babysitting sessions). I charge a minimum of $150,000 payable up front. Maximum four clients per year, booked well in advance. Royalties These are payments on gross sales of Private Client projects. They also include royalties on co-created projects and revenue share deals. This is becoming a more significant percentage of my company revenue. Please do not contact us looking for me to do your marketing for free and offering me a percentage. I only do these deals when I know the person well, know the company and market well, and when it is my idea. Group Coaching Group coaching has been lacking in my portfolio of services until recently. Experiments thus far show it to be fun and profitable, as well as extraordinarily valuable to participants. These are online groups of up to 20 people at a time, who receive coaching and feedback from me once per week for a finite period (usually 6-12 weeks). Workshops I host a few small group workshops that focus on a single theme or outcome each year. Participants pay a premium fee ($5,000 – $10,000) and must qualify through application. These consist typically of three intense and productive days that can significantly alter the course of the client's business and life for the better. Private Masterminds Small group Mastermind Alliances involve a strict application process, membership requirements, and required compliance to meeting attendance and participation. Affiliate Commissions We generate commissions through the recommendation of products and services we ourselves use. This accounts for about 7% of our company revenue each year, but nearly 18% of our annual profit. Why is it so profitable? All we do is promote the product. We don't actually do any work, creation, or customer support. REIC Membership This is our newest offering. Members receive a printed newsletter each month with my best (and freshest) thinking, a monthly video training, a live Q&A once per month, and more. We are launching this in September 2017. Those methods fairly well sum up how I earn my income. HOW I GET CLIENTS My marketing system is not immediately obvious to most. It is complex, carefully thought out, and rigorously tested. I am constantly experimenting. Every “thing” we do is designed to point to all the other “things” we do. Client Attraction vs. Client Pursuit Client attraction is foundational. Long ago I decided I did not wish to “chase” business, but prefer instead to let business chase me. So, I have carefully designed a ubiquitous system for attracting a steady flow of possible clients and customers from many different streams. This adds up to a large flow of potential business at various levels of engagement and investment, all swimming (upstream if necessary) to me. Some of the “pools” from which I attract business include: • Podcasting. This is one of the most intimate mediums available. Podcast listeners have me literally “in their head” for an hour per week (or more, if they binge-listen… and many do just that from our library of nearly 300 episodes). This is a curiously powerful medium. Numerous customers have listened to 1-3 episodes and proceeded directly to a $5,000 – $10,000 purchase. • YouTube channel. This is a new, experimental marketing tool for me. I have been enjoying playing around with the possibilities, and have now settled on a strategy going forward. Look for a slight shift in focus on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks. The goal, as with all third-party media, is to move people off third-party properties like YouTube (and Facebook, and Twitter, etc.) and onto my email list. • Social media. While many claim direct money making power through social media, my approach is to use it to attract and build a bond and relationship with my tribe, and then move them from social media to the media I own, i.e., my email list. • Printed newsletter. Already mentioned once, this is not only a product but also a marketing tool. Since the largest primary segment of my audience is made up of writers (meaning, presumably, they're also readers), having a print newsletter is vitally important. Print media carries more impact than electronic media. This is not something I'm guessing at. According to this Millward Brown study, brain scans demonstrated the same message presented to the human subject printed on paper lights up more areas of the brain than the electronic equivalent. More areas of the brain lighting up equals more engagement. • Speaking. This is a way that I accomplish a number of objectives: for instance, I like to travel. I want to travel to exotic places. So, I have a speaking engagement next month in Hong Kong, primarily because I've never been there. This will also afford me the opportunity, as do all speaking engagements, to establish personal contact with a new group of people, perhaps add them to my mailing list, and maybe generate a few clients along the way. Speaking automatically grants you a certain amount of gravitas and authority. As far as generating clients, this is an indirect benefit of speaking. I do not hock or pitch my services from the stage. I do, however, strategically communicate that I am available to be hired by the right people, and that I have products available for people who are not ready to hire me. Perhaps I'll write more about this at a later time. • Books. Both physical and Kindle versions of my books are available. I currently have three books that are relevant to my business as a copywriter and marketer, and by the end of next year I plan to have no less than 10. The current books are How to Write Copy That Sells, Moneywords, and Just Get Started. These books generate a certain kind of prospect or client. They are engineered to do so, and also provide valuable content. And, as with speaking, having a book in hand conveys on the author a certain amount of authority and credibility which cannot be gained in any other way. • Guest posts/appearances. From time to time I guest-post on the blogs of other people. I also appear on other people's podcasts as a guest interview. Once upon a time, I did this indiscriminately and would post or appear anywhere asked. The demands on my time have become so overwhelming I now have to choose more carefully. Each decision whether to appear on a podcast or write a guest post is a tactical decision designed to support my overall business strategy. For more on my thinking about this, see this book with my friend Tom Schwab, Podcast Guest Profits. That, in a nutshell, is how I get new clients. I admit it is condensed and leaves out a lot of details. The subject deserves a book of its own. The above will get you started and will have to do until I write that book. HOW I RUN MY WRITING BUSINESS This is not an exhaustive description of methodologies and practices for running a business, but a brief overview of some key principles that I believe help keep my business lean and growing. Minimal staff. Once upon a time, I wanted no staff at all. This came after having been responsible for hundreds of people in my corporate position in radio broadcasting. But I finally realized I was limiting my growth by not hiring employees for my personal writing business. So now we have a few full-time employees and a number of independent contractors. We try to keep the staff as minimal as possible, but no smaller than needed. I have seen more than one friend destroy their own business by over-hiring. I'm determined not to make this mistake. Remote workers. Rather than limit my pool of prospective employees to people who live in my hometown, we simply look for the best people for the job. This means we have hired staff from all over the place. In the US, we have workers on our team in Tennessee, Colorado, California, and elsewhere. For more on how to orchestrate a remote workforce (because there are some unique challenges), I highly recommend the book Remote: Office Not Required, by Jason Fried. Employees vs. Contractors. I am not offering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. You should seek the services of a qualified professional to answer those questions. I can tell you that in my experience there is a difference between an employee and contractor in terms of mental attitude and dedication to the job. This is not to say that contractors don't have a place. In my work as a freelance copywriter, I am, after all, an independent contractor. However, the person who is a full-time employee in your company can devote 100% of their working efforts to you. You must see that makes a difference. I'm not saying one is better than the other; I'm saying there's a place for both. Client Selection. Anytime I'm going to be personally interacting with clients, such as on a copywriting or marketing project, I use a selection process. The prospective client will have to convince me that I want them as a client. This may sound arrogant, but it is not meant to be so. It actually serves all parties concerned. If I do not have good chemistry with the client, if our working styles do not match, or if we have mismatched expectations, that is a recipe for discord and upset. Contentious, negative, or sketchy people do not make the list. And if they do somehow sneak in, once we discover these fatal flaws, they are invited to go elsewhere. Immediately. PRIORITIZING PRODUCTIVITY I place priority on stewarding my most valuable non-renewable resource – time – as if it is treasure. Because it is treasure. Thus productivity gets priority. My Morning Success Ritual. This is vital to my most productive days. While I don't manage to get this all in every day, I'm getting better at it. My goal between is to achieve 95%+ compliance with this ritual every day. The days when I follow this MSR, starting the minute my feet hit the floor out of bed, are invariably my best days (most productive, most joyous, most satisfying). Probably because the most important things were done first – like prayer, reading, meditating, journaling, exercise, etc. And they are done when I'm still in the “NDZ”: No Distraction Zone (meaning no email, no voicemail, no phone calls, etc.) Writing. The first thing I must do each day after my MSR is complete (and after I have showered, driven to the office, etc.) is WRITING. I am primarily a writer. You can always tell who the writers are – they're the ones who are writing. This is my #1 Revenue Producing Activity (RPA). At this point my phone is off, I have still not checked email, not checked voicemail, etc. Still in the NDZ. I write for a large block of time at the beginning of the day — often 4 hours. NOTHING gets to interrupt the writing — including (especially) the clients for whom I may be writing. Fortress of Solitude. This is the most important and perhaps the most controversial piece of advice I can give you. You must construct for yourself a “fortress of solitude”. While I do not pretend to be Superman, I do take inspiration from the Man of Steel's secret hideaway. The Fortress of Solitude is the place Superman goes to be in absolute solitude. A place of silent contemplation. This is the place he goes to think, to learn, to plan, to rejuvenate. Some of the ways in which I've done this are: I never answer incoming business calls. They're always screened, dealt with, and if I really need to speak with the person a call is set for Call Day. I have only one day per month that I make phone appointments (Call Day). I make all phone appointments on that day. If that date cannot work for a person seeking a phone conversation with me, my assistant will schedule them for the next month. I schedule all my interviews on one day per month, grouped together so that I can take care of this task all in a single day. My daily schedule is relatively free from appointments. This creates large blocks of time for me to do what I do best, and what is most important for generating revenue in my business: writing, creating content, and recording (either audio or video). For more details on why I resort to these extreme measures, please see No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, by Dan Kennedy. Rest. In order to deliver the very best work to my clients and partners, and to still leave room in my schedule for rejuvenation (sleep, family time, time with God, and time to just plain relax)… I have to guard my time vigorously. And I have to be on guard against what Dan Kennedy calls “Time Vampires”. They will suck the life out of you. I Don't Check Email, and I Only Get One Email Each Day. My auto-check feature in Apple Mail is turned OFF. I only get email when I press the “Check Mail” button. I check it once per day, Monday thru Thursday. Usually around 4 pm Pacific. All my email is screened by my assistant, who compiles the relatively few messages I must read or respond to. She sends those to me in a single email at the end of each day. This is one of my policies that tends to be unpopular with those who are “urgency addicts”, and who want me to have a constant email discussion about all manner of things with them. I refuse to sacrifice my highest valued commodity (time) for the sake of what usually amounts to trivia. I suggest you adopt the same policy. I Avoid Meetings Like the Plague They Are. Any meeting that lasts longer than 15 minutes is probably too long. Not always, but most of the time. Any project that requires multiple meetings each week is probably in trouble. Long meetings = inefficiency at best, and postponement of the inevitable at worst. (As a sidebar: frequent short meetings are just a disguised way of having long meetings. HEAR ME: if you have “meeting-itis”, either you just want an excuse to talk about work instead of doing it, or something is wrong with the project … something another meeting won't solve). Phone Meetings / Conversations. Same as in person meetings, only worse. Conversations and phone meetings should be 15 minutes or less and have a predetermined purpose and ending time. These all take place on aforementioned Call Day. Instant Messenger. Any Flavor. (I'm looking at you, Slack). Just say no. The only time I use it is when I have SCHEDULED events on Skype or Zoom (usually interviews). I am NEVER “just available” to be interrupted. (If I was, that would mean that I was either doing something unimportant or that I was doing NOTHING. If I'm doing something unimportant… WHY? And if I'm doing NOTHING, it's a PLANNED nothing and it's important that this not be interrupted!). I HATE TEXT MESSAGES. The end. Office Hours. Yes, I have an office outside my home. I lease currently. I'm considering buying an office building. I keep regular business hours most of the time: Mon – Thurs, 8 am – 5 pm Pacific. By the way, my office phone is answered by a LIVE HUMAN (not some stupid voicemail torture device) Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm Pacific time. Why do I have the phone covered even when I am out of the office? Because other members of my team keep different hours… and because emergencies DO happen, and I like to be available if a TRUE emergency arises. My phone team knows how to reach me in those cases. WHY THE EMPHASIS ON NOT BEING INTERRUPTED? Interruptions cost you dearly. As a writer, I know that allowing myself to be interrupted by a client or vendor (“Hey Ray – got a minute to talk about the new logo?”) can seem harmless… but it isn't. That interruption costs me (a) the state of “flow” I was in while working, maybe impossible to recover, (b) the time of the interruption itself, and (c) the time it takes me to get back into the “zone” with what I was working on… minimum 20 minutes, maybe longer. I can't afford to let that happen. My clients and customers can't afford for me to let that happen. I once had a client who loved to call me at 11 pm at night and talk for two hours. I tried to tell him I worked set hours and was available at those times, but he didn't seem to understand. When our first project was finished, I fired him. His dysfunction did not automatically become my problem. Be warned – people will WASTE your time if you let them. Will you let them? Be polite, be loving… but don't be a victim. In the end, if you guard your time, you are being most respectful of other people. Think about it: if you allow yourself to be interrupted, or your time wasted when you should have been doing something else… who suffers? Your clients. Your customers. Your family (“Sorry honey, I have to stay late because I wasted 2 hours today listening to the web team make excuses…”). You're not serving anyone by being a poor steward of your time. WHAT TO DO NEXT Here's the 3-step plan I promised you to help increase your own income. It's quite simple: 1. Choose just one of the practices I listed above – the one that excites you the most. 2. Put that practice to work in your own business, and use it until it begins to produce results. 3. Now pick a new practice, add it to your daily/weekly/monthly routine, and repeat the process. (Don't stop doing the new “thing” you started in Step 1. Keep doing all the activities, and as you add them one by one, you will likely see a corresponding surge in income. I am not promising you any income results, just sharing what has worked for me. Your mileage may vary.) If this post has struck a chord with you, please let me know in the comments, and ask any specific questions you have. I'll endeavor to answer as transparently as possible. Finally, if you did find this post useful, I pray that you put it into action. So, here's my question for you: What ideas from this post will you implement and what results do you hope to see? How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. Questions or comments? Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice. Get the Transcript and Video https://rayedwards.com/612
In this episode of Art of Online business, we are talking about a topic that I think we could all use some help with- copywriting. This has never been a strong suit for me, so I am thrilled to sit down with Kris Jones today who is brilliant at writing copy in a way that doesn't take up a bunch of our time. I asked her to come on to the podcast and share her framework for writing better copy in a shorter amount of time to get people to take the action that you want them to take, honestly and authentically. Kris Jones is a StoryBrand guide & Founder of Red Door Designs. Mentored by StoryBrand founder - Donald Miller himself & with over 20 years of experience and clients like Nike under her belt, she is extremely passionate about helping self-employed women get website copy that sells so they can multiply their revenue and focus on what they do best.Good copywriting is all about knowing your audience, understanding their problems, and showing them how you can offer a solution. You don't have to be good at long-format copy to do that. In this episode, Kris explains how to write stellar copy that hooks your audience from the start in less time. In this episode, you'll learn:How she captures the voice of her clientsWhy your copy is so importantHow to use stories in your business and copyHow to use the hero, the guide, and the solutionHow to create a good hookWhat to include in your sales pageWhat to put on your websiteWhy you don't need to be good at long-format copyLinks & Resources:The Art of Online Business websiteDM me on InstagramVisit my YouTube channelThe Art of Online Business clips on YouTubeFull episodes of The Art of Online Business Podcast on YouTubeThe Art of Online Business Podcast websiteCheck out my Accelerator coaching program*Disclosure: I only recommend products I use and love and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.Kris Jones' Links: Visit her website Get the 5-minute Compelling Story Toolkit Schedule a call with KrisFull show notes available at www.rickmulready.com/670
Do you want to clarify your messaging? Can the right copy invite your ideal client into your practice? How can you write simple copy... The post How To Write Copy That Sells with Arianna Smith | GP 150 appeared first on How to Start, Grow, and Scale a Private Practice| Practice of the Practice.
In order to make sales, we need to know how to write copy that sells without being sleazy.Today we have special guest Jackie Sunga, Jackie is a conversion copywriter and brand voice expert specializing in sales, copy and launch strategy.She helps impact-driven education companies bridge the gap between their expertise and their audience with customer-first messaging.Whether she's teaching emerging entrepreneurs or writing for 7-figure brands, Jackie loves helping clients find the words that attract perfect-fit people and sell with integrity.When she's not helping clients with strategic sales copy, you can find her grabbing boba with her husband or playing with her two dogs.Read more HERE
What if I told you that you could write effective copy in just 2.5 hours? If you've been in the online business world for a while, you know how important it is to be able to write words that sell for you. Writing copy is a challenging skill for many, but it's one that you want to be building as you continue down your path to becoming a 6 figure coach. Trying to write copy yourself is overwhelming and time-consuming, but hiring it out can be expensive, might not capture your voice in the same way, and might not teach you anything about writing your own copy. This is where Kris Jones' done-with-you approach comes in. In this episode, Kris is teaching us some of the basics of writing good copy, and how writing copy collaboratively with a writer can get you the best results. Kris Jones is a StoryBrand guide and founder of Red Door Designs. Mentored by StoryBrand founder Donald Miller himself and with over 20 years of experience and clients like Nike under her belt, she is extremely passionate about helping self-employed women get website copy that sells so they can multiply their revenue and focus on what they do best. Say goodbye to done-for-you and do-it-yourself. This is the solution you've been looking for. If you want to write copy that sells for you in 2.5 hours, tune in. Resources Mentioned: Visit Kris' Website: https://www.reddoordesigns.com/ Get the Write Compelling Copy Freebie: https://www.claritywithkris.com/ Work With Kris: https://grow.reddoordesigns.com/ Connect with me @neillwilliamscoach on Instagram and Facebook If you're loving what you're learning on this podcast every week - the tools, the strategies, and the brain hacks to unbusy your schedule and also unbusy your mind so that you can unbusy your life - please follow, rate and review by heading to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Full show notes available at www.neillwilliams.com/podcast
As a business-owner who is dedicated to helping and educating people on the importance of healthy living, how can you deliver your message in order to attain your goals and guide your patients on their road to success and progress for their mind, body, and overall well-being? Welcome to the “Rehab to Wellness B.O.S.S” Podcast! I'm your host, Kim Nartker, PTA. In this week's episode, I will be joined by Dawn Apuan. Dawn is a copywriter and funnel strategist. Former pastor and non-profit Executive Director, her mission now is to help entrepreneurs sell out even their most expensive offers with messaging that brilliantly captures their voice to attract dream clients - without costing them time and energy creating it. Her unique ability to craft words into wealth has helped hundreds of clients get results in 24 hours or less, and some clients make five figures overnight without sales calls! They will touch on such topics as: Communication is a key ingredient to having a healthy relationship with your clients. It's important to have an email list, but it is just as important to build a relationship with the people on that list. Your brand is really about the feelings people get when they first connect with you. Brand Message is an important part of marketing and advertising — to get people to remember you and create positive emotions around a product, service, or idea. Copywriting is the art of getting other people to do what you want them to do. People will pay to avoid pain and to get out of pain. Use social media as a tool to get people on your own email list. Reach out to Dawn: Facebook: Dawn Apuan Coaching Website: www.dawnapuan.com Email: dawnwritescopy@gmail.com Reach out to Me: If you're ready to join our community and start, build and grow your Wellness Business and would like to know more about our Program Book a call with us Here!!! Get YOUR FREE WELLNESS BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL START-UP CHECKLIST HERE! Facebook Group: Rehab to Wellness B.O.S.S Website: https://thestretchmobilitycoach.com/beacoach/
Alex Cattoni is the founder of The Copy Posse, a boutique agency, online academy and now 100,000+ strong global crew of authentic copywriters with a passion for creating community, credibility, and conversions with nothing but powerful and precise wording. In this episode: [3:50] Why every business needs copywriting. [10:30] 3 Tips to hook your audience's attention. [15:00] Copywriting versus content writing. [18:20] Alex's entrepreneurial journey + mission. [25:45] How the world of copywriting is changing. [31:00] Douchey copywriting vs. trauma informed marketing. [40:00] Direct response marketing vs. Brand-building. Connect with Alex @copyposse. Find her work at CopyPosse.com
We're at the halfway point of the year, which means it's time to start thinking about 2023. Knowing the growth strategies that will work in 2023 will help you start aligning your actions and plans so that you can take full advantage of these predictions, or get a head start! In this episode, we take a look at the old ways to grow on TeachersPayTeachers, and examine what needs to happen in order for them to continue being great growth strategies into 2023. We also take a look at new growth strategies that haven't been around as long, but can be used to accelerate your growth as a Teacher Seller- and in many cases way better than older strategies! Links: RankIQ for faster keyword research and ranking on Google Jasper Using my free trial link, you get an additional 10,000 free words to supercharge your blogging! How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards TEACHER SELLER FREEBIE: I created a preview template example of how to incorporate Ray Edward's teachings inside of your TPT product previews, check it out by visiting https://www.routineyourdream.com/freepreview *Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This podcast episode may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
Do you want more sales? When did you last revisit your messaging? To learn a framework for writing persuasive copy that delivers results in today's FOMO-saturated climate and discover a method to fine-tune your copy so you hit just the right tone, I interview Ray Edwards.Guest: Ray Edwards | Show Notes: socialmediaexaminer.com/517Review our show on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Copywriting is the business secret that every successful company understands but doesn't want to disclose to you to make sure you buy and it works, every time! This week we're speaking with the Copywriting Master, Leader, Husband, Father, Author, and my mentor Ray Edwards. If you've heard me talk about and recommend the book How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards, you're getting to hear an amazing chat with the man himself and how you can start leveraging copywriting in your video content, no matter what niche you're in.Resources:How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray EdwardsRayEdwards.comSupport the show
Copywriting is the business secret that every successful company understands but doesn't want to disclose to you to make sure you buy and it works, every time! This week we're speaking with the Copywriting Master, Leader, Husband, Father, Author, and my mentor Ray Edwards. If you've heard me talk about and recommend the book How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards, you're getting to hear an amazing chat with the man himself and how you can start leveraging copywriting in your video content, no matter what niche you're in.Resources:How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray EdwardsRayEdwards.comSupport the show
Copywriting is the business secret that every successful company understands but doesn't want to disclose to you to make sure you buy and it works, every time! This week we're speaking with the Copywriting Master, Leader, Husband, Father, Author, and my mentor Ray Edwards. If you've heard me talk about and recommend the book How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards, you're getting to hear an amazing chat with the man himself and how you can start leveraging copywriting in your video content, no matter what niche you're in.Resources:How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray EdwardsRayEdwards.comSupport the show
If you have a goal of building a successful online business, I know of no better way to quickly build a reputable, memorable, brand, than by writing a book. This isn't some tidbit I picked up somewhere - I've experienced this personally. My book, How to Write Copy That Sells, has sold about 30,000 copies since it was released in 2016. That's certainly not enough book sales for me to retire on, but the amount of business that book has generated for my company has resulted in millions of dollars in revenue. This week, I'm giving you 5 good reasons why you MUST write a book. [00:00] Intro - Who is Ray Edwards? [01:30] Five good reasons to write a book [01:44] Reason 1 - To be an Authority [02:07] Reason 2 - A useful, bestselling book is the Ultimate sales letter for your company [02:30] Reason 3 - Your bestselling book should become the hub of your digital business [02:51] Reason 4 - Free publicity (and a whole lot more) [03:01] Reason 5 - Your bestselling book is the key to getting speaking gigs (on podcasts, stages, etc.) [03:23] The fast track to building your personal brand [03:44] You don't get rich selling your book... [04:09] What kind of book? [05:43] How do you write a useful, bestselling book? [07:20] The best of both worlds [08:00] What does it take to have a bestseller? [08:40] What a book proposal really is, and how I got one [09:33] Who is Jeff Goins? [09:57] How I got my book deal (with a $150k advance) / Bestseller Bootcamp Links ProsperousWriter.com - Learn more about the upcoming Bestseller Bootcamp - Jeff Goins and I are going to walk you through the process of creating your book proposal (a.k.a., a business plan for your book), provide you with the exact proposal that we submitted to get my 150k book deal, and give you all the templates and tools necessary to do this for your own book. In fact, we'll be working on your proposal, live, in class. How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.
If you have a goal of building a successful online business, I know of no better way to quickly build a reputable, memorable, brand, than by writing a book. This isn't some tidbit I picked up somewhere - I've experienced this personally. My book, How to Write Copy That Sells, has sold about 30,000 copies since it was released in 2016. That's certainly not enough book sales for me to retire on, but the amount of business that book has generated for my company has resulted in millions of dollars in revenue. This week, I'm giving you 5 good reasons why you MUST write a book. [00:00] Intro - Who is Ray Edwards? [01:30] Five good reasons to write a book [01:44] Reason 1 - To be an Authority [02:07] Reason 2 - A useful, bestselling book is the Ultimate sales letter for your company [02:30] Reason 3 - Your bestselling book should become the hub of your digital business [02:51] Reason 4 - Free publicity (and a whole lot more) [03:01] Reason 5 - Your bestselling book is the key to getting speaking gigs (on podcasts, stages, etc.) [03:23] The fast track to building your personal brand [03:44] You don't get rich selling your book... [04:09] What kind of book? [05:43] How do you write a useful, bestselling book? [07:20] The best of both worlds [08:00] What does it take to have a bestseller? [08:40] What a book proposal really is, and how I got one [09:33] Who is Jeff Goins? [09:57] How I got my book deal (with a $150k advance) / Bestseller Bootcamp Links ProsperousWriter.com - Learn more about the upcoming Bestseller Bootcamp - Jeff Goins and I are going to walk you through the process of creating your book proposal (a.k.a., a business plan for your book), provide you with the exact proposal that we submitted to get my 150k book deal, and give you all the templates and tools necessary to do this for your own book. In fact, we'll be working on your proposal, live, in class. How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.
The pandemic has forced tens of thousands of small businesses to close their doors. Now, in the midst of our recovery, another term from the history books threatens to manifest itself in the present day - world war. I pray we find a more productive way to solve the world's problems. Outside of prayer, I have no influence over what is to come; however, I believe that in the aftermath of whatever occurs, the economic recovery will largely be in the hands of you and me...The entrepreneurs. I have a message for my fellow entrepreneurs: Now is not the time to quit. It's time for us to step up. This week, I'm sharing some ideas and recommending a few books that support that theory. [00:00] Intro - What's going on and what should we do? [01:47] Don't quit now [02:36] Book recommendation 1: Entrepreneurs Will Save The World by Michael Hyatt [03:48] Book recommendation 2: Permission to Prosper by Ray Edwards [07:06] Book recommendation 3: The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt [08:03] Book recommendation 4: How Do You Kill 11 Million People by Andy Andrews [08:41] A harmless man is not a good man [09:33] Book recommendation 5: How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards Links Entrepreneurs Will Save The World by Michael Hyatt Permission to Prosper by Ray Edwards The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt How Do You Kill 11 Million People by Andy Andrews How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.
The pandemic has forced tens of thousands of small businesses to close their doors. Now, in the midst of our recovery, another term from the history books threatens to manifest itself in the present day - world war. I pray we find a more productive way to solve the world's problems. Outside of prayer, I have no influence over what is to come; however, I believe that in the aftermath of whatever occurs, the economic recovery will largely be in the hands of you and me...The entrepreneurs. I have a message for my fellow entrepreneurs: Now is not the time to quit. It's time for us to step up. This week, I'm sharing some ideas and recommending a few books that support that theory. [00:00] Intro - What's going on and what should we do? [01:47] Don't quit now [02:36] Book recommendation 1: Entrepreneurs Will Save The World by Michael Hyatt [03:48] Book recommendation 2: Permission to Prosper by Ray Edwards [07:06] Book recommendation 3: The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt [08:03] Book recommendation 4: How Do You Kill 11 Million People by Andy Andrews [08:41] A harmless man is not a good man [09:33] Book recommendation 5: How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards Links Entrepreneurs Will Save The World by Michael Hyatt Permission to Prosper by Ray Edwards The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt How Do You Kill 11 Million People by Andy Andrews How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Visit Ray's community on Facebook – This is a friendly group of writers, entrepreneurs, and coaches who share ideas and helpful advice.
Have you ever struggled with crafting a YouTube Title and not really sure what you should call it? This week we're diving into how you can make your audience feel like you're a mind reader simply by your YouTube titles. Resources:⚡️ This Week's Gear Fix⚡️Join the Video Simplified CommunityBook: How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray EdwardsCatch Up On the Latest on the PodcastEpisode #79: Is Your YouTube Channel Clear or Confusing?Episode #78: How to Get Unstuck in Your Content in Under 10 Minutes! Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/diana)
Have you ever struggled with crafting a YouTube Title and not really sure what you should call it? This week we're diving into how you can make your audience feel like you're a mind reader simply by your YouTube titles. Watch the Video Version of this episode!Resources: ⚡️ This Week's Gear Fix⚡️ Join the Video Simplified Community Book: How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray Edwards Catch Up On the Latest on the Podcast Episode #79: Is Your YouTube Channel Clear or Confusing? Episode #78: How to Get Unstuck in Your Content in Under 10 Minutes! Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/diana)
Have you ever struggled with crafting a YouTube Title and not really sure what you should call it? This week we're diving into how you can make your audience feel like you're a mind reader simply by your YouTube titles. Resources:⚡️ This Week's Gear Fix⚡️Join the Video Simplified CommunityBook: How to Write Copy That Sells by Ray EdwardsCatch Up On the Latest on the PodcastEpisode #79: Is Your YouTube Channel Clear or Confusing?Episode #78: How to Get Unstuck in Your Content in Under 10 Minutes! Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/diana)
Your copy - the words you use to communicate with your ideal customers - is what makes people decide if they like you and trust you enough to buy from you.Today's guest, Kelsey Formost, specializes in teaching NON-writers (like us) how to write copy that quickly connects to our ideal customers, and converts them into paying clients (and maybe even fans).This is a high-value episode. There are literal steps that Kelsey shares that you can apply to your own business and website copy. So grab a notepad, or bookmark this episode for later, because you'll want to take notes and then go to her website to take advantage of her templates, courses, and freebies. *This one's a little ZOOMY, and I'm SORRY about that, but we've since solved the Zoom - electro-sound debacle. Otherwise, I hope you get as much as we did out of this episode with Kelsey Formost.Kelsey's Website - https://kelseyformost.comIf you want a shoutout in a future episode please leave us a written review on Apple Podcasts. Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com Intro mixed by Micheal Hartman - michaelhrtmn4@gmail.com
Links related to this episode: https://www.btmsinsiders.com/courses/high-velocity-copywriting?utm_source=btms-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210913 (High-Velocity Copywriting Training) https://www.btmsinsiders.com/bundles/btmsinsiders-all-access-pass?utm_source=btms-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210913 (BTMSinsiders is like Netflix for Copywriting & Marketing Training — Stream all of Roy's training for one low monthly fee) https://www.breakthroughmarketingsecrets.com/ask (Ask Roy your question) https://www.youtube.com/user/royfurr?sub_confirmation=1 (Subscribe to Roy's YouTube channel) https://breakthroughmarketingsecrets.captivate.fm/listen (Subscribe to the Breakthrough Marketing Secrets podcast) https://www.breakthroughmarketingsecrets.com/work-with-roy/ (Work With Roy) https://www.breakthroughmarketingsecrets.com (Get Roy's Daily Emails) This will help you write more interesting, compelling copy… It's a simple framework. It works for both novice and pro copywriters. It draws on the work of legendary copywriters like Bill Bonner and Eugene Schwartz. And it leverages the work of modern giant Russell Brunson. (With yours truly doing the job of wrangling these masters to bring them together for you.) All to create a framework you can use in minutes to make your copy more compelling. All in service of responding to this subscriber request: — I just want to learn how to write copy (or in general) as clearly and convincingly as possible. I'm not engaged in any specific business, other than writing. I am only here for enhancing my writing ability. - Billy — https://youtu.be/_pyse5hAuY4 (Discover how to write copy that sells with this simple framework in today's episode.) Yours for bigger breakthroughs, Roy Furr
MWH 290: How To Write Copy That Sells, Even If You're Not A Writer with Belinda Weaver On this week's episode, I'm sitting down with Belinda Weaver and we're going to talk about a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable... How to write copy that sells even if you're not a writer. I'm so thrilled with this episode as it will help you feel a lot more confident about writing copy for your business. LISTEN NOW Listen to this episode to learn: 3 myths around writing copy that you need to let go of because they're holding you back and keeping you from making more money in your business.Copywriting formulas and 3-step framework to help you start writing better copy right away.Specific writing tips around Calls To Action and what makes CTA converts to a sale. (Looking for more copywriting tips? Read here 5 Crispy Copy Tips with Jay Crisp Crow.) Belinda helps people write copy that makes them money. Whether it's teaching copywriters how to run successful businesses or business owners how to write more effective copy themselves, she has courses, coaching and mentoring that builds skills and confidence. But she wasn't always a copywriter. Belinda worked as a computer programmer, then in marketing before discovering copywriting was her jam. Ladies, if you loved this episode, tell me what part you like or how this has been helpful to you by sending me a DM on Instagram @mumswithhustle or email me at hello@mumswithhustle.com. I always love hearing from you. Until next week, stay happy in your hustle! CONNECT WITH BELINDA Website: www.copywritematters.comInstagram: @copywritemattersFacebook: @copywritematters and For The Love Of CopyTwitter: @copywritemattrs CONNECT WITH ME Web: www.mumswithhustle.comFacebook: @mumswithhustleInstagram: @mumswithhustleTwitter: @MumsWithHustleBiz Club: MWH Biz Club LOVE THE MUMS WITH HUSTLE PODCAST? Okay, mama! I'm going to give it to you straight, 'cause you know that's what I'm about. Podcast reviews are super important to iTunes and the more reviews we receive the more likely iTunes will reward us with better reach. I want to reach more hustling mamas that can add extreme value to our kick-ass tribe. Help a sister, out? I already love you forever, but I'd be extremely grateful if you would review me on iTunes! If you've loved this podcast, never miss another one! All you have to do is SUBSCRIBE to the Mums With Hustle Podcast on iTunes.
Una recomendación de un libro, dos motivos por los que debes leerlo y tres aprendizajes personales.
Making Elephants Fly | Conversations with High Octane Leaders, Dreamers, & Creatives
On this episode of Making Elephants Fly, Terry sits down with Ray Edwards. This is arguably one of the most important episodes of this show! Ray Edwards is a Communications Strategist, Copywriter, and author of the Amazon Best-Seller How to Write Copy That Sells. He is also the host of the top-ranked iTunes Podcast, The Ray Edwards Show. Ray has worked on copy and marketing with some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His marketing ideas and persuasive writing have helped generate an estimated $300 Million in revenue for clients like New York Times best-selling authors Tony Robbins, Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Jeff Goins, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jeff Walker, and more. He has been featured on Forbes.com, SocialMediaExaminer.com, and Entrepreneur.com. Join Ray and Terry as they talk about the power of leveraging our influence to build wealth to make an impact on the world. We dive into living in abundance and the power of words to get our messages heard. Find out more at http://terryweaver.com and join Terry at the Thing at http://thething.live and use the code PODCAST for a discount.
"Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is life." As a business owner, nothing could be more true...According to the US Department of Labor and Statistics, the number one reason 95% of businesses close their doors is quite simply running out of money. In this week's podcast, I'll give you seven ways to create steady cash flow. Spiritual Foundations "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Luke 14:28-30 If a business leader wants to get new clients, or sees a possibility of financial "boom times", there's the temptation to promise more, offer more, deliver more, overcommit, over SPEND, etc. Then if things don't go exactly as planned, paying the price becomes a bigger drain on resources, staff time and more. Maybe more than you can handle. Many a business has gone under because of this very phenomena. Jesus's wisdom works for every part of life, so the question is - The next time you have a big business decision to make, or even a small one… will you hope that you escape paying the price, or will you follow Jesus and count the cost? Entrepreneurial Spotlight This week, we're inviting you to cast the spotlight on an entrepreneur with an innovative idea or inspiring story (and yes...it can be you). We see and hear daily reminders of businesses that have failed in this economy. All of us need to remember that millions of entrepreneurs around the globe are thriving in spite of the challenges brought by this pandemic. Help us spread the good word! Send your Entrepreneurial Spotlight suggestion to support@rayedwards.com and we may feature them in a future episode. Tip of the Week My tip of the week is a very timely and powerful book by my friend, Michael Hyatt. Michael is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and his latest book, Entrepreneurs Will Save the World, definitely deserves a spot in your library. Not only is this a small investment ($17.99), but it comes with $164 in bonuses: Audio book version of Entrepreneurs Will Save the World ($24.99 value) The complete "Mindset Advantage" video series ($99 value) Employee to Entrepreneur Handbook: How to Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset in Your 9-5 ($29.99 value) 8 Traits Printables - Keep the 8 traits of the entrepreneurial mindset visible on your office wall or desktop ($9.99 value) The book is officially shipping as of today (10/19/20) and you can order it here: https://entrepreneurswillsavetheworld.com/ 7 Ways Copywriting Creates Consistent Cashflow Copywriting is more than sales letters. These are 7 ways that your copy can keep the cash flowing: 1. Increase New Customer Count 2. Increase Dollars Per Transaction 3. Increase Frequency of Transaction 4. Increase Lifetime of Client 5. Increase Referrals 6. Increase Leverage (ability to innovate and scale) 7. Increase Resiliency We covered some specific examples in the podcast, but if you really want to delve deeper into these, I suggest you pick up a free copy of my book, How To Write Copy That Sells, by clicking here. Links From This Week's Episode Michael Hyatt's new book can be found here: https://entrepreneurswillsavetheworld.com/ Ray's book, How to Write Copy That Sells is available for free by visiting https://rayedwards.com/FreeBook How You Can Help Subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you in this show. We are also on Stitcher and Google, so if you're Team Android, feel free to find us there. Questions about the show? You can text me anytime at 509-245-2670
Ever see a doctor on t.v. just ignore the crap out of a patient before and you want to jump through the t.v. and wack them one good time??? That's what we've been witnessing with some businesses and brands and the world is constantly addressing one major event after another and companies pretend nothing is wrong. This is a problem. On this week's episode, I share how to avoid being tone-deaf when creating your video marketing content, not only being doom and gloom either and what to do to constantly stay in tune with your people so they feel loved, appreciated, and understood during tough times! Resources Mentioned: New Upcoming Weekly Segment, Video Simplified Q&A - Ask a Question: http://diana.link/message Ray Edward's Book, How to Write Copy That Sells: https://amzn.to/3h59NS1 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dianagladney/message Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/diana)
Ever see a doctor on t.v. just ignore the crap out of a patient before and you want to jump through the t.v. and wack them one good time??? That's what we've been witnessing with some businesses and brands and the world is constantly addressing one major event after another and companies pretend nothing is wrong. This is a problem.On this week's episode, I share how to avoid being tone-deaf when creating your video marketing content, not only being doom and gloom either and what to do to constantly stay in tune with your people so they feel loved, appreciated, and understood during tough times!Resources Mentioned:New Upcoming Weekly Segment, Video Simplified Q&A - Ask a Question: http://diana.link/messageRay Edward's Book, How to Write Copy That Sells: https://amzn.to/3h59NS1 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dianagladney/messageSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/diana)
Jennifer Hudye is the founder of Conscious Copy and is one of the most sought after email copywriters in the online marketing space, writing copy for 6 and 7-figure campaigns. The top information marketers and influencers in the world, including: Joe Polish, Dean Graziosi, Eben Pagan Training, Bulletproof Coffee, Bedros Keuilian, Sally Hogshead, Chalene Johnson and many others, hire Conscious Copy to help them build out their strategy and craft results-driven copy that converts cold leads into raving fans. Jennifer has also spoken on stages alongside as Lewis Howes, Russell Brunson, Russ Ruffino, Keith Yackey, Chris Record, and many others. In this episode, learn how to write copy in a conscious way so that you can generate lots of sales without sounding "marketty."
Excellent Executive Coaching: Bringing Your Coaching One Step Closer to Excelling
How Copywriting Translates into Business Success Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC interviews, Ray Edwards, the specialist expert on how copywriting can Translate into business success. She asks him the following questions: What is copywriting, and why is it so important to entrepreneurs and small-business owners? In your book, How to Write Copy That Sells, you refer to the "magic building blocks" of sales copy. What are those blocks, and how do we use them? You have a chapter in the book called The Secrets of Writing Blockbuster Copy by Watching Movies. That sounds too good to be true! Are there any types of businesses that this "copy-centric" approach will not work for? Do Internet product launches still work, or has that gravy train already passed us by? What is the biggest mistake people make when writing copy? Who is Ray Edwards Ray Edwards is a Communications Strategist, Copywriter, Author, Speaker, and host of one the top iTunes Business Podcasts. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, and with some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times best-selling authors Michael Hyatt (author of Platform and co-author of Living Forward), Tony Robbins (author of Unleash the Giant Within and Money: Master the Game), Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (co-authors of Chicken Soup For the Soul), Jeff Walker (author of Launch), and many more. Ray's copy and marketing expertise has helped sell an estimated $200 Million or more in products and services. Ray is the founder of Ray Edwards International, Incorporated, which offers: Copywriting Consulting and Coaching Product Launch Management Training and Instruction
Excellent Executive Coaching: Bringing Your Coaching One Step Closer to Excelling
How Copywriting Translates into Business Success Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC interviews, Ray Edwards, the specialist expert on how copywriting can Translate into business success. She asks him the following questions: What is copywriting, and why is it so important to entrepreneurs and small-business owners? In your book, How to Write Copy That Sells, you refer to the "magic building blocks" of sales copy. What are those blocks, and how do we use them? You have a chapter in the book called The Secrets of Writing Blockbuster Copy by Watching Movies. That sounds too good to be true! Are there any types of businesses that this "copy-centric" approach will not work for? Do Internet product launches still work, or has that gravy train already passed us by? What is the biggest mistake people make when writing copy? Who is Ray Edwards Ray Edwards is a Communications Strategist, Copywriter, Author, Speaker, and host of one the top iTunes Business Podcasts. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, and with some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times best-selling authors Michael Hyatt (author of Platform and co-author of Living Forward), Tony Robbins (author of Unleash the Giant Within and Money: Master the Game), Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (co-authors of Chicken Soup For the Soul), Jeff Walker (author of Launch), and many more. Ray's copy and marketing expertise has helped sell an estimated $200 Million or more in products and services. Ray is the founder of Ray Edwards International, Incorporated, which offers: Copywriting Consulting and Coaching Product Launch Management Training and Instruction
In this week's episode, Sean turns the tables on Ray. The interviewer is now the one being interviewed. Click here to download or listen to this episode now. Feature Segment: Sean Edwards Interviews Ray Edwards Sean gets to ask Ray the questions this week. Some of the questions Sean asks… What is copywriting, and why is it so important to entrepreneurs and small-business owners? In your book, How to Write Copy That Sells, you refer to the "magic building blocks" of sales copy. What are those blocks, and how do we use them? Recently, you introduced the term called "Distributed Sales Messaging". What is that all about, and why is it important? Are there any types of businesses that this "copy-centric" approach will NOT work for? Do Internet "product launches" still work, or has that gravy train already passed us by? How To Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. Get The Transcript Click here to get the transcript now. Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts – a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed.
Do you know what the most important skill in business is? Persuasive communication. And persuasive communication is at the heart of great Copywriting. Today, a reading from my forthcoming book, How to Write Copy That Sells. Click here to download or listen to this episode now. Spiritual Foundations How to lead like Jesus. Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean." So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13:1-17 Tip of the Week Social Media Marketing World 2016. 3,000 pros in San Diego Top Pros: Guy Kawasaki, Jay Baer, Mike Stelzner, Amy Porterfield,Pat Flynn, Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Michael Port, Cliff Ravenscraft, Chris Brogan… and yours truly. Networking party onboard the USS Midway Lots of learning sessions, including a copywriting for social media workshop! Feature Segment: How to Write Copy That Sells A reading from my forthcoming book, How to Write Copy That Sells.. How To Help Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show. We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there. Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. Get The Transcript Click here to get the transcript now. Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts – a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed.