The true secret to great copywriting is…

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Raw energy when writing copy

If you’re a student of copywriting, you’ve likely come across various experts promising to share their secrets to success.

A lot of these promises come in the form of methods, templates, roadmaps, strategies… and so on.

In other words, “Follow this proven process and you’ll be a super-successful copywriter. Six figures and beyond!”

Get the book, course or coaching program, and you’ll have access to their amazing, super-powerful, 10-step method.

I’m not saying these “follow-the-process” methods don’t ever work…

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3 Benefits of writing better subheads.

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woman at desk writing with a laptop computer

Hopefully, you pay a lot of attention to writing your headlines.

I do.

I typically go through several drafts until I’m reasonably happy with a headline.

Headlines are important, because a good one captures attention and inspires people to start reading the body text. Bad headlines don’t.

Truth be told, I’m a bit of a headline nerd. I created an entire course on how to write them.

But… there’s more.

What about those subheads?

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Tell a simple story that engages your readers emotionally.

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woman wearing mask in store

It doesn’t have to be a big, dramatic story.

It can be something simple.

Like how my wife cried when she walked to the local corner store to buy chips, but realized she didn’t have a mask with her. So she couldn’t go in.

Her tears weren’t about the chips.

We know that.

Her tears were about the relentless grind of living through a pandemic, where something as simple as buying chips is sometimes out of reach.

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When you’re lost in the forest, and a digital marketing expert offers to help…

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If you have a business, or you advise or write for business, the web can be an amazing, but thoroughly confusing place.

Whether you want to learn more about email marketing, sales funnels, social media or chatbot marketing, there are a thousand experts ready and waiting to help you.

The trouble is, which experts should you follow? Which one teaches or offers the approach that will work best for your audience?

And, of course, you have to figure out which are the true experts, and which are the weekend gurus who likely know less than you do.

Here is my take on this, in three steps.

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Focus on long-term goals, and choose some scary ones.

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At this time of year, I always spend a few days reflecting on the year that just passed, and thinking about the year to come.

This year, before thinking too much about what’s to come in 2021, I looked back further than just last year.

In fact, I looked back at the last 10 years.

In particular, I wanted to take a look at the new ventures and projects I had embarked on, and see which of them worked out the best.

Two main takeaways…

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Write to people as individuals, not as part of a group.

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I’m writing this post for YOU.

We’ve probably never met. But I try to picture you in my mind as I sit at my computer, pecking away at the keyboard.

I might even imagine you here in my home, sitting across from me at the kitchen table.

I’m writing to you as if you’re the only person in the world on my mind right now.

This means I’ll always talk about you in the singular.

One-on-one. You and me.

I think you notice and appreciate it… the fact that I’m writing this just for you.

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