Month: September 2021

Why You Should Be the Least Expensive Option in Your Space

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I can’t count how many times potential clients have told me “you’re too expensive.”

After a while, it can make you doubt your strategy. And yourself.

In my case, I had 2 factors working against me:

1) Much cheaper competition. (Not that every copywriter charges less. But enough do to create a lowered expectation in the minds of many prospects.)

2) More significantly, lazy positioning on my part.

Because the way you position your pricing is just as important as the dollar amount.

We don’t have to get into the weeds here (We may go deeper in a future email. That’s a good reason to subscribe now)…

But I’m going to make an off-the-wall suggestion.

You should be the least expensive option in your niche.

That doesn’t mean you should have the least expensive price tag…

It means you have to flip the script for your would-be buyer.

It’s not about how much he’s about to spend. It’s how much he’s going to SAVE when he buys from you instead of the other guy (or doing nothing at all).

  • Save money on buying a higher quality option instead of having to keep buying replacements
  • Save time because your product/service works and doesn’t break or breakdown
  • Save energy because he has a more complete solution
  • Save embarrassment because he doesn’t have to explain why things aren’t going according to plan
  • Save frustration because he’s FINALLY getting what he wants

When you buy from or hire the best, it only hurts once.

Show your target audience how much they can save and price becomes much less of an obstacle. 

P.S. Set your prices like your life depends on it. Because in a way, it does.

Will A.I. Put Copywriters Out of Business?

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You hear a lot of discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) programs putting copywriters out of business.

Should you fear for your professional life?

Today I’m sharing insights into the topic which I don’t think I’ve heard other copywriters talk about.

Specifically, I’ll reveal the which copywriters are at risk… and the one thing I do to virtually guarantee your “job security” as AI becomes more prevalent.

We’re already seeing entrepreneurs use artificial intelligence programs to write some of their basic descriptive copy and informational content.

The programs have options to write FB ads and emails, too. So they’re designed to be used for selling purposes. They’re just not creative, or original, and they aren’t great at eliciting emotion.

The programs don’t create, per se. They use machine learning to curate, mix and match.

As far as I can tell, we’re far from any of these programs being able to independently come up with a unique “big idea” for copy or content and write in a way that generates a unique thought.

That doesn’t mean it won’t be used to attempt to write effective selling copy.

Now, I still think it will be some time before AI has widespread adoption, even for simple copy. Not every business even has a website in 2021!

Still, I believe machine learning/artificial intelligence will start edging out more and more copywriters in the months and years ahead.

The capabilities of these AI programs may not live up to the hype… but the hype is what’s making (and going to make) entrepreneurs buy them.

Meaning that you’ll see AI being used to write sales copy, even if it’s not all that compelling. Many users won’t really know how to tell the difference, or they’ll simply “trust the science.”

Again, watch the video to see how I recommend staying safe from the Skynet of copywriting.

How to Navigate Email Marketing After Apple’s iOS 15

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Navigating email marketing after iOS 15

What if the open rate on your next email hit 67% within minutes of sending it to your list?

Seems like a reason to get excited.

You might start thinking about all the orders that are about to start pouring in.

Guess what. There’s a good chance you’ll start seeing numbers like that in the near future.

But it’s not because two-thirds of your subscribers are opening your emails…

This is one of the immediately apparent effects of Apple’s soon-to-release iOS 15 update.

Every one of your readers who checks email from Apple Mail (even if they have non-Apple emails like Gmail or Yahoo) could have their emails marked as open…

The most recent data I’ve seen indicates that could be almost 50% of your list!

Source: Litmus’ Email Client Market Share in July 2021

Here’s What You Need to Know

I recorded a video about iOS 15 back in June. It reveals some insights and actionable tips to help you navigate the coming changes.

Here’s the gist of it: starting as soon as mid-September, you won’t be able to trust open rates AT ALL…

And any marketing efforts you’re doing based on open rates will have to go back to the proverbial drawing board:

  • split testing subject lines…
  • segmenting engaged vs. unengaged (a ton of E-com store owners live by this one)…
  • resending to non-openers…
  • triggered emails…

…and more.

One of the shifts email marketers will have to make is focusing on clicks rather than open rates.

And one of the skills you (or your copy team) will need to is the ability to write emails that get clicked.

This has ALWAYS been important to drive sales.

But post-iOS 15… clickthroughs will be essential for testing, tracking and segmenting.

Otherwise, you’re sending emails in the dark.

For the unprepared, it’s about to be pandemonium out here.

If email makes up any percentage of your revenue, you have to start getting ready NOW.

On September 6, 2021, I’ll gave a live training on Zoom to show you how I write click-magnet emails. We even wrote one live during the training! Watch the recording here.

In recent emails, 19.3%… 26.1%… even 33.6% of my readers have clicked through.

(That’s a lot of sales opportunities, and it gives me a lot of engagement data I can use for testing, tracking and segmenting.)

I’ll also walk you through 4 more critical steps you need to take to navigate the new reality.

If you struggle getting clicks, this training will be good for you.

If you rely on 30-day or 60-opens to segment your emails list, this training will be good for you.

If you’re a copywriter or marketing strategist whose clients or potential clients depend on email to make sales, this training will be good for you — and could really make you stand out from your competitors who know nothing about this topic.

Watch the recording of my emergency iOS 15 training here.

I look forward to seeing you.