May 1, 2024 |
I was coaching a friend the other day.
She’s one of the most brilliant people I know. I feel strongly everyone should know her work.
And guess what?
She told me she only sends emails to her people like once every TWO months.
WHAAT.
I was appalled. (If you had any doubt…. YES, THAT IS WAY TOO FEW!!!!)
And of course, I was yelling at her about it, begging her to PLEASE give the people what they want… which is, more of her.
She was, understandably, a little apprehensive about it. She asked: “But how many emails is too many? Won’t people get sick of them?”
Here’s what I told her.
“There is a huge difference between writing to connect to people, and writing to market AT people. People love connecting. People hate being marketed AT. if you write twice a week genuinely connecting to people, they’ll love reading every word.”
She was a little stunned to hear this.
***
We email to connect, NOT to push our shit at people.
Email is a sacred place where we get to feel the heartbeat of another person, and revel in our stories together.
Our togetherness right here, right now makes the cruelty and madness of life… make a teeny bit more sense.
Don’t get me wrong… of course, I run a business, so I let you know about my offers and invite you into them, too.
And I do so without apology, because my shit is GOOD!
But guess what?
I’ve already been writing devotedly for years when I was making NO money.
To this day, I send emails that have nothing to do with me selling anything.
And even if I completely folded my business in the future, I would still continue to write to you.
BECAUSE THIS, TO ME, IS TRULY ABOUT THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND ME.
Almost nobody approaches email marketing this way.
Many would even call my approach dumb.
Maybe I am, but if ‘dumb’ means I get to touch tens of thousands of lives and make millions of dollars using nothing but my words, I’m fine with that.
***
Dear friend, if you hope to touch lots of people with your gifts, you want to have email on your side.
Especially in the age of social media, where Zuck owns all of your shit and can take away all of it whenever they want.
There’s a lot that goes into writing exceptional emails with HEART and SOUL.
I created a fat little resource called “Simone’s Email Secrets“, in which I have distilled not just my unique email philosophy, but also all my best tips and tricks for:
- establishing a writing routine that is actually enjoyable and doesn’t take you forever,
- writing emails people WANT to read, even if they hate everybody else’s emails,
- making sure your email is actually making you good money — without EVER making folks feel hustled and preyed upon.
This is everything you need to know.
And this resource is included as a supplemental lesson inside Writing with the Sword, on top of the primary curriculum.
We start next Wednesday.
P.S. — Speaking of supplemental lessons… this ain’t the only one.
I am including a total of FIVE supremely useful bonus resources inside Writing with the Sword:
- Bonus #1: Simone’s Email Secrets
- Bonus #2: The Book of Never-Ending Copy Prompts
- Bonus #3: The Irresistible CTA Guide
- Bonus #4: The Ultimate Book of Copy Q&A: The Expanded Edition
- Bonus #5: Fix Your Damn IG Bio: The Cheat Sheet
If you’ve been in any of my courses, you know that every single thing I do is extremely nutrient-dense.
When I say this is the only copywriting training you’ll ever need…
… I motherfuckin’ MEAN it.
Go, go, go. Sign up.
Apr 30, 2024 |
Right before going to bed last night, here’s what I sent my BFF, Julie.
Yes. That’s my kid. The love of my life.
I happen to find it HILARIOUS when he’s wailing at the top of his lungs. (Okay, I’m not a sadist – it’s not like I take pleasure in his pain I only think it’s funny when he is being over the top tragic about something like… not being allowed to eat a whole bag of Haribo gummies before dinner. Oh, toddlers…)
So anyway…. this is actually a copywriting lesson, okay?
Here’s what I want you to notice about this text exchange: that was the whole conversation. Just those two lines.
Took me 3 seconds. There was no context. No lead-in. No point-by-point elaboration of what I mean. None of that is necessary because… hello??? Julie and I are friends. This is how you talk to your friends, too, right?
I didn’t have a ‘reason’ for sending this text… other than knowing it’s gonna probably give her a chuckle.
And now, here’s what I really want you to notice, the million-dollar lesson: this is how we NATURALLY communicate with people we know, like, and trust. No throat-clearing. No giant preamble. No unnecessary explaining. No hidden agenda and tortured call-to-action.
Just:”Hey, I thought you’ll like this.” “OMG look what I saw on my walk!” “I had a thought about that thing you told me the other day.”
We just get right to the heart of things. It’s easy. It’s quick. It’s effortless. It makes us feel connected.The connection is the most important goal. The only goal, most of the time.
My friend, THIS is actually how you write copy that is FAST, LIGHT, and ACTUALLY READABLE.
Why? it’s because our brains interpret this kind of speech as “real human talking!! must pay attention!!”, as opposed to “I am now being marketed to… better tune out!”
Take a moment to really think about this. When I announced that you’ll be writing copy every single day inside Writing with the Sword, I’ve gotten so many replies like, “But what if writing takes me forever?” Look. If I were submitting an article to be published in the New York Times, I would take my good ass time with it. I would edit, edit, edit, and edit that shit 78 times to make sure it represents my best.
But copywriting ain’t that. Copywriting is never that. Your job is NOT to present a clear, coherent, beautifully structured essay on your best thoughts. Leave that to the New York Times writers.
The aim of copy is to create a MOMENT OF CONNECTION. And you can do that in seconds, minutes.When you spend hours and hours on your copy… what you are actually broadcasting is your discomfort, your unfamiliarity, and the lack of trust you have in the relationship with your reader.
And unfortunately, what that creates is clunky, stilted and heavy writing that few people want to read.
Of course, there’s a little bit more to the art of writing fast and still resonating with people.
This is just a tiny snippet of the kind of stuff we’ll cover inside Writing with the Sword. But by the end of the course, “ugh, every post takes hours” will be history.
Whatcha gonna do with all the time you’ll get back? 🙂
Writing with the Sword starts next week.
Where it gets you is simple. More eyes on your stuff, and more money in your pocket.
See you there.
Apr 29, 2024 |
Hey…
You love me because of my chaotic-good, non-linear, ADHD ways, right?
RIGHT?
Okay.
Because I juuust finally wrote up the blurb on exactly what you’re going to learn in the Way of the Sword. hahahaha
(File me under evidence for: “people will buy your stuff even if they have no idea what’s going to happen inside it”…)
And we don’t have a curriculum. Instead, we have … quests!!
Here’s what you’ll be playing with…
Quest 1. The Magic of the “Right Person”
There is a “right person” profile for your business. And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with niches, or the often-taught “ideal customer avatar.” Fuck that shit. I’ll teach you how to identify your “right person,” and make them come out of the woodwork.
Quest 2. The “Addictive Copy” Recipe
Yes, there IS a recipe! I actually reverse-engineered this process by looking back on my most viral posts, and most responded-to emails. Aha — clear pattern emerged, and I myself follow it religiously. Now, it’s yours, too.
Quest 3. Befriending the Darkness
We’re not here for the “Love and Light” stuff. You know that right?
To become a true leader, and not just an ‘influencer’, you must not shy away from dark topics (both personal, and about the larger world) that most people would rather avoid. I’ll teach you how to write about the hard stuff in a way that feels good to you, and is actually useful for people.
Quest 4. The Superpower of Specificity
The epidemic of vague copy needs to stop! I will teach you how to write in a way that is so specific that makes people say “ARE YOU READING MY DIARY??” and makes you stand out from the “Sea of Beige.”
Quest 5. Pro-level Editing
It’s all about the editing, baby! There is a specific sequence I take myself through after I write the first draft to cut the fluff, hook their attention, and keep them reading all the way until the end… and of course, make it irresistible for them to take action. And it takes minutes, not hours. Grab my entire detailed guide for this.
Quest 6. Cash-generating Copy
There are about a handful of extremely simple things you should be doing that will help you to sell a lot more. Emphasis on SIMPLE!!!! I will guide you through the steps, and help you establish a habit of doing them consistently. (None of them will feel gross, I promise.) And then you make more money… for the rest of your life. Simple as that.
(And even though quests 5 + 6 look like they come last, they’re gonna be dropped on the very first day… because, hello? I want you to be editing like a pro and bringing in those ca$hdollaz from day 1.)
Ohhhh yeah, baby.
7 whole weeks of implementing the shit out of all of these. With me as your copy fairy and editor. YES.
We start May 8th!
Damn… that’s next week!
P.S. — ummmm did you grab the INSANE new resource I just dropped?
I just compiled the Ultimate Copywriting Q&A. You can download that biatch right away, for FREE.
Play with this while you wait for the course to begin!
