THREAD OF THREADS I've been writing copy and optimising conversions since 2009. Now I want to help you raise your game. Follow me to learn about: Writing Marketing Persuasion Copywriting Conversion optimisation (Continually updated) // THREAD //

Imagine this… You’re in your first martial arts class and I’m showing you how to throw a jab. Then some stranger walks past and says: “Even better is the Spinning Bird Kick.” The nice thing to do is thank them, get back to the jab, and hope they get the help they need. And I know that sounds dumb… But it’s what happens here whenever I advise people to focus on a specific fundamental of the craft. As too many people are too eager to show off their knowledge. They want to sprint before they can crawl. Spinning Bird Kick before they can jab. And the result is all flash and no foundation. Their rush to the “advanced” techniques leaves them without a deep understanding of the fundamentals of the craft. Which might make them seem clever in the short-term. But won’t work for them in the long-term. As all lasting success is built on a strong foundation of fundamentals. So don’t let fancy tricks and techniques turn your head. Double down on the fundamentals of the craft before you start searching for more advanced tools.

My favourite quote on the importance of staying in shape: “Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn.

It's Friday evening... And I know the reviews at the time weren't fantastic, but I'm having a great time with Rage. Then maybe a movie later. Enjoy your evening!

Excellent post by Torrey on what it takes to win (make sure you're following him):

Quick Copywriting Tip Use micro commitments in your copy... Words or short phrases designed to get a “yes” from your prospects. Examples: • Right? • Got it? • Agree? • Correct? • Understand? • Makes sense? The more yeses you get the better.

Storytelling’s Secret Structure (Warning: this is going to get a little technical and nerdy, but it will be worth it for anyone who writes stories in their copy.) It's no great secret storytelling is a powerful tool for sales and copywriting. But what's not as well known is that effective storytelling has its own unique writing pattern. So I'm going to share that with you right now: Effective storytelling is based on cause and effect. That is, the idea one event is the result of another event. For example: Cause - The temperature plummeted. Effect - Andrew put on his hat and gloves. Putting on the clothes was a result of the cold temperature. And that’s the building block for writing a story. Something happens therefore something else happens. In writing it's known as a Motivation Reaction Unit (MRU). The cause is the motivation, the effect is the reaction, together the pair form the unit. Now let's look at how you write them: You start with a motivation sentence. This something that happens to your character that's important enough for them to respond to. For example: • The dog's growl turns into a bark. Then you have a reaction sentence. This is how your character responds to the motivation. For example: • Sam starts to back away. And putting them together: • The dog's growl turns into a bark. Sam starts to back away. And that's it. The benefits of this technique are it’s: • Simple... • Drives your story forward... • Gives it a logical flow... And it makes sure your reader won't lose track of what's going on. Plus, to turn it into a story all you have to do is rinse and repeat. You follow one MRU with another, and another, and so on. A quick example: The doorbell rings. Dan looks up but decides to ignore it. It rings again, repeatedly. With a frustrated sigh he gets up and goes to see who it could be. "I know you're in there, Daniel. I need to see you right away." Dan recognises his mother's voice and opens the door... Breaking it down: Motivation – Doorbell rings. Reaction – Dan ignores it. Motivation – Doorbell repeatedly rings. Reaction – Dan goes to find out who it is. Motivation – The person speaks to him. Reaction – Dan recognises them and opens the door. Now that's not going to win me any awards. But it does demonstrate it's not difficult to use MRUs to write a professional-sounding story. And that's how you start to become a great storyteller. To sum up: 1) Start with something that happens to your character. 2) Follow-up with the character's response. 3) Repeat as needed. And you don't need to follow the pattern exactly. Sometimes you might want two or three motivation or reaction sentences in a row. Play around with it. Credit for this goes to Jack Swain. He was the first to break down the mechanics of storytelling in his 1965 book, "Techniques of the Selling Writer". And if you found this useful: Repost it to help your fellow persuasion professionals. Make sure you’re following me @AndrewWriteCopy for more quality copywriting and marketing content. And enjoy the rest of your day!

Your weekly reminder! If you want to write great copy focus on the Fundamental Five: 1) Proof 2) Clarity 3) Benefits 4) Research 5) Specificity

Quick Copywriting Challenge You know the first goal of a headline is to grab attention. And the second goal is to get your prospect to keep reading. But is there anything else it should do?

Let things go. Don’t get into arguments. Don’t take insults personally. Let it all bounce off you. It makes life so much easier and more enjoyable.

Quick Copywriting Tip When researching on sites like FB, Quora, and Reddit… Look for posts with the most replies not likes. As they show what people are most passionate about.

Chase mastery. Too many people chase the money. They think short-term, jump from one bright shiny object to the next, and never make any real money. Instead focus on one skill, commit to the long-term, and get good.

Quick Copywriting Tip Use a benefit-based CTA. For example, if you're selling something to do with 𝕏 growth... Instead of the generic: • Add to cart You could use: • Grow my account Or: • Get more followers

Once again the air fryer delivers. I used it to cook some quality steak for my parents and the result was pretty much perfect. (It was supposed to be 3 pieces of sirloin, I'm not entirely sure how that fillet steak ended up there.)

This Thursday I'm teaching an intermediate sales page writing workshop in @AlinDragu's CopyCreator Club. So if you're interested in writing sales pages that sell... Or even just polishing Claude's output... Make sure you're on Alin's list for more details.

If things go wrong… And they will… Don’t beat yourself up too much. Talk to yourself as if you were your own best friend.

It's Friday night... I finished Star Wars Outlaws and thought it was fantastic. Now I'm back on the mean streets of Japan with Yakuza Kiwami. Then I might start on Hawaii Five-O as I picked up the complete box set recently. Enjoy your evening!

Yesterday I had the privilege of being a guest on the legendary @GarfinkelCoach’s podcast. We talked all about understanding people. And I think we crammed a fair bit of value into just 30 minutes. It should be posted in a few weeks and I’ll let you know as soon as it’s live.

Quick Copywriting Tip Use a “not list”. A list of things your offer isn't and that your prospects don't want. It's great for curiosity and objections: “This new traffic method is: • Not PPC • Not SEO • Not content marketing Not like anything you've ever seen before.”

11 of the Best Fiction Books for Copywriters If you're a copywriter don't limit yourself to marketing and copywriting books. You also want to read fiction. Because it can help improve your: • Writing. • Storytelling. • And understanding of human nature. Plus, it's a great way to relax! So let's have a look at 11 of the best fiction books for copywriters: And we'll start with hard-boiled novels. These are pretty much perfect for copywriters as the writing's lean with the focus on driving the story forwards. Gary Halbert's favourite was the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald, but I prefer... 1) Grifter's Game by Lawrence Block Block's my favourite hard-boiled author and this is as good a starting point as any for his work. It's his first novel published under his real name and it's a no nonsense noir tale with a pitch black ending. 2) Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett Hammett's the man who invented the genre and he's probably best known for The Maltese Falcon. But I've picked this, his influential tale of a private eye setting a city's gangs against each other. 3) Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler After Hammett, Chandler was one of the first hard-boiled writers. His novels usually get the most praise, though I think this collection of eight short stories is the perfect introduction to his style. 4) A Hell of a Woman by Jim Thompson You can't go wrong with anything from Thompson. His writing's excellent, his stories are dark, and this is one of my favourites from him. 5) The Hunter by Richard Stark Stark's a pseudonym for Donald E. Westlake. And this is the first in his series of books starring crook Parker. Easy to read, hard as nails, and highly enjoyable. 6) No Good From a Corpse by Leigh Brackett Brackett’s best known for her sci-fi (she wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back). But it turns out she could write a mean hard-boiled novel too. Her use of dialogue makes it almost feel like you’re watching a movie. Now let's take a quick detour to a more modern thriller… 7) Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz You're not going to find many better examples of verb-driven, fast-paced, action-packed storytelling. Lightweight, but incredibly entertaining. Now a few of the classics to finish. These are great for understanding what makes people tick: 8) Moby Dick by Herman Melville For a book about chasing a whale, this covers a lot of ground. It touches on everything from religion and free will to insanity and the limits of human knowledge. 9) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Tolstoy's best known for War and Peace, but this is a more accessible read. And it's every bit as relevant today as when it was first published back in 1878. 10) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky A true psychological thriller. Dostoyevsky was a master at diving deep into the human psyche. 11) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas A swashbuckling tale of revenge. Excellent storytelling with surprisingly deep characters. And that’s all folks! If there are any books you’d recommend let me know. Follow me @AndrewWriteCopy for more posts on marketing and copywriting. And if you found this valuable, repost it to help your fellow persuasion professionals. Enjoy the rest of your day.