Dear LDCC Comrade,

Let’s begin by talking about markets.

You see… Unfortunately, it isn’t enough JUST to be a copywriter today.
(In the strict sense of the word).

Being a copywriter entails more than it used to.

No longer are we hired into super-agencies…
to sit in an office like a recluse…
Only emerging to receive or turn in work.

We live in a “project economy” today.

The copywriter is brought on as a freelancer to help with one project.

And.
We keep a number of clients. Anywhere from 1 to 10/month.
All expecting our expertise in whatever market they operate in.

So.
Today, you have to…

1. Be able to market your own services, and
2. Operate within a variety of markets.

Even if your niche is well-refined (and it should be)…
Your clients’ target audience will almost never be identical.

You must be a student of markets.

… As Gary Halbert put it.

In chapter 6 of The Boron Letters…
He asks this question. Regarding markets.

“If you and I both owned a hamburger stand…
And we were in a contest to see who would sell the most hamburgers…
What advantages would you most like to have on your side?”

Answers vary from having superior meat… To sesame seed buns.
Location of the stand… To price of the burgers.

But Gary challenges…
“I’ll give you every single advantage you ask for.
I, myself, only want one advantage and, if you will give it to me…
I will whip the pants off of all of you when it comes to selling burgers!”

You know what advantage he choses?

“A STARVING CROWD…”

THIS is how you should market both your service, AND your clients’ products.

I can’t stress enough how important that book has been to my writing.
If you haven’t already, you should invest.

Ask yourself this question now:
Who is your dream client? What are their character traits? Are they rich?
Young? Old? Do they coach tennis? Write novels?

I mean REALLY develop a persona.
Write down EXACTLY who your dream client is.
And target that persona when marketing your services.

Be precise

Target too broad and you will never find work.
Your practice can almost NEVER be too niche.

Don’t underestimate the importance of defining your niche.

I’m making a note to do an insight letter on Facebook ad targeting.

So.
When you’re writing copy for clients as well…
The target audience should be DEFINED.

Study your client’s dream customer… like a grad student on Adderall.
Learn EVERYTHING about that customer.

And exploit what you know about them so they cant resist your copy.

Target audience research is JUST AS IMPORTANT as product research.
Don’t forget this.

This brings up our next point.

IF IT’S AT ALL POSSIBLE…

You should define the dream customer…
Learn the problem they need solved…
And write the copy…
BEFORE creating the product

I know this sounds backwards…
But I promise this is the BEST way of launching a product or service.

Most entrepreneurs spend YEARS developing a product…
Only to find there is no market for it.

But.
If you start with the audience and their problem…
And solve the problem IN YOUR COPY…
Then creating an effective product becomes EASY.

Imagine this:
A 23 year old, college graduate, working a 9-5.
He spends lunch hour googling…
“how to quit my job and become an internet entrepreneur.”

This is a common situation.
And ALL these people have the same problem.
… They feel stuck in a job they hate.

Target them with Facebook ads.
Research the things they might be interested in.

Refine your “interest” field inputs.
And start small.
Pick 1 or 2 interests. MAYBE 3.

Target too broad and your conversions will suffer.

Only now (AFTER your dream customer and problem are defined)…
Should you write your copy.

And write copy that solves the problem of being stuck in a shitty job.

And THEN develop your product.

Do things in this order and you are 100x more likely to see a positive ROI.

Keep it small-scale and split test different “interests.”
Once you find a winning combination, THEN you scale up.

Now.
When you sell…

Don’t sell the product. You sell the solution to a problem.
You sell a concept.

When you write your copy…
Remember you are selling the IDEA that you can solve that person’s problem.

You’re selling him on the IDEA…
That whatever product he will find at the bottom of the sales page…
Will solve his most pressing problem.

… The issue of hating his job.

If your target audience is refined, this will be his most pressing problem.

The product is NOT what you’re selling.
It ONLY brings the solution into physicality for your customer.

Paradoxically…
The product is a byproduct of the solution you’re selling.

You HAVE to get into this mindset.
Beat it into your brain:

1. Refine target audience.
2. Find the most pressing problem that audience is experiencing.
3. Write copy that proposes THE solution.
4. Develop the product.
5. Split test interests and ad dynamics.
6. Scale.

In becomomg a successful entrepreneur…
You’ll have to flip a lot of mental switches.
THIS ONE is among the most important.

You have to REORDER the way in which you sell.

No one spends money on things. They spend money on solutions to problems.

If you give them a solution, the price you charge becomes a non-factor.
People will pay just about anything to solve their most pressing issues.

So, this brings up the issue of pricing.

Price your products and services according to their benefits.
NOT according to hours spent in development.
Or the efforts of your service.

A man goes into the dentist’s office with a sore tooth.
“I’ll fix the problem in 5 minutes for $500,” says the dentist.

“Well, $500 for 5 minutes of work?
That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Sir, I could take 2 hours if you’d like.”

But of course…
Asking a dentist to spend 2 hours on a 5 minute solution is ridiculous.

We don’t pay for the service.
We pay for the solution.

And $500 to avoid tooth decay is a steal.

$20,000 for copy that returns a profit of $500,000… Is a steal.

You sell solutions.

So.
We’ve talked about audience targeting and selling solutions.

And tomorrow we will talk about how to build an effective sales funnel.

But first.
I want to talk to you about…

How to practice writing copy

I am about to tell you something you won’t want to hear.
So brace yourself.

There is no short cut to writing great copy.

If you want to be good enough to make a killing…
You MUST spend at least 20 hours in DEDICATED practice.

This doesn’t mean 20 hours of YouTube videos.
Or even 20 hours of reading.

It means 20 hours of INTENSIVE… DEDICATED writing.

Begin by picking someone prominent in your niche.
Someone who is making your goal income.
Working with your dream client.

And literally…
Rewrite their copy. Word for word. Without changing a thing.

Find a piece of copy they wrote for you dream client.
And rewrite it… word for word… until you develop carpal tunnel.

You’ll find that (in just 5-10 hours of CONSISTENT writing)…
That you have developed their style and format.

After copying their work several times each…
Go through and revise it (using the principles taught in this course).
And give it your own voice.

But DO NOT compromise on formula. AIDA works.

Now consider another problem your dream client might have.
And conceptualize a solution to that problem.

Write copy selling that solution.
… Keeping in mind the rules, styles and formula you have learned in studying.
Then revise THAT.

You can throw these into your portfolio under the category, “speculative ads.”
Feel free to actually develop the product.
Or pitch your solutions to people who can.

Repeat this and scale your service until you’re making that goal income.

Remember…
None of this works UNTIL you have defined your dream client.

So there we have it.
Target audience. Problems and solutions. And practice.

Tomorrow, we will talk about…

Building an effective sales funnel

Creator of ClickFunnels, Russel Brunson, will be our guide.

This is my #1 FAVORITE topic in this 5 day course.
AND the most important skill in my niche.

So check your inbox tomorrow at 1 p.m.
I can’t wait to get into this one.

So tomorrow… day 5… We’re gonna end thing with a discussion on funnels!

I had so much fun writing this one.
So, I hope you enjoy.

Homework

I only have one piece of homework for you today…
But it can never be completed.
So, work on it every day until you’re making bank as a copywriter.

>> Reread the “practice” section of this letter.

• Follow it step-by-step. And DON’T cheat yourself. This is your future not mine.

I promise…
If you follow those instructions, you cannot fail.
Your strength of will is the ONLY thing that can hold you back.