Morning!
2 days ago, I wrote the first part of my Inceptions Deceptions series over at Here’s How It All Started – Part 1 of Inceptions Deceptions . And I closed it by hinting at how I fixed myself regarding the horrendous feelings of utter body-crumbling doom regarding copywriting that suffused my very being whenever I'd even….heck….see a copying machine!
And here's how I did it.
I transmorgrified myself into Donald Trump (with long flowing blonde hair! And highlights! And and and…. ) and paid 392 copywriters $8,394,897 to fix everything gave myself permission to rethink my views on copywriting.
See, ever since I was a young lass battling Orcs in the sun-kissed region of Hades, I've hated the concept of "selling." I'm pretty sure this goes back to my childhood when my personality wouldn't register on the Richter scale (limp dishrags were more vibrant than me back then) and I'd basically be apologizing for wasting the oxygen I so unfairly consumed.
Such a pathetic attitude about oneself does NOT contribute towards self-confidence and greatness, you know…and sales kinda sorta requires a firm belief, not only in what you're selling, but also in what you yourself has to give.
What she said…yeah.
Anywhos! Let me digress for a second and point you in the direction of Peter Shallard's latest magnificent post – Why what you believe gets you nowhere. I just read it this morning and was slapped upside the headed by how insightful it is.
Why?
Because Peter zooms RIGHT to the crux of the matter – how your own personal beliefs can make or break your success. Definitely read the above and then subscribe to his blog – it's a great treat whenever he writes.
Where was I?
Ah yes! Back to fixing myself. I had just finished setting up the Weekly Expert Sales community, and needed to write (I hope you're sitting down for this)…..copy.
(Btw, you'll want to sign up for that – it's free and I share lots of excellent Internet marketing resources that I've uncovered online).
Now, remembering how much I hated writing copy, I decided THIS time to be (get this!) smart and research great copywriting techniques.
I visited the Warrior Forum and checked out their private Warroom (methinks it costs $37 and is DEFINITELY worth it!). There, I came across Stripped Naked Salesletters…and eagerly devoured it bigtime!
Guess what it did?
Basically, it provided the reader with a sales letter *dissection*.
And I used THAT to write my sales copy. A few hours later and I realized the most blindingly obvious fact of all (and it's something I myself have been teaching since the dawn of time):
Copywriting – it's story-telling with a *purpose*.
Storytelling?
Me? The all powerful Mother Unit? The Amazing Incredible Mama Bear of our Karate Dojo who can always help out her colleagues by telling them stories of her past…and what she learned from them today?
Fancy that.
A huge part of copywriting….IS storytelling. You just want a different outcome compared to your kids/friends/family.
And when you realize THAT…you start to realize that hey! Sales is NOT about the typical used car cretin that lurks in the abysmal pits of Recession America….instead, it's:
- Helping your customer realize that what you have to offer is an incredible value
- Letting your customer realize that it will assist them greatly in achieving their goals.
It's lots of other things too, mind you….but when you give yourself permission to internalize the above, great things start to happen.
And so it started to happen with me.
It can happen with you too!
How, I hear you ask?
Well, you can do what I did yesterday! Because of the above blindingly obvious fantastically magnficient insight, I took a trip to Barnes and Nobel and came across books by Jeffery Gitomer, to be precise:
I hunkered down in the big huge poofy Barnes and Noble chair and started to read.
And read.
And read read read!
I LOVED what I had read – the insights this man shares are truly gems beyond belief. So I bought 3 more books by him as well….it will be good reading for me!
If you get a chance to hit the bookstores, definitely check it out yourself. You'll love what you discover!
So! Where am I?
Ah yes! I just told you how I started to change my views about copywriting. It was truly a fabulous experience! And it's just gotten better and better, but that's another part of my story that I'll address later.
Back to my Inceptions Deceptions – so! You're probably wondering:
"Gee Barbara, a free marketing community? What on earth is in it for YOU to give such stuff away?"
And that's an excellent question…one I'll address in Part III. See you there!
Have a soul-stirringly marvelous day,
Barbara Ling
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!