Copywriting
A client told me he has stopped using em dashes in his content ā like this ā because they’re a “dead giveaway that AI wrote it.” That inspired me to launch an informal, 100%-unscientific poll: 1) Do you use AI to help you draft marketing content? 2) If yes, do you remove the em-dashes? 3)…
Color me stupid. I thought I might find a talented developer in a Facebook group to help me automate a complex business process. Instead, I got hounded by bots and pretenders dishing AI-generated slop. It started on Monday. I posted a detailed summary of what I needed in the Facebook group. Within 10 minutes, I…
I’ve seen a lot of BS marketing tactics at play over the years, but this one takes the cake… A guy named Bob bought a copy of my book and opted into my email list. Then he configured his email system to auto-reply with his marketing messages. So when I sent him emails he asked…
A few months ago, I tried one of those AI-powered subject line checkers and it blew my mind — in a bad way. I fed it some of my best-performing subject lines, and the AI spit back scores of 42%, 56%, and 58%. So I ran some experiments to determine the “perfect” subject line according…
I remember hearing the great Dan Kennedy once say something like this: “You’re not a plumber. You’re a marketer, promoting plumbing services. “You’re not a lawyer. You’re a marketer, promoting legal services. “You’re not an executive coach, you’re…” (You get the point, right?). I told that story yesterday to loyal reader June (an executive coach) after she…
This thing is under lock and key until 12 a.m. Thursday. But I figure I can give you a sneak peek so you’re ready when the doors open. š¤«Ā Look… John McIntyre asked me and 10 other top copywriters — John Carlton, Doberman Dan, John Bejakovic, and many others — to contribute premium products for: 2025ās…
By 1999, David Garfinkel had already made it as a copywriter. He’d written a sales letter that brought in $40 million for one client. He’d studied under the masters. He knew the craft inside and out. While taking a screenwriting course in California, David often would cite connections in class between what they were learning…
I heard a wild story from a guy who used to design direct mail packages for the legendary publishing house Boardroom. In the 1990s, Boardroom began mailing “magalogs” — magazine length publications designed to sell something, such as a newsletter subscription. Here’s the wild thing the designer told me: Boardroom’s customer support department used to…
In the hallowed halls of Reddit, I met a “super-villain.” It happened this morning, in a place where people discuss AI. A guy said he walked into a party, told people he’s an AI engineer, and nearly got tarred and feathered. Suddenly, I was the villain of the evening. People hit me with: I can…
Ripped from the depths of my SPAM folder, this “gem” from a guy named Hiroko: “Hi Tom, Iām Hiroko, Head of AI Business Development at RevvAI, and Iāve been following Story Power Marketingās innovative approach to content transformationāespecially your role as a coach and confidante, bridging strategy with execution.” (It gets worse from there.) So…