Copywriting
Last month, an accomplished, intelligent business woman named Brooke told me I make her grimace. And good golly, Miss Molly, that made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Once upon a time, I might have sulked if someone put “Tom Ruwitch” and “grimace” in the same sentence – especially a female someone. But not…
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A new-ish subscriber named Dave chimed in yesterday with high praise and… …a complaint. “I love your emails, but I cannot keep up with them, as they come so often.” Ahhhh…the give-and-take of daily-ish, info-taining emails. You love them, but they’re…ummmm…too much of a good thing. Dave continues… “I don’t want to jump off your…
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In yesterday’s email, I told you how Jack Turk quit his job at Microsoft to become a party magician and, later, “The World’s Fastest Copywriter.” Last night, over cocktails at the hotel bar in Baltimore, I learned the story behind that story. Our new friend Al asked Jack, “Why’d you quit your job at Microsoft?” …
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On his 50th birthday, Jack Turk marched into his boss’s office at Microsoft and quit his job as a game writer and project manager. So began his career as a… …party magician. (Holy Pay Cut, Batman!) Now, instead of getting a regular paycheck from Bill Gates, Jack was clawing for gigs, fighting to earn a…
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Wow! I touched a nerve this week when I asked y’all about list building (here’s the email in case you missed it). So many questions from aspiring list-builders… …including this one (which was similar to several I received): “What can one say that would make someone feel ‘I must subscribe right away?’” I visited her…
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In a couple of hours, I’ll be a speaker at a live business seminar. The topic: Email list building. As I put the finishing touches on my presentation, I thought, “This is good stuff. Good enough to include in a course.” And so was born my idea to create a short course on lead generation…
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Got this question from a client the other day: “Tom, how often should I sell in my emails?” He told me he’d read an article that suggested a 1:4 sales:storytelling ratio – one “sales email” for every four “storytelling emails.” “Is that the right ratio?” he asked. I hear that question often… …and mama always…
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Remember Eddie Haskell? He was the guy on Leave it to Beaver (a TV classic!) who oozed insincerity. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. Isn’t it a lovely day,” he’d say to Beaver’s parents. And then, when the adults left the room, Eddie would wreak havoc. The sweet-talking devil. I had an Eddie Haskell flashback the other day. …
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Rumor has it that some crafty marketers sprinkle typos and misspellings into their emails on purpose. The reason: Emails with typos and misspellings seem more personal and authentic — or so some claim. I get the idea. Typos and misspellings ARE common in “personal” emails. But I’m not into the fake-authenticity thing. When you see…
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After sending my daily email yesterday (subject line: “I didn’t punch Chad in the face, but his email tempted me” — which you can read here) I received a reply from a surprised-to-be-happy subscriber named Kimberly. When she signed up for my list earlier this month, she was hesitant. Daily emails? Not her thing, she thought. …
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