One of my favorite copywriters is Doug D’Anna.
Doug doesn’t have the “rock star” reputation amongst the copywriting fanboys like, say, a John Carlton or a Gary Halbert. But nevertheless, the guy can write a mean ad and he has the track record of controls to prove it. (Even the great Gary Bencivenga — universally considered the world’s greatest living copywriter — raves about Doug, and calls him one of his most ablest competitors.)
Anyway, I interviewed DD in 2007.
And he was FULL of cool tips.
My favorite was his “spotting the open man” teaching.
He happily admits he’s not the “best” copywriter.
Nor the most talented.
Or probably even the most disciplined.
But he’s TOPS at spotting the open man.
As he puts it… knowing your market (and what to say to them) is like the quarter back who can spot the open man and get him the ball, but doesn’t have the strongest arm, most balance or quickest feet.
In other words…
It ain’t about swiping.
Or mindlessly writing ads out by hand.
Or buying $10k in copywriting books/courses.
Those are all fine and dandy but they pale in comparison to having the ability to spot the open man.
Pretty groovy, eh?
And you know what else?
It’s even MORE profitable for email marketing.
That’s the beauty of email.
It lets you get intimately familiar with your list in ways you simply can’t by blogging, tweeting, reading magazines or getting an “estrogen bath” on FaceBook all day.
You send an email, you get INSTANT feedback.
(i.e. you either get sales… or you don’t.)
Plus, it’s fast.
When you know what you’re doing you can bang out a profitable email in 5-15 minutes. If you have a big enough list, you can make a nice living by waking up, hammering out a quick email, and goofing off the rest of the day. (Play golf, hang with your family, whatever floats ye olde boat).
It’s amusing this is still a mystery.
Anyway, if you want that lifestyle, here’s good news:
I teach this skill (writing emails in a way where you can learn to spot the open man) every month in my “Email Players” newsletter.
It ain’t cheap.
And I won’t say it’s for everyone.
But if you want “in”, go to:
Ben Settle
