So, you want to know how to make your copy…
do a tap dance?
pack some punch?
sell like there’s no tomorrow?
… whatever you want to call it …
If your copy is lame and limping to the finish line, or hasn’t even gotten off the starting blocks, then you need to add some personality to the words you use to sell your products or services.
You see, the words you use on your website, in your emails, on your landing pages, in your product descriptions (I think you get what I mean, right?)… the words you use everywhere… these are the tools that will make your dreams come true.
Trust me, writing words for a living has changed my life completely.
I’ve gone from struggling actress and stay-at-home mum to running my own business and being able to buy my own house (on my own) in a well-to-do-neighbourhood, support myself and my two children, AND do work that’s easy, pays well and allows me time to be there for my kids.
Screenshot of my earnings from when I first graduated as an actor – can you tell when I started writing words for a living? Yep 2018 is when I got started as a copywriter and 2019 is when a joined a mastermind to light a fire under my *ss (more on that in a moment).
And it can do the same for you.
By the way, I’m not trying to sell you on becoming a copywriter. Nope, that’s a whole other ball-game…
Learning the art of writing words that are packed with personality can be applied to ANY business, and can transform your life, because great words can sell, and money CAN make you happier, for REALS!
LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIEND, JUSTIN BLACKMAN… AKA THE BRAND VENTRILOQUIST, AKA THE HEADLINES MASOCHIST, AKA THE WRITE MORE PERSONALITY-ER HOST
Okay, those titles are possibly a little confusing, but if you’ve been around the “online space” for any amount of time, you might have heard of him by name.
Or maybe you recognise him?
(Plug: I was there when he had that photo taken. He’s my mate.)
I’ll get to that story shortly, but he first made a name for himself after writing 100 headlines a day for 100 days and publishing them all online for everyone to see (a challenge which he admits nearly killed him)…
He then made a massive pivot to become the “voice guy”, writing – and teaching others – how to create brand voice guides so that brands and organisations had a consistent voice across the tinterwebs.
He’s worked with some big-kahuna names (like Amy Porterfiled, Laura Belgray, Joanna Wiebe of CopyHackers fame, Stu Maclaren, Todd Herman, to drop a few of the big-guns) and I feel blessed to say I know him.
When I think of Justin, I think of one of the funniest, kindest people I’ve met in this online world (both digitally and IRL). And the words he writes are just blow-your-mind, off-the-wall, bonkers-amazing.
And he’s put all he knows into a course (he calls it a workshop) to show you how to write more personality-er.
Yep, that’s the name of it.
Bonkers right?
I mean, just the headline he uses to sell the course is a glimpse into his world of wonderful words…
An Utterly Loveable Workshop For Copywriters Who Wish Their Writing Was A Little Less Ross And A Lot More Joey
And I want you to buy this course.
There, I’ve said it plain and simple.
I bought it myself a couple years ago, worked my way through the “81 ways to add punch, power & pop to your everyday writing (so it attracts more people, sells more stuff, and finally sounds as wondermous as you want)” and I think it’s hot-patooties.
Which is why I’m recommending it to you.
Side note: I’ve been toying with the idea to create my own course for YEARS… one specifically to help you write better emails, but tbh, every time I try, I procrastinate and end up writing more words for my clients instead.
So, even though this course from Justin says it’s for copywriters (it’s really for anyone who wants to learn how to write words that help them make money but specificity is what sells right?), and even though it has nothing to do with emails as such, what you learn in this course will prepare you to write some amazing copy in any size, shape or form, whether you call yourself a copywriter or not.
The fact that I seem to have failed as a course creator (yet do very well as an online copywriter) means that I have to do the next best thing – and that’s promote, recommend, suggest, push you over the edge towards Justin’s workshop/course thing.
Here’s what Justin says about himself and the course:
“As a card carrying word nerd, I’ve read damn near everything there is about persuasion, conversion, comedy, and creativity. And when I see or hear a funny line, I don’t just laugh or blow air hard through my nose holes at it… I break down WHY it was funny. Then I analyze the style and stash it in my brain for later use. And I find new things to add almost every dang day.
I go deeper on this shizz than anyone ever should.
Because of this nasty lil’ habit, I found the logic and patterns hiding behind techniques that make words compelling.
This workshop is all those delectable and super juicy bits, rolled into a smorgasbord of well-researched, tested, and proven writerly shenanigans.
This may sound super nerdy and strange (and it is) but this sciencey approach is the source of my super power.
Popeye had spinach. I have em dashes.”
Now, come on, who wouldn’t want to learn from someone like Justin?
Especially when you get all this in his course:
“When you join Write More Personality-er, you get 81 tips to add punch, power, and pop to your everyday writing, including:
Writing Basics: Fun punctuation, unforgettable rules, and freaky facts about layout
Pop-py Seeds: Sprinkle these techniques onto your copy to make it pop like grandma’s knees
Power Moves: Weird ways to make your readers take action (Science!)
Punch-ups: Over-the-shoulder edits that take your words from blah to booyah
Checklists & Transition Lines: Print these out for one last look before you publish
…Plus an insult generator (😯), real-time edits, and permission to let go of some long-held writing beliefs implanted by your pesky 5th grade English teacher.
It’s a super enjoyable two hours of video broken down into 16 bite-sized chunks you can zip through in a GIF jiff and apply to your work immediately.
…Then pepper in the 7.5 hours (!) of clearly marked bonus videos featuring interviews and over-the-shoulder editing of:
Blogs
Emails
Sales pages
Opt-in forms
Facebook ads
Product descriptions
Landing pages
Offers
…And comic structure breakdowns you can watch at your own pace.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL… (← sorry. as a copywriter, I’m required to say that on every page)
This isn’t just a hit-it-and-quit it thing.
You’ll also have the option to grab celebrity guest interviews & get access to all future content too.”
The Story of How I Met Mr. Masking-Tape-for-a-Mouth Justin Blackman
I promised you I’d share how I’m able to name-drop Justin as a friend of mine.
Unfortunately, it’s no sordid story of meetings down dark alleyways or trysts in a corner –we’re professionals goddammit – but it does involve eyes across a crowded room and the result of which is one of the reasons why I’m doing so well as a writer.
Let’s go back to 2018 when I first started writing copy after doing a pivot of my own from working as a VA (virtual assistant). After many a late night going down rabbit holes online, I stumbled upon a club called The Copywriter Club, where two copywriting nouveau-legends (Kira Hug and Rob Marsh) share everything they know about life as a working copywriter via a podcast, a free Facebook group, courses, events and masterminds.
From the moment I stumbled into the joint I knew I’d found home and before I knew it, I had whisked myself away to Brooklyn, New York for their In-Real-Life event. This was where I met the man himself.
Our eyes met across a crowded room at the after-event party, I got all sweaty and embarrassed, yet I manage to pluck up the courage to launch myself at him… to asks him some questions about the mastermind that Kira and Rob had casually mentioned during their event.
Justin, wasn’t one of their sales reps, no, he was an alumni from the previous year and he gave a very honest opinion about the mastermind and what it did for him (cue the story of how Kira persuaded him to do the headlines challenge which launched his ten thousand-ship-armada of headlines into the copywriting hall of fame).
I have to say Justin is the reason I ended up coughing up a huge sum of money (thank you Mastercard) to join the mastermind… and let me tell you it was the best chunk of money I’ve spent, not least because Justin returned for another year and I got to be in the virtual classroom with him.
During our year together, Justin established himself as one of the nicest people to know in a mastermind, cracking jokes and giving a metric-tonne of advice and suggestions which ALWAYS improved everyone’s copy when they implemented his feedback.
We also had ball when we attended one of the mastermind retreats in Barcelona (where his masking tape pic was taken by another mastermind-er, Rachel Greiman of Green Chair Stories).
We all brainstormed ideas together and put ourselves in the hot seat to thrash out our mindset blocks – again, Justin was one of the loudest voices that encouraged me to put a big number on a proposal (which was accepted!) AND pushed me towards getting my podcast started.
And now that he has this course, I want to promote it because…
1. you will also learn a metric-tonne from Justin about adding personality to your writing
2. he’s fan-dabby-dosy to learn from, making it easy, simple and, yes, exciting to actually implement, and
3. it’s simply an amazing course (and it means I don’t have to create one myself).
I’ll leave you with one last quote from Justin about this course…
“Let’s make this perfectly clear…
This is NOT the general stuff
This isn’t a class about using emojis in subject lines. We’re not talking about fascinations, AIDA, or split testing the color of your buttons. (Orange. Always orange.)
This is a collection of copy, comedy, and conversion knowledge nuggets that instructors, comics, and all my favorite writers dropped on the sly.
These are the tidbits they slip between the lessons that really make the difference.
We’re talking about the good stuff you can’t google.
These are the rules you never knew existed.
Write More Personality-er teaches you how to write more fun… and actually enjoy writing.
If you want the freedom to write how you want… and the power to make your copy be the highlight of someone’s day… smack ‘dem big shiny buttons links.
You’ll get all my favorite secrets to add punch, power, and pop into your everyday writing.
These brain grenades will make your writing go boom.💥”
From Sarah
Ecommerce Email Copywriter & Strategist
Disclaimer: If you choose to join Write More Personality-er, I receive a commission when you buy through any of the links on this page. Trust me, I never promote or suggest anything I’ve not used myself in some shape or form, and I think this is a cracking workshop to learn exactly what it says in the title! You also get a little bonus from me on the other side.