Today I turned 6 months old (in Twitter years).

And it’s been a fucking wild ride.

I’ve learned to write online.

I’ve studied copywriting to the point of obsession.

And I’ve also met some pretty fucking amazing people in the process.

So in this email I want to give back.

I want to share with you the 10 best (copy)writing tips, tricks and strategies I’ve used to get people to pay attention to me online. To grow (nearly) 5,000 followers. And to build a $15k/month brand from ground zero.

Because, as a subscriber to this godforsaken newsletter I pump out every morning, I want to help you do the same.

So here we are shaggers.

Here’s the 10 best pieces of advice I could give you to improve your writing TODAY and force people to finally pay attention to what you’ve got to say…

1) Hook with the problem, sell with the pain

Think about why you’re reading this email right now.

It’s because you want to become a better writer. To build a personal brand. And, ultimately, to live a life of digital freedom where you aren’t trapped in a soul-sucking 9-5.

Those are all problems you’re currently trying to navigate.

And they are the top-of-mind desires for you right now (i.e. they’re what you’re thinking about).

But let’s look deeper…

Why do you have those problems in the first place?

What emotions are you trying to resolve?

What is driving your desire to solve those problems?

Maybe it’s the anxiety you get when your alarm goes off every morning telling you it’s time for work. Maybe it’s the utter boredom you feel when . Maybe you’re fed up of seeing a girl’s eyes glaze over when you tell them “I work in insurance” (or some other boring job) and would love, just for once, to be able to tell them you had your own business.

Those are all the pains you feel.And the first step to becoming a better (copy)writer so you can FORCE people to pay attention to your writing, is this:

Hook with the problem. Sell with the pain.

Because right now…

They’re obsessed with the problem.

They’re obsessed with gaining followers. They’re obsessed with landing clients. They’re obsessed with hitting $10k/month.

So you need to meet them where they’re at - their “top of mind” desire.

And then, once you’ve got them in, that’s when you twist the knife like a motherfucker. Bring the pain to the surface. And show yourself as the solution to that pain (which, hopefully, you are).

You can see exactly how this works in this tweet of mine...

2) Always give a reason why

People’s minds are lazy.

If you tell someone “I can help you become a better writer”, they won’t instantly associate that with their ultimate goal (building a brand, earning money online etc.)

So you need to do the work for them.

Whenever you promise something, explain WHY that leads to the true outcome they want.

Make it crystal clear in their mind why they should care.

Because then they’ll be 100x more likely to listen to you (and, ultimately, buy your stuff).

And if you look very carefully, you’ll see I’ve already done this to you a bunch of times in this email…

Right.

Next point…‍

3) You must be a cocky son of a bitch

If you’re reading this then you’re probably either a copywriter, building your personal brand or a business owner with a vested interest in copywriting.

And when you read your favourite writers, I bet there’s one thing that comes to mind:

“I wish I could write that confidently.”

‍You feel nervous to test out ideas. You feel scared in case you get called out. And you spend hours umming and ahhhing over whether your tweet is phrased “correctly”.

After all, once it’s out there, it’s out there for the whole world to see.

And if that’s the case, here’s my advice to you:

Get over it.

Are you going to see any of these people at your birthday party this year? No. Are you going to bump into any of these guys down the pub this Friday? No. Are you ever going to have any social interaction whatsoever with any of these people cluttering up your Twitter feed? Absolutely not.

The worst these people could EVER do to you is send you a “you suck” DM or leave a negative comment.

Boo hoo.

Who cares! 

Because if I’ve learned one thing in the last 6 months of writing online I can tell you this:

‍If you want people to care about your opinion, you must stop caring about theirs.

‍And as soon as someone senses you’re getting even remotely close to sitting on the fence, you’re done. They lose interest. They have no emotional response. And they’ll start looking for someone who’s got the balls to say what he really thinks.

People want to read strong opinions that align with their own.

People want an emotional response that confirms their own bias.

People want to read your tweets and go “hey, this guy fucking gets it!”

And the only way you will attract these people is by speaking with utter and unwavering conviction with every word you write.

Which, in fact, ties into the next lesson…‍

4) You’re a sniper, not a spray-and-pray writer

Everything you write should be targeted at one, specific individual.

Get inside their mind. Write down everything you can think about them. 

Their doubts. Their fears. Their insecurities.

Their problems. Their dreams. Their deepest darkest desires. 

Get as specific as you possibly can.

For example, if you’re writing to sell your fitness program…

Who EXACTLY are you selling to? 25 year old guys? Busy dads who also own a business? Old grannies looking to join a fitness class and feel a bit less alone in life?

Nailing down your avatar is SO important because this determines the entire angle of your copy.

Because “Come on Batman. How about we lose those bingo wings once and for all?” might grab the attention of a 50 year old woman who’s fed up with feeling out of shape, but it’s hardly going to land on a 20 year old dude who just wants to be rocking a set of abs on the beach this summer.

The more precisely you understand your target, the more targeted you can make your writing.

And the more targeted you make your writing, the bigger emotional response you will trigger.

And, as we all know, people don’t buy with logic - they buy with their emotions.

Nexttttttttt.....

5) Make your content feel like a story, not a lecture

You know what people hate more than anything else?

Being told what to do.And you know what people love more than anything else?

Reading about what someone else has done (and seeing how they could do the same).

Why do you think you can’t resist watching yet ANOTHER vlog when it pops up on your YouTube feed?

We’re all nosy fuckers.

We all want to know what other people are up to.And we all want to live vicariously through other people’s (more exciting) stories.

And this is how you need to make people feel when they read your writing.

Take them on an adventure.

An emotional rollercoaster.

Guide them down the page (and towards your products) not with logic, lecture or aggressive reasoning, but with the one thing that drives us all…

Emotion.

That is how you get people to read your writing.

That is how you get people to follow you on Twitter.

And that, my friend, is how you get people to buy your products without a moment’s hesitation. 

And talking of stories, what about mini-stories…

6) Analogies bring your writing to life

‍Think about the best storyteller you know.

The bloke that, when you’re down the pub, has everyone absolutely HOOKED on his every word.

Now think about what he does when he tells those stories.

Because if you pay close attention, I bet you’ll notice one thing:

He uses analogies EVERYWHERE.

“It’s kind of like…”

“You know when…”

“Think of it this way…”

He relates it all back to stuff YOU understand. He brings it to life for YOU. He makes it real to YOU. 

And if you wonder why I use all these long, winding metaphors I use in my writing… 

It’s because I’m trying to do the same thing for you (and have a bit of fun along the way).

If I’m trying to teach you how to write better content, I might make an analogy to a pizza. How the dough (the “base”) of your content should all be niche-specific stuff to build your authority. And then the toppings (the “personality”) of your pizza should be the stuff you sprinkle on top. 

This way I’m spending time in YOUR world.  

I’m making it feel real to you.

And I’m helping you to make the intangible tangible in your mind.

Which brings me onto point numero siete (learning Spanish)…

7. Spend 90% of your time in their world

‍Think of something you LOVE learning about.

Maybe it’s running. Maybe it’s cooking. Maybe it’s how to get a filthy pump in the gym.

I bet you could read about that shit for hours and never get bored.

And that brings us onto a common misconception about copy (and writing in general)...

People think they shouldn’t make their writing “too long”.

They think people will lose interest.

They think they will bore people.

WRONG.

‍People will read ENDLESSLY as long as you’re talking about their world.

‍When you are in their world, you are safe.

When you are truly talking about their pains, desires and problems they will read and read and read because finally they have found someone who understands.

‍Spend 90% of your time in their world, and
Spend only 10% of your time talking about your product/service

‍That is how you capture, hold and convert their attention into sales.

And if you don’t believe me…

…believe 7-Figure copywriter Ben Settle. (He’s the one I learnt this from, after all)

8) Bend the truth in your favour (but NEVER lie)

‍I was watching the “My First Million” podcast the other day (with Sam Parr and Shaan Puri).

And they said something that had me pissing myself:

‍“Whenever someone calls themself a 6-Figure business owner, all that means is that it’s a $100-$200k/yr business.”

‍And I thought that was fucking jokes.

Because it’s so true.If you were in fact making $800k/year (rather than $100-$200k/year), then you’d say that!

Because it sounds more impressive.

The reason the person has decided to call themselves a “6-Figure business owner” is because theoretically this could be anything up to $900k/year.

They’re not lying.

They’re bending the truth in their favour.

And that’s a key lesson in (copy)writing.

You need to CONSTANTLY be looking for angles that paint yourself in the most positive light (but without lying).

And you might think “isn’t that a bit misleading?”

Well, let me ask you this:

When you go on a first date with a girl, what do you wear? Do you wear the old, tattered jogging bottoms and T-Shirt you spend every day in? You know - the stuff that reflects the package she’s likely gonna end up with? Or do you, in fact, pick out your best garms, dress yourself to the nines and cover yourself in enough Paco Robane to have a passing asthmatic grasping for their pump?  

Of course you wear the nice shit.

Because you understand that people judge you on first impressions.

And it is NO different with your writing.

And just to make this super clear for ya, here’s a real-life example you might be able to use…

Did it take you a long time to get from 0 to 1,000 followers? Ok. So you can’t use that as social proof. But what about individual weeks within that period. Was there a week where you gained 100 followers (for example). What if you use that as an angle instead? 

‍“I gained 100 followers in 7 days. Here’s the 5 things I did (so you can do the same this week).” 

Suddenly you’ve reframed your achievement into something much more attractive. Is it the most impressive feat? Hell no. But that post itself will get a shit ton of impressions. And then you can make a post about how you got X amount of impressions on your post. That post itself will do super well (because people want high impressions). And, suddenly, you’ve got the snowball rolling. And from there, you let momentum carry you all the way up babyyyyyyy. 

Get creative. Search for new angles. Start thinking outside the box so you can paint yourself as a roaring success.

This is where the ART of copywriting comes in.

And all this talk of "results" brings me onto my next point…

9) Use social proof everywhere

Whenever you see someone’s results, you always feel a bit sceptical.

Are those real?

Are they just making them up?

Have they got anything to prove those claims?

And your readers are no different.

They’re worried you’re trying to trick them.

And as a result they are constantly looking for ways to poke holes in your arguments.

Which is why you must stack your writing with social proof.

Testimonials.

Screenshots.

Case studies.

Anything you can get your hands on to prove, undeniably that you aren’t just another guru and that you actually know what the fuck you’re doing (and how to get results for your clients/customers).

Keep a swipe file (I use the photos app on my iPhone) of every single positive review, client win or testimonial you receive.

And then plaster these all over your Twitter feed, landing pages and sales letters until people are literally FORCED to believe your claims. 

Which, sadly, brings us to our final point of this long, winding (copy)writing tips and tricks…

‍10) Do your damn research!‍

People think copywriting is about creativity.

These people are wrong.

Copywriting has almost nothing to do with writing.

Copywriting is about research.

It is about data.It is about understanding your target reader inside and out and then assembling this into a string of sentences, paragraphs and pages which leads them from where they are now to where they want to be (which just so happens to be your product or service…)

But you will never be able to do this unless you’ve committed time to research.And I’m not just talking 1-2 hours on a Sunday afternoon when you’re bored.I’m talking weeks and weeks of intensive study.

Every pain point. Every problem. Every exact, specific phrase they use.

And storing this all in one, big “avatar” file which, when you later come to write, will have all the ammunition you need to get people to buy. 

If you do your research, you will never struggle to write again.

If you do your research, you will never struggle to get people to pay attention again.

And if you do your research, you will never struggle to make money online.

Talk soon,

Harry

PS. I built a $10k/month brand in under 4 months.

Want to do the same?

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