04/11/2019
LESSON #2 of 7:
"The Hidden Folder Which Contains The Foundation Of Every Multi-Million-Dollar Marketing Campaign!"
From: Todd Brown
West Palm Beach, Florida
(Did you miss Lesson #1 of 7? If so, go here now.)
We pick-up our adventure inside the copywriters room in the basement of the Agora Financial Headquarters in Baltimore...
"So, let's get to it," I say to Joe, eager to hear AF's copywriting secret.
"How are you taking people off the street and turning them into million-dollar-plus marketing producers so quickly?...
What's the big secret?...
What exactly are you teaching these people about writing copy?"
My heart pumping. This is what I've been waiting for. The purpose for my entire trip to Baltimore.
"Well, there are three things we have all of our new copywriters do every day, starting at day one," Joe said.
"But, even before that... the very first thing we teach them is that, as you know Todd, the foundation of great copy is a great hook... a great idea. A Big Marketing Idea."
"Yep, I do know," I said, excited to be talking about one of my favorite marketing topics.
A topic I've dedicated almost a decade of my life studying and mastering since first being introduced to it from Mark Ford -- the guy who helped spear-head the growth of Agora to the one-billion-dollar a year behemoth they are today.
For context:
A Big Marketing Idea is the idea behind your marketing campaign. Behind your marketing message. Behind your headline.
It's an idea... an angle on your topic... that is seen as new, unique, and different to your prospects.
It's something fresh...
Something they haven't heard before.
It's a type of marketing hook that's both emotionally-compelling and intellectually interesting to your prospects.
And because of that...
It's what grabs your prospects attention... gives them a feeling of discovery... an AHA! moment... and makes them stop dead in their tracks to engage with your marketing campaign.
And it's the entire foundation of great copy and great marketing.
And as you know from Lesson #1, the Big Marketing Idea is discovered with simple research.
Now, with that in mind, onward...
"Okay," I said, "so how do you teach your new copywriters to understand what is and isn't a Big Marketing Idea?"
"Well, we start by having all new copywriters read a piece of good copy every day," Joe said. "And we have them read it with a different perspective..."
(Listen to Joe explain it:)
Pretty straightforward, right?
Okay, so... a couple of key points to make note of:
The first step to writing good copy is regularly reading good copy. And reading it, not as a consumer, but with an eye for the strategies and tactics being employed throughout -- even if you don't know the nuances of copywriting or persuasion yet.
Having, and using, a good swipe file -- the right way -- will show you the winning structure to use in your marketing campaign for the Big Marketing Idea you've decided on during your research.
The multi-million-dollar marketing campaigns Agora copywriters are pumping-out are almost always based on just "6-7 common templates or formulas".
The key is doing the research correctly so you find a Big Marketing Idea, then plugging that idea into one of the "6-7 common templates or formulas" proven to work.
So, recognize: Their new copywriters are able to bang-out million-dollar-plus campaigns because they're not reinventing the wheel when it comes to the structure of their marketing message. They're modeling the structure which has already been proven to work for the type of marketing idea they've found during the research.
Pretty cool, right? And, again, pretty simple.
Back to our story...
"Okay," I say, wanting to jump ahead."So that begs the question... what are the 6-7 common templates or copy formulas your copywriters use?"
"Great question," says Joe. "Let's go to my office on the third floor and I'll walk you thru them."
Eager to hear the formulas, I thanked the copywriters in the room, and up the stairs we went...
Let's learn from each other...
Share your biggest takeaway below:
