It was something I’ve looked forward to for a while. Actually I figured we would hook up at a seminar, or when I would be visiting family in the Denver area. It was surprising to hear he was coming to New York City.

In case you’re not familiar with Ryan; he is a top-flight copywriter, and marketer. He has consistently earned a six-figure + from his copywriting. He even created an ebook showing copywriters how to get their first clients called Get Copywriting Clients. I can vouch that this ebook works because it’s what I used to get my 1st client. You can read about my experiences here… New Copywriter Gets His First Client.

Ryan’s blog – Business Growth, Copywriting & Advertising is one of the few I stop what I’m doing to read when he publishes a post. Head on over there and check it out.

Ryan was staying at a hotel close to LaGuardia Airport… so I figured he needed to experience an Italian restaurant in Queens. The restaurant we went to was Bella Via on Vernon Blvd & 47th. We had a blast, and 3 1/2 hours flew by. One of the best things about the dinner was the conversation. We spent some time on Internet marketing & copywriting… but most of the time we were getting into stuff we both have a passion for.

You know one of the benefits of blogs, and this online community is meeting people you never would have had the chance to otherwise. It has broken down geographical boundaries. It’s pretty amazing.

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In times of economic uncertainty even getting a job interview can be tough. There are less jobs for people to apply for because companies are tightening their belts. Some are even laying off to cut costs. That means more people are competing for less openings.

However with the right marketing approach you can secure those tough to get interviews.

What does this have to do with online marketing, or blogging?

Plenty!

The copywriting & marketing skills you pick up online can be transferred to other areas of your life. These skills work because they are being targeted towards people. The same people who are online are the same people making hiring decisions. Plus, today most resumes & cover letters are read online.

Copywriter Rebecca Dean proves this in her latest blog post titled “How I Sold Myself In 23 Minutes” She used her copywriting skills to land a job interview in 23 minutes.

Here is how she did it…

Now that I’ve been a successful copywriter for some time now, I decided to put my skills to work on my cover letter. The result? I got a call for an interview merely 23 minutes after I emailed my cover letter and resume. The hiring manager really liked the unique approach I took to my cover letter called me right away.

Want to see it?

I thought you would… here it is:

THREE reasons why I believe I may be
the candidate you are searching for
regarding the telerecruiter position.

Rebecca goes on to give 3 compelling reasons why she is the right candidate for the job. An excellent example of direct response copywriting.

It reminded me of a headline I used to land a job interview within 2 hours. (Hey, it was before this newfangled internet thing) I faxed a cover letter & resume for an advertising sales job. The headline read…

Strong marketing works online, offline, in good times & in bad. Don’t think what you do in one area doesn’t transfer to another part of your life.

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I heard that they spend as much time on the cover as they do putting together the whole magazine. You know that makes sense to me because if you can’t get people past the cover it doesn’t matter how great the rest of the magazine is if no one will read it.

These headlines are designed to do one thing & one thing only… to get you to open the magazine and read it. No pressure right?

One headline got me to drop what I was doing & read a magazine…

Yesterday I was cleaning out our magazine collection. We keep our magazines in a sophisticated filing system…

A pile.

Ba-Dump! (Ok, that was my poor imitation at a Milton Berle joke.)

The magazine is called Ladies’ Home Journal, and it is on the November ’07 cover. The first headline reads:

What’s in Your Parents’ Will?

Nothing special here, right? I figured another X step article on how find out what’s in my parents will. Not quite. The second part of the headline stopped me dead in my tracks pick up the magazine and read the article. Want to see the 2nd part? OK:

Common Mistakes That Cost You $$$

That one came out of left field. Most people are curious about what’s in their parents will. After all we want to know what’s in it for us.

But to think there are common mistakes that could cost me money, instead of my parents… Now that got my attention.

Why this headline is soo good…

The reason this is a good headline is because it covers 3 important areas… Self-interest, curiosity, & urgency.

First it appeals to the greed glands. My self-interest took over, & answered the question… What’s in it for me? It does a perfect job in only 5 words.

Second Curiosity compelled me to find the article & read it. I had to know… what are these common mistakes? Are they easy to spot? Can they be fixed?

Third the urgency of finding out if these mistakes are being made can these mistakes be corrected? Or is it too late.

Take the time to read, and study these headlines. You can adapt them into your own writing, and add some umhp to your headlines. After all they are being created by the best in the business. Millions of dollars are riding on getting people to open these magazines. Now, that’s pressure to perform.

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Sitting on the train I realized there were more than a couple of copywriter’s blogs I follow. It occurred to me to make a list and send them it off to Yaro. So, I whipped out my trusty Moleskine & came up with a short list of copywriting blogs I follow. Then I emailed this list to Yaro with a small explanation of each blog. I thought this would be good list to put here on the blog.

This by no means a comprehensive list, it’s subjective… I’ll admit it up front. It’s based on the blogs I feel given me the most value, enjoy reading and style has made a connection with me. And that’s an important point. You should read people who’ve made that connection with you… not someone you read because you’re suppose to.

Here is the list of the top 5 copywriting blogs I follow:

John Carlton – http://www.john-carlton.com/ John proudly declares he is the most ripped-off copywriter alive… or something like that. Anyhow he is an “A” list copywriter who gets hired by the big boys like Rodale press and Boardroom. What I really like about John is he digs deep into the psychology of sales & marketing. He goes into the motivation, and reasons why people do what they do. I find John to be a very entertaining read, and look forward to each post.

Trevor Crook – http://trevorcrookblog.com/ Trevor is an outstanding copywriter & and excellent teacher. He gives away free his “Copywriting Blueprint Formula”. I wrote about this back in April in a blog post titled: How To Get Trevor Crook’s Copywriting Secrets for Free. The secrets comes as a 10-mp3 recording of his training, and a great resource for anyone wanting to learn copywriting. You can grab a copy here: http://www.trevorcrook.com/.

Michel Fortin – http://www.michelfortin.com/ Michel is considered the best online copywriter around. He has written copy for many of the big guns online, and has probably been responsible for more sales than anyone else online. His blog is loaded with valuable copywriting, marketing, blogging information and much more. Copywriting is only one of the many subjects Michel covers on his blog.

Ryan Healy – http://www.ryanhealy.com http://ryanhealy.typepad.com/ (His old blog – still loaded with valuable content) Ryan is a brilliant copywriter & marketer. I consider him the thinking man’s copywriter. He covers a lot of ground, and gives reasons why it works. The information Ryan provides is based on real world results from his clients & his own work. He is a fanatical tester.

Ben Settle – http://www.bensettle.com Ben’s blog is packed full of outstanding copywriting information. It has great tips, interviews & examples. I believe he could slap a membership script on the front of his blog; start charging a monthly fee & it would be worth every penny.

Well, that ought to keep you busy. This is a good list to start with, and you’ll find plenty of outstanding information. There are scores of sites I could’ve included like; the Gary Halbert letters, Clayton Makepeace, Dan Kennedy, Ray Edwards, Peter Stone, David Garfinkel, Daniel Lewis… But, I included the list I keep a close eye on myself.

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I’ve been on Matt’s list for years, and it is some great marketing. A special thanks to Ben Settle from the Copywriting Grab Bag for tweeting this, or I might have missed it.

Tonight Harlan Kilstein is holding a teleseminar with Matt Furey. The subject will be email marketing, and it will have great content. I plan on calling in to listen because Matt rarely does stuff like this.

Here is the link to the announcement The King Of Email Speaks. Here are the details for tonight’s call…

I’m running a teleseminar with a reclusive genius.

I say reclusive because he almost never speaks in public
(outside of his high priced mentoring group.)

He generally doesn’t get on the phone doing teleseminars either.

I refer to him as the King of Email.

He makes over $1,000,000 a month – most of it driven by email.

And I’m going to have him go over two emails with you that he
has written.

You will be shocked by the content and the call.

I urge you to set aside Tuesday, September 23 at 8PM
for the call.

Here’s the number to call in:

507-726-3200 the Pin code is 66249#

Oh, his name….

Matt Furey.

It’s going to be amazing.

Be there.

Be online early.

Peace.

Harlan

If you want to see some awesome email marketing head on over to his blog and join his email list… you will not be disappointed. Here is the link to Matt Furey Uncensored.

Right now as of today you can download a copy of the Fall 2008 issue of Matt Furey’s Mastermind Magazine. It has some ads he wrote, and would make a great addition to anyones swipe file. Not sure how long it will be up, so you should hop over there fast. Matt has a reputation of only leaving stuff like this up for a short time.

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Maybe… maybe not. If so and you haven’t taken the plunge, then what’s holding you back? Could some of these things be:

* You aren’t sure where to find clients?
* How do you market yourself?
* How do you sell yourself once you get a prospect?
* What do you charge for each project?

Well, Ryan Healy & John Anghelache are putting a very extensive coaching program geared towards becoming a successful, “booked solid” copywriter.

I’ve watched the videos and listened to the audios they’ve put out this past couple weeks. I can say I’ve picked up some powerful strategies to put into my marketing mix.

So, if you’re at all interested in becoming a freelance copywriter I’d suggest you take a look at this one. A word of warning here… this is for people who can already write copy. The program will be teaching you how to get clients, not teaching how to write copy.

(If you are looking for training to learn copywriting, then this is not for you. There are plenty of copywriting courses on the market. Including one I blogged about back in April entitled How To Get Trevor Crook’s Copywriting Secrets for Free… )

Now believe it or not, but Ryan & John are holding a contest giving away one free spot in their coaching program. They haven’t mention how much the program is going to cost… But I two weeks ago I was on the phone with an inside source, and he told me what they are planning on charging. I promised not to tell, but I can say it looks like it’ll be worth several thousand dollars to whoever wins.

You can check out how to enter the contest at Ryan’s blog: http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriting-coaching-program-contest/ This is not an affiliate link… it’s a direct link to his blog.

If you want an affiliate link, here’s mine: http://www.copywritingcode.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=104. Feel free to go there & sign up. As a side note in an audio call between Ryan & John they’re discussing the details about the coaching program & Ryan mentions me by name. You know it’s weird listening to a call, and suddenly hear them talking about you.

Anyhow… Why not take 10 minutes to enter right now? It’s fast, easy, and free. And the potential pay-off is huge. Here are the contest details again: http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriting-coaching-program-contest/

Sorry, one more thing. The deadline for the contest is Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 12 noon Mountain time.

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So, why am I telling you all this?

He is giving you a chance to get a book he co-authored titled “Million Dollar Marketing Secrets” for a mere $7… shipping included for residents of U.S., Canada & the U.K. Any one outside of those three countries leave a comment on his blog, and he will get in touch with you privately. This a real book that will be shipped to your door.

I have a copy of this book, and it’s loaded with priceless marketing information. J.P. Maroney got 21 top marketers to each contribute a chapter to the book. Here are a few of the co-authors; Clayton Makepeace, Michel Fortin, Ray Edwards, Ben Mack, Ryan Healy, Jason Moffatt…

Ryan says the chapter by Clayton Makepeace is worth $7 alone… but in my opinion every chapter is worth that and more.

The deadline on this offer is Friday morning May 9th when Ryan wakes up. I’m not sure when Ryan wakes up on Friday mornings… or for that matter any day of the week. So, my suggestion is to head on over there and grab a copy while it still fresh on your mind.

Here is the post at Ryan’s blog: http://www.ryanhealy.com/marketing-book-birthday-gift/. Head on over there scroll down, click on the paypal button and get this book.

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Are You A Prolific Product Developer?
Terry Dean lists 7 ways to create products. Writing an eBook is not the only way. Bookmark this one for future reference.

You’re Fired!
Robert Plank is a prolific product developer. He has already launched 24 products this year! This post is asking if you were we own employee running your online business, would you fire yourself? I have to admit I didn’t have to fire myself… but I did have to give myself a written warning.

How Not to Advertise
Ryan Healy got an email that tried to be clever, and it backfired. It didn’t even have a call to action?!? Wow!

Copywriting Q&A Answer Time
Stephen Dean answers the copywriting questions that people got to ask him in the comment section of his blog. He answered both of my questions. This post is loaded with good copywriting information.

Create Successful Business Procedures By Using Standardization
Richard Lee give some good advice about establishing systems in your business. He give a detailed layout of how to setup systems. Worth heading over there and checking it out.

Have a good weekend.

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http://www.stephensblog.com/?p=288

If you remember he allowed me to ask him questions about copywriting, and I posted it here. An interview with Copywriter Stephen Dean was fun to do, and Stephen gave some really great answers.

I suggest you take advantage of this offer… its not often you get to ask someone of Stephen caliber questions.

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