Holy cow!
A little over a week ago as I’m publishing this, I posted “My response to a copywriter looking for career advice.”
“Geeze Doc, I thought we were going to talk about the anatomy of viral business content on the web!”
This was originally written as a personal response to a copywriter who’d asked for advice on making a six-figure income as a direct response copywriter.
Then I decided to share it here, thinking others would benefit from it (it’s literally the best advice on succeeding in direct response copywriting I can give today, about a decade into my marketing career). And when I shared it in a few places, I asked if I was too harsh.
The response was overwhelming.
This was literally my FOURTH post on this daily marketing blog. The previous days, I’d gotten somewhere between 10 and 20 people per day looking at the blog. (Which was okay in its first week.)
The next day, it went nuts. Over 300 people viewed that post. Now it’s getting about 100 new visitors daily. A whole bunch of folks are signing up for my daily emails.
And it’s stirred up a bunch of conversation on LinkedIn copywriting groups in particular.
Most comments are very supportive for my “telling it like it is.”
“Roy, this is right on point.”
“Excellent commentary on the subject.”
“Great words to live by.”
“Terrific advice.”
… And so on…
I was also called “conceited” but I’ll save my comments on that for tomorrow.
Overall, the response was overwhelmingly positive.
There are too many magic pill promises out there, particularly in the business opportunity space. We copywriters use them because we know they work. People ALWAYS want to buy magic pills.
But the problem is when harsh reality shows its face, and you don’t adjust your magic pill expectations, you’re left out in the cold.
And I think that’s happened with quite a few aspiring professional copywriters… Including the guy who I originally wrote that response for.
It’s why I learned, from early on in this biz, that you always have to deliver what people NEED… Even if you use what they WANT to get them in the door.
It’s why I’m being completely open and honest with you about the facts about marketing and business in Breakthrough Marketing Secrets…
Because you deserve the truth, even if it’s a harsh one!
Anyway, back to the point of this email.
I was blown away by how “viral” this post was. How much more quickly it was getting readers and shares and LinkedIn Group comments and so on than the others I’d shared…
And I got to asking, “What makes business content go viral?”
After all, it’s not a cute kitten with a misspelled catch phrase…
It’s not a blooper reel of skateboarding stunts gone wrong…
It’s not the nasty sex habits of Hollywood celebrities…
To get business content to go viral, you can’t forget that it’s still business content.
(And the lessons learned from answering this question ABSOLUTELY cascade into lessons for marketing, advertising, and selling… Especially when it comes to that first and most important task of getting the attention of qualified prospects.)
And so… I’m going to spend this entire week sharing lessons learned from my first piece of “viral” content here on Breakthrough Marketing Secrets…
With one big goal…
I’m going to help YOU create viral content for your blog, website, or business!
Starting today, each day this week I’ll share one lesson I uncovered about WHY I believe this message got so much immediate traction…
And by the time you’re through each of these daily emails, you’ll have a clear picture of what it takes to create business content that’s more likely to go viral.
And here’s the thing…
This particular content was written as a daily email to my email subscribers, and posted on my blog…
But it could have been a video…
A podcast episode…
Whatever medium was used, that’s not really matters (*except in relation to the tools it offers).
It’s the MESSAGE that goes viral.
And that’s what we’ll cover here.
So, here’s our lesson for today…
People LOVE a BOLD VOICE!
There’s no doubt that my response to that copywriter was bold. Maybe even a bit brash. And certainly direct.
When I shared the link to the article online, I asked, “Was I too harsh?”
And of course, rubberneckers (including me) want to know. We want to see the car wreck. We slow down. We look to see if anybody’s been hurt. And when someone asks, “How bad was that car wreck?” we feel compelled to answer. (That’s what generated so much response on LinkedIn.)
So when I asked, “Was I too harsh?” I knew people would be interested in reading what I said to this copywriter that might have been too harsh.
Turns out 95% of people said I told him just what he needed to hear.
But 100% of the people who read it were interested because they wanted to know the answer to that question.
Don’t do this every time. You’ll be like the boy who cried wolf. And they’ll stop believing you. But from time to time, a bold voice with a question to attract rubbernecking will work.
But then you have to pay it off.
Have opinions. Stand behind them.
I absolutely believe in what I said in that email. What I shared was the single-most valuable, direct advice I could give about how to make a good living as a copywriter.
Don’t be afraid to break some eggshells.
Be confident in what you’re saying.
I believe the single-most attractive trait in ANYBODY, man or woman, is pure, unabashed confidence. And I’m talking attractive in ALL ways. (Including business!)
Think about it. Don’t you find yourself naturally drawn to and interested in confident people?
This isn’t cockiness. This isn’t being conceited. Get to know yourself. Love yourself. Even knowing your flaws. And be proud of who you are.
And then let that confidence come through what you say and how you say it.
It’s more like Maslow’s Self-Actualization.
When you’re so comfortable in yourself that you’re not scared to tell the truth in a bold voice, the world sits up and pays attention.
I’ve been in the marketing world for about a decade, freelancing since 2007, and full-time as a copywriter and marketing consultant since 2010. I know this world well. I’ve moved within it for a long time. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and had plenty of successes. And I can speak about it all with bold confidence.
And ya better tell the truth!
There’s definitely a fascination with myth-busting. Hell, there’s a whole popular TV show about it.
There are a lot of myths sold in the copywriting space. And they’re usually based on some grain of truth. But there are also a lot of doubts.
If you have inside knowledge about common myths and you can boldly do some myth-busting, go for it. Your readers will appreciate you for it.
Now there’s one more thing you can do when you have a bold voice…
Stir up controversy!
And that’s the topic of tomorrow’s email.
See you then.
In the mean time, leave a comment on the blog with your thoughts on this article…
Yours for bigger breakthroughs!
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
PS — Part II is live! Keep reading…
