22 Marketing Truths You Need to Follow

Hey friend! Welcome to Storey Time. If you’re new here, add your email below to make sure you receive my next issue in your inbox.

Did you know you can listen to the audio version of my newsletter?

If you’re short on time, and would rather listen to my newsletter, well, now you can.

This makes it easy for you to soak up all the value and info from my newsletter while:

• Driving to work

• Going for a walk

• Cleaning at home

I had my first Twitter “bookmark frenzy” back in February.

159 bookmarks.

It was at least 100 more bookmarks than my previous record.

But, then a few weeks ago, I broke that record with a similar thread-style post:

188 bookmarks.

So, I figured you’d probably want in on these marketing secrets.

You might be thinking…

“But, I’m a copywriter, not a marketer.”

Or, “But, I’m a ghostwriter, not a marketer.”

Or, “But, I just like your emails, I’m not a marketer.”

Too bad.

You’re a marketer.

If you’re a digital writer, you’re actually a marketer.

(Unless you do technical writing. Then in that case — I’m wrong.)

But, in almost every other scenario, if you call yourself a copywriter or ghostwriter, you are first and foremost a marketer.

You just happen to use words to drive your marketing.

So, if you want to level up your game as a digital writer, then save these tips.

Here are 22 marketing truths that'll make you richer than your friends chasing a college degree:

1. If you want to master marketing, study psychology.

Start with these books:

• Influence

• Pre-Suasion

• How to Win Friends and Influence People

Or just read any copywriting book. It’s all about how to communicate through human psychology.

2. The best marketing strategy in the world: find a starving crowd.

If you’ve already read Boron Letters, then you know why.

If you haven’t read Boron Letters yet, then go get the book and read it now.

If you want to be a decent copywriter, you better be reading Gary Halbert’s work.

In case you didn’t know it yet, he’s basically the Michael Jordan of copywriting.

3. Focus on the transformation, not the product.

People don’t care about your product.

They care about themselves and what you can do for them.

Your product isn’t the solution.

What your product does for them is the solution.

Always come back to WIIFM:

“What’s in it for me?”

Focus on how your product will transform your audience’s life.

4. The goal of marketing isn’t to reach the whole world.

It’s to get the right message in front of the right people.

Stop trying to target everyone.

You’re not a fisherman.

Stop casting such a wide net.

Instead, grab your harpoon and fire away.

Find your people. A targeted group. And just serve them in your marketing and your copy.

5. Stop thinking about selling.

Instead, start thinking about helping. It's the easiest way to sell.

The best copywriters (and salesmen) have incredible belief in the products and services they promote.

When you understand how powerful the product is, you’ll automatically believe in it more.

When you believe in it…

AND…

The more you truly want to help people (by selling products and services that will improve their life), the easier it is to write persuasively.

If you don’t believe in the products and services you’re promoting, your reader will sniff it out and won’t end up buying.

If you don’t want to help people, and you just want to make a quick buck, your reader will also detect that and won’t end up buying.

Believe in the products and be helpful.

You’ll sell way more.

6. People buy with emotion (and justify with logic).

Tap into your audience’s heart.

Hit on their pain points, desires, interests, and get down to the nitty gritty.

Use that to sell them on your products and services.

But…

Don’t forget to use logic.

Share stats, numbers, proof, testimonials, credentials, and justify the price.

Use logic to ensure your buyer has a good reason to tell his wife after he’s purchased that $600 golf club.

“The driver will catch the eye of potential clients on the course, helping you close more deals.”

7. A mediocre product with great marketing will outsell a great product with mediocre marketing.

You don’t have to have the best product.

But, you can have the best marketing.

The company who wins will know more about marketing.

You simply need to do more. Be better. Get in those touchpoints.

And leverage your copy skills to create an excellent customer experience.

If you want to play 3D chess, you need to realize that marketing is part of the product.

8. The smartest marketing move is to overdeliver for your customers.

They'll spread the word for you for free.

Word of mouth is the greatest form of marketing.

If you do a good job for your customers, they’ll come back (and tell their friends).

If you do a bad job, you’ll be exhausted on the acquisition hamster wheel until you finally crash and burn.

You can make promises. But don’t overpromise. Promise just enough. If you go too far, you’ll have a tough time overdelivering and will leave your customers unhappy.

9. The best marketers write for one person with one problem.

Find out everything you can about your audience:

• Their wants

• Their needs

• Their desires

• Their pain points

Ignore everything and everyone else.

Then write to that ONE person and solve that ONE problem in your copy.

10. Don't be scared of using a guarantee. It'll get you more sales than refunds.

I see people all the time saying they’d never use a guarantee.

They don’t want refunds.

They don’t want to attract the wrong kind of client.

They don’t want to come across as desperate, or devalue their brand.

You know what?

Guarantees prove your product is worth something.

It actually proves confidence.

I confidently give a guarantee to all of my mentorship students that if they aren’t happy with it, they get their money back, no questions asked.

Why?

Because I believe in my program that much.

And so far, nobody’s requested a refund.

Must be doing something right.

Offering a guarantee takes the risk off the customer to help you sell more.

A good guarantee can turn an average offer into a wonderful offer.

Leverage them to sell more.

11. Email is the highest ROI marketing channel

It’s a higher ROI than social, paid ads, and SEO.

For every $1 you invest, you'll get $36 back (on average).

Imagine getting a 3,600% return in the stock market.

So, if you’re wondering what specialty you should dive into as a writer…

Email is one of the best choices since you can make business owners more money.

And… if you can make them more money, you can demand more money as the one responsible for reeling the revenue in.

12. "Too expensive" is a myth.

If you’re trying to sell a product and your readers are saying it’s too expensive, it’s not.

One of three things need to change:

1. You need to find a different audience (who’s starving).

2. You need to create better products (that are worthy of the price).

3. You need to look at your copy, then throw it away (and make it better).

13. It's not a sin to state the features. Just don't forget the benefits.

Here’s an example of features and benefits in unison…

Apple Vision Pro:

Feature: Capture magical spatial photos and videos with Apple's first 3D camera.

Benefit: Relive those special moments. You'll never have to worry about another memory slipping away again.

14. You can sell more by solving a pain point than by giving someone their heart's desire.

People want to run from pain more than they want to run towards pleasure.

You can use both in your copy, but in most cases, lean towards the pain more.

15. If you aren't leveraging storytelling, you're pouring money down the drain.

Great stories are magnets.

They pull people into your marketing message and keep them reading all the way to your "buy now" button.

16. Social proof is a cheat code.

The easiest way to sell is by sharing customer stories.

"Last month Bob was hesitant to try our anti-balding cream, but he gave it a shot, and now his hair is 33% thicker. He says his wife is giving him ‘the look’ more than ever."

17. Collect video testimonials. They're 10x more powerful than showing off a written testimonial

Testimonials, reviews, and other forms of social proof are crucial.

They’re the best copy tactic to sell more.

You should always collect and leverage them in your copy.

But…

Try to get video testimonials.

It’s one thing to see a written testimonial.

“Might be fake,” some people think.

But, it’s hard to fake a video of a happy customer’s face explaining why you’re an awesome company with wonderful products and services.

18. People "hear" your copy when they read it.

When you read something silently, you automatically hear those words in the ears of your mind.

If your copy sounds awkward and clunky when spoken out loud, you need to adjust it.

Always read your copy out loud before you submit it.

You’ll almost always catch awkward wording.

19. Marketing isn't just about coming up with the next big campaign.

It’s branding, relationship-building, crafting content that resonates, and problem-solving.

It's the little things you do every day that excite people enough to tell their friends.

Your copy’s primary goal is to get people to take action.

But, if you can do it while entertaining, connecting, and building that relationship, then you’re going to keep people coming back for life.

20. It's hard to sell to your followers. Instead, build a funnel:

1. Post on social media daily

2. Get people on your email list by plugging a lead magnet under social posts

3. Send valuable emails regularly to nurture

4. Regularly promote your offer via email

5. Rinse and repeat.

21. The best marketers are patient.

They know it takes several touch points to convert the average customer.

If your offer isn't working right away, it doesn't mean you failed.

Keep providing value. Keep getting those touch points in.

You may not always have control over this, especially if you’re a landing page copywriter.

But, if you’re a daily email copywriter or Twitter ghostwriter, then you have the opportunity every day to build that relationship and sell them on your products and services.

And, if you don’t have the chance to write copy daily to your audience, you can at least A/B test to tweak the copy and the offer presented to the traffic coming in.

22. Copywriting without a call to action isn't copywriting.

• You're not Don Draper from Mad Men

• This isn't brand advertising

• You're not here to inspire

You're here to get people to move.

Ask for the sale at the end, or you won't get it.

BONUS: To master marketing, you need to learn from those who have succeeded with it.

People ask me all the time “What’s the fastest way to get to $5-$10k/month as a copywriter?”

The answer?

• Set goals

• Write daily

• Read copy books daily

• Invest in copywriting courses

• Invest in a copywriting mentor

It’s the same as any other skill.

If you want to master it, you have to put your time into it.

But, you can also fast-track your progress by investing your money into it.

In my first year as a copywriter, I invested about ~$5,000 into copywriting books and courses.

The result?

I started out making a few hundred bucks a month.

But, by the final month of year one, I was earning $8,000+/month.

And I’ve made even crazier money since then.

If you want to speed things up, then my mentorship might be the right fit for you.

While April is now closed (I filled all 4 of my April seats)…

You can apply to the May waitlist now.

I already have 1 of 4 May seats filled already (despite not promoting it yet).

If you’re interested in getting 1:1 help from a copywriter who’s made over $440,000 with writing…

And you want to hit $5k/month sooner than later…

Reply “May” now to apply to join the waitlist.

-Brandon “I’m not a copywriter, I’m a marketer” Storey

P.S. Now, time for a word from our sponsors.

Just kidding, I don’t have any of those (although some have been trying to sponsor my newsletter lately).

Instead…

My mentorship students will now present some fancy “social proof screenshots” to you about the mentorship:

Interested in joining the waitlist for the May mentorship?

Reply to this email with the word “May” now to apply.