Writing
Guides on copy, email and selling online.
Copywriting, email and SMS, finding your audience and the lessons from building online, written since 2019.
Copywriting
Persuasive writing for ads, landing pages and websites: power words, headlines, about pages, testimonials and breakdowns of the classic ads that still teach the fundamentals.
How to Write Conversationally: 5 Tips for a Natural Voice
How to write conversationally: read lines aloud as you type, start sentences with And or But, write headlines like speech and have a friend read it back.
How to Write Better Sentences: 14 Tips for Business Copy
How to write better sentences for business copy: 14 tips on rhythm, power words, facts, emotion and detail that keep people reading.
Copywriting Dos and Don'ts: 112 Tips for Copy That Sells
112 copywriting dos and don'ts from classic ad books: write many headlines, use specific claims, tell stories, add proof and use real urgency.
The 5 Most Persuasive Words And How They Lift Conversions
The most persuasive words in English, David Ogilvy's 20, and the tests behind them, like the copier study where "because" got far more people to say yes.
800+ Power Words For Copy That Converts (With Examples)
A list of 800+ power words in 9 categories, with real headline examples and 16 places to use them in your copy.
How to Write an About Page That Converts (With Examples)
How to write an about page for your business: frame it around the reader, lead with a clear headline, tell a short story, add proof and end with a CTA.
14 Copywriting Tips From the Masters You Can Use Today
14 copywriting tips from masters like Claude Hopkins and Joe Karbo: write simply, know your customer, edit hard, keep a swipe file and test your copy.
Gary Halbert 30 Day Challenge: My Daily Log and Lessons
The Gary Halbert 30 day challenge step by step: the 9 books to read, the classic ads to copy by hand, plus my daily log and what it taught me about copy.
Email and SMS marketing
The bottom of the funnel: building a list, welcome series, abandoned cart and win-back flows, cold email, SMS and the best practices that turn subscribers into repeat buyers.
How To Write A Cold Email That Gets Replies
How to write a cold email step by step: research the recipient, keep the subject line short, offer value, end with a clear ask and follow up after a week.
How to Build an Email List of Buyers, Not Freebie Seekers
How to build an email list that converts, using lead magnets, paid and organic traffic, sweepstakes, pop-ups, double opt-in and offline sign-ups.
SMS Marketing Best Practices: Opt-In, Timing and CTAs
SMS marketing best practices that lift conversions: get opt-in, text from 9am to noon, keep it to 1 to 3 sentences, use one CTA and make opting out easy.
18 Email Marketing Best Practices For More Conversions
18 email marketing best practices for more conversions, from split testing subject lines and segmenting by behavior to one CTA per email and list cleaning.
26 Meeting Request Email Templates, Rated And Reviewed
26 meeting request email templates for prospects, clients, colleagues, bosses and professors, with subject lines to test and an honest rating of each one.
Why People Don't Read Your Emails: 5 Psychological Reasons
Why people don't read your emails: bad timing for their mood, boring copy, missed pain points, emails too long for a phone and weak subject lines.
5 B2B Email Mistakes That Keep People From Replying
Avoid these 5 B2B email mistakes: robotic openers, pitches all about you, a free Gmail address, forgetting the reader and skipping research.
Best Email Marketing Services: Pros, Cons and Who Each Fits
Compare the best email marketing services, from Mailchimp and ConvertKit to Klaviyo, Omnisend and Drip, with pros, cons and the kind of business each fits.
Win-Back Email Campaign: How to Write One (With Examples)
How to build a win-back email campaign: learn why subscribers go quiet, segment by recency, frequency and order value, and send 2 to 3 personal emails.
Abandoned Cart Emails: A Step-By-Step Guide With Examples
How to write an abandoned cart email series that wins back shoppers: why they leave, how to collect emails, and three example emails to adapt.
Welcome Email Sequence Template: 7 Emails With Examples
A welcome email sequence template with 7 emails and an example of each, plus how to grow sign-ups, what goes in email one and how far apart to send them.
Growing an online business
Finding your audience, segmenting customers, growing on YouTube and Twitter, running sales calls and choosing the tools that help a small online business grow.
Ecommerce Customer Segmentation Ideas for Email and Ads
Ecommerce customer segmentation ideas for email and ads: demographics, psychographics and shopper behavior, from age and income to cart abandoners.
Leadership Qualities: 19 Traits That Make a Good Leader
19 leadership qualities that make a good leader, from integrity and listening to patience and accountability, and how small daily choices build them.
First Sales Call Tips: 4 Mistakes I Made So You Don't
First sales call tips from someone who bombed his: lead the conversation, explain value before price, drop the rising inflection and have a pitch ready.
How to Define Your Target Audience (With or Without Data)
How to define your target audience with or without data: questions to ask, demographics and behaviors to study, research tools and real brand examples.
Productivity and mindset
Habits, routines, journaling, focus and discipline: what has actually worked for doing deep, creative work consistently.
How to Start a Manifestation Journal That Leads to Action
How to start a manifestation journal with gratitude, "I am" affirmations and three daily actions, and why writing your goals down alone won't do it.
How to Build Confidence: 19 Ways to Train Your Mind
How to build confidence in 19 practical ways, from getting comfortable being uncomfortable to setting small goals, plus a simple step-by-step plan.
How to Journal Effectively: The Two-Journal System I Use
How to journal effectively with two journals: one for goals, tasks and ideas, one for gratitude and reflection, plus a weekly review and a habit tracker.
What Happens When You Meditate Every Day: 65 Hours In
What happens when you meditate every day, from 65 hours of 20-minute sessions: an outside view of your emotions, steadier focus and the best time to sit.
How to Plan Your Goals: A Simple 4-Step Process
How to plan your goals in 4 steps: set SMART goals, brainstorm a plan, measure your progress, then keep what works and change what doesn't.
How To Develop Self-Discipline With Tiny Daily Decisions
How to develop self-discipline by winning small daily decisions, making temptations harder to reach, setting deadlines and building habits that train it.
How to Use Boredom to Your Advantage and Reach Your Goals
How to use boredom to your advantage: tell productive boredom from the unproductive kind, build a strong why, and train habits that carry you through.
How To Create A Morning Routine You'll Actually Keep
How to create a morning routine you stick with: decide what you want from it, start with tiny habits, know what to skip, plus my own 10-step routine.
Gmail Productivity Tips: 10 Tricks to Tame Your Inbox
10 Gmail productivity tips you can set up in minutes: filters and labels, plus addresses, canned responses, undo send, search operators and shortcuts.
Productive Night Routine: Simple Habits for Better Sleep
Build a productive night routine that sticks: set a fixed time, start habits at 1 minute, plan tomorrow, cut screens and keep your bedroom dark and cool.
Personal stories
Motivational Quotes About Life and Success: 120+ Favorites
120+ motivational quotes about life and success from Walt Disney, Bruce Lee, Maya Angelou, Steve Martin and more, for a push when you'd rather not work.
How To Dress Well As A Guy: Fit, Quality, Then Brand
How to dress well as a guy with three rules in order: fit, quality, then brand. What to get tailored first, why to size down and how to make clothes last.
How To Gain Weight As An Ectomorph (18 Lbs In 5 Months)
How to gain weight as an ectomorph: the calorie plan, food spreadsheet, 5-day split and daily tracking I used to go from 160 to 178 lbs in 5 months.
How to Memorize Kanji: How I Learned 2,200 in 14 Days
How to memorize kanji faster with Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, Anki and vivid personal stories, from my run through all 2,200 kanji in 14 days.
Keep learning
Get the next ad breakdown.
I break down the ads that work across paid social, CTV and Google, and what you can take from them. New breakdowns land on YouTube first.