Copy Chief Live 2017 Takeaways

When was the last time you unshackled yourself from the desk and met fellow copywriters in the flesh?

In my case, hardly ever.

I decided to rectify that by jumping on a jet plane to sun soaked Florida for Copy Chief Live.

For 3 days I was walking around meeting the 3D versions of all the avatars I’d been engaging with in the Copy Chief forums.

Even better, I got to rub shoulders with truly A list copywriters and up and comers at the top of their game.

Speakers included John Carlton, Parris Lampropoulos (good luck spelling that without Googling it), Marcella Allison and Joe Schriefer from Agora (sharing the stage with Donald Trump, weirdly).

Seeing them in action and listening to their talks reinforced the amount of  sweat, tears and blood on the page it takes to get to the top. And how much more work I need to do to get there.

A few golden nuggets of inspiration included:

1. We don’t create mass desire but channel it. Copy is a fundamental journey from pain to bliss.
2. Your copy needs to tell people they’re not crazy, they’re not alone. There’s hope.
3. We might not admit it, but we’re all motivated by experiences that wounded us as children (many of us in the room shared the drive to always be proving people wrong as a result of being introverted kids)
4. At the start of your letter or VSL, confidently make a statement your prospect wants to believe. Then prove it succinctly without getting into a science lesson.
5. The ultimate hook is to validate a worldview of your prospect
6. You have to surrender your desire for perfection to stop being cramped and crazy and to progress to the top
7. Cringing when you read your old copy is a good sign. It means you’re getting better

Obviously, they shared a lot more than that. But I signed a densely worded NDA before I walked in, so I’m sworn to secrecy.

Suffice to say, I’ll be booking my ticket for next year as soon as they’re announced. Will I see you there?