John Carlton slyly refers to himself as "the most ripped-off copywriter on the Web", and almost no one on the inside of the online entrepreneurial world disagrees.
His sales copy has been stalked for decades by many of the best marketers both online and offline… and they freely admit using John's ads as templates for their own breakthrough pitches.
Marketers model John's hard-hitting copy because it works. As a freelance copywriter, John has remained one of a handful at the top of the game for his entire career -- commanding fees that cause unprepared clients to choke, sought after by the largest mailers in the world, and consistently writing pitches that sell like crazy.
However, he has focused on teaching copywriting and marketing for the last few years… and is responsible for helping a verifiable mob of otherwise clueless marketers to get their act together. The rabid testimonials on his home site marketing rebel include nearly every famous (and infamous) online entrepreneur worth knowing about. He's touched a lot of lives. (His blog, at john-carlton . com, is considered "must reading" by the cream of the marketing world.)
John's career arc is now legendary. He started out as the hot-shot "secret weapon" freelance copywriter that Los Angeles direct response ad agencies snuck in the back door to write the hard-hitting sales copy their own staffs couldn't pull off… worked closely with direct response giant Gary Halbert for years (with whom he helped perfect the "Hot Seat" seminar model that is now so common)… was a pioneer in online marketing (among the first to use blogs, podcasts, email and virtual seminars as effective sales tools)… and remains at the cutting edge of Internet entrepreneurial adventures.
Read John Carlton's previous newsletter articles below:
There’s nothing better than discovering a book by writer who knows how to get deep inside your head, so you can’t wait to get back to the book for another dose of the world he’s created. It’s even better if he’s been a prolific little dude, and there are more books lined up behind that one.
By John Carlton | Sat, Jun 20, 2009
With the brouhaha of Web 2.0 going strong, she can be excused for her doubts. And the fact is, if I woke up tomorrow and realized the universe had changed in such a way that a decent sales pitch no longer required persuasion, proof, credibility, believable offers, and all the other classic ingredients… and we could now create sales with just a smidgen of copy here and there, like dabs of gray ink in the colorful wonder of an over-designed Web page… well, I’d be the first one writing short copy that day.
By John Carlton | Wed, May 13, 2009
People ask me how I’m able to write such gritty, fascinating sales copy. For products and ventures that seem, to the uninitiated eye, so far removed from anything gritty or fascinating.
By John Carlton | Thu, May 7, 2009
In business, the best opportunities don’t usually announce themselves ahead of time. There is no warning. And there is precious little time to consider your choices.
By John Carlton | Sat, May 2, 2009
The topic of social media came up recently in my coaching program (the Radio Rant). People are understandably baffled by the cornucopia of ways available to gossip and reach out to touch other people.
By John Carlton | Fri, Apr 24, 2009
When you are writing on deadline (or creating a marketing plan, redesigning your website, etc.) and your energy is starting to falter… do not rely on coffee or “power” drinks to stay alert.
By John Carlton | Tue, Mar 24, 2009
Several generations of Americans have now graduated from the education system believing that a good excuse is a Get Out of Jail Free card. Flunked a test? Forgot to finish your essay on time? Late for class? No problem… IF you have a great excuse.
By John Carlton | Wed, Jan 14, 2009
I just spent a week with family - mostly my sister’s boys and their wives and kids. I was sitting in my sister’s living room, watching the grandnieces and grandnephew play (ages 2, 4, and 6) with rambunctious glee… and I realized that all the adults were reading books.
By John Carlton | Fri, Nov 28, 2008
A few weeks back, I visited my hometown (yeah, I grew up in Cucamonga, what’s it to ya?) to see my family. Pop still lives in the same house he bought just after WWII, and it’s hard for me not to feel like I’m 15 again when I’m there.
By John Carlton | Wed, Oct 8, 2008
One of the fundamentals of becoming a great communicator is best explained in the classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People.
By John Carlton | Tue, Jun 23, 2009
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