On August 27th, 2021 at 5pm EST (that’s 1pm my time in Cali), Gary Vaynerchuk went live on YouTube and Instagram (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlcsdCsBR3U) to announce a 24-hour only opportunity to his millions of fans and followers...involving NFTs in exchange for book purchases.   By the following day, his new book Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success was the #1 bestselling book across all of Amazon around the world (while on presale). It sold so many that Barnes & Noble broke for a lot of us trying to buy.   As I record this in mid-September, the book is no longer #1 in all of Amazon, that’s how the rankings work -- they change almost hourly -- but there is a lot we authors can learn from what Gary did to write and promote his book.   But let me backup and define a few things for you…   Who is Gary Vee? Gary Vaynerchuk is a Belarusian-American entrepreneur, author, speaker, and Internet personality. He is a co-founder of the restaurant reservation software company Resy and Empathy Wines. First known as a wine critic who expanded his family's wine business, Vaynerchuk is now more known for his work in digital marketing and social media as the chairman of New York-based communications company VaynerX, and as CEO of VaynerX subsidiary VaynerMedia. NFT: Non-fungible token You may have heard this term floated around a lot lately. It’s all the rage in the cryptosphere. Skeptics call it “buying jpegs. My in-laws call it a ponzi scheme.   But what it really is is a digital collectible tied to a smart contract that cannot be destroyed.   Who created it?Who bought it first (called minting)?Who sold it and when?What price did the 3rd owner pay?   All this and more is recorded on the blockchain, which is a digital ledger of transactions recorded on multiple computers around the world so that no one person or entity can alter the records.   Oh, and non-fungible is just a confusing way of saying unique. If you trade 1 US dollar for another 1 US dollar, you have not changed anything. Dollars are fungible. If you trade 1 cryptopunk for 1 curiocard, you have very much changed things. These are non-fungible...they are unique.   It’s all a big deal. It’s the wave of the future, if you ask me.   If this is your first time hearing about it, I really think you should put in some hours to research and learn more.   It will (and already is) affecting everything we do in life. Don’t be an old fuddy duddy and say it’s all just a silly trend kids these days are into. It’s not.   NFT examples To help, for this convo, to make what an NFT is more clear, let’s look at a few examples.    Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC):  Are pieces of digital art of apes with different facial expressions, backgrounds, and accessories. The cheapest one as I record this is 33.5 ETH, or about $117,000.   There is no utility -- or ability to use the token -- that I am aware of. However, owners of BAYC tokens get ‘airdropped’ (aka rewarded with) additional tokens that also have value because they are in demand by the market. NFT.NYC The leading conference on the topic of NFTs is held each year in New York City, and, as we would expect, the ticket to get in is an NFT. Using NFTs as tickets into an event in real life is an easy example to wrap our heads around potential ‘utility’ of a token.   Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, recently said on a podcast interview that tickets to all games would soon be tokenized.  VeeFriends Gary Vee jumped into the NFT space in May as well. His project is called VeeFriends and it comes with access to his new VeeCon conference in 2022, 2023, and 2024, which gives it real utility. Some tokens also have direct access to him in groups or in one-on-one sessions like courtside Nicks games.   But where the big promise from Gary lies is in the I.P. of the characters. He plans to turn the drawings for the tokens into the next “disney.”Imagine if you owned the original drawing of Mickey Mouse...think that would be worth something today? -------   So, back to our story about Gary selling over 1 million books in 24 hours.    Starting in early 2021, Gary told his followers to buy up ETH when it was about $1400 to $1800. Then, for months before launch, Gary educated his audience on NFTs, the blockchain, what wallets like MetaMask were and how to set them up to be ready to buy NFTs, and more.   Then Gary launched his VeeFriends in May of 2021. For the majority of the 10,255 tokens that he sold, you could buy them for 0.5 to 3 ETH (that’s about $1750 to $10,500 in today’s value with ETH around $3500).   As I record this 4 months later, the cheapest VeeFriend is 18ETH (or about $63,000).   That’s a 36x return...and Gary swears he’s just getting started…   Flash forward to the book offer. Gary went live on a Friday afternoon in the summer to say that for ever 12 books someone purchased in the following 24 hours, she or he would receive 1 surprise NFT after the books ship in November.The exact details are unknown.However, after seeing what he did with VeeFriends in just 4 months, true fans jumped at the chance to buy up lots of books and be eligible for multiple surprises in November.   Hence, selling over 1 million copies in 24 hours.   ------- TAKEAWAYS   I personally don’t have as big an audience as Gary. Likely you listening don’t either.    So maybe selling 1 million books in 24 hours is something unattainable for us right now.   Nevertheless, we can employ his tactics to a scale that works for us.   Give true value to your audience (not just sales promos)...Gary taught people all about the crypto and NFT world....Gary shared tips on other projects he thought looked solid like World of Women and Curio Cards...his fans made tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars off his tips in just weeks or months   Let true fans in on things before the general public ...Gary created a Discord (like a giant chat room) where he shared these special tips and info completely for free, but only with true fans who took the time to join it   Follow through on what you promise you will do ...Gary went out of his way to make sure true fans got first crack at his NFT drop (before whales with big bank accounts could swoop in and buy everything up) ...And he’s been working to make VF grow in value already    Stay connected real-time ...Gary doesn’t just promote and ghost, he stays actively involved...this builds that know, like, and trust factor   Build reputation and know it takes time ...Gary has been building rapport and trust for yearrrsssss...he didn’t just emerge out of nowhere and expect people to trust him. ...You have to have patience and build.    Use cutting edge technology and trends ...Gary is jumping on the wave of crypto and NFTs early.   How can we make our books themselves NFTs?    Could someone buy our book as an NFT and be able to sell it later?Could you offer “gold ticket” NFTs with special access to you...say a yearly coffee meeting or bowling trip?    ----   There is so much to be learned by watching Gary and following in his footsteps when it comes to books, business, and NFTs.   If you want to learn and see more, I’m attaching links to all that I mentioned in here about Gary’s incredible book frenzy.   And if you're wondering...I will have a crap ton of books in my garage come November.When Gary speaks, I believe.   When you speak, I hope your audience believes too.   Share with me your thoughts on this episode or any probek you are working on! I’m at LaptopLaura on the socials. Or shoot me an email at Laura@CopyThatPops.com!Also, I’ll be speaking at ShePodcasts Live next month in Scottsdale, Arizona!   My talk is called:How to Easily Turn Your Podcast Into a Bestselling Book [And Truly Position Yourself As a Leader]   Hope to see you there, if you are a fellow podcaster! :)In the meantime, keep finding ways to write copy that pops!

Copy That Pops: Writing Tips and Psychology Hacks for Business

216: How to Sell 1 Million Books in 24 Hours [A Gary Vee and NFT Case Study]

Hello copy poppers! Long time no talk...but we are back today with a quick writing tip for you inspired by two often-heard quotes: French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal famously wrote: I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time Mark Twain once said, “I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” When I first heard these sayings, I thought they were wrong. In school, the hardest assignments seemed to be the long term papers 15 or more pages long. But as a former teacher, professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and all around writing nerd for internet copy, I’ve come to learn they are profoundly true. I admittedly have the habit of ‘over communicating in writing.’ I tend to add too many details in emails -- and try to keep in mind that if something can be said with fewer words, it should be. Let me give some concrete examples for you… COPY EDITING EXAMPLES Bio Say you are writing about yourself for an author bio, for an about page on your website, or for an email in a marketing campaign so that new subscribers can get to know you. You may write something like this: “I did my undergraduate studies at UCLA and majored in Psychology, earning a bachelor’s degree with a minor in German in 2003.” (true story for yours truly!) This is a perfectly good sentence with 22 words. But can we tighten it up without losing any meaning or important information? How about… “I graduated in 2003 from UCLA with a degree in Psychology and a minor in German.” That’s shorter! With 16 words now. We shaved off 6 words...or 27%. Not bad and no meaning was lost. Business Description Say you are writing up some information about your company for your website or short social media bio. You could write something like this: “At XYZ Media Company, we know the importance of leveraging social media to grow your business in this increasingly online and global economy. This is the reason why we love helping businesses create and execute strategies that help them grow their businesses through attracting new leads, converting sales, and building brand loyalty.” This is a lovely description from a company who gets it! But at about 52 words, it looks like a big paragraph that most people may say ‘ain’t nobody got time for that’ and skip over reading it. How about… “Leveraging social media is essential to grow your business. We help you create and execute strategies to grow by attracting new leads, converting more sales, and building brand loyalty.” This version is 29 words, so 44% shorter. Plus, we changed 3rd person words like “their” and “them” to 1st person words like “you” and “your.” I also cut out things like “At XYZ Media Company” under the assumption that if someone is reading it on your website, they know what you are called -- you don’t have to restate it. And also “in this increasingly online and global economy” because if your audience doesn’t already know this is happening, I’d be shocked.   Example 3 Send me a piece of copy you’d like cleaned up to be shorter and more punchy. I may feature a quick edit of yours in a future episode! --- Hope these copy editing examples helped inspire you to look for words you could cut to improve your writing online.  It takes more time to trim the fat, but it’s worth it!Until the next episode, keep finding ways to write copy that pops! xo Laura PS: To access full show notes, please click here.

215: Less is More Quick Copy Tip with 2 Copy Editing Examples

Researching for ways to improve my writing, I came across a "Masterclass" on the Narrative Story Arc. In this episode, I share an overview of what the Masterclass goes over with the hopes of inspiring you to apply it to your writing for... ...books ...emails ...social media posts ..."about me" pages even! The human brain is drawn into stories. But sometimes it's hard to know how to 'craft' them. Follow this breakdown written below and shared in audio in this podcast episode. Even though it is for fiction, we can learn a lot from it and apply it to our nonfiction writing as well. Can't wait to hear what stories you cook up! Source for this episode and to learn even more on the topic: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-the-elements-of-a-narrative-arc-and-how-do-you-create-one-in-writing#what-is-the-difference-between-a-narrative-arc-and-a-character-arc   See full details at copythatpops.com/214   Take Action Now on Your Bestselling Book! TRAINING on hitting Amazon bestseller [free] COMMUNITY of new and growing nonfiction authors! [free] ACCELERATOR: Write a great book & hit bestseller! [not free ;)] 

214: Narrative Arc Framework to Help You Write Better Stories

Success, obstacles, goals, strategy, advice, imposter syndrome, writing tips, and more -- this episode is all about having the guts to become an author and ways to use your book to help grow your brand and business while also truly helping others out there in the world. Podcasting Business School's founder Adam Schaeuble takes the lead role asking questions of Laura as well as 3 of her recent success story clients participating in the Bestselling Book Mastermind program (a new round starts Monday, August 24th! -- use the code "CTP" to save $50 and claim your spot at CopyThatPops.com/10weeks now). A Few Highlights from This Podcast: 4 bestselling authors answer the following questions: - "What held you back from writing your book in the past?"- "What strategy blew your mind that you learned working with Laura in the Bestselling Book Mastermind group?" - "How have you and/or how are you planning to leverage your book?" - "Advice for others doing a book launch? Or what would you do differently for your next book launch?" Ready to be the next author success story? - Laura's 10-Week Bestselling Book Mastermind...now enrolling for August 2020 start! Use code "CTP" for $50 off for podcast listeners! Prefer to watch instead? Our Guests Guest Host: Adam Schaeuble of Podcasting Business School  Bestselling Author Panelists: • Aimee Carlson, #1 Bestselling Author of The Toxin Terminator: Finding Focus, Energy and Renewed Health by Removing Hidden Toxins • Kelsey Henry, #1 Bestselling Author of Positively Delighted: Create a Positive Mindset & a Life of Delight, Laughter, & Fun! • Tamar Medford, #1 Bestselling Author of Hope Elevated: How to accept your past, gain clarity, and develop a healthy mindset Take Action Now! 10-Week Bestselling Book Mastermind, co-run with Allison Melody [starting August 24, 2020 - use code "CTP" to save $50] Please click here to access full show notes.

213: Author Panel: 4 Bestselling Book Authors Answer Questions About Self-Publishing, Amazon Book Launching, and How You Can Write a Book Quickly Too (Featuring Adam Schaeuble, Tamar Medford, Aimee Carlson, and Kelsey Henry)

Writing about a boring or complicated topic (at least as seen by others)? Well, our guest today shows how to make even things like taxes and avoiding an IRS tax audit interesting, easy-to-understand, and immediately applicable to his audience.   Listen in to see how Jonathan Maki went from driving tanks in the Army to helping businesses be prepared for an IRS audit, whether it happens or not. His #1 Amazon bestselling book will help you understand what the IRS will want to see and how they want to see it -- in simple, clear, plain English. Our conversation also covers... A Few Highlights from This Podcast: - A story about driving tanks in the Army- What did the Army teach Jonathan about business?- Why did Jonathan go into helping small businesses with taxes?- What are his best quick tips around taxes for entrepreneurs and business owners?- The $1,000,000 tax bill story. Eek!- Story about a guy who hid from IRS for 20 years - Audit Armor Basic Training Manual: Protect Your Growing Business from the IRS (grab Jonathan's book!)- Why did Jonathan want to write a book?- Did Jonathan ever feel the imposter syndrome monster breathing down his neck? How did he combat it?- Honest thoughts working with Lulu for publishing? [Hint: Neither of us loved the experience and we tell why]- Best tips for sitting down to write?- Why and how to use 99 Designs for an incredible book cover contest (and how it's a secret weapon for marketing your book even before it's live!)- Best tips for writing with “less is more” in mind - Laura's 10-Week Bestselling Book Mastermind...now enrolling for August 2020 start!   Our Guest Jonathan Maki drove tanks in the United States Army. Then, shortly after receiving an MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2008, he started helping other small business owners understand their own finances and navigate the complicated US tax system. He is a dedicated husband and father of two young girls, and he loves surfing with his wife in his free time. Learn More: - Depository Analysis - IRS Audit letter redacted - 7 Practices to Help Protect Your Growing Business from an IRS Audit   Great Quotes "I wanted to write a book that was to outline sequential, cohesive steps of action so that it would make it easier for my clients and for me too." - Jonathan Maki "I’m so glad that I worked with you because I had the content but it’s the same as comparing the steak vs the sizzle." - Jonathan Maki "My waves of inspiration don’t come in the form of an outline." - Jonathan Maki Take Action Now! Amazon Bestselling Book Workshop + Resources [free] 10-Week Bestselling Book Mastermind, co-run with Allison Melody [starting August 2020] To access full show notes, click here.

212: Book Writing, Amazon Bestselling Book Launching, and Driving Tanks with Small Business Tax Pro Jonathan Maki

Sword fighting, Peace Corp serving, apple pie with cheddar cheese-loving business owner Ray Blakney stops by to share with us how he’s grown the largest language learning online school in the world that hasn’t raised venture capital.  Whatever content you have -- a blog, a book, a podcast, a website, a YouTube channel, or a combination of them -- Ray’s 4 proven steps will get you from crickets to consistent growth of your brand, business relationships, and revenue.   A Few Highlights from This Podcast: - Starts first business as a language school in Mexico with wife (who used to be his Spanish teacher)...but then swine flu hits…and it forces them to go online, which leads to huge growth (got over 4 million visits in 2019) - Shares a lot of personal information on your site and podcast questions...why? Psychologically what is the reason? - Tips for coming up with a name for your business - 4 steps (plus a bonus 5th step!) for his proven content amplification process 1) Research 2) Create great content 3) Amplify on social media 4) Ranking and linkbacks - Resources named: UberSuggest and Ahrefs.com - Advice on writing emails that get people to agree to link back to your content - What’s a realistic timeframe for all this to work and snowball? Answer may surprise you. - And be sure to book a free, no pressure call or jump on a live training to get help implementing what you learned. This is so valuable!   Our Guest Ray Blakney is an award-winning Filipino-American entrepreneur who has over a decade of experience building (bootstrapping) and operating 6 and 7-figure online businesses. He and his businesses have been featured in magazines such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, The Boston Globe, and other top publications. In his free time, Ray is a part-time sword fighter. Learn More: LiveLingua.com InfiniteUpcycle.com Anomalous Educator Podcast   Great Quotes “The advantage of us not needing to grow is one that a lot of people overlook. They look at it as a business. You grow, grow, grow, just for the sake of growth, and sometimes if you're happy where you are, I don't know if you're making a hundred thousand dollars a year, were you really that much happier making 120.” -Ray Blakney “Bookstores are making a comeback in the United States. Those like little niche corner shops where you used to go and read books, Barnes and Nobles, you know the big ones are going bankrupt, people want that personalized thing where you can go in and you know the seller or the seller knows you. It's like: -You know, a new book just came in that I know you would love because you, this is the kind of book that you read.” -Ray Blakney “I think a lot about names and people ask me a lot about names cause it was all about like copywriting and words and it can be really tough, but it's great to know, one you can change it, two its kind of like no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care that sort of phrase, it's like no one cares about the name of your business, they care about the results they're going to get for them or how you're going to make them feel in doing the interaction. So focusing more on that and less on the names.” Laura Petersen “So you really need to know yourself first and then write some content that is around that, we find that that's the base for creating any great piece of content is that there is a point to it, your personality is included and you know what you're trying to say in that content.” -Ray Blakney “Even if you sell 20 copies to 20 people who really need it, you did something good and you never know where those relationships could go, it can just completely snowball in a way you can't anticipate. But let's not worry about trying to please everyone and be this massive overnight success.” - Laura Petersen Take Action Now! Amazon Bestselling Book Workshop + Resources [free] Bestselling Book Accelerator [best option to get your book done, live, and #1!] Speaker's Secret Gig List [get more speaking gigs]   Click here to access full show notes.

211: 4 Steps to Efficiently Create Content That Gets You Ranking at the Top in Google with Ray Blakney

Do you struggle with imposter syndrome and overwhelm on what book topic to pick to write about? You are not alone! This is a replay of a really terrific group Zoom call that my biz bestie Allison Melody of the Food Heals empire did last Saturday. Six entrepreneurs joined us to ask questions, brainstorm, and work through mental blocks. I hope this helps you wherever you are in your journey! And jump into our 14-week Bestselling Book Group Program starting on May 25th, if you catch this in time!   A Few Highlights from This Podcast: [05:45] - [5:00] : Alli kicks off call + Laura intro and why books matter   [12:22] : Tamar intro about the book she's work on …vulnerable stories …4 chapters so far …afraid bc of ego to dig into …wants the word “hope” in there Finding Hope Acceptance   [15:54] : Larry Roberts …1+1=Podcast …wrote it in 20 days …got emotional …Scrivener …bringing wife on the journey …how to start a VA business …Readily Random podcast …recovered alcoholic   ]23:47] : Nancy Foote…¾ done about classroom management (33 years teaching)…how to get kids on your side …struggling bc had another book calling at her! …started on second book too …works at literary conferences part-time …"when I teach, I tell stories about my life" …Coca-Cola Hot Pants …Paul Harvey …Zero G with Mark Kelly astronaut …Parkinson’s, two kinds of breast cancer, …"how can you be so positive and upbeat?" …baseball with Nolan Ryan …Writing 6-word sentences…loving writing it…like poetry …shoulder surgery …Imposter Syndrome Monster   [37:06] : Christopher Centri…astronomy and space science …struggling with things online …in another part of New York state …Mars + search for extraterrestrial life …Lunar Mysteries …Thinkific, Teachable, …wants courses …near Lake Erie + wine + science presentations   [48:37] : Hazel Englander…loves wine too …listens to CTP! …model all over the world …famous boyfriend…backstage rock and roll parties …not sure about sharing bc of kids, husband, and haters …Queen, Sir Elton John, etc — should I name names? …should I have a publisher or self-publish? ...Tim Ferriss and Nick Kokonas podcast: https://tim.blog/2018/10/18/nick-kokonas They compare notes about the somewhat slimy similarities between the music and publishing industries. [timestamp: 2:26:02] On the Hembergers and The Alinea Project, and the upcoming Aviary Book being released independently. [timestamp: 2:41:23]   Free Facebook Group for Authors CopyThatPops.com/facebook   More Info On the 14-Week Group Program starting on Monday, May 25th CopyThatPops.com/14weeks *Past clients of Laura’s, ping her for super discount if you want to join us too (Laura@CopyThatPops.com)     Take Action Now! 14 Week Group Bestselling Book Program with LaptopLaura and Allison Melody To access full show notes click here.

210: 6 Fascinating People Brainstorm Book Ideas and Fight to Overcome Imposter Syndrome [Replay of Zoom Call with Community Co-Hosted with Allison Melody of Food Heals]

Be a #1 Bestselling Published Author with your book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble...before quarantine is over! On Saturday, May 15th at 12pm PST, Allison Melody and I will meet you online for a fun mimosa brunch (BYOBB = Bring Your Own Booze & Brunch) to discuss how YOU can become a bestselling author in as little as 14 weeks! Join us to get support, accountability, and step-by-step direction from brainstorming...to writing...to editing...to formatting...to book cover design...to pre-marketing...to launching...to hitting #1 on Amazon...and more! You deserve to be an author. Let's do this together. If you are ready to say goodbye to overwhelming analysis paralysis and achieve your authorship goals with a fun, small group of like-minded entrepreneurs...this is your shot. So join us for a FREE brunch to hear ALL THE DETAILS! More info and zoom link in this Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/720142385464799 

**Free Book Zoom Call: Get Your Questions Answered About Books, Publishing, #1 Bestseller, and More**

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Hanging out with ACHIEVERS is actually HURTING you {psychologically}! Facebook Post where you can write and share your thoughts: We all know the whole 'you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with' saying -- I retell it all the time, myself! But, I realized recently how doing this can actually hurt us too. Now, before anyone jumps to write a scathing comment in rebuttal, hear me out... HOW IT HURTS You see your hardworking, successful business buddies start podcasts, write books, and speak on stage. So, you think and feel like "everyone is doing it." You then think and feel "it's too late for me," "I missed the boat," or "I'll never be as good as they are, plus they got such a head start, so I won't do it." SO, YOUR PERCEPTION IS SKEWED The truth actually is that you are just hanging out with go-getters. Most people do NOT start podcasts, write books, or speak on stage. Most people consume but do not create. Most people overthink but do not take action. And, more and more -- did I mention MORE? -- people are coming online every single day looking for the solutions you offer. Looking for YOUR style of speaking or writing. YOUR examples and lessons learned. YOUR wacky humor or calm speaking voice. HOW TO FIX So, I would never advise hanging out with losers to combat this misperception and get you back to reality. The side effects would be too negative. The recipe simply is to recognize where you are. You are in a GREAT place if this post resonates with you. You have a great crew around you. Keep it up. Just because your buds are rockin' it does NOT mean there isn't space and a huge -- and increasing -- demand for your unique twist and style. Audit your thoughts, audit your feelings...and reframe. Do the thing. You know what it is. Do it.   FEEDBACK Agree with me? Disagree? Did this help at all? Let's dialogue!   Take Action Now on Your Bestselling Book! TRAINING on hitting Amazon bestseller [free] COMMUNITY of new and growing nonfiction authors! [free] ACCELERATOR: Write a great book & hit bestseller! [not free ;)]  Click here to access full show notes.

209: Warning: Unpopular Opinion - Successful Biz Buds Actually Hurt You And Psyche You Out in Business

Let's nerd out where writing, psychology, and business success overlap! On this show, we look at how to ethically apply psychological principles of persuasion. You'll learn compelling copy tips to improve your writing of all lengths for biz. And you'll be ready to become a #1 bestselling published author on Amazon (faster, easier, and cheaper than you thought possible) and make money with your books as you grow your exposure and business. Join host Laura Petersen (a.k.a. @LaptopLaura) a tall Math and Psych teacher turned entrepreneur, multi-bestselling author, and international speaker. ~ Click subscribe to get a new show each week!

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Copy That Pops: Writing Tips and Psychology Hacks for Busine...

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