Meet the Masters

From the Desk of
Michael Masterson

Dear Could Be Copywriter,

You want to be a professional copywriter, but you may be wondering if you’ll succeed. If you have any doubts about your writing skills … if you aren’t sure you “have what it takes” to become a pro … this letter is for you.

Shortly after we began marketing this program a letter appeared in a direct marketing trade journal criticizing us for claiming that virtually anyone could learn to be a copywriter. The writer was appalled at the idea that “just anyone” could do what she could. She scolded us for suggesting that ordinary people could learn this extraordinary skill and share in the income and lifestyle benefits it affords.

I understood her concern. It’s a little deflating to think that the work you’re doing might not require genius. Copywriting is not rocket science. And neither is writing novels or plays or poetry. Writing is a skill that anyone can acquire. Like learning to speak a foreign language, it takes patience and practice.

Don’t worry if you aren’t a fancy writer. I have made enormously successful copywriters out of verbal idiots. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve worked with AWAI members whose early work was so bad – so full of grammatical and syntactical and vocabulary problems – that I felt like telling them, “Here’s your money back, kid. Go get a job in some other field.”

I didn’t say that and I’m glad I didn’t. Because those who persisted succeeded. Not just succeeded, but went on to write copy at a level that surprised even me.

I remember one woman in particular. Her first writing efforts were absolutely abominable. When she told us she’d talked her way into a job with a professional marketing company by claiming she was an AWAI writer, we were embarrassed. “They’re going to think our program is terrible,” we worried. “She’s just not good enough.”

But she managed to get by by getting help from the AWAI team and her fellow AWAI writers-in-training. She went on to the Masters Program and kept writing. Two years later she was at the top of her game and making a ton of dough. But even knowing that, I was still surprised and impressed when I reviewed some copy she’d written for a company I consult with. It was not just very strong in terms of selling skills, it was very clean and fluid. You’d have thought she was a natural-born genius.

You don’t need to be a great writer to succeed at copywriting. You need only to keep on writing. Follow the program faithfully. Write every day. Read and imitate the writing of the Masters. Before you know it, you’ll be exactly where you want to be.

Michael Masterson

From the Desk of
Paul Hollingshead

Dear Future Copywriter,

I sincerely hope your life changes as much as mine did after Michael Masterson taught me his copywriting secrets some 12 years ago now.

It’s only when I remember back, struggling to pay my monthly bills, wondering how I was ever going to achieve the dreams that I had in mind for myself, do I truly appreciate what a tremendous opportunity I was given.

Today, I’m making a healthy six-figure income. I’ve used the money I’ve made and the marketing and selling skills I’ve acquired to launch several businesses of my own. I live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. I work for no one but myself. I golf when I want. I travel when I want. And if I ever want to take a day off to spend with my son – I can.

Now you have the same opportunity I had. And, if you apply yourself, you too can become a highly-paid and always-in-demand copywriter.

But this program teaches you so much more. It instills in you the art of persuasion. You learn powerful techniques that give you the skills to sell anything you choose to sell.

And let’s face it, to be successful in life you need to know how to sell. Whether you’re selling yourself … your ideas … a financial newsletter … or a product you’ve developed on your own – it all comes down to how successfully you are able to communicate benefits to your prospective customers.

Michael Masterson has helped an amazing number of us achieve our dreams by applying the very secrets you’re about to learn.

And there’s no reason in the world why these secrets can’t do the same for you.

Happy writing!

Paul Hollingshead

From the Desk of
Don Mahoney

Dear Future Copywriter,

First of all, I’d like to welcome you to a fantastic journey. A career where you can write how much you want to make, how you want to live, and how the ending will be.

Some call it “The Writer’s Life.”

Let me explain …

As I sit and write this letter to you, I am at my “country house” in upstate New York. From my office I can look across a beautiful valley – a view of miles and miles – including a river that runs into a lake … a local swimming, gathering and picnic place during the summer.

I also have a “city house,” on Miami Beach. Not the chi-chi section of South Beach – that’s too much for me, although some might like it. No, that house is in a quieter part, on a golf course.

But it wasn’t always this way.

The year before I began this journey I only made about $12,000, and I was $50,000 in debt.

Not fun.

But within a couple of years I was making six figures, and I paid off my debts and lived a life beyond my wildest dreams. In fact, I came so far that now I’ve decided to turn around and live more simply … a “less is more” life. But I think it’s most satisfying to do that AFTER you’ve made more money than you dreamed of and traveled more and got more “stuff.” Then you can decide it’s all too much headache, and live more simply. That doesn’t mean poor – in fact you’ll have even more money and freedom. It just means less to take care of every day.

So now the same door has opened for you that opened for me.

This is all to say that you can do it. There’s a “writer’s life” out there for you … and not the dingy hotel, banging-out-my-Great-American-novel-that-may-never-sell writer’s life, either. I mean the writer’s life were you work a few hours at the time of day that suits you best, and spend the rest of your time doing exactly what it is you want to do … be it hoisting beers and swapping lies with your friends … shopping, fishing, reading, traveling … or even banging-out-my-Great-American-novel-that-may-never-sell … making a good living while you’re at it, and writing your own story and ending.

And when people ask you what you do, you can say, “I’m a writer,” and you can watch their eyes get big as they wonder if they’ve ever seen anything you wrote … if you’re famous … or might get famous (they want to be able to say they met you once.)

Welcome. I say again, you can do it. It’s there for the taking. It’s fun. It’s rewarding. Just stick with it.

Best wishes,

Don Mahoney

P.S. If I could do it, believe me, you certainly can.