🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner

Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com, essayist

Hello, thanks for stopping by. I’m Eddie 👋🏼

I’m a conversion copywriter, content marketer, and the founder of VeryGoodCopy, a newsletter about copywriting and creativity read by millions of people each year. Join over 80K email subscribers—including copywriters, marketers, entrepreneurs, and other smart folks—who've subscribed to the VeryGoodCopy Newsletter and bought 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬:

◾ “VeryGoodCopy shows you how to write, and how not to write. How to think, and how not to think. Eddie is a damn good marketer. I recommend him.”
—𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

◾ “Please, God, can everyone involved in advertising—and not only copywriters—just read this book…I loved every moment.”
—𝗥𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝗹𝘃𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻

◾ “Eddie is a fantastic copywriter.”
—𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗬, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨

◾ “Eddie Shleyner. Where to begin? Not only a fantastic writer, a historian, a gentleman, someone I'm proud to call a colleague. VeryGoodCopy is a copywriting goldmine. I often go there for inspiration. Eddie is the real deal.”
—𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗬, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is one of the few people who can articulate what makes great writing great."
—𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗢, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is a brilliant writer who understands the art of persuasion — and teaches it — in a way few people can. I'm jealous of how he can say so much in so few words. Big fan!"
—𝗞𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳

◾ "Eddie Shleyner, now there's a fella who knows something about copywriting."
—𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗧, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲

◾ "VeryGoodCopy is likely the very best reading you'll do on any given day about copywriting."
—𝗞𝗜𝗠 𝗞𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗠, 𝗔-𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿

◾ “Eddie gets it. He’s a joy to work with and does so at the highest level.”
—𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗞𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻

Read hundreds of free "micro" lessons, interviews, and courses about copywriting, creativity, and storytelling on VeryGoodCopy.com.

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Not doing your job?
 
One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite shows, 𝘔𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘯, is about creativity and productivity: 
 
It opens with Don Draper, creative director, talking to his ad agency’s financial chief, Lane Pryce. Lane is complaining about the copywriters: they’re not being productive in the creative lounge. They’re napping, socializing, playing darts. 
 
Don looks at him: “We do this better than you,” he says. “And part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive… 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 
 
Let's unpack this comment: 
 
Creativity boils down to putting old things together in new ways, which is a two-step process: 
 
1/ get knowledge and experiences 
2/ make unexpected connections 
 
But usually, you can’t force a connection. Usually, you need to 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘹 it out by doing something unrelated, something distracting. 
 
Like napping. 
Like socializing. 
Like playing darts. 
 
These things 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 unproductive, yeh, but they’re not. 
 
Because while these things distract your conscious mind, your subconscious will continue working, incubating, processing your knowledge and experiences until a random sequence of synapses fires off in your frontal cortex: 
 
And you have a moment of clarity. 
And connect disparate things. 
And then you blurt out: 
 
“Hey, that’s interesting!” 
 
And your colleague looks up and says, “What?” 
 
And you lean back and say, “Well, what if…” 
 
And then you’re off to the races. 
 
“You’re often most creative," says artist Austin Kleon, "when you’re the least productive.” 
 
Don Draper agrees: whether you work in copywriting or any other creative discipline, part of your job is not doing your job. 

yeh?

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Long Copy vs. Short Copy vs. No Copy...

Enjoy!

Long Copy vs Short Copy vs No Copy

Do this to develop your copywriting voice: 
 
"Ed," he said. "Close the door. Have a seat." 
 
I closed the door and sat down. My editor sat across from me. Days earlier, he hired me. It was my first copywriting job. I was a year out of school. 
 
"I read your draft," he said. "It’s good—" 
 
"Thanks." 
 
"—for an English major, I mean, nice and flowery,” he said. “But you're not in college anymore—” 
 
I didn’t speak. 
 
“You're a professional copywriter now,” he held up my contract. 
 
I didn’t speak. 
 
"I guess I saw this coming,” he said, “based on your samples.” He pursed his lips. “You know, you can't write like this anymore, all long-winded, like you're some Alexandre fuggin’ Doo-mah—" 
 
I sat there, blinking, bracing myself. 
 
"You’re a copywriter," he said, "copywriters keep it tight." He pressed a key on his laptop. "I just sent you an email," he said. “Please read it.” 
 
I went back to my desk and opened my email. There it was: 
 
𝘌𝘥, 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰. 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦: 
 
In his email, my editor included links to classic sales letters by several direct-response icons, including Gary Bencivenga, Gary Halbert, and John Caples. He asked me to transcribe these letters by hand. 
 
Transcribing another writer's work is called 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 — and it will help you internalize the writer’s syntax and diction, her punctuation and cadence, her voice: it’s all there for the taking. You just have to slow down to absorb it. 
 
(And it's not just for copywriters: Jack London and Hunter S. Thompson and Ben Franklin all copyworked their writing heroes, too.) 
 
“Do you understand why I’m asking you to do this?” 
 
I looked up. My editor was standing there, leaning on my cubicle wall. 
 
“Yeh,” I said. “I understand.” 
 
“You have to be more concise,” he said. “You write like a water hose,” he said, “I need you to be a nail gun." 
 
I nodded. “So," I said, "by hand?” 
 
“Yes,” he said. “If you type it, you’ll go too fast. It defeats the purpose.” 
 
So I did. 
 
Want to develop your copywriting voice? 
 
Transcribe the greats by hand, slowly, meticulously, over and over. 
 
And soon, your work will sound great, too.

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Talks about #writing, #marketing, #creativity, #copywriting, and #storytelling

𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬: 
 
Whatever your politics, it’s impossible to deny Barack Obama’s communication prowess. 
 
He’s a magnificent storyteller, and as fine a writer as they come. And in the preface of his memoir, 𝘈 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥, Obama shares how he writes first drafts: 
 
“I only write longhand,” he explains, “computer word processors give the first draft too much polish, and more opportunity to make half-baked ideas tidy enough to appear passable.” 
 
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿. 
 
I recognized the sentiment, though I’d never fully acknowledged it in my own process: 
 
I don’t write longhand (my hand cramps) but I write on my phone a lot, using one finger, 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. In fact, almost every idea, note, and yes, first draft I've ever produced for VeryGoodCopy have been written on my phone, in a Google doc, pecking away, slow and steady, 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬-𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬-𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬. 
 
Writing this way — with a self-imposed physical restriction — forces me to be thoughtful and intentional and rational about every word, every punctuation mark, everything I put down. When I’m on my phone, the idea is expressed slowly, methodically, unlike when I’m typing on a keyboard at 60 words per minute and everything is suddenly there and seemingly right. 
 
Writing slow is thinking slow, which, according to Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, is how we 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be thinking if we want clear, coherent thoughts. 
 
And what’s good copy if it’s not clear and coherent? 
 
𝗧𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬. 
 
And to write slow, create bottlenecks between your thoughts and the words you put on the page, especially when writing a first draft: 
 
Write longhand. 
Write with one finger. 
Write with physical restrictions. 
 
𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬. 
 
Go on.

Let me teach you the single-most important copywriting skill...

The skill you can use to craft captivating headlines, subject lines, and just about any other line that will create curiosity, intrigue, desire, and ultimately move your audience to take action...

To subscribe to your newsletter...
To download your resources...
To buy your products...

This is how you craft a truly compelling sentence.

Enjoy!

psst...feel free to ask me anything in the comments.

How to craft a compelling sentence:

When to use cliches in your (copy)writing:

They say cliches will make your writing feel tired and tacky, unoriginal. Avoid them, they say.

Well I promise you they’re referring to literary or journalistic writing. Novels, news articles, magazine columns. Not direct-response marketing designed to compel action.

Some proof: 

A copywriter named Richard Dennis once analyzed every sales letter by the late, great Gary Halbert, the “Prince of Print” — one of the most original direct-response minds of the 20th century — and he found these cliches and idioms used again and again:
- “easy as pie”
- “sacred cow”
- “the real McCoy”
- “needed as a pen”
- “speak of the devil”
- “naked as a jaybird”
- “open and shut case”
- “in the heat of battle”
- “let sleeping dogs lie”
- “red carpet treatment”
- “out of sight, out of mind”
- “make a clean breast of it”
- “blood is thicker than water”
- “every Tom, Dick, and Harry”
- “work your fingers to the bone.”
- “a picture is worth a thousand words”
- “kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.”
- “as common as sawdust around a sawmill.”

Halbert used cliches and idioms constantly. 

But he rarely used clever turns of phrase. Because why risk it? Why risk making The Reader stop and think, even if only for a second? Every time The Reader stops to “get it” you could lose her attention forever. 

Unlike clever writing, colloquial expressions build a bridge to comprehension by making your copy more efficient, by helping you use fewer words to make a clear point. 

Cliches and idioms are tools for solving a specific communication problem. 

Use them as necessary, I say.

yeh?

Take the weekend:

“Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it,” said copywriter David Ogilvy. “Read it aloud the next morning,” he said, “and then edit it."

Because it’s easy to get too close to your writing, too familiar and comfortable. So distance yourself from your work to regain objectivity, to ensure your message is accurate, and clear.

Take the weekend.

Leave the words. They’ll be there when you’re back, unchanged. But you—your attitude, your perspective—will be different.

And this will make a difference.

One of the best exercises you can do as a copywriter is synthesize longer writing into shorter writing. 
 
Because—and this is almost always true—if you can rewrite something to say the same thing in fewer words, you’ve made the work better. 
 
And a great place to practice is Wikipedia. 
 
Try this: 
 
Rewrite a Wikipedia paragraph to a third of its original length (e.g., edit ~150 words down to ~50 words) without sacrificing the meaning. This is an ultra-effective exercise because concision is already baked into Wikipedia’s publication rules, which state: 
 
“Articles should use only necessary words. This does not mean using fewer words is always better; rather, when considering equivalent expressions, choose the more concise.” 
 
In other words, the platform already has a strict no-fluff policy—and that’s what makes this exercise so good. Editing an already-concise paragraph for brevity demands hypersensitivity to syntax, to sentence structure, to the weight of each word. 
 
It puts your Editor Brain into overdrive, forcing a mindset so unnatural, you’ll walk away from each exercise a markedly more concise writer. 
 
𝘛𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵. 
 
Do it once a day, five days a week for a month, and your writing will drastically improve. Do it once a day, five days a week for 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, and the quality of your writing will surpass that of most professional copywriters. 

Need an example? 
 
I synthesized this paragraph from HubSpot’s Wikipedia page:

Writing is 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 
Editing is 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 
 
You can't do both at once. You can't simultaneously push and pull. 
 
So pick one, and focus all of your energy on it. You’ll be more productive. 

yeh?

Time illuminates the details. 
Details give way to connections. 
And connections are the basis of creativity, a cornerstone of copywriting.

~

psst... speaking of copy, click "Visit my website" above for a great offer 🤝

Enjoy!

To be a good copywriter:

Writing and ADHD:

“Hello,” said the nurse.

“Hi,” I said.

We were in school. There was a bed and curtain in the corner.

“What hurts?”

“Nothing.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I dunno,” I said. “I can’t focus.” I told her I zone out when I read. “It’s like my brain is reading but I’m somewhere else—” I said. “𝘍𝘢𝘳.”

“Oh,” she said. “And what do you think about?”

I looked at the bed in the corner.

“Are you anxious?”

I was sleepy. The bed looked good.

“𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦—”

I snapped back.

“Are you anxious?”

Years later, I still go Far.

Mostly when I’m tired or bored or overwhelmed. And sometimes it’s to my detriment. It’s frustrating, painful.

But other times, it’s helpful:

As a copywriter I brainstorm. I just sit there and think about a problem. And when I do, if I go Far, I lean into it, and embrace the randomness—and then connections happen, and ideas come out. Most are bad or half-baked but that’s fine. Because it’s a numbers game. Because the more bad ideas you have the more good ones you’ll get.

Sometimes they come so fast I get a high, a rush, part excitement and part relief that it’s there, in front of me, the thing, the idea! It’s there! 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵!

I have it.

And I’m glad I do.

“I’m not anxious,” I said. “I’m just thinking.”

Yeh, years later, I’m glad I have it.

How did you write it?

“Bless The Telephone” is a song by Labi Siffre. He sings it with such tenderness:

~———
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯
𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰
𝘐'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 "𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰"
𝘈𝘯𝘥 "𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶?
𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶"
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰
𝘈𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶

𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺
𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺
𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦
𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦
~———

“How did you write it?” said the interviewer.

“Bless The Telephone”?

“Mhm, yes.”

“Well, I was in my hotel room after a gig…and the phone rang,” said Labi, “and we talked for about half an hour…and then I sat on the bed…and I wrote the song.”

I was so happy to come across this origin story, this example of a creative person using “the moment” as it were—the energy within it—to make something good and honest, something timeless:

"And to find, after all this time," said Labi, "that the song still helps, I'm pleased about that...'cause love is a wonderful thing."

I think Labi was successful, in part, because he did not hesitate.

He didn’t let the moment cool. The tenderness he felt after that call was available to him right then and there—and he captured it. A day later it would have become a memory of tenderness rather than tenderness itself. This distinction matters: he wrote from inside the feeling, not about it.

Labi didn't hesitate before writing.

Perhaps, neither should you.

This morning, I a/b tested these 2 subject lines for my copywriting newsletter:

———
a) AI really saved me here:
b) How I’m using AI (example):
———

Which one sounds more compelling to you? Which one are you more likely to open? Feel free to share your reason(s) in the comments 🙏🏼

Thank you!

For the interested...this is the body of the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gcCy5vpj

Here are two subject lines for a copywriting newsletter: which one sounds more compelling to you? Which one are you more likely to open?

Two article headlines. No context. Which one sounds more compelling to you? Which one are you more likely to click:

———
a) Watch this to write better:
b) Read this to write better:
———

Feel free to share your reason(s) in the comments 🙏🏼 

Thank you!

Two article headlines. (See above.) No context. Which one sounds more compelling to you? Which one are you more likely to click?

Pictured (in slide 2) is my former Creative team, part of G2's 35-person Marketing department...

From left to right: Lishen, me, Maia, Laura.

I miss working with these folks, but I'm glad for everything I learned during my time with them...

Enjoy!

Copywriting innovations:

Work with me? More info here: 


https://lnkd.in/gwQDQH8p


Thanks for considering!

"The ugly thing in a world of beauty stands out." ~ Eugene Schwartz

Do you think this "ugly" landing page I created is converting MORE or LESS than 5% of visitors: https://lnkd.in/gvbgJyjY 

Feel free to share why you think so in the comments...
Or ask me anything about the page, my creative decisions, etc. 

Thanks!

Inside:

✅ Even good copywriters commit ​this typical landing page mistake​, making it incredibly difficult to achieve a high conversion rate. ​
➜ see lesson A3

✅ ​This “ideal landing page”​ is your transformational blueprint: use it with the companion template (clearly labeled, color-coordinated, and presented side-by-side) so you’ll never need to guess when formatting a landing page. ​
➜ see lesson C2 + C3

✅ For decades, marketers have been utterly derailed by this research mistake. But there's a lesser known and more effective (not to mention easier) way to ​deeply understand your audience​. 
​➜ see lesson D1

✅ ​“Truth Serum” interviews​: use this 2-step technique to keep customers talking, sharing honest and often original insights about your product or service (things no AI could reveal). ​
➜ see lesson D6

✅ The most important section of your landing page has ​these 6 essential elements​, each with its own specific purpose to fulfill. (Complete breakdown inside.) ​
➜ see lesson E1

✅ ​This mechanism is like “conversion insurance” for your landing page​—designed specifically for on-the-fence prospects, you can use it to reliably capture emails for your nurturing and re-marketing campaigns. ​
➜ see lesson E6

✅ ​Want to book more demo calls?​ Use this step-by-step process to create your demo-request page. ​
➜ see lesson G4

✅ How to ​basically “force” your landing page visitors to read your copy​. (Don’t worry, people actually enjoy this—and even welcome it.) ​
➜ see lesson H6

✅ How to “program” your brain (or AI) to quickly and repeatedly write compelling hooks for headlines, subject lines, fascinations, etc. using ​my unique, 3-step process:​ I hold nothing back, demonstrating each step against 18 clear examples. (Plus...I share a template you can use to visually and systematically develop this skill until it’s like second nature.) 
​➜ see lesson I1

✅ ​18 “fascination filters”​ you can apply to basically any piece of information (as long as it’s valuable to your market) to create irresistible headlines, subheads, email subject lines, and more. ​
➜ see lesson I4

✅ Instant credibility: properly leveraging this evolutionary trait (present in all humans) can ​make people immediately trust your claims​—without even reading all of your copy. ​
➜ see lesson L3

✅ ​4 ways to reliably “manufacture” urgency​ on your landing page, creating offers that compel visitors to act much faster. (In some cases, these techniques will even create a feeding frenzy the moment you launch your campaign.) ​
➜ see lesson M1

✅ Give me 5 minutes and I’ll give you ​the testing strategy that helped Eugene Schwartz sell over $100M per year in books​. (Yes, it’s absolutely transferable to landing pages.) ​
➜ see Module 9: Introduction

And much, much more…

Enjoy 86 video "micro" lessons across 9 modules and 2.5 hours of video and start compelling more landing page visitors to buy, download, or subscribe:

Beatrice Gutknecht 🦘

BADASSERY by B

Providing badass brand strategy services for service-based SMBs that will differentiate their brand from competitors and streamline their marketing efforts to reach and convert their target audience effectively.

Badass results:
•  Build loyalty
•  Lower churn rate
•  Increased referrals
•  Quicker sales cycle
•  Higher customer lifetime value
•  Improved audience associations and feelings about your brand.
•  A distinct and memorable identity.
•  Increased word of mouth
•  Increased inbound leads 

I know the rules and when to break them.

Founder, Brand Strategy Consultant

The Art of Branding Podcast

What if you could take your seemingly 'boring' business and shake up how it's seen, inside-out to go from plateau to pop star?

Beatrice Gutknecht (Brand Positioning Badass) is on a mission to help you do that while avoiding dropping big bucks on harmful rebrands.

The Art of Positioning podcast teaches you how to rewire operations around new positioning.

The goal? Ready to implement tips, aka actionable ideas, shared by Beatrice and expert guests.

Rebrands, fluffy words, and pictures can take a walk.

Check your brand health today: www.badasserybyb.com/brand-health-audit

Let’s freakin’ gooooo!

Podcast Host

Cloud Focus

About Cloud Focus: We design, operate, and build cloud-based solutions such as e-Commence, Chat Box bot, Digital Marketing, ERP, Logistic Management, and many other cloud-based solutions. 

•	Developed a two-week integrated marketing campaign with 160K reach, 11K engagements, and a sales growth of $41K at a cost per link click $0.01 - $0.004. 
•	Adapt operations according to the political climate (military coup) to maintain the safety of the team and the changing consumer requirements.
•	Create and implement business and marketing strategies and plans.
•	Establish the brand and set goals for marketing and business growth.
•	Setting goals for marketing and business performance and growth.
•	Develop various online and offline revenue streams to maximize the turnover.
•	Manage relationships with partners, vendors, and customers using HubSpot CRM.
•	Strengthening team members’ capabilities with mentorship and training.
•	Evaluate performance by analyzing financial, marketing, and operational data.
•	Drive financial decision-making and risk management.
•	Work closely with directors to evaluate and develop areas of expansion.

Chief Operating Officer

GCP Hospitality (Gaw Capital Group)

•	Develop marketing, strategy, and communications strategies resonating with key markets to deliver brand awareness campaigns, tactical campaigns, brand amplification, and loyalty program support.
•	Managing PR and influencer agencies and communicating with the media resulted in over 33 million readership circulation. 
•	Oversee the marketing communications plan, database management, content creation, and management across platforms and channels.
•	Execute integrated marketing campaigns attributing to over US$500K in total revenue, over 750K combined social media engagement, and 1 million reactions. 
•	Execute email marketing and membership programme resulting in an additional US$4K monthly average of attributed revenue. 
•	Coordinating campaign execution from research into best-performing projects and campaigns, delivery, final review, and optimization.
•	Improving structure, design, SEO and content of the brand websites.
•	Measuring digital performance, using insights for improvements to strategy.
•	Developing existing and identifying new traffic and revenue-generating initiatives, including partnerships with Thai Airways, Bulgari, Franck Muller, Moët & Chandon, local banks, and guest bartenders attributing to over US$35K in revenue.

Director of Marketing - Strand Hotel and Cruise

Bagan Star Hotel

•	Establishing strong branding and visibility at the hotel, online through social media platforms, website, and offline media from pre-opening.
•	Implement and guide the marketing and website strategy and framework.
•	Create and collaborate for marketing designs using Adobe Suite. 
•	Work with outsourced paid media team to optimize paid search and social campaigns. Recommend and prioritize budget allocations for the marketing plan.
•	Deliver and set short and long-term budgets and strategic goals.
•	Using financial statements to execute strategies to maximize room yield and hotel revenue via innovative sales practices and yield management programs.

General Manager

Branding and Marketing Consultant

Your Property Finder

•	Handling international property listings marketing and sales of multi-family, other residential, commercial, and office spaces with multi-million dollar valuations 
•	Training, mentoring and leading a team of 3 to 6 real estate agents.
•	Design coordination of new marketing material using Adobe Suite.
•	Manage roadshows, property launches, print media designs, and social media. 
•	Advise on market conditions and legal requirements, including contracts. 
•	Inspecting properties and liaising with owners about points of improvement, maintenance, and pricing.

Senior International Properties Leasing

Wa Minn

Wa Minn’s diverse business operations cover; property development, earth works, construction, mining, gold refinery, garment making, and enamelware.
• Management of websites, SEO, and social media platforms
• Use marketing strategies and sales plans for each business sector to secure international investment in multi-million dollar developments and projects.
• Organizing significant events, including ground-breaking ceremonies and launches, with 500+ attendance with fit-outs, marketing material, and placement.

Sales and Marketing Executive Manager

Redlink Myanmar

•	Evaluate employee conduct and customer service gaps and establish policies and processes to eliminate these gaps.
•	Creation of training packages for service personnel, sales, and marketing team.

Customer Service Consultant

Serco Sodexo Defence Services

•	Oversee and train a team of 6-7 in front and back of house roles.  
•	Management of reports, profit and loss statements, budget, and sales targets.

Accommodation Manager

Strategy that differentiates streamlining leads to your business. 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲. 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐲.

Ask yourself: “Is my brand all it could be?” 
How about: "Are my marketing dollars working?"

When businesses have been around for decades, I've seen that despite an active sales team and referrals, there are fewer customers and growth plateaus.

And that's when different marketing tools are tested, from SEO, a fresh website, to ads. 

But nothing works. 

And that's because marketing is guided by a direction AKA your brand. 

Most brand ‘specialists’ give you a template-based strategy…and claim they will craft your business a personality with a guidebook. Focus mainly on graphics or copy-based 'rebrand'. Give you ‘life-changing’ advice before you’ve had the opportunity to tell them about your business and goals. 🤦‍♀️

Except that 56-page guidebook is going to end up in a folder somewhere. 

And that rebrand, well, it's going to shoot the perception that you've built up so far in the leg, hitting trust, loyalty, market share, and value. 

The alternative? 

Repositioning your brand to create distinction around your brand and then strategically implementing that throughout your whole business, not just marketing. 

Or what I like to call creating a seductive lifestyle around your business.

One that works internally and externally. 

And that's the Badassery by B approach that's doubled down with a blueprint.

The B.A.D.A.S.S.E.R.Y. Blueprint:

🦘 Brand analysis
🦘 Articulate internal brand
🦘 Deep dive market landscape
🦘 Assess positioning & differentiation
🦘 Structure voice
🦘 Shape brand story
🦘 Establish visual element pivots
🦘 Rollout implementation throughout the business
🦘 Yearly audit material

The results:

• Lower churn rates
• Quicker sales cycle
• Increased referrals 
• Building brand loyalty
• Increased inbound leads
• Increased word of mouth
• Higher client lifetime value
• Customers willing to spend more
• A distinct and memorable identity


If you have an established service-based SMB and: 

• Want to level up your clients 
• Want to shake things up in your industry 
• And want to be considered as the obvious choice

This is for you. 


If your business is:

 • In its first 3 years
 • An agency, consultancy, or coaching
 • Run in a corporate hierarchical manner

This is NOT for you. 


Ready to experience what your Badass Brand Potential could look like?

• Shoot me a DM to chat situation 📩 (no pitches incoming)
• Email me directly: beatrice@badasserybyb.com

Limited spaces each year.

Founder and Branding Strategy Consultant

Providing badass brand strategy services for service-based small to medium-sized businesses that will differentiate their brand from competitors and streamline their marketing efforts to reach and convert their target audience effectively.

Badass results:
•  Build loyalty
•  Lower churn rate
•  Increased referrals
•  Quicker sales cycle
•  Higher customer lifetime value
•  Improved audience associations and feelings about your brand.
•  A distinct and memorable identity.
•  Increased word of mouth
•  Increased inbound leads 

I know the rules of branding and when to break them.

3 years of Badassery by B, and it’s been a ride. 

Over the weekend, I celebrated the brand turning 3 with a gathering themed: ‘I wish I had somewhere to wear this.’

The reason for the theme lies within the why. 

See Badassery by B from day 1 has represented a push back against 'this is how it's always been done.' 

Against the social norms you and I see in both business and personal life. 

Like the ‘2.5 kids, I am blessed and have a white picket fence.’

Or the ‘if that company is doing X, and is successful, therefore we should also do X.’

It makes up every pore of the brand and the BADASSERY approach, but it’s been a journey to have it as effusive as it is now. 

Looking back, it really is the whole, you don’t know what you don’t know:

Year 1: 

● The brand started off as marketing and brand strategy before realizing doing both would dilute the brand.
● I was looking at other ‘influencers’ on LinkedIn for content ideas. (yeah, I know, I know.)
● The Art of Positioning podcast started (as The Art of Branding), breaking down what Brand Strategy is made up of (catch season 1 to hear those breakdowns.) This was learning a whole new world for me.

Year 2: 

● Honed in on brand strategy, but still had no clue who I was targeting, and it showed.
● I was saying brand strategy is the fix, but saying what that looks like in application beyond Googleable platitudes
● The podcast season 2 evolved into how to shake things up and how businesses were differentiating.

Year 3:

I’d gotten into a dry cycle of content without realizing it, and my apartment robbery shook me clear out of it. The 3 weeks after led to several realizations:

● My prowess is in my operations background, bolstered by marketing and brand. Real application (and the effects in how their business is seen), is what has surprised business owners I’ve worked with.
● In the services industry, hyped rebrands are purely surface-level (visual or copy only). AKA the things customers had an issue with, and what the business is remembered for - HAVEN’T CHANGED. Enemy = Honed in.
● The biggest turning point in brand strategy honed to repositioning - this is where all business decisions can be driven from.
● Because of that, season 3 of the podcast became solely focused on repositioning, with pre-picked guests and topics to create what is like an audiobook on implementing repositioning in business.
● Every piece of content now is with the end in mind. Like this one (to share my journey and to help those starting off.)

These first 3 years wouldn’t be without people (geniuses) outside to call me out on my bs and help along the way:

- Michael Clift - Behind many business decisions
- Elijah D. - Behind the podcast
- Peter Tomanka - Behind the website (new version coming soon!)
- Comfort Egbanabo - Behind early editions of the newsletter

I’m looking forward to what year 4 and onwards hold.

🦘 Who would your business not be without for their genius?

📸: Brandon Jackson

*uck rebrands. Brand strategy embedded in operations, marketing, delivery. So it’s lived, not shelved. Made in 🇦🇺.

Photo of Beatrice Gutknecht - Brand Strategy Consultant and Founder of Badassery by B, working with established service-based businesses to shift their brand,  values, and how they operate in such a way that everyone knows what they're doing. So, business owners aren't left to feel like they're herding cats with a stick.

A building materials supplier spent 6 months updating their messaging to "comprehensive solutions for every project."

Contractors saw it and thought: "So...you have stuff? Like everyone else?"

Revenue didn't move.

A custom home builder went with "luxury craftsmanship."

Buyers wanted "on-time, on-budget with no surprises."

Pipeline stayed the same.

Both businesses worked hard to clarify their message. Both accidentally made themselves sound generic.

Last week, I broke down the 5 tests that tell you whether your positioning connects with what your market actually cares about. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gkTGXSXP 




Ps. What terms need to be deleted from your industry's vocab because they’re overused and yet…say nothing at all? 🦘

Pps. Day 2 of celebrating 3 years of Badassery by B (thus the completely unrelated to this post yet algo stirring photo)

📷: Brandon Jackson Photography

Positioning statements fail because they don't pass 5 basic tests.

I've been breaking down businesses for 8 weeks now and the pattern is clear.

Everyone's saying the same thing.

"We deliver excellence."
"We provide superior solutions."
"The best experience for our customers."

You could swap these taglines between companies and nobody would notice.

So here's the framework I use to separate real positioning from words that sound nice, but don't do shh.

5 tests. Your positioning needs to pass all of them.

1: Specific

No fuzzy wording. "Quality service" means nothing. 
"Frameless glass with sightlines under two inches" means something.

2: Verifiable

Can you prove it true or false? 
"We care about our customers" can't be proven. 
"We respond to emergencies within 2 hours" can.

3: Meaningful

Does it help buyers make decisions? 
"Experienced team" doesn't fill bank accounts. 
"We specialize in helping businesses scale from $2M to $10M" does.

4: Different

Is it something your competitors won't or can't claim? 
If everyone in your industry could (and does) say it, it doesn't pass.

5: Accountable

Can you fail at this? 
If there's no risk, there's no real positioning. 
Safe claims like "we work hard" have zero stakes.

Most businesses fail at least 3 of these.

They build positioning around things that sound good but mean nothing.

I've repositioned businesses from lawn care to accounting to lumber supply over this series.

The pattern's always the same.

They've got real capabilities that would pass all 5 tests. 

But they bury them under generic messaging because it feels safer.

Sadly, it's not safer. It's invisible.

So, when I ran these 5 tests on a window company, their original positioning failed all of them. 

A fresh repositioning for them? "Colorado's frameless glass specialists for luxury mountain homes where unobstructed views define daily living."

Specific. Verifiable. Meaningful. Different. Accountable.

That's positioning that works operationally, think business decisions, not just on a homepage.

How does your business positioning fare for these 5 tests?

Ps. *uck rebrands that just make things sound prettier.

This is week 8 of me breaking down businesses and showing what positioning with teeth looks like.

A handful of people wearing too many hats. 

At $3M, chaos starts to win.

All of them figuring it out as they go. It got you here.

But your business kept growing. More projects. More complexity. 

And the margin for error kept shrinking.

Nicole Downer from Downer Brothers Landscaping watched it happen. Her team was brilliant, but brilliant generalists hit a wall when the business needs specialists. 

People who live in the numbers. 

People who focus just on operations. 

People who go deep in one area instead of touching everything.

The ones who thrived on variety couldn't make the shift. 

And that meant letting go of people who helped build this.

It's the conversation nobody prepares you for.

Nicole walks us through this roadblock (and the $1M one) on this episode of The Art of Positioning Podcast.

Full episode 👉 https://lnkd.in/gRmJ5ZWs

Chick-fil-A had a 3M-follower goldmine. They told her to stop.

Merriam Webb was posting staff meals on TikTok, and millions of people watched. 

She was building the kind of organic reach most brands would seriously kill for, and she was keepin’ it real.

Then corporate panicked and shut it down.

She left and got a Shake Shack deal to do exactly what she'd been doing for Chick-fil-A for free.

Yeah, that's the cost of not recognizing potential when you see it. 

So, how do you get employees to promote your business without making it feel like you’re getting them to do a Bulgarian split squat?

Cassandra Babilya (ex-CIA analyst turned internal comms leader) says it starts with psychological safety. If your team can't speak without worrying about being perfect, they're not going to speak at all.

Tara Turk-Haynes (VP of Talent Acquisition and DEI) says it starts even earlier, during onboarding, before you're thinking about brand ambassadors.

They're both right, and on this fresh episode of The Art of Positioning podcast they break down:

- Why your team won't post (and it's not what you think)
- The culture setup that happens before anyone posts a thing
- What to do when employees go "off brand"
- How to spot potential instead of shutting it down
- The line between encouragement and obligation

This one's for anyone tired of being the only voice for their business.

Full episode 👉 https://lnkd.in/gBAj9M4z

taplio

The Battle

🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner

Beatrice Gutknecht 🦘

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Performance Score🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner

Beatrice Gutknecht 🦘

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBeatrice Gutknecht 🦘's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance Score🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner's LinkedIn Performance