Guess who’s back…
Back again…
The Cowboy’s back…
Tell a friend…
Alright partner, time for another trip into the ever-growing Ecom Cowboy Codes since I accidentally stumbled upon an Ecom Cowboy Code that I didn’t even know about (even though I both wrote and created every Code thus far).
Let’s dive in…
Ecom Cowboy Code #10: In a fight between a Drifter and a Gunslinger, the Gunslinger always wins
Translation:
Be a Feelancer, not a freelancer.
Here’s why:
The freelancer is the drifter. They travel from town to town, never committing to one project long enough to blossom. They may even wreak havoc in the saloon on their way out.
But most of all?
They ain’t got no legacy. No stories were writ about them. They vanished from their previous town’s memory holes as soon as they appeared.
And as such, while they did enjoy more freedom than the typical Westerner, their freedom paid the ultimate price of suffering. Always stumbling from town to town, barely scraping by to make ends meet, and, in the unlikely chance that they did encounter a gunslinger?
The gunslinger gunned them down at warp speed.
For our example, swap gunslinger with “wordslinger” or “Feelancer.” (I’m gonna use wordslinger here but the terms are interchangeable for this Code.)
The wordslinger beats the drifter every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Why?
His reputation (and thus, positioning) proceeds him.
The wordslinger can command outlandish fees because he’s one of the best at his job. Stories are writ about him, and his travels.
On the surface, the wordslinger and the drifter look to have similar lives.
But it’s only when you take a deeper look that you realize that the wordslinger enjoys more spoils than the drifter can even dream about.
Why?
Where the drifter competes on price, the wordslinger competes on skill.
Onward!
Ecom Cowboy Code #11: More bullets = more greenbacks
The same way a gunslinger can make more greenbacks by having more bullets, so can the wordslinger who wields persuasion as his weapon.
This is one of the “quiet part” secrets I didn’t reveal in my book.
Whenever I’m writing a product launch, a podcast launch, or any other kind of launch, I add a whole buncha bullets to my copy.
Especially on the last few emails I send out before the launch goes kaput.
Why?
Bullets hold more persuasive power than any other type of copy. In fact, I’ve bought entire products, just because of a bullet in a sales letter or email that hit me so viscerally, I had to find out the secret behind said bullet.
And you know what?
Bullets can do the same for you, fellow wordslinger.
Ecom Cowboy Code #11: Fire first, aim second
To borrow a line from Stephen King (who, in some way, shape, or form was a big reason for the inspiration—both directly and indirectly—for this whole Ecom Cowboy Code anyway) from his Dark Tower series:
==
“I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.”
==
And so it is with copy.
There’s only one surefire way your email copy, for example, won’t convert:
You don’t send any emails because you’re spending too much time in your head. Worrying that you don’t have the right angle, the right hook, the right messaging, the right target audience, the right persuasion techniques, and the list goes on.
A true wordslinger doesn’t have these worries. He fires first, then he aims. And when he aims?
He aims with his hands, not his eyes.
He shoots with his mind, not his hand.
And he kills with his heart, not his gun.
Translation:
The best copy comes from your heart. It taps into your customers’ psyche the same way music wields magic to make people dance.
Only in this case, it makes people buy. And buy again. And buy a lot.
Because you understand them more than they understand themselves. Both from the research process you conducted (you’re researching before you write copy, right?) and from the past successes and failures.
Why?
Because a true wordslinger fires first, aims second, and asks questions later.
(Quick example of this in action: If’n you have a product launch, ask everyone who didn’t buy why they didn’t buy… and ask everyone who did buy why they bought… this will improve your aim, and unlock a deeper level of intel that, say, handcopying successful sales letters can never give you.)
Need help implementing these 3 new Ecom Cowboy Codes (as well as the 9 I’ve created before this)?
Book a call here, and take a trip into my sal-Zoom, and see if partnering together makes sense, partna.
John
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