EDITOR’S NOTE:
Justin Blackman is a copywriter who goes overboard. In 2017, he wrote 100 headlines every day for 100 days, just for practice. Over the last two years, he's written copy for 309 entrepreneurs and more than a dozen brands. This ridiculous experience (and mild obsession) has taught him how to analyze and mirror nearly every type of voice out there. It turned him into a Brand Ventriloquist.
Now he’s a co-instructor for the Codex Persona — a training program that teaches writers how to measure and scale a client’s voice. You can find him at Pretty Fly Copy, where he creates ultra-specific voice guides for industry experts and growing businesses.
All the people say he's pretty fly… for a write guy.
I’m a huge Justin fan and incredibly excited to have him back for a micro-interview!
In only 461 words, he shares:
What makes a good leader…
8 words that can open more doors than you can possibly imagine…
An exercise proven to make you better and faster at finding messaging…
And much more…
Instantly get 6 “micro” courses and series about copywriting when you subscribe to the VeryGoodCopy newsletter for free. Plus...enjoy new content every week. Learn more →
Thank you, Justin.
Let’s get started:
1) “What’s your work routine?”
I'm a classic example of "when something works well, stop doing it." During my best days, I get the kids off to school, work out for 30 minutes, meditate for 20 minutes, caffeinate, and dive into MY projects.
If I'm being thorough, I'll set a Pomodoro timer (30 minutes on, 5 minutes off) and have Brain.FM playing in the background.
Client projects come next, then lunch.
My brain is mush between 2:30 - 4, so it's just clerical work, emails, and social then. Sometimes I pop back onto my laptop after the kids go to bed.
Other times, I stop doing all those things and make it up as I go along.
Oh, and I ONLY work at my desk.
2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”
My "good enough" is better than most people's perfect. That may sound pompous, but I'm notorious for over-editing everything. Those late tweaks hardly ever make a difference to anyone but me.
Nobody gives a shit if I miss an oxford comma.
3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”
I am replaceable.
Look... Everyone has a superpower but none of us are untouchable. Our work can be delegated, our tasks can be redistributed, and the business (assuming you're not a one-person show) will go on just fine if you're not in your seat.
A good leader will purposefully make himself replaceable by teaching those around him and leveling up his team. I wish I had known that earlier.
4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”
Do the work nobody else wants to do. I wrote 100 headlines every day for 100 days. Yes, it sucked and yes, there were times I wanted to quit. But I did it and it didn't kill me. Some days, I'd even say it was easy.
This made me better and faster at finding messaging than anything else I could have done.
Do. The. Work.
5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”
You know you can't ask a writer to name just one, right? Here are two:
The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
Just because things aren't going as planned doesn't mean they're not going exactly as they're supposed to.
Horton Hears A Who! by Dr. Seuss
"A person's a person, no matter how small." The lesson in that line has opened more doors for me than you can possibly imagine.
6) “And your parting piece of advice?”
Never get involved in a land war in Asia.
Also...
Go deep. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can — then find One Thing. Learn it better than anyone and your people will find you.
