EDITOR’S NOTE:

Matt Bockenstette is a friend, fellow copywriter, and the founder of Copy Legends. 

In this 751-word “micro” interview, he shares: 

  • The strategy he used to grow his email list 450% without a dime in paid advertising. 

  • His single-most lucrative asset (which anyone can develop). 

  • The 10 “commandments” of email copywriting.

And more…

Enjoy!

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Thank you, Matt.

Let’s get started.

1) “What’s your work routine?”

2022 demands an entirely new daily work routine.

Each morning, I spend ~30 minutes tending to high-priority emails from my readers. After that, I review all of my open projects and prioritize which tasks need completing first. This often includes writing my (mostly) daily emails to my Copy Legends tribe.

Because I’ll be launching a new brand, new virtual summit, and new mastermind group this year, my daily routine also includes dedicated time to planning, plotting, and bringing these ideas to life for my community. 

2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

I wish I had an intimate understanding of these two concepts when I first started:

1) The power of my email list: my single-most-powerful money-making asset. Having launched Copy Legends via FB ads, my ignorance (despite managing to scale ad spend to $3k/day) led to my Business Manager being banned — for good. I relied entirely on FB to be the lifeblood of my online business, a traffic source I have no control over, which ultimately determined the fate of my business for those few months that followed.

2) The power of collaboration over competition: needing to find creative ways to grow my readership with Copy Legends led to a pursuit of connecting — and collaborating with – dozens of the most successful copywriters in the game today. This strategy grew my email list by 450% without a dime in paid advertising. 

3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

Great question. My biggest professional failure taught me how easy it is to take advantage of “success” once you’ve tasted it. 

In 2015, I co-founded and scaled a supplement brand to $5,000,000+ in the first 18 months. We built our system so well that if I were to step away for a week – or even a month – the business would continue to thrive. Ultimately, this led to stalled growth, less innovation, and a falling out with my business partners, where I sold all my interests in our various supplement businesses.

This lesson brought to the surface a deep reflection of the care, maintenance, and proactivity required – nay, demanded – by the people, readers, and customers I’ve chosen to serve through my new project. They place their trust in me to deliver on what I promise, and I’m rewarded with their time, energy, loyalty, and hard-earned dollars that allow my business to thrive today.

4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Hyper-focus on my “exponential income skill” (kudos to Ian Stanley for this term.) 

Being an intentional copywriter for just the past 15 months, I’ve dabbled in all copy areas, but only these past six months have I become more dedicated to the craft of email copywriting. To support this, I’ve found that having a top 10 “commandments” can help to maintain focus on my craft: 

1. The “12-Part Email Copy Sequence”
2. Make Your Email Copy Itself Valuable
3. Write To Individuals – Not Audiences
4. One Core Objective (Copywriter’s Intent)
5. Write 100% To Your Red-Hot Readers
6. Create Your Lane – And Stay Within It
7. Normalize Selling In Your Emails
8. Always Payoff Your Subject Lines
9. Never Ask Readers For Free Favors
10. Always Sell Something (Click or Reply)

5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”

Joe Sugarman's The Adweek Copywriting Handbook.

6) “And your parting piece of advice?”

I have three: 

1) Master your “exponential income skill”: understanding what that is – and possessing an unwavering commitment and consistency to it, will serve you far better than any magic bullet or shiny object.

2) Surround yourself with legends: seek out the wisest council you can, and make an active effort to learn from them. Subscribe to their email lists to see what they’re writing about. Purchase their products/services to see how they’re delivering value. Reply to their emails with curiosity to develop a personal connection. 

3) Maintain a “true student” mindset: the moment you realize you’re the most intelligent person in the conversation, it’s time to level up. Don’t become passive in your knowledge. Seek to grow, expand, transform – to become what you’re most passionate about becoming. 

4) Collaboration over competition: If you’re a copywriter, we’re technically competitors. But in reality, that’s simply a state of mind. The truth is, collaboration is far more abundant in its power to deliver maximum value to everyone, rather than the scarcity of competition.