One of my least favorite words in the whacky whirld of copywriting is “HACK.”

When I see that word in someone’s copy, especially in the headline, I’m done reading.

I have zero interest in hacks, crack, schmacks or jumping jacks.

Sure, there are some who think it’s a great word.

I disagree.

It lets everyone know what you are – which is another way the four-letter word is used to describe a journalist who writes and/or spews bullcrap for the unenlightened masses – or someone with something stuck in the back of his or her throat that needs to be expelled.

See below:

hack
hăk

noun

1. A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney.
2. A worn-out horse for hire; a jade.
3. One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

Keep in mind one of the fundamental teachings of el Furecat… “use your words to paint pictures in peoples’ minds.”

Use words that paint a positive mental image in the eyes of the prospect – words that put points up on the scoreboard.

What are those words?

You’ll discover them in droves when you’re listening to and taking notes on my Email Copywriting Methods and Formulas.

Click either of the links below to get your prospering hands on them NOW.

The Original Matt Furey Email Copywriting Seminar – this is the badboy that el Benbo, aka Ben Settle, continues to recommend, that he says he’s listened to at least 25 times

The Tao of Email Copywriting that Sells – this is a less expensive ass-kicker I recorded with AWAI as well as to my own MasterMind group – it launched the careers of a lot of incredible folks. It’ riveting, contrarian and amazing – which is what YOU can be when you apply the secrets

Matt Furey

P.S. I started on my email journey almost 30 years ago – and I have turned my daily musings into best-selling books, courses, seminars and such. This means learning how to write superb email copy has no conceivable limits – IF you follow my wise ways.

I was going to title this email, How to Swipe Your Azz to Failure, but I was afraid that
one or two people might be offended and would unsubscribe, or even worse, write me
a nasty email.

Hehehe.

Not hardly.

One of the secrets of writing legendary copy is fearlessness. It’s the willingness to be rude,
offensive and controversial to get peoples’ attention.. for without peoples’ attention, you
haven’t got a prayer in the whirld.

Another legendary secret is being open and honest about where you got your ideas, who
influenced you, what you learned from them, what you took away, added to or adjusted
based upon your own experiences.

A third secret is figuring out how to explain what you teach in the simplest, clearest language
possible for your audience.

Yesterday I received an email from Ed, a subscriber to Zen Mastery, who related the following:

“Matt, your September Zen Mastery newsletter was a doozy. I am going to have to read it
again and again to learn all of the lessons on a deeper level. You’ve explained the 7 ways
people buy from you so clearly! Also, I have to do the drills to get the skills. Your writing
is so original and your ideas are profound. This is in stark contrast to others in the field.
There is a lot of swipe and deploy going on with the others. I’d rather stick to learning
from you, the original Source of Truth.”

My response: Thank you, Ed. Although I’m not the “original Source of Truth,” in the
spiritual sense of the term – I’m not too far removed from that Source. And as you will note,
I have cited no less than 14 people in this issue alone, all of whom played a fundamental
role in creating the OG (original guy.)

Now, what I told Ed is important, at least to me. I give credit where credit is due. Doing so
doesn’t diminish what I have to teach one bit. In fact, it makes people respect what I
have written even more.

In the September issue of Zen Mastery, I take you back in time to the days where I was learning
to write riveting copy before I even knew what copy was. The lessons I reveal in this alone are
incredible.

Why?

Because I take you back to my days in college, when I was a Journalism major. Incidentally, I ended up
getting my degree in Speech-Communications because the screwl I transferred to didn’t offer
Journalism as a major.

Makes me wonder… if I remained at Iowa, I probably would have gotten my sheepskin in Journalism, and
who knows, perhaps I would have become the next Tennessee Williams, writer of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Or John Irving, author of The World According to Garp.

Then again, maybe I would have still become el Furecat… as well as myself, and a host of other
characters, yet to be created and determined.

Anyway, my greater point to this email is that I laid out 7 Reasons that Make People Buy from
You, in the September newsletter. I also laid out 6 Ways to easily and miraculously churn out
incredible copy by using a few lines I learned and memorized from the inimitable* Rudyard Kipling.

I even went so far as to lay out how you can greatly improve your readability and your sales by being
controversial… without coming off as an A$$SWIPE.

Now here this: You have less than 22 hours left to become a subscriber to Zen Mastery – and then this
super hermit’s dragon doors close shut and you won’t be able to get this treasure trove at a later date.

And so, if you WANT to go to the next level, subscribe NOW.

Here’s the link: Zen Mastery Newsletter – with a few jaw-dropping freebies

Matt Furey

P.S. * The definition for the word, inimitable is shown below:

inimitable
ĭ-nĭm′ĭ-tə-bəl

adjective

1. Defying imitation; matchless.
2. Not capable of being imitated, copied, or counterfeited; beyond imitation; surpassingly excellent; matchless; unrivaled; exceptional; unique.
3. Beyond imitation, surpassing all others, matchless.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

​​​​​​​

“Escape from CAlcatraz”

That’s the title of the September issue of my Zen Mastery newsletter – a 24-pager that is shaking up the whirld.

In this epic issue, I gut punched modern-day copywriting “teachers” so hard that you’ll feel the sting that ricocheted off their “nads.”

Yes, it stung, HARD. It bent them over, making them gasp for air.

Here’s part of one of my biggest reveals:

The main reason other “teachers” advocate “swipe and deploy” in copywriting is because they don’t know how to teach a newbie, or an oldie, how to write emotionalized copy that comes from the marrow of YOUR bones. Copy that readers FEEL. Copy that moves people forward, pulling them into a parallel universe that they cannot leave.

Instead of the monkey-see, monkey-do approach, I take you all the way back to my days in journalism school, where I learned to write emotionalized, sensationalized copy that is so freakin good, it pushes its way onto the 24-hour news cycle.

YES, I broke it all down for you in a way no one has ever done before in the history of the copywriting whirld.

And I showed you how these same “secrets” that I learned are what I still use today to write mind-blowing copy that is damn-near irresistible.

Guess what?

YOU can NOW get in on what I revealed and exposed.

In fact, what I wrote about in Zen Mastery is what I recently taught my daughter, Faith, in her third email copywriting lesson with “yours unruly.”

Assuming she follows my instructions, she will never have any trouble coming up with “the hook” that reels readers in. Nor will YOU.

There’s not much time left to secure your copy of this CLASSIC.

Get it NOW… before this fire-breathing super hermit goes back into his cave and closes the door.

Smash the following link and subscribe NOW, before its too late.

Matt Furey

Here’s a little food for taught that will wake your brain FASTER than a quad-shot of espresso.

The reason so many people struggle as copywriters, writers and info-product developers, is not a lack of talent or genetics.

And oftentimes, it isn’t even a lack of knowledge because many people know what to do but cannot get themselves to do it.

Why is this?

You can chalk it up to procrastination, distraction, lack of will and a host of other reasons. But the bottom line is a dirty four-letter word called…

F-E-A-R.

What kind of fear?

Fear of failure?

Fear of success?

Fear of mommy and daddy?

Fear of God?

Fear of the Reaper?

Not necessarily.

In almost ALL cases, the writer is AFRAID of…

the READER.

That’s correct.

Most people write with FEAR of the READER condemning, criticizing or, worst of all, not buying. And that’s no way to succeed. If you fear the reader you will never be a great writer.

Years ago I used to speak frankly about a fear I had while flying. It wasn’t a constant fear. It was a fear that manifested only when the plane would hit a patch of turbulence.

When I spoke to crowds about this, I felt strange, and all alone… at first.

Why?

Because as I spoke it appeared as though no one in the audience could relate. Based upon superficial appearances, I was talking to an emotionless brick wall… a bunch of blank, hollowed-out stares.

Hardly anyone in the room showed any signs of emotion. Most people went into motionless mode. Neither a head-nod nor an approving smile.

I kept talking about the subject anyway, and as I did so, I realized something profound that I later confirmed in my research on body language.

Want to know what I discovered?

Here tis:  When someone is hiding information about himself or herself, the body goes SILENT. All extraneous movement stops and the eyes stare straight ahead.

And this, my friend, is what poker players call a “TELL.”

Without saying a word, those who went into a catatonic state were telling me that I was over the target. Sure, they made it look as though they didn’t relate… but they did. They just didn’t want ME to know it.

Oddly enough, when you write without fear, when you don’t fear the reader, your body is free to experience the thrill of emotions from A to Z. You may smile, laugh, chuckle, get angry, express outrage, and maybe even cry.

But when you fear the reader as you write, your body is a frozen slab of beef hanging in a meat locker, and the reader can sense this.

Now the question: If you are someone who fears the reader, someone who fears making mistakes, what do you do to eradicate this poison?

My answer is 49% percent self-serving, shameless and fearless, and the other part is based on neuroscience.

You eradicate your fear by reading the copy of those who write with courage. You don’t psychologize. You take in the verbiage from someone, such as myself, who doesn’t give a PHLYING PHLUCK, and the doing of this alone, will give your brain that quad-shot of espresso that is absolutely essential. It is what will turn your mental cheesecake into sizzling beefcake.

The most potent #1 source for learning to write fearlessly, the one that allows you to dine on the finest cuisine, is my Zen Mastery coaching newsletter.

Just by reading my copy each month, by observing how I write with passion and enthusiasm, your brain will start to get it.

You’ll begin writing this way yourself, too, and Viola! – a whole new whirld of prosperity may open up to you, faster than you ever thought possible.

The September issue of Zen Mastery goes out tomorrow. You’ll receive it instantly by digital download.

If you’re a new subscriber, you will have your freebies coming by mail.

Make sure you read them, as well as my monthly newsletter, at the breakfast table with your pen and highlighter close at hand.

You can sip your coffee or espresso as you read, or you can wait until later. Either way, your mind is going to be elevated to a new dimension – along with your copy – along with your results.

Jump in NOW by driving your fork into the link below.

Matt Furey

Hurricane Idalia hit Florida early this morning. Lost power for a spell, then around 10 AM, as I was walking our dog, Rambo, during a brief respite from the rains, I saw a heron standing inside a pond, balancing on one foot, looking straight ahead without a worry in the world.

To the right of the crane was a swan, standing on the bank, looking around in between bites of food, without a single concern.

Almost makes you want to be a crane, or a swan, or some other unaffected creature. Not permanently. Just when the rain starts to blend into the fan.

And this thought funneled me back in time… to August of 2005, when I was supposed to have the Furey Method Seminar in Tampa, Florida, at the Airport Marriott Hotel.

Based on the tee-vee weather mongers, I wasn’t going to have a seminar.

Why?

Because Hurricane Wilma was coming, and she was going to strike Tampa… HARD. That was the rock-solid prediction on the schnews.

The day before the event, I was concerned that NO ONE was going to show up. Then I learned that some people had already arrived at the hotel… and then some more… and some others.

Crazy as it sounds, I decided that if I could at least get the first evening in, that would be good enough for the time being. And if we were forced to evacuate, we would hold the remained of the event some other time.

On the first evening of the event, I didn’t know what to expect when the doors opened and I took the stage. I figured that 30-50% of the attendees would be there because the predictions were DIE-RE.

But when I was greeted by a full-house, I was STUNNED, and frankly, still am.

Just so you know, around 10 percent of the people who enroll in a seminar will not show up, regardless of how much they paid to be there. Whether you are charging $3.00 or $30,000.00, you can bank on some people not going, and they usually won’t even contact you to let you know. This means, that to have EVERYONE in the room as my seminar began, when the media was convincing the rest of the world that Wilma was going to give Tampa a whooping, was astonishing.

As an aside, on day two, one of the attendees, a pick-up-chicks expert, entered the room about 20 minutes after I had already begun. As he strode toward his seat, I exclaimed, “How was she?”

His immediate retort, “She was awesome. Her name is Wilma and she cumming to blow us all.”

Well, it now appears that Idalia is heading elsewhere to blow some people. Hope she/he/her/him/it/they calms down soon.

In the interim, when the next storm comes, I’ll keep that heron I saw this morning in mind. Standing still… without a worry in the whirld.

Matt Furey

P.S. The September issue of Zen Mastery is going out on the 1st… two days from now. Make sure you get yourself subscribed pronto as this one is going to be a feast. By the way, your bonus gifts for enrolling NOW will arrive by mail… unless you live outside the U.S. 

And there I was, watching one of my favorite YouTubers, a genuine maestro of photography, videography and this thingamajig we call droneography.

By and by, over the past couple years, I have watched over 100 of this man’s videos, most of which are between 20 and 30 minutes. And in perhaps the 99th video, he revealed how, when he was a mere 18 years of age, his dream was “to go to college, get a good job, and retire one day.”

There was only one problem: He didn’t come from a rich family and couldn’t afford the $20,000.00 per year fee the college he wanted so much to attend, demanded. Nor was he into getting student loans.

So he blew off the idea of college, bought some courses on his favorite subject, along with cameras, tripods, software and so on, then began practicing what would become his craft. And today, he is crushing it.

This story has a few similarities to my what my son, Frank, discovered while attending college, and getting his sheepskin earlier this month.

What did my son learn in college that taught him what to do and how to do it, business wise? In his own words, “almost nothing.”

Yet, he is already gainfully employed, by himself and by another company whom he does some work for each day, without having to go anywhere.

Now let’s go back to the earlier days of his-story, to take a closer look at some of the moves Frank made, while attending baseball on a college scholarship. [Yes, you read that the way it was intended.]

First, during the schlock downs, when baseball was cancelled, Frank came home and took his classes online. During his spare time, he got a job, and he saved his money from this job to purchase a camera, tripod, software, courses on how to shoot pictures, movies, and videos… as well as how to make money doing so.

Second, he shot pictures and videos for me, as well as his fellow students, and found some other clients while he was out in the field, working.

Third, he continued to learn about marketing and selling.

Fourth, he asked me for further instruction on writing copy, specifically, email copy.

Do you see a pattern here between the YouTuber and my son?

Although they took different paths, both have acquired and are continuing to acquire the skills that will make them money, OUTSIDE of the college classroom.

And that is the way it really ought to go for most people.

If you want to be a college professor, then you follow the A,B,C’s laid out for you. Same goes for becoming a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, etcetera. But if you want something more than a J.O.B. (just over broke), you’re going to need to take the horns off the bull and steer your life by yourself.

In so doing, YOU can become a professor of another order, a bonafide worldwide expert, a person who followed his or her dream in a way that is not laid out for you in school, but is by other professors, who figured out this school of hard shocks, by learning what other pioneering outer-whirld professors uncovered.

Am I saying that you should not go to college?

Of course not.

There are reasons to attend college, and as much as some people will hate me for saying so, going to college to play sports is as good a reason as any other. The great Dick Butkus, Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears, was condemned for saying he went to college to play football. That was back in the 1960’s.

Did he care? Not one iota.

Did it hurt him, career-wise, after football?

Again, not one iota… as he went on to star in films, movies, commercials and much more.

By now you might be wondering what courses I recommended for my son, when he asked about copywriting.

I’ll give you a self-serving, 100 percent shameless answer, which you can uncover by clicking here.

Matt Furey

You may not know this about me… 

There were TWO THINGS I learned in college that have served me extraordinarily well.

The FIRST was what I learned from the many wrestling coaches I had in college, two of whom were Olympic Gold Medalists, namely, Dan Gable and Bruce Baumgartner.

Many of my coaches were the best “teachers” I ever had. They were far better in preparing me for life “on the outside” than the stiff, pretentious professors who lectured me to sleep.

What I learned from these coaches was not the mere memorization and regurgitation of information in order to pass a test.

Instead, they taught me various techniques that I drilled, relentlessly, until I knew them better than the backs of my hands. This was key. You didn’t KNOW a move because you could remember it. You had to embody that move, to be so good at it that you could use it on any opponent you faced… all the way to the national championship. 

From these coaches I learned you have to “do the drills to get the skills.”

This meant that you did not see something, practice it a few times, then turn to the coach and say something stupid, such as, “What’s next boss?”

The SECOND THING I learned at the University of Iowa, took place in a journalism class (that was my major at the time). I learned this “thing” on the first day of the first journalism class I took.

Similar to wrestling, I learned a number of journalistic techniques that appear basic and fundamental, yet, surprise, surprise, I have NEVER seen covered by ANY other modern day copywriting teachers.

NOT ONE.

Now, this particular journalism course was NOT a class on how to write advertising copy. It didn’t cover marketing. And it sure didn’t cover email copywriting, as no such thing existed at that time.

Nevertheless, after learning these techniques on day one, there I was in my dorm room, every day and every night, pounding away on my typewriter, using the tools I was taught to GET ATTENTION… and keep it.

Truth is, I spent more time typing away for that one class than all my other classes combined. I wrote in my dorm room in between classes. I also used the typewriters in the wrestling office, before and after practice.

At that time, my life consisted of three primary activities: Reading, writing and wrestling. And do you want to know something? It still does (although I have supplanted wrestling with martial arts training).

The above is instructional in many ways… I “did the drills to get the skills.”

And I’m doing my best to pass them on to my daughter, and my son, as well as to YOU, if are interested in learning them.

My daughter just finished listening to my Original Email Copywriting Seminar.  She never knew her Dad had so much know-how and whiz dumb.

She took a ton of notes… yet she is also hearing from me that studying a subject isn’t enough.

Reading and/or listening is the start, and it’s vitally important… but it must be followed by moving your digits on a keyboard, even when you don’t know what to write, or think that you don’t know how to write.

You gotta do the drills to get the skills.

Faith was initially startled by the three words I greeted her with each day as soon as she came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, where she saw me typing away, leading by example.

“Where’s the copy?” I ask.

This is my question for anyone I work with, as well.

Where’s the copy?

It’s not hard to churn out copy after you’ve listened to the Original Email Copywriting Seminar.

It has turned a lot of newbies into copywriting machines. 

Maybe, just maybe, YOU want to be next.

If so, keep this in mind…

If you want the skills, you gotta do the drills.

Matt Furey

Today’s question comes from Mr. Harry P. Hungwell (not necessarily his real name):

Matt,
How do you handle this situation? You are set to be interviewed for someone’s podcast or Zoom video, and the podcaster doesn’t show. 
Would you give that person a second chance and reschedule? 

H.P.H.

Dear Mr. Hungwell,

Se depende* as I heard it said in Spanish, from a 92-year old lady I trained back when I lived in Californigh-ay.

Her name was Minnie and she hailed from Austria, married an ‘merican and outlived him by a long shot.

Minnie spoke mucho languages, I believe eight altogether, and she frequently replied “yes” to my questions as follows:

Si Si Si. Oui Oui Oui. Ya Ya Ya. Dan Dan Dan. Egan, Egan, Egan.” and so on, going through all eight languages she was fluent in.

I used to add, “Shi de, shi de, shi de. Hai, hai, hai.” Which she would then repeat, with a laugh. Minnie was always in learning mode.

Well, as you can imagine, Minnie didn’t drive to her workouts with me. She walked. All the way from the elder care facility she lived in, that was about a mile away.

Sometimes she showed up a half-hour early. Sometimes she showed up on the wrong day. Sometimes she showed up a bit late.

Was this forgivable? For Minnie, yes it was. She was a client from age 88 to age 92, when I moved out of the area. It was tough to say goodbye to her.

Anyway, for podcasters, here’s the way I look at it: If he or she is a newbie, there are no second chances. If it’s someone with a small list, there are no chances. If it’s someone with a big list who has a kick-ass track record, se depende.

Last night, at 9 PM, I was primed and ready for the interview of a lifetime. I waited 12 minutes – which is 10 minutes longer than I normally would have – and the guy never showed.

That’s unlikely to happen with this gentleman as he’s a master of getting things done in a big way.

This morning I heard from him. A huge apology. What happened? What’s his excuse?

He lost track of time while “creating” a new product.

Forgivable? In my book, HELL YES.

Why? Because I am a creator as well… and I know how a few minutes can turn into several hours. I know how you lose track of time… unable to recall what day is what as they seem to blend into one another. I know what staying up til 5, 6, 7 AM, with no fatigue, is all about.

This means I applaud the reason this gentleman gave me… and I will gladly reschedule.

This is where you need to be mentally flexible. As I learned in my martial arts training, if you’re too rigid you’re going to get broken in half. This is why there’s an adage, “Bend with the wind to avoid the hurricane.”

Rigidity sucks. Fluidity rules the day.

In email copywriting, if you’re inflexible, if you write the same ole same ole way, all the time, if you never mix it up… you’re the same as a boxer who only has one punch, a left hook. Even if your left hook is a battering ram, you better set it up with good footwork, jabs, straight rights and other maneuvers.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey

By the way, boxers only have four legal punches in their arsenal. As a martial artist, I have many more than that… and I reveal all in my courses. Perhaps my all-time favorite is The Tao of Email Copywriting that Sells – but then again, a lot of people champion my Original Email Copywriting Course. Either way you go, after listening to them, you’ll be upping your game in a huge way, landing one knockout blow after another, with either hand. Click the above links and start landing more knockout blows than ever before. If you’re a beginner, so much the better.

* Se depende – it depends

Got an email from a guy the other day, chomping at the bit for the next issue of Zen Mastery, my monthly newsletter on email copywriting and info-publishing.

We let him know that the August issue will go out on the 1st of the month, or the early morning hours of the 2nd, at the very latest. This relieved a bit of his anxiety.

We sent the newest issue out last night, on the 1st, and it was a humdinger of an issue – 24 pages – a few hairs shy of 11,000 words, the most I have ever written in any issue, detailing my experiences teaching both my daughter and my son, some stellar copywriting and marketing strategies

And whatdyaknow, this morning, this same guy writes to tell me he agrees with ALL the key points I made, and just so you know, there were a ton of key points, with no boulders left sitting idle.

Nevertheless, this guy terminates his subscription as I, get this, “was preaching to the choir.”

So I meandered on to his website and took a peek. And what did I see? A video of a stiff, robotic, monotone, who is instructing y’all on how to sell to the richest of the rich. The webpage had ZERO compelling copy, no story, no nothing. But he did have a nice logo.

I’m left bewildered. If he is the choir – he needs some serious singing lessons in a big way, and fast.

As the questioning goes, “In addition to that reason (preaching to the choir), are there any other reasons you jumped ship?”

And I reckon the real reason is that he is anxious about moohlah, which can happen to anyone, and I sincerely hope he finds a non-choir preacher who helps him prosper soon. Based upon the fact that his website says he is teaching others to sell to richest of the rich, I believe he/s not having a lot of luck.

If, on the other hand, he was actually doing all the key points he says he agrees with… he would have a far grander story to tell, he wouldn’t be stiff and monotone, and he’d have a boatload of buyers.

Anxiety got the better of this chap. Information and implementation are what this man needs, big time… but when you’re operating your business out of fear, you make irrational decisions that hurt you in the short and long run.

The greatest marketers and copywriters would never cancel a subscription because the writer they are reading is preaching to the choir, which is an astronomical claim, as I write things that no one else would dare put into print.

On the contrary, the best of the best love to hear what they might already know… over and over again. Why? Because each time you hear the message, in a different way, from a unique angle, it makes you better at your job.

Can you imagine a professional athlete showing up for training camp, but he or she doesn’t want to review the basics anymore, much less learn strategies for implementing those basics at an advanced level?

If an athlete did so, he or she would be toast.

Not only that, but if you go to a church that has a choir, does the choir not want to hear any preaching from the pastor? Not a chance in the whirld. Not a single, solitary chance.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey