Copywriting Articles by Don Mahoney

1. Copywriting Secrets of the Masters:
7 Ways to Harness the Power of Positive
Copywriting
Don Mahoney
This special report is brought to you free courtesy of
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com

2. 7 Ways to Harness the Power of Positive
Copywriting
Katie asked me the other day, “Don, what would you consider your most
important secret for copywriting success?”
I came up with an answer that I realized is common for most successful
copywriters I know. It’s at the heart of my success, Bob Bly’s, Paul
Hollingshead’s, and especially Michael Masterson’s.
The secret is this: Be positive.
Let me share with you 7 ways to harness the “Power of Positive
Copywriting.”
1. EACH NEW ASSIGNMENT IS AN OPPORTUNITY
Even though I’ve been writing a long time, I still get nervous when I’m
asked to write about something I don’t know much about. The first
thought running through my mind is something like, “I can’t do this. I
don’t know anything about it.”
If that’s where I stopped – with this negative attitude – I wouldn’t
have gotten anywhere in this business. Because when you start out,
you really don’t know much about anything.
Instead of letting negativity freeze me, I look at the assignment as a
challenge. How much can I learn about this product? And the way it
works and the new field I’m investigating?
Attacking a brand-new area is an opportunity to learn. It’s an
opportunity to become better informed… and also more interesting.
2. REPEAT ASSIGNMENTS ARE NOT “OLD HAT”
When I get asked to write about a product I’ve done before, it’s easy
to feel, “I could write this in my sleep.”
This is an invitation to boredom. An invitation to do a half-baked job.
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3. So when faced with assignments like this, I challenge myself. What
new ideas can I come up with? How can I make it exciting to myself
again? Because if I’m not excited, my prospect sure won’t be.
Putting this positive spin on what could be a so-so assignment keeps
me in the game. I help repeat clients make lots of money… and have
them coming back to me to write for them again and again.
All because of a positive perspective on the work.
3. CRITICISM IS THE BEST WAY TO GET BETTER
Every time I submit copy, I want my client to love it and not want
changes. I’m human, okay?
But I know if I don’t get critical feedback, I won’t improve my skills. So
criticism is a positive force in my professional life. A force that propels
me forward and keeps my writing fresh and effective.
This is how my successful colleagues approach criticism. Rather than
trying to justify themselves when critiqued, they listen. And they adopt
a positive attitude about what they hear so they can meet their clients’
needs… and produce successful packages.
4. POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BUILD CAREERS
You’ve heard this from experts like Lori Appling and Ilise Benun: Your
clients would much rather deal with copywriters who are courteous,
respectful, and easy to work with.
If you’re competing for a job against someone whose skills are equal
to yours… but who’s a raving jerk… you’re going to get the job. No
question.
This also applies to working with people other than clients. The DM
industry is close-knit. If you maintain a positive attitude with people
who aren’t in a position to give you a job, word gets around to those
who are. And if you’re a jerk, that word spreads too.
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com

4. Being positive with industry contacts has tremendous benefits to your
career.
5. BEING POSITIVE INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY
Negativity builds on itself. It sucks up time. Time you could be
working, earning money, and promoting your career.
But a positive outlook increases productivity. It lets you concentrate on
what you need to accomplish. You think more clearly… and are more
open to new ideas when they “magically” appear.
6. BE POSITIVE ABOUT FAILURES
Every failure is one less that you have to go through in the future.
What you are really doing is accelerating your success.
Don’t let failures get you down. They’re normal.
7. BEING POSITIVE MAKES PEOPLE WANT TO BE AROUND YOU
If you have a positive outlook, people will want to be with you. They’ll
want to sit and chat over a cup of coffee or a beer.
These are your prospects – the very people you want to sell to. People who
will teach you more than any book on copywriting can offer.
So if you ask me how to add that extra edge to your success plans, I’ll tell
you this: Be positive in your work. Be positive with associates. Be positive in
your everyday life. You will succeed, and you’ll have a whole lot more fun.
Don Mahoney shares all his most closely guarded copywriting secrets –
Secrets that have made him a six-figure copywriter in the AWAI Accelerated
Program for Six-Figure Copywriting. The program is put together by Michael
Masterson, Paul Hollingshead and Don Mahoney and is one of the best and
most comprehensive copywriting programs on the market today. You can
read my full review and critique of the AWAI Accelerated Program for Six-
Figure Copywriting here.
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com

5. Or find out more about the program direct from the AWAI website.
Don Mahoney:
Cabinet Maker Turned Six-Figure
Copywriter
“Businesses don’t stop advertising just because the economy takes a turn for the worse. If they
did, they wouldn’t be in business very long. When money is tight, business owners spend their
advertising dollars where they can get the most bang for their buck.
And direct-marketing advertising has been proven to be the most cost-effective way to advertise.
Another great thing is that the companies that’ll pay you big bucks to write sales letters don’t
care if you’re 25 or 75 … thin, fat, male or female. They only care how your work performs.
If you have the desire, you can always reinvent yourself. I did … and you can too!”
— Don Mahoney
DON MAHONEY is a co-founder of AWAI. As a one-time cabinet maker in upstate New York,
Don barely eked out a living, getting sicker and sicker from the lacquer fumes and other
chemicals he’d breathe in every day. In 1993, a year after learning Michael Masterson’s
copywriting secrets, Don moved to Florida and started writing his own copy.
Since then Don has risen to be one of the top copywriters working today, earning over $300,000
writing letters from his Miami Beach home. He has also personally mentored dozens of now-
successful copywriters and helped them achieve their dreams of freedom and financial
independence.
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com

6. Don’s letters are consistently successful because he has mastered the art of ―overwhelming
evidence‖ – a technique of providing indisputable proof that your service or product can deliver
its promise. AWAI’s program reveals all of Don’s secrets for building the kind of product
credibility that’s proven to turn fence-sitters into buyers.
Learn firsthand from Don at the AWAI Fast Track to Success Bootcamp & Jobfair which is
taking place on October 26-29, 2011 Delray Beach, Florida
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com