How Successful Marketers and Copywriters Defeat Their Inner Demons

by John Carlton

Here's the lesson: Everybody has inner demons.

Everybody. Marketers and Copywriters have a host of inner demons.

You, me, the mailman, your little love-bug honey, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.

Not all the demons are malicious. Some are fairly innocent... like a constant craving for chocolate, which can impact your desert choices at a restaurant if you're the type of couple who likes to share.

Or like a fear of heights, which can impact your vacation plans together.

And there are common demons, which seem to inhabit most of the population: Fear of change, greed, road rage (a cousin of feeling powerless against The Man), whack-job political suspicions, prejudices... and I'm sure you can add to this list easily enough yourself.

And there are demons whose main job is keep things confusing: The passive-aggressive little trolls who excel at twisting reality into forms only they recognize.

This realization -- that everybody's got demons -- at first was a huge relief.

Personally, I had always assumed (for no good reason) that if it was unclear who was at fault in any given situation involving me... I should take the blame.

It just seemed wrong to assign bad motives to other people. And I knew I had demons in my head -- desires and fears and the lingering inchoate rage of barely surviving puberty and struggling in the adult world.

And I kind of enjoyed believing I lived in a world with mostly demon-free people around me.

I could handle my beasts (most of the time).

But the thought that someone else might be harboring the same impulses I had rattled me to the core. Better to pretend there were pure souls out there in the majority.

This is COMMON, folks.

This is standard operating procedure for most human minds... to not go down that rabbit hole inside your brother's core.

It's why the neighbors of the serial killer next door always express surprise. "He was a nice, quite man. A little odd, but we never suspected anything." (Despite the occasional screams from the basement...)

As a marketer and copywriter, you have to abandon many of the pleasant illusions that comfort everyone else. Like believing your customers are different. Or that you can sell lots of stuff by appealing to the "noble" virtues of your audience.

I've often cautioned friends who were nibbling at the edges of the entrepreneurial experience: You will be startled, at first, by what you discover about your fellow earthlings.

The sheer volume of fear, desire, greed and sick need is unsettling. It's a jungle/madhouse/war zone out there.

However, once the initial shock wears off, you'll be fine.

People are infested with demons of varying levels of nastiness.

So what?

They're still lovable. The world is still gorgeous. And knowing how the universe operates -- rather than pretending to know, and being wrong (like most folks) -- offers you a supremely better life.

For one thing, you won't often be fooled. You'll be a wicked-good salesman, too... because 99% of all selling is based on understanding the psychology of the process.

And your philosophy of how to live well can evolve (and thrive) based on reality... not wishes and dreams.

Now... what is the FIRST practical application of this advanced knowledge?

It is this: Look around...

... and figure out who's watching your back.

Most people's heads are crawling with demons they don't realize or acknowledge...

... and yet they LISTEN to the gibbering.

I've seen this too often, both in business and in private life.

When people operate alone, or in isolated situations, they "take their own counsel".

What they THINK they're doing is going over the facts, weighing options, and judging the pros-and-cons objectively.

However, what they're actually doing...

... is taking whispered advice from their demons.

And that seldom turns out well.

Much later (as the dust settles and the survivors of the decision begin to climb back on the Maslow hierarchy-of-needs staircase)...

... they'll ask themselves "What the heck was I thinking?"

And the answer is: You weren't thinking at all.

You let the demons into the control room.

Now, how does this affect you as a business owner or entrepreneur?

I'll tell you: Most of the biz owners I consult with are essentially isolated.

They don't have confidants to tell their secrets to... they don't have people who share their burdens... they can't brainstorm ideas because no one around them understands what's going on...

... and they sink or swim, every day, locked inside their own head.

With all those demons tugging and whispering and planting astonishingly dumb ideas in their brain.

This is, essentially, what separates the winners in the marketing world from the never-ending queue of losers.

The winners always -- always -- network relentlessly...

... and rely on the power of mastermind groups and coaching to stay on the cutting-edge, motivated and happy and on the best possible path at all times.

I know what it's like to be alone out there. I started my career completely solo, clueless and barely managing my fear (and the near constant deluge of bad ideas popping into my skull).

I used books as a crutch, and it worked to a point. I learned a few tricks, and I used the "What would Claude Hopkins do?" philosophy when stuck.

However, as soon as I discovered like-minded souls in my Los Angeles area sandbox, I formed mastermind groups, or joined existing ones.

There is no second-best way to maximize your potential, at anything.

One professional, all alone, may be occasionally brilliant, and may develop a killer reputation. And actually enjoy the job.

However, you team two pro's together... especially when they're simpatico on biz philosophy... and you get way more than just "times two" the brilliance.

No, you get a big-time multiple of brilliance. It wasn't just my mentor and I teaming up -- it was also bringing our mutual support teams together... the people both of us already trusted for advice and criticism and brainstorming.

Our network was instantly many times larger, and amazingly more powerful.

And -- best of all -- we finally had someone we trusted and respected... to tell us when we were being fools, or idiots, or about to jump off a cliff.

It works like magic to put your butt on the right track, chugging steadily toward the rewards you seek.

Being alone stinks.

Teaming up rocks. It's the only way to fly.

John Carlton's 25-year career is legendary... as an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. To read more from John (including accessing the 5-years-deep archive of hard-core tactics and insight and advice, for free) just dive into his globally-read blog: http://www.john-carlton.com

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