Gio Marcus is copywriting mentor who teaches high-converting copy to entrepreneurs who want to reach millions and make millions.
Gio's copywriting clients are guests of Oprah, Marie Forleo & Sir Richard Branson; regularly featured on major TV shows and magazines, stars of their own Netflix documentaries, and winners of Oscars nominations. Between them, Gio's clients have written over 35 New York Times bestselling books, translated into 190 languages. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Here's what we covered on the episode:
How Copywriting + Design Work Together
- How Gio and I met in 2020 working on a landing page for a client together and how we've stayed in touch ever since
- We talk about the process of working together and how you should connect with other creators during projects because you never know what kind of relationships might be born or what you could learn about their craft that goes hand in hand with yours
- Gio shares that she really wanted to write for a living and decided to write websites in 2008 but didn't know what copywriting was and felt like she was making it up as she went along
- How Gio fell in love with marketing and discovered digital marketing where she realized she couldn't just write copy, she had to think about how the words would look on the page
- Gio has a huge love and respect for designers because the design can change the whole meaning of the copy, and she loves to see how those two work together on a page
- How some creators, whether on the design or copy side, think that their part is more important than the other, and I love that Gio is a creator that wants to mesh the copy and design together well
- Gio believes that you can't have design or copy without the other and because people rely on visuals, the design is so important, and the copy help supports it
UX Design in Copywriting + Working with Clients
- Gio explains that UX design is about making the text really easy for people to read and consume by having headlines, boldface copy, or breaking up the text into smaller chunks which are all things she learned very early in copywriting
- UX design has become more important, Gio says, because people are quickly scrolling on their phones, you need to know how to give the information to the scanners who just want the main ideas and how to give it to the people who want a little more information
- I share that when I write copy for my sales pages, I always give it to a copywriter to look through because sometimes it can be a lot to look at the same page constantly during a project
- When working with clients, Gio first likes to get all the background information - that might be through doing research on her own or having her clients answer questions
- Gio says one pitfall to being super close to your business is that you might think, for example, that the pain point is a certain thing, but it turns out people aren't willing to pay money for that to be solved, so it helps to have someone as an outsider to the business come in and give clear feedback
- Overtime Gio has learned to ask bold questions and be more daring, which is important for copywriters, but she also says it is important for designers
Copywriting Tips for Sales Pages + When to Build a Sales Page
- When it comes to writing copy for your sales page, Gio suggests using a template or going off someone's copy that you love and respect, but be mindful that what works for someone else might not work for you
- Gio suggests working with a messaging expert because what works for a larger company vs. a smaller company/brand is not going to be the same and gives us an example to show that
- It can be good to look at other copy and sales pages for inspiration, but Gio says to make sure you aren't copying what someone else is going through - it's really important to go through the process yourself to come up with those creative ideas
- Writing your first draft of copy and then getting feedback from a copywriter can be super helpful because sometimes when you're so close to it, it's hard to bring that outside perspective
- Another suggestion Gio has is to do some kind of inner work, whether it's through meditation or affirmations, whatever works for you that will help you through creative blocks
- Gio explains that for most people, it makes sense to have a professional sales page designer come in when they have a solid offer that they've tested
- Because it can take a while to build a sales page, you don't want to put it off Gio says
- I touch on how I think it's important for people to build a sales page after they have sold and proven their offer
- Gio says that if you're doing a version of an offer that you've done before and you want to have something to show to people, creating even a simple sales asset like a Google Doc is beneficial
- The purpose of a sales page is to make sure it's easy for our customers to buy from us by making sure the offer is clear, the messaging speaks to them, the copy outlines the offer, and that the interactive process is also smooth
- Gio shares that she likes circling back with people after having an initial call with them so they can have a few days to decide if they're going to move forward
- How having something simple is better than having nothing at all when it comes to copy assets
Gio's Copywriting Mentoring Business + Building Credibility
- Many years ago, one of Gio's clients introduced her to some other people which contributed to her landing some big clients, along with the strong reputation she had built over the years
- Gio explains that she put in a lot of work into learning and studying everything about copywriting and marketing - people started to notice that she really cared and wrote copy that converted
- How Gio was able to build her business on referrals and how that works for design too, because you become known as someone who puts out quality work
- Gio says there is no shame in asking for referrals and that there's always room to go after your dream client that could help catapult your business and give you credibility
- Sometimes money is not the most important thing, sometimes it's about building and using your credibility - Gio shares an example of how she did extra work on a project for the credibility
- For a long time, Gio didn't flaunt her credibility, which held her business back, but once she started owning the caliber of clients she was working with, it allowed her to raise her prices so she was able to do the best quality work for clients
- As a business owner, you have to learn how to take care of your clients and yourself
- Gio's Revenue & Reach Mentorship is for online business owners who need their copy written for a lot of different business assets - the program takes them through each asset and helps them apply what they're learning about copywriting to these assets
- Whenever you're more visible, your copy pops, you get more direct responses to your copy, and you apply UX copy design techniques, your business will completely transform
- As creatives and business owners, Gio says we have a chance to impact so many people, and being able to write copy is the key to unlocking that
- How Gio weaves UX design into what she teaches for copywriting because it's so important to understand what your audience wants and how they like to consume information
- Go to Gio's website to connect with her and check out her blog - she encourages everyone to look at her copy for inspiration and to see what's working right now in the world of copywriting and marketing
- How it's important to connect with people who are in a similar field to you because you can get inspiration, understand how your fields complement each other, and then you can refer each other
Links mentioned
Gio Marcus Website
Gio Marcus Blog
O.M.G.! 5 Copy Lessons For a High Converting Sales Page
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