Sorry haters, I was wrong.

If you're a sales or copywriting expert, close this tab and go for a walk instead.

If you're not, read on.

I want to share with you what I've learned about writing better copy.

I've been on a boat for the last 4 days floating somewhere off the coast of Florida.

Much of these last 4 days I've spent cut off from the internet. That's a beautiful experience in itself, by the way.

While cutoff from interweb, I've been reading up on The Adweek Copywriting Handbook.

It's great.

The book won't hit you on the first read. It takes study and work for its lessons to sink in.

The greatest lesson I got this weekend was on Handling Objections.

I previously wrote about my how I had launched my new book, Shell Samurai.

I mentioned I got some haters in my comments section on Facebook.

I was wrong about the haters.

I should be thanking them.

Why?

They raised an objection.

They asked questions that made perfect sense.

They said things others were thinking.

The others didn't take the time to read my copy, they just clicked off the page.

Here's some "hater comments" I received:

• I can literally get all of this information online for free. Why would I buy your book?
• Why is this so expensive? I can get a physical book for the same price.

My reaction to the comments?

I responded, but usually in a snarky way. Afterall, I was pissed!

How dare they question the quality of my amazing book.

That wasn't very nice of me. Besides, I do the same shit with products all the time. Judging and critiquing the quality and finding any reason to not buy.

Joe Sugarman says in his Adweek Handbook that: readers aren't stupid, they can see through your bullshit and you need to be direct in addressing their objections. and then you need to handle their objections.

What will I do now?

When I write copy for my book, I'll directly bring up the objection right as the reader is thinking it.

Here's a few examples:

Objection: Your Book is Expensive! $40 for a book?
Yes. I put 80 hours into it. I bill clients for software engagements at $80-$125 an hour. If I wrote this book just for you, it'd cost $6400 at my lowest rate.

Plus, there are many more hours of research and real-world experience that helped to make it a reality.

Objection: There are other better books out there for learnikg Linux!

Yes there are some other books. Here are a few: <insert links>. I've read them. They are great. But they took me a long time to read. They're dry. They assume you have a lot of knowledge already.

My book makes no assumptions of the reader. It's written in a fun, casual way. Not in a dry, stuffy tone that'll put you to sleep.

onjection: I can get this info online for free!

Indeed you can! Here's links to find everything in my book for free: <insert links>. You'll have to put the pieces together yourself.
My book is a guided experience that flows from beginner concepts and slowly layers new concepts on top of that foundation.

Turns out, they weren't haters at all, I was just being blind and ignoring their comments.

It's cool to act like you don't give a fuck.

It's cooler to give a fuck and increase your sales because you listened to prospects.

Sorry haters, I was wrong.