Mike Kim on Copywriting That Opens a Relationship
I tested one of Mike Kim's subject lines inside my own agency the week before we recorded this. The subject line was 4 words: Is this the correct contact info? The open rate was 100%.
The copy underneath was so good it pushed 2 people who were already thinking about leaving the company to finally make the jump. So I may have proven his point a little too well.
Mike simplifies copywriting better than anyone I have heard at a mastermind. In Episode 85 of The Purpose Chasers we got into how he turned a dormant blog into a business, why marketing is not about closing a sale, and the one structure that turns a quote card into something people actually act on.
The Blog Nobody Read
Mike did not discover copywriting as a profession until late. He joined a blogging program in 2013 after his first attempt at a blog went nowhere, and the lesson he took from it is the whole reason writing matters.
"If you write well, your message, your brand is going to cut through a lot of the noise."
The blog grew an audience from scratch because the writing was clear and the tips were useful. He did not sell anything for about 2 years. The blog was how he started his business, and he monetized it late on purpose.
Marketing Is Not About Closing a Sale
Here is the line people write down when Mike says it from a stage:
"Marketing isn't about closing a sale. It's about opening a relationship."
On its own that is an Instagram quote card with no meaning. So Mike gave me the structure that makes a big idea land: state the big idea, attach a story to it, give the solution, then repeat the big idea.
His story was a guy named Rey who opened a door for him to speak at a big marketing conference, where he has now spoken 3 years running. It did not happen because Mike sold himself to the conference. It happened because of a relationship. The solution:
"Number one, do great work that gets you noticed. Number two, be very recommendable. Number three, be easy to work with and kick ass on stage so they'll invite you back."
Big idea, story, solution, big idea. That is a 1 minute video, an email or a blog post. People do not have time for filler, and they will not stop scrolling for it.
Which Headline Would You Buy?
Mike sells a package of proposal templates for consultants, because nobody wants to write proposals from scratch. He gave me 2 headlines for it.
Headline A: Buy my marketing proposal templates.
Headline B: Get the exact proposal templates that landed clients like big name, big name and big name.
Same product. Only one of them makes you reach for your wallet, and it is the one built on proof. Copywriting, as Mike put it, is basically salesmanship in print, and the strongest salesmanship in print is a real client saying what happened.
The Best Copy You Will Never Write
This is where Mike's work and mine meet. I learned to write copy the hard way, and then I learned something better: the customer's own words beat anything I could put on a page. When I pulled a construction company out of a hole, the marketing that worked was not clever headlines. It was homeowners on video answering the question, what would you say to someone on the fence about hiring us? That became the Social Proof System.
When the Client Writes the Copy
Kerrie Fleming is a light worker who found it hard to describe her own work. Then her clients described it for her on video:
"Doing these video testimonials with my clients has been a game changer for me personally and feeling what my true value is as a light worker. Like sometimes it's hard for me to describe what I do, especially because it's always evolving and expanding. And to have your client actually say the words and explaining it from their viewpoint is perfect."
Steph Stanton leads the Held Sacred community. I interviewed nine of her women on video. What the testimonials did for her:
"Having the testimonials as this feeling of safety that goes out is to me worth 10 times what I paid you. I don't have to do the heavy lifting anymore to show that this group is valid. Yes, I've gotten new clients since you gathered the testimonials."
More real stories on the Happy Check client results page.
Keep Listening
Want Copy You Did Not Have to Write?
On The Purpose Chasers I sit down with people who are building something that matters. In my business, The Happy Check, I help coaches, creators and service businesses turn that same kind of real story into video testimonials and content that bring in clients.
If you want to take your marketing to the next level, book an organic marketing audit call with me.
Or start with the free Happy Check book and learn who to ask, when to ask and how to use what they say.
Keep reading: the Happy Check book, how to collect video testimonials that convert.
