I was right to be terrifyingly excited for part 3 of the AWAI Method. It was a nice, easy cruise through the basics of copywriting.

• What direct response marketing is
• The Three Fundamental Rules of Selling
• AWAI calls Robert Bly "Bob" (so now I will refer to him as "Bobby" Bly because I like alliteration and implying a familiarity with someone I've never met by referring to them with a potentially annoying nickname. 
• Bobby Bly is BRILLIANT. (I already sorta knew this from seeing him pop up on numerous lists of "COPYWRITING BOOKS EVERY COPYWRITER SHOULD READ OR DIE TRYING." Yes, that title is a bit fatalistic. No, you really don't want to know what copywriting sites I've been going to.)

• All about simple text ads
• That Google Docs can save files as .docx
• What AWAI's "Four U's" for online ads are 
  
• A smidge about PPC (Pay per click) ads
• You never know when a knowledge gained from a life experience will come in handy

Not all of those are lessons the AWAI Method teaches. I'm throwing in some extra lessons I learned while learning from AWAI . . . and dicking around on the internet when my ADHD kicked in.

Granted some of it was copying a sample e-mail by hand multiple times, but the part 3 assignment had me write a simple text ad! Okay, so it had me improve a "lame" one, but I primarily used the lame one as a source of information and then did the COPYWRITING my own sweet self. Not sure when the feedback on that assignment will appear (since "within 14 days" encompasses quite a bit of time), but I'm really looking forward to it. While I'd LOVE to hear some positive feedback, what I really want is constructive criticism. I want whatever copywriter reads it to tear it apart and then tell me how it SHOULD have been pieced together. Hell, I'll even settle for "this is a good effort, and here are places that could have made it great."

The AWAI Method defaults to he/him pronouns. This seems really old-fashioned and out of touch to me. I hope they update the course at some point and default to they/them. 

While AWAI put great emphasis on how you could make lots of money by writing a series of simple text ads, googling "Google Simple Text Ad" led me to this interesting article about RSA's being the new default ad . . . and basically the new hotness.

I guess we know what that makes the simple text ads . . .

But seriously, this makes me wonder how often they update this course. The world of digital marketing does not turn slowly. 

Now, obviously, I haven't finished the course, so they could very well cover RSA's later--and if they do, I'll be back later and update this. Though even if they do, it would seem kind of sus to not mention it until later and keep touting the potential worth of writing a series of simple text ads. 
​

No, like RED level sus.

Educational but likely in need of a bit of updating. I'm still looking forward to continuing the course and still believe the knowledge I gain will be invaluable. Strong, steady foundations are crucial for any skill. 

I'm actually a little bored. 

But that's due to my prior knowledge. I know what copywriting is (which is why I knew I needed to learn how to do it instead of using my standard set of writing skills), what things like B2C, B2B, and SAAS stand for, and--thanks to the rather extensive copy I had to wade through to get anywhere near the option to purchase an AWAI course--I know that copywriters are important and there's lots of well-paying work out there for them.

The AWAI method is a course meant to be for people at all beginner levels--including those with basically no knowledge about copywriting at all. And the beginning of the AWAI Method is also meant to reinforce how much earning potential copywriting offers as well as how effective the program is at turning students/users into copywriters who can maximize that potential.

​I imagine that reinforcement is also meant to help fire-up, motivate, and inspire us. But they are seriously preaching to the choir with me, so the first two parts have been a liiiiiitle bit of a slog. As much as I love hearing people's stories (and trust me, I do. You have a story? TELL IT TO ME.), I'm here to learn how to do something new. 

Part 3 of The AWAI Method is called "Persuasive copywriting 101" (Though isn't copywriting persuasive by nature? That title is redundant.), and I cannot WAIT to start that part! I absolutely LOVE learning, and learning how to do something I'm really excited about? That is the BEST.

Part the THIRD. Where I will a) finally start getting to the meat of this course and b) write my first bit of copy--which an AWAI copywriter will give me feedback on!

Tune in next time to hear all about my copywriting encounter of the third kind. (Yes, you have many more terrible jokes to look forward to on this blog; you lucky little so and so!

​P.S. You're going to have to wait longer for my list of copywriting books. 

But I didn't. I didn't even make it into the final four.

And yes, I DO plan to die mad about it. 

In the meantime, however, I'm going to learn how to be a copywriter, and instead of blogging about it on a well-known and respected website, I'm going to blog about it here.

I've already started the AWAI Method, but I haven't gotten very far yet. With my life, brain, and schedule, I already knew it was going to take a while to get through it. But two of the things they recommend a copywriter do are to read and write every day. Yes. Every. Day. Granted, they'd probably prefer I write copy every day, but I think whatever keeps the ol' writing muscles in action will work. As for the reading part, I HAVE A LIST.

It's a list I've curated from other people's curated lists. I've bought most of the books--primarily in Kindle format, but some of them aren't available in digital format. And some of them (even used) are more than I'm willing to spend at the moment. Still . . . would you like to see my list of copywriting books? It's a very nice list. I'll even tell you which ones have required some internet shopping sleuthery and which ones make my wallet start crying.

But I think I'll show it to you next time. It's late, I'm tired, and both my shrink and my therapist are always after me to have better "sleep hygiene." Nighty-night!