[[CWB]] How To Turn News Into $$$$ (Episode 145)

I reveal the proven formula for captivating time-crunched readers in mere seconds utilizing timely news, stats and trends.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ By Mike Giannulis This week's newsletter sponsor: Transform Your Content Creation with Postlyy! ​ We shine a light on emerging micro content creators, offer valuable insights and tips to elevate your content, and include a free 7-page report packed with expert analysis and articles. Join us to transform your content strategy and get recognized in the digital world! ​[Subscribe Now!](​ ​ Hey ! If you’re like me, you struggle to keep up with the 24/7 news cycle while also staying laser-focused on writing persuasively day in and day out. But here’s the thing: even as copywriters, we can’t afford to live under a rock. Our audiences are being shaped and moved by the world around them, and if we want to truly capture their hearts and minds in our copy, we need to understand what’s impacting them. This week, I’ll share my framework for seamlessly weaving timely news and cultural events into your sales messages. Done right, this grabs attention, builds trust, and connects your brand to what’s top of mind for your readers right now. Here’s what we’ll cover: ✅ My 3-part formula for integrating news into any sales copy ✅ Examples across industries, from fintech to nonprofits ✅ Mistakes that make you seem overly promotional ✅ Tips for staying informed as a busy copywriter Let’s dive in! My 3-Part Formula for Incorporating News When it comes to tying news into your copywriting, you want to come from an authentic place of truly understanding your reader’s reality right now. You also want to do it strategically, in a way that builds the story and sale. That’s why I recommend a simple 3-part formula: - Know Your Reader - Find the Relevant Angle - Wrap Back to The Key Message Let’s break it down… Know Your Reader Start by asking yourself (or better yet, asking actual readers!): - What’s top of mind for them right now? - What current events or cultural moments feel inescapable or emotionally charged? Get to know their reality, concerns, emotions, and behaviors during this period. Pro tip: Leverage social listening and surveys to uncover macro trends and insights. But also reach out directly to customers via one-on-one user interviews. Find the Relevant Angle Now ask yourself: How does this current event, cultural moment or news topic… - Connect to my key messages? - Reinforce my readers’ desire and need for my product? - Demonstrate my company’s values and positioning? Look for that relevant angle, bridge or tie-in. Pro tip: Sometimes the connection is subtle. Brainstorm different ways the news links to your brand’s core purpose before deciding on the best fit. Wrap Back to The Key Message This last step is critical. After acknowledging the news and connecting it back to what you offer, wrap it up cleanly by re-stating your core reader benefit or CTA. demonstration that you understand their current reality…AND…here’s specifically how we can help with that.” Pro tip: Strike the right tone based on the news event itself. Aim for compassion, reassurance, inspiration, humor or practicality. When done right, this 3-part formula helps you message resonance and relevance without coming across as overly promotional. Now let’s look at some examples across industries. Examples from Fintech, Nonprofits and More Smart financial brands have woven worrying inflation rates into empathy-building copy: “We get it. Your dollar doesn’t stretch as far these days on everything from groceries to gas. What’s helped many of our customers during rocky economic moments is…” Charities have connected urgent natural disaster funds to universal human emotions like compassion: “When we see images of flooded homes and devastated lives, our shared humanity calls on us to help. Donate now and deliver emergency food and shelter to hurricane victims who desperately need it.” SaaS companies have tapped into viral cultural moments to showcase their platform capabilities: “Like the endless remixes of Taylor Swift’s Midnights tracks, we can rearrange and customize app modules to capture the late-night creative magic for brands 24/7.” And major consumer retailers promote holiday sales by referencing timely sports moments: “The big game is over, but deals this epic only happen once a year. Enjoy 60% off clearance items - no instant replay needed!” What do all these examples have in common? ✅ They demonstrate understanding of what’s top of mind right now ✅ They tie news seamlessly into core brand messaging ✅ They wrap back cleanly to key product benefits or CTAs This balance helps avoid seeming opportunistic or straying too far from what you actually offer. Which brings me to… Avoiding Missteps When Adding News to Copy While incorporating timely news and events can be powerful, there’s a fine line between relevance and opportunism. Some rookie mistakes to sidestep: 💸 Exploiting tragic events just to sell more is a big no-no. Don’t go there. 🙅‍♂️ Coming across as self-serving. Keep the focus on how you can assist people impacted by news events. 🤯 Forcing irrelevant connections that feel tangential. Stick to angles that closely support messaging. 🚫 Neglecting your CTA by warping too far into news commentary. Wrap back to practical next steps. Remember, quality over quantity. Choose one timely angle that feels authentic and meaningful instead of jamming every trending topic into one message. Monitor responses and reactions to assess if you’re striking the right tone and genuinely connecting versus alienating readers through insensitive or hard-sell attempts. How Copywriters Can Efficiently Stay in the Know I get it. Keeping up with a gazillion headlines and trending topics feels impossible some days for busy copywriting pros like us. Here are my top 4 tips for getting news savvy without becoming totally overwhelmed: 🔂 Set up email briefings so current events come to you automatically every morning without any extra effort. Axios, Skimm and Politico offer great free options. 🗞 Quickly browse papers like The Wall Street Journal and New York Times to get a pulse on major headlines across categories like world news, business, tech and culture news. 📈 Utilize Google Alerts and Twitter notifications to get pinged about emerging topics tied to your target keywords and clients. 🕵️ Ask colleagues what they’re reading/seeing to rely on human filters surfacing the most attention-grabbing stories. Arming yourself with the right knowledge resources makes blending timely news into copy writing feel totally natural versus forced. Whew, that was a lot to take in! Let me know what parts of this framework resonate most with where you are now. What types of news angle or cultural tie-ins feel believable and relevant for your brand and audience? Are there any current events you might weave into upcoming copy? I always love hearing from you with feedback and ideas for future topics, too. Feel free to hit reply to let me know! Talk soon, Michael Giannulis PS - This newsletter was created by me but 99% written by AI... what do you think? Is it time for me to put out an AI copywriting training? Let me know! PPS - [I may be retiring the Copywriter Brain course for sale... so if you are interested you should grab a copy asap so you can still get my personal help.]()​ PPPS - Make sure you check out the [sponsor Postlyy](​ Thanks for reading! If you loved it, tell your friends to subscribe. If you didn’t enjoy the email you can [unsubscribe here](. To change your email or preferences [manage your profile](. 7853 Gunn Hwy #360, Tampa, Fl 33626