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Matt Bockenstette of Copy Legends EXPOSED (the full story)
By Daniel Throssell Published on Feb 7, 2022
A while back, a guy named Matt Bockenstette from “Copy Legends” approached me with a (seemingly innocent) proposal:
He asked if I would email my list about him, in exchange for him emailing his list about me.
At the time, Matt was relatively unknown in the copywriting industry.
And my own list was nearly twice the size of his.
Yet he seemed like a nice guy with some stuff my list might be interested in…
So — while refusing to endorse him — I agreed to tell my list about him.
It proved to be a huge mistake.
Matt quickly revealed his true colours…
And in the weeks that followed, a lot of ‘dirty laundry’ came to light.
Things came to a head when Matt managed to use my initial email to help amass a network and email list bigger than mine…
And then … he turned on me.
The result was a public clash which rocked the copywriting world.
The drama was so intense that several of the world’s top copywriters publicly weighed in with their opinions.
And below — for the first time — I’ve published an anthology of the emails that chronicle the whole saga.
Read on to discover:
• How (and why) David Ogilvy’s right-hand man publicly attributed one of MY emails to a rival copywriter
• Why many copywriting gurus despise me
• A clear-cut case of plagiarism so blatant and public, your jaw will drop
• Extended “swipes” from one of the copywriting industry’s most successful Black Friday email campaigns of 2021
• A secret tactic for getting industry-beating engagement in your emails
• How the world’s most respected email copywriter “stepped in” to take my side
• And more.
This might just be the craziest copywriting saga you ever read. Enjoy.
A cool copywriting email list to study
A cool copywriting email list to study
Something totally different today:
The other day a bloke named Matt Bockenstette emailed me with a proposal.
He said he ran a website called CopyLegends.
He’d been reading my emails for a while — had even bought my Email Copywriting Compendium — and was a huge fan.
And he wondered if I’d be down for a list swap — where we promote each other to our lists.
I have two rules for this sort of thing:
Rule #1:
Your email list is big and targeted enough.
(i.e. you have a good amount of copywriters, not ‘business owners’ or ‘marketers’ or whatever)
My list is edging towards 5k … 100% of them active in the last three months … and most of them copywriters. It’s a high-quality list to get exposure to for a copywriter. So you gotta be somewhere in that ballpark to make it fair.
But … that’s the easy rule.
Here’s the hard one:
Rule #2:
You are worth telling my list about.
I am fiercely protective of my list’s trust in me.
That means I almost never promote anything that’s not mine … because, frankly, I don’t know anyone who works harder than me on creating products that are ah-MAY-zingly valuable for my readers.
There was one time (over a year ago) when I broke this rule.
I was a lot less savvy about these things …
And I promoted a lead magnet for someone just because he begged me to.
I was trying to be nice.
I wanted to help him out.
So … I shared his lead magnet with my whole list.
It turned out to be stolen.
🤦♂️
THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS
But anyway. Point is, I have higher standards these days for promoting people.
And since I would never expect my list to do anything I wouldn’t do myself …
I opted in for Matt’s emails.
This was only a couple of days ago.
So obviously, I cannot give you a lifetime review.
And (heaven forbid) if Matt Bockenstette turns out to be a serial killer or scam artist posing as a David Ogilvy fan, I swear I knew nothing about it, I never endorsed his behaviour, and please don’t send me to jail.
[Following this, my email contained a link to Matt’s opt-in, which I have removed for reasons that will be obvious as you read through this anthology.]
Daniel Throssell
The world's greatest marketer just "swiped" a Daniel Throssell email … and didn't credit me
The world's greatest marketer just "swiped" a Daniel Throssell email … and didn't credit me
One of the most famous marketers in history just did something inexplicable:
He sent an email I wrote …
To his email list, verbatim …
Praising it as “extraordinary” and something “entirely new in the realm of copywriting” …
And gave the credit for it
to another copywriter.
This is not a grabby ‘hook’ for this email. I’m not going to pull a ‘gotcha’. It literally happened.
I almost want to cry.
Remember last week, I did a little email cross-promo with Matt from CopyLegends?
To promote me, Matt decided to send one of MY emails to his list.
But Matt did NOT rip me off. He was totally clear that I wrote the email. It was a great idea.
Well …
One of Matt’s subscribers happens to be one of the most famous marketers in history:
Drayton Bird.
Former VP & creative director at Ogilvy & Mather … and the man David Ogilvy said “knows direct marketing better than anyone else alive“.
Well … Drayton saw my email (reprinted by Matt), and he LOVED it.
Drayton loved it so much, in fact, that he asked if he could send it to his list.
Matt asked me if that was cool, since it was my email.
I said … of course!
And today, Drayton did send the email to his list.
And what he said about my copy
is possibly the coolest testimonial I’ve ever had:
(Here’s Drayton speaking)
“There is nothing new under the sun, they say, but on Monday I saw something entirely new in the realm of copywriting.
I suggest you study it carefully. It astonished me.
If you want to learn anything new, and I’m assuming you understand the copywriting basics, I suggest you take some time to properly study this.
For the life of me I don’t know how the copywriter – who is not mad but extremely well-informed – came up with this extraordinary piece of work.”
I gotta tell ya, that 
is HIGH praise
from Drayton friggin’ Bird!
And then after that … Drayton reprinted my email in full.
(If you’re curious about what the email was that impressed him so much, I’ll give you the link to read it at the end of this email.)
If you told me 18 months ago, when I had 40 subs, that DRAYTON BIRD would be broadcasting my email to his list with that kind of praise I would have fainted.
I was just celebrating that fact when I realised:
Drayton hadn’t credited my email to me.
He’d credited it to … Matt.
… but … okay.
It’s okay.
Because the email still has a link to my website in it. It’s still fine. Right?
I scrolled down to check.
Good. The link to my site was there.
Whew.
Then I clicked it to test …
And it didn’t work.
Huh?
I clicked again. No dice.
And I realised:
Drayton had embedded the entire email — including my link — AS A NON CLICKABLE SCREENSHOT.
You have got to be KIDDING ME!!!
This couldn’t get much worse, I thought.
But oh, it could!
I scrolled down even further.
And then at the end …
Drayton HAD included a link …
To Matt’s email list 
I blinked.
And just … sat there for a moment.
Not sure whether to laugh … or weep.
Actually, I’m still not sure whether to laugh or weep.
I think in my head I’m doing both.
(Honestly … it’s pretty funny.)
Now, for the record, Matt has done nothing wrong here. In fact, he went out of his way to point out to Drayton that it was actually my email.
And there’s no harm done. My name was still mentioned in the email, and my URL was printed (if not clickable). On the whole, Drayton Bird still did me a huge solid. And I’m grateful. No hate.
But … sigh. The missed opportunity.
Oh well!
That’s the game.
And here’s the important thing:
Even though there was this one hiccup … I’m not actually that worried.
Because I know that this isn’t my “only” chance to have my content get shared.
I’ve written pieces like that before which seem to have 100x the impact of others. My Parallel Welcome Sequence is a great example. And I’ll write more in future.
I call this kind of content:
“Keystone Content”
And there’s a very deliberate way I create it and use it to promote my email list.
I will talk about this more in …
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version]
But for now, that’s not available.
So instead, I might as well just show you the email Drayton Bird loved so much, in case you missed it:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version]
Daniel Throssell
Matt Bockenstette Plagiarises My Email
Matt Bockenstette Plagiarises My Email
Several weeks after the above events…
I receive a reply to one of the emails in my Parallel Welcome Sequence.
It simply says:
“Hey, I got an email just like this the other day!”
…which is … weird, to say the least.
Since it was a 100% original email he was replying to.
I ask the reader where he’s seen it…
…and he forwards me a copy of an email from (you guessed it):
Matt Bockenstette from Copy Legends.
When I see it … I’m stunned.
In his welcome sequence (which itself was based on my Parallel Welcome Sequence) … Matt is using an email blatantly ripped off from one of my emails.
Not only is the structure nearly identical … but even some of the lines are exact word matches!
In a LIVE funnel, in the SAME industry as me … this is obviously a bad look for me, as it makes ME look derivative.
So I immediately send an email to Matt titled:
“Please fix this”
And I lay out my grievances … and demand Matt either adds attribution, or removes the email immediately.
Matt replies a few days later … with a haughty rebuttal of everything I’d said.
He acknowledges he had used my email as a starting-point, but defends this as okay because it was “what he teaches people to do” (!!!).
He says he will only re-word the lines that have been identified as “exact word matches” by his plagiarism software.
He even adds, sneeringly:
“If only one person has asked you about it – how much has your reputation really been affected?”
I am utterly taken aback at the tone of his response — especially considering the large favours I’ve done him … AND THE FACT THAT HE HAS COMMITTED LITERAL PLAGIARISM.
And yet … I let it slide.
I tell him I’m disappointed in his reply … but I don’t want beef, and I don’t plan to push it further.
And, I don’t mention a word of it to my email list.
Nor do I have any intention of doing so…
…until the Black Friday contest rolls around.
The Black Friday 2021 Contest
The Black Friday 2021 Contest
Earlier in 2021, both Matt Bockenstette and I had agreed to participate in a Black Friday ‘contest’ hosted by email copywriter John McIntyre.
The basic premise was, we would gather as many of the world’s top copywriters as possible…
Everyone would contribute one of their products to a ‘bundle’…
And we’d all sell the resultant ‘bundle’ to our own lists, keeping whatever we sold for ourselves.
Naturally, there is a bit of competition around who could sell the most.
On Black Friday the previous year, I had come second (to Ian Stanley) … but that was when my email list was only 1,000 people.
Now, in 2021, it’s around 5,000 … and I’ve won several other ‘affiliate sales contests’ throughout the year.
So I’m easily the hot favourite to win this year’s Black Friday contest.
Yet that’s when my friend Shiv Shetti sends an email to his list that shocks me…
This Black Friday, I’m declaring war on Daniel Throssell
This Black Friday, I’m declaring war on Daniel Throssell
[Note: This is an email from another newsletter, and has been edited for length]
Call me a vindictive little so-and-so…
But I sent my buddy Matt Bockenstette (of ‘Copy Legends’ fame) this text last night:
Yes, that’s right.
Ian Stanley is the ONLY other copywriter who has beaten Danny T in one of these affiliate free-for-all deathmatches.
I’m sick of it.
He even trashed other affiliates in the EARLY days…
When he was virtually unknown…
And his list was only like 1000 people.
(I’M NOT SALTY YOU’RE SALTY)
So I’m doing what real men do… and cowering behind someone else to fight my battles for me haha
That being said…
I’m officially on #TeamBockenstette!
Now…
In case you’re living under a rock and have NO clue what I’m talking about…
There’s another one of John McIntyre’s famous bundle offers happening this Black Friday.
It’s gonna be the biggest one yet.
(With some ridiculous bonuses)
I’m sitting this BF bundle out because I’d get trashed by people with bigger lists I’m slammed…
But make no mistake…
I’m gonna be sat in the bleachers sporting my Copy Legends foam finger and a shirt that says “Daniel Throssell is a racist Nazi bigot”.
[Note from Daniel: Here, Shiv was making a joke reference to another controversy I had started in the copywriting world — about non-native copywriters — where I had been called racist, a Nazi, and a bigot. You can read more about that controversy here.]
Anyway…
Matt replied back and thanked me for the support…
And being the persuasive bastard he is…
(To be fair, you don’t become a direct-response millionaire before 30 and sell your company for $1.7m without being a persuasive bastard)
He asked if I’d be willing to get my readers on Team Bockenstette as well.
Eager to flip Daniel the bird in any way I can… I agreed.
So here’s the deal:
[Note from Daniel: I’ve cut Shiv’s email down for length, but he goes on to encourage his readers to join Matt’s email list for the Black Friday promotion. To be perfectly clear, though: Shiv and I are good friends, and I recognise his email is obviously tongue-in-cheek. He even adds a P.S. with some good words about me, too! Still, it’s equally obvious from this email that Matt has actually been approaching people in my network to try and beat me in this promotion … and that irritates me.]
Matt Bock wants WAR? Bring it on. My Black Friday deal OWNS his.
Matt Bock wants WAR? Bring it on. My Black Friday deal OWNS his.
Yesterday I got an email from Shiv Shetti titled:
“This Black Friday, I’m declaring war
on Daniel Throssell”
I thought it was a joke.
Shiv is, after all, one of my oldest allies in the copywriting world.
But as I discovered …
It was no laughing matter AT ALL.
Because in that email …
Shiv revealed that Matt Bockenstette …
(A mid-tier “copywriting guru” whose career *I* helped launch)
… has been doing deals with people who used to be MY copywriting “allies” …
And forming some “super-coalition” to beat me in tonight’s Black Friday sales contest.
Shiv’s email included a text message showing they’d been talking about finally “beating Daniel Throssell”.
But in case it wasn’t clear …
Shiv then declared himself proudly #TeamBockenstette …
And encouraged his ENTIRE email list to go and sign up for Matt’s emails, and buy from him instead of me.
…
…
… What?
What the actual heck is this?
Look.
I’m sure Shiv did this at least partly in jest.
But at its heart, this is not funny to me at all.
Because it confirms something I’ve suspected for weeks:
After being less-than-upfront in a business deal with me (story for another time) …
Plagiari—erm, “profit swiping” one of my emails, uncredited, from a LIVE funnel (also worth a whole other email) …
And being shockingly condescending when I called him out on it (yet another story) …
Matt Bockenstette now seems obsessed with trying to beat me in this group Black Friday promotion.
And … I am really starting to get sick of this guy.
Now:
I know I haven’t really said much about the Black Friday deal so far.
Basically, we are both selling the same “base package” — a bundle of copywriting courses.
And there is a contest between all the copywriters involved … to see who can sell the most.
But for weeks, Matt has been doing deals on the sneak …
Arranging “bonuses” to sweeten his offer …
And lining up “allies” to promote it for him.
Matt has been bragging that he now has the “most valuable” bonus package.
(Spoiler alert: it’s a few old seminar recordings, a copywriting book he didn’t write, and a bunch of Gary Bencivenga newsletters that are literally free on the internet, but Matt is trying to sell them to you. No, really. Just Google “Bencivenga bullets online” and they’re all free. Ta-da, I just saved you $497. Sorry Matt.)
For starters …
No, Matt, you do NOT
have the best offer.
You haven’t seen MY offer yet.
And it’s much, much better than yours.
But more on that in a moment.
The point is …
I have created
a MONSTER.
As even Matt will tell you:
I was the one who helped kick off his dazzling rise to copywriting fame these last few months.
I almost guarantee you’ve seen the name “Matt Bockenstette” in your inbox. The guy has seemingly been wheeling and dealing with anyone who’ll do a list swap with him.
And it all started with a list swap with … me.
At the time I had no idea (he didn’t disclose his intentions to me)…
But I was, of course, careful to not give him a word of endorsement.
(In fact, I was the only person not to blindly gush about Matt in a list swap — practically EVERY other copywriter I have seen has been only too happy to 100% endorse him, hours after ‘meeting’ him, when he is emailing about them in return. I will NEVER do that with my recommendations to you.)
And … I’m glad I didn’t endorse him. I may share tales of Matt’s behaviour in a future email. They will shock you.
But the guy that started out as a mere crazed fanboy …
Has now become
an uncontrollable menace.
Despite being full of platitudes and smiles to my face …
He has seemingly been devoted to plotting to overthrow me behind my back.
It’s creepy. Bordering on some kind of marketing-fetish-slash-inferiority-complex.
And not content with copying my ideas, tactics, and even emails …
He has now apparently spent weeks forming a coalition with the goal of trying to best me.
But do you know what this means?
I’ve already won.
I’ve ALREADY proven that a one-man band doing nothing but sending a daily email full of originality, creativity and inventiveness … can shake up the whole copywriting industry.
I have crushed EVERY SINGLE affiliate promotion I have participated in … always with the smallest list.
Matt knows this.
He has followed me for months — bought my products — copied my welcome sequence — and used my tactics.
He is literally the arch-rival that I created, trained in all my ways.
And he knows the ONLY way I can be toppled by someone like him …
(Whose business literally revolves around unoriginality — selling or leveraging other people’s creativity and IP…)
… is for him to form a “coalition” of people
dedicated to beating me.
So even if Matt and his gang “outsell” me…
If the only way for me to lose is to be hopelessly outnumbered, outgunned, and deserted by my former allies…
It is an honour to be defeated in that manner.
Oh.
Except …
There’s just one little problem for Matt …
There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY
I am going down
without a FIGHT.
Yes, I am a clear underdog.
Yes, my list is outnumbered by a factor of two to one (possibly more — who knows what networking strings he will try to pull to outflank me).
Yes, Matt has had the opportunity of watching and studying my every move from the shadows.
And yes, I am hindered by ethical scruples which he might not share.
But …
I am still Daniel Throssell.
I spit in the face of #TeamBockenstette’s swipe-based, unoriginal approach to our craft.
I defy those who believe copywriting should be stuck in some incestuous rut where it’s better to swipe than to innovate.
And I am NOT giving up my rightfully earned title to some pack of wannabes … without a VERY bloody fight.
You and your buddies wanna defeat me, Matt?
Huh?
You want my crown so YOU can claim to be the guy who bested Daniel Throssell with your sneaky alliances?
Very well …
But you’ll pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.
So, Matt and the rest of #TeamBockenstette:
GAME. ON.
And now …
Allow me to introduce MY Black Friday deal …
And you will see why I have been warning you not to spend those precious little dollars on anyone else’s offer.
Because until Monday (the next 4 days) …
For the low price of just [REDACTED]…
I offer you EVERYTHING Matt is selling in his bundle
(sans his book/seminar bonuses 
)…
PLUS …
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
…
Did that sink in?
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
What’s more …
If you even needed more …
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
But the truth is …
This offer is so
FREAKING good …
That there is almost NOBODY who is not getting a screamer of a bargain here.
The only question for most is whether it’s a ripper deal … or a bloody-freaking-AMAZING ripper deal.
If you TRULY think, as Matt does, that getting 20+ hours of dusty copywriting seminars is going to be more valuable to you than …
Power to you.
Go buy his deal.
But … I doubt it.
So, here’s your
call to arms:
Which side will you choose?
The dark, unoriginal, invading empire of #TeamBockenstette …
… swarming our industry with blind imitation, uncredited swiping, and gross list-building techniques?
Or the brave rebel holdouts of #TeamThrossell …
… encircled, overpowered, but desperately fighting to the bitter end for the sake of creativity, innovation, and brilliance in our craft?
We may not have the numbers …
But we sure as HECK
have the vision.
And while #TeamBockenstette, with its dedication to “swiping” and “copying”, claims to follow the footsteps of the greats like Ogilvy, Hopkins, Schwartz, Carlton, Bencivenga, and others …
It’s us on #TeamThrossell who recognise that these men were great BECAUSE they were original.
And ironically … WE are the ones who carry their true legacy.
WE bear their true spirit.
We, the true copy thinkers.
We, the true copy innovators.
We, the true
copy legends.
And it is to those few like-minded souls on #TeamThrossell that, tonight…
I will offer [REDACTED]
So…
Which side
are you on?
If you stand with me on #TeamThrossell …
Then watch for my email announcing the open cart at midnight EST tonight.
That’s in a bit under 16 hours from now.
Or just bookmark this page:
[REDACTED]
Because darned if I won’t go down swinging against this guy … and doing my best to do — with my little ol’ list — what he’s using the combined clout of several audiences to do.
And whatever happens …
This will be a battle for the ages.
Daniel Throssell
Is my feud with Matt Bockenstette “fake”? No.
Is my feud with Matt Bockenstette “fake”? No.
After savagely nuking Matt in my last email …
And unveiling a BFCM offer that’s way better than his (
) …
The biggest question has been:
“Is this fake?”
Some people have pointed out that Matt is selling 1-2 of my courses in his bundle, so they assume it’s arranged.
But as I already explained …
We are all promoting the same BASE BUNDLE of ~30 copywriting courses.
That “base bundle” includes my two cheapest courses (total price $301).
But my bonus offer if you buy from me … is
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
It’s not some secret plot … it’s just the way this deal works.
Does that make sense?
Either way, the point is:
This is NOT
fake conflict.
Everything I wrote was — sadly — real, and I have stories (that I may or may not tell) to back them all up.
While I am a big advocate of conflict in emails …
I almost always recommend keeping it light-hearted.
I don’t like to air REAL “dirty laundry” like this … unless there is a really good reason.
But … Matt provided that good reason … by (on top of the dodgy things he’s done behind the scenes) showing that he has literally been approaching other copywriters in an attempt to form an “alliance” to beat me.
And in case you don’t believe me:
I kicked Matt out of my private CopyJunto group in disgust yesterday after learning of his plans.
And that was BEFORE this next thing happened:
One well-known copywriter — who I will not name — actually told me Matt approached him a while back … to PAY him to promote Matt’s affiliate link in this sale.
Yes, you read that right:
Matt is so desperate to win a “sales” contest against me …
HE IS PAYING MONEY TO ‘BUY’ MORE SALES.
LOL what even
Any sales numbers he comes up with aren’t even going to be real!
They’re going to be the typical “guru” numbers:
Pure revenue … WITHOUT showing the hidden cost of payoffs, kickbacks, and whatnot.
(And from what I hear … he’s been VERY active with his deals. I can’t wait to see a bunch of copywriters all suddenly emailing about Matt this week. At least I will know who the sellouts are.)
On the other hand …
I am promoting to only my OWN list …
using my OWN offers …
which I created MYSELF …
as bonuses.
Which … really just sums up the difference in the approaches of #TeamBockenstette and #TeamThrossell.
Will Matt “outsell” me with his massive amounts of networking, deals, paid placements and the like?
Possibly.
Heck, probably.
But like I said …
The very fact that he feels he needs to do that … only goes to prove the superiority of MY approach.
But …
You know this.
That’s why you are reading this email right now.
The bond I build with my list — based on TRUST — is stronger than any other list I’ve seen.
And if you trust my approach …
In a few hours I’m about to offer you…
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Because just because Matt is in a much stronger position … doesn’t mean I’m going to let him win without a serious fight.
And YOU are going to benefit from it.
So set a reminder in your phone for midnight EST (that’s a bit under 5 hours from now).
The deal will be live here:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Strap yourself in … it’s going to be awesome.
Daniel Throssell
Return of the C*pywr*ting Av*ng*rs
Return of the C*pywr*ting Av*ng*rs
In previous copywriting bundle sales — like the one I’m doing today — I have famously written hilarious episodes of a cast of characters I called:
“The Copywriting Avengers”
Shiv Shetti started it with some photoshopped images of copywriters on Avenger bodies…
… and I ran with it by writing fun stories.
But that all abruptly
STOPPED…
When we found out some guy actually owned the copyright to the term “Copywriting Avengers” (lol).
And … he asked us to cease and desist.
Which was the Endgame for my fun emails…
… or was it?
Because for today…
To commemorate the 2021 Black Friday deal (which I am offering with a SPECIAL bonus until MONDAY MIDNIGHT — details below)…
I am returning with a new episode of the…
Copywriters Who Take Revenge!
(… okay, yes, that SUCKS. So sue me. Actually, guess what? You can’t sue me. That’s why I changed it.)
Starring:
John McIntyre as
“Iron Mac”
clad in a suit made of tech that’s Working Now In Copywriting ($497) …
Derek Johanson picks up the shield again as
“Captain A-Derek-a”
with his Daily Email Income ($500) …
Lukas Resheske floats in as the bearded
“Dr. Shtrange”
bearing his occult New Email Masters ($2,000) …
Chanti Zak bumps out Roy Furr to become the too-temptingly-named-to-resist
“Zak Widow”
promising to show you The Path To A Profitable Offer ($497) …
While Roy rejoins us in a new role as the Furr-y
“Roy-cket Raccoon”
with six months of his BTMS Insiders ($582) …
Rob Allen cops a slight surname change to become
“Rob Ant-man”
and shrinks the time to get good at Klaviyo to just 5 days with his Klaviyo course ($198) …
Ian Stanley smashes back onto the scene as
“Hulk Ian”
bellowing “8020! EMAIL COPY! ADVANCED! SMAAAAAASH!” ($497) …
Kim Krause Schwalm joins us as the overpowered and fittingly-feminist lead
“Captain Kim Marvel”
lasering baddies with her Virtual LA Boot Camp Intensive ($249) …
Bill Mueller suffers a slight mangling of his surname to star as the Luphomoid assassin
“Nemula”
with his “Story Sales Machine” ($37) …
Drayton Bird swoops in with a minor name change to become
“Drayton Falcon”
with a book bundle and seminar ($399) …
Joined by Matt Bockenstette, who debuts as his trusty friend
“Bocky”
with 20 of his Original Copy Legend ad collections ($121) …
Lorrie Morgan’s business name of Red Hot Copy is a natural choice to cast her as
“Scarlet Witch Lorrie”
with an exclusive interview with Dan Kennedy ($697) …
Rob Marsh leaves the underground safety of The Copywriting Club to don the suit as
“War Marsh-ine”
but not before smuggling out recordings of their last TCC summit ($550) …
Jon Buchan is offensively cast as another race because his surname practically begged for him to become the fierce
“Chief M’Buchu”
yet promises to help you Convert Like A Charm ($1,409) …
And of course …
The lineup wouldn’t be complete without the strongest Avenger (😎) …
With Daniel Throssell returning to star as
“Thor-ossell”
wielding his Email Copywriting Compendium axe, forged in the heart of a dying star ($101)!
And in this episode of Earth’s Mightiest Copywriting Heroes …
… our mighty writers face off against hordes of invading bad copy on the plains of Copywriting Wakanda.
“YIBAMBE!!!” cries M’Buchu, slamming his spear into the ground.
Bocky raises his rifle as Roy-cket Raccoon climbs up on his back.
Dr. Shtrange spins up a portal that brings Drayton Falcon and Nemula to the front line.
The Copywriters Who Take Revenge line up in an epic battle formation when …
CRACK!
In a burst of lightning …
Thor-ossell falls from the sky and gloriously appears on the battlefield …
… but unfortunately misses his landing by a few paces …
… and lands on “Bocky”,
instantly killing him.
(He was only human, after all.)
… oops.
The rest of the Copywriters look on in horror at the squashed remains of Bocky.
“Er … sorry about that, mortals!” booms Thor-ossell, with a sheepish wave.
(Well … that sure didn’t happen in the movies.)
And then …
Our heroes begin discussing how to defeat the Purchase Indecision Thanos.
“I know … I’ll defeat him by adding LIVE COACHING!” suggests Captain Kim Marvel.
“HULK IAN SMAAAAASH!!!” screams Hulk Ian (who, admittedly, is the only Copywriter who actually has beaten Thor-ossell in a fight).
Other copywriters alternatively suggest offering more ‘stuff’.
“Oh, I have an idea!” says Rob Ant-man. “I’ll just go really tiny and crawl up Thanos’s bu—”
“ANT-MAN!”
“Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion!”
“Well,” says Iron Mac, “We have ten days to get everyone to buy, so why don’t we just take our time—”
“ENOUGH!”
The Copywriters are interrupted by a roar from Thor-ossell … who crashes in amongst them.
He strides towards Thanos and booms:
“This mortal form grows weak. I cannot continue this sale for TEN DAYS. I shall offer only FOUR.”
The other Copywriters gasp.
“You’re ending your offer in FOUR days?!?”
“Are you CRAZY?”
“Y-y-you killed Bocky, you MONSTER!”
Thor-ossell smiles.
“Yes … but I am the strongest among us … and four days is all I need to FINISH this.”
And then …
FLASH!
Lightning crashes.
Thor-ossell’s eyes start glowing blue.
He raises his arms …
… and summons his mighty offer:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Daniel Throssell
Matt Bockenstette's brother does WHAT?!?
The plot thickens…
After seeing my accusations … Matt writes about the saga to his own list.
However, he doesn’t engage with my accusations. In fact, he refuses to even name me.
Instead, he tries to paint me as trying to whip up drama for my own personal benefit, using him as a scapegoat.
Suffice it to say, he says nothing to defend against my allegations of plagiarism.
But unbeknownst to him…
That same day, I receive an email from a reader alerting me to someone called “Luke Bockenstette”, whose welcome sequence seems totally ripped from my own.
I check it out … and discover, to my amazement, that it’s even MORE blatant than the plagiarism I was accusing Matt of:
I sign up for Luke Bockenstette’s emails … and recognise his welcome email as almost a carbon copy of my own.
Almost unable to believe it, I write the following email to my list…
LOOOOL YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHO I JUST CAUGHT SWIPING MY EMAIL
LOOOOL YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHO I JUST CAUGHT SWIPING MY EMAIL 🤣
THIS IS 100% TRUE.
I COULD NOT MAKE IT UP IF I TRIED.
I LITERALLY COULD NOT MAKE A BETTER FREAKING STORY IF I TRIED.
Remember yesterday, I accused copywriter Matt Bockenstette of copying one of my emails too closely?
Well, Matt responded…
… by trying to paint me (with a story about “licking” hockey players) as an over-aggressive lunatic who’s making stuff up.
Which only made it fitting when hours later…
One of my readers forwarded me a welcome email from a guy called…
Luke Bockenstette.
Is he a relation?
idk.
But what I DO know is …
This “Luke Bockenstette” opted into my email list from the exact same IP address as Matt.
And according to Twitter …
Last week, Luke tweeted:
Which is strange …
Because I gotta tell ya …
There’s some REEEEEAL … uh … similarity between his welcome email and mine.
So since Matt has been trying to gaslight me about this …
Why don’t you and I take a look
and see for ourselves, hm?
Come with me and let’s compare snippets of my email side-by-side with the other Bock’s email…
My Email:
The Opening
” *gasp*
You open your eyes, panting heavily.
Groaning, you try to remember the last thing that happened.
In response, your mind flashes weird, seemingly irrelevant images.
A … website?
Your … email address?
And something about … copy?
Huh?”
Luke’s Email:
The Opening
“Ouch!
You look up – “Where the holy hell am I?” you ask.
You’re sitting flat on your ass in a… mall parking lot… in a shopping cart?
You’re certainly not in <PLACE> anymore. That’s for sure.
WTF.“
My Email:
The Unsubscribers
“You see those empty chairs?
Those are the fools who fled the safe confines of my evil lab.
…
You see, you’re free to leave at any time …
So anyway. The moment you even have an inkling that you don’t like these emails … give that unsubscribe link some love.”
Luke’s Email:
The Unsubscribers
“See these empty seats on the bus? Those used to be for people like you.
Except they weren’t open-minded enough to enjoy the expedition so they ended up hopping off and missing the real fun.
Because you’re always free to leave …
If you ever wanna leave, simply click that unsubscribe button at the bottom there.”
My Email:
The “Time-Travel Remote”
“(I fumble in my pockets, and hand you a little remote.)
Here — this is a time-travel remote.
…
Just go ahead and tap that red button right there …”
Luke’s Email:
The “Time-Travel Keys”
“You look down at the keys and see three buttons.
One is a simple start/stop for the bus itself.
The other is a big red button that simply says “Ride The Lightning.”
My Email:
“You’ve Been Missing”
“Still, there’s just one thing I’ve been missing:
You, <FIRSTNAME>
In other words, I’ve spent years growing my clients’ business empires … but not my own list.
A foolish mistake.
But that’s why I dragged you in here to torture—er, educate you with my daily emails.
Look, I guarantee you’ve never been on an email list like this one.”
Luke’s Email:
“You’ve Been Missing”
“But still – there’s been one thing missing in my life.
You, <FIRSTNAME>
I’ve spent years growing clients’ businesses and partner projects but not my own audience.
It was a dumb move on my part but that’s why I invited you on this digital time-travel expedition.
I guarantee you’ve never been a part of something like this before.“
My Email:
“The 3 Books”
“P.S. If you hit reply to this email — and tell me how you stumbled across this irreverent email list — I’ll tell you something neat: Ramit Sethi’s three favourite copywriting books, which he sent me when I won his copywriting contest.”
Luke’s Email:
“The 3 Books”
“If you reply, I’ll tell you the 3 non-business books you must read to actually be a successful creative entrepreneur (none of them have a thing to do with business).”
And my FAVOURITE
part of all …
My Email:
The Post-Email Bible Verse & Unsub Text
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” – Romans 1:16
Sick of these emails? Hate my personality? Can’t stand my sense of humour? Honestly, me neither! That’s why I’ve prepared this handy unsubscribe link for you. Give it some love — and watch all your woes disappear!
Fan mail, death threats and gifts of expensive whisky can be dispatched via messenger kangaroo to:
Luke’s Email:
The Post-Email Quote & Unsub Text
“”You gotta be who you are in this world, no matter what.” – Denzel
Sick of these emails? Can’t stand the use of f.uck words? Don’t think I’m funny? All good. (You’re not the only one). That’s why I painted this readily unsubscribe button for you. Finger-tap this if you’re tryna get outta here.
If you’d like to send gifts (particularly tequila), please send your carrier pigeons to the balcony at:”
Back to Daniel now …
*ahem*
Since I do not have a potty mouth, and do not use f.uck words …
The only thing I’ll say here is:
LOOOOOOOOOL
😂 🤣 😂
I just LOVE how the quote he chose to replace my Bible verse … is about BEING YOURSELF … in an email that is COMPLETELY unoriginal 😂
And note …
He says that he wrote this email “after 6 cups of coffee, a Tim Ferriss podcast, listening to Nirvana, and looking out at all the adorable dogs walking in front of me” …
… BUT NOT A WORD OF CREDIT TO DANIEL THROSSELL, WHERE HE TOOK THE WHOLE THING FROM
I wonder …
Did Matt teach his brother to “PrOfIt SwIpE” my email like this?
Is this what he considers “copywriting”?
This is literal plagiarism!!!
And for everyone who is thinking “get over it Daniel, I’m getting sick of the Bock-bashing“, well …
Me too.
… sort of.
I don’t like being super negative.
It’s not easy for me, as a Christian, to tread the fine line between mockery and sharp rebuke — which is okay — and prideful anger — which is not.
Better to just keep the emails fun.
Still, what has really galled me
about this whole situation …
Is that I privately (NOT publicly) warned Matt for plagiarising me…
Got condescendingly sneered at in response…
And later caught him forming some private coalition to “beat” me in a promotion contest…
While publicly trying to act like I’m being “dirty”, and he’s “above” responding…
When meanwhile, there is ABUNDANT BLATANT PROOF (hint: 👆👆👆 ) about the Bock Bros’ very “liberal” approach to swiping without credit.
It just doesn’t gel.
So to be clear:
If Matt wants to send me an email — and he can do it in private, my intent is not to humiliate — properly and respectfully addressing the complaints I previously sent him …
I would be HAPPY
to make peace.
I did not WANT to go this route. That’s why I had kept this quiet (until I found out he’d been scheming against me).
But if not, and he still insists that THIS 👆 kind of unethical “swiping” is fine …
Whatever.
I cannot impose my ethics upon this industry.
(Some readers even showed me screenshots of people on Facebook today talking about my previous comments on this. One wannabe big-dawg was denouncing my “virtue signalling” … as if calling out blatant plagiarism is virtue signalling?!? Okay — righto, big boy. Seriously, sometimes I feel like the copywriting industry lives in clown world 🤡)
Either way:
Right now, it seems I’m one of the only ones who has scruples about being original.
And between that …
And Matt’s larger list …
And far superior network …
And deliberate plan to target and beat me …
I am at a clear disadvantage.
So I’m doing the only thing I can:
Coming up with the BEST DARN OFFER I can think of … and selling it like my life depended upon it.
Who knows?
Maybe I’ll still triumph … against all odds.
Which is why …
Until Monday night …
You can get [REDACTED]
So if you want it … there’s no time like the present.
Oh, and remember:
“You gotta be who you are in this world, no matter what.”
🤣
Daniel Throssell
Matt Bockenstette strikes back (and it backfires 😂)
Matt Bockenstette strikes back (and it backfires 😂)
Unnerved by my previous email, and the literal proof of his brother’s even more blatant plagiarism…
Matt realises his tactic of coolly denying things and painting me as crazy won’t work.
So he changes tactics:
He releases a 20-minute video to his Copy Legends audience titled:
“The TRUTH about
Daniel Throssell and me”
Yet … it backfires horribly.
In an attempt to justify himself … he not only admits he did use my email as a base for one of his…
But he ALSO shows, on-screen, results of a plagiarism checker he used … revealing the software catching blatant plagiarism!!
His argument is that it was okay because it was only a “little” bit of word similarity.
Why he thought this would be a good idea to show publicly, I have no idea.
You can’t make this stuff up…
I just got off a call with Matt Bockenstette…
I just got off a call with Matt Bockenstette…
And … it didn’t go how you would expect.
I know some people are still talking thinking I’ve been “faking” this whole thing with Matt.
I saw some wannabe gurus chattering in the JSTC Facebook group about how it’s “obviously” fake and “anyone who falls for this doesn’t deserve to be called a copywriter”.
Which … obviously they would say, since the majority (I don’t say all) of the ‘copywriters’ haunting that group are hamsters who think it’s okay to write fake stories for your sales page leads.
i.e. NATURALLY when they see a good story, they just assume that some dodgy writer like them just … made it up.
You can’t really blame them.
That’s normal in their world 
But, enough about them.
Back to Matt:
Yes, I had a call with him this morning …
… along with all the other copywriters
in this Black Friday Bundle.
John McIntyre, Ian Stanley, Kim Krause Schwalm, Rob Marsh, Roy Furr, Lukas Resheske, Chanti Zak, Lorrie Haller, and others … were all there along with Matt.
And when I dropped into the call …
… you could hear a pin drop.
John shifted uncomfortably.
Kim raised her eyebrows.
And then finally … Ian Stanley spoke:
“So … are we about to do some
Battle Royale?”
The other copywriters laughed nervously …
… but I smiled and said I was participating on this call on truce terms …
… unless anyone wanted to talk drama.
“No … I think we’ll just stick to questions!” said John quickly.
And then … we had a pretty enjoyable chat about our Black Friday bundle, and copywriting stuff.
I actually had to keep my camera off because it was 6am, and I was doing my morning workout.
Yet at one point, someone asked:
“Is there a course on list-building
in this bundle?”
I was in the middle of a set of weighted pistol squats … so I was on mute.
But … nobody answered.
Apparently there wasn’t much on list-building?
So I put down my weights … came off mute … and huffed my answer:
“Well … *huff* not really … in the bundle, but *puff* … if you buy from me … you get … *gasp* my Email Celebrity … course …”
(Oops. It was much harder to speak than I thought.)
Kim taunted me: “Either that’s one hard workout … or your cardio SUCKS!!!”
Yeah well ner ner, Kim.
But, my point still stands.
[REDACTED]
Daniel Throssell
The $20 offer you ought to know about
The $20 offer you ought to know about
I assume your inbox is taking a pounding today.
It’s the last day of the Black Friday Copywriting Bundle, and I expect the other affiliates to be selling it hard.
I have no desire to join in.
So I’m going to do something different…
I’m gonna give you
some FREE stuff!
Well, not totally free. You have to pay $20 to get it for free. But you don’t have to pay ME.
You see…
One of my competitors in this Black Friday promotion contest (I do not name him) has been offering a set of bonuses if you bought the bundle from him:
- The recordings of the “Titans of Direct Response – Live” seminar
- Dan Kennedy’s “Million Dollar Swipe File”
- “Breakthrough Advertising: The Lost Interviews”
- Gary Bencivenga’s full “Marketing Bullets” collection
- 19 Full Length Keynote Speeches and Presentations by Jay Abraham
- Jay Abraham’s Course “How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be”
This copywriter claimed his “exclusive” bonuses were worth tens of thousands of dollars.
And, that may very well be so.
But …
I ALSO happen to know
that this person is a lover of Truth.
I mean, to quote his exact words from an email he wrote about me last week:
“You deserve to know who you support in this “Black Friday Bundle” – and the Truth behind the specific strategies being used to manipulate you.”
And:
“[Your choice is] to make a decision based on integrity and facts, rather than manipulation alone.”
Clearly, he believes in giving you all the facts, and letting you make an informed decision.
So I just KNOW he would approve of what I am about to do…
And I just KNOW it was an oversight of him to not mention…
… that ALL the bonuses he’s been hyping up as worth “tens of thousands of dollars” are available as FREE downloads if you buy a $20 book at this link:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
After all…
We wouldn’t want to hide that Truth from our customers — and manipulate them — would we now? 😇
But I am most certain this was an innocent mistake from this squeaky-clean, non-plagiarising, Truth-loving copywriter.
So I am not naming him.
I’m just telling my list where they can get his offer for cheaper, if they want it.
That’s just the right thing to do, so I know he would thank me 😊
And with that said:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Either way, what a fun promo this has been!
But more on that tomorrow, when we have the official results.
Daniel Throssell
Aftermath of the copywriting world’s craziest Black Friday 2021 campaign
Aftermath of the copywriting world’s craziest Black Friday 2021 campaign
“Mate, you could easily build a product based on this launch”
—John McIntyre to me, via WhatsApp, yesterday
I don’t think I’ve ever been hated as much as I am right now.
The Black Friday campaign I just closed was stunningly effective …
But also stunningly controversial.
Here’s just SOME of the criticism hurled at me these last few days in my inbox and on the Internet:
• “Get over yourself, marketing isn’t all about you.”
• “Way too much drama.”
• “So childish.”
• “Too much negativity.“
• “Offer is too confusing.”
• “So 1980s.”
• “Too much stuff, it’s overwhelming.”
• “Anyone who falls for this probably shouldn’t call themselves a copywriter.”
• “You’re sending way too many emails.”
Add to that a bunch of ‘big names’ who’ve said stuff about me …
And even some of my competitors and friends in the Black Friday bundle getting a little salty at how seriously I took the sale …
And, well, I’m not exactly at the pinnacle of popularity here.
But guess what?
Purely as a marketing campaign …
It surpassed my craziest expectations.
As of the time of scheduling this email …
I had outsold my next competitor in this sale by a factor of TWENTY.
And remember — I’m up against some of the copywriters *I* look up to — like Kim Krause Schwalm, Drayton Bird, Ian Stanley, Rob Marsh, Lukas Resheske and more.
I also got a large chunk of the copywriting world talking about me, for free.
And all this … without a cent in advertising or a single ‘deal’ struck with another list owner (unlike a certain someone).
It was all purely orchestrated with emails sent to my own list.
And thus, like Maximillian in Gladiator, I raise my arms and cry:
“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?”
But don’t roll your eyes … listen.
Did you catch it?
What I just did there, in that subhead? 👆
I just showed you part of my secret for getting such insane engagement.
And that secret is …
You have to be willing to be hated.
I’ll admit …
This campaign tested even my powers.
The sheer amount of criticism I read about me — in my inbox, and on the internet — was unsettling.
But at the same time …
Not a single one of my haters (especially the self-professed “copywriting gurus” on Facebook) were actually doing what I was doing: making sales.
Some other people think I was “too negative” … especially in my calling out plagiarism in public.
So one last time, let me be clear on this:
This was an issue I first tried to resolve in private.
I got snubbed.
And yet I still didn’t go public … until it came to light that said person was not only unrepentant, but also paying people off & doing secret deals to try and beat me in a promotion.
Plagiarism is not just an “annoyance” for a brand founded upon originality.
Most of the people saying I “went too far” only say that because they’ve never had an original idea worth stealing, so they don’t know what it’s like.
And I do not accept criticism about my reaction to plagiarism … from anyone who hasn’t been plagiarised 🤷♂️
Oh, and if — even after seeing side by side evidence of some of the plagiarism I showed — you still think that what the Bock Bros did was okay?
Well, I hope you just unsubscribe from me, because I want nothing to do with copywriters of your ethical calibre (or lack thereof).
This position is not up for “debate”. Do not email me with your “opinion” or “suggestion”. If you think plagiarism is okay, pack up your bags and just go.
In any other industry … that nonsense will get you not just shamed but sued.
BUT THAT’S ENOUGH NeGaTiViTy.
Now for some good news:
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Daniel Throssell
Ben Settle comes to bat for #TeamThrossell
Ben Settle comes to bat for #TeamThrossell
Last month I publicly hit out at Matt “Bocky” Bockenstette for copying one of my emails for his welcome sequence.
(I later found his brother Luke had gone further, ripping off not only my copy wholesale but even images I had made.)
Matt’s defence was that his email had “only” 4% exact word similarity 
Many people called me pedantic.
But now one of the world’s most respected copywriters has stepped in to … er … Settle the debate.
Because Ben Settle just included a new bonus insert with this month’s issue of his Email Players newsletter, titled:
“Age of Swipeocalypse”
And by the sounds of it … he’s firmly in my camp (emphasis mine):
“Smart swiping ain’t stealing. It ain’t about copy & paste, either. And it sure as hades ain’t about breaking copyright laws — moral or temporal. It’s about thinking. It’s about building. And it’s about looking at other ads as case studies, inspiration, and springboards for ideas that turn into something completely different (and far better) than that which is being swiped.“
And:
“You hear these copywriting goo-roos always talking about “Oh yeah, lift that headline, copy that close, bolt on that piece of scarcity copy … promote that by stealing this other guy’s emails as much as possible but not so anyone can really say you copied…” Idiots. Every single one of them — and yes you can quote me on that.”
OUCH!
(Thank you Ben, don’t mind if I do quote you on that.)
I’m grinning at the cognitive dissonance Bocky must have felt when he read this.
I picture him sitting there in his Swipe Cave…
Surrounded by framed black-and-white pictures of old copywriters, and his unsold piles of hoodies and caps…
His hands shaking as he reads Ben’s newsletter and cries:
“B-but … I used a plagiarism checker … my email had only 4% exact word similarity to Daniel’s! I re-worded a full 96% of the lines!!! That’s still ‘completely different’, right Ben? Ben?!?”
Hearing no answer, he turns to his brother:
“Luke! You’re with me, right? We did the right thing in swiping Throssell, didn’t we?”
“Luke! You’re with me, right? We did the right thing in swiping Throssell, didn’t we?” replies his brother.
“Dude … you’re in 100% plagiarism mode again, bro.”
“Dude, you’re … oh, sorry. I lapse into that sometimes,” says Luke apologetically. “But … yeah! Whatever you were saying, I agree word-for-word! Now hang on … I need to see if Throssell has sent me another email that I can re-broadcast to my list as my own.”
And with that, Luke scurries away to check his computer for a new email from me, leaving Bocky alone and devastated.
Sorry, Bocky and anyone who took his side.
But elBenbo has spoken.
And … looks like he doesn’t agree with #TeamBockenstette in the slightest.
You cannot start from my email and just “re-word” lines.
Ah … what a nice Christmas present from Ben
So as we can see, swiping my emails themselves is not on.
But if you would like to learn the principles behind my swipealicious style…
So you can combine them with your own personality and skills, and create one that is uniquely YOURS…
[Part of this email content has been removed from the blog version.]
Daniel Throssell
In Summary …
For now, the scoreboard seems to show a crushing defeat of Matt Bockenstette, or “Bocky” as I like to call him.
After his (and his brother Luke Bockenstette’s) plagiarism and subsequent refusal to apologise … and then his attempt to sneakily beat me in a Black Friday sales contest …
Not only did I obliterate him on the sales leaderboard … but his moral stance was repudiated by one of the world’s most respected copywriters.
Yet this certainly isn’t over.
Matt Bockenstette is smart, and he’ll find a way to hit back.
His Copy Legends audience is full of unoriginal copywriters who are ready to defend “swiping” as a way of life.
And after my campaign … I’ve ended up with a lot of enemies and haters.
After reading this, maybe you’re even one of them.
But no matter what you think of me … this isn’t the end of this saga … and likely, neither will it be the last.
To see what happens next … sign up for my daily email list here: