The Entrepreneur's Guide To Getting Your Shit Together

I would assume you have no idea who John Carlton is (otherwise you wouldn't need reviews to make a buying decision on a $10 book authored by him). John is the world's foremost living authority on copywriting (if you include the departed, the top guy would be Sir Gary Halbert, who trained John) and at first, I was only going to give this four-stars. That decision would have been based on comparison to his own material, "Kick Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel" which is a full-blown copywriting course.In fairness to John, "The Entrepreneurs Guide To Getting Your S*** Together" steps outside the niche he knows and teaches so well and into the realm of just about any venture you may currently be involved in or thinking of tackling. So an appropriate comparison would be to other information on that subject, and if we're going to go down that road, you won't find these hard-hitting, close to home, valuable gems and stories anywhere else. On the copywriting side, you do get some of the gems presented in his other works, so that alone makes it worth the measly ten bucks.John has a unique writing and teaching style unmatched by any other in the business. You will be forced to think properly. Million dollar ideas and their execution plan will get dumped out of your brain and on to paper.What you don't get are boring "do this, do that" commands. John paints a vivid picture of what, how, and why. His writing style will suck you in better than any novel, reality show or soap opera. Instead of a cliffhanger, you get valuable insight and real world experience that saves you grief and puts money in your pocket. Get ready for a thrill ride that will engage your brain like a roller coaster invokes visceral senses.Who this book is not for:Executives at Coke, Pepsi, General Motors, and companies or individuals with oodles of cash that are not interested in creating campaigns that require accountability and results that can be tracked.If you need the old excuse of "I have to this image/logo, it has to be seen over and over, I have to spend a gazillion dollars to accomplish this before I'll get customers", then sorry, John Carlton is not your guy and you will hate this book.If you want to create a campaign for yourself (or get paid to do it for someone else) and need a third-party or excuse to assign failure to when it doesn't work (instead of finding out what went wrong and fixing it), John is not your guy.If you need to be spoken to "softly" and nudged along, John is not your guy either.Who it is for:Can you use a swift kick in the a-- to get going?Great, you're going to love it.Are you short a few million dollars (or would rather use that capital more effectively if you do have it) and could care less about wasting time waiting for the marketplace to find out who you are and then buy, or would you rather have a solid foundation, proven techniques and shortcuts to create money first? If so, this is for you.Are you the type of person that already has ideas for a project (or have one going on now) but at the same time, every a-hole under the sun is telling you it won't work, why you shouldn't do it, or giving you techniques to do it that they haven't done or would only work for a select few?You need a guy like John Carlton in your corner who not only knows the possibilities, but knows how to get through to you so that you execute with precision.PS -- To address the whining folks that have complained about John's other services mentioned in the book:Yea, he mentions a few courses he has and consulting services.So what.The book is complete without them. You don't need anything else offered to take away more than thousands of dollars worth of value from your purchase. Everyone is different and there may be some areas of your business you excel at already, some you want to outsource, and some you want to further your own development in. It would be a disservice for John not to mention how he can further help you.To recap -- This book is not just for folks in the copywriting industry. It's for all entrepreneurs as the title implies. Go grab yourself a copy and become successful at whatever you do. Really, $10 is a no-brainer.

The revered philosopher Lao-Tzu once remarked:"Those who know don't tell, and those who tell don't know."This is generally true, in business.John Carlton is one of the few absolute exceptions I am aware of.I know the author personally. He has been a mentor, a teacher, a friend, a collaborator, and a partner in teaching some of the elusive, lucrative secrets of writing sales copy that works... and the whole conventional-wisdom-shattering mindset that surounds all of that.He continues to be all of those things for me to this day, and, I hope, far into the future as well.This book is a no-brainer if you have had your fill of marketing and/or sales Prozac that blots out the pain and leaves you embarrassingly limp and all clamped-up.When you read Calrton, you're in for an experience like no other. Because⦾ He has the panache of a Johnny Carson⦾ He has the savage wit of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson⦾ And, he has the entrepreneurial genius of a Richard BransonNow, as you look into this book, you may be skeptical that people really pay this unique individual over $2000 for an hour of his time.I know this is true, because I processed the credit card orders for a few such hours that people bought at a live seminar I co-hosted one year ago, after Carlton spoke.For the right person, Carlton can make a million-dollar difference in an hour.Now if you are looking for marketing theories that defy the laws of gravity, human nature, and shortest-path-to-profitability, for goodness' sake, do yourself a favor and don't get this book.You'll be MUCH happier if you type the word "branding" into the amazon search engine.Then buy any one of the books on the first page and follow its advice to the letter.You will sleep well, safe in the knowledge that no one will ever blame you for not getting results (or for getting results) with your marketing -- because there is no earthly way to measure sales and profits from that elliptical approach to marketing.But, if you actually OWN the business (or take enough responsibility in your job to OWN the results your marketing creates)...... then this is the book you need to read first.Period.Warning: Carlton does not go down like a wine cooler.More like Don Q 151 -- if you get what I'm saying.Doesn't matter whether you drink alcohol or not. My point is, this guy is INTENSE -- and it's all for the good.Look, this is a very valuable book to everyone who wants to increase their business -- if you let it be.Here's something funny I've noticed. People often use a cushion of cash in their business as a burning fuse that gives them time to argue with reality and avoid going out of their comfort zones with their marketing.Then, when the fuse burns down, and the cash is almost all gone, they feel this rising tide of desperation inside -- and finally start to take the action they should have taken in the first place.Don't let that happen to you. If you know you're going to want sales from your marketing eventually... get this book now.

John Carlton is a highly accomplished Direct Marketing marketeer. In this tome, he publishes many of his blog letters and musings over the decades in the game.It is a fun read and there is much that can be gleaned from it, especially regarding the compelling flow of narrative that's required to excite and compel prospects into taking action.A good read.

I am about to read this book a second time and take notes. I have been a student of John Carlton for some time and for me this is exactly what I was looking for.Every time I read a blog post from John Carlton I want more and this book filled a craving. I think I must have been one of the first people to buy this book! Sorry for the late review...John really knows his stuff and his results from the mail order business speaks for itself.The experiences that he talks about in this book have taught me a lot and he show's us a whole different perspective to look at or think about situations. Not just in advertising but life in general. Personally this is exactly what I was looking for, great writing which keeps me glued to my kindle and a learning experience. You don't have to agree with everything John say's but there's nothing wrong with seeing what someone else has to say and deciding if you agree with them or not....If that makes sense.I hope one day I can get close to a writing level similar to John Carlton. This book has inspired me to make time to improve my storytelling, there's so much juicy content that I have to go through it again and make notes.DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK :)Hurry up and get another book out John!Andrew Ormes

Excellent. Read everything by this man if you want to start selling more in your business!Highly recommended and super easy to read.

Hi John - Just wanted to say what a great read your Kindle "Entrepeneur's Guide..." is. I bought it as a run an online business and am keen to become a freelance copywriter. But after reading the first 3rd of the book it has helped me start shaking up the other areas of my personal life I need to deal with. Today (day 1) I have eaten better than I have in weeks, been for a long run and am adopting a much happier perspective on life. Thanks again, John

Great for getting to grips with the reality of business, and of life. Expert storytelling means you won't want to put it down.