Touted as the most comprehensive on the subject, does Dan Lok's High Income Copywriter live up to its promises?
Dan has a big personality - and is one of the most authoritative voices in digital marketing...
But are his copywriting skills good enough to offer a course?
In this review, you will learn:
Read on!
1. What Makes Dan Lok's High Income Copywriter Stand Out?
We’ve covered dozens of copywriting courses over the years.
Their quality ranges from groundbreaking to plagiarized garbage.
So why choose Dan Lok? What makes his course better than the rest?
Here’s the deal…
The course is just okay. It pulls together a lot of good ideas, but at the end of the day…
Dan Lok is not a professional copywriter.
He’s a business philosopher - and has a lot to offer as a digital business coach. He’s been a massively motivating force in my own career.
That being said, the course does a lot of things right…
High Income Copywriter Stands Out Because…
Here's the thing, though...
What you get in High Income Copywriter is quality, but common knowledge - and you’re paying a premium for information you can get for much cheaper.
It does very little to expand on the craft.
Dan has made a career out of talking, not writing.
Yet folks pay thousands of dollars for this course.
Which leads us to our next section:
How much does “High Income Copywriter Cost?”
2. High Income Copywriter Costs More Than You'd Expect... (and is There a Refund Policy)?
Dan Lok's High Income Copywriter costs $2497
That's a lot of money for what is essentially a typical Dan Lok motivational course, but with a focus on copywriting.
Don't get me wrong, folks need to be motivated - and Dan will more than likely inspire you to put in the work and focus to improve your skills.
But a quick Udemy search will offer dozens of courses...
(many with thousands of 5-star reviews)
For around $20-30.
And I bet most are developed by professional copywriters.
But what about Dan's refund policy?
It took some research to find out...
But buried on Dan's website, it reads...
"This Cancellation Policy applies to Live or Pre-recorded "non-recurring subscription-based" Training Courses.
ALL COURSE FEES PAID ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.
NO REFUNDS or NO CREDITS for partial complete course or missed class.
Cancellation of Modification of your course enrollment can be done within 24 hours from your purchase via support@danlok.com"
...and if you're curious as to whether or not this applies to High Income Copywriter (see below)...
To his credit, Dan recently started offering a 48 hour free trial.
You don't get full access to all the materials, but it'll give you a decent idea if his courses are what you're looking for.
But Dan's course is missing something, which we'll discuss next.
3. The Secret to Great Copywriting (That High Income Copywriter Glosses Over)
When you buy High Income Copywriter, you get a dense and involving 8-week course.
But it glosses over the biggest secret to great copywriting...
I read this short blog post before I write every article (and you'll never guess where it's from).
The lesson? Keep it simple.
The human attention span is short - and it's gotten worse in recent years.
Dan Lok's course places a lot of emphasis on using powerful and persuasive words to hook and convert your readers.
Sure, that's important...
But your beautiful writing skills are worthless if no one reads them.
It's a hard fact for most writers to accept, but is essential for modern copywriting.
I've done hundreds, if not thousands, of split tests on my ad copy.
Simple writing with an authoritative tone always wins.
High Income Copywriter makes motivation, mindset, and deal closing the priority.
The writing, unfortunately, is secondary.
Up next, we'll talk about what Dan Lok's students are saying about the course!
4. Dan's Students Have Some Positive Things to Say on Reddit
Reddit is the one of the best places to find unfiltered opinions.
Let's see what they have to say...
User Sigma_1234 states that High Income Copywriter is more akin to sales training.
Certainly not a bad thing when the goal is ultimately to make money, right?
Here's another positive review.
User CopyBole landed a job after taking the course, citing Dan's reputation for delivering good content as one of the reasons he was hired.
I honestly had trouble finding negative reviews from verified Dan Lok students on reddit.
When you're as popular as Dan, you're going to attract haters.
However, user sjooors, makes a good point...
Copywriting has been around for ages - and there is a ton of amazing content out there, most of which can be accessed for free.
But HIC offers more than just copywriting, which we'll discuss below...
5. High Income Copywriter is Offers Much More Than Copywriting Training
Changing your mindset is a fundamental part of Dan's coaching program...
Just as closing deals is fundamental to making money.
High Income Copywriter spends a great deal of time on these subjects, which is to be expected with a Dan Lok course.
For instance, these are the core topics the course addresses during week 1...
You'll also get a big dose of Dan Lok's Wealth Triangle...
(Which I had printed out and placed on my wall for years).
This content is gold.
It benefitted me in my own career and helped me assess my habits, my investments, and the business opportunities that came my way.
My main money-maker, Local Lead Generation, hits each side of the triangle perfectly.
It's unlimitedly scalable (offers passive income).
Lead Generation requires a low upfront investment and gives high returns...
And I've developed highly sought after SEO, sales, and web development skills.
Without Dan Lok, I doubt I'd have found the success that I did.
But here's the thing...
You get this with every Dan Lok course.
Anyhow...
By week 2, you're only brushing the surface of copywriting.
You'll be discussing sales psychology and analyzing ads, all which are very important and well presented.
You will be doing a lot of writing and you'll get access to some great examples (the Alan Jaques letters are particularly well written).
But the focus is always on using powerful words and expanding your vocabulary.
The focus is always on motivation and persuasion.
Great stuff, of course. But the key thing the course is missing...
Is an emphasis on the importance of simplicity.
We'll dive into the details of each module later, but let's talk more about Dan.
6. Is Dan Lok Legit, or a Scam?
No, Dan ain't a scam.
He is in the business of selling ideas - and some of those ideas are next-level.
I've listed below some of my favorite take-aways from Dan Lok courses...
The vast majority of folks I've encountered through his programs are more than happy with their purchases.
But of course, there are disgruntled students out there.
Coffeezilla, a popular YouTuber, had a massively popular video series that dug into some less than desirable things about Dan.
It's important to do your research (especially when $2500 is on the line).
But know there are Dan Lok students, such as myself, who have been more than happy with his courses.
Watch the video below - and make the decision for yourself.
Just know that it's extreme - and the nature of Coffezilla's channel is biased (though to be honest, he makes great videos. I've been a long time fan).
Despite the video, I still endorse Dan Lok (and no, I am not an affiliate in any way).
Although, some of his programs have affiliate funnels and plenty of upselling.
It's not a bad thing (and High Income Copywriter is no exception).
Which leads us to our next section...
How does High Income Copywriter generate income?
7. How Will High Income Copywriter Make You Money?
I should start by saying that Dan's courses inevitably lead to affiliate funnels.
High Income Copywriter is no exception.
This means you'll be swayed into niches that Dan is involved in.
Meaning he gets his piece of the pie.
There are also many opportunities to be an affiliate for his courses, too.
There's nothing inherently wrong with this, and some of his niches are great... but it's worth taking into consideration.
But apart from affiliate partnerships, the answer to... "How will I make money with this course?" is pretty simple...
You're gaining new skills and knowledge. "High Income Skills" as Dan would call them.
Copywriting, motivation, sales, closing deals...
These are all highly marketable skills that you'll have for the rest of your life.
They will make you money, whether that be through self-employment, or through working for someone else.
Investing time into improving my copywriting has been a huge factor in my own success.
I'm making well over $50,000 a month off of websites that I license to local, skilled labor businesses.
My copy skills wrote the email that closed the deal on licensing this site.
$2000 a month for 6 years. Took me less than a few hours to create the page.
And since I hardly have to touch it, I was able to repeat the process over and over...
This means more money without creating additional work. The income is passive.
Copywriting matters. It's one of the reasons I've been successful with Local Lead Generation...
Up next, we'll go over the course modules in more detail.
8. What's Included in High Income Copywriter? (Module Breakdown)
I've taken a number of copywriting courses, so I tried to include the best of what Dan offers in his program. Here are some of my key takeaways.
Summary: The business mindset, motivation, and work ethic.
Time to Complete: 10 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: The best part about week one is unlocking the HIC Success Roadmap. It'll provide copywriting secrets and info on what constitutes poor copy. There's nearly 30 video lectures by Dan, spanning over 10 hours.
Summary: How you can use an understanding of human psychology to your advantage. You'll also be doing a lot of "by-hand" copywriting.
Time to Complete: 3 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: Apart from Dan's lecture, packed with tips on sales psychology, this week you're blessed with some great pdfs: Team Dan Lok's Complete Research Template, a Top Secret Sales Letter Checklist, but most important of all, Alan Jaques', Dan's first mentor, Original Sales Letters. Really solid content.
Summary: Understanding the needs, wants, and desires of your clients (and how to create sales copy that advertises to those needs).
Time to Complete: 6 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: As we have seen, the job of the copy is divided into 4 aspects, and in the strategic part discussed this week, Dan talks about how to use what he calls the "Exotic" approach to copy: ie. a secret West African red tea to lose weight, instead of secret red tea. Unusual is the key to attract attention.
Summary: Week 4 has you creating sales copy that, upon the week's conclusion, will be pitched to Dan. This module serves as a means to exercise the skills you've acquired over the previous weeks.
Time to Complete: 6 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: Dan's Week 4 surprise is his personal $250 million Swipe File, full of the most lucrative pitches in Dan's long history of success. Can't get enough of these bonuses!
Summary: Dan Lok is a master of building highly effective landing pages. Week 5's module will show you how to use your copy skills to make landing pages that convert.
Time to Complete: 6 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: Dan's pdf Instant Subject Lines will teach you how to captivate the audience. This is a book you will be referencing throughout your 8 weeks. He also gives fantastic references and coaching on how to build effective CTAs (Call-To-Action).
Summary: Where other modules focus on email marketing, Week 6 will have your focusing on social media and other forms of (and highly relevant) "scalable copy." Writing for social media (in a way that transcends all of the different platforms) is super important, especially as email marketing has become less effective in recent years.
Time to Complete: 5 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: The use of chatbots on Facebook to create a form of automated copy is the latest trend in online marketing - and Dan shows you how they can be used to generate effective copy. I have never been a fan of chatbots, but Dan does a good job showing how they can be implemented in a non-invasive and effective way.
Summary: How to find untouched, high ticket niches. Using generalized tactics for finding niches can offer steady income, but to make real money you have to do a lot of market research. There are a limitless number of diamonds in the rough, but they take effort to find.
Time to Complete: 6 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: Dan is an obsessive reader - and passionate about self-learning. One of the best things about this section are the authors that he recommends: Michael Masterson, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, and James Scott Bell (and yep, I've read them all. They're well worth your time).
Summary: This is a bonus module that is unlocked when all of the students have completed the prior assignments (and he saved the best for last). One of the most effective ways to learn is through analyzing mistakes, which is exactly what you'll encounter in week 8.
Time to Complete: 6 Hours
Highlights:
Biggest Takeaway: The quality of the pdfs unlocked with the bonus week are incredible and would alone make the course worth doing. One, in particular, contains "power" words (intended to help influence clients and make conversions) - while another shows off a handful of the web's most effective ads.
9. Dan Lok's High Income Copywriter is a Quality Course, but Not in the Ways You'd Expect. Here's Why...
If you've never taken a Dan Lok course, HIC might be a good option for you...
(Granted you have the money to spend).
But it falls short when it comes to teaching you what is being advertised.
There are two things, regarding copywriting, that Dan's course excels at.
1. Practice
You'll be writing a lot (and you'll be getting feedback). Practice makes perfect.
2. Examples
At least for long-form (email based) copy, the examples provide a great reference.
Dan, as I've stated many times, is a master of the business mindset and philosophy.
And that rings true with every module in this course.
The focus, however, was always on persuasion.
How to out-smart your clients into making a purchase.
By using big words; speaking down to convey authority.
Ippei dot com gets hundreds of thousands of visits a month (which is primarily because we provide useful information), but also because the writing is simple - and speaks from a place of equality.
No one wants to be spoken down to. Making people feel inferior does not equate to conversions.
Speaking truthfully and directly, human to human, is what customers want.
When you write simply and truthfully...
When you have an understanding of the needs and desires of the customer...
When you embody the Dan Lok work ethic (motivation, confidence, and practice)...
That's how happy customers are made.
In conclusion, Dan Lok's High Income Copywriter course is just okay.
I'd personally recommend his course on closing sales...
And then take another professional copywriting course of your choosing.
You'll save money and will likely get a more well rounded and relevant education on copy.
In the end, we give HIC 3 stars out of 5.
Thank you for reading - and props to you for doing your research!
If you've taken HIC, please let us know your thoughts below in the comments.
Thanks Ippei – this was a great run-through of all the questions I had about Dan's course. Has given me great steer on how to progress my journey!