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What is the ANTE system, anyway?

In poker, an ante is the bet you have to place before you get your cards. That means just to play the game you need to put something into the pot. Business, copywriting, and persuasion are no different. Just to play to the game you need to understand Authority, Novelty, Tribe, and Emotion.

These four psychological levers are the ante for all business owners, copywriters, and marketers. It’s surprising how few know anything about them. But the ANTE system is so powerful because it removes the guesswork and makes persuasion function like clockwork.

What makes you different from other copywriters?

Most copywriters have no in-person sales experience, economics training, or the ability to strategically differentiate. Most copywriting is clever words combined with a hope and a prayer. It reads like someone trying to win an art award, not sell.

Sure, if you throw enough money at it, it’s mildly effective. But it’s random and unsustainable for 99% of businesses. Now, we are allowed to be creative. But the first job of copy is always to sell.

I write as if I were sitting at your prospect’s kitchen table, selling face-to-face. I’m giving them the benefits, answering their objections, and showing them their new life with your product or service. If you want results, this is the only way.

What about “artificial intelligence”?

The first problem with AI is that it isn’t actual intelligence. It’s basically a sophisticated form of ladder logic that mimics intelligence. In other words, you can only get outputs based on what you input. AI doesn’t understand context or nuance. It can only approximate what we perceive as thought.

In August of 2025, Fortune reported on an MIT study concluding that 95% of AI pilots were failures. The vast number of businesses who invest heavily in generative AI see no ROI or even losses. Forbes has also reported that AI has a serious problem with accuracy, bias, and favoritism. So, you can’t even trust the outputs you’re given by LLMs.

The question is obvious. LLMs have been out for a few years now. You’ve had the chance to try it out for yourself. Can you honestly say that your business is more profitable because of AI? Has AI truly made your marketing better? If not, maybe it’s time to hire a human.

What is it like to work with you?

We start with a 1-hour informal conversation. We go over your current issues and explain how my psychological framework applies to your business. Because we start with the building blocks of psychology, the end product (if you decide to hire me) has a much better chance of converting.

I’ll never demand money from you up front (if someone does, it could be a scam). I also never use hard-sell tactics, and I won’t chase you down. Whether you hire me or not is solely based on your desire to get results.

I hired a copywriter once and it didn’t work out. Why would this be any different?

Like I said before, most copywriters don’t have any in-person sales experience. Most also don’t understand buyer psychology as well as they think they do. However, thousands of successful businesses and marketers are already using the system I call ANTE. Not all of them call it that, but it’s the same psychology at its core.

For me, the starting point is completely different from most other copywriters and agencies. They tend to be project and medium focused. Meaning, they focus on email, social media, or website marketing. I focus on the underlying psychological principles that glue it all together. Once you know the real reasons people buy from you, creating the assets is simply a matter of sitting down and getting it done.

The economy seems to only be getting worse. Will this be worth it?

As I alluded to earlier, the most successful businesses are already using some version of the ANTE framework, even if they don’t call it that. Most business, particularly those on “main street,” have no idea these ideas even exist. Further, they have no strategy for surviving economic downturn. Using the ANTE system paired with lead generation marketing isn’t just worth it, it will be the only way to survive for many businesses.

What’s the difference between lead generation and brand marketing?

Massive companies like Coca-Cola do what’s called brand marketing. They spend millions of dollars every year running TV commercials with the goal of keeping their brand at the top of your mind. They don’t expect you to see their commercial, then immediately run out to the store to by Coke products. What they want is for you to choose Coke the next time you’re at the store buying soda pop. It’s debatable if this even works for massive corporations. But it certainly isn’t sustainable for main street.

Lead generation is the polar opposite of this. In lead generation marketing, you provide some type of value up front in exchange for prospect information. And I advocate for information first marketing as opposed to a “free consultation” or similar. The idea is to build a relationship with a potential buyer based on the value you provide before the purchase.

The final approach is a hybrid approach. This is common with large insurance companies. The corporate marketing department will run national brand advertising while the local offices use lead generation marketing. So, if you are a local office for a national company like this, I can create assets for you as well.