Ralph Zuranski: What is your definition of heroism?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: My definition of heroism is somebody who chooses to be positive over negative. You have that choice every minute of the day. When you are in a bad situation, if you can look on the bright side, I know that sounds corny, but it’s those little things that make up your life and your character.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: If you are a person who tends to find the positive and has that perspective, then I think that usually translates into a hero.
Ralph Zuranski: Did you ever create a secret hero in your mind that helped you deal with life’s difficulties?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Yeah, yeah, you know, I actually did. I’m going to reveal some stuff to you that I have never talked about publicly. We were talking earlier that I wanted to become an actress.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well, the reason I wanted to become an actress when I was growing up was because I had a horrible, horrible childhood.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I had a double life. In order to survive mentally, I turned to movies. I turned to TV shows and escapism. I was very caught up into the celebrity world and into movies. That’s why I had such an establishment with acting early on. I was just in the survival mode.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It wasn’t one particular hero in my mind like a persona. It was just this escapism. Lets say Harrison Ford in Star Wars.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I would adopt those types of characteristics…people who were fearless, strong, even funny and just courageous. I would translate those to myself, even though he was not a real person. He was to me, in my mind so that is such a great question
Ralph Zuranski: When was the lowest point in your life and how did you change your life path to one of victory over all obstacles?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I did have a lot of obstacles. I used to not want to talk about it but since you are doing this for kids I have to tell you that this is really important.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I was sexually abused. Nobody back then talked about it. I thought I was the only person in the world. Now, you can look around and you can get help. What I did was I just sucked it up.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I just told myself I will get out of this house and I will survive. I will be successful. It was just a lot of inner dialogue
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I was looking back now I realize a lot of it was God. There is no way I could have survived the situation without a higher power.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I wasn’t particularly religious although I did pray a lot. But, when I look back, I can tell it was something much bigger than me that pulled me through.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I just want to say to kids who are going through rough times in their homes, it will get better. Just pray and talk to somebody. Find a mentor like this program that you are doing.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Find somebody who is doing what you want to do and do it. I didn’t have that luxury. I just had to pull myself through with God and that’s how I did it.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: You feel completely helpless. Looking back while I’m thinking, “Why didn’t you do this? Why didn’t you do that?” But, your just, you’re a kid and your locked in.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It is a little different now because people will listen to you much more. Back then it was very hush, hush and you have a hopeless feeling.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have a dream or vision that sets the course of your life?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: You know it was kind of baby steps. When I got out of high school I knew that I was going to go to college. That was just a given.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: The man who was abusing me had left the country so I was able to relax a little and focus on myself. After I got out of college where I studied journalism, I told my father I still wanted to be an actress.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: That’s what I really really wanted. So I drove myself out to California to pursue it and I realized I really didn’t like that lifestyle so much but it was just one step at a time.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I didn’t have a big over arching picture. I wish I could say I did but now, when I look back, I think, “Wow everything I did fits. It all makes since.”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: “It’s come full circle because now I’m doing copywriting, which its related to my journalism. It’s related to the writing I have always loved to do. And, acting, believe it or not, is also a piece of copywriting that’s helped me because it helps you become very empathetic You understand psychology.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I was listening to your interview with Joe Vitale and he emphasized how as a copywriter you really have to be able to feel. And, that was so well said. That’s very, very true.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: So all the things that I have done have heightened my ability to feel and to connect with human beings. And that I believe is why my copywriting is very successful now.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you take a positive view of setbacks, misfortunes and mistakes?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Again it comes back to making a choice to become positive or negative. We have that choice every second of the day.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I don’t always make the right one, but I know that if you don’t hang on to negativity you can move forward.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Honestly, it’s okay…praying. I am very codependent on God.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Its amazing when you get clear intention and clear focus and you ask for what you want, you may not get it in the way you want it but its amazing. God is real and he’s definitely very key in my life.
Ralph Zuranski: Were you willing to experience discomfort in the pursuit of your dream?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well, there’s going to be pain and discomfort. There definitely was when I decided that I was going to stay at home with my kids.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Let me bridge you over from my acting. I , hated acting, got married, had kids, got divorced and had to go to work. When I had to go to work, I had to leave my kids which was the worst thing in the world.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: All I ever wanted to do after my childhood was to be an amazing mother. That’s all I wanted to do! When I had to leave my little babies, who were 4 and 6, in daycare, it killed me. So, all I wanted to do after that was to get home.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: To figure out how to work from home, I quit my job and I became a copy writer. I was already doing some freelance writing but I didn’t have a net. I didn’t have a back up plan.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: All I knew was that I wanted to be home with my kids and for several years I made less than $5,000. That’s poverty. But, it was more important to me to be home with them.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I wouldn’t get my nails done. I wouldn’t get my hair done. I would pinch pennies and do everything I could do to make sure I could be home with them.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I sacrificed that and now I have an amazing business and now I want to give back. So, yeah, you’re going to have to go through some discomfort, most likely. But, it makes you appreciate what you’ve got.
Ralph Zuranski: How were you able to overcome your doubts and fears?
Prayer and also you can listen to motivational tapes or to hypnosis tapes. Every night I listen to one about manifesting what it is that I want because where you put your brain is where you’re going to get results.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: You can take two people who were born the same and who have had the same experiences. I’ll tell you an example is my sister and I.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I love my sister to death. We have both had the exact same horrible childhood, the same terrible things. We are both mothers but my sister can not seem to get her life going the way she wants it to. She’s in a rut. Soon she’s going to come out here and I am going to help her.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: She is a great writer too. You’ll be seeing her name out here too because is very talented. But it’s what you do with your life…your attitude. It’s so dependent on your attitude.
Ralph Zuranski: Who helped give you the willpower to change things in you life for the better?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well I have very good friends and that’s been a great help. I’ve always had very good friends so I think that’s something.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: They change through time though don’t they?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I have a group of my college friends who were very motivated and I had a group of my girlfriends I had been close with for 20 years who just think that I can do anything. We are very supportive of each other.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: So, I can’t tell you anyone specifically, but I have been surrounded by friends who are supportive. I believe that people are in your life for a reason in general and once that reason is served, you may not be as close and I think that happens.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: There are cycles even with woman that we are not as close at different points of our life. like right now, I am on the entrepreneurial track. I do have a group of my very close friends who don’t quite understand why I work so hard. “What the heck do I do in my house all day?”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: So I think it’s an effortless, revolving dance…always shifting.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you maintain your sense of humor in the face of serious problems?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I love laughing! That’s my favorite thing to do. I don’t know how exactly I do that. I think you have a sense of humor or you don’t, but I seek it out.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I look for things that entertain me. I like to be entertained. Again, it’s back to perspective.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It’s funny to sit back and watch people. Even as a copywriter it’s actually a good thing to do to be able to study people and watch their reactions. A lot of times I just watch!
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: People entertain me without even meaning to entertain me. My son and I, my youngest son, Chase and I have these very intellectual humorous banter back and forth.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: My sons keep me young. They’re still innocent but they think they know everything. So, some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths just cracks me up and I crack them up too.
Ralph Zuranski: Who are the HEROES in your life?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: There are a few in Hollywood, but not many. There are some good people here, but people can get sucked into the trappings often.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I had a lot of issues with trying to get work as an actress. There was you know, there’s the drug scene. There’s so little of everything here I guess it just matters what your perspective is.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Who I found is a hero now, and I did find him in Los Angles to be honest, is my husband John. He is just my best friend and he understands me.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: He has been through a lot too. Even when we’ve had a real horrible fight and I’ll just want to get pouty and make him suffer…just do the things we woman like to do, he will say, “Honey I love you so much!”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Just knowing that I have someone there, who believes in me and who cares about me no matter what is definitely my hero. Most definitely! I hope everybody has a relationship like that.
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are the real heroes in our society today?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Oh that’s so easy it’s just like we were saying its parents and its teachers. It’s teachers who take extra time to make learning more fun because with kids, you can’t drown information into anybody whether it’s good for them or not. If it’s boring, it’s not going to soak in.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: One of my sons’ teachers actually is very entertaining and very bright too. I think there’s a correlation there between being bright and being able to find the humor in things.
Ralph Zuranski: Why are HEROES so important in the lives of young people?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Oh gosh, because there is so much tragedy out there. It’s so easy. I am terrified for my kids of what the world is around us. We have to find little pockets of safety and people that you can go to that you can tell if you have a horrible thing happen to you.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I want to tell you a story that is disturbing me. It may not be correct for this venue to mention it but, back east some boys held down this other child and tattooed his forehead with some obscenity.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It just turns my stomach. You need to have people around that you can talk to. How could something like this ever get to such a point without there being adults or some maturity around?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It baffles me and it frightens me for my kids that there are people out there who are loose cannons. It’s just that they need love. That sounds very” Pollyannaish” but that is it.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It comes down to the very, very basics. Nobody would do such a horrific act if they felt confident and loved and valued. That’s what heroes need to do for other people is help them feel valued.
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you think are the HEROES today that are not getting the recognition they deserve?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: There are so many people that are not getting the recognition they deserve. There’s so many!. Teachers again. They have to put up with kids who are in a classroom with a lot of kids and different personalities. They are supposed to teach them, keep them safe and hopefully be good role models. They get paid horribly and treated badly.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I have a couple of friends who are teachers in high school and many of the students, don’t have respect for the teachers. It’s all sick. It’s horrible. They don’t have respect because they don’t have any parenting at home and that’s again where your program comes in to play.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: These kids have to be realistic about what are they going to do with their lives. They may think they’re tough right now but in five or ten years are they going to be garbage men? What do they want to do? They have all the power in there hands right now and people just need to show them that they have it.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: The teachers are grossly under paid and parents don’t really get paid either. Those are definitely the most important roles. Unfortunately, a lot of kids don’t have great teachers or great parents that are there so that’s another great reason why I am so happy you have created this program.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: There is no reason in the world why every child, teenager and young adult shouldn’t be able to find somebody who will take some time with them and show them that their life can be all that they want it to be.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I work with my own kids. Of course they don’t want to listen to me. They are 16 and 17. I will throw in things to them without sounding like their mother who thinks that they are perfect, about ideas on what it is you can do so you don’t have to have a regular 9 to 5 job.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Yes you need to go to college just because it’s a good launching pad, but you can do whatever it is that you want. You do not have to have a cap on your income. I am proof of that. It’s out there and there’s no reason why kids shouldn’t be hooked up with people who care and think like that and who can show them the way.
Ralph Zuranski: How does it feel to be recognized as an Internet HERO?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It makes me feel awesome. I feel really great. The way you have this program set up where I know its going to attract so many people, that makes me feel really good. I hope if I just have the message for one person that something that I say can make their lives a little bit better or I can shift their attitude then, that’s the best feeling in the world.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have any good solutions to the problems facing society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: That is such a tough question. That is a tough one. Yes, if everyone would listen to me society would be much better. No, I seriously believe that it comes back to God and that prayer, and not forced prayer.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Of course it gets very sticky when you start bringing God into the picture. For my own belief in my God, I believe that if everybody were more in touch with the Golden Rule and loving each other, and again I know it sounds so “Pollyannaish,” but these little tiny things, they make such a difference.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Be of service to other people. Go out and do something for you neighbor. There were some clothes in my laundry room, I live in an apartment, and they were in the dryer and I needed the dryer so I folded that persons clothes.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I never said anything to them. I have no idea who it even was, but I know that I made their day and that made me feel good.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: If you do things that make you feel good by doing things that make other people feel good, it’s such a ripple effect. It goes a really long way and it could be the tiniest little thing.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Let somebody out in front of you while in the car instead of jamming on the accelerator. Little things like that! If you can make it your business to try and do some of those things everyday, and then when you go to bed, think about 10 things that you are grateful for.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I am a firm believer of spontaneous acts of kindness. It makes me feel good. I am not that different from anybody else. It would make you feel good. It would make anybody feel good so I would say give it a try.
Ralph Zuranski: If you had three wishes for your life and the world, that would instantly come true, what would they be?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Three wishes for myself and the world? Oh my goodness, well I would want my sons to both find their passion and to follow it, what ever that is. I would support that.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I would desire world peace but that sounds so hokey…like “Ms. Congeniality” but quite honestly I really do wish it was a reality. Racism is so stupid. I wish it was eradicated.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: We are all human beings. It’s ridiculous to think otherwise, that we are better than anybody else.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: And the last one would be, I would like to, and your helping me with this by the way, I would like to be able to help young girls have a better sense of themselves, better confidence and to know that you can compete on any field, on any level and make it.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I think that girls need a little bit more self-esteem and confidence now then boys do.
Ralph Zuranski: What do you think about the “In Search Of Heroes” Program and its impact on youth, parents and business people?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: The way you got it going, it will have a huge impact. My only concern is that it’s only online, and while I am always online and a lot or most people are online I think, there are other people it won’t reach.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: But, as it grows online hopefully it will be taken out in a bigger way as well and people will know there is a place for them and get some support. It’s a great program you’ve got going and it’s a heart-felt need that you’re filling.
Ralph Zuranski: What are the things parents can do that will help their children realize they too can be HEROES and make a positive impact on the lives of others?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well, spend time with your kids. That’s a good one. It’s very easy to get caught up in our own world when we are tired, if you work a regular job or even if you don’t.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: You put a lot of time in just to maintain your house and your finances. But, take some extra time and really visit with your kids and sit with them when they are watching their goofy cartoons and just see what’s in their lives.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I think that would help a lot. It would go a long way toward connecting. Show them some respect and they will give it back to you. My X-husband it actually dating this other woman, who I like very much, but she was wondering why my son didn’t like her or wouldn’t talk to her.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: He was watching T.V. and she just walks over and turns off the TV. She goes, “Okay, I want you to tell me why you don’t like me.”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well, that’s not respectful. Being respectful would be saying, “When you’re done I would like to spend 5 minutes with you and talk with you. Would that work out for you in your schedule?”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: It is those kinds of things, instead of slamming down the law. Just be more respectful.
Ralph Zuranski: Do you think, especially boys, that it’s important to have some sort of discipline?
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Oh yes. I actually fought my kid’s dad on this because I just wanted to be the best mom in the world. To me that meant they were happy all the time.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Well, they can’t be happy all the time because our job is to teach them things. Teaching them means putting boundaries. That was where John, as the male energy as well he should have, came in and said, “You know these are the rules and you are going to follow them.”
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: And at the time I hated it, but when I look at it now, my kids clean up their room. They are responsible kids and they will be responsible adults. I think it’s very critical and I think it’s a crisis situation that other parents are not making any boundaries around their own kids.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: When my kids were in preschool, experts taught that you should be having dinner with your kids every night and that is a special time for you all to sit around and bond, and I do believe its true.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I have to be honest. We don’t do it every night like we use to, but I think that having some stability, if you cant do it every night, just do it a few nights a week or just some kind of stability.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I drive my kids to school in the morning and that’s when we have our best conversations because they will really open up. There’s nothing else to do and I think the dinner table is the same way. There’s nothing else really to do so you are forced to interact. It’s a nice ritual.
Ralph Zuranski: How important do you think it is for kids to learn to write copy these days?
Well, I think writing in general is a great way to get your emotions out of paper… keeping a journal no matter if anyone ever sees it or not.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Even if you write something and throw it away, it’s a physical act of putting your emotions into a physical place. I don’t know that copywriting is a great career.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great career, but copywriting is really selling. So, I don’t know if it’s important that they learn to copywrite. I think it’s very important that they learn to express themselves on paper. I think that’s critical, and whatever way they use it after that.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: Like I said, copywriting is a good way to make a living and you have to be in touch with your feelings. You have to understand human psychology.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: I think all those things intertwined to make the perfect career for me but it might not be perfect for everybody. Just so as long as people are writing, it’s very powerful. Like you said, “The pen is a powerful sword”.
Lorrie Morgan Ferrero: My parting advice would be to be grateful for whatever it is that you have because everything looks better when you start to realize what it is that you’ve got under your own two feet now.
Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero founded Red Hot Copy in 1999 an effort to work anywhere, raise her family, and still make a good living. Her background in journalism and acting prepared her for the creative (and competitive) nature of copywriting. From the moment she discovered the genre, Lorrie was drawn to the edgy, conversational language, the winding persuasive arguments, and weaving psychology throughout the copy.
After studying closely with master copywriters, Lorrie has become a world-renowned and award-winning copywriter with her own unique style. She has an uncanny ability to make her copy bond and build relationships with the prospect…driving them to become loyal customers buying from her (or her clients) over and over again. “It’s almost like she’s talking you through it,” said one client. “Lorrie keeps your attention from the first word to the last.”
From her past reporter days, she is adamant about deeply researching the current industries, trends and competition. In fact, Lorrie coined the term “TARKET” (“target” plus “market”) to explain how to collect research and refine it to speak to a single person in your demographic. In fact her TARKET methodology has become part of the 21st Century marketing lingo.
Lorrie’s words have sold products in a variety of industries including mompreneurs, professional speaking, the seminar business, hypnosis, health & fitness, nutritional supplements, biz op, and entrepreneurial services. After working closely with high profile speakers and entrepreneurs, Lorrie now focuses her passion on educating business owners in reaching the female market.
She is a frequent guest speaker. Lorrie has written award-winning home study courses, conducts world-famous copywriting trainings on how to sell to women, holds live workshops, and authored the original book, The She Factor based on her own She Factor Marketing System.
Hi there, Glad you stopped by. I literally know hundreds of different copywriting techniques. And I’m a pro at figuring out which ones work best for my clients. Got questions? Let me see if I can anticipate some of them…
“What qualifies you to write my copy?”
Good question. Well, I’ve been a professional freelance writer since 1980. I have a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) — one of the top J schools in the country. My work has been published in various newspapers, magazines and all over the Internet.
In 1999, I discovered copywriting is different than other kinds of writing. It all started with a client who wanted me to do his sales letter. I hadn’t touched work like that since college. But I figured what the heck and wrote it up. What he said when I gave it back to him stunned me. He actually got better results with me than he had with all the marketing gurus he had ever tried. (I have to admit, at the time it was dumb luck).
Well, I didn’t want my success to be a fluke. So I read every book on copywriting I could find. I collected my “junk mail” and studied the structure. I went to seminars. I found out who the masters were and emulated them. I taught myself everything I could about copywriting while working in the field. Soon word spread that my marketing campaigns were consistently successful. And I’ve been doing it ever since.
Today I teach seminars (both live and on the phone) to help others improve their copy. I’m also hired to speak at events. My copywriting home study courses have won the coveted Apex awards. Once per year I hold my international webinar training the Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp.
Specialties:Go to www.redhotcopy.com and find out. Or if you really want to see what I can do, check out www.theshefactor.com
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