Need Bids to Write a Salespage

[SPress]

Hi There,

I'm looking to get bids for someone to write a single page salesletter.

You can get an idea of the subject matter by looking at my first two attempts at:

www.koorus.com and
playground.koorus.webtreepro.net

(of course, ignore the missing images and/or screwy formatting)

Along with the quote, I'd also like to get at least 3 sample sites showing off your work. Also, feel free to elaborate on what makes you the ideal candidate, what your process entails, availability, follow-up support and anything else you think I'd want to know.

My assumption is that this will cost a minimum of $3,000 - but I'm always open to being surprised

I won't bother you for personal references until the final step before making a selection.

By all means, if there is any further detail that I can provide, please ask. I'm guessing that most will want to reply in private, which of course works for me.

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[MontelloMarketing]

if you go to elance you'll get plenty of bids. Most of them will be right in your price range too. You'll be very happy with the prices over there.

[SPress]

Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing

if you go to elance you'll get plenty of bids. Most of them will be right in your price range too. You'll be very happy with the prices over there.

Did my assumption of price offend you? If you'd care to set me straight, then by all means do so. Otherwise I don't really get the point of your post.

I think it would go without saying that price isn't the sole determining factor, rather how it translates to my bottom line.

It's my assumption that there may be Warriors looking for work as well.

Thanks,

Steve

[amyleigh]

Hi Steve,

Seems that most have replied in private. I'm new to the forum and haven't quite figured that out yet but have no problems responding "out loud" so to speak.

I could tell you all the reasons I think I would be great for this job:

... I'm fun to work with
... never miss a deadline
... have written for over 15 years
... have great research abilities
... can begin right away
... will include 2-3 rounds of revisions so that you are happy with what you get

and, I imagine I could go on a bit but that seems to sum up the basics. I could do this job for $1,500 as you already have a good draft put together to work with. And I do require 1/3 deposit to begin and reserve time.

I have one fantastic sales page that I have just completed. I have been studying copywriting and being coached for just over a year now. This sales page was reviewed by the senior copywriter of DotComSecrets.com (think Mike Filsaime and Russel Brunson) and he thought it was great. The site just went live this week. Feel free to visit the landscape page listed at bottom with... forward slash "freeCD" dot html.

I can't list the full link here as I do not have enough posts to be permitted to do so.

Most of my other work is article writing, blogs and published pieces. I know that I do not fulfill your requirements of having three sales pages, but I hope you will look over my information and think about what I can do for you.

Good luck. Hopefully, we'll be talking more soon, amy

[Cherilyn Woodhouse]

<< Just so happen to be a tech copywriter... Not much for the "bidding" process, but if you're serious about getting some results selling your new product, I've sent you a PM with my contact info.

Best of luck to you!

- Cherilyn Woodhouse
The Canadian (Tech) Copywriter!

[MikeHumphreys]

Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing

if you go to elance you'll get plenty of bids. Most of them will be right in your price range too. You'll be very happy with the prices over there.

Why suggest elance? There are a number of new, up & coming, or struggling copywriters in the WF who would be $3K or less.

Obviously they won't have the portfolio, testimonials, or reputation as someone who commands and gets higher fees... but that takes time to achieve.

Steve: Two quick points which might help you with your bid evaluations.

1) Don't rely strictly on price. The lower the price, the less time your potential copywriter will be able to spend on your project because they will be relying on doing a higher volume of work each month just to cover their bills. The higher the price, the more time your potential copywriter will spend on your project... they will also be more likely to advise you before and after your launch to make sure your project has the best chances of success.

An online sales letter from scratch is usually a 40 hour time commitment for me to do everything from the research, writing, editing, rewriting, polishing, etc. until I have something that is worthy of showing to my clients.

2) Many copywriters ask for a 50% deposit and the balance due on upon delivery of the copy. Depending on your cashflow, your budget may be better than you may be thinking now because it could be weeks or even months until you receive your copy, depending on the copywriter you hire and how many other projects they already have booked on their schedule.

Case in point, my professional reputation isn't delivering copy quickly but delivering high-quality sales copy. It's not uncommon for me to quote 3-4 weeks of work time to write a sales letter from scratch and that's not counting how far out it will be until my next available opening might be.

Typically it's a 4-6 weeks if you were booking with me, so it would be 7-10 weeks from the project deposit was paid until a client has to pay the balance with me. There's other copywriters like Vin who are booked even further out so it could be a longer time period to "save up" the needed cash.

Hope that helps,

Mike

[amyleigh]

This is a really great post by Mike. It's great that he's supporting those of us who are new to copywriting as being new does not equate with lack of talent or determination to succeed.

It does however equate to less samples and such.

Thanks again Mike!

By the way Steve, I could turn around the first re-write of copy within a week. I'm spending a lot of time promoting my new online business so I can arrange things to fit it in to match your deadline expectations.

have a great day, amy

[SPress]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to all who have left a message either in this thread or privately. I appreciate the time each of you has taken to respond.

I'll be reviewing my options early next week and expect to make a decision later in that week.

Have a great weekend!

Steve

[MontelloMarketing]

Originally Posted by SPress

Did my assumption of price offend you? If you'd care to set me straight, then by all means do so. Otherwise I don't really get the point of your post.

I think it would go without saying that price isn't the sole determining factor, rather how it translates to my bottom line.

It's my assumption that there may be Warriors looking for work as well.

Thanks,

Steve

Sorry to confuse... It was late when I posted. And I was being facetious. When you said you were looking for bids, it struck me as odd and out of the norm for hiring a copywriter.

The word "bid" implies people will be trying to outbid one another. One guy offers to do a sales letter for $5K... the next, $4K... then $3K... and on and on. Each of them claims to know what they're doing, so what do you do? You more than likely take the lowest bid.

And Mike... this is precisely why I recommended elance. Not because you couldn't find someone good at a couple grand here... But because it was a tad demeaning to real copywriters. It sounded more like price shopping... and we all know where those types of clients usually end up.

[Daniel Scott]

I'll add my take on this...

When you ask for bids, you generally get copywriters who don't always have a lot of work on. Now, some of them will be new and not really in the "I'm booked for the next 3 months" category, and they could be good... but the majority of bids you'll get will be from crappy copywriters who can't sell themselves.

I don't know for sure... but I'm guessing that guys like Mike or Vin haven't contacted you about this one. Admittedly, both are out of your price range (and $3 000 is on the low side... though it's not offensive like some of the offers I've seen).

A couple of tips:

Ask any copywriter you hire about what kind of successes they've had in the past. $3 000 isn't a bad amount for a letter, but it does mean that most of the "successful" copywriters will be out of your league, so to speak, unless you want to double your budget.

What you COULD do is ask some experienced "successful" copywriters (like Vin or Mike) if they know anyone who is in that price range.

I also know, being one of Vin's students, that Vin often gets requests for lower prices that he passes on to his students... and then supervises to make sure they do a good letter. Other copywriters may offer a similar deal if they have students... I can't say for certain.

Whatever route you go, make sure who you hire has proven RESULTS... not just "big names" they've written for in the past. If you go for an arrangement with a mentor, then it's probably not that big a deal... since their reputation is on the line and they'll make sure their student does a good job for you.

Secondly... be aware that sales copy is a complex animal. You have no idea how many times I've seen people say "I just got an amazing writer for $200!" and then three days later proceed to wonder why their letter isn't converting.

If you don't write sales copy yourself, you may not be able to spot what a good or bad letter is. Copywriting is more than just being able to write well... it's about pulling USPs etc out of offers... positioning... researching... etc... none of which a cheap copywriter can do solely due to time constraints.

Hope I helped.

-Dan

P.S. Just so you know... your page requires a full re-write from scratch. Not sure if you were expecting that anyone would be able to salvage what you have... but it's usually easier to write a whole new letter unless the original is pretty good (in which case it's basically just tweaking).

[Emma Ngin]

Originally Posted by SPress

It's my assumption that there may be Warriors looking for work as well.

Thanks,

Steve

This is also a great venue to look for copy writer. Your asking price is not bad at all, And I happen to know it, since I've written sales page before. Hope you find your writer soon. Good luck!

[SPress]

Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing

Sorry to confuse... It was late when I posted. And I was being facetious. When you said you were looking for bids, it struck me as odd and out of the norm for hiring a copywriter.

The word "bid" implies people will be trying to outbid one another. One guy offers to do a sales letter for $5K... the next, $4K... then $3K... and on and on. Each of them claims to know what they're doing, so what do you do? You more than likely take the lowest bid.

And Mike... this is precisely why I recommended elance. Not because you couldn't find someone good at a couple grand here... But because it was a tad demeaning to real copywriters. It sounded more like price shopping... and we all know where those types of clients usually end up.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. That does indeed make sense. Frankly, I hesitated to even put an amount in there, as I assumed that my budget shouldn't affect the price that someone would charge. I also should have asked for a "quote" rather than a bid. I'm not interested in a bidding war at all.

Stating that I assumed a $3K minimum led me to believe that I'd get responses in the 3-5K range. I wasn't too far off the mark and am happy with the number and quality of responses received so far.

My apologies to all if I offended by mistakenly introducing the concept of "bid".

Cheers,

Steve

[SPress]

Originally Posted by Daniel Scott

I'll add my take on this...

When you ask for bids, you generally get copywriters who don't always have a lot of work on. Now, some of them will be new and not really in the "I'm booked for the next 3 months" category, and they could be good... but the majority of bids you'll get will be from crappy copywriters who can't sell themselves.

I don't know for sure... but I'm guessing that guys like Mike or Vin haven't contacted you about this one. Admittedly, both are out of your price range (and $3 000 is on the low side... though it's not offensive like some of the offers I've seen).

A couple of tips:

Ask any copywriter you hire about what kind of successes they've had in the past. $3 000 isn't a bad amount for a letter, but it does mean that most of the "successful" copywriters will be out of your league, so to speak, unless you want to double your budget.

What you COULD do is ask some experienced "successful" copywriters (like Vin or Mike) if they know anyone who is in that price range.

I also know, being one of Vin's students, that Vin often gets requests for lower prices that he passes on to his students... and then supervises to make sure they do a good letter. Other copywriters may offer a similar deal if they have students... I can't say for certain.

Whatever route you go, make sure who you hire has proven RESULTS... not just "big names" they've written for in the past. If you go for an arrangement with a mentor, then it's probably not that big a deal... since their reputation is on the line and they'll make sure their student does a good job for you.

Secondly... be aware that sales copy is a complex animal. You have no idea how many times I've seen people say "I just got an amazing writer for $200!" and then three days later proceed to wonder why their letter isn't converting.

If you don't write sales copy yourself, you may not be able to spot what a good or bad letter is. Copywriting is more than just being able to write well... it's about pulling USPs etc out of offers... positioning... researching... etc... none of which a cheap copywriter can do solely due to time constraints.

Hope I helped.

-Dan

P.S. Just so you know... your page requires a full re-write from scratch. Not sure if you were expecting that anyone would be able to salvage what you have... but it's usually easier to write a whole new letter unless the original is pretty good (in which case it's basically just tweaking).

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the advice!

You've totally illustrated my conundrum. I need to outsource the copywriting because it's a talent that we don't have in-house. Of course that also means that we're probably not the best judge of talent as well!

And yes, I agree - it needs a full rewrite. That's why my original "...need a critique..." thread resulted into this. It's something obviously better left to the pros

Thanks,

Steve

[SPress]

Hi Everyone,

Time for a little rant here.

Before I get to it though, I sincerely want to thank those who have responded to my request. That leads me to my little piece of advice though...

If you're responding to a request for copywriting services, it would do you a lot of good to use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in your reply!

I realize that a PM is by nature fairly private and informal, but I couldn't possibly consider paying someone who doesn't present themselves well in writing.

Again, I don't mean to offend all those underserving of it, but did want to offer a little constructive criticism of my own.

Thanks!

Steve

[Matthew Iannotti]

Sales letters going for 5k? I'm in the wrong business....

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by SPress

I realize that a PM is by nature fairly private and informal, but I couldn't possibly consider paying someone who doesn't present themselves well in writing.

Again, I don't mean to offend all those underserving of it, but did want to offer a little constructive criticism of my own.

Thanks!

Steve

Hi Steve,

You make a great point and writers should know how to write, but
don't judge a copywriter by grammar and spelling--judge him by
how he can persuade in writing.

For example, even in your "rant" I picked up mistakes.

1. "themselves" should be "himself" or "herself". The pronoun
should agree with the antecedent in gender and number.

2. I think you meant undeserving?

Your point is still taken though. Since you are the one
paying the writer, then you expect better from him (or her).

-Ray Edwards

[Scott Murdaugh]

Originally Posted by EfitnessNYC

Sales letters going for 5k? I'm in the wrong business....

If that comes as a surprise to you then you're probably just new to this business.

If a copywriter can write a sales letter for a product that's going to make the product owner $40k a month for the forseeable future, you don't think that the $5k fee is an absolute steal for the product owner?

Copywriters command MUCH more than $5k a letter on a consistent basis, it happens everyday, all day.

Copywriters are the people who drive this business... No great copy, no sales, no money.

If you can write copy that converts, then maybe you are in the wrong business.

-Scott

[SPress]

Originally Posted by Raydal

Hi Steve,

You make a great point and writers should know how to write, but
don't judge a copywriter by grammar and spelling--judge him by
how he can persuade in writing.

For example, even in your "rant" I picked up mistakes.

1. "themselves" should be "himself" or "herself". The pronoun
should agree with the antecedent in gender and number.

2. I think you meant undeserving?

Your point is still taken though. Since you are the one
paying the writer, then you expect better from him (or her).

-Ray Edwards

Heh...classic.

That'll teach me to get all uppity!!!

Cheers,

Steve

[colmodwyer]

Steve,

$3K - $5K should get you a pretty decent copywriter, however I'm not too sure how many of them hang around here.

That's not a dig at anyone specific, but when someone like yourself starts flashing their cash, I've noticed a few "copywriters" will climb from the woodwork.

With that in mind, your comment about maybe not being able to spot talent made me worry a little, because you might end up paying over the odds - and then spend the rest of your days cursing all copywriters when you don't get the results you want.

Which means copywriters now and in the future - deserving of the money - will miss out.

So just make sure you take your time. There's no rush.

Also, for an extra security blanket you might want to think about up and coming copywriter's who are being mentored by one of the more established lads or lassies...

If I were in your position, I'd find it reassuring to know my copywriter was going to have their work reviewed by some big shot word wizard, before sending it on to me. That by no means guarantees anything, but is certainly an extra little factor worth looking for.

In any case, good luck.

Colm