Nobody Needs A Copywriter ...

[Raydal]

I received a query for a sales letter rewrite from a well-respected online
marketer. He was having poor conversion from his website. I took a
quick glance at the website and saw right away why the sales were
doing poorly.

And it wasn't:

- the salescopy -- that was fairly good
- the product -- it's in demand
- the layout - I would change the background color but it's fairly clean
- the product owners - they have been in business for many years
with a lot of great products

So what was the HUGE problem as I saw it? It was a POOR SALES
STRATEGY.

There is no such thing as a pure copywriter. I mean, someone who
just writes great copy and sell products. In the final analysis,
great copywriters are really great SALES PEOPLE!

I've often heard many people comment that the late great Gary
Halbert wasn't that great at writing copy but he knew how to
SELL.

I have a huge respect for Gary, but I must agree. Gary was a
great salesman. Mind you, his copy was great but not "out of
this world" better than any other copywriter out there.

I've read many of his letters and he himself would tell you that
it's selling strategies that really made him the sought-after
copywriter he was.

The point of all this is that if you intend to write great copy,
along with learning how to write you must LEARN HOW TO SELL. Read
books on selling. (Some are listed in the stickie above.)

You can write GREAT COPY and still stink in your sales because
your marketing strategy or selling technique was poor.

I know a couple mediocre copywriters who are masters at selling
and they do very well for themselves online. They would sell you
the shirt on your back--not through words but through STRATEGY.

So the bottom line is that if you want to be a better copywriter
you must also learn how to sell.

Examples:

1. "Take the puppy home for the weekend and if you don't like
him you can return it on Monday" -that's selling! Who will
return a puppy?

2. If you are selling software give away a FREE TRIAL that last
for 30 days. Once the prospects learn how to use the software and get
accustomed to using it they would have literally sold
themselves!

You don't need a lot of words to sell software--just give it a
away and ask them to 'return the puppy' on Monday.

3. If you are selling an "unbelievably good" product -- use a
TON LOAD of testimonials. Now you may say that every copywriter
knows that but some products need MORE TESTIMONIALS than others.
Do you know which ones?? -- then that's selling.

4. Give away INFORMATION and sell the service. That's what
copywriters and other service providers do. That's why you have
to write articles, build a blog, give free critiques etc., these
are all INFORMATION but when they need copy they will seek you
out. That's selling.

So while you improve your WRITING skills, learn how to market
online as well. If you intend to write copy for your clients they
would expect this from you.

And you can charge more because you are a MARKETER, not just a
copywriter.

-Ray Edwards

[ryanmberg]

Great post, Ray. Anyone interested in making a lot of sales from their copy should read it twice and really take it to heart.

That's one of the most important things I learned from Jay Abraham, and try to keep in mind for every ad I write. He said that if you know the elements of conceptualizing a good proposition/offer... if you can nail the right concept/idea.... it doesn't matter if the copy sucks it will still sell.

I've seen this happen tons of times. Come across a site with what appeared to be really poorly written copy. Only to find out they're killing it or at least not doing bad. It's because they're focusing on the right ideas.

Ryan

[edmltw]

So in this scenario, its better to portray yourself as a sales person rather than an expert in the niche?

[ronakshah]

Ray, I think what matters is sales at the end of the day to any copywriter, entrepreneur & webmaster in the world. However, most sales copywriters forget that their expertise is counted NOT according to how great their sales copy is BUT how effective they are as "internet entrepreneurs" while selling a product online.

What's most important is to feel like you're writing sales copy for your own product and not another person's product while you're writing a sales letter. This feeling directly affects your ("sales" copywriters) performance as an "internet entrepreneur" which directly influences your growth completely & comprehensively.

Your experience inspired me to write a full blog post about making online businesses & internet entrepreneurs really understand "why they need a sales copywriter" & when they need to hire a sales copywriter. I thought the content will be QUITE big so I put it up here:

Why Hire A Sales CopyWriter? The Importance of Sales Letter Copywriting For Every Online Business!

http://webcopywritersblog.com/why-hi...line-business/

Please read. Comment on it here. I'm sure fellow warriors are going to love the post.

Moral of the story is unless & until you've:

1) A STRONG product that you're passionate about.

2) A mind-blowing SALES OFFER.

3) A COMPLETE AWARENESS of "who" your target buyer is.

4) A complete strategy to approach & deal with the exact target group of buyers.

5) Expertise in YOUR NICHE.

You're going to have a difficult time hitting sales. If you really want to hit a huge volume of sales, you must have all of the above even before you plan to hire a sales copywriter.

[MikeHumphreys]

Great post Ray!

A-List copywriter Doug D'Anna once said something that has already stuck with me. He told me that he's not the best at writing sales copy (he's damn good IMHO) but there's very few people better than him at selling a client's product for them.

At the end of the day, it's all about making the sale ethically.

The world's oldest profession is SALES. Even people who say it's something else... I like to point out that putting moral objects aside, it's still a professional service that was being sold to a customer who wanted that particular service.

Some of the best copywriters (alive or dead) had to sell some really tough things before they became a copywriter.

Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Michel Fortin, and lots more started out in sales.

Speaking of retired 'in the trenches' direct selling...Ray... you used to go door-to-door selling Bibles! I can only imagine how tough that one was, especially in terms of people slamming doors in your face or saying 'NO!' to listening to what you had to say.

While I was in college, I briefly sold disability and dismemberment insurance by telemarketing. It was a tough job but it taught me a lot of the fundamentals of sales. Learning how to sell (ethically) is a skill that translates well into every other type of occupation in life.

Take care,

Mike

[Raydal]

A great and FREE resource I would recommend to other copywriters
is My First 40 Years In Junk Mail by Richard Armstrong. You can pick
this up at his website with the surrender of your email address at
freesamplebook.com

-Ray Edwards

[amber1210]

Great article. It gives a ton of good information. There needs to be more people out there offering this kind of advice. Thank you very much for this Ray.

[Rezbi]

Great post, Ray.

Some of the best training courses I've been on have been sales courses when I used to sell insurance and mobile phones.

In fact, just yesterday I went out and got a copy of 'How to sell anything to anybody' by Joe Girard.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn to sell in person or in print.

[Paul McQuillan]

I am so glad I ran my own company for 7 years. I learned
a lot about selling.

I would have had a very difficult time quitting a job and
deciding to write copy.

I would never had been exposed to so many factors in
buying behavior.

[John_S]

My suggestion is join a company which is going to give you sales training and sell a high ticket item.

Get your nose out of a book and put your ass..umptions out on the line. It's different when you're face to face ...no book will replace your own experiences. No course can compare to having a sales professional see what you do, as you're selling (or trying to), and offering you their critique.

[Rezbi]

Originally Posted by Raydal

A great and FREE resource I would recommend to other copywriters
is My First 40 Years In Junk Mail by Richard Armstrong. You can pick
this up at his website with the surrender of your email address at
freesamplebook.com

-Ray Edwards

Ray,

That 'little' ebook is excellent.

I'd never seen it before.

Thanks for letting us know about it.

[Craigd]

Thanks a ton ray Copywriting is something I have just been touching and seeing the big importance of, being a newbie, that book was great info

[Jon Steel]

Ray,

You ALWAYS hit the nail directly on the head ... the "puppy" example, that's solid gold. Thanks -

js