What One Question Would You Ask Your Favorite Copywriter?

[Scott Murdaugh]

EDIT: Interview is done. Thanks!

Let's assume a copywriter you really admired agreed to sit down with you and answer any 12 questions you had.

From getting started as a freelancer, finding clients, training, charging top dollar...

You've got Makepeace or Bencivenga or whoever you respect on the line for 12 questions. Anything you want to ask...

What would be your number 1 question? And if it's already posted ask another.

Most of these questions will be answered by an "A" list copywriter... I can't disclose details yet but I will say this person is as qualified as anyone to give REAL answers based on results and experience, not just theory.

The questions and answers will be recorded and given away for free to Warriors.

Anyone care to kick it off?

Thanks,

-Scott

[Scott Murdaugh]

That's an awesome question...

"When did you realize that this is what you were going to do this for a living, how did you land your first gig, and at what point did you consider yourself to be truly successful?"

Sound good to you? Let me know...

One down, any other takers?

-Scott

[teamnirvana]

Scott, I would like to ask(sorry, if this is quite close to Monetisation)

"How did you choose your price and What was your client's(First Client) reaction?"

Oops, that's two questions.

[ronakshah]

You wrote you need 12 questions. Here they are:

How do I get started off as a sales letter copywriter? Do I have to offer sales letters for FREE to build a portfolio? Meow (I am serious about that one)

How can I guarantee a 7% converting sales letter to each of my clients?

How can I regularly get $5000 per sales letter paying clients on a consistent basis without the need to go around looking for clients?

What is the most effective quality of a sales copywriter and a sales letter?

There is so much to learn from so many top copywriters like:

- John Carlton to Bob Bly
- Frank Kern To Gary Halbert

How can I know whom to learn from and whom to really follow as a role model?

What is the difference between a top quality money raking million dollar sales letter copywriter like Bill Glazer (Jay Abraham as well) and a newbie like me?

What do you think is most important, sales copy or sales offer (Read: experience of the buyer)?

Why do people really need a sales copywriter according to you who is a master sales copywriter?

Do I really need to get my sales letters critiqued by a top copywriter while I am starting out as a sales letter copywriter writing sales letters for my clients?

How to use the warrior forum alone apart from twitter, linkedin, ning & facebook effectively to rake in $100,000 per year in sales copywriting gigs?

What are the different effective ways to market my sales copywriting services while saving a whole lot of time, energy & money for a newly established copywriter?

How do I negotiate a price like $5000 for a sales letter with another Internet Marketer?

Do you need more..? I can give a lot more. I have more questions.

[Paul McQuillan]

What is the method you go through when researching
a project you've taken on?

[Scott Murdaugh]

How do I get started off as a sales letter copywriter? Do I have to offer sales letters for FREE to build a portfolio? Meow (I am serious about that one)

How can I guarantee a 7% converting sales letter to each of my clients?

How can I regularly get $5000 per sales letter paying clients on a consistent basis without the need to go around looking for clients?

What is the most effective quality of a sales copywriter and a sales letter?

There is so much to learn from so many top copywriters like:

- John Carlton to Bob Bly
- Frank Kern To Gary Halbert

How can I know whom to learn from and whom to really follow as a role model?

What is the difference between a top quality money raking million dollar sales letter copywriter like Bill Glazer (Jay Abraham as well) and a newbie like me?

What do you think is most important, sales copy or sales offer (Read: experience of the buyer)?

Why do people really need a sales copywriter according to you who is a master sales copywriter?

Do I really need to get my sales letters critiqued by a top copywriter while I am starting out as a sales letter copywriter writing sales letters for my clients?

How to use the warrior forum alone apart from twitter, linkedin, ning & facebook effectively to rake in $100,000 per year in sales copywriting gigs?

What are the different effective ways to market my sales copywriting services while saving a whole lot of time, energy & money for a newly established copywriter?

How do I negotiate a price like $5000 for a sales letter with another Internet Marketer?

Do you need more..? I can give a lot more. I have more questions.

Ronaksha,

No offense intended, but these aren't really the types of questions I had in mind. I'll go ahead and answer them for you though.

They're just a little basic for the caliber of the guy I'll be interviewing.

1. No. Create a product yourself and sell it. Or rewrite a Clickbank letter and try to beat their control. Boom, instant proof and credibility.

2. You can't. No one can. Too many factors involved. 7% on cold traffic is unheard of.

3. Prove you have what it takes. Position yourself so clients need you more than you need them. If they have a great product and a huge launch, and they know you can maximize the value of their traffic, they'll call you.

4. Generating money.

5. Up to you. Follow people you like. Read the books in the sticky at the top of the forum.

6. They have years of experience and a truck load of natural talent... Not to mention results.

7. The offer.

8. To maximize sales or generate leads. Too many "master" copywriters to list.

9. It definitely wouldn't hurt. It'll shorten your learning curve.

10. Provide $1 Million in value per year, if you can do that $100k should be easy. Also, think beyond forums and social networking sites.

11. Hard work.

12. Prove to him that your copy is worth more than $50,000.

Hope that helps,

-Scott

P.S. More questions would be awesome! Thanks.

[ghyphena]

Sounds like an interesting project, Scott. I'd have thought this thread would be swarming with replies.

1. (Sort of following on from Paul's): how do you go about building a profile of the ideal prospect in a new market?

2. How do you present huge "magic pill" claims without risking coming across as hypey?

(I know the answer is proof - I guess my follow-up question is "what do you do when you don't have any proof, social or otherwise")

Gil-Ad

[Kim Davis]

How many hours a day do they actually work? How do they automate their income?

[tchashow]

what were the some of the books that you considered to be useful in first becoming a copywriter?

[Scott Murdaugh]

Most of these questioned were asked and covered.

Interview is done. It's with Craig Garber and it's GREAT content. It'll be available for free shortly, don't worry, you guys will hear about it.

Thanks for all the replies!

-Scott

[tchashow]

dang i was just starting to come up with me a list.

[ghyphena]

Did you ask him about his views on hypnotic copy?

[BrianMcLeod]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Interview is done. It's with Craig Garber and it's GREAT content. It'll be available for free shortly, don't worry, you guys will hear about it.

Thanks for all the replies!

-Scott

Nice grab, Scott..

I'd definitely like to hear what Craig has to say.

Coolio...

Brian

[MarkAndrews IMCopywriting]

What Questions Would You Ask Your Favorite Copywriter?

What are your views specifically on the
future development of the copywriting
industry 3, 5, 10, 15 years into the
future?

How do you think copywriters will have
to adapt to these changes as Internet
technology advances?

Do you believe that text based copywriting
as we know it will eventually become largely
redundant?

How do you think video and online digital
television will play to traditional copywriters
strengths and weaknesses for advertising
copy per se in the future?

[MarkAndrews IMCopywriting]

Originally Posted by ghyphena

Did you ask him about his views on hypnotic copy?

You lot kill me.

That's a wicked question.

[Scott Murdaugh]

Nice grab, Scott..

I'd definitely like to hear what Craig has to say.

Coolio...

Thanks Brian, I'm stoked. I probably won't get my hands on it until Monday-ish, but it's some AMAZING content, I was really happy with the final result and so was Craig.

Mark, I didn't ask your specific questions but I'll try to answer them... DISCLAIMER: I'm not a psychic and I'm not right all of the time.

What are your views specifically on the
future development of the copywriting
industry 3, 5, 10, 15 years into the
future?

The fundamentals aren't changing. Direct mail and long online sales copy will still be around in 15 years assuming we don't blow ourselves up during that time. Websites will probably designed, and copy will be written specifically for mobile devices, but beyond that I don't see the fundamental emotional triggers changing.

How do you think copywriters will have
to adapt to these changes as Internet
technology advances?

If you're writing copy directly related to technology you'll have to stay on top of your market. Nothing new.

Do you believe that text based copywriting
as we know it will eventually become largely
redundant?

Definitely not.

How do you think video and online digital
television will play to traditional copywriters
strengths and weaknesses for advertising
copy per se in the future?

I think it'll be relatively the same. Video will be used to sell. Copywriters will write video scripts, and if it's online, it'll be accompanied by a sales letter for the most part.

Think about what's changed about copywriting in the last 15 years... Beyond the internet and an influx of people pitching copywriting as a biz opp, the fundamentals haven't changed.

Ghyphena...

Did you ask him about his views on hypnotic copy?

No.

Peace,

-Scott

[MarkAndrews IMCopywriting]

Everything changes Scott.

Look at the motor car at the beginning
of the 20th century. Look at the leaps
and bounds made in the aero industry.

With technology changing rapidly at this
rate and in fact speeding up all the time,
who is to say that the present format of
web design will still continue to be around
in the near future?

I believe that we will be seeing a massive
shift away from textual based only advertising
online to digital media and video. That's
where everything is heading at the moment
as it speeds up communication massively.

Websites as we have come to understand
them today, the long sales letter approach,
my personal view is that whilst they will
have their place for a while to come yet,
in time they will be phased out in favour
of more effective methods of communication
to connect business products to customers.

Just 10 years ago, no-one could have
imagined the effect that the internet
would have on physical newspaper sales
as a medium or advertising for that matter,
in it's traditional form on the television set.

With more mobile devices and other
technological advancements, a few of which
platforms I'm aware of from friends at Oxbridge
and elsewhere, how long will long form copy
be around for without becoming redundant?
This has already happened to a greater or
lesser extent in many other industries, it's a
natural progression of mankind's evolutionary
technological development.

That was the real gist / thrust of my question.

Thanks for trying though, thumbs up to you
for giving it your best shot.

Best regards.


Mark Andrews...

[Mark McClure]

Re: Mark Andrews "everything changes..."

Anyone tried writing DR copy in a 2nd Life world haha!
I can see a world where copywriter's end up scripting (Star Trek) holodeck-type experiences...