Do Copywriters Usually Put in Pictures Too?

[yankforlife41]

Hey Everyone,

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

Let me know.

Thanks!

Mike

[The Copy Nazi]

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

Hey Everyone,

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

Let me know.

Thanks!

Mike

Depends on the writer. Bruce Wedding, for instance, goes the whole hog and drops in the graphics and headers (I believe). I don't. I'm first and foremost a writer. I give you the copy in a .doc or .odt file. I'll suggest fonts and the general layout but that's not my area of expertise and quite frankly I don't have the time to be page designer as well as scribbler. It also comes down to money. If you only paid a few hundred for that copy you can't really expect the guy to give you any more than a word file.

But having said that...clients still whinge to me that they have to design the page. I always reply "I just write the words Dude - I'm not a webpage designer".

[yankforlife41]

Thanks for the reply, guess I gotta do it all myself.

[GR Marketing]

Hey man,

I applaud you for wanting to get into information marketing and taking action, but to be quite honest with you this is very poorly formatted and written salescopy. Nobody is going to buy anything from that website, period.

It looks like a 6th grader put it together in the 1997 version of Microsoft Frontpage. You need to hire a proper designer to at least make the copy look decent.

After that you should definitely consider looking into getting a complete rewrite, or perhaps studying our art on your own and reworking your salescopy.

[yankforlife41]

It's just a rough copy, I just got it, obviously I'm gonna fix it up, just wanted to see if copywriters did the photos too and design.

[vip-ip]

A good copywriter does way more than come up with the words for an ad. Just like with telemarketing: it's not always what you read that matters, it's how it's shown.

So to answer your questions, yes, good copywriters know that 65% of people in the world are visual learners. If you're doing a video, you might capture some of the 30% audio learners, as well.

A good way to use images: to break up paragraphs, to make vivid eCovers, to make attention-grabbing web-site headers.

Food for thought.

Best Regards,
vip-ip ...

[Jag82]

Originally Posted by vip-ip

A good copywriter does way more than come up with the words for an ad. Just like with telemarketing: it's not always what you read that matters, it's how it's shown.

Yes, I agree that looks matter as well.

A good design can bring out the value
we want to convey in the product.

Just look at those health supplement and skin
care product ads!

But...a copywriter's first and foremost job
- is to write compelling letter that sells.

It's a bonus if the copywriter knows design
as well and is willing to do it.

Often, you will find many good copywriters working
in tandem with good designers.

- Jag

[MikeHumphreys]

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

Pretty much every copywriter I know who is charging $4K and up sets up the webpage the way they want it to look.

They usually don't do the header/footer/ebook covers stuff but the rest of layout, is done (or advised) by the copywriter.

It's a guarantee that the salesletter looks the way it's supposed to. The wrong layout can hurt your response rates 25%, sometimes more.

It's more work to do the layout so I build that into my project fee.

Hope that helps,

Mike

[alcymart]

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

Hey Everyone,

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

Let me know.

Thanks!

Mike

Sure they say pics are worth 1000 words, however the fact of the matter is that "words" are 1000 times more powerful than a pic! I learned this the hard way...

Take care,

Bernard St-Pierre
Marketing Consultant
Copywriter/Teacher

[alcymart]

Originally Posted by MikeHumphreys

Pretty much every copywriter I know who is charging $4K and up sets up the webpage the way they want it to look.

They usually don't do the header/footer/ebook covers stuff but the rest of layout, is done (or advised) by the copywriter.

It's a guarantee that the salesletter looks the way it's supposed to. The wrong layout can hurt your response rates 25%, sometimes more.

It's more work to do the layout so I build that into my project fee.

Hope that helps,

Mike

I agree to your reply, the Layout is critical, the colors used especially!A little color psychology goes very far!

Take care,

Bernard St-Pierre
Marketing Consultant
Copywriter/Teacher

[Oxbloom]

It's fiverr testimonial girl again. Dang. Chick gets around.

[John_S]

Looks matter. Just nothing like the graphic artists and people using words like "pizazz" want it to.

Message to market match sells. What people think "looks good" ...not so much. In fact, most of the things people think make a letter look better reduce results.

The first reason is people love to put in irrelevant graphics. Want to start with graphics? Try everything you can possibly think to put in, one at a time, and watch what happens to results.

Then try using a picture of the customer with your testimonials.

Try everything you think is pretty. Then try a picture of the product, being used by the customers in the testimonials.

Try every stock photo of a fashion model pretending to be an employee. Then try a picture of a real employee a customer can talk to.

Try all the gimmicks you become infatuated with. Put in every single thing you just learned how to to in PhotoShop. Then try pointing the camera at a before and after picture of the results the product produces.

If you think writing copy is hard, try beating your "unattractively plain" control piece with design. Then we can talk about what makes the letter look better.

[AdwordsMogul]

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

It's just a rough copy, I just got it, obviously I'm gonna fix it up, just wanted to see if copywriters did the photos too and design.

You can't fix it up.

As was mentioned above, nobody will buy anything from that site.

You have to start completely from scratch.

You don't need pictures. You need copy that sells.

[Lauryn]

I read Dan Kennedy's Ultimate Sales Letter, and if I remember correctly, he said that the copywriter is the one who knows exactly which words are supposed to have emphasis and stick out. Therefore, it's the copywriter's job to handle that if they want to be seen as a great communicator. However, I would suppose it depends on the level of copy you're providing and who you're providing it to.

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by Metronicity

Depends on the writer. Bruce Wedding, for instance, goes the whole hog and drops in the graphics and header.

Yep, I spend a lot of time on design and I'm pretty good. As Mike points out, its very important to conversion.

I'm doing one right now and it looks freaking awesome. I will post some of it later to give an idea of what I do. As mentioned, I'm not a graphics artist so I don't do things like headers and product shots. I do graphical quotations, headlines, shadows and captions on photos, and pretty graphs and charts ( not the crap Excel makes )

[Kevin Rogers]

I used to include graphics and deliver in html, but I was not very good so it added days to the project and lacked the eye-popping goodness a real designer can deliver.

I finally stopped including graphics after a customer freaked out over the "junk code" from the design program I used.

I did my best to deliver in DW after that, but design is just not what I do. These days I deliver everything in Word, including style notes for the designer...

... and then work closely with the designer to get the page just right. I add influence when needed, but usually just let the artist do his work.

The key is vetting the designer before the project if possible. If the client is wise (and invested) enough to hie a guy like Dave Nayavich, then it's a dream for the copywriter.

I've found guys like Bruce and Vin who have a talent for both copy and design are rare. I've been much more productive since I stopped including them and my client's pages look a lot better.

[Ross James]

Would love to see some more of your work bruce!

-Ross

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by Ross James

Would love to see some more of your work bruce!

-Ross

I will post a link if the client agrees. Otherwise I will just post some samples of the graphics work I do.

One I am almost embarrassed to show is Brad Callen's Affiliate Elite | Affiliate Marketing Software but the letter converted well. I did this about 2 years ago for Brad Callen. I cringe when I see the hypey megaheadline but it worked.

I did all the layout and photos. Brad just supplied the header and product shot. Today I do graphic headlines.

[Alex Cohen]

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

Thanks for the reply, guess I gotta do it all myself.

The first rule of pictures is, they should be a visual support for what the copy is saying or trying to accomplish.

And don't forget to add captions under each pic. Captions are one of the most read parts of a sales letter and a great opportunity to speak to the reader.

Alex

[John_S]

The first rule of pictures is, they should be a visual support for what the copy is saying or trying to accomplish.

I'd suggest the first rule be for the FDA to regulate graphics like a mind altering drug.

[kaymie]

I 'm glad this question was raised...I've seen so many sales pages and I always wondered whether copy writers are supposed to be web designers as well! From the majority of the posts I guess not!

[Dan Williams]

Thanks for the reply, guess I gotta do it all myself

.

wondering how you got the name? yankforlife
sounds kind of pewee hermanish

[ProfWriter]

I think it all depends. If you can offer design services, you can land more clients. If you are a solid copywriter with a good reputation, you can land plenty of clients without the bells and whistles.

[jdk1970]

Totally depends on who you work with. Some of the people I work with, particularly when I am posting articles myself, I place pictures.

[Daniel Scott]

That copy is far from good.

If I were you... I wouldn't waste my time trying to graphically polish it. It needs to be scrapped and done again.

-Daniel

Originally Posted by yankforlife41

Hey Everyone,

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

Let me know.

Thanks!

Mike

[Bruce Wedding]

I dredged up this old thread to say, I've decided to switch teams. I'm going to write in MS Word from now on. While I enjoy the graphics, it takes way too much time, raises expectations and support issues I no longer wish to deal with. I will do my own sites but no more client layouts.

I've seen the light.