Copywriting Is Alive -- Part 1

[max5ty]

Some talk lately about the death of copywriting.

I say baloney.

It’s alive and well, and now more than ever, good copywriters are needed.

I’m sitting here typing this at my $6500.00 desk, flanked by 3 Sony FWD40LX2F/BI 40" LCD Monitors -- all busy bringing me the latest updates on not only the stock market but all the happenings of the world.

My office is inside my 1.5 million dollar 12 car garage, 9 bedroom, 12 bathroom house, all sitting on 50 acres of prime lakefront bliss.

This weekend, I may get in my Bentley Continental GT and drive out to the airport to take my Cessna CitationX and watch my favorite baseball team play.

Am I bragging?

Nope...

Am I proud?

Yep

All this paid for because some business was looking for someone to help them turn their ideas into money -- some ideas that started in garages or basements -- sometimes written on napkins in a dark barroom, or brought about by the brain storming of a group of motivated entrepreneurs...

...ideas that someone had that they knew could make a fortune. All they needed was the right person to come along and help.

Yep, I’m that person, so are you.

We bring a concept that can change their fortunes forever. We bring hope. We bring exciting new ideas that keep them up at night dreaming of fame and fortune -- best of all, we deliver.

We're copywriters -- there’s a load of people still wanting to make their dreams come true.

Don’t know much about SEO, or backlinks, or adsense, or ranking number 1 -- dont’t know how to figure out google’s algorithms, or their secrets to get on the front page of the search engines -- I do know how to put the right words together in an ad that gets results.

We're copywriters -- we'll leave the page rankings to those who know more about it than us.

There comes a point in your life when you take stock of your situation and your goals and realize that it’s time to get going.

It’s time to put your plans into action -- time to announce to the world that you’re here and you know how to make them money.

There’s more to being a copywriter than making a living on the internet.

There’s a whole world of eager customers out there.

Here’s the problem...

You’ve got to get serious. You’ve got to get brave...you’ve got to stop worrying and caring what the rest of the world may think about you...they don’t pay your bills. They don’t support your family. Why let them dictate your success in life.

It seems like at night is when all your ideas and thoughts take on a new urgency -- you say to yourself that tomorrow you’re gonna go out and talk to some local business about hiring you to do work for them -- you’ve got your whole speech planned out in your head.

Tomorrow comes -- the whole world seems daunting and scary. Maybe you’ll wait another day till you get your plan together. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

Or maybe you approach a business and you stammer your way through your speech -- they’re not interested. You think to yourself that your plan is goofy.

Don’t give up.

Regroup and learn from your experience.

Keep trying -- you’ll hit paydirt.

In the mid 80s, I was living in my 15 year old car, sleeping in rest areas and truck stops, all the while trying to get ahead. I was going from businesss to business daily trying to get some work writing an ad for them.

I was turned down so many times that I got past my fear of rejection.

Through sheer determination -- I finally got hired to do an ad for a local car dealership.

Long story short, I turned the dealership into the #1 dealership in the area.

That got me noticed.

I went on to do copy for several large corporations....even started my own company.

You can do it -- don’t give up or let others tell you copywriting is dead

You’re the type of person that’s only limited by your dreams.

You’re a copywriter.

Go out and start earning some money today.

[arfasaira]

What a refreshing topic change

I totally agree that copywriting isn't dead - but far from it alive and kicking.

And like I mentioned in another post, copywriting is in a constant state of flux - the only certainty is that copywriting is always changing.

Businesses which thrive recognize a change in the marketplace and respond accordingly. Those that don't will suffer. And the same is even more true online - and not just because of Google's new rules.

Prospects are savvier and don't buy into hype as much. It's the job of the copywriter to strike the balance between educating and enthusiasm and over-inflation in copy and to realize and deal with objections very early on - or else risk losing a prospect.

But, we are powerful wordsmiths and marketers in our own right and fair enough, we aren't all rich, but there is plenty of business out there for everyone - both offline and online.

And we all have good paydays and some not so, but we aren't going to starve. I'm not into this 'starving artist' nostalgic rubbish. You've got a skill, use it. And if you aren't using it, you're going to fail. It's that simple.

If you can't sell yourself, what hope do you have of selling anything for a client?

[OnlineMasterMind]

Wait... You mean offline businesses will actually pay for copywriting too? Does Google approve of this?

[Doot]

Such a refreshing post good to see that not everyone is focusing on the negative, doom and gloom

[Mark Andrews]

Originally Posted by max5ty

I’m sitting here typing this at my $6500.00 desk, flanked by 3 Sony FWD40LX2F/BI 40" LCD Monitors -- all busy bringing me the latest updates on not only the stock market but all the happenings of the world.

My office is inside my 1.5 million dollar 12 car garage, 9 bedroom, 12 bathroom house, all sitting on 50 acres of prime lakefront bliss.

This weekend, I may get in my Bentley Continental GT and drive out to the airport to take my Cessna CitationX and watch my favorite baseball team play.

That's nothing. In fact that's crap. Hogwash. You shouldn't punish yourself like this. Why settle for second best?

I'm sat here in my yurt in the Mongolian foothills. I've got the fastest donkey in all of Mongolia sitting on my doorstep. And my wife, she's gorgeous. Comes in at 42 stone with the sexiest most fantastic hairy legs you've ever clapped eyes on. We call her Yeti for short.

So there! Stick that up your Bentley!

[kellyburdes]

Awesome post max. People online would do so much better to think of themselves as marketers, period...nothing before it.

I don't know jack smack about SEO, but I'm a pretty social guy - so I have built my business around JV relationships..but that still depends upon other people.

There are lots of guys who are bigger than me, and if they want a day that I want..well I'm not getting it. I sometimes have to promote products I'd rather not, in which case I give a **** ton of bonus.

I've started to run a space ad in Investors Business Daily to get myself off the JV cycle. It's expensive, over $10K every time I run the ad, and I hired an established guy that wasn't cheap to write the ad (now my business has an asset I can use over and over again) but, my cost per lead is about 40 to 70 cents. This is in the stock market where it's VERY expensive to get leads.

Not only are the leads I get from IBD about 1/3 of the price compared to the ones I get online, they are worth about 70% more on average.

[SusanLandry]

Originally Posted by Pete Walker

I've got the fastest donkey in all of Mongolia sitting on my doorstep. And my wife, she's gorgeous. Comes in at 42 stone with the sexiest most fantastic hairy legs you've ever clapped eyes on. We call her Yeti for short.

I love it! Thanks for the belly laugh.

I'm sitting here in my diminutive 3-bedroom, 2-bath dwelling on a postage stamp-sized piece of land in the city, listening to my husband and sons run around like crazed apes downstairs (sounds like they're in the next room because, well, noise travels in a small house). I'm flanked by a fish tank and a printer. My desk was $350 at Big Lots, and the cabinet door keeps falling off no matter how many times we put it back on. I drive a GMC with unidentifiable kid-related stains splashed across the interior and a scratch on the side where I hit my friend's mailbox one fateful night. This weekend, I might get in it and drive to Target and buy some new shoes or something.

But, business is great and I've never been happier in my life. Funny how people define success so differently across the board...

[EugeneA]

My daily dose of inspiration.

Thanks

[max5ty]

@arfasaira - Good post. There is a lot of work out there for anyone that wants it.

@Pete Walker - That was a funny post. I actually had to google 42 stones to see how much that was (588 pounds). Hopefully your wife doesn't see your post or you might be sleeping on the couch for a while

@Susan Landry - We actually had a couple Big Lots around here, but they went out of business. I liked going in there. Sounds like you must have had a good night, the night you hit your neighbors mailbox

[max5ty]

Originally Posted by kellyburdes

People online would do so much better to think of themselves as marketers, period...nothing before it.

You're right. Most people online are marketers.

Most of the big name copywriters online don't even write their own stuff. They hire someone to do it.

They've got huge lists that they market to.

[Mark Andrews]

Originally Posted by max5ty

@Pete Walker - That was a funny post. I actually had to google 42 stones to see how much that was (588 pounds). Hopefully your wife doesn't see your post or you might be sleeping on the couch for a while

Wife? What wife? I hear those accessories can be pretty expensive these days? Gone down that route once before, I'm not sure I want to go there again.

A fishing rod and a dog are much cheaper and a lot less aggro too.

[Doceye]

A Citation X? Really? That's a nearly Mach one-capable, 22 million USD aircraft. We're talking about the, er, Bentley of the skies here.

Who, I ask, is this cryptically-named Max5ty? Did Gary Halbert rise from the grave? Did the other Gary, Bencivenga, go back on his word and is back writing copy again?

I am utterly flaccid and impotent ... languishing in your shadow.

Seriously ... dude. Great post.

Get off your arses, people. There's a fortune waiting to be made out there.

Doc

[Mark Pescetti]

Copywriting is alive for anyone with vision; someone who can see abundant opportunities in ANY economy...

...Copywriting is dead for everyone who believes that outward circumstances determine their ability to achieve financial bliss...

Which archetype are you?