What The #@&* Do "I" Know About Copywriting?

Steven,

Honesty is a very effective persuasion trigger. (It's one of Joe Sugarman's famous 30 triggers.)

Believability + Irresistible Offer in a sales letter is a great combination.

Check out www.archive.org. You might be able to find your sales letter there.

Alex

You have certain advantages when writing copy for your
own stuff. I had some very successful early copy I wrote
that broke A LOT of rules I now try to abide by when I
write. But people told me it was honest - sincere, and
communicated. I didn't know much about "how to sell
in print", but I was able to empathize with my readers
and answer the questions that came up in their minds
well enough that many took the next step in the buying
process.

In writing for clients however you won't get many jobs
if your work doesn't show a certain amount of polish
and attention to the things people are accustomed to
seeing in sales letters.

And those 3 "things" are just some basic guidelines of copywriting.

you need not to be an expert copywriter to sell, but if you want to have a higher conversion rate, that's where the advanced copywriting skills comes into play.

Ed

I started out in this business not knowing the rules so I wasn't aware I was breaking them. I'm a content writer who enjoys writing ad copy when the need arises and have had a certain measure of success at it. I think if I try too hard to figure it out, I screw it up. So I just keep doing what I've been doing....

Steven, if you think all you need is a good product, a good offer and honesty, in order to write great copy for a Client, I submit you will be tremendously disappointed, confused and frustrated with your career shift.

Waiting for Clients to hand to you on a silver platter with all of the above in place, for them to meet your criteria 100% (or even 25%), will be like waiting for the second coming.

In addition, your competition will be eating YOUR lunch in the meantime.

As a copywriter, you NEED to be able to turn chicken **** into chicken salad.

THAT'S YOUR JOB.

If you're strong, your marketing skills solid... with your coaching and consultation... your Clients will redo/rethink their marketing, branding, product, fulfillment and customer service in a heartbeat.

If you're weak-kneed and just "go with the flow" (thinking you're "JUST a copywriter and what the heck do I know") your results WILL be compromised. And so will your bank account. And the second sales slacken (which they will), your copy will be accused of failing. When in fact, the cause could be something entirely different.

For instance, let's say you had the opportunity to turn around a solid product with substantial sales in a very competitve niche, but there's only one small fly in the oitment:

It has (phenomenal) 64% return rate.

Would you, as a copywriter, take it on as a challenge?

My guess is probably not. It wouldn't meet your criteria.

I conceed, most wouldn't. They'd say the current sales copy over-promised or the product sucked and that's why the promotion/business is failing.

By the way, I took on this particular challenge and eliminated refunds to only .08% of sales.

Wouldn't you like to know how?

While I can't share with you the specifics, I will give you the basic strategy.

First, I used a LONG 3-page, personally-written by the president of the company, "stick" letter. With each order shipped, we put it in a manilla envelope and in big red lettering on the outside we said "From the President: To get biggest benefit out of your relationship with us, READ THIS FIRST."

Then we implemented a sequence of autoresponder "stick" emails which primed the customer to know what to expect. So when they received the package, they knew exactly what to do and they were HAPPY.

Result?

I didn't have to touch their sales letter or website. They were working. What we had to do was get their existing sales to STICK.

While admittedly, I didn't initially "double their sales," But I did more than double their profits--in less than a month. (Do you have any idea what that means for someone who is paid on performance?)

You may not see any of this as copywriting, but I do. Anybody who has had to deal with refunds and upset customers and all such things knows the only solution is... WORDS.

Many times people think copywriting is all about pursuading, seducing, romancing, influencing people to INITIALLY buy.

But occassionally, your skills can be used for all sorts of opportunities with the right marketing assets. It's up to you, NOT the Client, to see them and exploit the opportunity for all it's worth.

Your Clients will adore you for it.

For instance, did you know you can double a company's revenues by implementing a customer reactivation program? For a Client with a list that hasn't been abused, it is extremely doable. But not 1 in 10 companies have a formal or informal reactivation program.

If you're a copywriter, can you smell the opportunity?

One letter, even a simple 2-page letter, can create thousands, ten of thousands of dollars in sales--immediately. And as a copywriter, you'll be compensated handsomely for your efforts.

Steven, my point is not to chastise you and I hope you don't take this post this way. My point was offer a little experiential insight and hope you see the value and more importantly, the opportunity.

Bottomline: You want projects that ON THE OUTSIDE look like they SUCK BIG TIME. You want losers. Dogs. Diamonds in the rough. You WANT the problem children. Do NOT put your blinders on prematurely, else you'll be passing up all sorts of opportunity as a copywriter.

Anybody who's aware of Gary Halbert's Client-getting strategy, it was not about hitting the perfect pitch out of the park. It was the number of times AT BAT.

- Rick Duris

The straightforward honesty you speak of is the approach I've been taking with my first info product. I have no official copywriting training either but am a decent writer, so I decided to just lay out the facts, sparing the hype.

In fact, I specifically refused to read up on "how to write a sales letter" or any such copywriting instruction. Foolish? Maybe. But I figured simple, old-fashioned honesty would very likely have a better effect than all the slick sales talk that everyone else tosses around.

I wrote my page in a way that I would respond to, and it's the only way I'm willing to go. I'm still in the early stages of my product promotion, so I'm glad to know it has worked well for you - it gives me hope!

Hi Paul,

Unfortunately, there is no magic ointment. For me personally, it's just called "sucking it up" and taking the coaching.

Whether a rookie or a veteran delivers it, when someone NAILS the truth, it's pretty much irrefutable.

- Rick Duris