Is this course worth the money?

Some people can read the ingredient panel on a box of cereal and decipher the secrets of the universe. Others can't even get the box open to feed themselves.

It has nothing to do with the cereal.

Simple test. There are freely available articles. I only read one, but what I read seems basically sound.

Use the articles. If they generate the price of the course, your cost is then zero. If not, while the information may be there, and may be correct, it makes little difference.

As I say about my own advice and reports, I can spoon feed you ...but I draw the line at chewing.

Most people want success to sink into their business as if by magic. These types are really buying expensive paperweights ...they've been spoon fed and they're sitting there with a mouth full of food waiting around for someone to do the chewing.

Sure the materials you pay for may have some addition, very valuable, information. They still won't supply the action. You take action on what's freely available -- then there's no reason to ask for advice from other people you don't know.

You act. You get results. Then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I don't know about this guy, but by and large, that's what the free articles are there for.

I'm with John. There is plenty of guidance out there for people who wish to learn about writing ad/marketing copy. First and foremost, you have to know how to write. If you don't already excel at that you'll have a pretty daunting task ahead of you. If you are a reasonably good writer, there is a world of free reports and inexpensive books available that tell you the fundamentals you need. (Only problem is sorting the good advice from the lame advice.)

I did take a look at Steve Slaunwhite's site. I'm not familiar with him, but he does have a lot of free resources on it. I scanned a couple and it looks like he is offering sound advice.

Hi Dave,

I have not personally heard of this guy, but at over $600 for his course, I'd go with the big names in the industry. John Carlton comes to mind. For $399 you can have his world famous Marketing Rebel training (which he has just recently updated to include web & e-mail marketing). John Carlton - Marketing Rebel - Operation MoneySuck Salesmanship Essentials
(Note: I am not affiliated with any of these products, damn it to hell)

But even before making that move, go check out some free resourses. Here are two of the best. The Gary Halbert Letter The Gary Halbert Letter and Gary Bencivenga with his "Bencivenga Bullets" Bencivenga Bullets . With Bencivenga's info you just give your name & email address and you have access to his whole library of newsletters. Halbert's stuff will be on screen when you click the link above without having to sign up. (Go to the bottom of the page and click on the library button).

You can sign up for Clayton Makepeace's free newsletter, too. All of these will give you some solid information to help hone your copywriting skills.

Absorb the free stuff, first. You can always spend your money. Oh yea, I almost forgot, there is a WSO by Paul Hancox currently running called "Super Power Copy" that is unique and worth checking out. http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...real-time.html . Paul is running a very interesting campaign. He started his WSO at a very low price, and each time someone purchases, it goes up in price by 50 cents. As of this writing it is up to $45. Still a very good bargain.

Well that should be enough to keep you busy for a few days.

Good luck to you,

Adam

I beg to differ, how many freelance copywriters do NOT want more clients and better paying projects?

The headline simple, clear and get's the head nodding from the get go. Never a bad way to open a letter in my opinion.

Colm

Dave,

For what my opinion is worth, I would share a couple of things with you.

Get yourself a half decent website. You want the work coming in, you need to have a web presence. I say that from experience. Within weeks of setting up my website (and not even SEOing properly) I had business coming in.

As for courses, if you have already done some work and you have clients that could give you testimonials then you have a leg up on most people. You only need to do a course if you expect to specialise in your client base.

For example I spent boatloads on AWAI's two courses, completed the first and then hung out my shingle to so speak and that was great - if I wanted to tell the world I was a direct mail copywriter...

I was unproven and still haven't found a leg in to prove that I have what it takes, and in fact got a severe rejection from a Sydney based company after 8 direct mail promotions failed to get above 4% better than their control.

Do I feel like a failure? To a degree yes... because I spent hundreds of dollars (more like thousands) on self education in the area of copywriting for direct mail and had to work out it isn't my core competency.

So, should you pay so much for the course?
Steven Slaunwhite is good and is one of many that are good.
I would suggest you work out what your core competency is and what you plan to use your copywriting skills for.

It seems in the last 5 years "every man and his dog" is a copywriter and it is little wonder places like elance expect writers (not copywriters, just humble writers) to accept fees as ridiculous as $5-$8 per article for up to 500 words... or as poor as .10c per word for articles and other copy.

Most vendors have NO clue about copy writing and even one of my best clients still dares to challenge me about copy because she was a teacher...
Well, really????

Get yourself in to a niche you know you can do a better job on than the average joe, register on Guru.com and if you can afford to pay to be a member you get better access...

There are some decent projects on there too.

Mind, you have to look out for the scammers and penny pinchers...

But still that's life.

Now about that course... like I say, work out your niche first, work out what you expect people to pay you for your services and get a retainer document worked out for the serious clients.

Then if you see you need to get upskilled you can work out what course is best likely to suit your niche...

I'd say, get a website first, build it in dreamweaver if you have to, and tell the world how good you are at what you do, and when you have at least a few clients coming in - after a few well placed adword campaigns and forum entries... then, you can determine if you have the $$$$ to pay for a course... the ROI is what you need to look at...

Hope all my ramblings here have helped you decide.

Cheers
Terri

Depends on what your specific goal is Dave.

I mean, if you're looking to hang your shingle out as a copywriter for corporate-esque/ad agency type guff then it could indeed be your bag. I've not heard of Steve but from initial appearances that's the market he's aiming for. At least sign up for his ezine for a taster and read his articles to get a feel.

On the other hand, if you're looking for direct mail, 'marketing your own product' copywriting guidance then there's a boatload of courses from the legends - Kennedy, Carlton, Halbert, Bencivenga, Makepeace, Voiles... the list goes on. There are also classic books like Robert Collier Letter Book, How to Write a Good Advertisement - Vic Schwab, Scientific Advertising - Claude Hopkins (free just search google), Tested Advertising Methods - John Caples, Breakthrough Advertising - Gene Schwartz. I can't say that any single one would be everything you need as they all have different strengths but these are all good references.

I can say Carlton's - Kick Ass Copywriting Secrets course is good. Brian Keith Voiles - Ad Magic is good. Book Jeffrey Lant - Cash Copy is packed with good info and great bang for your buck value. Dan Kennedy - Ultimate Sales Letter is a good solid start - inexpensive too.

FREE: Do check out Halbert's newsletter site for some great free material. Also Gary Bencivenga's bullet postings and Clayton Makepeace's newsletter.

MUST DO: Read Claude Hopkins' Scientific Advertising since it's 1) Free (search google) and 2) advertising legend David Olgivy himself said no one should have anything to do with advertising until they've read it at least seven times!!! Who can argue with that?

Thanks, folks. Looks like one of the first things you're saying I should do is get myself a web site. Need to sort out a domain name and host for that - any suggestions?

I'll pick up as much free information as I can get, and start off by writing articles and suchlike, I think, trying to get a portfolio going.

And, yes, I've subscribed to Steve's newsletter. I'll read those and see if he has anything to say that helps me.

Cheers for now,

Dave

Yeah, this is the approach I'm currently taking. Get a site up first, it can be simple, but get yourself a home base. You may consider trying a domain name that will be like your business name, or you may want to include your name in it as well.

And if you are interested in classes, why not look around at the many online courses, some of which may be free. Then, consider classes at your local community college, which probably offers certified programs. Just shop around, since this is considerable investment you are thinking about.

Good luck.

Dave, I'm a few months late answering this - just joined Warrior Forum - but your situation sounds so much like mine I wanted to add my input. I've been a writer and editor for many years too, and I tried just about everything to bring in an income from home, being stuck permanently in a wheelchair with no transportation in the wilds of Northern Ontario, Canada. I discovered copywriting by accident. I'm afraid I don't know about the particular course you mentioned, but I took several, back when I first decided copywriting might work for me.

The best one turned out to be the very first one I tried. It was also the simplest and most inexpensive - Alice Seba's "Copywriting Sweetie". (If you Google that, I'm sure it'll be easy to find!) What that one did was cut out all the clutter and the high expectations, and give you a simple but thorough overview of what you need to do and how you need to do it.

I got my first freelance assignments from offering very low rates on a blogging forum I was on that allowed us to offer services. To my astonishment (since every work-at-home idea I'd tried till then proved to be painful, complicated and expensive) my copywriting took off like a rocketship, and I actually had to raise my rates and turn down clients. At first, I didn't even have TIME to put up a website. Then, till this weekend, I had a one-page one - a "business card on the net" sort of idea. I've just upgraded it to a small 6-page one with added blog.

If you love writing, and something "clicks" when you start to write copy after investing in a basic "how to" course that gives you the conventions, its the perfect job for someone faced with disability challenges.

In fact I'm now in the novel position of having to learn how to forcibly create free time for myself!

I'd love to hear how you're doing, and if you pursued copywriting?

Dave,

There aren't too many books that actually cover Copywriting from the business side of things. Steve Slaunwhite's book Start & Run a Copywriting Business is a good book on the subject.

He also has a book called The Everything Guide to Writing Copy which is good among other books he's released on the subject. You can get both of them from Amazon for around $30 I believe.

You could grab the books and read them before you decide to invest in the course to make sure his style is for you. As someone who's read both of the books above, I can recommend Steve's stuff wholeheartedly.

Chris Elliott

Hey,

I believe you can't skimp on copywriting courses have a look at anything that John Carlton or Dean Jackson release and you can't go wrong.

Cheers

Chris