The #1 Question Asked In Copywriting

by Hari L

Posted: 14 years ago 15 replies

COPY WRITING

Hello Warrior Forum!

OK so fairly fresh to the WF, known about it for a while , but never really got stuck in...

Reading around today, looks like I'm going to enjoy it.

So if anyone's feeling friendly, please, drop me a line...

So getting to the meat and potatoes of this post. I'm really asking for a bit of experienced, non biased, straight to the point (don't hurt my feelings to much) help.

I've been working off line in direct response marketing for a couple of years, and shifted over to the internet freelance copywriting gig.

I'm setting up a new site, but have 1 MAJOR question I would like your input on.

I believe this will also get you thinking and help create a positive, meaningful post.

Please answer:What is the #1 question you ask, when choosing a copywriter for your next project?

Simple as that... any feed back you can provide helps out, and aids in my dedicated service to others.

Kind Regards

Hari Luker

#asked #copywriting #question

Jon Potts 14 years ago

How much for what quality of writing and turnover time. Thats pretty much what matters to me.

If you already know my topic then I worry less but if you have to research it then your researching skills are what I want to know about.
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Vick S

14 years ago

Hari,

when it comes to copywriting topic it amazes me that some people will spend a lot of money on creating a product and thousands of dollars on ads (which may or may not convert) but they try to "save" money and not hire a killer copywriter for their sales letter. Here they're spending thousands of ads and complain that their stuff doesn't convert. I think if you're creating something, the most important thing would be your sales letter. I would seek out the best copywriter, see who they wrote for, how well their stuff converts and if you like what you hear/see, pay them whatever they charge and have them write a copy for you.

The truth is this.. You can have the best product/website in the world but if your sales letter suck, you won't make money. You can also have a crapy product and if you have a killer sales letter for it, you will make tons of money.

Ideally you want to have a killer product and a killer sales letter.

I paid one of my copywriters as much as $20k for a sales letter and his stuff got me $70k/mo. residual income very quickly.

Hope this helps.

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RickDuris 14 years ago

Being rather fresh on my mind, the number question I get is...

"Can I see some samples?"

- Rick Duris
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Hari L

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Vick S

Hari,
The truth is this.. You can have the best product/website in the world but if your sales letter suck, you won't make money. You can also have a crapy product and if you have a killer sales letter for it, you will make tons of money.

Spot on Vic, couldn't agree more!!

It seems so far, that proof and price are top of the leader board right now.

I appreciate all the input so far!

Thanks
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Hugh Thyer 14 years ago

With respect Hari, a bad product won't make you money. Even though a killer sales letter will help you sell, your refund rate will hurt you, and worse, your reputation will suffer.

But the worst of all is that your list you could make money from will be worth very little if you've sold them crap.

BTW - for me it's how much do I charge and can I see samples.
PS If you don't want to compete on price, then you can side step that question until you have delivered proof and highlighted your value to your prospects. At this point, price should be less of an issue. People really need good VALUE, not PRICE. So answering the question of price before demonstrating value is a tough sell.
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- cparizo 14 years ago
  
  I get the "rates" question a lot, followed by samples. I don't list my rates on my website because each project is different. I have a rate sheet with a range of prices, but I'd have to hear more about the project before I could give anyone a firm quote. If this is something that's going to take a lot of research and people-wrangling, it's going to cost more than re-purposing existing content and gathering a little new information. I do have a small sample section for prospective clients.
  
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- Daniel Scott 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Hugh Thyer
  
  With respect Hari, a bad product won't make you money.
  
  If only that were true.
  
  Remember the Arbitrage Conspiracy? Terrible product. Sold (I believe) $9 million worth of product.
  
  Now... admittedly... two thirds of those people got a refund... so it ended up being $3 million.
  
  But that's still a pretty nice payday.
  
  I'm not saying I agree with how they did things... or it's how I'd do it.
  
  I'm just saying that there's a lot of cash made every day by guys with crappy products.
  
  -Dan
  
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  Jag82 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Daniel Scott
  
  I'm just saying that there's a lot of cash made every day by guys with crappy products.
  -Dan
  
  True. That's why I can never understand
  why they cannot put in as much effort as they
  do for the sales copy with the product.
  
  Guess these people are only concerned
  about the short term gain rather than the long
  term lifetime value of the customer.
  
  Myopic outlook. But it's their loss anyway.
  
  - Jag
  
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  MikeHumphreys 14 years ago
  
  Prospective clients who aren't familiar with how copywriters work and the typical fee ranges will ask me, "How much do you charge?"
  
  Experienced prospective clients will ask me, "I love your work... Have you worked with my niche or type of product before? If so, when could you start the project?" Then they will ask me about price.
  
  Repeat clients ask me, "Mike, I got a new project for you. Here's what I think I need... is there anything you think I need and when's the earliest opening you have on your schedule?"
  
  Food for thought,
  
  Mike
  
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Paul Hancox 14 years ago

The #1 question I tend to get asked is...

"Hell, yeah... where do I SIGN UP???"
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BrianMcLeod 14 years ago

The #1 question I get from "cold" prospects I don't know:

"Can you give me a ballpark figure of your rates
for a standard sales letter?"

From referrals, the #1 question is:

"Are you available for _____?

Followed by...

"Can you give me a ballpark figure..."

The question that almost always follows
that in either scenario is:

"Can you show me some samples..."

Hope that helps,

Brian
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Hagbard Jones 14 years ago

Every client:
-rates
-samples

Every good client (in this order):
-samples ("show me what you've done")
-conversions ("how did this pull?")
-rates ("i want one like this...how much?")
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chakara 14 years ago

What i would like to know is what format is the sales text delivered to a customer from a copywriter, is it the complete sales page with all the bells and whistles, or just the text for the buyer to work with? its hard to picture when you have never seen how a copywriter
finishes off a page i would love to see a sample of a completed work, i mean as provided by the writer,or is it a silly question and all i have to do is look through clickbank if that is how they are finished and sold to the merchants...

thanks
george
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Daniel Scott 14 years ago

George,

It depends.

I deliver my salesletters in HTML. I format them... do graphic headlines... put the stock photos in... etc.

Some people deliver their sales letters in .doc format, though.

I do everything myself because formatting plays a huge role in conversions - and I like to have as much control over the sales process as possible.

-Dan
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- RickDuris 14 years ago
  
  Hari L,
  
  One more thing. Just because somebody asks a sincere question doesn't mean you have to answer it on your website. You can encourage them to call, email or chat with you.
  
  For instance, putting pre-packaged prices on your website for everyone to view may be a good thing or a bad thing.
  
  I personally wouldn't. There are too many variables in my own circumstances.
  
  And if you're hungry for work, and your prices are considered to high, you may scare folks off. On the other hand, if your prices are to low, you may appear to be desperate by unintentionally offering a firesale.
  
  Obviously, your post inspires a "to each his own" response, but don't assume that just because a question is asked a lot that it must be addressed on the website directly.
  
  - Rick Duris
  
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