OK. This might be a stupid question, but...

I have NO clue what you're asking. Clarify, please?

I think the OP is asking if it's possible to sell in forums by writing sales copy either for yourself or for other people.

If my guess is correct then the answer to the OP is Yes. It's done all the time on this forum and others. Just check the Warrior Special Offer, Warriors for Hire and Classified Ads section.

Most forums earn a large portion of their revenue through ads and behind every ad is a copywriter (of some degree).

Not a stupid question. Take the Warrior Forum. There is a place to run your classified ad selling your services or a sub forum for selling things...and yes, you can use the principles of copywriting (salesmanship) to promote whatever...

You still need to get their ATTENTION, and arouse desire, and have them take action and buy.

A website needs to have traffic...and the TRAFFIC sources will help you determine what sort of copy to write. TARGETED traffic to a web site is a proven way to make some dough with your copy that converts.

email, is INTRUSIVE copy...you take your message to them. IF they are truly targeted, email is a very fast way to sell your products and services, and a lot of email marketing depends on TIMING...always the elusive X factor one needs to consider.

A forum, even a big one like this WF, has limited number of eyeballs on any given subject...or in the case of a sub-forum, people with TARGETED thoughts on their mind...so you could use your copy skills to possibly make sales.

On forums, your reputation means a lot. A new forum member does not have as much credibility as an "old timer"...so it would behoove you to take some time and get to know the forum members...even then, unless you are offering a high ticket item (example an airplane for sale at a pilot's forum)...forums are, in my experience (having had a forum for the last 12 years) NOT the best place to be posting up your copy for selling, but they are great as a lead generator and cred builder.

PRACTICE your copywriting skills everywhere. In your posts at forums, in your email, on your tweets, at FaceBook...EBAY is a great place to practice.

Just remember, copywriting is salesmanship...so if you have something to sell...anyplace is worth a try.

gjabiz aka mr. .... wait for it... ellipses

Thanks gjabiz, Marketeer for your input. That's what I was asking. Glad you were able to somehow decipher my question. 8-)

SO...

If I understand correctly, it IS possible but NOT recommended.

"Just remember, copywriting is salesmanship...so if you have something to sell...anyplace is worth a try." - I always like to end on a high note.

Thanks guys!

In my humble opinion, WF is not a good place to find copywriting clients. Most of the members here are pretty broke and pinching pennies. Offline prospecting using a newsletter, email marketing, phone prospecting and attending networking meetings is the best way to find people who actually have a budget to work with.

Hate to say it, but I agree with Seth. I'm here because it's a great community for the most part, and I enjoy the discussions. The "leads" on business (I use that term VERY loosely) I've gotten here all tend to be people who want something for nothing and are disappointed when I tell them no. Most of my business comes from referrals and people I meet in person.

The Warriors for Hire section here scares and saddens me, frankly. If you're a beginner, you're better off developing a differentiating message and then targeting serious clients through other means - email prospecting, blogging, direct mail, social media, sales letters, etc. I suspect there are a lot of sharks lurking on these forums, in search of a cheap-and-fast deal. Not the kind of water you want to dip your toes into.

OK. Maybe I should have said all this from the beginning. I apologize to those that responded if this would have made a difference. I also thank in advance for those with constructive input.

Now let's start over.


Hi. My name is bDnews. I'm trying to promote my service and am not sure how best to do this. My service currently has 6 clients, but I want 15 and no more. I deal with everyone personally in the event they need my undivided attention for a short period, which I believe is mutually beneficial. Nothing worse than paying to be ignored.

"So what's your service?" you ask?
My service caters to the multi billion dollar sports investing industry.
"Wow, that's just great" you say.

What makes me different from all these other gambling guys is the fact that I found a pattern in something and shared it with people some time ago. People starting sending me money for which I did not ask. Giving stories about adding extensions to their homes and buying boats.

My best friend of now 30 yrs handled all of the "Marketing". I was never in it for the money. But when people gave me such raving reviews and started sending me money, he thought it was wrong of me to do it for free.

I just love numbers and the analytical side of it. Being right as much as possible with money on the line is a nice motivator, too.

So he promoted me, so to speak. He had no idea of selling or any of the things you guys know. But he's my best friend, so what the hell...

The name of my system at the time was the 4D Chase. In fact if you go to Google and type in: "bDnews, 4D Chase" you'll get the gist of it. Some of the things I remember him posting had me laughing, but now that I want to do something seriously I wonder how much of what he did "promoting" me may now hurt me.

I do have good references in my current clients. Also the fact that several people have taken my model of success and modified for their purposes and are doing well.


And finally(yes, finally) the reason for all of this is the fact that I researched something for the last decade, but only personally used for the last 2.

For every $100 invested, return $4000. I personally use a LEGAL off shore sports book. But now with all of the mandates and sanctions of money going in and out of the country, supplementing that money with more clients just makes sense for me.


So. Now that I have given a little more detail, what do I do?

By investing I mean my clients place wagers on the teams I tell them to take and then they make money. I work on a commission basis, so if they don't make money I don't make money.

The thing about my current position is that the window for this particular investment situation is only about 8 weeks. So this isn't a long term thing.

But I also have long term things. This is just a short term item. If anyone wants anything more it's available but this is the best for short term.

A smart and skilled copywriter could stay endlessly busy just finding crappy sales letters all over the Web and pitching the owners on new ones or major makeovers. Of course, you'd need to be good enough to turn mud into chocolate but hey, that's what it's all about, right?

Edit: Oops, I guess I should have read post #10 where the OP cuts to the chase. Oh, well...

Well, now that I understand the actual question, I'd maybe put up a page off this site (not sure something like this would get approved here as an ad) and then put an image or text ad in my sig.