Ever pay for copywriting? What's the most you've paid?

Sure Brian, maybe you can get to my project in between exotic trips to Brazil or sipping Coladas in the Caribbean.

I'm on the other side of the fence but maybe you quoted "FatLoss4Idiots"
for a reason. Is it selling well? Did the sales letter make back the
investment it made in copywriting fees? That's the big question for
a business owner.

13K is nothing to sneeze that but you TYPICALLY get what you pay
for. If I were to ask for a royalty for the early writing I've done I would
be retired right now.

Still the final judgment remains with you.

-Ray Edwards

Ray. FatLoss4idiots is one of the top selling weight loss affiliate programs around.

Brian, who is Copy Daddy? Have I ever heard of them, are they any good :p

Ron, I'm just curious. What was the scope of your sales letter?

Ron, your posts are always valuable. How did you find the copywriter that did the fatloss4idiots site? Please PM me if you would rather.

Best,
John

Sorry, Bev, I was kind of out of it last night to even notice the smiley. I think I'm coming down with something. Time for some zertec and get back to work.

Hi Ron

You're right. Copywriting can make
or break a project. So it might seem
expensive, but if you earn back 10x
(or a 100x) what you paid, it's still
dirt cheap, as a few other posters
have pointed out,

You also have to remember that a
pro copywriter will often supply more
than copy.

Sometimes a copywriter will be putting
a sales pitch together and realize the
product lacks something that could make
it sell much more, and so the copy guy
becomes integral to your product
development. This is the realm of the
ideas man... and it's part of what you
pay the money for...

Cheers

Steve

Getting a copywriter to come in cold costs a lot of money if they do it right. They should investigate the market, talk to your customers, talk to your sales guys. They find the common objections and what they are really looking for and then look for a way to position you against your competitors.

For a full service like this expect to pay big bucks as it is time consuming. You can of course speed it up by using a copywriter that specialises in your field (although be careful of conflicts of interest).

If you are charging big bucks you should be doing the full service.

I've hired a copywriter for 5 figures and got the results I wanted. BUT just because you are being charged a ton doesn't = results.

We should all learn and understand copywriting. It's THE most important part of your business. That being said I use swipes and original copy for my products and if I am in a crunch know a few life lines to call.

Get referrals, Past copy examples and proof, and do an interview to ensure you are a good fit. A contract should be inplace before work is started. I usually pay 50% upfront and the remaining within 7 days after product release and some small % of net rev on the backend. That ensures the best quality.

Good luck.

Hello, I still work for someone though I am transitioning out of paid employment. On average I would say that my employer gets a pretty good deal at around 3500-4000 per letter, and around 500 per email newsletter.

I can tell you that last year we pulled in around 10 mil. That was not all profit of course, because of chargebacks and affiliate commish but at the end of the year I think he did 4 mil profit. Not bad for a few 4000 dollar sales letters.

Marlon had a great point. Paying less may cost you more in the long run. I have to tell you the truth, my boss does this stuff all the time, looking for lower cost solutions etc...and he always pays the price. Find a real copywriter, pay the money, and get the reward (as long as you have a good product and know your market).

But state your terms. Make sure that for higher dollar copywriting you get some kind of guarantee. Free rewrites etc... Anyone worth their salt won't take your project if they feel you don't have a good enough product or offer. That being the case someone charging at the higher end of the spectrum should do all they can to move your product out the door.

P.S. Montello, I just read your sales letter. Wow...that was some pretty banging copy.

It's always so much easier to work with clients who understand
that copywriting is an INVESTMENT and not a cost. No one
buys stocks thinking "there goes my money!". They are thinking
about multiplying that investment.

When a prospect complains about my fees then I know that
he either never worked wit ha copywriter before or is not
thinking long term and cannot see beyond the fees he is
paying me.

There are other clients who understand the equation and
even if the product doesn't sell know that 'we can't win
them all and is ready to try another'.

For someone new to online marketing and running a business
in general then those fees can appear like a mountain and
I don't blame the for thinking this way... until the see the
money start rolling in.

There are so many guys who came to me thinking 'scarcity'
and now they earn close 10X my fees every month. They
became believers afterward and now don't argue with me
anymore. (At least most don't.)

But copywriting when done right is an INVESTMENT and not
a COST.

-Ray Edwards

I had a new client get most upset with me today because he expected and presumed that I would design and code the landing page as well as write it. For my $97 WSO. Here's some of his email -

When I said I was just the copywriter and he'd have to get himself a designer he got very narky -

So I returned his dosh forthwith. He replied -
And all this time I thought I was a copywriter. Seems I'm nothing but a drone "writing copy in a DOC file". And words have no power at all. Right?

Whenever I need some help on copywriting I usually pay something around $500 for 5 pages, so basically $100 a page... I don't get top notch writers but as I am a writer myself i just use their text as a way of supporting mine...

WOW!

I've been trying to learn copywriting, but according to some of the posters here, I'm already a copywriter.

I can write pages of content, so I guess I can hangout my shingle.

At the end of the day I think for most letters (general terms here..yes that's the secret to fence sitting)...8 to 10 large is reasonable...if you have done your other homework with JV's etc...you should definitely gross 10x + the cost.