Read this before you ask for a critique - some friendly advice :)
Because this forum is SO full of critique requests, I feel it appropriate to post this here.
To all of you who are seeking critiques from your peers, first - good on you for being proactive. You know that you can get better results by asking professionals for their advice, so you're going out and getting it. Congratulations for taking the first steps!
One thing I have to say, however, is that this advice shouldn't be taken lightly. Sure, many of the people who respond are professional copywriters. After all, they have a link to their portfolio in their signature, right?
Well really, that means nothing. Anyone can post a link to their portfolio in their signature file and call themselves a copywriter, even if nothing they've ever written has produced results. So first, consider who you are getting the advice from. Not bashing anyone here on the forum, of course - just saying that you should do your homework before you take advice. If you were building a house, and someone who called themselves a general contractor told you to move this, get rid of that, or add this, would you just blindly follow his specifications? Or would you ask for another opinion, and do your research to see how qualified and credible this person was?
Another point that a lot of people don't seem to realize is that copywriters themselves are probably some of the WORST people to ask for advice in a forum setting, especially newer copywriters. Not because of any lack of skill, but because of an innate need to make your copy fit the "rules" they have in their mind. And anything that doesn't fit those rules gets ripped to SHREDS. I've actually seen some very good copy go bad from the critiques offered in this forum. Not because all of the advice was bad, it wasn't. The problem came about when the mob mentality kicked in and the copy was ripped apart because of certain direct response principles. Principles that had indeed been violated by the copy, but for a darned good reason - it probably would have worked.
And this brings me to the next issue - too many cooks in the kitchen. When you're taking salesletter advice from 15, 20, or 30+ people, you're going to get a lot of different viewpoints. Every single one of those people is going to have a different vision for how your letter may look, and it will probably conflict at one point or another with how other writers believe your letter should look.
A real life example of what I'm talking about... Every year for Christmas, my fiance's family makes Goulash. And they all love spicy food. Well, first, my mother in law adds some hot sauce after tasting it, and walks away to let it cook. Then, my father in law comes in, tastes it, and adds some more before the hot sauce has "kicked in" from my mother in law. The process is repeated with my fiance, and occasionally a few other house guests.
By the time the soup is ready to serve, the pot resembles a giant vat of Franks Red Hot more than it does soup - all because no one gave the original additions a chance to work first, and they all had their own ideas on how it should taste.
Every one critiquing your letter has a different opinion on how it should "taste". And if you add in a little bit of each person's suggestions, and don't give things a chance to work on their own first, you're going to end up with one unedible soup of a salesletter.
My advice? Go ahead and as for a forum critique of your letter. Listen to the advice. But don't necessarily implement it all right away... Listen to your gut feeling, and slowly make additions until the letter seems to meld well with your original ideas.
Or better yet, as one specific copywriter for a critique. Many copywriters here on the WF will do a critique for very reasonable rates, often times much less than they would charge for writing a full salesletter from scratch. You get to save your budget, while getting a professional opinion from one person. You get to do your homework on how well this person's advice works. You get the experience behind it. And you can walk away with the knowledge that the critique they gave your letter has one clear vision - instead of ending up with Firehouse Goulash on your sales page.
- Cherilyn Lester
The Canadian Copywriter
To all of you who are seeking critiques from your peers, first - good on you for being proactive. You know that you can get better results by asking professionals for their advice, so you're going out and getting it. Congratulations for taking the first steps!
One thing I have to say, however, is that this advice shouldn't be taken lightly. Sure, many of the people who respond are professional copywriters. After all, they have a link to their portfolio in their signature, right?
Well really, that means nothing. Anyone can post a link to their portfolio in their signature file and call themselves a copywriter, even if nothing they've ever written has produced results. So first, consider who you are getting the advice from. Not bashing anyone here on the forum, of course - just saying that you should do your homework before you take advice. If you were building a house, and someone who called themselves a general contractor told you to move this, get rid of that, or add this, would you just blindly follow his specifications? Or would you ask for another opinion, and do your research to see how qualified and credible this person was?
Another point that a lot of people don't seem to realize is that copywriters themselves are probably some of the WORST people to ask for advice in a forum setting, especially newer copywriters. Not because of any lack of skill, but because of an innate need to make your copy fit the "rules" they have in their mind. And anything that doesn't fit those rules gets ripped to SHREDS. I've actually seen some very good copy go bad from the critiques offered in this forum. Not because all of the advice was bad, it wasn't. The problem came about when the mob mentality kicked in and the copy was ripped apart because of certain direct response principles. Principles that had indeed been violated by the copy, but for a darned good reason - it probably would have worked.
And this brings me to the next issue - too many cooks in the kitchen. When you're taking salesletter advice from 15, 20, or 30+ people, you're going to get a lot of different viewpoints. Every single one of those people is going to have a different vision for how your letter may look, and it will probably conflict at one point or another with how other writers believe your letter should look.
A real life example of what I'm talking about... Every year for Christmas, my fiance's family makes Goulash. And they all love spicy food. Well, first, my mother in law adds some hot sauce after tasting it, and walks away to let it cook. Then, my father in law comes in, tastes it, and adds some more before the hot sauce has "kicked in" from my mother in law. The process is repeated with my fiance, and occasionally a few other house guests.
By the time the soup is ready to serve, the pot resembles a giant vat of Franks Red Hot more than it does soup - all because no one gave the original additions a chance to work first, and they all had their own ideas on how it should taste.
Every one critiquing your letter has a different opinion on how it should "taste". And if you add in a little bit of each person's suggestions, and don't give things a chance to work on their own first, you're going to end up with one unedible soup of a salesletter.
My advice? Go ahead and as for a forum critique of your letter. Listen to the advice. But don't necessarily implement it all right away... Listen to your gut feeling, and slowly make additions until the letter seems to meld well with your original ideas.
Or better yet, as one specific copywriter for a critique. Many copywriters here on the WF will do a critique for very reasonable rates, often times much less than they would charge for writing a full salesletter from scratch. You get to save your budget, while getting a professional opinion from one person. You get to do your homework on how well this person's advice works. You get the experience behind it. And you can walk away with the knowledge that the critique they gave your letter has one clear vision - instead of ending up with Firehouse Goulash on your sales page.
- Cherilyn Lester
The Canadian Copywriter
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creativeblogger -
Thanks
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