New Copywriter? Just get your sh*t out there....

12 replies
Man, I'm almost embarrassed to put this up here.

Not because my site has shown off my man boobs to millions of people (hey, my man boobs are also responsible for selling millions of dollars of my fitness programs)

But rather because of how UGLY this first attempt at copy was...

Look at this page from 2002...

https://web.archive.org/web/20021120...unfitness.com/

Ugliest page you'll ever see, right?

Won't get any argument from me.

But it was a start. I got my first letter out there, circulating.

Then, from 2002... til, well, still today... I read every book on copy I could find, studied all the greats, I mean, I immersed myself in copy.

And surprise, surprise... the more I studied copy and IMPLEMENTED IT
in my letters that were out there circulating... it started producing a lot of sales for me...

Even though the copy wasn't a TON better...

https://web.archive.org/web/20040622...tshredded.html

But again, I kept at it, stuck with learning copy, and more important...
implementing and taking action.

From that first ugly site in 2002... til when I sold the company in 2009 for a big chunk of change, it went on to do over $2.2 million in sales of that one fitness ebook, and over $4.3 million of all my fitness ebooks from 2002 to 2009.

Here's the last version I touched of that page because I sold it in 2009...

Build Muscle Workout Program, Fast Muscle Building Workout Programs

Now, I realize that in today's online numbers, $2.2 from one product and $4.3 of all my fitness products is a pittance and almost laughable.

And it probably is for the heavy hitters here... hell, John Reese did a million
in one day... where it took me almost 5 years.

But I want to share this because if you're new, and not sure if you can do it, believe me, you can.

I started in 2002 as a dumb jock, a bodybuilder. A personal trainer that was out of a job.

So, I put up that first ugly-ass site.

But then, resolved to never quit.

To those of you who know what Archive.org is...
here's what the word resolve looks like...



All that graph shows is, I kept learning copy, kept testing out different
stuff on my pages, and just kept trying to get better.

And better it did..

Again, $2.2 million from that ugly site is peanuts
and almost laughable these days, but to this fitness guy from
Maine, it showed me that anything was possible.

It flipped that switch in my mind and showed me if I wanted
something bad enough, it just took focus, drive, determination,
knowledge, and action.

Even my parents, brothers, and friends thought I was crazy.. trying this "online thing"
in 2002.

But hey, everyone starts somewhere.

If you're a new copywriter, just starting out, just get your stuff out there, circulating,
so you can get real world results.

Then, resolve to pay the price... never quit.

You never know where that road will take you.
#copywriter #sht
  • Profile picture of the author .:mAestro:.
    Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

    But then, resolved to never quit.

    Then, resolve to pay the price... never quit.

    You never know where that road will take you.

    Amen.



    Can I ask how did you brought traffic to that website 10-12 years ago?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10124770].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
      Originally Posted by .:mAestro:. View Post

      Amen.



      Can I ask how did you brought traffic to that website 10-12 years ago?
      I don't know your age, but are you old enough to remember Goto.com?

      Which became Overture... I used Findwhat, 7Search, GoClick, etc...

      It's weird starting before "ebooks" became a thing on Amazon. My parents didn't (and still don't know) what I did for a living. To them, I could have been Heisenberg for all they know.

      But yeah, then Adwords came along and made it almost like printing money... and then not.

      Bottom line, shit comes and goes... which is why your process should never depend on one or two traffic sources.

      The people bitching and complaining when Google came down hard on adwords and SEO... they didn't have a business, they had an ad.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10124779].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rhadoo7
    A very inspiring story!

    Thank you for sharing!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10125904].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author elmo033057
    When you say, just get your stuff out there, exactly where did you put it out to get the clients you needed? Thanks for a great post!

    God bless!

    Elmo
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10144453].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
      Originally Posted by elmo033057 View Post

      When you say, just get your stuff out there, exactly where did you put it out to get the clients you needed? Thanks for a great post!

      God bless!

      Elmo
      Hey Mark,

      Thank you for your kind words about the post.

      Honestly, I started writing copy for my own products, as you can see by my first ugly attempt above.

      Then, I just absorbed all I could about copy... learning from the greats that everyone here has probably read a hundred times.

      As I got better at writing copy for my own products, and my stuff started getting noticed, I would get asked from time to time to write copy for friends/colleagues, etc...

      Then, when I sold my fitness biz in 2009 and became more of a full time copywriter... I started using Adwords, since I had bought millions worth of it with my business.

      I'd use adwords to bid on copywriting terms... and would send the prospect to a landing page that sold my services.

      Then I did the same on Facebook, I'd use AWAI's Direct response jobs.com site, and a few other places.

      These days, I get several leads a day from SEO, just from writing blogs, content on forums, etc... even though I don't really actively search for clients.

      I work with mostly repeat clients, as well as my own stuff I have in several markets.

      So, I guess the answer to your question is... anywhere. Seriously, the more action you take and the more you can get your copy, content, advice, etc... out there... and you give people a way to connect with you, you'll get leads.

      Pick up the book Platform by Michael Hyatt, I found it pretty helpful in terms of thinking of your copy biz as needing a platform to reach as many people as possible.

      So, you can either blog and write content, which attracts leads to you, or go the paid route and use adwords, bing, Facebook, etc... there really isn't any ONE best way to get your stuff out there.

      Treat your business like any other business, cause it is. The more you can get your stuff seen, in front of more eyeballs, you'll have a better chance to get leads.

      Don't hold back your imagination... I've used Adwords, Facebook, Twitter, press releases, forum posts and marketing, writing on my blog and on others, copywriting job boards, direct mail, etc...

      By using as many of these sources as you can, you're bound to get your stuff noticed more. But it helps to have winning pieces you've written, to serve as proof that you can actually write winning copy and produce results.

      Just getting leads won't help, you have to make sure you produce a proposal that shows you're the best person for the job, but that's another topic.

      Hope this helped!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146075].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author elmo033057
        Shawn,

        Sorry it took so long for me to respond and thank you for your help.

        Man, that was killer advice and I really appreciate your taking the time to write such an awesome piece of advice.

        I've been trying to blog, but I like to write good, 3000 word posts, so it takes awhile to get them done.

        But, you've inspired me to move forward, so I will definitely take your advice and run with it, my friend. I'm copying it and keeping it in my files.

        Thanks so much, you really helped me out.

        God Bless,

        Mark "Elmo" Ellis
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10150598].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RickDuris
    I was reading a rather novel book on this subject.

    It's called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. I love it. And for what Shawn is advocating, it makes an inspiring resource.

    Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity...Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity...

    - Rick Duris

    PS: It's so inspiring, it's silently nudging me to reconsider my strategy of not making my stuff available for public consumption.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10144598].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RonGold
    The only major difference I see between the two is a few bold headlines

    Seriously, what were you trying to point out?
    Signature
    CanadianContentWritingBHW@gmail.com
    $2/100 words for REGULAR CONTENT
    $4/100 words for TOP NOTCH MONEY CONTENT
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10144942].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JamesBarefield
    Banned
    Your story just made my day man, I genuinely was thinking you need to be selling high ticket products to do high number like that, at least without tones of JVs..
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10150947].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author chrisnos
    This is definitely so true, you just need to get your stuff out there, like a baby Learning to walk and getting up and falling over and over, you need to keep going until you get good.

    But, about this, I will say of copywriters is in 2002 it was easy to being mediocre.

    Since there wasn't widely used marketing systems, like combining mailing lists and free reports and complex pages with tons of free articles, the standard back that was just to a sales letter, and because that's what most of the industry did, it was much easier to make sales and build the business.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10157639].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jester573
    Great write up, and congrats on your success! I have just recently started to study copywriting online, and I bought the book "The copywriters Handbook" By Robert Bly. It fascinates me to see the methods used to lead a reader through the steps resulting in a call to action. I actually haven't liked writing much, but I think it was because I had a hard time understanding the goals of what I was trying to accomplish. With copywriting, it is more formulated which seems to allow me to break it down into steps more easily.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10161212].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BillG56
    I liked seeing your landing page. The layout is still relevant without over-the-top BOLD RED HEADLINES screaming at you.
    My wife and I are copywriters looking to help entrepreneurs with their content or emails. How do we go about getting business here on Warrior?
    Thanks
    BillG56
    groverscopywriting.com
    Signature

    Bill Grover
    Grovers Copywriting

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10171913].message }}

Trending Topics