Do Copywriters Usually Put in Pictures Too?

25 replies
Hey Everyone,

I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

Let me know.

Thanks!

Mike
#copywriters #pictures #put
  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

    Hey Everyone,

    I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

    This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

    Let me know.

    Thanks!

    Mike
    Depends on the writer. Bruce Wedding, for instance, goes the whole hog and drops in the graphics and headers (I believe). I don't. I'm first and foremost a writer. I give you the copy in a .doc or .odt file. I'll suggest fonts and the general layout but that's not my area of expertise and quite frankly I don't have the time to be page designer as well as scribbler. It also comes down to money. If you only paid a few hundred for that copy you can't really expect the guy to give you any more than a word file.

    But having said that...clients still whinge to me that they have to design the page. I always reply "I just write the words Dude - I'm not a webpage designer".
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    • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
      Originally Posted by Metronicity View Post

      Depends on the writer. Bruce Wedding, for instance, goes the whole hog and drops in the graphics and header.
      Yep, I spend a lot of time on design and I'm pretty good. As Mike points out, its very important to conversion.

      I'm doing one right now and it looks freaking awesome. I will post some of it later to give an idea of what I do. As mentioned, I'm not a graphics artist so I don't do things like headers and product shots. I do graphical quotations, headlines, shadows and captions on photos, and pretty graphs and charts ( not the crap Excel makes )
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      • Profile picture of the author Kevin Rogers
        I used to include graphics and deliver in html, but I was not very good so it added days to the project and lacked the eye-popping goodness a real designer can deliver.

        I finally stopped including graphics after a customer freaked out over the "junk code" from the design program I used.

        I did my best to deliver in DW after that, but design is just not what I do. These days I deliver everything in Word, including style notes for the designer...

        ... and then work closely with the designer to get the page just right. I add influence when needed, but usually just let the artist do his work.

        The key is vetting the designer before the project if possible. If the client is wise (and invested) enough to hie a guy like Dave Nayavich, then it's a dream for the copywriter.

        I've found guys like Bruce and Vin who have a talent for both copy and design are rare. I've been much more productive since I stopped including them and my client's pages look a lot better.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
      Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

      Thanks for the reply, guess I gotta do it all myself.
      The first rule of pictures is, they should be a visual support for what the copy is saying or trying to accomplish.

      And don't forget to add captions under each pic. Captions are one of the most read parts of a sales letter and a great opportunity to speak to the reader.

      Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author GR Marketing
    Hey man,

    I applaud you for wanting to get into information marketing and taking action, but to be quite honest with you this is very poorly formatted and written salescopy. Nobody is going to buy anything from that website, period.

    It looks like a 6th grader put it together in the 1997 version of Microsoft Frontpage. You need to hire a proper designer to at least make the copy look decent.

    After that you should definitely consider looking into getting a complete rewrite, or perhaps studying our art on your own and reworking your salescopy.
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  • Profile picture of the author yankforlife41
    It's just a rough copy, I just got it, obviously I'm gonna fix it up, just wanted to see if copywriters did the photos too and design.
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    • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
      Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

      It's just a rough copy, I just got it, obviously I'm gonna fix it up, just wanted to see if copywriters did the photos too and design.
      You can't fix it up.

      As was mentioned above, nobody will buy anything from that site.

      You have to start completely from scratch.

      You don't need pictures. You need copy that sells.
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      "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
      Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
      PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

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  • Profile picture of the author vip-ip
    A good copywriter does way more than come up with the words for an ad. Just like with telemarketing: it's not always what you read that matters, it's how it's shown.

    So to answer your questions, yes, good copywriters know that 65% of people in the world are visual learners. If you're doing a video, you might capture some of the 30% audio learners, as well.

    A good way to use images: to break up paragraphs, to make vivid eCovers, to make attention-grabbing web-site headers.

    Food for thought.

    Best Regards,
    vip-ip ...
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author Jag82
      Originally Posted by vip-ip View Post

      A good copywriter does way more than come up with the words for an ad. Just like with telemarketing: it's not always what you read that matters, it's how it's shown.
      Yes, I agree that looks matter as well.

      A good design can bring out the value
      we want to convey in the product.

      Just look at those health supplement and skin
      care product ads!

      But...a copywriter's first and foremost job
      - is to write compelling letter that sells.

      It's a bonus if the copywriter knows design
      as well and is willing to do it.

      Often, you will find many good copywriters working
      in tandem with good designers.

      - Jag
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeHumphreys
    Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

    I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?
    Pretty much every copywriter I know who is charging $4K and up sets up the webpage the way they want it to look.

    They usually don't do the header/footer/ebook covers stuff but the rest of layout, is done (or advised) by the copywriter.

    It's a guarantee that the salesletter looks the way it's supposed to. The wrong layout can hurt your response rates 25%, sometimes more.

    It's more work to do the layout so I build that into my project fee.

    Hope that helps,

    Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author alcymart
      Originally Posted by MikeHumphreys View Post

      Pretty much every copywriter I know who is charging $4K and up sets up the webpage the way they want it to look.

      They usually don't do the header/footer/ebook covers stuff but the rest of layout, is done (or advised) by the copywriter.

      It's a guarantee that the salesletter looks the way it's supposed to. The wrong layout can hurt your response rates 25%, sometimes more.

      It's more work to do the layout so I build that into my project fee.

      Hope that helps,

      Mike
      I agree to your reply, the Layout is critical, the colors used especially!A little color psychology goes very far!

      Take care,

      Bernard St-Pierre
      Marketing Consultant
      Copywriter/Teacher
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  • Profile picture of the author alcymart
    Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

    Hey Everyone,

    I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

    This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

    Let me know.

    Thanks!

    Mike
    Sure they say pics are worth 1000 words, however the fact of the matter is that "words" are 1000 times more powerful than a pic! I learned this the hard way...

    Take care,

    Bernard St-Pierre
    Marketing Consultant
    Copywriter/Teacher
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  • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
    It's fiverr testimonial girl again. Dang. Chick gets around.
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    Looks matter. Just nothing like the graphic artists and people using words like "pizazz" want it to.

    Message to market match sells. What people think "looks good" ...not so much. In fact, most of the things people think make a letter look better reduce results.

    The first reason is people love to put in irrelevant graphics. Want to start with graphics? Try everything you can possibly think to put in, one at a time, and watch what happens to results.

    Then try using a picture of the customer with your testimonials.

    Try everything you think is pretty. Then try a picture of the product, being used by the customers in the testimonials.

    Try every stock photo of a fashion model pretending to be an employee. Then try a picture of a real employee a customer can talk to.

    Try all the gimmicks you become infatuated with. Put in every single thing you just learned how to to in PhotoShop. Then try pointing the camera at a before and after picture of the results the product produces.

    If you think writing copy is hard, try beating your "unattractively plain" control piece with design. Then we can talk about what makes the letter look better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lauryn
    I read Dan Kennedy's Ultimate Sales Letter, and if I remember correctly, he said that the copywriter is the one who knows exactly which words are supposed to have emphasis and stick out. Therefore, it's the copywriter's job to handle that if they want to be seen as a great communicator. However, I would suppose it depends on the level of copy you're providing and who you're providing it to.
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    I Go Hard = "Slanguage" for putting forth a lot of effort.

    Don't be an arse and try to flip something you clearly have no knowledge of against me.

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  • Profile picture of the author Ross James
    Would love to see some more of your work bruce!

    -Ross
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    • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
      Originally Posted by Ross James View Post

      Would love to see some more of your work bruce!

      -Ross
      I will post a link if the client agrees. Otherwise I will just post some samples of the graphics work I do.

      One I am almost embarrassed to show is Brad Callen's Affiliate Elite | Affiliate Marketing Software but the letter converted well. I did this about 2 years ago for Brad Callen. I cringe when I see the hypey megaheadline but it worked.

      I did all the layout and photos. Brad just supplied the header and product shot. Today I do graphic headlines.
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    The first rule of pictures is, they should be a visual support for what the copy is saying or trying to accomplish.
    I'd suggest the first rule be for the FDA to regulate graphics like a mind altering drug.
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  • Profile picture of the author kaymie
    I 'm glad this question was raised...I've seen so many sales pages and I always wondered whether copy writers are supposed to be web designers as well! From the majority of the posts I guess not!
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  • Profile picture of the author ProfWriter
    I think it all depends. If you can offer design services, you can land more clients. If you are a solid copywriter with a good reputation, you can land plenty of clients without the bells and whistles.
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  • Profile picture of the author jdk1970
    Totally depends on who you work with. Some of the people I work with, particularly when I am posting articles myself, I place pictures.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
    That copy is far from good.

    If I were you... I wouldn't waste my time trying to graphically polish it. It needs to be scrapped and done again.

    -Daniel

    Originally Posted by yankforlife41 View Post

    Hey Everyone,

    I just got some copy done and it's pretty good, but it's bland no pictures, regular fonts, its got no jazz. Do copywriters usually do the pictures and fonts too?

    This is how it looks now Rapid Giveaway Profits- The Easiest Way To Bank Giving Away FREE STUFF

    Let me know.

    Thanks!

    Mike
    Signature

    Always looking for badass direct-response copywriters. PM me if we don't know each other and you're looking for work.

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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
    I dredged up this old thread to say, I've decided to switch teams. I'm going to write in MS Word from now on. While I enjoy the graphics, it takes way too much time, raises expectations and support issues I no longer wish to deal with. I will do my own sites but no more client layouts.

    I've seen the light.
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