Will you do copywriting for an inferior product?

17 replies
Hi there

I was just wondering...

Will you do the copywriting for a product you deem to be inferior/ not worth the asking price?
If so, how do you approach it?

You are after all building a brand (Your Name). Admitted, mostly you'll act as a ghost writer, but you still want/ need referrals.

I suppose it's got to do with, amongst other things, whether you're a newbie, or a settled copywriter. (Whether you want to do it or not, or have to do it).

I would try to educate the prospective client, to either lower the price or to enhance the product with the following... (but you'd have to be subtle about it).

I understand that it's a personal choice as far as religion, adult stuff and barely legal stuff are concerned.

Thanks for "listening".
#copywriting #inferior #product
  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    Actually, the problem is if it's not in the product ...it's ain't gonna be in the copy. Newbie or expert, it's simply not going to be there to advertise. Inferior products result in inferior copy.

    Read Controversy! Gunfire Erupts Over "9 Most Important Words in Marketing History"

    People don't want to hear it, even coming from Bencivenga, but newbie copywriters are not going to be successful with a truly inferior product. They have less skill to put what little there is in the inferior product in a good light.

    Testimonials are going to be weaker. Your feature list will suffer ...and forget benefits. Conversions will be lower even while you are forced to lower your price. The newbie copywriter tries to fix this with gimmicks (and fails). The copywriter with a lick of sense just fixes the product.

    Perhaps a better question is why market a product known to be inferior, when you know (sooner rather than later) word-of-mouth is going to catch up to you. Fall out of love with the product. See it for what it is. Fix it.

    And stop thinking copywriting is magic. The best copywriting will merely allow the inferior product to fail faster.

    Because they don't need the money, seasoned copywriters earn their pay by telling clients what they don't want to hear. Finding people who can't tell you "no" isn't a bargain, it's a recipe for bankruptcy.

    Let me repeat. Fall out of love with the product. See it for what it is. Fix it. A newbie won't know how, but many seasoned copywriters should have a wealth of ideas and resources to assist you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kyle Tully
    Originally Posted by Adriaan View Post

    Will you do the copywriting for a product you deem to be inferior/ not worth the asking price?
    If so, how do you approach it?
    No, for the reasons John mentioned.

    Originally Posted by Adriaan View Post

    I suppose it's got to do with, amongst other things, whether you're a newbie, or a settled copywriter. (Whether you want to do it or not, or have to do it).
    You never have to do anything, newbie or not. That's a limiting belief that too many newbie copywriters have.

    Originally Posted by Adriaan View Post

    I would try to educate the prospective client, to either lower the price or to enhance the product with the following... (but you'd have to be subtle about it).
    You don't have to be subtle about it, in fact it's probably better to come out and tell them their product is flat out no good. It doesn't do anyone any favors to tread lightly... they'll just move on to another copywriter who is more desperate for the money.

    And then... a crap product will be sold to the public... a product owner won't make much money... and a copywriter will have a relatively useless sample in his file.

    No one wins.

    I've told people their products aren't good enough, even told them to change their entire business model, and in the end they've all thanked me.
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    • Profile picture of the author dorothydot
      That's an interesting question. Presumably some copywriters will do this, especially if the pay is right. Maybe I would even be one of them; I did have one prospective client that I wasn't wild about writing for - I jacked up the price big-time and he faded away.

      That said, I personally refuse absolutely to write any copy for a product or service that could do harm to anyone.

      I'm in this business to help, not hurt. No ifs-ands-or-buts here!

      Dot
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      • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
        I think the question isn't phrased correctly.

        Writing for crap... writing for a product that is a scam... writing for a client that is a scammer... that's all one thing.

        But writing for an inferior product (meaning: another product is superior to it) is a huge part... HUGE PART of what copywriters do. It's why we exist.

        If not for the superior/inferior relationship, only 1 burger restaurant would have ads. Just because Burger King's burgers win every taste test, a reputable copywriter shouldn't write for McDonalds?

        And... when you talk about building reputation... building your own brand, this is a scenario straight from heaven.

        If you can be known as the guy or gal who toppled the competition even when you had an inferior "burger" to sell. Damn... you'll write your own ticket.
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  • Profile picture of the author lindajess
    If the product is not up to par, I wouldn't do it. Moral reasons here, but if something isn't worth what they are asking, I wouldn't do it. I am a newbie, and yes, I do need the money, but that being said, I still wouldn't do it.

    Like you said, you are building a brand, and what good is it if you can't stick by your own name? Does that make sense?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Fladlien
      Well, ideally you don't want to. Nothing is easier than writing copy for an awesome product that can be positioned as a "magic solution".

      However, there are times when you got to suck it up and do it if you're writing for others. Which is why I almost always turn down the copywriting jobs that are offered to me, or quote outrageous fees.

      The reason why my copy works so well, is that I start the copywriting process long before the product is even created. I focus more on the offer than the copy, and only when I have come up with an irresistible offer do I even begin to attempt to sit down and write the sales letter for it.

      -Jason
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      Co-creator of WP Twin. Perhaps the most expensive yet most reliable wordress cloning tool on the market. We've definitely been used more successfully than all other options :)

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      • Profile picture of the author Dean Dhuli
        If the copywriter is not super-excited about a product, then there's
        no way he or she can come up with a kick-butt copy for it.
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        • Profile picture of the author BrianMcLeod
          You've gotten some great responses from everyone so far.

          To me, this is the part of the process where the copywriter becomes more "Consigliere" than "Cyrano". You've got to convince "the boss" not to make a tragic error or else.

          No magic words or "secret" neurohypnotikinesis techniques will overcome the displeasure the buyer experiences when they discover the mushy mess underneath all that shiny gold paint sprayed over a dogshit product.

          That equals refunds, complaints and most importantly lost profits...

          I loved this line from John: "Finding people who can't tell you "no" isn't a bargain, it's a recipe for bankruptcy."

          So true.
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          • Profile picture of the author Chipt
            WOW -- what great responses so far... bravo!

            For your consideration...

            1. Consider that loads of currently available and marketed IM and other products are 'crap' when measured against 'perfection'...

            2. I've personally seen J.Reese say publicly on stage, "Crap sells!"

            3. Any product and product producer worth its salt is always going to try to improve / update a current offering over time [so it must not have been 'perfect' when it was launched.]

            4. In all reality, there is really no such thing as 'perfection' because perfection is in the eye of the beholder like 'beauty' and 'value' are. What is perfect for one person can be perfectly inadequate for another.

            I could go on, but enough said.

            Chip Tarver
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            • Profile picture of the author Rigmonkey
              Originally Posted by Chipt View Post

              2. I've personally seen J.Reese say publicly on stage, "Crap sells!"
              Remember that a similar quote by Gerald Ratner almost caused the collapse of the Ratners/Signet Group.

              It's be a cold day in hell before genuinely poor products produce glittering sales copy. Inspiration usually comes from a belief in either your own talents or the subject matter of the things you choose to write about. Produce poor copy and you'll be writing sales pages about rubber dog poo for the rest of your career!
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              • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
                Originally Posted by Rigmonkey View Post

                you'll be writing sales pages about rubber dog poo for the rest of your career!
                Rubber dog poo needs copywriters, too.

                Just look at this page and tell me it is not a superior product, and really needs a good copywriter...

                Fake Dog Poo Brought to you by Liquid ASS

                (But your point is correct! )
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                • Profile picture of the author Rigmonkey
                  Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

                  Rubber dog poo needs copywriters, too.

                  Just look at this page and tell me it is not a superior product, and really needs a good copywriter...

                  Fake Dog Poo Brought to you by Liquid ASS

                  (But your point is correct! )
                  Is it OK for me to change my mind and say that I actually wish I'd have been given this gig?

                  Naturally, there's as much copy that needs to be written as there are fish in the sea. Many work providers are now looking for cheap copy in the same way they want to purchase cheap content. I suppose, to a certain degree, that this type of product could serve as good experience for a newcomer to the world of copywriting.

                  Unfortunately, the type of fee that you could command for it would set a precedent that keeps the writer at the lower end of the earnings scale. The quality of the copy in the dog poo link (and the spelling) serves to show that both the webmasters and the writer aren't particularly enthusiastic about getting things right. It's the type of product a serious copywriter could regret being involved in at a later stage.

                  Saying that, the addition of pieces of sweetcorn did lure me in just a little...
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                • Profile picture of the author Stephen Bray
                  Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

                  Rubber dog poo needs copywriters, too.

                  Just look at this page and tell me it is not a superior product, and really needs a good copywriter...

                  Fake Dog Poo Brought to you by Liquid ASS

                  (But your point is correct! )
                  Ah but I suspect that 'Liquid Ass', or is 'Arse'
                  is the ACME of fake dog poop?


                  This is food for the discerning prankster!

                  A high quality product made in the USA
                  and not some cheap Chinese bat****!


                  Stephen
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                  Send me a DM, or visit my support desk to contact me: http://support.stephenbray.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Stephen Bray
    A local guy with a business that
    charters yachts asked me for a
    favour the other day.

    He wanted a label designed for

    some acrylic scarves that are
    sold by our local woman's group.


    These are for export and so the

    brief was to make the scarves
    seem of high value, even though
    the style is traditional and the
    material man-made.

    of course it would have been

    far easier to write compelling
    copy if the material had been
    silk, rather than acrylic.

    But eventually I found a way

    to combine both elements.

    That's the knd of thing a

    good copywriter should be
    able to achieve.

    It's not about marketing

    inferior products, but rather
    telling the truth attractively.

    Stephen
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    Send me a DM, or visit my support desk to contact me: http://support.stephenbray.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Pettit
    What, exactly, is an inferior product?

    There are products, and there are markets for those products.

    Walmart sells a whole lot of (disposable, designed obsolescence) "crap," agreed?

    But their market calls for it. Buys it. Re-buys it when it fails or wears out.

    So, I object to the concept of "inferior product," per se, and assert that there is a market for just about any product.

    It starts with Integrity, the #1 character trait of the truly successful. That ensures correct Vision, from which come the only effective goals. If these are in focus and in proper organization, the "product" is not the issue.

    And I would write copy accordingly.
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    • Profile picture of the author arfasaira
      I too am a newbie and got some good advice from a fellow writer.

      If something is rubbish, talk to the client about what can be done to improve it, and then give them time to fix it. If they still come back with an inferior product, you have two choices.

      You can either tell them the truth and help the client cut their losses there and then, or you can make an excuse like you are booked up or something.

      Personally, I would tell the truth. It's kinder to the client and they would have far more respect for you than you doing them a sub-standard job because you don't have much to work with.

      What you don't want is the client telling people your rubbish and that the copy your wrote doesn't even convert.

      That would be my worst case scenario. Last thing I want is to tick people off because I promised to write something that failed to deliver.

      Offer your services - if its an information product, offer to re-write or add to it on the cheap.

      A client of mine wrote something which is by itself quite good, but its in such a specialized niche it is unlikely to convert. He is now re-writing it to make it more general and hence more saleable.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Pettit
    "Inspiration usually comes from a belief in either your own talents... "

    KEY!

    There is no inferier product. Unless it is truly rubbish. Then move on. Don't take the writing job. Assert your Integrity!

    Otherwise, do the job. Perform the task. And keep reaching higher.
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