Should I outsource copywriting, or should I to learn to DIY?

After knowing how to drive traffic, good Copy-Writing will give you higher conversions. These 2 elements are of most importance in IM and you need to master them by getting your feet wet all the time.

Hiring a great Copy-Writer can be very expensive and if you are a beginner, your only option is getting your feet wet.

Cheers,

David

Copywriting is very different from just merely writing content. If you re confident that you can with sufficient research and practice do this on your own, then go ahead as it will save you a lot of money. But if you think you'd rather focus you're energy and efforts somewhere else, you may want to invest in having a copywriter produce a proper copy for you.

Thanks for your advice .

Is it hard to learn copywriting? Is there a course that you recommend?

There are advantages to both. If you want to make money right now, then hiring a copywriter is the best way to go.

But spending the time to get well grounded in copywriting will serve you for the rest of your life. To get a really solid grasp you'll probably have to spend a few years in the trenches. (You can shortcut that time if you get coaching - but a lot of coaches won't take on pure beginners, and they usually cost 5 figures - At least that's who I understand of the situation)


This is probably the best place to start.

The Gary Halbert Letter

Thanks Andy, appreciate your advice.

I know it is well worth learning and it is going to take a long time!

I would like to hear more from other warriors.

What about skipping written sales letter all together and use video sales letter?

http://www.samuraisalesvideos.com/ can do 1 including everything for about $497.

That website (samuraislaesvideo.com) doesn't work.
However, the most efficient system is copy and video, not only video.
Prospects likes to watch the video, and then read the copy to see some more details, or simply to review the highlights.

I would learn to do it yourself. You have nothing to lose!

DIY if you can do it well. If not, don't hire anyone for a penny a word. Quality content is worth paying for.

Depends.

Are you interested in hiring me to write your sales letter, or are you interested in joining my coaching program? LOL

Just kidding.

Learn to write copy. You'll be glad you did.

VL

I always recommend that a marketer should learn copywriting
even if he doesn't plan to be a copywriter. At least you know
how to judge the copywriter you outsource your work to.
Can't hurt at all.

-Ray Edwards

Hi David,

I know how you feel about this.

I’d recommend that you learn copywriting. Its a valuable skill to have. I won’t really recommend that you go and find a copywriter immediately. How would you know if you’re hiring a good or crappy copywriter?

Learn by getting a coach. Yes, it can be a bit expensive and if you’re in a tight budget then follow what Bob Yeager told me during my interview with him (I’d love to share it with you if you want to read the transcript) - If you can’t afford a coach then buy their books, cd’s, read their blog posts and watch their videos online. Just make sure you follow the right people.

As you get better at copywriting, you could then train your employees how to get better at it as well.


Alternatively if you do decide to outsource my tip would be to find students of the pro's of copy writing and have them do it for you. They will be cheaper but still draw from the same experience.

Always here to help,

Nick

I'm an internet marketer AND a copywriter. I can tell you this if you're starting out...

Spread your work through investments. If you're going to learn copywriting, it'll take at least 2 years to get the fundamentals down to the subconscious competency level. To the habitual level.

You don't have to be a brilliant copywriter to be an internet marketer, but it's a huge bonus. Many good internet marketers who make over millions have skills in copywriting, or at least are crazy a bout conversions.

It's business. Your opportunity cost. Is this anything more valuable that you ought to do in the time needed to write copy? Like product creation, customer feedback and research, offer research, etc.

Also, being a copywriter helps drastically in the research part. A huge difference.

I'd know, since I started off that way.

- Winston Thaler

I think it all depends on your margin, risk tolerance and budget. If you are trying to draw someone to a niche affiliate product with a small return, then you should probably bite the bullet and do it yourself. No sense paying $5,000 for a letter if you are reaching a market only worth $3,000. On the other hand, if you are writing a sales letter to something that can bring you six figures in income, then you want the absolute best. Whether that's you or someone else.

But I'd definitely recommend doing it yourself. It's a great skill to have and if you don't have any money then it is your only option.

You can only become a copywriter when you acknowledge that everything you know is wrong.

Mark Pescetti

P.S. in other words, stop playing by the bloody made up rules.

If you love to write, then work hard to master this art. Conversely, if writing is not your passion, try to learn the basics.
Either way, think that learning copywriting will help you to make a better selection of the writers you will want to hire.

Learn some basic copywriting for simpler stuff, like emails, headlines, squeeze pages,
but for more serious and heavy stuff, like sales pages - leave it to the pros.

I would suggest hiring a copywriter rather than doing it yourself. saves time and money, and lets you do more important things like coming up with new venture ideas

copywriting can be tricky and it isn't something you can just pick up in a few hours..if you need that service now i suggest hiring a copywriter BUT if you are young and have tons of energy i would say you can learn about it in the next year or so.

Threads like this illustrate one of the reasons I rarely post here anymore.

Not the question...not even most the answers...

Just
sick...
and...
tired...

of seeing people refer to direct response copy as "content."

(sigh)

done.

yes OUTSOURCE! never try to do everything by urself

If you have the money to pay a writer who can get results, you should outsource it. However, even if you do outsource it, you should learn enough about it to where you can spot talent when you see it.

It takes some copywriting expertise to recognize the difference between well written copy that won't sell and well written copy that WILL sell.

I say learn to DIY and then you'll be able to outsource it even better...Of course learning to do it yourself will also require seeing how the professionals do it on a regular basis...

copywriting for blog posts and articles can be learned. You should visit copyblogger.com to get things going. I learned on my own and get paid through copywriting.

2 elements you need to learn
-creating magnetic headlines
-active voice not "passive voice"


I hope this helps!

I'd have to say because copywriting can also change the way you talk with people, that one needs to absolutely learn the skill themself. If you really consider all the different scenarios in which it can help you, I think learning it for yourself would be a major benefit.

Although it does somewhat depend on your personality too. I'm naturally a fairly creative and artistic person, so its something I feel is mandatory for myself to get good at. If you're not that type of person, then you may hate any form of writing, and in that respect maybe outsourcing it would become a wiser decision.

Depending on the requirements, say it's a technical writing type and you're not aware of the rules in technical writing then it's better to outsource the work to get a good copy

There is one question that WinstonThaler both brought up that really needs to be considered - is this the best use of your time?

Perhaps in the time spent learning copywriting, you could have built a business structure that ultimately pays you far more.

Ultimately it comes down to what you are good at, where you are in the business development cycle, what your business plans are, and what you are willing to outsource. A business owner can't be good at everything without running into the "Jack of all trades and master of none" problem.

It's definitely useful to have a good understanding of copywriting, but what about advertising, marketing, website development, accounting, affiliate building, and all the other things needed? Are you going to learn all those too?

As an example, McDonalds would not have gotten very far if Ray Kroc had insisted on mastering every aspect of business development. But by focusing on what he was good at, he built an empire that allowed him to hire the very best marketing firms.

It's something to think about, anyway.

In case, you do not have content writers or developers in your company who can do the job of article writing then it is always recommended to outsource copywriting to a reputed content development firm. There are many companies who provide similar services at affordable rates. I have tried such services for my company and is getting positive response as in increased number of online traffic.

I would highly suggest you don't spend time learning effective copywriting unless you plan to turn this into your career or main source of income. There are just too many variables involved, and it is way much more cheaper to just hire an experienced copywriter to do the job right than to slog for hours and come up with a mediocre content. You can use those hours to do something else more profitable such as learning SEO.

Copywriting is A skill that is Important for everything we do or think
but sometimes a good and A proffesional Copy can convert in 1000%'s more then other
so its depends on the product or the service you promote or sell

I say pay a good copywriter then study what it is about their writing that makes it so good, that way you kill two birds with one stone.

You should do what you do best, and hire others to do the rest. If you're not a good copy writer, then you should hire somebody who is.

I sincerely thank everyone for your advice. I have indeed learned so much from you all.

I started this thread 3 weeks ago and I totally forgot about it after a few days. I was pleasantly surprised when I returned today and found that this thread is still alive.

Obviously this is a question in many IMers mind, and there are pros and cons.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, English is not even my first language. I have trouble writing articles, let along copywriting.

Nevertheless, despite my handicap, I am very determined to learn as much as possible. I have just finished writing a report to give away which took me a week. I've learned a lot from writing this report regarding writing headlines, bullets etc.

I've also set up my squeeze and applied what I've learned into practice writing headlines and bullets.

Thank you again!

Look forward to learning more from you all!

copywriting is a skill you absolutely must learn.

1 thing to keep in mind about EVERYTHING in internet marketing, is that in order to outsource you must know what your doing.

You don't have to be awesome at copywriting, but understand the basics, write 2 or 3 sales letters yourself to get a feel for whats involved, then outsource to someone more skillful