Write FASTER Copy … Cut Down Your Writing Time By More Than 50% …
and DOUBLE Your Income!
Hiya CopyStar,
World-class copywriter Clayton Makepeace launched a health revolution – and he did it in a weekend.
That’s how long it took him to write the blockbuster promotion called "Give Me 90 Days." It was for a newsletter called Health & Healing.
Back in 1991, that promotion mailed MILLIONS of pieces each month for over two years. I know – at the time, I was the marketing manager responsible for finding the mailing lists for that fantabulous promo!
My mentor, Clayton Makepeace, wrote that package in less than 48 hours, sitting poolside and tanning his cute cheeks.
So why does it take ME six to eight weeks to write a half-way decent health promo?
Back in 2005, I gave myself a huge challenge: Cut my writing time in half without sacrificing quality and profitability of my work.
How’d I do?
Not only did I achieve my goal, I BEAT IT in spades!
Back then, I was writing about six direct mail packages a year. These are mostly 24-page magalogs/tabloids. I also completed a few other smaller projects – inserts, renewal programs, etc …
My success rate was around 66% – in other words, four out of six packages became controls.
In 2006, I put into practice my speedwriting program and I wrote 14 magalogs/tabloids … provided copy for a new website launch … wrote several inserts, calendars, other small projects and copy-chiefed a half-dozen junior copywriters on other projects.
Phenomenal, right? But that’s not all …
… I wrote six of the tabloid packages in less than three weeks – one package launch took me just 10 days! (Watch out Clayton, I’m moving in on your record!) Plus …
I more than DOUBLED my copywriting income and my success rate shot up to 86%!
In other words, I’m getting 20% more royalty income from six additional packages!
Now, fast-forward to the present. In 2008-2009, I wrote nine packages in less than 12 days – and eight of them became controls!
And just last month, I finished a project so fast it made my client’s head spin. He subtly accused me of rushing to finish the job. But when he read the copy – he loved it – and had little, to no changes to the copy!
(I have to admit I was a little ticked off by the accusation. So if I ever decide to write for that client again, do you think I’ll change my writing approach? Heck no! I’m sticking to this winning formula – so I’ll just let his copy "sit" for a couple or three weeks longer before sending it to him!)
Now, I’m not telling you all this stuff just to brag (well, maybe just a little) – I want you to know that the secret to my success isn’t rocket science. You too can put a few of these little tricks to work – and you’ll see your copywriting income SKYROCKET too! So follow my advice …
Seven keys to writing faster
and making lots of moolah!
#1: Before you write one single word: Know what the heck you’re talking about. In other words, do your research. Spend time getting into the mind of your prospect.
My clients usually send me a copywriter research kit. But if they’re struggling to find credible and usable info, I always recommend my top-dawg researcher Sandy Ferguson at www.fergusonresearchgroup.com to them.
You’ve got to convince yourself this is the best product ever and everyone needs to know about it. And, if at all possible, use the product!
I always request samples and use whatever I’m working on (With the exception of the male potency stuff. Doesn’t work for me and my husband swears he’ll never need it).
I want to see and feel a difference the product makes on ME. In other words, I’m convincing myself before I try to sell anybody else!
Many times, I’m so certain the product works, I write my own testimonial in my package!
If you’re working on a product and don’t believe its value – do yourself a favor and turn down the job. The odds of failure are great – and why do you want to sell a crappy product anyway?
#2: Work with a few clients – and really get to know their business! I’m nearing my 11th year as a freelance copywriter. And I’ve found the years I worked with just two or three clients produced more revenue than when I worked for six or more companies!
Of the 14 packages I wrote last year, 10 were from two clients. They were a variety of nutritional products – but all were going to the same demographics and files! That means I knew immediately who I was writing to.
I didn’t have to "learn" my market every time – just had to get into the benefits of the product. And because I was familiar with the companies, I knew their risk tolerance. That helped avoid a lot of edits from the legal department!
Let me also say this: I do believe it’s important not to "put all your eggs in one basket" – in other words, I make it a point to write for at least two new clients every year to pump new blood into my business. But I make sure that new clients fit my niche. That way I don’t have to re-learn an industry.
(Of course, one exception to this rule was the opportunity to work on an Oprah project – how could I turn THAT down! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here: Oprah promo
Limiting yourself to one client – without a sweet exclusivity arrangement – means if your only client is having a bad year – so are you!
Now, this next tip is my #1 way
to handle "writer’s block!”
#3: Stop staring at the blank screen! If ideas aren’t coming to you, get up and do something else. Give yourself permission to goof off.
When I’m stuck, I take my 98-year-old grandmother to Walmart … tackle a new recipe in my favorite crock-pot cookbook … or take a nap. Sounds contrary to SPEEDwriting, doesn’t it? Well it’s not. Here’s why …
Before I enjoy these diversions, I tell myself, "Ok, Carline, you can take a break, but you need to come up with a headline, or lead, or whatever." Then I get up from my computer.
What I’ve done is given my subconscious a direct order to start working. While I’m "goofing off," my subconscious is free to be as creative as possible.
Many times I’ve burned a meal because right in the middle of cooking, an idea pops in my head. I start writing it down and am usually back at my computer and raring to go!
Don’t believe me? Then read the book, Psycho-cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. You’ll discover how to unleash the power of the subconscious mind. Then, try it for yourself. I promise – it’ll work for you!
#4: Never start with a blank screen! You get writer’s block ’cause you don’t know what to say.’ Plus that blank page can be very scary!
So the first thing I do when I start writing is to quickly fill up the blank page. For example, you know you’ll need an order form, guarantee, testimonials and other static elements – so go ahead and cut and paste some standard ones into your document.
Then write the words, "Big Freakin’ Headline Goes Here!" – Hey, look, you’ve already got at least three pages of copy – and you haven’t even written a word yet!
Don’t worry, you’ll eventually tweak your original headline and make it stronger – but at least for now, you’ve got something!
#5: Take rest breaks: Tell yourself you’re only going to write for 15 minutes and then you’ll take a break. That’s easy right? What you’re doing is called "baby steps" – take a huge project and break it down into easy-to-handle segments.
After 15 minutes, you can take a break. But most likely, you’ll find you’re writing for 30 … 45 … even an hour or more!
#6: Don’t reinvent the wheel: Ask clients if they have standard elements of a package they prefer to use.
For example, one of my clients uses a standard order form for his promotions. Why spend time writing a new order form when it’s going to get dumped and replaced by the standard one?
Instead, focus your time on writing a strong headline for the order form and killer copy for the positive acceptance statement (the "YES! I want to …" section of the order form).
#7: Minimize distractions: When you’re in heavy-duty writing mode, keep your momentum by eliminating distractions.
In the movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness," Will Smith’s character found out he could save eight minutes a day just by pushing the hang-up button instead of physically hanging up the phone after every sales call. And he saved even more time by not drinking water so he wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom.
What he did was maximize productivity by minimizing distractions. You can too.
Put your phone on mute while you’re working. Contact your client and request any additional info by e-mail only …
… Let your neighbors know you really do have a job and not to "pop in" …
… And post a sign on your door for your kids that says, "WARNING: DON’T BOTHER ME UNLESS YOU’RE BLEEDING FROM YOUR EYE!"
In other words, do whatever you need to protect your writing time!
I know I promised you seven keys to speedwriting. And I hope these are helpful to you. But a good copywriter always delivers more than promised. So here’s probably the real key to my success …
#8: Love what you do and "niche your passion." When I first started copywriting, I took whatever job I could get. I needed the money and the experience. But I didn’t achieve real success until I focused on just one area and made myself an expert.
I love the alternative health field and I love writing about nutritional supplements. So now, 90% of my projects are for the nutritional health field.
I turn down projects that push me too far away from my niche. That way, I stay focused on the pulse of my market … and write faster, more profitable copy!
And I count my blessings
Last week I sent an e-mail to my clients saying I would be out of the office for a week. That’s it. No explanations. No request for "time off" or wondering if I had enough sick leave to cover me. Just said I wasn’t working that week.
What they didn’t know was I took the week off to take care of Mama Da, my 98-year old grandmother. My mom needed a break as a fulltime caregiver. She went to Florida for vacation and I volunteered to move into her house and provide the necessary care for Mama Da.
Sure, I could’ve juggled my schedule to get some work done. But I didn’t want to. I wanted that time for my grandmother.
Copywriting is the only job I’ve ever had in my entire life where I have that much freedom – and can still make a decent income. Talk about a blessing!
My Dallas is getting sooh big!
Can you believe my grandson Dallas is eight months old! Man, time is flyin’ by!
Recently, I gave his mom a special gift. It was a journal I kept of her pregnancy. We talked every day, so I wrote down what was happening with her ever-growing body. And the next thing you know – I had a book!
Now, I’m reading the journal to Dallas to let him know how special he was even before we met him!
The kid is all personality! Lots of smiles and laughs. He’s got six teeth and he’s not afraid to use them. My knees are a frequent target of his bites!
Dallas absolutely adores his grandfather, "C-Pop!" Here’s a picture of their frequent "walks" together …
Dallas and C-Pop go for a stroll
Here’s to Creating Success Your Way!
Carline Anglade-Cole
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
P.S. Hey CopyStar, need your help. I want to make this e-zine as actionable as possible for you. So, let me hear from you. Tell me what challenges you’re facing as you grow your copywriting biz. What advice do you want to hear from me? How can I help you more? SPEAK UP in the comments below. Thanks mucho!
Carline Anglade-Cole writes multi-year controls in the alternative health field for clients including Healthy Directions, Health Resources, True Health, Soundview Publications and Sun Chlorella USA.
She publishes CopyStar – Copywriting ideas and tips for stellar response – an e-zine for copywriters and direct marketers.
She is the author of How to Write Kick-Butt Copy: Straight Talk from a Million-Dollar Copywriter, Anatomy of a Kick-Butt Control: How to Create a Winning Promo from Start to Finish and Which One Won? How to Write Kick-Butt Headlines and Boost Response!
Put her 20 years of direct mail experience in mailing list strategies, new product development and creating kick-butt controls to work for your company!
Contact Carline directly by visiting her website at www.CarlineCole.com
Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.
Looking for more guest articles? Check these out.
Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.
 |
Want to share or reprint this article? Feel free. Just give us full attribution and a link to our Home Page when you do. |
Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.
6 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Francis Ablola — December 1, 2009 @ 11:35 am
Great tips. Thank you Carline. I’m taking my break from staring at a blank screen right now. Think I should go goof off for a bit before jumping back in.
Comment by Clarke Echols (Resident scientist and rabble-rouser) — December 2, 2009 @ 12:33 am
Great stuff!
Taking small bites and rewarding yourself for them was key to my handling a 3000-page computer operating-system reference manual (3 volumes). I did all the writing, editing, typesetting — the works. All in a 30-hour/week schedule for four years. (It took 10 engineers to handle the job when it transferred to another location in the company).
Letting your sub-conscious handle the road blocks, and eating the elephant one bite at a time is key to overcoming intimidation. On a recent crash project for a military contract, I started by creating the front cover. I got a full set of circuit diagrams, studied them until I understood how everything worked, then writing was easy.
You’re right. Do your research. Don’t write until you know what you’re talking about. Put yourself in the user/customer’s shoes (or eyeballs), then give them what they want — what they need, based on your thorough understanding of THEM, not what your client thinks.
After all, it’s the end user that signs your paycheck, not the client — Because the end user, the customer spends the money that makes everything else possible.
Another big time saver is templates. If ever you find yourself writing or doing the same thing over and over, either create a “fill-in-the-blanks” template or write a computer program to do the repetitive stuff. Saves mountains of time and makes you a dangerous killer when it comes to productivity — especially in a corporate environment where many have a severe case of lazy.
I’m very lazy. Lazy enough to find easier ways to do it better. Like the time I spent 4 hours writing a program to overhaul the internal typography of that huge manual. To do it the “normal” way would take 4-6 months. I did it in about 15 minutes on a 30 MHz computer, not a 2.4 GHz one. Great use of investing time to save a lot more time.
Or using Linux instead of Windows because it’s so much faster for most of what I do — like writing. I HATE
Microsoft Word!
And if you’re not a fast touch-typist, LEARN!
I took typing the first half of my senior year in high school and reached 45-50 words/minute. Now I usually run anywhere from 50-75, depending on what I’m doing.
And get an efficient keyboard. I LOVE my Kinesis keyboard.
Keys are straight up and down from each other. I can hit number keys with 95% or better accuracy without looking or even trying hard. There are six keys for each thumb to use (backspace, delete, enter, space for openers), taking a lot of load off of your little fingers. Plus you can re-define any key to be any other. That confounded Caps Lock key is not Ctrl, and End is Esc (and used by my left thumb, not my left pinkie reaching to the extreme corner of the keyboard).
Those keys get heavy use in the Unix and Vi/Vim editor environment.
[I wrote most of "The Ultimate Guide to the Vi and Ex Text Editors" in 1987 -- still sold on Amazon.]
The Kinesis keyboard is a huge boon for anyone with carpal tunnel or tendonitis problems. Fingers move a lot less too because they don’t have to reach as far.
Takes about a month to learn to use, but you’ll never want to go back to a standard typewriter keyboard again. Not cheap, but a stellar investment.
Clarke
Comment by Robert Nomura — December 2, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
First off, Carline thanks a bunch. And, Clarke holy cow manure! that was an awesome comment.
I’m going to look into that special keyboard for sure. I just ordered some voice to text software but I have a feeling that I’ll speak faster than what the software can keep up with, maybe a combo of both will work better.
To both of you … cutting your writing time …
I just finished a project for a new, start-up client. It took me too long. Way too long.
As a start-up they had virtually no background, they didn’t even know their market well. I spent a lot of time doing basic research, concept-ing the offer, discovering who their market was and what kept them up at night, etc. Plus, they’re in a business I wasn’t familiar with…
So both of you hit every cord. I pretty much did the exact opposite of what’s recommended here in the article and suffered a quiet agony.
If anyone reading this post doubts Clarke or Carline’s advice — Don’t!
Comment by Ryan — December 2, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
Thanks Carline - You are a real pro and I hope to be at that level one day soon. Thanks for all the tips!
Comment by Steve Newdell — December 2, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
Hi Caroline,
Thanks for this. Write a book. That’s what you can do to help more. Write and sell a book.
Steve Newdell
Comment by Carline — December 3, 2009 @ 9:49 am
Wow Clarke! Congrats on finishing that monstrous project. Glad you guys appreciated the tips!
Carline