Answers from the Heart
Dear Business-Builder,
What a great weekend!
On Saturday morning, The Redhead and I hopped into the 911 and went tear-assing down the mountain to Atlanta for Carline Anglade-Cole’s Copywriting Boot Camp.
The object of the exercise was twofold: 1) To spend an all-too-rare evening with Carline Anglade-Cole and her amazing family and 2) To rub elbows with a gaggle of Total Package readers who happened to be in attendance.
We had a ball.
Not only did I get lots of nice, warm hugs from my friend and her daughters Milan and Tiara … a manly hug and a slap on the back from Mick … and a hearty handshake from their son Chatham … I also got to meet a bunch of other family members (all drop-dead gorgeous, of course).
Plus, I also got to spend time with some of our readers. And as you might expect, to answer some of the most pressing questions they have on their minds now. Since we also get these questions in our feedback box almost daily, I figure it might be a good thing to tell you what I told them.
For instance, one attendee who’s still training to become a copywriter was already thinking ahead …
Question:
“How long will it take to get my first clients?”
My Answer:
“Depends on how willing you are to do what’s required.”
‘Way back in the late 1970s, I had just spent a few years gaining experience and plumping up my portfolio at a direct response agency and it was time to begin my freelance career.
So, when I took a few days to consider my prospects and how I would begin building my business, I quickly recognized five things:
First, since most of my experience and portfolio had to do with promoting investment newsletters — and since that industry was growing rapidly at the time — my best chance of growing my freelance business quickly was to focus on those kinds of clients.
Second, I recognized that, while there was the very real danger that if I didn’t get enough assignments my family would starve, there was really no such thing as having “too many” clients asking for my time.
After all — if my client acquisition efforts yielded more work than I could handle this month, I could always schedule overflow work for next month. And in the worst case, I could simply say, “I’m sorry; I’m booked solid.”
Third, I knew it would take time to contact and close the deal with my first clients. Not too long; just a few weeks or so, but if I could find a way to get an assignment or three in a few days or so, that would be a good thing.
Fourth, I recognized that even after I had bagged my first clients, there would be holes in my schedule; times when I went days or (perish the thought!) a week or more with nothing productive to do. So I wanted to make sure those holes were filled with things that would make me money.
And fifth, I realized that I didn’t necessarily need a client to produce income for my family. I could create information products of my own, write an ad, and watch the checks come rolling in.
So, beginning on Day One of my new freelance career, I launched not one, but three urgent initiatives:
1. The Newsletter Publisher Initiative: To begin the process of recruiting clients, I went to the library and made a beeline to the reference section where they kept the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters, flipped to the section on Financial Publishers and made a list of prospective clients, key contacts, and of course the company’s mailing address and phone number.
That done, I grabbed the Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS) catalog of mailing lists and looked up every newsletter on my new prospect list to see …
- Which ones relied primarily on direct mail promotions to grow their subscription bases (to ensure that there was plenty of work to be done) …
- Which ones were the largest (to make sure I was talking to people who could afford to pay me), and …
- Which ones which were already growing (to get hints as to which ones were resonating best with prospects, therefore giving me better odds of creating winners).
Then, I set aside time every week to contact each one of them.
I sent them letters, giving them a heads up that a package was coming that could revolutionize their businesses.
I followed up with a package containing samples of my work and a cover letter about my experience and philosophy. The letter said that I had some ideas I believed would ramp up their response … that I was setting up my writing schedule for the next quarter … and that if I didn’t hear from them first, I’d call them in a day or so.
Some called; most didn’t; so like clockwork, I made those follow-up calls. And over the next year or so, I bagged more than a dozen projects from these guys.
2. The Ad Agency Initiative: I figured that the folks down at our local TV and radio stations and local ad agencies often had more copywriting work than they could (or wanted to) handle.
For one thing, account executives at TV and radio stations would rather be selling time than writing copy. Ad agency work often comes in fits and starts and like every other kind of employee, copywriters’ vacations often occur at inopportune times.
So, since unlike most account execs and agency writers, I had actually studied copywriting and knew something about it, I figured, “What the heck” — and offered them my services as well.
For these guys, I even created a D.B.A. — a “company identity” — for myself. I called myself “Copy Overload.” And because these were agency types, I spoke to them in a language they could easily understand.
I threw together a hokey brochure with a picture of a guy in a ski mask pointing a gun at the reader on the cover. The headline: “Only a Ski Mask and a Loaded .45 Will Get Your Clients More Money Faster Than a Promotion From Copy Overload …”
Inside, I extolled my experience and philosophy as a copywriter and how I could help them. And I wrote two cover letters to mail with my brochure — one for agencies and another for media account execs — dimensionalizing how having an outside source of copywriting would make each of them more money and advising them to take my call “next Monday.”
Here again — some called me first; most didn’t. So I followed up religiously every Monday. And on that first Monday, I bagged two ad agencies as clients and had not one, but two projects to dive into.
Step #3 — The Entrepreneurial Initiative: I say this all the time, and usually, peoples’ eyes just glaze over. But as copywriters, we have an amazingly powerful tool at our command: The ability to slap a little black ink onto a piece of white paper (literal or virtual) and have people send us money.
Even though there were no free media — no Internet or e-mail — when I went out on my own three decades ago, that lesson was NOT lost on me. So I picked a small tabloid that charged a pittance for a full page ad … studied its readers’ fears, frustrations and desires … created a report I believed they’d find irresistible … and wrote an ad that sold the bejezus out of it.
The $35,000 in sales I raked in came in mighty handy.
Every dollar I’ve earned since I launched those three campaigns some 30 years ago can be traced directly back to them.
Question:
“How do you talk a client into paying you a royalty
instead of a flat fee?”
My Answer:
“Be patient; it’ll happen naturally.”
This question popped up when Wendy mentioned that we still get more than $250,000 in royalties every year from copy I wrote as long as five years ago.
The fact is, moving from charging flat fees to getting a royalty is nothing more than the consequences of simple supply and demand.
Here’s how the process typically goes:
- Write a few respectable winners on a fee-only basis …
- Make sure word of your success gets around in your market niche — both among existing clients and those who have not had the good fortune of hiring you …
- Put out the welcome mat — four times a year, contact those clients and prospective clients to say that you’re setting up your schedule for the next quarter and that if they want to get on it, they’ll have to call in the next week or so …
- As your schedule fills up, offer new clients a choice. When the inevitable question of your fee comes up, offer to work for a flat fee OR for a far lower advance against a royalty.
In the early 1980s, when I first moved from flat fees to royalties, I’d say, “My fee is $10,000. Or, if you prefer, I’ll do it for a $2,500 advance against a royalty of $10 per thousand pieces mailed.
To my surprise, I found that my clients jumped at the chance to get me for what they perceived to be a 75% discount.
Question:
“Do some gurus intentionally make copywriting
seem harder than it really is
to get a higher price for their products?”
My Answer:
NO!
In fact, the exact opposite is true: I’m concerned that some gurus try to make it seem EASIER than it really is!
Sure — I could tell you that this copywriting thing is a cinch. I could tell you that anyone can do this and if you can string a few simple words together, you can get rich working at home in your underwear.
I could tell you that as a copywriter, you’ll have complete freedom to work when you want and take as much time off as you want. And I could say that the most strenuous time of your day will be the leisurely stroll to your mailbox to collect all the huge royalty checks that will instantly and automatically flow to you.
I could tell business owners that it’s easy to make a few minor changes to their websites, e-mails and direct mail pieces and other promotions that will multiply their response and profits a gazillion times over.
Believe me: I’m well aware that if I would just say these things in promotions for our products, our sales would rocket through the roof. The “Lazy Man’s Way to Riches” crowd would beat a path to my door. The “Internet Millions” junkies would throw millions of dollars my way. The “Instant Millionaire” dopes would toss in millions more.
But that’s pure, unadulterated bullshit — and I refuse to stoop to lying to you no matter how many millions of dollars those lies would earn me.
This is not easy. There are a million things to learn, a billion new ways to apply those lessons in your promotions, and endless hours of skull sweat and elbow grease required to earn your stripes, make a name for yourself and hit the big time.
There will be plenty of failure, frustration and agonizing self-doubt along the way; more than enough to give the lazy and the faint of heart all the excuses they need to quit.
It’s enough that in less than one-quarter of the time than it takes to earn a B.A. in art appreciation — and for a fraction of the tuition cost — you can have a career that gives you the potential to make more money than most doctors or lawyers ever see.
It’s enough that if you’re intelligent, have a knack for persuasion, are endlessly curious about human nature, love to learn and enjoy writing, you can make a decent living at this, working for yourself.
It’s enough that others — people who are no smarter than you, no luckier than you, and who share your commitment to hard work — now earn hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars every year doing this.
There are no guarantees, of course. But then, people who spend a quarter-million smackers buying a law degree from Harvard don’t get a guarantee it’ll make them a single dime, either.
So do I think copywriting gurus make this seem harder than it really is? Uh-uh. Nope.
Look: Our Ultimate Desktop Copywriting Coach is more than 1,000 pages. Plus videos, extra guides, plus, plus, plus. For my money, it is by far the most comprehensive volume on the subject ever created.
But if the definitive guide to direct response copywriting is ever published, it’ll make War and Peace look like a comic book.
Because what we do isn’t really about writing, or persuasion or even selling. It’s about the two most complex things in God’s creation: The human brain and even more importantly, the human heart.
Every successful copywriting technique you’ll ever learn is based on a knowledge or a new discovery related to how those two organs work; what moves us emotionally … what convinces us intellectually … what causes us to take action. And until those things are fully understood, there will still be plenty to learn.
Plenty to chew on this week. Hope it helps…
Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,
Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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25 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 Chris Lake — September 22, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Thanks Clayton! Your generosity (and Wendy’s) in taking the time to join us – inspire us – at the bootcamp is most appreciated. The summary above is just a fraction of what we learned from you…. Now back to generating some skull-sweat….
Cheers,
Chris Lake
Comment by Lara — September 22, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Thank you for this information Clayton - it’s the boost I needed!!
Comment by Dick Robinson — September 22, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Hey Clayton and Wendy,
Not only did you help our careers, but you and Wendy made us laugh a lot. Great stories. Great insights into the biz. Your visit alone made the conference worthwhile. But there was much more… Just the best hands-on event I’ve ever attened.
Thanks so much.
Dick Robinson
Comment by Melody Thomas-Scott — September 22, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Clayton, Wendy and Carline!
Or should I say… the DREAM TEAM!
It’s been my DREAM to have all three of you in one location to share your experiences, good ones and bad ones. To share your secrets, bright and deep dark ones.
What I got this weekend was more than I DREAMED possible. I got all three of you in an AWESOME Tiki setting where you could share not only your wisdom, knowledge and expertise, but also the funny and REAL side of each of you. The lives you live to the full and the encouragement you gave to me by being in the RIGHT PLACE at the RIGHT TIME!!!
Thanks for your enormous commitment to arrange your schedules for this AWESOME event. It has changed my life and I thought the three of you should know what a tremendous impact you had by sharing yourselves with me and others in ONE WEEKEND!!!
Thanks for the generosity, the favors, the time and the commitment to the field of copywriting! I wanna be like you guys - NOW!
Thanks again for taking a pictures with me so I can always use it as inspiration and motivation. How AWESOME that must be to inspire someone by being YOU!!!
Please keep the tips and secrets coming. You’re secrets are ALWAYS appreciated!!!
Melody Thomas-Scott (Mickey Cole’s little sister and Carline’s biggest fan!)
Comment by Larry Mekus — September 22, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
Clayton -
Your generosity was unbelievable! Who else would hop in their car, drive 3 plus hours, in the middle of being overwhelmed with work… just to take the time to meet and spend time with the attendees at Carline’s first-ever (with many more to come) bootcamp. And bring Wendy (who is just as busy) - and then turn around and drive back home 3 plus hours, early the next morning. I have always heard that you are one of the most generous people in this world, and now I know just how true that is. Thank You a hundred times over, to both you and Wendy.
Carline’s bootcamp was an experience was a back-stage pass to the best copywriting in the world. It was so dynamic and interactive that it made the cost to attend amount to peanuts. I don’t think you can buy what was freely handed out at her 2 1/2 day bootcamp. It was a rare opportunity to receive hands on coaching and to be a part like-minded copywriters that are on the same journey I am on. The subject matter was intense, and the discussion in-depth for those serious about taking their business to the next level. After this bootcamp one can only expect to make an exponential leap in their business. It was truly a master mind session with Carline and the group. And add Clayton and Wendy on top of it - well I feel so fortunate that I was given the chance to attend this bootcamp. We received everyone of Carline’s most successful advice, tips, and secrets. I left the bootcamp knowing that I can be a great copywriter - it would be impossible to fail after learning everything Carline taught. What better way to start a path to success. Carline gave all of us life-changing moments during the entire time she spoke and freely taught us - and I have to smile, for "talk" she did. From morning to night she spoke, taught, and was there to help every single minute. Her energy was something to be desired. I have been to many seminars, but Carline’s bootcamp tops them all - it can’t get any better. So THANK YOU Carline, THANK YOU Clayton, and THANK YOU Wendy. Thank you so, so much.
Comment by Carline — September 22, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
Clayton and Wendy,
You guys are the BEST! The attendees to my first-ever boot camp on steroids simply couldn’t believe they were in the company of greatness. They all told me how awesome it was for you to drive down and spend a spectacular evening with us. They were amazed at your generosity and willingness to help each one personally with their copywriting struggles. I was jealous because they got to spend more time with you than I did! You made this experience for them one they will NEVER forget. Thank you – and Mick and the kids say "Hi"!
Smooches!
Carline
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — September 22, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
I should be thanking you guys. It was a blast!
Hey – if any of you have pictures please send them to me at our feedback box? Thanks!
Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — September 22, 2008 @ 3:28 pm
Great post Clayton and again I must ask another question. You mention the fact that you choose the field to write about.
So if I here you right should I hire a copywriter for my contractor site that has the know-how about construction and speaks our language?
I have learned enough from you that I believe you pick your niche mainly to make sure of the $$$ are there plus you have a captive audience to sell to?
One last thing to ask? How do you know when you found the right copywriter? I understand the percentage pay plan and agree that with the right copywriter it can be like night or day in results.
Thanks for all you do for us and I am so excited.
Comment by Brian Duvall — September 22, 2008 @ 3:55 pm
Wow! Great info. Thanks, Clayton.
It’s wonderful how you lay out your plan for starting in this business. I can see myself doing those three steps to launch my copy writing career sometime in the future (after I help the food bank raise $14 million to feed to the poor).
Your Desktop Copy Coach is AWESOME. I’m still digging through it and watching the videos. I’ve learned so much more about copy writing, layout and design from the videos alone. It’s really helping me improve our case statement / presentation here at the food bank. So much so, that it even brought tears to a prospects eyes when I was "testing" it out on him. It really made a powerful emotional connection.
I can’t wait to finish the presentation materials and "go live" with it.
Thanks for everything.
Brian
Comment by Denise Ford — September 22, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
Clayton - great article today - your comments and advice in Answers from the Heart. Congratulations to you and Carline and all those copywriters who showed up and took a giant step to accelerating their copywriting careers!
Denise Ford
Comment by Dan Gallapoo — September 22, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Hey Clayton & Wendy,It was great hanging out with you guys this past weekend at Carline’s bootcamp. I really appreciate you two taking the time to have dinner with us. It was hard to eat because I was laughing so much! I hope we can do it again soon.Best,DanP.S. You must feel like a proud papa with Carline as a former copy cub. She’s a gem, isn’t she? A true "salt of the earth" person.
Comment by Dean Kennedy — September 22, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
Thanks for sharing how your career got started in the 1970s and especially the three "urgent initiatives" you undertook! And also for the flat fee/royalty info and the appraisal of copywriting as a career … this post is worth its weight in gold, ten times over!
Comment by Mark Woodward — September 22, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
Hi Clayton,
Really enjoy all these articles, though I am curious as to one statement you made recently about flat fees V royalties "…against a royalty of $10 per thousand pieces mailed. " How do you know/track how many pieces have been mailed? I’m completely new to this so I’m still at the "deer in a headlight" state
Thanks again,
Mark.
Comment by Wendy Makepeace — September 22, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
Chris, Dick, Melody, Larry and Dan:
Thanks for the great compliments! There is nothing Clayton and I like more than meeting our subscribers and seeing them push their careers forward.
I’ve known Carline for over 20 years from way back in the day when we worked at Phillips Publishing together and she is AWESOME! You can’t help but be energized by her.
If you can take just a portion of the skills and advice that Carline shared with you over the weekend, you’re sure to move your copywriting career forward.
Good luck!
Wendy Makepeace
Comment by Sieglinde Wallis — September 22, 2008 @ 7:45 pm
Clayton, Wendy:
Thank you for your generosity driving all the way to Atlanta to spend time with us at Carline’s awesome bootcamp and letting us tap into your knowledge. It was a truly inspiring experience and I am very grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which energized mind, body and spirit.
Comment by deanna — September 23, 2008 @ 8:59 am
Hi Mark,
To answer your question, direct mailer that hires the copywriter is the one who tracks how many pieces are mailed.
I hope that helps!
Deanna Blanchard
Copywriter
Response Ink
Comment by deanna — September 23, 2008 @ 9:12 am
Hey Glen,
It’s smart for a copywriter to specialize in one niche. For one thing, it allows them to shorten their learning curve. Each time they write a new promotion, they don’t have to go back to square one to learn the entire industry. They can rely on the knowledge they already have, which makes it quicker and easier to write the copy.
Also, specializing helps them become known within that niche - which could make it easier to get assignments.
But that doesn’t mean a good copywriter can’t write copy outside their niche. So you can hire someone who doesn’t necessarily specialize in copy for the construction industry and still get some kick-butt promotions out of them.
You can probably find a good copywriter by checking out AWAI and Michel Fortin’s Copywriter’s Board. They’re not the best, because many of them are still learning, but you should get decent copy from them. And, you should ask for samples from prospective copywriters, so get a sense of what they can do.
I hope that helps.
Deanna Blanchard
Copywriter
Response Ink
Comment by Jeremy Reeves — September 23, 2008 @ 10:02 am
I wish I could have been at Carline’s event to meet all you guys!
Oh well, maybe next year.
Great post Clayton - lots of little gems to pick out of this one. I’m going in exactly the same route you are it seems like.
And I can’t wait until I get to where you’re at now
Keep it coming with the great posts!
Jeremy Reeves
http://www.GetClientsIn20.com
Comment by lawton chiles — September 23, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
Jealous that I could not attend-it sounded like a ball!Maybe next year? Thanks for all you guys do to fill up my e-mail box with positive, money-making info. -Lawton
Comment by Cathy Sutter — September 23, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
Although it took me an entire day to recuperate
… it was a wonderful experience. Carline delivered big time, and I am so darn glad that I made the choice to attend! I hope to stay in touch with my fellow attendees…great minds think alike!
Then Saturday evening…what can I say? I loved the musical chairs we all played. Talk about networking. I got to sit next to Clayton first, and the questions came from me and the others at our table. How inspiring … and Clayton, you are super cool. So generous to share your knowledge. How’s it feel to be a guru? I think I’d love that feeling. Hmmm…
Then I come to the website and learn even more! Since the first two questions and answers posted I did not hear that evening. How cool is that?
Wendy, loved meeting you too. So easy to talk to…oh, and did I talk! This is a little late but really liked your necklace. I kept looking at it but failed to compliment you. (Duh…) Heck, there was so much talking goin’ on. Ha, so much to talk about…so little time!
Again, we all so appreciated your taking the time out of your busy lives to "tear-ass" down from your mountain. It was a truly memorable evening. I do have pictures and will be sending them to you as soon as I can figure where the "feedback box" is. :) Sorry, sometimes I’m just a little s-l-o-w…
Carline, Clayton, Wendy–love you all!
–Cathy
Comment by lawton chiles — September 23, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
Cathy, I think just click the contact us box at the bottom of this page.
Comment by Cathy Sutter — September 23, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
Thanks Lawton…learned it was feedback@makepeacetotalpackage.com
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — September 24, 2008 @ 6:56 am
Man … can you feel the love in this room, or what?
Cheers, y’all!
Comment by Mark Woodward — September 24, 2008 @ 11:49 am
Hi Deanna,
Thanks for the info, greatly appreciated.
Comment by Lloyd Prentice — October 12, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
Dear Clayton and Wendy,
Your articles are tremendously valuable and interesting. Thank you very much for your generosity. Years ago I did technical writing on contract (freelance). Then my wife and I went into the quickprinting business. Now we’re retired but I am studying to get back into writing. I’m part way through the AWAI Accelerated Program…. and I read a lot on the internet including your work.
A big question I have is how to price or quote my work. Can you help me with this?
Another question is the matter of long sales letters vs. much shorter ones. When I receive long letters or study them in the material I bought, I almost always think it’s a waste of time. There are arguments for long letters, but I doubt them. As Bill O’Reilly says, "What say you?"
Lloyd Prentice