Thank you Clayton for your honesty and integrity.

No there are no short cuts to succeeding in Copywriting.

It does take time and effort to succeed.

The Great thing I love about Copywriting is it is used everywhere. It screams at us in every area of our lives and is ever growing.

Keep up the great work and providing us with inspiration!

All the best

Susan Connors

“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.”

As Winston Churchill put it differently “Blood, Sweat, Toil and Tears.”

Thanks for keeping us moving in the right direction!

Bernie Malonson

Thank you for this article. I am most grateful for the information you give. It’s quite obvious you know what you’re talking about and it comes across nicely.
About this article too: It will go in the front of my copywriting manual from AWAI. That picture of that guy on the beach is nice, but I am more than willing to put in my time and effort to get there before doing the beach scene.
I spent 35 years in Radiology, mostly in Nuclear Medicine, teaching Radiology interns, and taking call. There were some years before that where I did Real Estate, but the 2am counter-offers did not go over well with my kids. So, I did something else. Didn’t go back for the same reason. It’s one thing to go to a safe place (hosp.)and another to drive to a stranger’s house at 2am.
I know that copywriting is what I really, really want to do because I love to write, I love people, and I’m interested in almost everything. It’s fun just getting there.
Thank you so much again. And for even caring what we newbies think.
Patricia

Most Americans are practically xenophobic when it comes to doing business with folks outside their borders… got any way around that?

Thanx very much Clayton.

Thanks for being there and telling it like it is. Last year I was beginning to suspect that a lot of these “gurus” touting fantabulous incomes in miniscule time had to be blowin’ somethin’ when I asked you before you started the next to the last of your Easy Writers teleseminars about their legitimacy.

I think this problem has really reared its head in a big way in the last year or so. I had one’s telemarketing follow-up guys putting the heat on me to sign up for their coaching program so I’d make a pile of dough — of course as the result of forking out who knows how many $K to them in fees.

NOT ONCE DID THEY ASK ME WHAT MY INTEREST IS OR WHAT I WAS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH FOR MYSELF.

I’m not interested in making a soup pot full of C-notes per day. I’d just like to be able to make a decent living and help some other people make a decent living by helping them get better copy into their marketing, and better websites online. But educating them and getting them to understand the importance of good marketing is a PAIN.

And I can see why the fall for the “Instant Millionaire” siren song. They have no clue how to write, nor do they know the importance of persuasive copy. It’s almost as if they’re still stuck in the dot-com boom of 1999, thinking that a website automatically makes you rich.

One guy wanted a website for under $750. I told him that’s less than I’d take for a single home page!

Others I’m working with are starting to comprehend how much work goes into creating a site. It helped when I came up with a worksheet they have to fill out that forces them to think about their customers and prospects, what keeps them up at night, what they’re looking for, etc., independent of what the client wants to sell them.

It’s slow and not easy, but some are starting to catch on as I keep learning more about how to deal with them. I know I could go after some bigger clients, and I will as I learn better ways to approach them.

But no matter how much you work and learn, there’s no getting around the truth that advertising is HARD. Presenting a convincing message in the right way requires serious brain sweat.

And

Biggest of all:

Your long-term, stable income is a reflection of the value other people put on the long-term, stable service you have rendered to them. And the weekend/instant-millionaire class can never claim to have a long-term, stable income based on long-term stable service provided to others, and in that regard, I’m plenty comfortable in asserting, along with Bob Bly, that you are absolutely one of the very best in your field…

And it’s an honor you’ve earned because of your consistent adherence to principles of honesty and integrity.

Clowns come along, but they forget: They are mortal. They *will* eventually meet their demise. And like it or not, whether believer or avowed atheist, we all must stand before our Creator and be judged according to our deeds in this life.

And for those who lived a life of integrity and service to others, while lifting the hands that hang down and strengthening the feeble knees, it will be well with them.

And those who “succeeded” by subterfuge, deception, and manipulation, they can look forward to a future quite different.

Thanks for being there. It’s an honor to know you.

Clarke

Thankfully, I already have lots of experience in human nature - from both my 15 year career as a nurse and the 20 years in direct sales experience before that. I know I’ll do fine, but having a clear path to follow - especially from one like you, is of tremendous benefit.

Thanks,
Rod