The Insanity Chronicles – Part Two
Why exploring a new way for copywriters and companies to work together is much MORE than just the best way to make company owners and copywriters richer:
Why your business’ survival may depend on it.
Dear Business Builder,
Last week in this space, I talked about insanity – how businesses and copywriters who repeatedly return to the freelancing model expecting better results should have their heads examined.
And we talked about how creating partnerships between direct response companies and copywriters can make both much, much richer.
The response from that article came fast and furiously. No fewer than four of the world’s top copywriters called or e-mailed me personally to forgive me for saying they were insane and to thank me for giving them a whole new range of opportunities.
Their minds are literally buzzing with ways to take their income to the next level!
The comments left by readers here on our site were fascinating, too. Most were very flattering, but a few indicated that my frank but admittedly controversial take on freelancing may have inadvertently stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest:
- John left a post saying that I’d kind of shot the freelance dream “in the butt” for those who want to live anywhere they want and still make a bundle.
- Ruth, who has taken two AWAI courses and who’d hoped they’d help her “make a lot of dough” said my take on the freelance copywriting model took the wind out of her sails.
- And Leon guessed that I’m talking about becoming a client’s agency – a daunting task for those who’d prefer to work at home in their underwear and take some time off now and again.
LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR HERE:
1. Hey, John! You can abandon freelancing … partner with your clients … and STILL live anywhere you want – on a beach, on a mountain, even in a whole other country: I live where I want: In the Smoky Mountains – one mile off the breathtakingly beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway on a lavish 25-acre estate with horse barns, pastures, a trout stream and my own personal shooting range.
My closest client is five hours away by car – in Alabama. My biggest client is more than 700 miles away (a two-hour flight), in Florida. I just visit them two, maybe three times a year (a welcome road trip when these four walls begin closing in!).
2. Oh, Ruth, I’m so sorry! I did NOT mean to discourage you or anyone else! To the contrary: I clearly stated that I know tons of freelance copywriters who ARE making six figures. And when I said “six figures,” I also made it clear I was talking about income of not just $100,000, but as much as $999,999.99!
Heck. I even mentioned that some of my former copy cubs (actually, three that I know about) now earn more than $1 million a year as freelancers.
So please, please, please do NOT be discouraged! If you keep learning, practicing, networking with possible clients and working at it, the money you spent with AWAI is likely to be the best money you ever spent in your entire life!
Just please try to keep an open mind regarding how you want to work with your clients: The kind of working relationship you’ll have with them … what you’ll bring to the party … and how you’ll charge for your services.
The ideas I’m going to give you in this series are to help you take your income to the next level!
3. And no, Leon, I’m NOT talking about anything as costly or time-consuming as building an agency: True, I have chosen to go that route with Response Ink in the hopes of building equity in a company I can sell for a king’s ransom when I retire.
But that is not the source of the tenfold increase in royalties I get from partnering with my clients. That began when I was working alone in a converted 8’ X 12’ bedroom in my home in Florida!
You can do this entirely on your own. You don’t need an office, employees or any of the other accoutrements that go along with building a brick-and-mortar business.
All you need is a computer and a phone – and be willing to spend a few days each year in your clients’ offices. Plus, of course, you’ll need the skills I mentioned at the end of last week’s article.
My point last week was simply that the freelance model no longer works as well as it once did and that there’s a much, MUCH better way for copywriters to get to the big bucks in this new environment.
Today, I want to continue that conversation by looking at the downside: The consequences of NOT changing your approach.
Specifically, we’re going to consider a huge challenge every business around the world is beginning to face right now … and how by using my “partnership” model, business owners, marketing people and copywriters can actually USE this challenging new situation to grow richer than Midas.
Whistling past the graveyard
Unless you’ve been living in a cave recently, you already know the U.S. economy is slowing. Most economic pundits on CNBC and on the nightly news say we’re headed for a recession – or that we may already be in one.
The facts:
Consumers are losing their jobs in droves: In November, unemployment posted the biggest one-month leap since after 9/11 when the country was still reeling from the shocks of the terrorist attacks.
Our cost of living is roaring higher: The U.S. Department of Labor just announced that in November, it saw the biggest jump in producer prices in 34 years – a sure sign that surging consumer price inflation is ahead for 2008. Translation: You’re going to need MORE money to maintain your current lifestyle – and a LOT more to keep improving it.
The U.S. stock market is turning to mush: This January, we’ve seen one of the weakest New Year’s markets in decades. All the stock indexes have plunged substantially below their 2007 highs and every week is bringing new lows.
Consumers are closing their wallets: Faced with job insecurity, rising prices, and the specter of a recession, everyday people like you and me – people who are responsible for two thirds of all economic activity in the U.S. – are beginning to curtail discretionary spending. Sears and Kmart just announced that sales will be nearly 60% lower in 2008 than they were last year.
This is BIG news for every business owner, marketing exec and copywriter in the U.S. And if you’re a Total Package reader from one of the 64 OTHER countries represented on our subscription list, it’s big news for you, too.
Because like it or not, the U.S. is still the world’s #1 engine of economic growth. American companies and consumers buy up to 66% of the things mined, grown and made in your country. That means, as our economy continues to slow, so will yours.
That’s why top executives at major companies around the globe are already dusting off their recession contingency plans – to help their firms get through this economic maelstrom as unscathed as possible.
Some smaller companies and freelance copywriters are preparing, too; but most aren’t. And that’s tragic. Some might even say it’s “insane.” Because ignoring this economic slowdown and hoping for the best will NOT make it go away.
Despite what the buffoons who created THE SECRET may tell you, refusing to think about a bad thing does not make it vanish.
When confronted with an angry, hungry grizzly bear, burying your head in the sand and thinking happy thoughts is no survival strategy!
It does, however, position you with your hiney in the air, thus guaranteeing the bear a nice, warm, ham dinner.
On the other hand, smaller companies and copywriters who are in touch with reality in general – and this sobering economic reality in particular …
Who partner together to shore up companies’ defenses – who make the right moves to reduce costs and increase ROI while there’s still time …
Stand an excellent chance of not only surviving, but also emerging from this adversity with greater market share and profits than they now believe possible!
Put simply, you have a choice. You can be a victim or a victor in this slowdown:
You can ignore what I’m about to tell you – and wind up bitching and moaning about how much this recession is costing you.
Or, you can take action now to turn lemons into lemonade and come out of this rough spot with substantially more money than you have today.
There simply are no other choices.
So what’s it going to be for you?
You’re going to do whatever it takes to keep your income growing no matter how screwed up the economy gets – right?
Good – I knew you’d say that!
In a moment, we’ll take a look at some of the things you should be doing now to come out of this smelling like a rose.
First, let’s take a closer look at what you should begin preparing for. (NOTE: The next section is dull, boring, long – and absolutely essential to your financial survival – let alone to your prospects for success in 2008 and beyond. So pour yourself a cup of Joe, put your feet up and read every last word. It’s more than just marketing training; it’s life training.)
Recessions 101
Before we look at how you can turn this economic slowdown into a nice pile of cash for yourself, let’s make sure you’re thoroughly briefed on what’s about to happen to the U.S. economy, your clients and to your business …
Q: So what is a recession, anyway?
A: Well, the official definition of “recession” is “two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.” Or in plain English, six months in which the U.S. economy shrinks; one half of a year in which the total market value of all final goods and services we produce declines.
Q: How will a recession affect my business or my clients’ businesses?
A: This is no distant, esoteric event. Recessions can have a very real impact on your income and even on your ability to pay the bills.
In a typical recession, some event causes wary consumers to begin cutting back on discretionary purchases – things they don’t need to survive. As a result, corporate profits shrink and many companies begin losing money.
With sales and revenues plunging, businesses go into cost-cutting mode: They begin closing manufacturing plants, distribution facilities and stores and laying off hundreds of thousands of workers. Banks, savings and loans, brokerages and other financial institutions lay off thousands more as their profits decline.
Then, as they see the unemployment rate rising – and worried that they, too could lose their jobs – consumers cut their spending even more and the downward spiral continues and deepens. More layoffs. Less spending. Until the recession hits bottom.
Q: Why aren’t the experts sure whether we’re in a recession or not?
A: The thing is, it takes time for the government to gather and analyze each quarter’s economic data.
We do know that the economy grew modestly in the third quarter of 2007 (July through September). But the preliminary numbers for the fourth quarter (October through December) won’t be released by the U.S. Department of Commerce until we’re two-thirds of the way through the first quarter of 2008 – at 8:30 AM Eastern time on Thursday, February 28.
But it’s not an official recession until we see two quarters of negative growth. So even if the U.S. economy contracted in the last quarter of 2007, we won’t know if we’re officially in a recession until the numbers for this quarter – the first three months of 2008 – are released on May 29. And by then, we may find we have been in a recession since October of last year.
Q: Can’t the government do something to keep recessions from happening?
A: No. Recessions are a normal, healthy part of the business cycle. And as such, they are inevitable.
Throughout history, economies have always grown like crazy for a while, then taken breathers to clear away some of the debt and other excesses that build up during boom times. Once that’s done, the next growth phase begins.
But of course, the fact that recessions are inevitable has never stopped politicians from wanting to appear to be doing something to fight them. So the White House and Congress and the Federal Reserve nearly always make a huge show of tinkering with the economy when recession looms – and by doing so, inevitably make things much worse.
The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates repeatedly. The president and Congress introduce economic stimulus plans – typically, spending programs for infrastructure (new roads, bridges, dams, etc.) and for defense. They pour billions of dollars into the economy to prime the economic pump.
And the Treasury pays for all this by cranking up the printing presses and flooding the world with newly printed and increasingly worthless paper dollars.
When they’re successful, the economy may avoid recession for a while. Or the recession may be shorter or less severe than it otherwise might have been.
But if history proves anything, it’s that the longer a government holds recession at bay, the deeper and longer the next downturn is likely to be.
Q: Why now? What triggered this particular economic slowdown?
A: The boobs in Washington – here’s how:
In 2000, the tech bubble burst. Investors awoke from the stupor induced by the heady stock market gains of the ‘90s and suddenly realized that the Internet and technology stocks they owned had little or no real value. The companies behind them had few tangible assets. And not only weren’t they producing profits, they were losing billions of dollars every quarter with no end in sight.
So they began selling and the stock market plunged.
First, the tech-heavy NASDAQ crashed. Then, the S&P and Dow followed suit. Nobody knows for sure how much paper wealth went up in smoke during the Tech Wreck. Some say $20 trillion. Some say $30 trillion. Whatever it was, it was an amount several times larger than the value of the entire U.S. economy.
Then, in 2001, we had 9/11 … anthrax in the mail … and new wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nervous consumers began snapping their pocketbooks shut. Corporate earnings fell off a cliff. Unemployment began edging higher. A major recession loomed on the horizon.
So to stimulate the economy, our central bank – the Fed Reserve – began cutting interest rates like crazy. The Fed Funds Rate fell to 1% – less than half the rate of inflation. The interest rate on an average 30-year fixed mortgage fell as low as 5.2% and one-year adjustable mortgages fell to 3.5%.
Every lender in the land wanted his share of this debt bonanza and so they lowered their standards to attract borrowers. The era of “triple-zero lending” began – a time when you could buy a home, a car, a refrigerator or just about anything else for zero-down, zero percent interest and zero payments for a year – sometimes longer.
Since the government failed to enforce prudent lending standards, millions of under-qualified and unqualified borrowers were enticed to grab hundreds of billions of dollars in easy, cheap money to buy more house than they could afford, fancier cars than they could afford and everything else under the sun.
And to make matters worse, many borrowed up to 120% of the artificially inflated equity in their homes and spent that, too.
Then, with the economy fairly humming along in late 2003 and 2004, interest rates began to rise. Under qualified borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages felt the pinch as their monthly mortgage payments shot up by hundreds and in some cases, thousands of dollars every month. Some had no choice but to default on their mortgages and walk away from their homes.
A glut of repossessed homes came flooding onto the market. By 2006, real estate values had cracked, then began to plummet. And as millions began to realize they owed more on their homes than they were worth – and that rising payments were putting them at risk for bankruptcy – the number of mortgage defaults skyrocketed.
With inventories of homes – newly built homes plus a new glut of repossessed homes – soaring, real estate values plunged even further. Developers and construction companies couldn’t sell the new homes they were building so their sales and profits plunged and many went out of business.
Subprime lenders – companies that loan money to under qualified borrowers at exorbitant interest rates – were losing money hand over fist, too. More than 200 went bankrupt in 2007. More will go belly-up this year. And even major banks like Citigroup, Bank of America, Wachovia and others are declaring hundreds of billions of dollars in losses on loans and loan-based investments they own.
Now, gun-shy lenders have raised their lending standards so high, the only people who can get loans are rich people who can prove they really don’t need loans. Average consumers are finding it harder – and in some cases, nearly impossible – to borrow money to make major purchases.
Plus, with the economy slowing and unemployment rising, savvier consumers are voluntarily curtailing their spending; socking money away for the rainy days they see on the horizon.
That’s why the 2007 holiday season produced abysmal sales for many retailers … why Sears and others are predicting huge declines in retail sales for 2008 … and why they, too are cutting costs and firing workers.
And of course, the effect of all this bad news is hitting Wall Street like a ton of bricks. Stocks have just had their weakest New Year’s start in decades. The Dow and S&P 500 are down substantially since their October highs. The NASDAQ is down a whopping 18% in less than three months.
If something isn’t done – and done FAST – a recession now seems inevitable.
Q: So what’s the government doing to fight this bad boy?
A: A lot. The Fed has cut interest rates by a full percentage point since last August and is promising to keep cutting rates as long as it takes to reinvigorate the economy.
It has also injected tens of billions of dollars directly into the economy to help bail out struggling homeowners and save troubled companies. And right now, both the Bush White House and Congressional Democrats are working on huge economic stimuli packages that will be paid for with even more unbacked paper dollars.
Maybe they’ll succeed in stopping this recession in its tracks. Maybe they won’t. The problem is, nobody knows how many more homeowners will default on their mortgages tomorrow, next month or next year. And that means nobody can know for sure how long this downturn will last or how severe it will be.
Plus, all that economic stimulus – all those hundreds of billions of unbacked paper dollars being created to jump-start the economy come with a huge price tag attached.
Because The Law of Supply and Demand – as immutable in economics as The Law of Gravity is in physics – dictates that every new dollar that’s created reduces the value of every other dollar in circulation.
That means your cost of living is going to go up.
It has already begun. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that inflation jumped higher in 2007 than at any time in the past 17 years.
It’s a major reason why oil prices are flirting with the $100-per-barrel mark and why gasoline prices are sky-high. And it’s also a major reason why gold, silver, platinum, copper, wheat, corn, soybeans – and most other raw materials, natural resources and food items – are soaring in price.
A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that in November, wholesale prices posted their most dramatic gain in 22 years. And because those costs are always passed along to consumers, it means the prices you pay for just about everything you buy are going to jump dramatically in the months ahead.
Plus, inflation is surging all over the world. The countries that produce our oil, food and 80% of the products you buy at Wal-Mart are suffering from rising inflation – and in some cases, double-digit inflation. That’s why the prices we pay to import goods from overseas rose by 10.9% last year – the fastest rise in 25 years.
Q: Could the picture be any more bleak?
A: Yes. America could elect a gang of cutthroats and highwaymen this November who favor higher taxes on investment, on business and on personal income.
Only a drooling moron would favor raising taxes at a time when a lousy stock market and rising inflation are already destroying the incentive to invest … when business profits are dwindling, losses are rising and corporate bankruptcies are off the charts … and when consumers’ personal income is being threatened by rising unemployment.
Unfortunately, plenty of drooling morons are running for office right now. Many look like they’ll win. And if they make good on their promises to raise these taxes, this recession could turn into a full-fledged depression faster than you can say “Herbert Hoover.”
(Sorry – I promised you no more political rants for a while. Evidently, I lied.)
BOTTOM LINE: The U.S. now appears to be entering a period much like the late 1970s and early 1980s – a time of “stagflation” in which the economy and the stock market are stagnant or even contracting while our dollars buy less and our cost of living roars higher.
That means the rest of the world is in for a rough ride, too.
Unless direct response companies take action NOW to trim expenses while improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing, they’re going to find it much harder to grow. Many will suffer declining sales. And some will simply cease to exist.
And freelance copywriters and others who depend on these companies for their daily bread are going to find that it’s harder to attract new clients … harder to earn large royalties … harder to keep their income growing.
Unless, that is …
You Choose to Turn Recessionary Lemons Into Lemonade
Now, if all of us were in the business of selling food, shelter, energy or the gold bullion that millions are buying to protect themselves from inflation, we’d all be in pretty good shape.
But we aren’t.
We sell newsletters, supplements, self-defense courses, business success advice, dating advice, weight loss and fitness products, kitchen gadgets, designer clothing and millions of the other things that people STOP BUYING FIRST when faced with economic uncertainty.
And therein lies the opportunity …
Because at a time like this, businesses that don’t find new efficiencies fail. Businesses that don’t innovate new, more effective ways to market fail. Businesses that fail to wring every last penny of profit out of their operations – fail.
See, in good times, everybody’s a genius. When a rising economic tide is lifting even sloppily-run, inefficient companies, nobody notices the tons of money slipping through the cracks. All they see is that they’re growing and getting rich.
Now, let me let you in on a little secret: Not every small (500 employees or less) business owner knows how to run a business efficiently. The fact is, most aren’t businesspeople at all. They’re inventors … publishers … technical wizards … and yes, some are marketers – people who had a better idea and leveraged that idea into a business.
But now, faced with declining response rates and even negative ROIs on their promotions, these business owners don’t feel so smart. They realize that shepherding a business through tough times demands a special set of business-building skills they simply don’t possess.
Many are desperate. And many would be willing – even eager – to contemplate a new kind of relationship with a copywriter (like you?) who also knows how to step into a business, turn it upside down and shake every last penny of profit out of that company.
In short, to not only stem its losses, but to find new efficiencies that can keep its profits growing even while competitors are getting clobbered.
And if that’s the case …
Don’t you think that learning how to do that should be the #1 priority for copywriters who are determined not to allow anything – least of all, a slowing economy – stand in the way of their success?
… Like you, for instance?
For you copywriters, I’m really talking about simple line extension here.
I’m talking about adding a whole new set of weapons to your business-building arsenal. I’m talking about leveraging relationships you already have with clients to find new ways to help them, to make yourself indispensable to them and by doing so, to multiply your income.
I’m talking about giving your clients better copy AND giving them better advice – and better ideas – for every part of their businesses.
And if you’re an entrepreneur, business owner or marketing exec, I’m talking about learning how to do this yourself; or failing that, partnering with someone who can do all of that for you and also give you white-hot sales promotions.
How to be a super-hero:
The Seven Percent Solution
Let’s say this recession slashes a particular business’ profits 30%. Suddenly, the owner is earning only 70% of the profits he earned last year.
Now, as a copywriter, you could just write a better promotion in the hopes of raising his response and average sale.
But to erase that 30% decline, you’ll need much more than just a 30% sales boost. Your admittedly inspired copy will have to boost his sales by a whopping 42%.
Willing to bet your copy can do that? In a recession?
I thought not.
But what if you could help his company cut costs by just 7% …
Bring him 7% more new customers …
Boost his profit on each product sold by just 7% …
Cause existing customers to order from him 7% more often …
Increase his average sale by just 7% …
And keep customers buying 7% longer?
These incremental improvements would restore his profits – and then some – in no time flat!
And if you improved each of these metrics just a little bit more – say, by a meager 10% – he’d be growing his profits by a respectable 24% per year – at a time when his competitors are losing their shirts!
If the company was doing, say, $40 million in profits before you darkened its door, your ideas and advice – combined with your solid sales copy – would have put an extra $9.6 million in the owner’s pocket.
And of course, if you’ve structured your deal correctly – asking for a meager 10% of the increase in profits you produce – that one client could be worth $960,000 to you.
In a single year.
In a recession.
Doesn’t suck – right?
What you’ll need …
To do all that, you’ll need to know more than just how to write great copy. You’ll need a whole new set of business-building tools.
You’ll need to have the knowledge and the skills to be able to …
- Spot the business owners who are most likely to partner with you – who need you the most – and then structure a working arrangement that’s so enticing, he can’t wait to sign on the dotted line …
- Position the company, its products and its spokesperson in ways that make them utterly indispensable – a NON-discretionary expenditure for prospects and existing customers in this challenging new environment …
- Spot and eliminate chokepoints in the organization and in its marketing procedures that unnecessarily increase its marketing costs and limit the effectiveness of its sales campaigns …
- Squeeze his current customer base to determine where his most likely prospects are hiding now … how they can be reached most cost-effectively … what they need to hear to make the buying decision … and by doing so, create a quantum leap in his new customer acquisition campaign response, conversion rates and ROI …
- Identify new product opportunities that fit hand-in-glove with your prospects’ and customers’ most compelling resident emotions – products that pretty much sell themselves …
- Innovate new offer structures that make it nearly impossible for prospects and customers to NOT act on your promotions …
- Harness the amazing power of the free Internet – and the explosive viral power of Web 2.0 – to trigger a tidal wave of new prospects and customers, without the high cost and capital risk of offline sales campaigns …
- And much, much more.
I’ll show you how to do all that and more
next week and every week in February.
In the meantime, I strongly recommend
you begin building strong PERSONAL defenses
to see you through 2008:
- If you own stocks or equity mutual funds or ETFs, take a long, hard look at them: So far, real estate and constructions companies, sub-prime lenders and major lenders have been slaughtered on Wall Street. Right now, retailers and tech companies are also taking it in the shorts. Unless this thing turns around soon, pretty much every U.S. stock could take a beating.
And if you own them – either directly or through a retirement plan – you could take a financial beating, too. This is no time to go it alone. If you have a financial advisor, the prudent thing to do would be to speed-dial him now and talk to him about getting your assets to safety.
What’s safe today? Not much. U.S. Treasuries guarantee your principle and interest – but the interest rate they pay is less than the rate of inflation and you have to pay taxes on your gains, so you’re pretty much guaranteeing yourself a negative return. Even worse, if you buy them now and try to sell them to get at your cash later, you may find they’ve declined in value.
You could try to learn from history. In our last great stagflationary period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, inflation hit 18% and the Prime Interest Rate peaked at 21% … and gold exploded in value to $850 per ounce – nearly $2,300 in today’s money. Since that’s more than double today’s gold price, you may want to ask your advisor about investing in companies that produce the yellow metal. When gold prices are rising, their stock can rise much, much faster.
You may also want to take a look at companies that produce stuff we can’t live without. Energy and food, for example. They may decline temporarily when the entire market drops precipitously, but over the long haul, global demand and inflation are likely to push them higher.
- Fight for every tax deduction like a junkyard dog: Your cost of living is rising. Drooling morons are promising tax increases in your future. This is no time to be overly generous with Washington. Take a good, hard look at your taxes this year. Get professional help if you feel the need. Whatever you do, make sure you get every legal deduction that’s coming to you.
Another thought: If you’re expecting a fat refund this year, there’s something seriously wrong. If you paid more through paycheck deductions than you owe, it means you loaned that money to Washington interest-free last year.
Talk to your employer and/or your significant other’s employer about increasing the number of exemptions you claim. That will reduce the amount the feds confiscate out of each paycheck and keep more of your money where it belongs: In YOUR pocket.
- Do a budget: A couple of times every year, The Redhead and I sit down and figure out where the money goes. We look especially closely at things we spend money on but that we can easily live without. And we think about ways to live better on less.
It’s a healthy exercise even in the good times. When the economy is slowing like it is right now, it can be a life-saver.
- Cut expenses. Every family and every business spends money on things that would never be missed if they were never bought. Find these expenses. Eliminate them with extreme prejudice.
- Sock away every penny you can: When you’re young, one of your greatest joys is feathering your nest. When you’re as old as I am, you’ll find it’s far more satisfying to watch your savings mount.
Do yourself a favor: Discover this inestimable joy sooner rather than later.
Follow this rule: Have six months living (or operating) expenses socked away. You can afford food, clothing, shelter, utilities, a phone, transportation, basic health insurance and emergency medical care should it be necessary. Nothing more.
- Get your name out there: Again: An essential rule to follow even in good times and in slow times, an absolute necessity.
Network your fanny off. Use marketing forums, blogs, even general interest video blogs like YouTube to crow about your successes and to demonstrate your expertise. Use social networking sites like MySpace and others – and business networking sites like LinkedIn.com to connect with other marketers.
Consider starting your own blog or e-zine. Share ideas in e-mails and letters to prospective clients. Pick industry conferences where your best prospects gather and use them to make new contacts.
Make a list of every company you think you want to work with. Then methodically contact a minimum of 25 of those companies a week. Ask to talk to the person responsible for hiring copywriters. Show them your work. Give them some thoughtful ideas. Fill your dance card.
- Sharpen your business-building skills and add new ones: Instead of wasting time with the boob tube each evening, set aside a couple of hours each day for reading.
First, if you haven’t already, devour the masters of ad copywriting – Hopkins, Caples, Schwab, Collier, Ogilvy. Then, move on to Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (Ries & Trout) and to better understand your prospects, memorize Psychocybernetics (Maltz) and Looking Out for #1 (Ringer).
Next, expand your understanding of the direct response marketing process with Bob Stone’s Successful Direct Marketing Methods.
And whatever you do, check in here every Monday for more recommended reading – plus my own strategies for creating explosive sales growth even in tough economic times.
- Begin talking to existing clients about crafting a new, more intelligent relationship: Take a road trip. Visit existing clients and top prospects. Meet their marketing folk. Ask to see their marketing materials. Grill them to find the greatest challenges they’re facing now.
If you’re doing mostly new customer acquisition promotions for a client, ask permission to give him some great ideas for boosting response in the promotions he sends to existing customers. Ask to see his package inserts and offer ideas for strengthening them.
Offer suggestions to demonstrate how valuable an asset you can be to them far beyond the copywriting cubbyhole you’re in now.
Then, ask if your client would be willing to consider a new kind of relationship – a relationship where you become his exclusive partner – a marketing-savvy collaborator willing to fight for every penny of profit that is now hidden in his business or slipping through his fingers.
We’re just getting started here.
As I said earlier, I’m going to give you much more on this next week and throughout February.
Last week’s article and this one are just the view from 30,000 feet. Broad brush strokes. Conceptual stuff.
Before this series is complete, I’m going to get tactical on your sorry butt – with very specific, “do-this; then-do-that” step-by-step advice to expand your expertise, become indispensable to your clients and produce legendary successes no matter what the economy throws at you. So stay tuned, my friend – there is much, much, MUCH more to come
Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,
Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
P.S. Bookmark this page! To help you through this – and to help as many copywriters and business owners as possible share in the success I’ve achieved through my partnership model – I’m going to read your comments every morning and respond to you personally, right on this page.
So do us both – and the rest of our readers – a huge favor? Use the feedback area below to tell me what you think about this article. Ask anything you want. Tell me I’m full of crap if you want to. Let’s have a lively chat about ramping up YOUR income!
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Comment by Andrew Cavanagh — January 21, 2008 @ 8:54 am
Great post Clayton but you\’re still talking and thinking like a copywriter (albeit a brilliant copywriter).
To really make this approach fly copywriters without your overwhelming track record need to start thinking like business marketers and strategists.
And there is no one I know better to teach that than your good friend (and the guy who helped me land my beautiful fiancee)…
Jay Abraham.
If you haven\’t read anything by Jay or listened to one of his bootcamps or his Mastermind Marketing audio from Vic Conant then it\’s long overdue for you.
And you\’ll immediately begin to see where you can help the business owners you come in contact with make a whole lot more money.
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — January 21, 2008 @ 9:00 am
Excellent advise Clayton our company lost $600,000 of profit last year doing alot of the things you are talking about.But now we are stable and ready for the ride for 2008.Yes we increased our marketing budget by half and have tapped into our suppliers pockets for ad money.You need to do line item accounting cuts as we did.it does not happen overnight it takes some time to do it right.It\\\’s worth the pain and it makes you stronger and a better business.Keep up the good message.
Comment by John Forde — January 21, 2008 @ 9:03 am
Clayton,
Well I, for one, loved your last post… and this one. And I lead exactly the kind of \’freelancer\’s life\’ you debunked.
What I loved about it was that I didn\’t think you were slamming any doors at all. Writing copy for a fee and royalties can still pay pretty nicely. But the fact of the matter is, there has to be a \’next level\’… and I think you\’re describing it.
Look, there\’s no question that freelance copywriting can pay, as described. There\’s a ton of demand. And for someone making $50K now, making $150K or $200K a year or more from now isn\’t too shabby.
But I look at it like this. People who got a start writing copy inside a company – with on-site mentors and lots of opportunity to learn and work – have an edge on those who came to this field on their own. That\’s only natural.
Likewise, being a freelance copywriter is a great training ground for moving up to what you describe, where one becomes part of a client\’s business as a peer, partner, and advisor.
It\’s like the difference between being a highly paid screenwriter or actor… and being a director or producer. The former make money, but the latter make the real dought.
I\’m not there yet, on moving in on a piece of the business itself. But definitely would like to be, and have real opportunities like that taking shape right now.
Count me in as someone who will read every Feb. issue top to bottom.
Best wishes to you, Wendy, and the rest of the crew for 2008.
Jack
Comment by David Pike — January 21, 2008 @ 9:07 am
I\\\’m not a professional copywriter but a business owner and marketing fanatic.Your article is an excellent summary of what is going on over there and if we are not careful will do so over here (already started).You are a bright lad !being in the executive search business companies are going to need the very best talent to help them thrive.I do a monthly newsletter and might include some of your piece(I will give you credit) Thanks for the clear insight. Regards David (England)
Comment by Pete moring — January 21, 2008 @ 9:21 am
This last few weeks I\’ve been trawling through a rake of E-mails all \’vitally important\’ to my on-line success.
I\’ve sat through numerous video\’s as I like that tutorial format the best.
At the end of the day, I find my head spinning. I see quite a few of \’your\’ E-mails unopened as I\’ve been sifting through \’The Vitally Important Stuff\’. So I think to myself; \”Let\’s just see what Clayton\’s up to\”, low and behold, I find some grounded common sense. A sense of reality I\’ve not really experienced since before Xmas.
It feels good to know there really is someone with good old-fashioned common-sense out there.
Thanks again Clayton.
Pete.
Comment by Dwight White — January 21, 2008 @ 9:32 am
Can\’t believe that you invest the time to deliver such value for free Clayton… You are one in about 6.7 billion.
Comment by Apryl Parcher — January 21, 2008 @ 9:39 am
Clayton:
Wow…you\\\’ve got me very excited about what\\\’s coming up next.
This economic slowdown, combined with a scary election has me shaking in my copywriting boots! Especially since I\\\’m getting out of the small business market and looking for larger clients.
Unfortunately, our brainless entitlement mentality voters in Maryland have elected one of those tax-and-spend boobs as Governor, and he\\\’s doing everything in his power to ruin business in the state to appease the stupid-vote block that got him in–and taxing us all to death in the process.
Everyone\\\’s pulling in their horns…and with all this happening, differentiating myself will be absolutely necessary–I\\\’ve already seen a slow-down in my own business, and it\\\’s scaring the crap out of me!
Looking forward to your help.
Apryl
Comment by Larry E. Nelson — January 21, 2008 @ 9:50 am
I run a dealership for a 3 wheeled auto that can go 1000 miles for less then 30 bucks. The factory needs investors to help it. Can you help with this in anyway? The address is my email without Larry in front. Would you be interested in this type of partnership?
Thank you. Larry
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 21, 2008 @ 9:57 am
Andrew, I respectfully disagree: I am not thinking like a copywriter.
To the contrary: As I pointed out both last week and this week, a huge part of my success has come to me because I become the master strategist and \”business doctor\” for my clients.
The skills that allow me to do this – and to do methodically, systematically improve every aspect of my clients\’ companies are precisely what I\’m suggesting copywriters begin developing – and that we\’re going to cover in depth in every issue for the next several weeks.
Oh – and the Jay Abraham thing? I\’ve known Jay for more than 30 years – ever since he moved into the office across the hall from me in Palos Verdes in the early 1970s.
His office was across the hall from mine on Silver Spur Road in the early 1970s. And when Jay started his print newsletter in the \’90s, he asked Tom Phillips to hire me to write the promotion.
Sadly though, he never introduced me to any girls!
And thanks for the kind words, Jack! An excellent writer like you could definitely multiply your income many times over with these strategies!
Oh-and David, you are in a spectacular position to leverage this economic slowdown to the hilt!
– Clayton
Comment by John Gilger — January 21, 2008 @ 9:58 am
Another great post as always.
You helped gel some of the ideas I\\\’ve been considering since your last post – seeking longer term relationships with good clients and becoming more of a partner with them than a vendor/contractor.
I\\\’m looking forward to your continuation on this topic. I think it will be great help as I shift the focus of my marketing and promotion.
Thanks.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 21, 2008 @ 10:05 am
Thanks for the kind words, Pete, Dwight and Apryl – comments like yours make the time and effort we put into this letter a great investment for us.
Hey, Larry – send info about your car to feedback@makepeacetotalpackage.com and tell Martha to forward it to me.
I\’ll contact you personally about it later this week.
Cheers!
– Clayton
Comment by Kammy Thurman — January 21, 2008 @ 10:20 am
Excellent article, Clayton. I just told my hubby you scared the crap out of me! – and I\\\’m pretty jaded toward fear-based messages.
I\\\’ll be looking forward to the nitty-gritty over the next weeks. I\\\’m always searching for rubber-meets-the-road strategies I can use for my family\\\’s photography studio (we\\\’re one of those \\\”luxury\\\” biz\\\’s that gets hit first when the economy goes south) and my own copy clients.
I fell into a copywriter/marketing strategist role pretty much by accident – even tho I\\\’ve had no marketing training other than read, read, read and test, test, test.
So I know it\\\’s totally doable without \\\”official education.\\\”
But I\\\’ve found this role is pretty foreign to freelancers. They don\\\’t have confidence to act as consultants because they don\\\’t have any \\\”training.\\\”
I\\\’ll be looking forward to your advice on how they can get past this self-imposed obstacle and provide much greater value to their clients, and higher profits and stability for themselves. I\\\’ll be sending them your way to check it out.
Comment by Douglas Kelly — January 21, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
You advice is right on the mark. I\’ve never done copywriting as a stand alone service. Being about your age, and having come up through the advertising business to open my own version of Copy Ink, I\’ve always known that to be a real value to my clients, I have to know their business. And be able to see it maybe even better than they do. And this means I get involved in all their marketing and a little of their operations so I better understand the \”why\” of their marketing.
There is no other way to effectively use my talent, abilities and experience. If I\’m just a copywriter, then I\’m treated as a vendor or supplier. That does not have much a future to it. It\’s too easy for the client to me as an expense rather than a \”partner\” in his success.
Those who don\’t understand this and what you are talking about are doomed to have a hard-scrabble career. Ultimately, unless things go unusually well, your writing services will be based on the best price one can negotiate. Which means that you\’ve just become a commodity.
The real value of your copywriting is derived from the connections you can make with it to the rest of the marketing pie for the client. Marketing really is an all encompassing area of a company. One of the three legs of the stool–the other two legs being finance and operations– upon which rests the company\’s ability to function.
Thanks for doing everyone in this business a big favor by explaining to the greener people of our business how to give themselves a big edge. And to be successful. They will find it much more gratifying to be involved in the whole marketing effort than just one facet of it. And much more stable and profitable.
Comment by Lawton Chiles — January 21, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
Dear Clayton, where in the heck do you find the time to write all this brilliant stuff?
It boggles the mind…
Thank you though for your insights and daily encouragement.
I would move out there to NC and help you but I have to stay put in Fla for now- too much moving around.
How would you suggest I position myself to call up upper-end clients here in Florida like doctors, chiropractors and others in various fields and arrange a deal for a percentage of the sales?
I would not know how to track that and they wouldn\’t either.
My other clients simply don\’t have the cash to do direct mail or are afraid of testing new things.
Thanks again,
P.S- do you need podcasting advice? I would love to see you do more interactive media and I could help with that.
If curious, just email me and we can discuss podcasting and it\’s awesome reach.
Comment by Emette E. Massey — January 21, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Hi Clayton,
Athough I\’ve never spoken to you personally, I had the great privledge of speaking to Wendy and John as I was one of the top five cub applicants. That was pretty cool.
At first I got a little discouraged about the whole copywriting thing when I first read your post last week. But after letting it soak in and especially after reading this week\’s post, I\’m excited about the possibilities.
I like your partnership model. It\’s sensible and obviously profitable for both you and the client. For some time I\’ve noticed marketers like Jay Abraham taking on the role as partner with his clients. And why not? Seems you\’d gain even more credibility and trust from your prospects–especially if you make them a better than risk free offer to boot.
And while I\’m thinking about it thanks dude for sharing your insights for not only me but all the the other loyal readers through your total package! It\’s like going into battle with an entire Armored Tank Division by your side.
Can\’t wait to read the rest of your insights for February.
Peace,
Emette
Comment by Rob Palmer — January 21, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
I agree, Clayton. I\’m sure you know that the Chinese word for \’challenge\’ is the same as the word for \’opportunity\’ - and opportunities about in recession.
When advertisers start slashing budgets, advertising rates will fall like a stone, both online and offline. So savvy marketers will have the opportunity to pick up huge amounts of ad inventory for peanuts.
So as long as copywriting is good enough to compensate for a likely decrease in conversion rates, it\’s going to be like selling umbrellas in the rain!
And history shows that companies who maintain their marketing spend through a recession always come out of it with a significantly increased market share.
Comment by Bob Oni — January 21, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
Hi Clayton,
Thanks for giving it straight from the heart. Great Stuff!
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 21, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
Thanks for the \”thanks\” guys …
You hit the nail on the head, Emmette! My partnership model works for me precisely BECAUSE it works so well for my clients.
Next week, I\’m going to show you how well it works – and how easy it can be to convince a client to give it a try.
I call it my \”First Date\” strategy – and so far at least, it has never failed to work.
Actually, it\’s a perfectly natural way to let the partnership model sell itself – just by getting out of the way and allowing nature take its course.
And of course, none of this makes sense unless you have the knowledge, skills and tools to take your client\’s company to the next level. And I\’ll dive into that beginning the week after next – so stay tuned!
And Lawton (any relation to \”Walkin\’ Lawton?\”) why don\’t you e-mail John Newtson at feedback@makepeacetotalpackage.com and talk to him about the podcasting thing?
Cheers, ya\’ll!
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 22, 2008 @ 1:47 am
It\’s 3:30 AM and I\’m at my desk checking the economic and financial news – and you\’d better brace yourself …
Since the U.S. stock market\’s close on Friday, Asian stock markets have sold off as much as 15% and European markets are down between 10% and 13%.
Today, U.S. stocks trade again for the first time in three days because of the MLK holiday – and there will be blood in the street.
This is shaping up to be one of the worst days in memory for U.S. stocks.
Recessions and stagflationary periods typically begin with three phases:
1. Denial: Economic indicators (GDP growth, employment, consumer spending) begin to deteriorate – stocks experience increasing volatility: Surging on government intervention and every scrap of seemingly good earnings news, plunging with each negative news report …
2. Capitulation: A short period of time in which the Dow, the S&P, the Nasdaq and other indices crash, slashing stock values by double digits …
3. Consolodation: A period lasting many months to as long as seven or eight years in which stocks and equity mutual funds and ETFs go pretty much nowhere – and because of massive government money-pumping, the dollar plunges and inflation rockets higher.
During this period, interest rates also tend to be bid higher to compensate investors for rising inflation.
Remember: In 1980, inflation hit 18% per year and the Prime interest rate hit 21%.
BOTTOM LINE: There are going to be A LOT of desperate business owners out there – many eager to structure relationships with marketers who have the skills to create new efficiencies, minimize their costs and maximize their marketing returns.
So keep checking back here: Beginning next week, I\’ll show you how to do all that – and more!
– Clayton
Comment by Andrew Cavanagh — January 22, 2008 @ 8:00 am
Hey Clayton,
I\’m well aware that you\’re old friends with Jay Abraham of course.
\”Andrew, I respectfully disagree: I am not thinking like a copywriter.
\”To the contrary: As I pointed out both last week and this week, a huge part of my success has come to me because I become the master strategist and \”business doctor\” for my clients.
\”The skills that allow me to do this – and to do methodically, systematically improve every aspect of my clients\’ companies are precisely what I\’m suggesting copywriters begin developing – and that we\’re going to cover in depth in every issue for the next several weeks.\”
I think your advice is spot on.
But I also think there could be a HUGE rift between the type of clients you work with and the type of clients your average subscriber is working with.
Perhaps I\’m off target here but maybe you should survey your list and see.
I\’m guessing most of your clients are doing in excess of $20 million turnover a year.
Yet most of your subscribers are either copywriters working for clients with less than $2,000,000 turnover a year or business people with less than $2,000,000 turnover a year.
While the business fundamentals are the same the way you implement ideas can be radically different between those two business sizes.
Their marketing processes, their staff infrastructure, their skill and experience, their cash reserves and marketing budgets are going to be vastly different.
But I\’m only guessing of course.
You would know the demographics of your email list better than I would.
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
Comment by Michel Fortin — January 22, 2008 @ 8:08 am
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!
That\’s all I have to say.
Comment by Lawton Chiles — January 22, 2008 @ 9:04 am
Clayton, yes, I am his grandson.
Surprised that you knew the nickname
Where did you live in Fla?
Comment by Markus Trauernicht — January 22, 2008 @ 10:02 am
With about 70 Billion Euro beeing wasted alone on the DAX yesterday here in Germany, I think opportunities are really opening up more and more for copywriters. Yes, I believe newsletters will take a strong beating. But the \”You give me 25 Cents for every Dollar I make you!\” approach is really a dooropener.
Markus Trauernicht from Berlin
Comment by Sid — January 22, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Clayton, that was an amazing post. The timing couldn\’t be better. I\’ve been doing what you say with really small clients for the past couple of months, but I\’m also way out of my league when it comes to approaching the larger businesses who actually have money to spend. I\’m REALLY looking forward to the nuts and bolts of \”how to.\”
But I\’d also like to understand how to create a good list of target partners (instead of customers).
It\’s fun thinking of this as a targeted partner list instead of a customer list.
Oh, and what about the stock market this morning!
One more thing… this article is also an absolutely brilliant sales letter. I\’ve saved it for my swipe file.
Comment by Deb Gallardo — January 22, 2008 @ 10:29 am
Clayton, I\’ve got to hand it to you. Your analysis and insight are incisive and ring distressingly true.
But –
Through no fault of yours, I feel like a 5-year-old on her first day of Post-Doctoral Training! She may be way ahead of the kindergarten pack, but is practically a babe-in-arms compared to the giants sitting next to her – smart, savvy, highly accomplished, ultra professional giants with a level of experience and competence that sets them so far ahead of their own peers that she\’s ready to retreat to a Montessori preschool. :sigh
This is good – no – GREAT stuff, Clayton, but I\’m waaaay out of my league here. I\’m not sure I know enough to even watch and learn intelligently from the sidelines in this Super Bowl for copywriters.
Thanks for expanding my horizons, however. \”Grammar School\” doesn\’t look quite so boring as it once did. Back to the basics…
Deb
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 22, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
Hey Deb … hang in there – before you know it, this stuff will be child’s play for you.
In the meantime, you should check out our archive of previous issues for tons of great free stuff on the finer points of copywriting.
Lawton: I lived in Sarasota for ten years – first right on the beach on Siesta Key, then on the Grand Canal on Bird Key and then, when Wendy got allergic to the red tide, we moved off the water. We bought Paul Azinger’s golf estate from him in Parrish.
This place in NC was our summer home – a way to escape the searing Florida heat. But I had so much fun with my motorcycles and Porsche up here we decided to move here full-time about five years ago.
Gotta love governor “Walkin’ Lawton,” though. What a great character!
Oh – the answer to your question on page two of this blog:
First determine what their annual gross revenues are now. Then take a percent of the increase you produce for them. Of course, this only works if you’re in partnership with them, helping them create new efficiencies in every part of their businesses.
You’re right on the money, Markus – investment newsletters that offer folks a way to not only insulate their wealth but to actually profit from this downturn will do spectacularly well this year.
When things get rough, investors want more than just information. They want an advocate – a champion with a unique point of view and investment philosophy – to see them through.
You can’t get that kind of relationship from The Wall Street Journal or Forbes or by searching the Web for information.
This is actually the best of times for financial newsletter marketers. In fact, one of my clients did $1 million in sales TODAY!
Sid, thanks. I started watching Asia come apart at the seams at 3:00 AM this morning … watched the crash spread across Europe … and sent e-mails to my client saying I thought the Fed would spring a surprise .75% rate cut on us before the market open in New York and that gold would explode higher on the news.
RESULT: Right on all counts! And after gold hit a low of $850 this morning, the Fed rate cut pushed it up more than $40!
Rob, you are absolutely correct. Not only will ad media come down in price, competition will also decline in most niches.
Imagine: Cheaper advertising, less competition, better response rates for companies who do it right … and you in the middle, snagging 10% of every dollar you produce!
A few months ago, a $200 million company offered me 10% of sales if I’d just partner with them. If I’d said “yes,” that would have been a guaranteed $20 million payday from the get-go … and much more as I grew their company.
Unfortunately, I had to turn them down – previous commitments and inadequate staff.
Can you see why we’re hiring like crazy right now?
Hi again, Andrew! You’re right of course. I’m well aware that I’ve earned the right to work with bigger companies.
But when I began partnering with Security Rare Coin, it was only a $4 million company – and it was dwarfed by Investment Rarities – the company Jay was working with.
A year later though, we were #1 with $16 million a month in sales.
The critical criteria is not the size of the dog – but the size of the fight in the dog.
Finding a hungry little company with fantastic products and lousy organization, inefficient procedures and off-the-mark marketing strategies is like finding a 100-carat, D-flawless diamond buried at your feet.
Fact is, all other things being equal, it’s often easier for a $2 million company to double, double again and double yet again than it is to create a 50% boost for a $20 million firm.
Plus, if you don’t like the organization or the staff, you change them.
And as far as the limited marketing warchest is concerned, you just start with the projects that will generate the money you need – with solid strategy and strong copy for promotions to their existing customers.
Get the owner to agree to set aside a percentage of those profits to attract new customers – and employ a set of strategies I’ve developed to do that for next to nothing or even free – and you’re off to the races.
And thank you, Michel Fortin … that’s high praise coming from a brilliant fella like you!
Let’s keep this conversation going – I’ll be back online at 3:00 AM.
Cheers!
– Clayton
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 23, 2008 @ 6:58 am
We\’ve talked about the advantages of partnering to both companies and copywriters …
And we\’ve talked about how not exploring a better way in this tough new business environment could cost you a fortune.
So now, you tell me: WHY WON\’T THIS APPROACH WORK FOR YOU?
What do you need to begin putting it to work for you beginning right now – today?
Let\’s get down to brass tacks, here.
I\’ll check this blog three times each day between now and Monday – at 3:00 AM … at noon … and at 6:00 PM to answer your questions and respond to your comments.
So c\’mon – tell me what you need to succeed and I\’ll give it to you!
Comment by Andrew Cavanagh — January 23, 2008 @ 7:45 am
Hi again Clayton.
I talk to small business owners about their marketing every day and I can tell you their first 2 major issues are:
1. They don\’t keep any kind of useable list of their clients or prospects.
2. They don\’t have any kind of real marketing budget because they\’re not tracking their advertising.
You\’re used to dealing with some good marketers…even brilliant marketers.
But the reality of a copywriter starting out is they\’re going to have teach really crappy marketers how to get in the game.
I love reading your strategies about copywriting and marketing but I mean no disrespect at all when I say it bears no resemblance at all to the methods I am forced to use with the majority of brick and mortar small business owners I deal with.
They need grounding in really basic fundamentals like \”let\’s create an email list, a mailing list and a list of telephone numbers and start contacting your clients on a regular basis\”.
I\’ve helped some regular small businesses make a lot of money but most of it was made by doing nothing more sophisticated than giving out gift vouchers to prospects, JV partners and clients.
I think if you\’re going to do this you need to:
1. Dumb down your approach and start with some really simple fundamentals or
2. Just cater to copywriters who already have marketing savvy clients.
I am trying to be genuinely helpful here not critical because I love your advice and your newsletter.
Personally I would love to see a ground swell of copywriters helping small to medium sized business owners thrive in what is likely to be one of the worst recessions the US has ever seen.
Those businesses will be hurting and they need the help.
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
Comment by Lucinda — January 23, 2008 @ 7:50 am
Hello, my name is Lucinda and I\’ve been visiting this site for sometime now ….. I\’ve recently been laid off from a corporate job ….yeah put all my eggs in one basket - they\’re now broken & so am I. Can you please direct me to how I could possible start without the expenses. Dont get me wrong I personally think any good thing is worth a price as I believe in Claytons products, unfornately, I have been left completely broke with no extra money. But I decided on one thing as I wipe the tears from my eyes - I will never let a corp J.O.B ever control my life again. Im 38 and I swear those people will be calling me for my copywriting business. sorry, getting a little worked up when you have house and kids hanging on your need (no option) to provide…..any suggestions would be greatly apprieciated. I know that Im starting at square one, but there just has to be a way or something.
Thanks
Lucinda
Comment by John Scola — January 23, 2008 @ 7:54 am
Hi Clayton,
I would like some advice how to get started in finding and approaching potential clients for partnership opportunities. Thanks!
Comment by Derek Parry — January 23, 2008 @ 7:57 am
Thank you for offering this opportunity to learn and to improve my performance. At this time I am writing a Master\’s Thesis as well as working full-time and my free-time is restricted. I will be focusing on your material come late February. I hope that you have the patience to hang in there with me until then.
Derek.
Comment by Susie Henderson — January 23, 2008 @ 8:00 am
Hi Clayton,
This sounds so much like what I want to do for companies, but as a newbie in the business, I\’m not sure I know where to start, or how to convince anyone I know what the heck I\’m talking about (like Deb).
And as Andrew commented, I\’m as likely to be working with small companies that really don\’t know what marketing is.
For further complication, my favorite niche is fundraisers, and I don\’t know that any of them would partner with me on a percentage basis, because they want to keep all their income for their projects (the honest ones, do, anyway), not their overhead. Any suggestions?
Thanks, though, as always for welcome advice. I\’ll stay tuned and see if I can put something like this in place for my fledgling business.
Best regards,
Susie Henderson
Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — January 23, 2008 @ 8:02 am
Clayton I wish I had known you when you lived only 5 miles from us.What bongles the mind is when your doing $20 million ayear the owner does not care about marketing,advertising etc.
But when business is cut in half in one year then all of a sudden its the main topic.
The funny part is they have know clue where to start.They let the paper or TV come in and write there ads!
I also deal with multi million $ suppliers and they have know clue.Just throw money at it attitude.
Thanks for letting me rant.
Comment by Joyce Zborower — January 23, 2008 @ 8:12 am
Hello Clayton,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk to you.
Personally, I appreciate your political rants. It’s about time someone with some clout spoke up.
I am a twice-elected Precinct Committeeman in the Democratic Party. With the help of a substantial number of Republicans, we elected a Democratic Congress to begin cleaning up the mess, but what they did was meld themselves into the problem. While I abhor how the Bush administration is raping this country, many of our elected Democrats are no better. And there are many other ordinary Democrats who feel exactly as I do. However, I don’t believe that ‘no government’ is the right answer, either. I think there has to be some kind of a social net for those less fortunate – it’s just gotten way out of hand. I also believe there needs to be a social net of some kind for those who are more intellectually fortunate for they are the ones who have the potential to move this country forward. In our present school system, the more fortunate are being sacrificed for the benefit of the less fortunate. Not a very intelligent way to go. Looking at this situation from this government’s point of view, however, an ignorant society is much easier to manipulate and control.
Following your first rant last week, you included a link to the National Platform of the Libertarian Party – which I read and sent to my political list. I heartily agree with many of their (your) views, but some of them (such as privatizing all public lands and eliminating all gun control – which are the ones that stand out in my memory at the moment – and a few others) don’t sit well with me.
We, the people, (no matter what our political preferences) are more alike than we are different – in spite of what some might have us believe. Just like we needed Republican/Independent/Libertarian help to change the Congress, you need Democratic help to change the government. My advice is: Re-think your prejudices. Help us re-think ours. Let’s see if we can work together.
Joyce
Comment by LaMarl — January 23, 2008 @ 8:47 am
Hi Clayton,
Im new to this business. Currently an AWAI copywritng student. How can I partner with companies at this stage and creat a Win/Win for both parties involved. I want to start right and finish strong. Thanks!!
Comment by Emette — January 23, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Hi Clayton,
I figured I chime in again. Sounds like so many of us are starting at near ground zero. I\’m no exception.
My question is to pull this partership deal off would you not have to be highly skilled on marketing strategy side?
Like Andrew and several others, the problem is trying to get prospective clients to understand the value of using accountable advertising methods.
Basic stuff like do you have a mailing list or do you track ad results always seem to ring back a \”NO\” from the prospect.
These prospects seem to want a bunch of damn fluff filled with fancy graphics and useless clutter.
And here\’s the sad part they actually believe it crap works.
Sorry to rant here but it\’s seems like to land deals like you\’re describing prospects should at least be interested in advertising that proves itself or am I way off base here?
Do you feel it\’s best to approach companies who have a history of using mostly direct response?
If so how do you pitch this partnership deal?
Any help is appreciated greatly!
Warmly,
Emette
Comment by Christina Hope — January 23, 2008 @ 9:20 am
Clayton, thanks for this blog. Reading all the various questions from \”like-minded\” people provides valuable insight into my current situation. One woman described herself as a kindergardener afraid of sitting next to the bigger students. I would describe myself as a toddler learning to walk, but wanting to run! You asked how you could help me out? I will tell you in no uncertain terms, I would love to engage in this program but it is financially out of reach for me at this time. If you could provide a way to make it within my means, I would play full on in the most results oriented program you have ever seen! Thanks again for this blog! And you!
Comment by Mike — January 23, 2008 @ 9:25 am
When people in companies are looking to buy services, they probably think they understand what a copywriter is, what a marketing consultant is, or what an independent sales rep is.
What is a copywriter who isn\’t just a copywriter?
What is a marketing consultant who is also a copywriter?
These are confusing concepts to sell. You\’d think the additional services are a plus, but…
Will potential customers feel comfortable that they can handle this different type of arrangement?
Will they know what a fair price for such services are?
Basically, will potential customers be willing to get involved with this sort of thing and pay for it? –All customer types, from dumb to sophisticated?
I totally see your point about plain freelancing being insane. But I\’m not sure changing the names or roles to something else, and jumping from one frying pan into another, resolves the issue.
I like your ideas and I challenge you to once again hit harder the current model. Bust it up. Kill it even. Make something entirely new, yet understandable to all. Or, determine which model already in existence–like the agency model–works best to deliver the needed services, and then focus on that so we can learn.
I too am sorry if some people were discouraged, or if they now get discouraged, but let\’s get to the bottom of this…
What is the best way to offer companies a well-oiled sales infrastructure consisting of beautiful copywritten words so that they will easily know what we are asking them to buy?
So they can immediately see the value of it and want our service?
So they can understand the pricing and still gladly pay full price for it?
Comment by Leon Altman — January 23, 2008 @ 9:26 am
What you\’re talking about calls for nothing short of repositioning.
YOU can do it without repositioning because Clayton Makepeace is a brand - a strategic positioning is already built into your brand.
Copywriters who don\’t have that kind of broad brand will need to reposition.
As you know - naming is important in positioning…
Copywriter? Not gonna do it - not in the kind of strategic role you\’re
talking about.
copy consultant? - kind of gray and mundane
Copy strategist? Dunno.
In any case I think your suggestions on repositioning would be important because even highly experienced writers will need to do so in order to assume the kind of strategic marketing role you\’re talking about.
Comment by Ruby Curran — January 23, 2008 @ 9:30 am
Hi Clayton:
Your Monday article really got me inspired! Living in Canada, I don\’t think our economic situation is going to get quite as bad as it will be in the US, but I know we\’ll still feel a pinch at minimum.
I liked your \”7%\” list…
But what if you could help his company cut costs by just 7% …
Bring him 7% more new customers …
Boost his profit on each product sold by just 7% …
Cause existing customers to order from him 7% more often …
Increase his average sale by just 7% …
And keep customers buying 7% longer?
My request would be for you to go into those ideas and ideals deaper. If you\’ve already done so in another article, please point me there.
Thanks for sharing your very timely ideas!
Comment by Sue LaPointe — January 23, 2008 @ 9:34 am
Clayton,
First, thanks for your generous commitment to sharing what you know and what could take us years to learn on our own. As a freelancer who\’s gone from zero to earning a living that could actually support a family (except in S. Florida, where we live! thank goodness my hubby works!), I really appreciate having access to your expertise. February can\’t come fast enough.
Like Deb and Susie, I\’ve wondered whether my skills and know-how are \’enough\’ to play with the big boys. With the bulk of my experience being editorial - and the copywriting experience being limited to small businesses or fledgling entrepreneurs, my questions echo Andrew\’s.
How can we make the leap from small-time copywriting (often for clients who don\’t even know to track their results) to partnering with the bigs?
I could quote, \”Clayton says….. Bob Bly says… Michael Masterson says…\” but without first-hand access to conversion rates, etc. where is a \”new\” copywriter\’s credibility? Are the bigs even remotely willing to work with copywriters without oodles of ROI numbers to back up their skills? How do we find these partners? How do we approach them? How do we make it a win-win for everyone?
I imagine you\’ll cover all of this - and can\’t wait!
Comment by Steve — January 23, 2008 @ 10:06 am
Great article, Clayton.
It reminds me of your advice about going into stores and asking the owner \”how come there aren\’t any other customers in here?\”
Once this recession kicks in, I reckon there\’ll be a lot of business owners hurting… and more than willing to listen to a marketing guy/gal that\’s willing to work for a share of the profits.
However, I\’ve got a question:
I\’ve found that, when I\’ve worked for a percentage of the profits, the business owner isn\’t heavily invested in the process.
When you\’re dealing with businesses that haven\’t worked with marketers, how do you ensure they\’re going to follow through properly?
Or, alternatively, how do you identify/qualify those prospects up front?
Cheers,
Steve
Comment by Lawton Chiles — January 23, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Thank you for those kind words Clayton.
We spend a great amount of time down on Ana Maria Island where my uncle has the Sandbar restaurant.
I\’ll email about the podcasting. Thanks for your generous time and always being willing to help us copy cubs out.
Comment by Kevin Adam — January 23, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Hi Clayton! I appreciate all the great info you\’ve shared, and hope to use most of it. I have a 2 part question:
1) What can I say to clients when I have specs as samples but no track record?
2) Is it possible to break into dealing with larger clients without a track record, or will I need to start with smaller, local businesses? If I start with smaller businesses to \”pay my dues,\” how should I approach educating them about marketing since many have no real clue?
Thanks! I appreciate any help you can offer.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 23, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
In fact there are so many, and so many deserving of thoughtful response, I\’m going to put off answering until after work today.
Be sure to come back – I promise to make it worthwhile for you!
- Clayton
Comment by Carolyn Warren — January 23, 2008 @ 12:38 pm
Hi Clayton,
Thank you for sharing your brilliance with us.
Since my area of expertise is mortgage, I am wondering if this is a good time to solicit copywriting/advertising partnership business from real estate and/or mortgage lenders… and if so, do you have any suggestions about how to go about that?
Comment by Markus Trauernicht — January 23, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
I think the biggest problem is credibility. And that many companies just do not see and understand the value of copy.
Thats where samples come in. (Actually so common sense.)
Picking a nitch, then writing something for a company (for free, or nearly free, or get them to make a donation to some charity, or whatever). The goal is not to make money on that one, but to get a sample in your nitch. Even if that company does not use it (happened to me) - it is someone where you can get input about that specific market for your sample. I guess that is just part of the cost of starting up.
Then put it up as a download on your site. Repeat if necessary. And it probably is.
And then add great specific input in forums, blogs and while networking. No generalities - that\\\\\\\’s not worth your time. It\\\\\\\’s hard, takes a lot of work and results may and probably will take time. Remember - what you put up stays forever on the net.
If it were that easy there would be no money in it. Everybody would do it.
Then read, read, read and study, study and study. Start with Robert Kiyosaki to get the mindset of working for yourself. Especially if the concept of working for free at the beginning does not make sense to you.
Learn how to think constructively and properly. Makes copywriting so much easier because you can focus more. John Maxwell\\\\\\\’s 3CDs - \\\\\\\”Thinking for a change!\\\\\\\” helped me to think more systematic. If you can worry, you can already think hard! Worrying is nothing but very hard thinking in unrealistic worst case scenarios. While robbing your own energy. When copywriting the process of thinking is similar, just the object of thought is different.
Read & study this site!
Remember - this kind of free information cost thousands of Dollars just 2 or 3 years back.
It\’s not just about the beginning, but about about staying on track.
Get a job in sales. If that is below your standards - forget about copywriting right away! It must be so much harder to write without beeing able to sell.
And then start failing forward, as fast as possible.
Try not to work for someone who does not see the value of copy when you are writing your first samples. Makes it so much easier.
Hope that helps.
Markus Trauernicht from Berlin
Comment by Bob Abbott — January 23, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
Clayton:
You are a rare Gem!
Your last missive was pure friggin genius. I am new to this copywriting world and lovin the wild ride so far. I troll the internet for marketing gems and NOTHING compares to what you offer….and the miracle that you give these gold nuggets away. I always immediately open your emails. I know you will waste no time in getting around to walking me and thousands of others out behind Clayton\’s Copywriting Woodshed in Waynesville so you can administer some good \’ol fashioned marketing discipline….AND we will LIKE IT! Keep it coming. You are refreshing.
Bob
Comment by Joe — January 23, 2008 @ 2:01 pm
Clayton,
I would like help as a rank newbie. Step by step–what to do, in what order, and how to do it.
I hope you can include this kind of help in your column. I suspect it would help many of your less experienced readership.
Thanks,
Joe
Comment by Apryl Parcher — January 23, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Hi Clayton and Gang:
One of my questions before listening to your Webinar today was the same as many of the posters here…how do you get that partnership thing going when all you\’ve done so far is small-biz stuff for entrepreneurs who squeak when they walk, and don\’t value copy in the first place?
Well, tell me if I\’m barking up the wrong tree, but I\’m dumping the small-biz market after 8 years of up-and-down disappointment.
My first foray into partnership is with one of those little $4M companies that\’s 60 years old. I met one of their salesman at a networking function. He wrote a standard #10 letter to 500 businesses in his list, and it did alright as far as response (2%). Being an English major in college, he\’s proud of his writing, and was quick to poo-poo the idea of hiring a copywriter…until I told him that I could probably beat his 2% response rate, and would do it for free in exchange for a 5% commission on each conversion.
He jumped at the idea, because he needs qualified leads–and had not converted one of those folks with the letter he sent earlier. He brought me in to talk to the head honchos, they liked my speech, and signed up.
Long story short, my lead-gen mailer is going out this week to 2,500 businesses(after months decision by committee and 20 drafts, etc.)and we\’ll see how well it performs.
I\’ve never done this kind of contract before, so I\’m hoping like hell it works. If it beats his control, the company will roll out a similar one for each sales territory.
If it works, I\’m a hero. But if it doesn\’t…have I wasted my time? Or do I just have to keep banging at other companies with the same idea?
You mentioned earlier about offering to write the copy for free, and they only pay you if it does well. But what is the best way to structure that deal? How do you keep them honest? And should the payment be based on number of responses or conversions or a flat fee or what?
Inquiring minds wanna know.
Comment by Kathy — January 23, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
Hi Clayton,
First thank you thank you! I have been reading your stuff for several months now. I am an accountant by trade. Believe it or not, I have minimal mktg skills so i am sure at this point you are wondering what am I even doing here. But, I have the skills to do the business piece (clean up, cut fat in operations, make them more efficient), but feel very weak in the mktg. pieces you describe. Not even sure where to start on the mktg side. Can you help? I need a step by step(sometimes with detail explanation) description of what and how to do the mktg piece.
Thanks from Not even an infant in mktg!
Comment by Ted Meloy — January 23, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Clayton:
Please share your thoughts on making purchases of said product on an affiliate plan.
What I am trying to get at is interest going beyond immediate self serving ideas of income. Perhaps something like a discount for buying several units so that a friend or associate might be able to get in on the deal. I am thinking maybe the original purchaser might be able to get some benefit for introducing the product to amother interested person. A twist to the concept behind network marketing?
Appreciate your insight.
Sincerely,
tedmeloy@yahoo.com
Comment by Andrew Cavanagh — January 23, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
Clayton it occurred to me there are 2 very simple things you can do to help copywriters who don\’t have your credibility or experience get across that wide expanse between the kind of clients you deal with now and the kind of clients they\’re likely to start out with.
1. Explain exactly how to identify the smaller businesses that will make good prospects for a direct response copywriter.
2. Explain the vital educating steps you must take with those small business owners to ensure that the small businesses you work with go on to become very large businesses.
As you can see from the comments here you\’re also getting a lot of people who have no idea where to start to get their first clients so you may want to cover exactly who to approach to begin and how to approach them.
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
P.S. If you\’re smart and you read my last comment you should have worked out that anyone with even the most basic marketing skills can make a very good living helping regular small business owners in your local area with their marketing.
Clayton is absolutely spot on with this whole theme.
You need to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like a business person.
When you start helping your clients make real money in a whole variety of ways you get their loyalty and you get to share in those profits.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 24, 2008 @ 3:50 am
Once again, you guys have proven that I’ve got the smartest most motivated readers in the whole marketing and copywriting niche!
So many great questions and suggestions, I don’t know where to start.
Yes I do … read Markus Trauernicht’s post (think it was his second or third one and that it’s on page four). This guy has it going on!
Markus’ key suggestions:
1. Pick a niche, write something for a company in that niche for free or nearly free.
If the company uses it, fantastic. If not, you have a sample for that niche that you can show to other prospects and post on your site.
2. Network your fanny off. Share your ideas on relevant forums and blogs.
3. Read everything you can to expand your marketing and copywriting arsenal.
4. Stick to it – or as Markus says, “It\’s not just about the beginning, but about about staying on track.”
5. If you’re working while starting your marketing/copywriting business, why not get a job in sales? As a marketer/copywriter, you are a salesman in print – and the face-to-face experience handling objections and dealing with people is invaluable.
6. Work. “Fail Forward.” Realize that you will have failures and that every one of them brings you a giant step closer to the success you crave.
All I can say is, “Amen, Markus – preach it, brother!”
I also love the thought progression I’m seeing in Andrew Cavanagh’s posts. His last post has brillance written all over it.
Earlier, Andrew – who DOES become a partner with his clients – pointed out some problems with my approach: Small companies have no marketing budget or even customer lists or appreciation for marketing, so most times, you just can’t help them.
Then, he thought … and thought … and answered his own objections …
I can almost see the gears turning, Andrew!
I love this advice from your last post: “You need to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like a business person.
When you start helping your clients make real money in a whole variety of ways you get their loyalty and you get to share in those profits.”
BULLSEYE!
And you’re also right when you say that the trick to create explosive results when partnering is to carefully QUALIFY your prospsects.
That means cheerfully rejecting companies that don’t have the basic criteria for success.
Focus on companies that have customer lists, a few shekels set aside, and not merely an appreciation for marketing, but a pressing need to grow their customer base and profits.
Here in the States, there are twenty million businesses with 500 or fewer employees. I’m sure there are millions in Australia as well.
Many of these businesses are NOT your best prospects. Many are too small, too ignorant, too poor. Others (among the larger ones) are too arrogant (read: ignorant) or already have the marketing thing covered well.
That still leaves millions of businesses that would be dream partners for all of us!
They have products that bring tremendous value to customers’ lives.
Their owners are highly motivated to grow (or in this recession, to survive).
They have customer lists that they’re not mining well. A single 30-day e-mail campaign to that list could yield a huge sales increase – millions in new revenues (of which you could easily snag a nice chunk).
They have existing relationships with vendors and even competitors that you can leverage to generate a flood of new customers quickly and cheaply.
And many DO have hundreds of thousands or even millions in cash reserves that can be used to attract new customers – but that really isn’t necessary for you to do very well.
CASE IN POINT: Bob is an engineer by trade, working at a major aerospace firm.
But Bob hated his job. He loved inventing.
So he invented a small water heater that produces hot water on demand. Instead of using energy to percolate water all day, it switches on when you open the tap and off when you close it. And because it was small, it could easily fit under a sink.
When I met Bob, he had quit his job, rented a tiny warehouse in an industrial park, had one employee and was barely selling enough of his water heaters to local companies to keep body and soul together.
See, Bob was an inventor; not a marketer. So I partnered with him.
First, I created a brochure. On the cover, we had a man’s hand holding a $100 bill. The bill was on fire and was heating a teapot. Steam was billowing from the spout.
We mailed that brochure along with an eight-page sales letter to a small list of prospect companies – firms that built motorhomes … airplanes … hot tubs … and construction companies.
That mailing produced scores of corporate clients for Bob, and each one of them bought hundreds of units.
So we mailed to more companies like those all over the world; each mailing larger than the one before.
And we began reaching out to wholesalers.
Long story short: Bob’s water heaters are everywhere today.
You’ve used them thousands of times without even knowing it. You may even own a few of them.
So how do you FIND prospective clients like Bob?
Stay tuned – I’m going to show you.
And better yet, I’m going to hand them to you on a silver platter.
-Clayton
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — January 24, 2008 @ 4:17 am
I’m jetting off to Florida this morning to meet with my “partner” there.
We’ve generated more than $1.5 in sales from his customer file in the last two days and now, we’re working on an exciting new web-based new customer acquisition campaign for him.
So I need to keep this short (for me) …
Susie wants to know if my partnership model will work with fundraisers. The answer is, ABSOLUTELY.
TRUE STORY: At 10:45 PM a few of Saturdays ago, I was already snoozing and The Redhead was putzing around t