TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
What Copywriting Gurus Never Tell You
Dear Business-Builder,
I been berry, berry busy lately.
Don’t worry; it’s not your fault. My job is to write one issue of The Total Package per week. The Redhead and her team do all the rest.
So it’s not you; it’s my agency: ResponseInk.
Every working day, “Team Makepeace” and I create real-world promotions for real-world clients that generate real-world profits.
- Like our Web-based new customer acquisition campaigns that are generating ROIs of up to 600% and masses of new customers for one client …
- And like our multi-channel customer-file promotions for another client that are making him as much as $1 million in a single week.
The thing is, though, Web marketing is a bear – especially when you compare it to the good old days, when we wrote exclusively for direct mail.
Back then, we had four to six leisurely weeks to crank out a 24-page magalog or tabloid. I had plenty of time to think and re-think my strategy, theme and tone, and to carefully polish every word until it glistened.
For better or for worse, the Web has changed all that. Today, a single Web campaign can contain multiple drafts of multiple banners and e-mail blasts … squeeze pages … long-copy landing pages … bump pages … “save” pages … shopping cart copy … and endless autoresponders.
For just one of the Web campaigns we delivered, I wrote and/or edited one marketing plan … 30 drafts of 15 e-mail blasts … a one-hour teleconference script … five drafts of a landing page … and three drafts of a 12-page direct mail sales letter.
To get all that done in just 14 days, I often began work at 3:00 AM – and twice, at 1:00 AM. My workdays have been hectic, fragmented and tear-your-hair-out confusing. Weekends – what in the Sam Hill are they?
Was it worth it? Yep. Six days into the promotion, we banked more than one million dollars in sales. And that’s only the beginning. Last time I built a campaign like this, we did $5 million in a little over five weeks. This time (knock on wood!), I think we’ll do even better.
… But was it worth it for me, personally? Sure: As the copywriter who generated all those profits for my client, I’m in for a very nice chunk of that money as my “sales commission.”
Now, despite what you may think, I’m not telling you any of this to brag. I’m telling you this to encourage you – and to (once again) answer two of the questions we get asked most often around here:
Q: “Do these copy strategies really work??”
A: Absolutely. My agency and other top writers are producing these kinds of results every day of the year.
Q: “Can a copywriter really make six figures a year?”
A: Again, YES! If you can tie your compensation to the success of the promotions you create, six figures a year is no problem. In fact, I’m living proof that more than six figures a month is well within your grasp.
Three Big, Fat Lies Everyone’s Telling
About Choosing Copywriting as a Career
So every day, I fall down on my one good knee and thank my lucky stars that I stumbled into this copywriting thing.
It truly is a spectacular way to make a living. It turned me – a penniless high school dropout — into a millionaire, and it’s doing the same for many other writers I could name.
Nevertheless, not everything every online guru tells you is necessarily the gospel truth. (“DUH!” – right?)
See, these guys are mostly selling a product. They’re also copywriters. And well … let’s just say that sometimes, they can get just a l-i-t-t-l-e carried away when selling their books, courses and conferences.
So let’s take a few minutes to set the record straight by examining the three biggest, fattest lies being told online about this freelance copywriting thing …
Big Fat Lie #1: “If you can write a simple letter, you can be a great copywriter.” Nonsense. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: What we do isn’t about writing. In fact, many of the worst copy cubs I’ve ever had were English majors. The absolute worst was an English professor.
Copywriting is, first and foremost, about persuasion: About persuading prospects to give us their attention and to read our sales messages … persuading them to accept our point of view and to believe that our products really do deliver the benefits we promise … and finally, persuading them to order NOW.
Just do that in your copy – and confine yourself to promoting products that people already want – and you can make a darned good living as a copywriter.
To make a great living – more than $1 million a year — you’ll need to go one step farther: You’ll have to master the art of creating desire for a product or benefit that your prospects have NOT already decided they want.
How do you acquire these skills? Well for starters, you could change your focus: Instead of studying writing, study sales. Better yet, take a night job as a salesperson. Maybe at a used car dealership. Maybe selling insurance or vacuum cleaners door to door.
Learn to anticipate objections and to defuse them. Learn to dimensionalize the value – both practical and emotional — your product brings to people’s lives. Practice minimizing the price and master asking for the sale.
How do I know it'll make you a better copywriter? I’ve done it, that’s why! In grade school, I sold greeting cards door to door. In my teens, I sold buying club memberships door-to-door. In my early 20s, I sold cars for a Chrysler dealership in Tulsa and video production services in Los Angeles.
Believe me: That experience will make you a better copywriter than any guru’s book, course or conference ever will.
So get your sales chops. The best copy cubs I ever had were mediocre writers. A couple of them were downright lousy at grammar, spelling and punctuation. But they had a knack for persuasion and for creating desire in their readers.
Once you’ve mastered those two all-important skills, you’re 99% of the way home. The rest can be handled by a proofreader.
Lie #2: “Copywriting is ‘the lazy man’s way to riches.’” Uh … come again???
In my not-so-humble opinion, too many folks these days try to sell copywriting courses and conferences by painting vivid mental images of the copywriter as a gentleman or gentle lady of leisure.
No bosses … no office hours … no rules. Get rich writing at home in your underwear or on the beach sipping a mai tai in your Speedos. Start when you want, call it a day when you want, take a day, a week or a month off when you want.
Reality check, PUH-LEEZE!
First off, becoming a great copywriter takes years of hard work – first, learning the ropes … second, selling yourself to a client … and third, applying what you’ve learned in the real world.
Second, the “be your own boss” thing is just nuts. If you’re going to freelance, you’re going to have more bosses than you can shake a stick at – and every one of them is going to want a piece of you.
For one thing, every chairman, president, group publisher, marketing director, marketing manager, compliance officer, secretary and janitor at every company you’ll ever write for is just dying to get his or her itchy little fingers on your copy.
Memorize this – I don’t know who said it first:
The most intense human desire is NOT for air, or water, or food or sex.
It’s one human being’s yearning to change another’s copy.
… But WHY?
My theory: It’s simple office politics. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by fiddling with your copy.
If a hireling at a client’s company makes a change and your copy does well, they can take the credit. They could suddenly find themselves on the fast track for the big promotion and raise, the corner office, the company car and the uber-hot personal assistant.
… And of course, if they make a change and your copy bombs, they’re covered. After all; you’re the copywriter, so it’s YOUR fault. See? They have nothing to lose!
Meanwhile, as a copywriter, your job is to humor every one of your bosses without allowing them to mangle your sales copy or diffuse its clarity of vision.
And to do that, you’ll have to exercise the patience of a Job, the diplomacy of a Kissinger, and you’re gonna have to smooch mondo buttage.
And when all else fails, you need to have the stones to be as stubborn as a mule and as ferocious as a pit bull on steroids in the defense of your vision.
Now, about that “work when you want, take off when you want” thing, there are a couple of things you should be aware of …
First: Every month, a disgruntled postal employee stuffs a bunch of envelopes – called “bills” into your mailbox. Each one of them has a due date printed on it. Your job is to get the money to pay each of them before that due date.
That means you’re probably going to have to go to work for it; whether you “feel like it” or not.
Second: Every one of your clients is in love with irritating little things called “deadlines.” A deadline is a date they give you on or before which you are to have your copy done. If you don’t deliver, it bollocks up their promotional schedule – not just this month, but for the entire year.
Blowing deadlines and then explaining that you were enjoying your “copywriter’s prerogative” to work whenever or wherever you damn well feel like it will NOT earn you many repeat assignments.
Bottom line is, producing great copy takes the energy and work ethic of a floor trader and attention to detail and intense concentration of an air traffic controller.
Now, maybe YOU can do all that a few hours a day or while ogling babes on the beach – not me.
A few months ago, my cherished friend Gary Bencivenga dropped an e-mail into my inbox at 4:30 AM – and I responded immediately.
“Isn’t it interesting,” replied The Great Gary, “that two of the world’s most accomplished copywriters are already at their desks at this hour?”
Interesting, yes. Surprising? I’ll leave that up to you.
Lie #3: “You’ll begin making the big bucks right away.” Maybe … but probably not.
Think about it for a moment: As a copywriter, you only make money when you make other people money – right?
But when you’re starting out, you’re most likely going to be COSTING everyone who hires or copy chiefs you a not-so-small fortune.
Sorry – but let’s be honest here: There are only three reasons why anyone would hire a newbie:
- He’s clueless about what makes for great copy …
- He’s too cheap to pay what a copywriter with a real track record would charge him …
- In very rare cases, if the client is a copywriting expert himself, he may see some promise in you and hope that the hundreds of excruciatingly painful hours he or she will have to spend reading, critiquing and editing your copy will eventually make him money.
In any case, your contribution to this process is not worth six figures a year – and it’s sure as heck not worth seven!
To the contrary: If the world were a fair place, you’d be paying for the education you’re getting.
Think about this for a moment …
- Before launching his freelance career, Gary Bencivenga worked for years as a junior copywriter – first for David Ogilvy, then for Dan Rosenthal.
- Arthur Johnson started out as a newbie copywriter at The Franklin Mint – making, I’m sure, a tiny fraction of what he makes today.
- Jim Rutz, Kent Komae, Brad Petersen and David Deutsch all worked at marketing or advertising agencies as in-house copywriters for years before hanging out their freelance shingles.
- Carline Anglade-Cole, a marketing director at Phillips Publishing, began by writing sales copy on staff before she set out on her own.
- Heck – I spent years working as an in-house copywriter at a Los Angeles agency before starting my freelance business!
My advice: If you can’t find a senior freelance writer to copy chief you … get a flippin’ job!
I’m serious. Thousands of direct response agencies and companies are hungry for promising staff writers. You may have to relocate. You may even have to take a temporary cut in pay.
But …
- You’ll be immersed in copywriting and marketing every working day …
- You’ll have your copy critiqued by folks who know what they’re doing and who have a lot to teach you …
- You’ll add tons of real-life promotions to your portfolio that will help you find freelance clients later on and …
- You’ll make a living wage learning a skill that can be worth millions to you for the rest of your life.
If you’re willing to do all of the above – and if you have either spec assignments or live samples that prove you have promise, I'd start applying for a job at every direct response company and agency I could think of …
Do whatever it takes. It’s worth it!
Well now … ain’t I the ray of freakin’ sunshine today …
If I rained on your parade, please forgive me. But the simple truth is, pursuing a copywriting career is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme.
It can, however, be the single best idea you ever had.
In 1974, I was a dead broke, out-of-work high school dropout with a wife and two kids. I got a job at an agency and for five years, made a living wage.
My first month on my own, I made more money than I’d earned in a year at the agency.
A couple of years later, I was doing a quarter million a year plus royalties.
Fifteen years later, I was doing a million a year.
Others have done it faster. As I’ve mentioned before, Carline Anglade-Cole made six figures her very first year as a freelancer, and does about $800,000 a year today.
So whatever you do, do NOT be discouraged. If you need encouragement, just look at how far you’ve come; all the stuff you know now that you didn’t know a year ago.
Resolve to do whatever it takes in the short term to reap the long-term rewards. Stick with it. Redouble your efforts. Refuse to accept anything but success.
Take my word for it:
The first time a client wires six figures into your bank account to pay you for two weeks’ work, you’ll be glad you hung in there.
Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,
Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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39 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Linda Byam — June 4, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Clayton,
What keeps you going? It can’t be the money alone. You must be richer than Croesus by now. You and the Redhead could probably have ridden off into the sunset on twin Vincent ’52s long ago. When do you stop and smell the flowers?
Linda
Comment by John Scola — June 4, 2009 @ 10:50 am
Hey Clayton…
You mentioned that if we can’t get a copy chief to hire us… get a job as a staff copywriter?
Well, can you suggest how we can determine whether or not this company’s direct response division is a good one?
Because after all, it would really, really suck to work for someone that is worse than I am at copywriting…
Thanks man,
John
Comment by John — June 4, 2009 @ 10:59 am
Clayton,
You stated in the running text of Lie 1 that a copywriter must create desire. Buy according to Gene Schwartz, desire can never be created. It must already exist in the prospect. The copywriter then, must intensify, amplify, and stir-up that inner desire to a feverish pitch.
Hmmm?
What do you think?
Comment by RAY EDWARDS — June 4, 2009 @ 11:09 am
Wasn’t this hard path to the top you describe BEFORE The advent of the internet?
I think it’s easier to get your feet wet while avoiding the agency route today and still make a 6-figure a year income.
-Ray
Comment by Sean McCool — June 4, 2009 @ 11:42 am
Clayton,
Thanks for confirming the decisions I’ve made over the last 6 months.
I recently joined the staff at a “little” financial publishing company in Baltimore, MD.
In fact, I work for the most profitable division of that little company. And I believe I am working for one of the greatest copywriters alive—one that most people have never heard of.
I uprooted my family from the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mtns to Baltimore. My wife quit her job and I sold my handyman business…I am now making less than I made 10 years ago.
But, I am learning a skill that is directly tied to the profits of a business…and that is the only place to be regardless of economic conditions.
Best of all, I love the challenge, I love the fact that there is always room for improvement and that I get paid along the way as I get better.
So again, thank you for confirming the best way to achieve my goal of being a A-Level copywriter.
Sean
Comment by Kammy Thurman — June 4, 2009 @ 11:57 am
To John Scola,
You don’t have to get a copy chief to hire you…you can hire him/her to critique your work before you submit it to your client.
A number of senior copywriters copy chief for other writers — just ask around, look for people with a solid reputation in your niche, and ask them if they offer this service.
Before you send a quote to the client, find out how much the other copywriter would charge to copy chief the project, then build those fees into your quote to clients. I’ve typically paid $250 - $800 depending on length and complexity of the project and I don’t balk one bit about tacking that cost onto my fees. This ensures the client gets top-notch copy. And the time and hassle it saves both my client and I in revisions makes it WAY worth it.
With this approach — and by using a detailed creative brief that I send along to my copy chief with my project draft — I rarely have to do more than one round of revisions from the client, and they’re usually very minor.
It’s a good idea to line up two or three copy chiefs to be on standby in case one isn’t available at the time you need.
This means, however, that you’ll have to speed up your writing so you have time for your copy chief to turn it around and you can make any needed revisions before your deadline to the client.
Comment by Kammy Thurman — June 4, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Clayton,
Sounds like the hours we keep for our photography biz — for a heckova lot LESS pay! Which is why I’ve “opted out” of the studio, hired an assistant for my hubby, and I’m taking on more of my own clients after a hiatus to help get the photo biz rolling.
Hey, you might be putting in long days, but at least you’ve got an equal reward for them — something more than the “sheer joy of creating exquisite, fine-art portraits that your family will cherish for the rest of their lives and lovingly pass down from generation to generation…true heirlooms that your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren will hold dear to their hearts far far into the future.”
I’m just being sarcastic. My hubby loves his work, and I’m so glad he’s able to do the work he loves… but in our tiny, rural area it ain’t exactly a million-dollar-a-year biz.
Comment by Peter — June 4, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
This is an encouraging message during tough times. Food for thought.
Comment by DaveC — June 4, 2009 @ 12:29 pm
Most name copywriters and direct response marketers have very low opinions of ad agencies.
How is going to work for one of them going to make me a more persuasive writer?
Comment by stevieod — June 4, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Hmmm, it would help if the information presented here was a little less vague and general and a lot more succinct and detailed. How about naming names, such as who is hiring and who is the better if not best ad agencies to apply for a position.
Maybe even if they are hiring.
And of course what are the prerequisites, etc.
It’s like telling someone stranded on a deserted island to start a fire.
Invariably they will ask, “with what?”
If you don’t tell them with what to use and the techniques required, a fire will not be started.
It’s back to that old saw, ‘You can feed a person a fish meal, or you can teach them how to fish and they will eat for a lifetime.’
Yes, this may require a bit of work, and I suppose the biggest problem is that of ‘proprietary ideas and methods.’
You probably don’t want your biggest and darkest ’secrets’ divulged to just anyone.
At least not without an exchange of big time dollars.
Exchanged into your hands of course.
But without real help, especially to the ‘newbies’ coming up, where are the next ‘hot’ copywriters going to come from?
But alas, I can imagine you top dogs really don’t want any real competition.
Regards,
steve
Comment by Kammy Thurman — June 4, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
Gosh, Stevoid, a little initiative, huh?
Here’s the top 50 for you, took all of 30 seconds to find them on the ‘Net.
1 Rapp Collins Worldwide* [Omnicom] New York
2 Wunderman* [WPP] New York
3 Draft* [Interpublic] Chicago
4 Epsilon Wakefield, Mass.
5 Aspen Marketing Services
6 OgilvyOne Worldwide* [WPP] New York
7 Merkle Lanham, Md.
8 MRM Worldwide* [Interpublic] New York
9 TBA Global Events* Woodland Hills, Calif.
10 Euro RSCG 4D* [Havas] New York
11 Digitas* Boston
12 ChoicePoint Precision Marketing Alpharetta, Ga.
13 Carlson Marketing Group* Minneapolis
14 Harte-Hanks Direct Langhorne, Pa.
15 SourceLink Elk Grove Village, Ill.
16 Protocol Integrated Direct Marketing* Deerfield, Ill.
17 360 Youth New York
18 Targetbase* [Omnicom] Irving, Texas
19 Accent Marketing Services [MDC] Jeffersonville, Ind.
20 Data Marketing* Santa Clara, Calif.
21 Valassis One to One Solutions Lincoln, Mass.
22 Grey Direct* [WPP] New York
23 RMG:Connect* [WPP] London/New York, N.Y.
24 Ambrosi Chicago
25 MKTG Services* New York
26 GSP Marketing Services* Chicago
27 Publicis Dialog* [Publicis] New York
28 Mullen* [Interpublic] Wenham, Mass.
29 Hawkeye/FFWD Charlotte, N.C.
30 Russ Reid Co.* [Omnicom] Pasadena, Calif.
31 Tequila [Omnicom] New York
32 Arc Worldwide* [Publicis] Chicago
33 Hacker Group* [Interpublic] Bellevue, Wash.
34 Unit 7* [Omnicom] New York
35 RTC Relationship Marketing* [WPP] Washington
36 Arnold One* [Havas] Boston
37 CFM Direct Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
38 DMW Worldwide Wayne, Pa.
39 Lortz Direct Marketing Omaha
40 Quigley-Simpson Los Angeles
41 Sigma Marketing Group* Rochester, N.Y.
42 Ryan iDirect [D. L. Ryan Cos.] Wilton, Conn.
43 Sapient* Cambridge, Mass.
44 Creative Direct Response Crofton, Md.
45 TaCito Direct Marketing Dallas
46 Communications Plus New York
47 Huntsinger & Jeffer Richmond, Va.
48 Nexus Direct Virginia Beach, Va.
49 Razor Competitive Edge Addison, Texas
50 Roska Direct Montgomeryville, Pa.
Comment by Len — June 4, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
TO DAVE (post #9): If you opt to work for (or with) an ad agency, the trick is to make sure it’s one that’s in direct response. That way, you’ll have solid numbers on how your promotions perform — which ones worked and which ones didn’t (in which case you learn from them and try again).
Going the “staff copywriter” route can be very rewarding … especially if you consider it “paying your dues.”
I went from running a very small freelance copywriting business to signing on as a staff copywriter at Littleton Coin Company in New Hampshire (www.littletoncoin.com). The sheer volume of direct mail, e-mail, and web copy — not to mention, in this case, catalog copy — dramatically shortened my learning curve.
Then, after twenty short months — less than two years — I moved on to join the team as a copywriter here at Response INK and The Total Package.
So going the in-house copywriter route CAN work. The trick is to work hard and never stop learning. I probably averaged 50-60 hours a week at Littleton Coin. And I read everything I could find on copywriting — especially the classics (Schwartz, Stone, Hopkins, Ogilvy, etc.) and everything in The Total Package archives.
Keep the faith, and good luck!
Len
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 4, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
JOHN: Gene and I are both right.
Gene’s point is that you can’t create desire for a particular outcome. The best copywriter is going to do a lousy job trying to sell a weight loss product to skinny people or lawnmowers to apartment-dwellers.
My point is that, given a prospect universe populated with people who have a passive desire for the benefit your product delivers, you CAN create desire for a product that delivers those benefits and elevate that desire to “must-have-now” status in your prospects’ minds.
RAY: My start wasn’t just before the Internet it was TWO DECADES before the web became ubiquitous.
And yes, others have done it faster. But there’s no substitute for learning and taking your lumps in a copywriting hothouse — and taking your lumps on someone else’s dime before you try to live off the proceeds of your writing.
DAVEC: Yeh. We think ad agency writers are charlatains because they never have to face a black-and-white analysis of how well their copy worked. But writeres at DIRECT RESPONSE agencies do live and die by their results — at least at the good DR agencies.
STEVIEOD: You’re hilarious. I don’t want any real competition? HAH!
I mentored five of top copywriters alive today — “A” level writers who earn $1 million or more every year.
I employ five full-time copywriters right now and am teaching them everything I know and am anticipating hiring two more by the end of the summer.
I teach my clients’ in-house copywriters to create better copy and of course, coach thousands of TOTAL PACKAGE readers on the finer points of copywriting six days each week — for FREE.
Why am I trying so hard to help younger writers along?
SIMPLE: Because the more good writers there are out there, the bigger my competitors get and the more names they have to rent me. Plus, a world with more great writers mean I get to hire more great writers for my clients.
Sheesh.
Comment by Len — June 4, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
TO STEVOID (#11): You can find a wealth of of top-notch information — including many, many of Clayton’s “deep, dark secrets” — right here on this site. No charge.
Just click “Archives” at the top of the page (under the masthead) … or click here:
http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/?page_id=304
Enjoy!
Len
Comment by Ryan — June 4, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
Gee Clayton, maybe not all of us want to be AAAA+++ ultra-hype copywriting superstars. Some of us just want to make a decent living while working and living on our own terms.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 4, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
THANKS, LEN — OH; AND STEVIEROD? If you need a pre-school class on how to find companies that are advertising for writers … or how to qualify a prospective employer to make sure he does good work … or how to apply for a job … just let us know. We’ll try to hook you up.
CLAYTON
Comment by Len — June 4, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
TO KAMMY: Nice list — thanks for sharing!
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 4, 2009 @ 2:55 pm
RYAN: No problem, buddy — this advice is for people who DO want to put the pedal to the metal. Coasting is cool, too. Whatever floats your boat.
– CLAYTON
Comment by John — June 4, 2009 @ 3:29 pm
RAY EDWARDS IS NOSEY! YOU ARE STICKING YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG.
THIS IS CLAYTON’S BLOG.
Are you mad yet? Good.
Clayton,
I’m sure there are many like me who have studied our ass off. I’ve been reading the TP for about a year. I’ve also indulged in copywriting courses.
The Total Package offers wisdom and knowledge. But you’ve got to put that knowledge into action.
What do you think about adding a training section to this blog? Maybe a weekly exercise would do?
Maybe we could have a discussion? Let everyone speak their mind on the idea of copywriting exercises.
Well ???
Writing competitions are a blast. But we need reasonable deadlines.
Giddy up y’all
Comment by Mike Morgan — June 4, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Talk about candor!
I myself made 6 figs my first year freelancing, which was also my first year in copywriting. Wrote my first 7 figure letter after 18 months. But I had “paid my dues” in over 20 years of sales to become an overnight success!
Not to mention I paid mega-bucks for every copywriting course and mentoring program on the street for my first several years.
So, yes, success can come fast, but there’s a lot more to getting there than meets the eye.
Thanks for saying what so many other copywriters won’t dare tell Clayton. You’ve done a great service to those who heed your advice.
Mike Morgan
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 4, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
JOHN: Real time, online copywriter training? Great idea! Watch your inbox!
Comment by Alessandra — June 4, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
Clayton.
THANKS A TON!
I really appreciate you are so direct and say how it really works. In fact as you say ther aer so many courses: “turn into a 6 figures copywriters in a couple of years and work 4 - 5 hours per day”.
The saddest thing is that these courses come sometimes even from well known organizations…
Thanks a million also for all the free lessons from a real TOP GURU as you are.
Alessandra
Comment by Jason Moffatt — June 4, 2009 @ 4:41 pm
I have a rule any time I write for anybody (which is very seldom) and it goes like this…
“You run the piece exactly how I write it, and you CANNOT alter it for at least 30 days, or until a significant amount of traffic has had a chance to see the offer”.
If they don’t agree to those terms, then they need to find another person to do the job. The last thing I want is to get into a argument with some suit who couldn’t even sell weed at a Grateful Dead show.
Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 4, 2009 @ 4:49 pm
JASON MOFFATT: Great rule — it’ll make a LOT more money than letting others tinker and destroy your vision.
I’ve often said that mankind’s most irresistible impulse is not for food or water or for sex — but for one person to change another’s copy.
– CLAYTON
Comment by Kammy Thurman — June 4, 2009 @ 6:38 pm
Ryan,
Being an A-list copywriter has nothing to do with how “hypey” you write. It has to do with who’s paying you to write it — and if you’re up to the task.
Hmmm, instead of jumping to the defensive out of jealousy over what Clayton and other “big names” have accomplished, why not soak up what they can teach you make it a goal to pass ‘em up!
Comment by John Gamble — June 4, 2009 @ 7:52 pm
Clayton,
Amen.
You never pull punches. Your message here is loud and clear and right on-the-money.
As someone who sold books door-to-door and vacuum cleaners and lots more, I was nodding my head during your entire post.
Copy “writing” is somewhat of a misnomer, because as you point out, it’s all about selling. And well-trained direct salespeople learn right off the bat that work ethic and staying on schedule is everything.
For you, that means starting work each day at 4 AM. But however you translate it, selling’s a numbers game.
So when you develop the discipline as you have, and you put in lots of sweat equity, eventually the sales come. And if you dabble and don’t, they won’t.
Thanks for giving it to us straight.
John
Comment by John Counsel — June 4, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Stevierod,
When I hire anyone in a creative capacity (writers, art directors or strategists) I want people who’ve gotten off their backsides and learned to SOLVE problems, not CRATE them — or just belly-ache about them.
You don’t learn that from “Baby Bird” syndrome. (That’s where you sit on your duff, open your mouth and cry, waiting for Momma Bird to fill it for you until she gets sick of you and boots you out of the nest.)
As Confucion said: “Man who sit cross-legged with mouth open, waiting for roast duck to fly in, can expect veerrry long wait.”
John Counsel
CEO, The Profit Clinic
Melbourne AU
Comment by John Counsel — June 4, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
Copywriting is salesmanship in print (or words, at least).
So it’s about SELLING. And selling is all about EMOTION.
Desire, want, expect, hope… all emotions.
The role of the marketer is to identify a need and satisfy it. No emotion. Just rational, objective analysis, evaluation and strategy. Needs are what define markets.
The role of the SELLER — especially the copywriter — is to get people to WANT what they NEED, because not matter how much consumers NEED what you offer, until they WANT it, they ain’t gonna BUY it!
So good copywriters target EMOTIONAL responses.
If they’re smart, they target EXISTING emotional responses. (Trying to create new ones, or to change old ones, is tough and tends to trigger NEGATIVE emotional responses.)
For a new solution to an existing need, you target existing emotional responses from a new angle. Show the prospect (with a NEED) how the new solution will satisfy that need in ways that are safer, easier, better and smarter and you’re in with a chance.
(Note that I never said cheaper. That’s just a function of SAFER, because the only resource the prospect controls is the only resource the client is interested in, usually… his/her MONEY.)
Once you tilt the seesaw in the client’s favour, so the prospect sees accepting the offer as safer, easier, better and smarter than NOT accepting it, you have a buyer.
But that’s the bottom line: you have to make it safer, easier, better and smarter for the prospect to BUY from the client than to:
1. Buy from ANYONE else, or…
2. Keep their money and do nothing.
John Counsel
CEO, The Profit Clinic
Comment by John Gilger — June 4, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
Great!
I’ve spent thousands of dollars and a few thousand hours studying this craft. I think I have the theory down pretty good… maybe. However, there’s a difference between theory and practice.
Getting experience with clients that actually know and understand direct response marketing is a whole ‘nuther story. I’d gladly work in a busy DRM shop for a couple years just for the experience (and a reasonable salary to cover basic expenses) and relocation isn’t a problem.
Thanks for opening my eyes and helping me get my mind straight. Instead of revamping my marketing campaign for freelance client, I need to start campaigning for a slot in a DRM shop.
John Gilger
702.301.3033
Comment by John Counsel — June 4, 2009 @ 8:49 pm
I’m always happy for clients to tinker with my copy, art direction or strategies — on one condition: that they use properly-controlled split-run testing to let the TARGET AUDIENCE decide which works better.
Personal taste isn’t acceptable. Nor are committee decisions.
As Bob Heinlein once wrote, “a camel is a horse designed by a committee” (and “an elephant is a mouse built to government regulations”. Too darned true!)
NO client-tinkered version has ever survived the split-run test in more than 35 years of applying this policy.
John Counsel
CEO, The Profit Clinic
Melbourne AU
Comment by Viki — June 4, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
This is a wonderful reality check, Clayton. It’s hard work, long hours and passion that breeds success, regardless of what industry a person is in. Thanks for this.
ps - I love the idea of getting a weekly copywriting exercise from you.
Pingback by ‘Truth In Advertising What Copywriting Gurus Never Tell You’ - ‘The Total Package’ — June 5, 2009 @ 2:51 am
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Comment by Clayton Makepeace — June 5, 2009 @ 3:28 am
JOHN GILGER: Now, John — you know this article is for newbies — not for guys like you with real clients and with real income.
Cheers, friend!
– Clatyon
Comment by Peggy — June 5, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
I hopped over here from Twitter and I’m glad I did.
I liked this post not just because of what you had to say, but the manner in which you said it. I enjoy your writing style.
So… it appears you’re a good writer and a good copywriter.
Alas, I was an English major so my battle is uphill.
Thanks,
Peggy
Comment by Jake Markson — June 5, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
Still cracking up over your comments re: “everything to gain and nothing to lose” for those who’d like to tweak your copy. Truer words were never spoken.
Pingback by ‘The Drunks Don’t Have a Prayer!’ - ‘The Total Package’ Week in Review — June 6, 2009 @ 11:37 am
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Comment by Cathy Sutter — June 6, 2009 @ 6:06 pm
Clayton–
I agree with Ryan…I don’t need to be an AAAA+++ copywriter. Mainly, I’m interested in the freedom involved working on my own. You’re right, Clayton, whatever floats my boat.
I’d rather not enter the corporate world with all the bullshit that goes with it. I’m not too much into authority, and, frankly, have had enough of it in my 45+ years of working in various office environment. So, as much as you tout the idea of working for an agency…just don’t wanna go there.
I would, however, be quick to jump at the chance to work for YOU. (Who wouldn’t?) Not only because of the wealth of knowledge I’d acquire just hanging around with you, but I think you’d be a cool “boss.”
Other than that, yeah, I’m all for those online, real time, copywriting lessons. That gets my vote!
–Cathy
Pingback by TRUTH IN ADVERTISING What Copywriting Gurus Never Tell You — June 9, 2009 @ 10:38 am
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Comment by Bob Andrews — June 11, 2009 @ 3:30 pm
Clayton….your Big Fat Lie #1: “If you can write a simple letter, you can be a great copywriter”….obviously references AWAI’s popular copywriting course. Are you saying their claims are bogus? What ARE the best copywriting programs available?