Should a copywriter be ever  asking for help seeling his services?

Isn’t this a contradiction of sort?  How can you be hlping people to sell theri wares but cannot sell your own?

Even though I agree with the general logic of this argument, in practice
this doesn’t hold true.

Doctors don’t live any longer than the rest of the population.

A copywriter should know how to sell but he doesn’t write
to sell other copywriting services. I doubt Tiger Woods’
coach can beat Tiger at golf.

I’m often asked by my coaching students how to get clients.
This is a fair question. I could say, “Physician heal thyself”,
but selling your services as a copywriter is different to helping
other people sell their wares.

How? For the very same reason you ask the business owner
to employ you–you have a perspective that they don’t have.
You (they) are sometimes too close to the trees to see the forest.

Also a copywriter can get so caught up in writing copy that he
forgets to market his own services. A balance has to be
struck between helping other people market their wares
and marketing your own wares.

Selling personal services can be tricky because YOU, your
personality (real or assumed), ethnicity, beliefs … all
come into the mix and it’s difficult to be separated from your
work. Clients don’t only want to know that your copy
works but that YOU BELIEVE SO!

Dan Kennedy like to say that there are a ton of people
walking around with a cord tied to their belly looking
for a place to plug it in. Confident business people want
to know that they are dealing with confident copywriters.
You must believe in your value to the client before they
pay you your value.

I don’t need anyone to tell me that I write powerful copy
because my copy has already told me so–it has raked
in millions on dollars. It’s with that mindset that you
sell your services, not with clever words and selling
strategies.

Early in my copywriting career a prospect phoned to
inquire about my services. I thought I would be funny
(big mistake) and so replied that I thought he was a
bill collector! The conversation went on to tell me what
he wanted done etc., but I never heard from him again.

Why?  He must have though, “If this guy is getting bill collector calls then _____” .

Especially when you are new to copywriting (and even old)
there would be dry spells. (Some copywriters fake busi-ness
because it sells, but that’s for another post.) The point
is that if you devalue your work during those dry spells then
you are sowing inferior seeds that would yield a poor harvest
when the rain starts to fall. Clients have a way of remembering
what you charged before.

The bottom line is that simply because you are a good copywriter
doesn’t mean that you can sell YOUR copywriting services. You
may need outside help (a mentor) to get you
accustomed to calling the high fees without flinching your face
or your voice.

Perhaps copywriters need their own copywriters.

If I got a penny for each time I was pitched to write
copy for below my normal rate because (as the person claims) I would
make a ton of money from the other jobs they have for me and from
the “royalty” from the product sales, then I would be rivaling Warren
Buffet for the #1 spot in Forbes Magazine richest people list.

I thought that I would make it easier for other people armed with
a good product but strapped for cash to make a successful pitch
to a copywriter worth his/her salt.

So first, what NOT to do:

1. Don’t try to sell a copywriter. Thinks about it: his job is
to sell so how can you ‘outsell’ him. Come direct.

2. Don’t offer 15% of the sales. If your affiliates get 75% why
do you think that 15% would make your copywriter titillated?

3. Don’t say that all your money was spent in product
development, it’s like telling your wife how many other women
you had before her. (So you thought about copywriting last huh?)

4. Don’t promise future jobs. It’s obvious if you like their work you’ll
give more jobs–it’s a stale selling point!

What to do:

1. Be prepared to show you have some marketing experience. If
this is your first product and you’ve never marketed before then
how will your product sell? XX% of 0 = 0. So have a marketing
plan to show how you are prepared to promote the product.

2. Show that you are familiar with the copywriter’s
work–stroke his ego. We are humans too. did you read their blog, (like
this one!) ebook, a sales letter they wrote, an interesting forum

post –show that you’ve been ‘checking them out’.

3. Have at least 20% of the normal rate to pay upfront. A
copywriter takes on a lot of risk when he writes on a retainer
basis, so don’t insult him by paying peanuts upfront. Show that
you are serious about moving forward.

4. Be prepared to show how you will ‘declare’ the sales
account so the copywriter can be sure you are not ripping him
off. Give access to a paypal account or give screen shots–but
treat the copywriter as you would any other JV partner.

5. Be civil through the whole process, you may have a business
partner for life!

You may truly have the next breakthrough ebook, software,
membership site on the drawing board but no large bank account to
draw from … and a copywriter could be the final piece in the
marketing puzzle to get your business to the next level .. if you
play your cards right.

Hope this helps …

Take this piece of advice for what it’s worth.

Ive seen this in many forums many times. A member falls from
grace and many people use this occasion to say that
they are ‘better’–always honest with their clients, give
back refunds on time, take care of their customers etc,.

Sometimes a member needs to be called out, but it’s not
a good idea to set yourself as the example to follow instead.

From a psychological standpoint, if I just hate gamblers, it’s
99% likely that I have a gambling problem. Human nature.

As parents we hate the child who is most like us! It can
be uncomfortable looking in the mirror sometimes.

Frank Bettger, in his classic book, How I Raised Myself From
Failure To Success in Selling, wrote how he often won huge
contracts while selling insurance by speaking well of his
competition.

If I were to respond to a post about another business owner
in my own field you should be very suspicious of my motives.

Am I jealous of that other person? Do I want to pull them
down so I could do better?

All I’m saying is that we should be a little more humble in
our assessment of our fellow humans because we are all
flawed and tainted.

I wish I were a better human being. I’m not all there yet
but I want to be more patient with people who are not
as far up on the ladder as I have painfully climbed.

Note: I wrote this article back in 2003.
Gives a glimpse into how I was thinking back then.

——————————————————————

I would like to talk about your most important
marketing asset of all.

Sorry, but it has nothing to do with the Internet. You
cannot buy it for any price either. This is exactly why it
is so expensive, even rare. It ranks above money, marketing
genius and a fantastic product. All successful marketers
must have it without exception. It is called perseverance!
Yes, the ‘don,t give up’ attitude.

The Network Marketing industry is littered with stories of
people who quit too early. You may even see companies that
do what I call ‘negative marketing’ by referring to the fact
that 95% of people fail in this industry.

Wow! This is no welcome mat for someone who is considering
joining a Network Marketing company. But wait a minute. Did
you check the latest stats from the Social Security
department? If you look at the number of people in the US
who are making over $50,000 per year the stats are not very
different. Does this mean that the whole US economic system
is a failure?

There is the so called 20-80 rule which says that 20% of the
people does 80% of the work. This is true of churches, your
work place, schools. It appears to be a law. It is also true
that 20% of the people control 80% of the wealth.

What I am saying here is that the Network Marketing industry
is just a reflection of the society in general. The question
you must ask yourself is “Am I a 20 percenter or an 80
percenter?” I wish you the best of luck trying to change
this rule. The fact is that over the past 40 years in the
US, the Network Marketing industry has made more
millionaires than all other entrepreneurial ventures
combined. Now how does that go for 95% failure?

Those who make the big bucks in Network Marketing are the
ones who persevered! Yes, perseverance is more valuable than
talent. Whatever legitimate home-based business you chose to
do, you will do well if you JUST DON‘T GIVE UP!

Perseverance is closely tied to how big your “why” is. In
other words why do you want a home business? There is a
sowing and reaping principle here. Like the Bible said
‘Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap’. This is a
physical law as well as a spiritual law.

If you have a big ”why“ the ”how“ will come
naturally.

For me I want a financially more secure future for my two
sets of twins. They are 4 and 5 yrs old - yes just a year
apart! Right now my wife works as a supervisor at a
Department store and I am at home with the kids. I want my
business to grow fast so that I may able to ask my wife to
stop working. (As though I would have to suggest this -she
can‘t wait).

We are also planning on home schooling so this becomes even
more urgent. This is why I am at my computer 16 hours per
day -testing ads, writing, researching -as I am doing now -
so that I can have the freedom later on.

The question is what do YOU want and how badly? God made us
in such a way that we normally get what we think we “must”
have not just what we “want”. You may wish for more money,
for the creditors to stop calling, for a nice car, for a
home in the country side - but do you “must” have it?

The reality is that quite ordinary people with extraordinary
“must-have-it attitudes” are making six-figure incomes
online. If you don‘t believe this you have already lost the
battle before you even started. To do well making money
online YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO SO.

Read any success story and without fail they experienced the
same setbacks like every other person, sometimes greater,
but they persevered because their “WHYS” were BIG.

Before you attempt this online business thing take a moment
to review your ‘why’ because if it is not big enough neither
would be your success.

Mistakes. Nobody likes to make them. But when we do we try to
learn from them, survive them and then value the experience
that we now have because of them.

As a internet marketing consultant having worked with many
different businesses Ive seen a lot of foul-ups in my career.
In this article Ill just like to address 7 of these mistakes
that have crippled or handicapped many companies that otherwise
could have been very successful.

1. Failure to differentiate your business by showing the unique
benefits you provide the customer.

Some may call this the Unique Selling Position (USP) or a host of
other titles meaning the very same thing, but you want to show
how you are different from your competition. Even if you are
selling a very common product you can still differentiate
yourself from your competition by picking one unique quality.

If you own a pizza place then maybe you are the only business in
the area that delivers after midnight or offer star-shaped
pizzas. Whatever will help you to stand out from the other pizza
places will help you to stand out in the customers mind. Think
about how many credit card companies, gas stations, bakeries
?and a host of other businesses that offer similar services
to other companies.

Differentiate and you’ll win.

2. Failure to test your advertising strategies.

There are many companies that run various ads. This includes
Yellow Pages, radio spots, newspapers and direct mail. Yet they
cannot determine which ads are doing well and which are just a
waste of money. This is because they do not test to see where
their results are coming from.

Any business should have some parameter by which they measure
where they are getting results and where their advertising is
losing money. Very large corporation are particularly guilty of
this because they have large adverting budgets. They can afford
to do branding advertising that is not intended to bring a
direct measurable response. A small business owner cannot afford
such luxury however.

So test, measure and use only what works.

3. Marketing to everybody.

Any business should have a niche or target audience that they
market to. Except you are selling water your target audience
cannot be the universal population. And even if you were selling
water you may not be able to reach all languages and some people
already have an abundance.

If you focus on your target market then you are more likely to
get a greater response because your message will be more focused
and direct. When you have a target in mind then you are more
likely to strike it than to just throw mud up against the wall
and hoping that something will stick.

The sharper your arrow point is the more likely it will strike
the bulls eye. Know who your target audience is and design your
advertising to reach them.

4. Not asking your customers what they think of your product or
service.

If you dont survey your customers to find out what they love or
hate about your product or service then you may be losing them
without even realizing it. Customers appreciate when you value
their opinions enough to ask for it. In this way you can find
out how to improve your products to better suit your market.
The more satisfied your customers are the more youll get with
less effort.

5. Ignoring your present customer base.

You know the saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the
bushes”. This could be said about customers as well, but this
time try five in the bushes. Yes, it can take 5 times as much
money and effort to win a new customer as it takes to keep an old
one.

Rather than just concentrating on building your customer base you
should spend a greater amount of your marketing resources to
keep those that you have already happy. If you dont do this
then youll just be trying to fill up a leaking barrel. Youll
continue to lose customers as fast as you gain them-a great way
to waste your marketing resources.

6. Not having a back end product to sell to your existing
customers.

After your customer has made an initial sale, you should have
another complimentary product to sell to that customer. You have
already won their confidence to do business with you so the
second sale should be easier to make.

Even if you dont sell such a product or service then you should
form a joint venture with another business owner and split the
profit. Ignoring the wealth that is in your present customer
base is a grave mistake. Yet many businesses do this year after
year.

7. Not spying out the competition.

Even if you are #1 in your niche you should be still keeping an
eye on what your competition is doing. You may learn some
valuable lessons and it may help you to see the weaknesses that
you have in your own company.

No general will want to go to war without knowing what type of
armor the enemy has and how well they use them. The same for a
business as well; you must know what your competition uses and
how you can translate the successful strategies to your own
business.