On Copywriting

Major Announcement

Today I have a major announcement. Here it is...

I'm abandoning this blog!

Today marks the end of On Copywriting on my Typepad domain. I am no longer going to blog on Typepad.

It's a strange feeling. I've been blogging for over four years on Typepad. Here's a little history.

When I got started blogging, I blogged about health. In fact, I wrote over 300 articles about health, exercise, and nutrition. You can see those blog posts here.

I never made much money from this blogging activity. But I sure had fun. I would usually write my posts during my lunch break at work. Every day I'd look forward to writing my next blog post. I built up a decent readership during the first couple years.

It's funny to look back at the home page of that blog. I can see where my thinking was back in 2005. I've come a long way since then.

Later, I migrated my posting about health to The Health Blog. The transition went okay, but not great. One thing I tried to do was bring on other bloggers to help with the posting. My approach didn't work as well as I thought it would, even though I offered to pay for each post.

I had actually grown tired of writing about health. And I had started blogging about copywriting, so it was difficult to maintain my activity on both blogs. So The Health Blog fell by the wayside. It's now like a little blog island floating on the vast Internet ocean.

Now I'm making another change. Instead of blogging here on this domain, I've moved to a Wordpress blog hosted at www.RyanHealy.com. This is the new blog where you will find me.

Why have I decided to do this? There are a few reasons.

1. By having my name as my blog domain, it allows me greater liberty in my daily posting. Instead of my blog being focused mostly on copywriting, it will now have a slightly different focus. I've already written about this on my new blog.

2. When I started blogging, I chose Typepad because Seth Godin used it. I figured, "If it's good enough for Seth Godin, it's good enough for me." Turns out, Seth Godin has said choosing Typepad was the biggest mistake he made. Think about it: he doesn't own the domain and, therefore, he doesn't own any of his inbound links!

3. James Brausch told me to switch. His exact words were, "Stop the Typepad nonsense and get a domain."

So... The new blog is located at www.RyanHealy.com. If you have linked to my blog in the past, you may want to update that link. I've also begun a new blog notification list. This is for a few reasons. Perhaps I'll talk about them later. If you want to be notified of posts on the new blog, you will have to join the new blog email list and/or update your RSS feed.

==> Business Growth, Life, etc.

A Christmas Gift

Yesterday, I picked up James Brausch's Christmas gift. It was late. Almost 10 o'clock. Why so late?

Well, my morning started early. It was snowing... hard. I had to shovel the driveway, load up my three kids (with my wife's help), and go to my in-laws' house for breakfast and gift-opening.

Because of the heavy snow, we were late from the start. But it was a good day. We had a great time with family. About 1:30, I went out and shoveled my father-in-law's driveway, then loaded up the kids again. It was still snowing.

We drove on icy roads down to my parents' house. The snow was getting deeper. But we arrived safely. We ate a nice turkey dinner and played games. I opted for Trivial Pursuit, while some others played cards.

About 8:20, I went out and shoveled my dad's driveway. The snow was piling up again. After scraping the van and letting it warm up, I carried the kids out and loaded everything up. As we left, my brother got stuck in a snow drift. So I helped push him out. Then we drove home.

Finally, we arrived home and got the kids into bed. It was just shy of 10 p.m. I remembered I needed to log-in to my email to get James Brausch's gift that he had promised. I told my wife I needed 10 minutes on the computer because this gift wouldn't be available the next day. I'm very glad I took the effort to get the gift, even though I was exhausted from such a long day.

If you missed the gift, I expect there will be one next year. But in the mean time, here is an article I think is worth reading. It's written by Harry Browne. As he says at the beginning of the article, he wants to give his 9-year-old daughter a gift that will be a blessing to her all her life.

==> This is the gift he gave her.

Product Launch Generates $6 Million in a Single Day... without a Product!

Product launches are exciting. It's always fun to see how much money can be made in a single day.

A product launch of historical proportions happened yesterday. But this one was different.

No product was for sale. No pre-Product Launch email sequence was used. And the launch had nothing to do with another expensive Internet marketing home study course.

Then how in the world was $6.026 million made in one day?

Simple. People were buying ideas. More specifically, the twin ideas of freedom and personal liberty.

That's what motivated over 58,000 people to donate to Ron Paul in a single 24-hour period.

Over $6 million was donated in one day (Dec. 16, 2007), shattering the old record of $5.7 million set by John Kerry in 2004.

So far, in the 4th quarter of 2007 alone, over $18 million has been donated to Ron Paul by over 118,000 Americans. That's a lot of support for a product launch without a product.

Now, if only Ron Paul would release a new free report titled, "The Death of Politics." ;-)

Kudos to John Manley for linking the Tea Party with the idea of a product launch.

Insist on Brand X

Not much changes in advertising. The mistakes made decades ago are still being made today.

For instance, it's never wise to tell your reader to insist on buying your brand. This is a selfish appeal. It falls flat.

Claude Hopkins discovered this back at the turn of the 20th Century. He writes, "An advertiser suffered much from competition. He said, 'Look out for substitutes,' 'Be sure you get this brand,' etc., with no effect. Those were selfish appeals."

And yet the folly continues.

A week ago I saw a Heinz ketchup bottle. On the side was emblazoned, "Insist on Heinz."

Then, over the weekend, I was thumbing through a Family Circle magazine from 1986. I paid special attention to the advertisements.

One caught my eye. It was to sell a non-stick pan. The brand of the non-stick coating was called SilverStone. The very first sentence of the ad said, "Insist on SilverStone."

Whenever you want to sell something, don't preach by telling your buyer to buy your brand. It's an empty statement. Besides, your buyers don't care about your profit. They care about their own profit.

Many advertising mistakes could be avoided if people would take the time to educate themselves. If you're interested in learning more about what Claude Hopkins learned during his advertising career, go here.

Your Saturday Assignment

Watch this...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DKZmIzEMUN8

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin

Tea Party 07 Is This Sunday!

If you plan to participate in the Tea Party this Sunday, you need to go read this. James Brausch says he may pass along a little something to fellow freedom lovers.

Meet Copywriter Ronnie Brown

Today, I want to introduce you to Ronnie Brown. He recently became a copywriter and got his first client in less than 30 days. Here's the brief interview I had with him...

1. So Ronnie, tell me a little bit about yourself. Where you're from, your work background, etc.

I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, and have worked as a steelworker the past seven years. This type of work is drudgery at its worst! I knew years ago that the typical "9-5" day job lifestyle wasn't for me. Only recently did I decide to take up freelance copywriting on a regular basis.

Over the past year I've done random jobs for different people, but nothing consistent. I am also a personal coach and adviser for entrepreneurs and anyone seeking personal growth or success education.

2. What made you purchase "How to Get Your First Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less?"

Well, to be honest, I was doing some research on ClickBank.com, reviewing different products in the health and fitness categories (because that's the market I write sales copy for) when the idea randomly popped into my head to search for "copywriting" in the business category.

Lo and behold, I found a treasure hiding in a rather familiar place. I'm a fanatic for advertising and I just knew copywriting was for me. The problem isn't writing copy, but finding clients ASAP! For anyone who is just starting out in copywriting, this report is a must.

3. Was it worth it? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Within the first few pages alone I was able to gain clarity on creating sales copy for my own services that will be posted on my website in the very near future. Not only that, but it threw some ideas out onto the table that I hadn't previously considered regarding ways to find new clients.

As far as I know, there aren't many people out there who are telling other copywriters how to get clients, only on how to write copy. Copywriters have a bit of a rough job. We can sell other people's products and services, but it can often be difficult to sell our own!

To be completely honest, just as long as they follow your advice and apply what they learn from "How to Get Your First Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less," anyone who buys it can and will find clients.

4. What has been the most exciting or rewarding thing about getting your first client?

Aside from getting paid? Knowing that there is indeed a paying market out there for serious copywriters. Not just a paying market, but a high-paying market at that.

Before I read your report, I read another book I bought off Amazon.com and it made copywriting sound like the biggest pain in the "you-know-what" you've ever heard of. It made it sound like getting clients--especially clients who will pay high fees--are non-existent. But, fortunately, your book and advice prove this notion completely wrong.

5. What has been the most difficult challenge you've faced so far? What have you done to overcome it?

Getting my own copy written for my website promoting my services!

Writing sales copy to sell my own service can be trying, and I have the tendency to be perfectionist at it. But I've learned that this kind of perfectionism can only hinder my progress if I let it take control of time.

Perfectionism tells us, "This still isn't good enough. Do it again." But perfection just may be a delusion that is causing us to procrastinate, either knowingly or unknowingly, and put off the promotion of our services.

Just write your copy, review and revise it, have someone else review and revise and be done with it. That's something I had to learn the hard way. Copy doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to consist of the right elements and message. Perfection is no longer my goal. Progress is.

6. Thanks, Ronnie, for taking time to share a little bit about your experiences. Where can my readers go to learn more about you and your copywriting services?

Thank you, Ryan. As I mentioned, my copywriting service website isn't up and running just yet. But it will be soon. In the mean time, people can find out more about me and my coaching and success education services by checking out my blog, Seeds of Greatness.

If anyone wants to stay posted on my copywriting services and website, I'll be keeping my progress updated on this same blog as well. For questions or inquiries regarding my copywriting services, I can be contacted at ronniebrown_direct@yahoo.com.

******

If you're interested in the resource Ronnie mentions in this interview, you can learn more about it here.

Are You a Freedom-Loving Entrepreneur?

I need your help.

I created a new site yesterday morning on a whim. Basically, I was thinking about John Manley's "Most Important Email of the Year" and how a couple of Canadians had responded in support of Ron Paul.

That's when it hit me that there was a great hook there just waiting to be written. Here is the site I built...

==> http://www.CanadaVotesRonPaul.com/

I've now submitted it to Digg to help publicize it and get other Canadians to sound off.

If you have a Digg.com account, would you please Digg this?

==> "Even Canadians Are Voting for Ron Paul"

If you like it, forward it to your friends and family. If you have a blog, please share it with your readers. And, of course, feel free to Stumble this, bookmark it in Del.icio.us, or whatever else you can think of.

P.S. There is a lesson in writing PR headlines here. Can you spot it?

P.P.S. Tea Party O7 is this Sunday! Don't miss it.

How to Create a Sales Letter that Works

I've been a freelance copywriter for more than two years now. I've worked with 58 different clients (and as many as three or more projects with some clients), so I've seen a lot.

Through this experience I've discovered there are two ways to create a letter that works.

Method #1: Create the best letter possible.

Most folks want the "best" letter possible. They don't want anything less.

A client like this will ask me to go through endless edits and revisions. He will tweak words throughout the letter. He will change his mind more often than he changes clothes.

A client like this believes this editing process produces the best result.

But let me ask a question. What is "best?" Do you mean "best" based on your own opinion? Or do you mean "best" based on the market's opinion?

A client who is trying to create the "best" letter possible actually believes he knows what's "best." And so he wastes time editing the letter until it becomes counter-productive.

I mean really... is a single word buried on page 14 in the middle of a paragraph going to affect conversion or how prospects feel about you and your product or service?

Probably not.

Here's my opinion: Neither you nor I know what's "best" when it comes to writing copy and converting prospects into customers.

We only have opinions.

Those opinions are only validated once the letter has been put to the test.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to...

Method #2: Create a letter that's "good enough."

This second approach flies in the face of the first. It says, "We've got good ideas, but we have no idea what's best. So let's create a letter that's good enough and test it to see what happens."

Using the "good enough" approach, a copywriter will write a letter that covers all the key points and makes a valiant effort to convert prospects into customers.

There may be some editing after the first draft, but it will be minimal... because... the letter will be tested to see how the market responds.

So. We've got a good enough letter, we send prospects to read it, and we see how well it works.

But it doesn't stop there. The next step is to test various elements to see how they affect conversion--for better or worse.

Of course, the idea is to improve the letter by degrees, based on the actual response rate, until you have a letter that is truly great.

Which approach do you currently use? Which approach should you use?

I believe the first approach is for egotists. They believe they know what's best. They believe a "great" letter is one they personally love.

The second approach is for people who want results. They believe they don't have all the answers. And they believe that a great letter is not necessarily one that gives them an ego boost... but rather one that brings in sales.

Interview with Keith Goodrum

Keith Goodrum left the one thousandth comment on my blog, so today I did a brief interview with him. It is 20 minutes and 46 seconds long. When you listen to the interview, you'll learn...

• What caused Keith to become a freelance copywriter.
• The single biggest challenge Keith has ever faced and what he learned from it.
• Keith's copywriting goals for 2008.

You can simply click the play button below to listen to the interview over your computer. Or you can download the MP3 file to your hard drive. Whatever you prefer. Enjoy!

Did you like this interview? Would you like to see more like it? Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks.