On Copywriting

Gun-Shy Prospects

Last week I spoke with a prospect. He had been referred to me by a client.

This prospect had paid an undisclosed sum of money to work with one of the "big names" in the copywriting industry. He tested the letter, and it didn't work. So he went back to his copywriter. The copywriter rewrote the copy, and the prospect tested it again. Still, no luck.

At this point, he went back to his copywriter a second time. The copywriter basically said tough. The problem must be with your offer, traffic, etc. The copywriter was implying there was nothing wrong with the copy.

Keep in mind, I'm relating this second-hand. So some of the details may not be 100% correct.

As you can imagine, the prospect I spoke with was gun shy of hiring another copywriter. He felt burned from the prior experience. So he was hesitant to work on a fee basis. He was more interested in a commission or royalty type of relationship. I don't blame him.

I relate this experience because it's not the first time it's happened. I've spoken with other prospects in the same position as this fellow.

If you find yourself in such a situation, my advice is to be cautious. In a sense, you are dealing with somebody who is on the "rebound" of a bad copywriting relationship. You don't necessarily want to be the copywriter who is hired on the rebound. You may end up taking some heat or running into difficulties because of what the prior copywriter did or didn't do.

Also, if I may be so bold to say this: Please go the distance with your clients. Do whatever you can to "wow" them. This gives copywriters a better name and prevents clients from being gun shy. After all, no client wants to work with a "hit and run" copywriter.

28 Pages & Counting...

Thank you for the questions you've submitted so far. Already I'm seeing little details I've overlooked and need to include in the report.

Yesterday, I wrote quite a bit. So I'm up to 28 pages now... and I haven't even begun to answer the questions that you've asked.

I also plan to include a couple bonus gifts with the report... my personal action plans, some ads I've written, etc. Basically, things that might be helpful for you to see as you begin your own freelance career.

Of course, I'm still interested in whatever questions you may have about getting your first copywriting client and growing your business beyond that first client.

What Content Should I Include in This New Report?

I've now written 15 pages of a new special report about how to get your first copywriting client. This is the same report you told me you would be interested in buying a week or two ago. (The membership site is also in the works, but will not be available until later in August.)

Anyway, I want to make sure I cover everything you want to know before I release the report. After all, it would be pretty embarrassing to release a new report that failed to address a burning question you have about getting and keeping copywriting clients.

With that in mind, please answer the following question:

"What is the single biggest question you have about getting your first copywriting client?"

If you've already gotten your first client, but still have an interest in knowing how to get more clients, please answer this instead:

"What is your single biggest question about getting more high-paying copywriting clients?"

I realize you may want to keep your question private, and might not want to leave a public comment. If this is the case, feel free to email me at rhealy [at] gmail [dot] com.

P.S. I've worked with 55 clients in the last two years. I can't claim I've seen it all, but I've certainly seen a lot. No question is too difficult for me to tackle. So shoot!

My Secret Copywriting Weapon (36-Hour Special)

Here is an offer I hope you won't refuse...

It includes a brilliant piece of software I use every time I write copy, plus a bonus gift valued at 100 dollars.

There are only 10 (ten) copies available. I will leave the page up for 36 hours, or until all 10 copies are sold, whichever comes first.

With that in mind, you can discover my secret copywriting weapon and claim your bonus gift here...

==> http://www.healymarketing.com/score.html

My Best,

Ryan

P.S. You have until Sat, July 28 at 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time, or until all 10 copies are sold, whichever comes first...

A $10,000 Gift?

Friday was an interesting day, mostly because I received an unexpected package at my door late in the afternoon. It was a big box.

I wasn't expecting anything, so I wondered what was inside. I opened it up... and discovered 100 copies of James Brausch's "Earn an Income by Creating Your Own DVD."

Honestly, I couldn't believe it. These DVDs sell for $100 a pop, which means James gave me a gift valued at $10,000! Incredible.

For proof, click here to see a photo in a new window.

Anyway, I mention this because I now have 98 copies to do with as I please. (I've already opened one, and I gave one to my brother.)

I've got a small promotion planned for later this week. I will only be selling 10 copies of this particular item. All 10 who decide to order will receive a free copy of this DVD, which is a $100 value.

I can't tell you what the promotion is for quite yet, but you will find out soon enough. Look for more information to come in the next two or three days. In the mean time, go check out James Brausch's Internet marketing blog. It's on my shortlist of blog reading material.

Shortlist of Blogs I Read

Today, I thought I'd share with you the blogs that are on my shortlist. These are the blogs in my feed reader... the blogs I make every attempt to read regularly.

• Terry Dean
• James Brausch
• Michel Fortin
• Ben Settle
• Eric Graham

Do I read other blogs? Absolutely. In fact, I read all the blogs listed in my blogroll in the right-hand column. These just happen to be the ones I read most frequently and find most useful.

If you get a chance, swing by these blogs and consider adding them to your daily reading.

Also, as side note, I find that it's hard to keep up with more than about five blogs on a regular basis. I recommend having your own shortlist, tailored to your primary goals and interests, so you stay focused. Otherwise, you can spend hours reading blogs and never implementing anything.

P.S. Looking for a feed reader? I personally use Google. Just go to http://www.google.com/ig to set up your custom Google home page, including RSS feeds. You can add feeds by URL, and then drag and drop them anywhere you want.

Are You Upset with Me?

Perhaps yesterday's email about "The Biggest Secret in Copywriting" was a little abrupt. And perhaps you found it in poor taste.

Here's why I even bother to bring it up...

One reader wrote to say this: "Normally I value your blog and other info that you send out. This time I felt like I was 'had'..."

I asked him why he felt that way.

He replied:

I'm on the outer limits of copywriting, but I am familiar with using lead emails to generate business.

I didn't see that one coming and thought that the link would lead to some valuable info from you personally. I do value your experience and knowledge.

I guess I think that if your link is to someone else's offer, it should be identified as such...

If you felt the same way as this dear reader, I apologize. I did not intend to trick you or mislead you in any way.

Let me tell you why I sent you to John Angel's new web site.

But first, some background info.

About 3 months ago, I started a Mastermind group. For over a year, I had paid $500 a month to be a part of AM2 Gold... which is, in part, a Mastermind group.

I thought, why not start my own group?

So I did.

I canceled my AM2 Gold membership and brought three guys together to form our Mastermind. Those guys are:

• Ben Settle (bensettle.com)
• Ray Edwards (rayedwards.com)
• John Angel (web site below...)

I have deep respect for each of these guys. They are brilliant.

So far, our calls have been amazing. We've shared resources and ideas, and have provided each other with motivation to get things done.

We also critique each other's letters... and... promote each other's products.

In a Mastermind group, it's important to take care of each other. And so, when there's a good fit, we promote each other's products.

John had shared his product idea with us a few weeks ago. Ben and I were really excited about it... because... we both would like to understand better how to swipe letters.

In fact, Ben and I had both tried it with mediocre results.

So when John said he'd discovered a way to do it that actually worked, we wanted to get our hands on his product right away.

Long story short, John created the product and it's now available for anyone who wants a copy.

I read through all 63-pages and learned some things I hadn't known before. The part where John shows you line-by-line how to swipe an ad is truly amazing.

What's more, he does it TWO times!

First, he swipes a letter and adapts it for a similar product. Then he swipes the same letter to sell a completely different product!

So you get to see how the process works whether your product is related to the original letter or not.

First you see a paragraph from the original letter. Then you see John's paragraph, swiped from the one directly above. Then another paragraph from the original letter; then John's swipe.

And so on.

I've not always been a fan of swiping, mostly because I couldn't seem to make it work for me. But now that I've gone through John's course, I'll be applying this technique more frequently.

If you are interested... and you'd like to discover the biggest secret in copywriting (which is plainly revealed on John's site whether you buy his product or not)--then please go here...

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

And if you're not interested, no big deal. I hope I've at least shed some light on why I sent yesterday's email.

A Funny Question I Get Asked a Lot

Ever since we got rid of the TV back in April, friends and neighbors have wondered... "So what do you do?"

Clearly, they must think there is nothing to do outside of watching television. That watching television is what man was born to do.

So what does my family do now? The answer is simple. We watch birds.

We sit at the kitchen table during meal times... and... watch birds.

It's quieter. It's fascinating. And it allows for meaningful conversation. (Chris O'Byrne probably understands this better than most people.)

You see, we got a couple bird feeders and planted them smack in the middle of the yard so we could see them clearly from the kitchen. The birds came.

We've counted over 30 birds feeding in our yard at once. Here are the kinds of birds we've seen:

• Grackles
• Doves
• Pigeons
• Robins
• House Finches
• Gold Finches
• Red-Winged Blackbirds
• Hummingbirds

My two-year-old son has become particularly interested in birds. He can identify most of them by name, which is quite uncommon for a kid his age. His seat is positioned so he can watch the birds at every meal time if he wishes.

Would this have become such a past-time for us had we kept our TV? Probably not.

Of course, bird watching is only one thing we've chosen to replace TV time. Mostly, we get to do more of the things we really enjoy... like reading and playing board games.

The word gets around, you know. People who shouldn't know we got rid of our TV are asking what it's like not having one. Which means people are talking. That's a good thing, I suppose.

But from the outside, it probably appears that we just keep getting weirder and weirder. I work from home, have no TV, ride a motorcycle, like to write letters by long-hand, plan to homeschool my kids, etc. All extremely unusual in a homogenous place like Highlands Ranch. We're like suburban wackos. I like it.

Now, go watch some birds!

The Biggest Secret in Copywriting

The most successful sales letter in history is believed to have sold more than two billion dollars worth of goods. The letter was unbeatable for more than two decades.

But here's the question that concerns you... How was this sales letter written?

I won't reveal the answer here. Let's just say the truth will shock you. You can get the rest of the story here...

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

(In the interest of full disclosure, the above link is an affiliate link. It redirects to a web site written by my colleague, John Angel. The story is told at his web site, and there is an offer for an inexpensive product, which I believe will be helpful for any student of copywriting. I have a copy myself. -Ryan)

How to Avoid Burn-Out

It's confession time.

A few times this past spring I began to feel burnt out. I wasn't getting as excited about new copy projects as I had in the past. I wondered what was wrong... and... what to do about it.

The vacation certainly helped. It was nice to be away from work for an extended period of time. I believe it's vital to have periods of rest so that you can tackle periods of work with energy and enthusiasm.

And yet, surprisingly, I wasn't as refreshed after my vacation as I had hoped.

Then something interesting happened. I regained my enthusiasm. I am now excited about copywriting again, and I'm really enjoying my work. What happened?

For one, my brother has come to work with me. He's dealing with some of the energy-zapping tasks I don't enjoy doing.

For two, having my brother come on board forced me to get back into a more structured routine. Part of that was scheduling my exercise time. Since my wife is pregnant (going on six months), we haven't been as consistent about exercise. I had been going only once or twice a month. Not good.

But now I'm going four or five times a week. Some days are cardiovascular. Other days are weight training. Plus, I picked up racquetball more aggressively. What a stress reliever that's been!

Anyway, I have noticed a direct correlation between resuming a regular exercise schedule and my motivation to work. Funny, isn't it, that something as simple as regular exercise could help prevent burn out... and actually turn it around? If you're not exercising on a regular basis, I highly recommend that you do.