Answers to Your Questions, Volume 1

Since Monday's call for questions, I have received 11 total. Some were submitted on the blog; others emailed anonymously. I have listed the questions along with my answers in no particular order. All names have been omitted for simplicity. Enjoy!

1. "How do you get the good clients? I don't want to work for peanuts, because that makes it hard to get excited about the project and do a good job. The clients who really 'get it' about the value we offer them can afford the really big-name copywriters. I feel like I'm stuck in a no-man's land of copywriters who won't work for peanuts but can't command 4- to 5-figure fees. Help!"

Proof and connections.

First, you have to be able to demonstrate that you're worth your fee. Actually, you have to demonstrate that you're worth MORE than your fee.

How many testimonials do you have on your site? Do they offer specific results you've achieved? Who is endorsing you? Does that person have credibility in the market? Etc.

To command big fees, you must offer proof.

Second, you must be connected. You attract "the good clients" by being referred. It's easier to close a referral because he is already "pre-sold" when he comes to you for help. You also attract good clients by meeting them face-to-face. Go to a live event and you'll see what I mean.

2. "What are your best tracking and testing tools you use to monitor the results of your marketing, or even your clients' marketing?"

This is tough question to answer, mostly because the tools I'm using are constantly changing. For instance, I've used MultiTrack Generator with two clients. But I no longer recommend it because that product is going away.

With that in mind, I use Google Web Site Optimizer for multivariate split-testing. I'll be using Muvar more in the near future.

For traffic stats, I use Google Analytics, AWStats (built into most Cpanel interfaces), and MyBlogLog for blog traffic. Typepad also has some nice traffic stats which I use.

I've also used AdTrackz and AdMinder for tracking specific advertising campaigns. Both work well.

3. "What are your top three pieces of advice for copywriters in gaining 'big name' clients?"

Here's a formula that has worked for me:

a. Go to seminars in your chosen market. Network with other attendees. Follow up to bring in new clients.

b. Always do your best work possible. Don't stop working for your client until he's thrilled.

c. After you complete (b), then ask for a testimonial that includes specific results you achieved. Use that testimonial in your marketing.

4. "What are the best current methods to grow a quality, responsive e-mail list?"

I offer an ethical bribe for joining my list. Currently, it's a free report plus four or five audio interviews.

After a person joins my list, I don't hammer them with offers. I provide quality content. And I share little tidbits about my personal life to make it more interesting. I hope readers will feel closer to me if I share something they personally relate to.

Anyway, I focus on relationship first and sales second. You'll notice I've only run two or three promotions in the last year.

My approach is contrary to some others that have been proven to work. For instance, I know one guy who emails his list every day. He always promotes. Not one email is content only. It works, but it's just not my style.

As a result, my list is smaller, but responsive. I get very few unsubscribes.

5. "What are the keys to successful and profitable affiliate marketing (promoting other's products, as well as having one for your own products)?"

I don't have a lot of experience in this area. Nevertheless, here are a few tips.

Only promote products you have used and received value from. To try to do otherwise is contrary to what affiliate marketing is all about. Affiliate marketing is about providing a recommendation. You can only recommend if you've got experience on which to base your recommendation.

I have found it's more effective to focus on selling one or two products versus many.

Also, I have promoted affiliate products only for limited periods of time. I have prefaced my promotions with a high-value teleseminar. This has worked well for me.

To profit from having an affiliate program, you need to:

1. Offer a more-than-fair percentage of revenue.
2. Have a reliable system for tracking referrals, purchases, and commissions.
3. Provide affiliates with proven marketing material that they can cut and paste for their personal use in promoting your product or service.

Lastly, although not a requirement, it helps to be able to tap into a large affiliate network like Clickbank's. This accelerates how quickly you attract affiliates. Still, the top 5% who promote your products will probably drive 95% of the sales--or more.

6. "Where do you find your markets and assignments?"

I don't find my assignments, per se. They find me. This is how it's been for nearly two years.

In the first four months of my freelance copywriting career, I was doing the searching. So I used DirectResponseJobs.com and Craig's List to find a few clients. After that, I focused on networking at seminars combined with driving traffic to my lead generation site.

7. "I have been hitting a dead-end finding and converting clients to premium (high priced) services and need a hand with some advice. How do you portray or express the 'value' of your premium services?"

Premium clients are hard to find. So you must attract them. How do you attract them? See my answers to questions #1 and #3.

That said, I suggest writing copy for high-priced products. If the product costs $1,000 or $3,000 or whatever, then it will take only an extra 3 or 4 or 5 sales (whatever the real number happens to be) to cover your fee. And your client is likely to sell much more than that as a result of your copy. It's just easy math.

Also, I don't convert clients to high-priced services. I simply quote a fee for a project. That's it. Most projects are similar in nature, so they're easy to quote.

Occasionally I will write autoresponder emails. Obviously, I charge less for these than a sales letter. But I don't try to convert an email client into a sales letter client if he's not interested in having me write a sales letter. If he eventually needs a sales letter, and he likes my work, he'll be back.

8. "Is a sole proprietorship a decent alternative to just starting out? I hear people all the time saying that its best to incorporate, however, if I am starting out as a moonlighter, do I really need to incorporate or form an LLC from the outset?"

To keep it simple, a sole proprietorship is fine. If you start making good money, you'll want to be an LLC. Talk to your CPA for all the specifics. Don't have a CPA? Get one.

9. "How do you keep organized in tracking all of your marketing efforts? Do you use Analytics, tracking tools, excel spreadsheet?"

You're assuming that I'm organized. ;-)

Actually, you can see in my response to question #2 what tracking software I use. I personally don't do a lot of marketing or advertising that requires tracking... so there's not a lot to organize.

Just by using software, most tracking is automatically organized. You might have to track off line advertising, but I haven't found it necessary to go off line.

10. "What are your primary sources of traffic coming from?"

Google and my blog. My blog traffic comes largely from Google and RSS feeds.

11. "How to fill a bank account within 30 days? [More specifically,] please advise on surefire online methods (three to five?) which will generate an income of $10K within 30 days... in the bank... not speculative."

I would say this really isn't possible. Whatever advice I could give would be speculative and would fail to meet your parameters.

If I knew more about you--your reputation, what resources you have available, etc.--then I could give you advice tailored uniquely for you. Only this kind of advice can come close to being "surefire."

Disclaimers aside, the simplest way to do what you suggest is this:

Create a digital product. Write a sales letter to sell it. Find somebody with a large list who will agree to promote your product in exchange for a cut of the profits. Send out the promotion. That's it.

This approach could easily do $10K in 30 days--with the right list, the right sales copy, and the right product at the right price.

Remember, nothing in life is guaranteed. Everything is an experiment.

******

If you submitted a question, I thank you. If you did not, perhaps you will consider submitting a question next time.

Comments

[Lisa]

Thanks for the great info, Ryan! :)

[Rasheed Ali]

Great advice Ryan. Really enjoy your posts!

Hey one of my clients, who is STILL not using all of the copy I told him to use in particular no headline, has a GREAT sales letter tool... heat map/visitor scroll tracking software.
http://www.diligint.com

So to add to your list of questions from copywriters...

WHAT in the world do you do with clients that only "partially" listen to your critiques or advice on direct response copy? I don't know if you've noticed but there are a lot of Direct Response 'phobic' people out there.

Interesting story... I had a client that was the researcher and creator of a mind enhancement device that was proven to work in clinical trials for a number of disorders. She was making NO money with her website. Tons of content, no real copy. No sales. So I wrote a headline, subhead, some bullets and told her web guy to throw up an order button with a red border...

Not much because she was hesitant.

A week later she was averaging 4 sales a day of a $300 device and also got your usual "you look scammy emails." Great results only, she got scared of the negative emails and pulled the copy, only to go back to 0 sales. Go figure... DR-Phobia?

How do you deal with it?

Warmest Regards,
Rasheed

[Tracey "Word Doctor" Dooley]

Thanks so much for sharing this, Ryan.

I agree it's not worth trying to convert a client who wants a specific writing project to a higher-priced product. Apart from being slightly unethical, the client might just become an ex client if he/she feels you're 'taking the Michael'.

However, I do find that it can sometimes help when, for example, a client comes to you wanting a flyer but in actual fact the scope and objectives for the project call for a direct mail letter.

In this situation, I try to explain my recommendations and also provide two quotes - one for the original job that the client wanted, and one for the more tailored job I'd recommend. The client can always choose!

Best

Tracey
http://marketingmoment.wordpress.com

[Pencil Pusher]

Preferences, 3, 4 , 1, 2. (2 is last choice. 3 is first choice.) Thank you.

[John Phillips]

Hey Ryan,
As always, great info. I enjoy reading it!
John

[Ryan Healy]

Rasheed - Glad you enjoy my posts. By the way, I added your question to the list to be answered the next go-around. I will answer it then.