Why Networking is a Waste of Money. Direct Response Copywriter Email Archive.

Why Networking is a Waste of Time and Money

Is networking the answer to finding great clients?

There’s a copywriter out there called Stefan Georgi.

His marketing person/associate, Justin Goff, began a webinar/interview with:

Stefan’s the #1 copywriter in the world and the next Gary Bencivenga.

OK.

These two have a mastermind group for about 80 copywriters. One claim: join the group and the top direct marketers come to the group looking for copywriters. From Stefan's Linked In feed ...

Of course Stefan is going to say this. He runs a mastermind group. An expensive mastermind group. A big selling point of a mastermind group is the networking.

Networking is one of the worst ways to find clients. This means going to the dreaded “networking event” in a ballroom or meeting room hoping to find a great client. Two glasses of horrible wine, a couple of appetizers, and a million real estate agents. A bad headache. Indigestion. A lot of business cards.

Then there’s having a network of friends/colleagues or getting this network through something like Stefan’s mastermind.

You can also buy access to a network, in theory, by getting coaching from a so-called A-Lister.

The numbers aren’t exactly in your favor, especially when a company goes to a group with 90 people … or even 10 people. You’re competing against a lot of other copywriters.

I was briefly part of a networking group and I thought I’d get tons of work. But other copywriters joined the group and I was suddenly competing against them. I thought buying into this network would lead to tens of thousands in fees … never happened. Expensive mistake.

These networking groups … masterminds … whatever you want to call them … have “private” job boards where big-time clients show up, eager to find copywriters. That’s nice but the odds are always going to be stacked against you. And the clients know this and drive the fees down.

Look … I’ve said it many times in these emails.

If you want to work with great clients, you have to identify those great clients then sell yourself to them.

I have to admit, I contacted yon fair Stefan and Justin about the #1 claim above. They didn’t refute it.

OK.

Now you know who is #1.

Speaking of Gary Bencivenga, he had an interview with Clayton Makepeace. It used to be on Clayton’s blog but the blog is no longer available. Clayton passed away earlier this year.

Fortunately I’ve put that interview on my website. The interview is pure gold. Click here.

Networking is one of the absolute worst ways to find clients. It’s highly passive. You’re relying on referrals. You never know who might contact you. Plus it’s almost always super-expensive to be in these groups. Stefan boasts about an event that cost $15,000 to attend. Nice.

I'm flattered when I get a referral but it's never amounted to much, if anything.

Your best ROI, when it comes to finding great clients, is to get out there and find them. The only cost is your time and maybe a premium LinkedIn membership. That's a lot less than access to a mastermind.

Unfortunately, you have to be extremely careful when it comes to claims from people selling copywriting training products and services. I have the scars.