The Joy of Rejection. Direct Response Copywriting Email Archive. May 2020.

Oh ... The Raw Joy of Rejection ... I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

It’s just one of many popular sayings that are totally wrong. If the saying were true, copywriters would be out of business. Every ad would be a series of photos. Right?

Here’s another popular saying that’s totally wrong.

“Salespeople are born, not made.”

Either way, that saying is totally wrong. If it were correct, all the sales trainers would be out of business. Mind you, many sales trainers have never actually sold much of anything. In fact, there are plenty of people selling copywriting training programs who have …

Never sold anything
Never made it as a copywriter.

Proof? Here’s something from the late Clayton Makepeace.

“Right now, the Internet is crawling with charlatans claiming to be the greatest copywriter alive – and then urging you to pay them a fortune for their books and courses. Most are complete frauds – scam artists who have never had a single hot control for a major mailer – looking to make a quick buck off of you.”

That was in 2008 and it's still true today.

During this “pause” in proceedings, these "scam artists" have been out in full force. I’ve seen all sorts of crazed promises out there.

The best?

"$5K by Friday" … and I got this on Thursday.

Another video talks about a certain copywriter who has been writing copy for a few years and is already “the #1 copywriter” and “the next Gary Bencivenga.” His latest product shows you how to write a sales page in 10 videos and the product is yours for a mere $997.

OK.

I wrote two blogs about Clayton Makepeace. They’re here and here.

Sadly, Clayton’s personal blog is currently down. Hopefully it will pop back up. There’s some gold in there.

I’m already way off course.

Because finding great clients is such a challenge for copywriters … and everyone for that matter … the scammers target that part of the market. Again … with all sorts of wild promises that are pure lies.

How did Clayton Makepeace find his initial clients all those years ago when he was just starting? He got on the phone, calling people he knew wanted copy. People who understand the power of copywriting are always looking for copywriters.

He called it “banging the phones.”

Today, we contact prospects through LinkedIn, email, and even social media.

The “platforms” have changed but one thing remains the same. We’re going to get rejected.

Here’s one thing the greatest salespeople will tell you: that first “no” is just the START of the conversation. Yes, there are times when that first conversation has led directly to work for me but making a sale can often take 6-9 touch points. A “touch point” is fancy-schmanzy lingo for some type of contact.

We’re in the middle of a 'pause' right now (duh) and who knows how long things will last this way. My work has increased. I’m not sure why. But now is a GREAT time to identify some epic potential clients and start contacting them. It’s also a great time to leverage this effort to build your database.

I just wrote “leverage” although I’m not sure what it really means. It just sounds good. Sort of like another word I’m seeing an awful lot … PIVOT. What does that mean?

Let me end with a word you can all understand: PERSISTENCE.

One of my earliest clients, and a man I admire massively, Jim McLean, has been one of the world’s top golf teachers for about 30 years. He was friends with a guy called Jackie Burke who won The Masters. Burke said to McLean:

"I never saw a persistent person fail."

The persistent copywriters are going to thrive in the next couple of years. The ones who give up and blame a virus for the lack of work will struggle.

Want to be persistent? Remember that “no” is just the beginning of the conversation.

There’s an essay Clayton Makepeace wrote about the career side of copywriting. It’s brilliant. I’ll include an excerpt in the next email.

I hope this helps you.

Scott Martin