Direct Response Copywriter on the Legacy of Clayton Makepeace

A big name in the copywriting world left us last week, Clayton Makepeace. He was the #1 working direct response copywriter for many years. I know he wrote for Boardroom and established some controls there, always a sure sign of ability. He also wrote a ton of copy for Weiss Research.

For many years, Makepeace had his own shop, complete with copy cubs. He must have had many clients over the years. I believe Makepeace was in movies, or TV, or something in Hollywood before getting into copywriting. He was a producer or director, or maybe both.

I met Clayton several times at the AWAI Bootcamp in Delray Beach. He was always the star of the show, hands down. He held court at the bar in the hotel where the event takes place. His presentation on the final day was always the best and I actually got some valuable direction: not always the case from the bootcamp presentations. I also met him at the Titans Mastermind one time in Miami. We didn’t get a chance to chat very much.

What was Clayton like in person? I only met him briefly, ultimately, and he was pleasant, affable, gentlemanly, and gregarious. He enjoyed life, touring the country on a Harley, etc.

Here’s what every direct response copywriter and direct marketeer should take here, in no particular order.

First, Clayton was one of the good guys, white hat all the way. He certainly put the truth in the best possible light but he was NOT in the camp of copywriters who will just make things up. Clayton did his homework. He found the truth. He told the truth. His research was really deep.

I invested (and it’s a lot of money) in Clayton's Quick Start Copywriting System. It’s two manuals and it set me back over $1,000. But it’s worth every penny. Interestingly, and in opposition to the AWAI pitch, the introduction includes these words:

“Before you take the copywriting world by storm, there’s something you should know …

Pursuing a copywriting career is NOT a get-rich-quick-scheme.”

There are lots of copywriters who are simply famous for being famous. In fact, here’s something Clayton wrote on his blog …

“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. Many 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. Things haven’t changed that much.

You’ll hear the word “legendary” bandied about. These “legendary” copywriters had a couple of successful promotions 20 years ago, got on the speaking circuit, and now hawk their overpriced products and services.

Clayton Makepeace was actually the real deal. He had a lot of talent AND he really worked to learn as much as he could. Clayton knew direct response copywriting and he knew direct marketing. I’d like to meet someone with a deeper technical knowledge. And it was all based on what worked. A big goal of mine is to develop that level of direct marketing technical know-how. Clayton really studied … and it showed.

I don’t think Clayton ever wrote a book, which is a pity. There’s the Quick Start Copywriting System. But you’ll find a deep well of information on his blog. It’s here.

Clayton’s blog is free and it’s essentially one of the best books ever written about direct marketing.

AWAI has a really great course featuring Clayton detailing how to write a VSL. It’s gold. It’s called “The Makepeace Method for Making a Fortune Writing Video Sales Letters.” Invest in that if you want to write high-converting VSLs.

Maybe there are some other resources I don’t know about.

We really lost a giant in the direct response copywriting world this past week. If you’re a direct response copywriter or you’re in direct marketing, learn as much as you can from Clayton and ignore the 'charlatans' he wrote about on his blog.