Direct Response Copywriter With Some Advice for Fellow Direct Response Copywriters

An open letter to my fellow direct response copywriters about finding clients.

If you’re a direct response copywriter, pay close attention to this blog because I’m about to reveal something extremely personal.

It’s about clients.

You might be saying, “that’s not personal … that’s business stuff.”

No. It's personal.

The quality of your clients determines pretty much everything in your life. Money … time … mental health … professional satisfaction … and everything else.

If you’re a direct response copywriter, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Think about it. Bad and mediocre clients create all sorts of problems. Great clients with big budgets make life a ton easier.

OK – it’s not quite that black and white but you KNOW what I’m talking about … and you know it’s true.

Right now, I rank #1 or #2 for many key search terms like “direct response copywriter.” And this brings me tons of leads: over 500 in the past 4 years. And you might think I’d be happy with this.

But I’m not. And here’s why. It’s something I thought about the other day.

Every competent direct response copywriter should be grossing at least $200,000 a year in fees – before royalties. And that’s based on working just 30 hours a week … no more than 45 weeks a year. That’s $148 per hour if you’re counting and that's achievable.

Based on the clients I have through my website, I wasn’t coming anywhere near that.

So I made a big decision. I looked at all the different ways to find clients. I found the hardest but most powerful way to find the ultimate clients.

Bob Bly used this method and I’m sure you know all about Bob’s success. David Ogilvy used this method to get his advertising agency started … and he built a whopping advertising agency.

The method? Build a database of the clients you want and pound away at them.

Building that database is extremely hard and time-consuming. That’s the bad news.

The good news? In building my database, I created a list of OVER 2,000 potential clients. These are people who are looking for copywriters … or they will lead you to people who are looking for copywriters.

Even better news … I’m making this database available to other copywriters on a first-come first-served basis.

“Why would Scott share this list?” you might be asking. “Why would he share HIS leads with the competition?”

Good question(s).

First – and I’m not ashamed to admit this – I hope to make some money here. I’m a self-employed entrepreneur with financial goals. Second – there’s so much work out there that I’m happy to share the list.

As the late Gary Halbert once said to a group of copywriters, “there’s an ocean of work out there, and you’re a thimble.”

How many times have you heard this from a decision maker ... "we're always looking for copywriters."

OK – enough of this ethereal blog stuff … let’s get down to business.

As I official launch my database, I’m making it available to serious copywriters like you for $99 a month for 9 months.

It's normally $1,295 as a one-time payment.

And because I’m a direct response copywriter, I’m going to use the “coffee justification technique.” Maybe you've heard of this!

Every day, I spend $2.65 on a large coffee. That’s almost $80 a month. You get the picture – depending on how much you spend on coffee.

To go to the official sales page, click here.

And one more thing … you won’t find this database anywhere else.

The “usual suspects” like AWAI and Dan Kennedy and Bob Bly don’t have this. And I have bought items from AWAI and Dan Kennedy and Bob Bly and have huge respect for them all.

But you certainly won’t find it with anyone else ... none of the people who are in the "client getting" business have anything like this.

OK – that’s enough from me for now … or I will start to drift into direct response copywriter language and say things like …

CLICK HERE NOW!

But seriously – if you want to get my list … click here now.

And if you have any questions, please use the contact link below.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on How NOT to Find Clients Part 8

How NOT to Find Copywriting Clients. Part 8.

A Series of Essays for Copywriters and Fellow Creative Professionals.

*

NOTE: You're reading a series of essays about how to find copywriting clients ... and how NOT to find them. This series will be extremely controversial. Read the blogs and you’ll discover my experiences with finding direct response copywriting clients … what works and what’s a waste of time. The goal is to help you find “elite” level clients with deep pockets who are looking for top-quality creative talent. My focus is on direct response copywriting but it all applies to all creative talent.

*

Method #8. Classifieds and Aggregators

You'll find plenty of copywriting "gigs" on sites ranging from Craigslist to daily emails. You'll even find quasi-classifieds on Facebook groups.

Companies and individuals who need direct response copywriters post opportunities on websites and in emails.

This reminds me of the days before the Internet when newspapers had all those pages of job vacancies. Yes ... there were plenty of opportunities BUT it was just a fraction of the opportunities that were truly available.

Most importantly, if you really looked at the companies providing those opportunities, they weren't exactly the top companies. And I would always hear, "only 1/3 of all opportunities are advertised in the newspapers" and so on.

There's an element of truth to the latter statement. The top companies are rarely advertising in the classifieds. And the top companies are the ones with the top opportunities and the biggest budgets.

So it makes sense to be proactive and go after the clients you want. To get the clients you want then you must create your own list of "ideal" clients then go after them. I have a hand-crafted list of 2,000 potential clients. To get access to this list, click here now.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on Yahoo's Copywriting Advice

I was on Twitter and, after several years, finally clicked on an ad. The ad was for a free download/ebook from Yahoo titled "Writing Ad Copy That Converts."

The author is Frank Palmieri, who, according to LinkedIn, is Manager, Creative Strategy at Yahoo. He works in Burbank.

I'm sure you can find the download but if you can't, see if this link works.

As a direct response copywriter, I'm constantly downloading "free" guides to copy and direct marketing. Here are my thoughts about the Yahoo lead magnet.

• It's clearly written for novice advertisers who are new to Yahoo. Nothing wrong with that.
• The content sort of veers toward the "branding" side then happily moves back to the direct response side.
• I love the emphasis on testing. Testing will show that direct response copywriting techniques will always win.
• The ebook states, "The best copywriters are also the best storytellers." Sometimes that's true ... sometimes it's not. A good story can help to improve conversion but not always. It depends on the product and the audience.
• The ebook is ultimately about direct response copy but uses different language to describe it. I like the emphasis on direct marketing tactics.

We're told to "Eliminate unnecessary words ... words like “that,” “furthermore,” and “in addition” don’t add anything to your writing. Those words are VITAL to a direct response copywriter.

The message is ultimately more important than semantics. The reader is asking "what's in it for me?" and isn't too worried about exact phrasing.

The ebook is just 15 pages and you're not going to learn much about copywriting in 15 pages ... BUT ... it's a start. It's excellent to get the reader excited and curious about copy.

If I had written the piece then I would have provided suggestions for further reading.

But I'm glad Yahoo is providing this piece because it helps business owners understand the importance of copy ... and some copywriting fundamentals.

Put 100 direct response copywriters in a room and they would have written 100 different versions of this ebook. This proves, perhaps, my point about testing and why I'm so excited it's part of the ebook.

There's no right or wrong in copy: just testing.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on How NOT to Find Copywriting Clients Part 7

How NOT to Find Copywriting Clients. Part 7.

A Series of Essays for Copywriters and Fellow Creative Professionals.

*

NOTE: You're reading a series of essays about how to find copywriting clients ... and how NOT to find them. This series will be extremely controversial. Read the blogs and you’ll discover my experiences with finding direct response copywriting clients … what works and what’s a waste of time. The goal is to help you find “elite” level clients with deep pockets who are looking for top-quality creative talent.

*

Method #7. Websites Making Big-Time Promises

What’s crowdsourcing? It’s something you might be asking.

It’s not elance, guru, and all the others of that ilk. The “pure” crowdsourcing sites send out a creative brief then ask writers to write or come up with ideas FOR FREE in the hope the people running the sites will choose the work.

You could literally work for several years and not get paid.

Amazingly, several direct response copywriters – and other creatives – are more than willing to “work” this way.

The people who run the “pure” crowdsourcing sites are the lowest form of pond scum who will happily rip-off ambitious creative types. Avoid crowdsourcing at all costs – especially if you’re a serious direct response copywriter.

The top way to find clients is to create your own list of "ideal" clients then go after them. I have a hand-crafted list of 2,000 potential clients. To get access to this list, click here now.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on How Not to Find Clients. Part 6.

How NOT to Find Clients. Part 6.

A Series of Essays for Copywriters and Fellow Creative Professionals.

*

NOTE: You're reading a series of essays about how to find clients ... and how NOT to find them. This series will be extremely controversial. Read the blogs and you’ll discover my experiences with finding direct response copywriting clients … what works and what’s a waste of time. The goal is to help you find “elite” level clients with deep pockets who are looking for top-quality creative talent.

*

Method #6. Websites Making Big-Time Promises

There are sites out there like Elance that match people who need copwyriting with direct response copywriters. Elance is the 900 pound gorilla in the space and I have to imagine it’s highly profitable. There are other big-time sites that essentially do the same thing.

As a result, imitators have appeared. They want you to list yourself … for a fee … with the promise that potential clients will definitely find you.

Some sites are somewhat rudimentary while others are quite technically complex … and well designed. It’s possible you might find a client or two but it’s unlikely. The reason? These sites rarely have any traffic because the site owner doesn’t want to buy traffic. Typically.

I’ve listed myself on some of these sites. I’ve even paid a fee. I hate to say it but many sites are simply trying to scam a monthly fee out of you before you realize it’s all a waste of time.

With these sites, you’re basically HOPING to find the right clients. Marketing is NOT about hoping. Marketing is about being aggressive and taking what you want.

If you're serious about becoming a serious direct response copywriter then you have to go out and find the clients you want.

To find these clients, you need a database ... and you can find it here.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.