How Opportunities Arrive. Direct Response Copywriter Email Archive May 2017 2.
/May 2017 2
From the desk of Scott Martin, direct response copywriter, Aspen, Colorado.
A Dose of (Extremely Welcome) Humility Wrapped Up in a Big Opportunity
I fully admit, that’s a wild headline buttressed by mixed metaphor. So let me explain. One of my clients sells nutritional supplements. A copy chief left that company to work for a company that supplies how-to information to people in the creative industries.
The copy chief liked my work for the nutritional supplement company, where I established a new control for a flagship product. So she called me from her new company to ask if I could write some emails.
Another copywriter might have said, “you know, I wrote long-form copy for you at your last company … and you only want me to write five emails now … really?”
But I didn’t say that. I happily accepted the gig even though it was not the biggest assignment of my career and there’s no potential for a royalty. I’d like to write more for this copy chief and her new employer. The bigger assignments will likely arrive a little later. I helped out the copy chief by gratefully accepting the work and my foot is in the door … and not in my mouth.
Here’s the advice I give to new, and even more experienced copywriters … and I might have given this to you: seek out the “routine” work when you approach clients. This “routine” daily work comprises emails, advertorials, display ads, squeeze pages, and the like. Serious direct marketers need a TON of this type of copy.
Yes … you can find people on the commodity sites like Upwork who want long-form copy, video sales letters, and the more glamorous work. But this will most likely be “one and done” work with low fees. Real prosperity in copywriting comes from working with strong clients who will provide a lot of repeat work. You can get your foot in the door with these clients by saying, “I’m here to help with the day-to-day copy needs.”
The emails I wrote for the copy chief "click through" to a long-form sales page … a page I could dramatically improve. I simply said to the copy chief … “I have some ideas I believe could improve this page.” And she was receptive to my suggestions and I’ll get the opportunity to re-write the page in the next couple of months.
Seemingly small opportunities in the copywriting business can lead to much bigger opportunities … often faster than you think.
Scott Martin Direct Response Copywriter
