Anyone Here Write Their Own Sales Copy?

erifdekciw

erifdekciw

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May 3, 2008
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Does anyone here actually write their own copy?

For some reason I have a feeling that a lot of people here don't really spend a lot of time learning how to write sales copy. It seems like most people just stick to the basics and then throw in some "tricks" to make selling easier (aka using stuff like fake news websites to build authority).

So I'm curious to know if there is anyone here who writes their own copy and is pretty good at it? Not just short copy, but long copy that stretches on for pages.

I've personally been spending a lot of time the past few months working on improving my ability to write sales copy. I've been reading a lot of books and material from people like gary halbert, claude hopkins, robert cialdini, john carlton, etc...

It's definitely helped me improve, but I still feel like there are huge gaps in my copywriting knowledge that could be improved. Can anyone here recommend any material or books that helped you become a better copywriter?
 


I write all of my own copy, mainly long copy for Clickbank type products but also short copy for presell landers, etc. Now I've moved into video which is essentially long copy.

I followed the old school method of learning to write copy, by hand writing other sales letters. It works, something clicks in your brain, and you start to see what words trigger certain emotions in the brain. I honed my skills writing sales letters for clients on elance. I could churn out copy at $75 an hour but it's pretty mentally draining.

Learning to write copy is the best investment one can make as a marketer. I know very little about SEO and probably couldn't rank a website if my life depended on it. But I don't worry about things like Panda or Penguin either. Learn to sell and you'll always make a good living.
 
SeanMacnamara said:
I write all of my own copy, mainly long copy for Clickbank type products but also short copy for presell landers, etc. Now I've moved into video which is essentially long copy.

I followed the old school method of learning to write copy, by hand writing other sales letters. It works, something clicks in your brain, and you start to see what words trigger certain emotions in the brain. I honed my skills writing sales letters for clients on elance. I could churn out copy at $75 an hour but it's pretty mentally draining.

Learning to write copy is the best investment one can make as a marketer. I know very little about SEO and probably couldn't rank a website if my life depended on it. But I don't worry about things like Panda or Penguin either. Learn to sell and you'll always make a good living.
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I agree.

BTW do you do any affiliate marketing? Or do you just write copy for other people?
 
erifdekciw said:
I agree.

BTW do you do any affiliate marketing? Or do you just write copy for other people?
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Yes, I do affiliate marketing. I own (or have owned) about a dozen info products and have been an affiliate for many more. I've sold off many of my own offers but still hold on to a few. Currently working on two new offers. Writing for clients can be good money but I find it mentally draining. I enjoy doing all the other aspects of creating an offer, not just the copy.
 
Always. Works good for me... I hired a copywriter to create a sales letter once for a product we were developing. After he finished I split tested his sales letter against mine and what I created greatly outperformed him so from then on I just don't outsource this part ever. I also believe that knowing how to write great copy transcends sales letters and ads, but is an important part of general effective persuasion - be it for business or just effective everyday communication.
 
Can't really recommend any specific books atm, I have an account on thevault and I listened to dozens of copywriting seminars and read a ton of stuff. I use the same process for any new skill I want to acquire. After I fill my head with a ton of knowledge I start applying it. The best way to do it is to find good copy and model your stuff after it. Do that enough times and baammm conversions here I come
 
JoseArmando said:
Can't really recommend any specific books atm, I have an account on thevault and I listened to dozens of copywriting seminars and read a ton of stuff. I use the same process for any new skill I want to acquire. After I fill my head with a ton of knowledge I start applying it. The best way to do it is to find good copy and model your stuff after it. Do that enough times and baammm conversions here I come
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What is "thevault"?
 
SeanMacnamara said:
Yes, I do affiliate marketing. I own (or have owned) about a dozen info products and have been an affiliate for many more. I've sold off many of my own offers but still hold on to a few. Currently working on two new offers. Writing for clients can be good money but I find it mentally draining. I enjoy doing all the other aspects of creating an offer, not just the copy.
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Interesting... What kind of conversion rates were you seeing with your info products? I need something to aim for.
 
I hate to ask another stupid question, but i'd love to learn how to write copy, and i especially like what sean is saying, makes a lot of sense. What would be the top 5 websites or books or some class to learn it, (in order to dive in it).
 
Osmosis said:
I hate to ask another stupid question, but i'd love to learn how to write copy, and i especially like what sean is saying, makes a lot of sense. What would be the top 5 websites or books or some class to learn it, (in order to dive in it).
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There's actually a guy on this forum that they hired to help guys looking for help (like you). His username is Grindstone and a friendly PM should get you the help you need.
 
SeanMacnamara said:
I followed the old school method of learning to write copy, by hand writing other sales letters. It works, something clicks in your brain, and you start to see what words trigger certain emotions in the brain.
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This.

I still have a long way to go, but writing successful sales letters/landers out by hand really sped things up for me. While handwriting is the best way to go, it takes up a lot of time for me and my wrist has been hurting from lifting (lol), so I've been experimenting with typing things out.

Hunter S. Thompson typed out Farewell to Arms and The Great Gatsby to get a feel for what it was like to write those books, so maybe it can work for copy too.

Been signing up for the best email lists in my niches and handwriting/typing them out.

As for books, you probably read all the good stuff. For something that combines a bit of the old with the new, I really liked Web Copy That Sells.

If you're into building a list and sending out an autoresponder, I'd check out Autoresponder Madness 2.0 (thanks to I_like_cock for mentioning this in another thread a while back) and Nanolist (they're a bundle). Yeah, it's WSO-like stuff, but I found them really helpful.
 
He stood for a moment in front of the cottage. It was draped in dead overgrowth and the grass surrounding it was brown and dry. His footsteps made loud crunches as he approached. The wind blew just as his hand reached for the knob, and it opened with a welcoming moan. The room was barely lit by the few beams of light that dared to enter. He found Theodore in the corner on the empty floor, lying in a stain of dried blood. His eyes had been removed as well as the teeth, just like all the others. He took Theo’s phone from his jacket and opened it up. He scrolled through his contacts and dialed his mother. A woman answered the phone, it was time. He held the phone to his rear end and let out the longest, wettest fart he had ever released from his bowels.
 
you should read 'You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bicycle at a Seminar'
It will help you think about pain wording, negative selling and hooking into emotions.

Don't sell features and benefits, talk about problems you can fix and from a 3rd party perspective..

People want problems solved, help with things they can't do and will buy if you connect to a problem.

When writing sales pitches I always remember this: People LOVE to buy but they HATE being sold too.. Don't you hate being pitched at?
 
erifdekciw said:
Interesting... What kind of conversion rates were you seeing with your info products? I need something to aim for.
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I've had conversion rates down to 1:20 with a good presell. But, I had a social media gaming guide that only converted at 1:200 but was still very profitable. It's all about the cost of traffic in the niche.
 
Someone should make an oDesk specifically focused on direct response copywriters. I've tested a lot out and most just don't get it.
 
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