Category: Business

THE SECRET WEAPON FOR GETTING COPYWRITING CLIENTS

Posted on by Alastair Walton

There’s a secret weapon for getting copywriting clients.

Very few copywriters know about this let alone use it.

You see, before hiring you clients will want to see copy that you’ve written.

Not only that, they’ll want to see that you’ve written copy which actually converts.

If you can’t do this getting hired can be an uphill battle.

For most copywriters this can be difficult.

Especially if you’re just starting out.

The simple solution is to start selling your own products.

To do this you’ll obviously have to write a sales letter and other copy.

If you can show this to prospective clients you’re WAY more likely to get hired.

(The trick is that your copy actually has to convert and make sales).

This really works:

I sold products long before I started freelance copywriting.

During this period I wrote multiple sales letters to sell these products.

When people wanted to hire me I simply showed them this work.

This was the reason why I got hired far more often than other copywriters.

Selling your own products demonstrates that you actually know what you’re doing.

That you can write copy that converts and understand how to market products.

99% of copywriters won’t do this.

It takes hard work and effort.

Plus you actually have to know how to write copy.

But if you’re willing to put in the work you’ll immediately set yourself apart from the crowd.

You’ll also be one step ahead of every other dork who calls themselves a copywriter.

Something to think about:

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

P.S. The secret weapon for getting copywriting clients is selling your own products. To do this you’ll have to write copy for these products. If this copy converts, and you can show it to prospective clients, you are vastly more likely to get hired.

IS JEFF BEZOS EVIL?

Posted on by Alastair Walton

It goes without saying that a LOT of people don’t like Jeff Bezos.

Spend any time on the internet and you’ll inevitably come across people whining about him.

Then you have politicians and others who want to tax and, “Redistribute” his wealth.

(All in the name of supposed fairness and, “Justice.”)

He’s even been described as a, “Super Villain.”

But is any of this justified?

Hell no.

You see, here’s what these people don’t understand:

The guy is actually underpaid!

You see, Jeff Bezos directly or indirectly creates wealth for millions of people. On a basic level this includes the people who sell products through Amazon and the manufacturers of those products. Then you have the people who work for those people and the people who work for them. There is an entire industry surrounding Amazon which most people don’t realize exists. Speaking for myself I’ve written hundreds of descriptions for Amazon products and made plenty of money doing so.

The fact is that the haters are simply jealous.

Is Jeff Bezos evil?

Absolutely not.

End of lecture.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

P.S. Here’s another example: people used to complain about how much Michael Jordon got paid. But what they didn’t realize is that relative to his existence he was actually one of the most underpaid players. Think about it: he created an entire industry which included shoe, ticket, food, and clothing sales plus television viewership, and much, much more – none of which he actually got paid for.

THE LAW AND ORDER TECHNIQUE FOR EARNING MORE WITH PRODUCT LAUNCHES

Posted on by Alastair Walton

How do big time info product marketers make 7 or more figures per year?

They use something called the “Law and order” technique.

If you’ve watched this show you’ll remember that new cast members were constantly being introduced. But there’s a reason for that. You see, the problem with shows like Friends is that eventually the actors become very important (which is how the cast of Friends wound up getting millions per episode).

Law and Order is different.

None of the actors are irreplaceable.

Which is why this show has been on TV for decades.

Now, here’s the point:

It goes without saying that a $2997 info product will make more money than a $47 product.

The problem is that selling your product at that price point requires a, “figure head.”

You basically need an, “expert” behind the product.

A good example of this is Jeff Walkers Product Launch Formula.

But there’s a BIG problem with this system.

If you want to make 7 figures a year you’re going to have to do a LOT of launches.

This is difficult to do with one person.

The solution is to use the Law and Order technique.

You get in a bunch of, “Experts” and they do the launches.

This method is used in many niches.

The best example is the golf niche.

There are companies out there who sell millions of dollars-worth of golf courses every year.

(Stuff like how to improve your swing or whatever).

These companies will hire a pro, create a course and launch with his name attached to it.

A couple of weeks or months later they get in another guy and repeat the process.

Companies that sell financial newsletters do this as well.

In fact, a while back I worked for a guy in the Forex niche who employed four of these experts.

He would constantly rotate between these guys and do launches every 1-2 months.

Each of these experts was paid a flat fee and commission for their trouble.

Using them the owner of this company could do dozens of launches…

…and made well over 7 figures a year.

Not only that, if these guys ever gave him a hard time or asked for more money…

…he would replace them in a flash.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HIRE A COPYWRITER

Posted on by Alastair Walton

This might sound like I’m shooting myself in the foot.

(After all, the point of writing this is so that you’ll hire me).

But the truth is that a lot of people are far better off writing copy themselves.

You see, the fact is that no one knows more about your product than you do.

Not only that, you probably know an awful lot about the market you’re selling to.

What this means is that often the best person to write the copy is YOU.

This being said, there are times when you SHOULD hire a copywriter.

One of these times is if you know absolutely nothing about writing copy.

Another is when you really don’t have time to write copy.

A third is if you want to split test your copy.

If you ever reach the point where you’re in the money zone and have maxed out conversions. Where you simply cannot find a way to improve the copy…well…that’s the point where you might want to bring in a fresh set of eyes. In that case, consider hiring someone who can approach the project from a new angle. Someone who can say something different about your product which you haven’t thought of before.

Get the person to write a sales letter and then split test it against yours.

They might end up doing better than you.

Who knows?

More tomorrow:

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

HOW TO JV WITH HARD TO REACH A-LIST MARKETERS

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Want to know how to get the attention of A-List marketers?

(The type of you wish you could JV with.)

Having worked with a number of these people over the years I can tell you one thing…

They usually get 100’s of JV offers every single day.

If you want to stand out you need to do things differently.

So what’s the secret?

Buying their products.

You see, buying their stuff gives you an excuse to make contact.

If you’re one of their customers they’re going to answer your messages, believe me.

And what do marketers love more than anything else?

Testimonials!

So start off by telling them how much you loved their product.

Be specific and make them feel important.

Tell them exactly what you liked.

Once you’ve done that, continue communicating with them.

If you can buy more of their stuff.

Eventually they will recognize your name in their inbox.

Only at that point do you tell them about your product and ask if they want to work together.

Is this easy?

Hell no!

It can be a long, difficult and expensive process.

But if you’re willing to put in the effort it could be worth a six figure deal.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

P.S. Want to get the attention of A-List marketers? It’s simple. Just BUY their products. This way they will be FORCED to communicate with you.

THE TWO STEP FORMULA FOR LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL BLOG

Posted on by Alastair Walton

How do you launch a successful blog?

Actually, a better question might be how do you get people to read your blog…

(Or even WHY do people read blogs?)

The simple answer is because there’s too much for them to go through in one sitting.

If you have more blog posts than they can read…well…they’re probably going to come back.

This might seem overly simplistic.

But it’s important that you understand the logic behind what I’m saying.

You see, so many people start blogs and then wonder why nothing is happening.

They write a handful of posts and then give up, put the blog away on a shelf and forget about it.

If you want to be successful you can’t do this.

You have to be consistent.

Consistency is key.

Despite what internet marketing guru’s might tell you there are no secret formulas or Ninja hacks.

You have to keep going until you reach a critical mass of blog posts.

When you do this readers will came back over and over again.

Eventually they might subscribe, sign up for your list or even buy your products.

This has been the case with every single blog I ran in the past.

Try it for yourself and see what happens.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

WHY YOU SHOULD START A LUXURY MEMBERSHIP SITE

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Remember membership sites?

Back in the day they were all the rage.

(Still are actually).

You set up a crummy website and charge people for the pleasure of accessing it. The reason why membership sites were popular was because you could make recurring income. And when you charge someone monthly…instead of once off…you can really start to rake in the money. As long as you provide valuable information people will continue to subscribe.

Newsletters are almost the same but a lot more advanced.

In fact, I like to think of them as luxury membership sites.

There are dozens of benefits to publishing your own newsletter.

To start off with, putting them together is dirt cheap.

They take very little money to print and mail and the returns can be enormous.

(There are newsletters out there that cost $50, $100 EVEN $200 a month).

Most subscribers will stick around for at least a couple of months…or even years if you’re lucky.

Not only that, you can cross promote other products to your subscribers.

They’re also a great way to find clients if you’re a service provider.

Then there’s the opportunity to upsell new subscribers. 

Plus you can rent advertising space.

These are only a few of the benefits to publishing a newsletter.

Got it?

Good.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

THE BUSY DOCTOR THEORY

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Looking for a simple way to attract more clients?

It’s called the busy Doctor theory.

You see, would you rather go to a Doctor with a full or empty waiting room?

I think you know the answer.

The point is that you should never be too available.

Clients are attracted to service providers who already seem busy.

So act as if you’ve got a million things going on.

As if business is booming…

….and you couldn’t possibly handle another client.

(Even if you’ve spent days staring at the telephone.)

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

WHY IT’S SOMETIMES BETTER TO LOSE MONEY(THAN TO MAKE IT)

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Can you make more money by losing money?

Believe it or not this is possible.

You see, most people don’t understand that direct marketing is a maths game.

By knowing your numbers you can get very creative.

A good example of this is when you’re selling a front end product.

The purpose of your front end shouldn’t be to make any money at all.

Instead you want to LOSE money.

You do this by selling a cheap front end product and advertising it as much as possible.

This way you can make far more sales and grow your list quickly.

(You’re basically buying as many customers as possible.)

Once this is done only THEN do you start making things up on the back end.

This is a risky strategy.

To carry it out successfully you need to know your numbers…down to the very wire.

You need to know if you’re actually going to make things up on the back end.

If you don’t it’s possible to lose a LOT of money.

This idea is simple but powerful.

It’s something that a lot of people don’t understand.

But if done correctly it allows you to get maximum yield from your advertising campaigns…

…and also gives you an overwhelming advantage against your competition.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

WHAT SCIENTOLOGY CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT COPYWRITING

Posted on by Alastair Walton

You have to agree that Scientology is a truly fascinating subject.

It’s amazing how one man managed to build a billion dollar cult, persuade thousands of gullible people to follow him and get away with it. And despite what you may think about scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, the guy was a genius.

(Especially from a marketing perspective)

But there’s a good reason why he was so, “Successful.”

And it’s a lesson copywriters should take to heart.

You see, Hubbard started out writing sci-fi stories for a penny a word.

As you can imagine he was dirt poor and struggled financially.

Everything changed when he wrote the first Scientology manual called Dianetics.

This book was a wild success, built his cult and made him rich. And after that book came hundreds of others plus seminars, courses and services like auditing (Most of which he sold through mailing lists.) The point I’m trying to make is that he only found success when he started selling his own products…

…instead of making other people rich.  

And so should you.

Don’t waste your time chasing clients and writing for a penny a word.

Creating and selling your own products is a far better option.

Especially if you want to get RICH.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton