What Copywriting and Love Affairs Have In Common

“The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”
–Tom Robbins, American author

In This Issue:

Editor’s Note: Welcome to all the new Copy Protégé readers who joined us yesterday! I thought long and hard about what your first official issue should tell you…and I remembered this one. It’s out of the Copy Protégé archives – from our first “test” year when we were writing to just a handful of readers. And today, it seems worth repeating. Besides…JH, who you’ll read about below…is waiting for me to come over and have lunch. Yet another perk of the copywriter’s life – country lunches in the shade of an old porch on a Friday afternoon. Can’t beat it…

What Copywriting and Love Affairs Have In Common
by Monica Day

You know how it is when you first meet someone. You could gaze into their eyes for hours and never get bored. They could read you the Yellow Pages on the phone and you would happily spend all your cell phone minutes listening just to hear the sound of their voice. And the memory of a simple kiss can distract you for hours on end.

Under the rose-tinted glasses of your wishes and desires, the object of your affection reveals no imperfections. At first.

First date, second, third – all great. Dinner and movies give way to long, passionate nights. You couldn’t be happier or more hopeful about the prospects of this new love blossoming into the true and lasting relationship you’ve been looking for.

And then, it happens.

You reach for the toothpaste and it’s squirted out all over the counter because your perfect love has not replaced the cap. You fall into the toilet in the middle of the night because he has not put down the seat. He says he’ll be there to pick you up at 7pm. At 7:30 he calls and says he’ll be another hour – he’s out with the boys and lost track of time.

In other words, you’ve got a real person on your hands – with all their flaws and inconsistencies and challenges.

It’s easy to decide, when you’re basking in the glow of the newness of the connection, that this is The One. But you can’t truly commit – and carry through with your commitment – until you know for sure that you can handle the person’s less-than-perfect traits as well.

Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t that sound a lot like what it takes to commit to your new career in copywriting?

On our way to learning how to craft a Big Promise, we fall for one. Namely that we can achieve our dreams, make a lot of money, work from home, retire early, and a whole host of other attributes we might have been hoping to find.

But don’t forget, as you wander down the path to career nirvana – at some point, you have to roll up your sleeves and put in the time and effort it takes to realize the dream. You have to produce copy that sells products for your clients and generates many, many times the fee you charge for the project.

You have to learn how to market your services, network with people, negotiate your fee, set up your office, pay taxes like a self-employed person. It’s a rather long list.

The sooner you can face the fact that there are two sides to your perfect career opportunity – just like there are two sides to any perfect lover – the sooner you’ll be able to make a real and informed commitment, not a starry-eyed one.

Take JH for example. A chiropractor by trade, with a knack and passion for writing. He found the AWAI Accelerated Program For Six-Figure Copywriting – and then made contact with me through a mutual friend (one of those small world connections). We just finally met at last week’s AWAI Bootcamp after conversing through email for months.

Initially, JH’s missives to me were full of enthusiasm – and a little bit of bravado bordering on cockiness – he was so sure that this new path was The Way for him to achieve all his dreams.

I could certainly relate to his newbie excitement, and I was impressed with his boldness. But I knew he had a hurdle to scale before he would start seeing success. And sure enough, just a week or so before Bootcamp, it came:

“You know what? This is hard!

I always thought I was a pretty good writer – won an award for an essay – got complimented by my Master’s degree committee on my thesis – but s***, this copywriting is hard.

I’ve been trying to complete my Men’s Supplement assignment before the bootcamp, but wow! I keep running into myself all over the place. To integrate these elements and not have it be about me – I don’t think the Dalai Lama could come up with better ego work.

I have to keep admitting that I’m writing crap, even though each idea, each subhead, did or does still have a spark in it.

I just want to say, I totally appreciate what you have been able to do – and I guess to tell you not to worry about introducing me to anybody at the bootcamp. I mean, you can’t honestly say much other than, "Michael, this is [JH], who writes crap, but at least he knows it."

But, I am ten times more determined than ever to get this down and to get really good at it.”

I knew when I got this note that if JH could get past this hurdle, he was going to make it. He had finally gotten real about what it was going to take to make it in his new venture. He was humbled, but not defeated. His ego was taking a beating, but he was still going to get on the plane and make the trek to Florida.

In short, he took the rose-tinted glasses off and looked his new love, copywriting, square in the face, and decided that he was going to hang on to her. For better or worse. In sickness and in health. ‘Til death – or failure – do them part.

How real is copywriting to you? If you have to eat your ego for breakfast, wash it down with your pride, and clean up the table with liberal doses of humor and self-discipline – are you going to hang in there?

Or are you thinking about cruising the bars and the internet dating sites to see if you find a better fit for your particular needs and desires?

No one can tell you what to do. As with love affairs, all that matters is what you feel in your heart. And whether you’re willing to back up the feeling with action and commitment.

I’ll tell you right now – copywriting will always be a very handsome and attractive suitor. The money really can be great. The demand really is overwhelming. The perks, the people, the freedom – it’s all right here waiting for you.

But if it’s not a good fit for you, it doesn’t matter how perfect it sounds in those sales letters – it just might not be a fit for you.

For some, it might be more like that guy who comes around every few months to call. You have nothing in common, your politics don’t fit, he smokes and you don’t, he hates sushi and you live for it. But he’s so dang charming and fun that you end up going out with him anyway, evoking a convenient amnesia about all the reasons he’s really not the guy for you. Eventually, you have to admit that he’s just not The One. But it still takes courage to let his call slip into your voicemail next time he rings.

I know I’m supposed to be cheering you on in these columns. Believe me, I am.

I’m cheering for your honesty. I’m cheering for your work ethic. I’m cheering for your passion.

Look at the opportunity to become a six-figure copywriter as realistically as you can. Understand that it’s going to take some work and time and commitment – and more than a few tears and setbacks – if you’re going to make a go of it. If the reality of the road ahead doesn’t scare you off, you might just have the career of your dreams on your hands.

But if it makes you want to go looking for a better match, by all means, go for it. There’s no right or wrong decision when it comes to finding your true path. Besides – don’t we learn a lot from every affair along the way to our true love?

Resource Referral: Study The Masters

It’s one thing to study the mail – but how do you know what works? More important, why does it work?

When you study controls, it helps to have a study guide to tell you exactly what you’re looking at – and that’s why I recommend that every copywriter or marketer have a subscription to Monthly Copywriting Genius.

The format is brilliant – the dissection of the promotions, side-by-side with insightful interviews with the copywriter is just the right combination. It doesn’t take more than a half hour or so a month to read these through and study them – time well-spent once you put these secrets to work in your promotions.

Perhaps the unsung hero of this service is the archives – with a user ID and password that comes with your membership, all the back issues are yours. That’s what I call a good deal.

Reader Feedback: A Little Improvement Never Hurt Anyone

In a recent issue of The Copy Protégé, we had (gasp) several typos and an instance of dubious grammar – and our readers got right on it. Correcting us, chastising us, and yet, reassuring us that they loved the eletter. But they expect better from us.

Hard as it can be sometimes to accept criticism, a true professional recognizes that it’s a compliment – and it should be received with gratitude. It means that someone values you enough, or in this case, reads us closely enough, and cares that we do the best job we can each week.

In fact, take a look at the letter below and my response. You’ll see how a little well-placed, well-intentioned criticism could be just the thing for securing your first copywriting client.

A CP reader writes:

Hi,

I really like your newsletter.  It’s very informative and you keep the selling to a minimum, which I find very pleasant.

I am a student of the AWAI copywriting course.  As a matter of fact, I just sent in my first assignment.

I have a copywriting question for you.  I recently received a brochure from a small technical school that is very poorly written.  The layout isn’t very good, there are typos and the writing itself could be improved.  I would love to re-write it and see if I could sell it to the director of the school.  How would I go about doing this?  Should I re-write a portion of it, just to show him how much better it could be?  Or ask him if he is interested before I do anything?  Or just re-write it for free as a way to get my work out there and as a sample to put in my portfolio?

KT

Monica says:

I think your idea is a good one. I have a friend who had a job as a temp receptionist right after graduating college. Out of sheer boredom, she edited all of the marketing materials of the company and made suggestions on how they could be re-designed and improved. They hired her by the end of the week, and she worked for them for a decade. When she left there, it was to become CEO of a similar firm in Manhattan.

So yes, your idea works. And at this point in your career, a good sample is worth gold. I would work up a little pitch showing him what you could do with it. And by all means, offer to do it as a sample if you’re willing.

Once it’s done and good, get a testimonial from him too. Win-win.

Good luck!