“It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction.” – Pablo Picasso
I love my life as an in-demand direct-response copywriter.
I live at least half the year in Europe. My bank account seems to get fat all by itself. I don’t have a cent of debt and haven’t for as long as I can remember.
People line up to hire me. I even get invited to give training seminars and speeches in chateaus and big cities around the world.
I worked hard to get here. And I’m not done yet.
I look forward to doing this for a long time to come.
Yet, it’s not all wine and roses.
Maybe you know what I mean …
FRUSTRATION #1: You pull a late night or even an all-nighter, zip off your file as the sun comes up, and then … you wait. A week later you get a note, “Thanks! Haven’t had a chance to read your file yet, but it looks good.” What’s worse than bad feedback? No feedback at all.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Realize first, it’s not anyone’s fault but our own if we end up pulling all-nighters. Even if the deadline is unacceptable, you accepted it. Even if it’s only because you’ve got too many projects going, you booked them all.
Learn to set the deadlines and take on the workload you can handle. If you’ve been doing this for any amount of time, you’ve probably discovered that already.
As for the client who’s slow on the uptake, that’s still a real issue. Realize they’re often blowing you off only because they’re juggling a fuller workload than they should, too. Or they, too, are not managing their schedule right.
You’ve got to vie for a chunk of their time.
Try offering a review deadline when you turn in the material.
For example, “Here’s the file. Can you take a look at this and then we’ll arrange to talk it over at 3 pm on Friday?” Then, because you have to give when you expect to take, say, “If that time’s not convenient, let me know another time that works better.”
You might not get the thing by Friday.
But you’ll probably get it sooner rather than later. Be understanding about your reviewer’s schedule. But not wimpy in requesting a place in it.
AGGRAVATION #2: You’ve finally turned in your final draft. It feels like good stuff. It’s going to knock ‘em dead once they get it in the mail. That is … IF they ever get it in the mail.
Ack.
Nothing goads me more than watching a hot piece of copy go cold under a pile of ‘get-to-it-later’ memos and other office minutia. Or to see it parked in production hell.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: This is a tough one.
It’s hard for copywriters, especially those notorious for missing deadlines, to press others to stay on schedule. Which makes it a fine line between encouraging and badgering to keep a bad delay from getting worse.
Here are some strategies …
Offer to help ‘in any way you can’ to get the promo through production.
Make it a genuine offer, of course. You can use the pre-established deadline strategy here, too. When you turn in the final FINAL draft – post-revisions – ask when it should drop in the mail.
Try to pin down a precise date.
From our end as writers, the cleaner the draft you hand in, the smoother the process. One can only hope. Organizationally, it would be nice if clients had ‘traffic cops’ who did nothing but monitor production schedules. That’s not always feasible.
Set a calendar program on your computer that reminds you to ask about progress. And check up via telephone, not just e-mail. E-mail doesn’t have the same impact. Again, don’t badger (I’ve done that enough to know it makes things move slower, not faster). No matter what you’re told, don’t be afraid to get involved in the process.
It’s tough to do. But important.
HAIR-TEARING MOMENT #3: You’ve come up with a breakthrough promo idea. There it dangles from a blade of grass, like a glistening drop of genius … until you discover someone else has done it first. And much better than you ever could.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Just because an idea isn’t original, doesn’t mean you need to toss it. I’m not talking plagiarism. I’m just suggesting that, one, you ‘autopsy’ the original idea to see what made it work. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up with an idea that’s even BETTER than the original.
Also consider that a lot of time might have passed since the last time the idea was used. If the idea is still relevant and still fresh, pretend it’s new and try it again (in your own style of course).
After all, direct marketers often sell to a ‘marching army’ – a passing parade of customers who will consider your recycled idea to be completely fresh.
TEETH-GRINDING MOMENT #4: You’ve come to care deeply about the product you’re selling. Your client, however, couldn’t give a rat’s patooty.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Why work for dispassionate clients?
Because sometimes we don’t have the luxury of not doing so. Plain and simple. Which is a shame. Because once the product’s champion has lost his verve, it’s tough for the copywriter to muster up the enthusiasm you’ll need to write the copy.
Sometimes, though, the product is still worth selling.
All it needs is a fresh message. And that’s good news. With a little work, you should be able to help put the magic back into the marketer’s drab, dreary life. Along with renewed revenues (an eye-brightener in themselves).
But suppose it’s more complicated.
Suppose you need extra help in getting up the mustard to write a new, fresh message. Then try turning to assistants who also work with the product. Or try identifying the product’s originator. Both often have the glow of idealism that once gave the product its momentum in the first place.
Incidentally, enthusiasm and passion are everything.
If YOU are lacking the enthusiasm for the product, your efforts to WRITE the promo will come to naught, regardless. Just so you know.
TAPESTRY-RENDING INCIDENT #5: You zip off a promo draft via e-mail, proud as a new pappy about how it turned out. Only to discover, too late … the file is rife with typos.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Hey, don’t look at me. I think I INVENTED the typo. Can’t get enough of ‘em. In fact, a carte blanche apology to all the copyeditors and designers I’ve tortured with my typing in the past.
That said … do as I say, not as I do.
One cure is only a little extra elbow grease. Print it out. Read it aloud. Double-check it and then check it again. All too easy not to do in this day of computers (damned progress!).
But one option lots of writers also use is to hire an external copy-editor to comb through your work. You can find plenty online.
Just budget in the extra time they’ll need to get the work done. It’s surely worth the extra expense. Gee, what else? I could probably go on with this list all night.
For instance, I can’t stand it when designers do the layout without reading the copy … and it kills me when marketers make tests on my controls without asking my opinion … I hate it when a client mistakes ‘copywriting’ for ‘product development’ …
And it drives me nuts when someone expects me to sell something that truly offers no benefit to the customer …
Oh, and what about those fellow copywriters who steal from our old controls to ‘write’ their new packages? Then you’ve got those clients who don’t pay their bills? Oh, oh … and what about …
Ah, whatever.
Who am I to complain?
John Forde
Guest Contributor
———————
Over the last 19 years, John Forde’s direct-response
copy helped generate hundreds of millions of dollars
and has won him several awards, including AWAI’s
“Copywriter of the Year.” John has also mentored dozens
of successful writers and regularly helps lead copy
training programs in Europe and the U.S. You can get
more of his insights on copywriting free from his
website: www.copywritersroundtable.com
A Revived article from THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
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