You are correct: the notion that copy can force people to do things they don’t want to do is false… even though a lot of people believe the opposite.

Brilliant post, dude. It’s something I’ve been saying for a long time, yet so often it falls on deaf ears.

Most clients come to me wanting some kind of literary-panacea to their woes, a sales-letter to fix their crap business. But their real problem is they don’t have the right audience, and their actual offer is about as inviting and compelling as a cow-chip sandwich.

Of course, none of this is helped by the less-than-honest copywriters who peddle their “I can teach you to write hypnotic copy to COMPEL people to buy from you” books, programmes, and seminars, is it?

Anyway, good show.

– Jon

I often have a similar, yet opposite problem.

We do a lot of traffic-gen work (on top of copywriting) – and many clients think more visitors is the solution to all their woes (if they make one sale with a hundred people visiting their web-site, they can make two sales if two hundred people visit).

In any niche, there’s a limit to how many targeted leads you can get – and sooner or later improving conversion rates is the most profitable action you can take for a client.

Joseph – you raise a good point – some of it we bring upon ourselves in our own marketing ;)

Brent

In our marketing as copywriters, clients seem to look for the “Joe made me $14,000 in 48 hours” so they can justify something in their minds that as copywriters, we can be their “magic pill.”

It is on us as professionals to educate the clients that is not the case…and there are a ton of other ways we can add value to their business…for the most part that process takes time.

Just my 2 cents.

Joseph Ratliff

But it’s not hard to see why when you look at how copywriting is being touted as being the be-all, end-all solution to your marketing problems. ESPECIALLY in the IM/biz opp niche.

This may be the very thing that pushes people to hire a copywriter in the first place (believing that it will be the miracle cure).

I know I was guilty of this in the past.

While I can see why copywriters get annoyed by this sort of thing, it doesn’t help that there are so many copywriters out there pounding their chests about how “their copy” brought in a gazillion dollars in 30 seconds or whatever.

I mean, think about it from a client’s point of view:

He or she is looking at different copywriters’ websites and sees a bunch of sites with testimonials and stories about how these copywriters are basically turning water into wine for their clients. (Most of these stories tend to leave out the list size/dynamics, the offer, the built-in credibility of the product owner/creator, the masterful product launch, etc — all of which are FAR more important than the words).

If this is what the clients are mainly seeing, I can kind of understand why they think copy is the end-all, be-all.

Especially if the client’s aren’t really marketers to begin with.

Ben

I’m shocked you’re admitting that copy is not a cure all. That’s just crazy talk… Won’t this hurt your rep as a copywriter?

==> End of humorous rant <==

You have written another thought provoking post.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the client’s viewpoint. A poorly planned product is not selling well, and they are grasping at straws. They believe that copy will save the sinking ship, and come to us to hoping we can bail them out. Instead of jumping in to help, we should step back and look at the big picture.

This reminds me of Gary Halbert’s “Starving Crowd” letter. In it he says he likes to ask copywriting students this question: “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were both in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?”

The students will usually answer superior ingredients, best location, lowest prices…

And Gary answers the only advantage he wants is…

A Starving Crowd!

So, here is one of the greatest copywriters of all time admitting that the list is the #1 factor for creating sales… Not copy, not the offer or even the product.

Gary went on to say you have to find the market before you create the product.

However, most people will spend a huge amount of time and energy creating a product. Then they will turn around and try to find customers. I’d have to say is the one thing that has surprised me the most about copywrting for clients.