It took a little longer than I expected, but John Angel and I finally got the video up and running and ready for you to view. Its rather lengthy title is…
“Video #1: Ryan Healy and John Angel Answer Your Most Important Questions About Building Your Copywriting Business.”
Basically, we took some of the best questions from those that were submitted, created a PowerPoint presentation with answers, and then recorded a screen capture video with Camtasia.
The video is 23 minutes long, but I think you’ll find it’s worth watching. And when you go to view the video, make sure you take a look at what we have planned. There are at least 4 more videos we’ll be releasing… and a few surprises I can’t mention yet.
Anyway, here is the link to watch the “Answers” video. It is 100% free content, no opt-in required. (Although if you would like to be notified when new videos are released, you can join a the separate list we’ve created.)
==> http://www.copywritingcode.com/lessons/
Enjoy!
-Ryan M. Healy
P.S. If you have additional questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to leave a comment on this blog post. Thanks.
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This is vintage John Angel, and Ryan at the top of their game. These are must-see videos that give solid content and answer some of the most burning questions that copywriters need to know.
Nice work, Ryan.
Direct answers to direct questions. That’s the
way to do it. I imagine people will respond
very positively to your efforts.
You guys keep up the great work,
Tony
@Kevin – Thanks for the plug. I suppose that would be 2008 vintage since I just made the video on Monday. It hasn’t had time to age yet. ;-)
@Tony – Thanks. Glad you liked it. We’ll be releasing one of John’s videos next. I think he scripted it or something because his sounds better than mine. :-)
I was excited to get to see the video but all I got was blank white screen. Any secrets to being able to view the video. Yes, I tried it more than once. Also, I’ve been seeing the letters RSS a lot lately but I have no idea what they mean. I wish there was, or I knew of it, a place to look up internet acronyms. Thank you. K
@Kaye – It may be you don’t have Flash installed on your computer. To get the latest Flash player free, go to this link:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Do a search for “how RSS works” to learn more about it.
Hope this helps!
Ryan
Great video Ryan – thanks for answering so many questions (including my own). You definitely gave me a lot of great ideas to consider and implement!
@Chad – You’re welcome! Thanks for the feedback.
@Kaye – I built an acronym site a long time ago. The Internet acronyms page may be helpful to you.
Internet Acronyms
Ryan – this might be slightly off topic but since you recommend creating your own products, maybe it’s not.
I’m wondering how to go about doing joint creative work such as how you and John A are structuring your work together.
I’ve worked with a blogger in the past on cross promotion/affiliate marketing. I’m not sure I want to repeat the way we did it. I have another person now that wants to do a joint creative product.
How do we divide it up? Do we split the profits? How would we track that? Or is it not worth the effort? Should I just chalk it up to extra PR and traffic?
I really don’t know where to start looking for how to do this and you’ve obviously got a great deal going here with John. I appreciate any advice or even pointing me in the right direction.
@Louis – In the case of John and me, we’re simply splitting 50/50 since we’re both shouldering an equal amount of work.
But there are many different arrangements.
One client pays me 3% of net profit per month. Another pays me 10%. But my work load and involvement is significantly different for each of these clients.
With product creation, you can structure it a variety of ways. The easiest way is 50/50 of net profit. Basically, subtract out your hard costs, then split what’s left over.
Another way would be to take 30% for the marketing/sales side and let your partner keep the rest for fulfillment, customer service, order processing, etc. Of course, if he’s taking the orders, the accounting is his responsibility. He would pay you your cut each month.
The biggest secret to successful joint venture relationships is finding people you can trust. I’ve had deals going for over two years now and it’s awesome. But I’ve been burned, too. It’s just the price you have to pay to find the good, trustworthy people.
Tip: Start with small projects. When one project works well, find a way to do a bigger project together.
Great videos, guys. I especially loved John’s. Such practical, actionable advice! I just have a few questions about the process.
I’ve started to use this strategy before, but something eventually bogs down. None of my local libraries carry the SRDS, so I checked out a couple of list brokers online last night. Some of the lists don’t have usage data, and with a few others I can’t find the company by typing it into a Yahoo! search. When I can find the company and the contact person, I don’t know what to say to them to get them to hire me. I’m a relative newbie, and don’t have the results for the few promotions I _have_ created, and I haven’t written anything for the niches these companies are in. Plus, I’ve only written online promotions. Don’t these companies want to see samples that actually went in the mail for products and services exactly like the ones they’re selling?
Ryan:
Your #1 video was very informative….especially for someone like me. I’ve taken the course from AWAI and also the course from Jay White. I really picked my niche as a catalog copywriter. That’s what I want to do
And I know I can handle the job.
Problem: Being new, without samples, what is the best proceedure for me to get my first client?
To James Palmer:
If your local library does not carry the SRDS… then… call a big city or county library near you. They probably will carry it.
If a list broker does not have the data card or usage report for a list simply call them on the phone. Ask them to email you all the data cards and usage reports for the list category you are interested in.
To Nick Leo:
Create your own samples by writing “mock up” copy for 8 to 10 products. Simply say these are examples of the type of work you do.
Hey guys,
First of all – AWESOME videos. I’ve watched all 3 and loved them all.
One question.
I’m a newbie and although I have 2 testimonials (soon to be 4) – I don’t have any testimonials that show my results…for various reasons not b/c my copy is bad.
How much do you think this would retract from the response rate – and is there any way to get around that to make myself seem like more of an expert?
Jeremy
http://www.controlbeatingcopy.com
@Jeremy – Thank you! And thank you for your question.
While testimonials are important, the quality of the testimonial shouldn’t make or break your promotion.
Your list and offer are more important than your testimonials.
That said, I edit my testimonials to make them as strong as possible. If somebody writes a novel, I look for the one paragraph that really sings.
And I also try to feature “result testimonials” versus “feel good testimonials.”
So I understand your concern.
There are many things you can do to build up your expert status: blogging, teaching, featuring seals of the organizations you belong to, publishing press releases, etc.
On one of my blogs, my article got referenced on MSN. So I can now say, “Featured on MSN,” which is a huge credibility booster.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
-Ryan
I love the videos and have already started implementing things into my copywriting efforts. After reading your ebook and now with the videos, I really feel like I’ve gotten the push/boost I need to be successful.
Two questions:
1. Are you a business, or do your clients make out checks to your personal name?
2. I have writing samples, but I don’t have any internet sales letter samples. John suggested to someone else to create a mock-up to use in this case. Would I create my letter in Word, create a static site to direct potentials clients to the url, or create it a different way?
Thanks!
Hi Ryan and John,
I just wanted to thank you for these great videos. I am at the early stages of thinking about a career change toward copywriting, and your videos have been incredibly helpful, answering some of my most pressing questions. I really appreciate your putting these resources together.
Thanks!
@Traci – Thank you! Let me try to answer your questions before I go hop in the shower…
1. I think you’re asking about business structure. I currently have an LLC that files as an S-Corp. I am not a sole proprietorship.
The LLC gives me some tax advantages, as well as some liability protection, which I’ve never needed, but does provide some peace of mind.
2. My suggestion: write a long copy sales letter selling… YOU! This letter *IS* a sample.
After you’re done writing the letter, code it in HTML and FTP it to your web site.
If I’m speaking a foreign language, you can refer back to my ebook. I give some resources for how to get your letter onto a web site.
You can also hire somebody to do it for you. (If you need a web guy, call up my brother Jared – http://www.JaredHealy.com)
@Nancy – Thank you for the positive feedback! I’m glad they’ve helped you so much. :-)