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. :-)

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!

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!

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

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

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.

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?

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?