http://www.ryanhealy.com/and-the-winner-is/

If you entered the contest, THANK YOU!

You guys (and gals) rock.

Ryan

Well, believe it or not, my watch battery died this morning halfway through the alarm. Beep, beep, beep, bewww…..

So, having just gotten back from Target, I’ve installed my new watch battery — and the time is 12:07 p.m. Mountain time.

The contest is officially closed to new entries.

John and I will be deliberating over who should win. We’ll announce the winner later today — no later than 9 p.m. Mountain time.

Thanks!

Not all my parts work like they did at 16 but,
still I can get excited.

I’ve logged in an unbelievable amount of hours
selling belly to belly with customers.
The wonderful world of retail and business
prospects was my turf.

Retail gave me the most enjoyment in many ways.
First, the number of “at bats” in retail
compared to business kept me from the dreded “B”.

That’s B for boring!

I have worked where I only talked to 2 or 3
prospects in an intire day and hated it.

When I was a marketing rep visiting Best Buy
I promoted Epson printers and that was fun.

When I saw sometimes 50 or 60 people in a day
during christmas season I “HAD” to learn how
to sell or the store managers would have
tossed me out in the dumpster.

How this relates to writing copy is that I
have learned that word choice is critical in
order to land a sale.

I’ve also spend some big bucks in NLP training.
Gave me some more knowledge of mental processes.

I did not push crap. I found out the main
bullets of each product and fit my pitch to
the needs of the customer.

I developed the authority by giving them a
inside glitch that showed the product was not
perfect. They weren’t just hammered a high
margin printer.

Copywriting would allow me to transfer my many
years of selling to paper.

Way too many businesses are struggling.
Even with great products because their marketing
copy sucks pond scum.

I’m looking for satisfaction of helping them.
The money will come so, I won’t bother with
that here.

Ryan and John’s tutoring is what I need to take
my gold of experience and focus it into a
proper technique to drive sales for my clients.

I could search and study on my own for years.
That is not the smart way.
You guys can help prevent me learning wrong
methods as well as tips and tricks to get me
cranking at top end levels fast.

Thanks for the opportunity,

John

1. WHY do you want to become a successful freelancecopywriter (besides the money)?

To answer that, let’s get in the wayback
machine to a bit over 3 plus years ago.

I was attending nursing school.

And a funny thing happened to me I was attending to this new education courtesy of an inheritance that filled
my bank account at a timely moment: right at
the dot com “bust”.

While I had endured any number of economic downturns
in my 20+ year software career, I was having my
first difficulties in finding a job. Maybe it was the
gray hair. Even though age-prejudice is against the
law, I’ve had people admit that hiring “over 50s”
would require extra justification.

Here in Silicon Valley, healthcare career courses
were jammed with folks left high and dry after
“the bust”. I was no different.

While starting my second year in nursing school,
I caught a minor infection. The minor infection
forced me to miss too many clinical days and I
dropped out for the term. It would be six months
before I could re-start classes.

While waiting for school to start again I dusted off the AWAI course, became active ontheir forum, and met up with a young copywriterwho I split a “two-fer” with to attend a copywriting seminar. (The young copywriter was Ryan.)

And have been pursuing copywriting ever since.
Along with a healthy dose of internet marketing.
Hey, I’m a computer geek! Technology comes
naturally.

Altruistic dreams run through my brain neurons
nearly as much as the glucose they require.

It’s many times easier for me to help, and to
want to help, others than it is to ask for money
for doing so. You can see volumes of advice that
I’ve given on the copywriting forum on the Warrior
forum.

But that altruistic spirit, which I certainly
don’t want to deny, gets in the way of getting
the money.

Let me also say what, a kindred spirit to that
altruistic spirit, says. It’s not just about
money. People have hailed certain letters because
they made so much money. Personally, they made
me puke.

Why?

Not because the writing is bad — it is quite
persuasive.

But because the salesletter over-promised, and
from my research, vastly undelivered.

That’s not the kind of copy I write, or want to
write.

Copy serves a wonderful and useful purpose. But
it can be abused — and, frequently is.

I want my copy to connect real buyers with real
products that are useful to real people. Not
some pie-in-the-sky instant riches scheme.

It’s said that “bad money drives out good money.”
I fear that “bad” copy — the persuasive copy that
sells unrealizable pipe-dreams — will drive out
“good copy”.

My goal is to not just provide for myself, or
even just to fund my altruistic activities. It’s
also to be a copywriter whose copy sets an example
of copy of high integrity.

2. HOW will participating in our 6-month Coaching Program help you?

One of the purposes of participating in a
coaching program is to be “known”. No, I
don’t mean in a publicity kind of way.
I mean, known, as in, someone knowing who you are.
As in the way an interior decorator might walk into
a room and know exactly what needs fixing.

What I want out of a coaching program is not
so much the pieces. I have lots of pieces.But
I want a consistent, coherent, and, more
importantly, well-seqwuenced, set of pieces.
I want the “whole”. The synergy that comes with that.

And it’s to have someone with the success and the
compassion to help me assemble the pieces,
sequence them properly, into a happy, successful,
and goal-accomplishing career.

Thanks for the opprotunity.

(and I love the involvement. :)

Live JoyFully!

Judy Kettenhofen aka “NextDay Copy”

“I’m affecting helping” should read “I’m affecting someone other than the voice on the other line.”

When I was a child, I was incredibly shy. Writing gave me a voice. As I got better, I learned that writing was not only a personal outlet; it was also a tool to help others who could learn from my experiences. When I discovered copywriting, it felt as if I had found my home.

I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit…but it isn’t all about me. As cliché as this may sound, it’s about what I can do for others. I get a real charge out of hearing a client’s excitement when he or she sees what I’ve created for their business. The process of writing may be about me because that’s what I love to do; the outcome is about the client and how I can improve his business. Both of us win, and both of our lives are improved by it.

I know some copywriters make the business all about them and how much cash they can rake in, but I also believe you have to give back in order to receive. I certainly know that my family benefits when I have enough money to live, and I know that when I write rockin’ copy for someone, I’m affecting helping more than just the voice on the other line. It’s the “pay it forward” principle but for pay. It doesn’t get any better than that.

If you ask what all this money gets me, I’ll have to break it down into three parts:

1.) FREEDOM. I’m a divorced mother with three children, and I have a full-time day job and a copywriting business. My son has Selective Mutism and cannot go to public school. I’d love to be home with him during the day so I could give more attention to him and his online studies.

2.) It also gives me a SPIRITUAL PURPOSE. While we all have to make money to live, I love the idea of using my career to help others prosper physically, mentally, and financially. The products I’ve created are dedicated to helping others live with peace and prosperity.

3.) The next thing I’ll get from all this money is the ability to GIVE TO OTHERS. The money means nothing unless I can help my family, my friends, and even strangers who need a hand up. At the end of the day, if I cannot think beyond myself, the money has no value.

All my life, I’ve worked in professions that have given me joy as I’ve helped others. I’ve worked as a counselor, as a teacher, and as a writer. Copywriting allows me to combine the best of all three worlds.

The 6-month Coaching Program will help me get bigger, more established clients. In the past two years—as a copywriter—I’ve had the pleasure of working with entrepreneurs who sell their products worldwide as well as those who are just starting out. I’ve loved every minute. However, I started doing everything: copywriting, editing, proofreading, writing articles, writing blogs, etc. You can probably guess that sometimes the paycheck was sweet and sometimes it was just a little extra.

I want to fish in bigger ponds so that I can support my family and give them a comfortable lifestyle. Your coaching program isn’t about the writing for me, although I’ll certainly benefit from your experiences. I want to learn the BUSINESS of COPYWRITING. By learning the business, I will be able to be home for my son and daughters when they need me and still continue to do the work that I’ve grown to love.

In essence, I want to walk away from the day job and walk full time back into my life. I can’t be any more honest than that.

I’m so happy you guys are doing this.

The bottom line, guys, is I need this. More to the point: my family needs this. I look at my wife, two step kids and my 22 month old daughter and I know we are stuck until I take this massive action.

See, we’re trapped. I’m in a job that enriches the community but pays very little. My family’s in a home and neighborhood that’s becoming unfit to raise children and we’re struggling with debt. It’s a very suffocating feeling. Clearly, we need to make drastic change.

The money and the lifestyle are cool but just incidental. It’s about being empowered by knowing my future is in my hands — that I’m accountable for my success. I want to rule my own destiny and not feel trapped anymore.

Copywriting is a way to break free and do what I was meant to do. Writing and art are my only two natural talents (two great tastes that go great together). It has the added benefit of inspiring my family and friends to follow their dreams.

Fact is I’m a good writer. I’ve never been turned down by a magazine. And I’ve even written for one of the top copywriters in the country. But the pay is a joke. My copy skills have reached critical mass and it’s time to dive in head first and get paid what I’m worth.

Also, it would be nice to silence the naysayers and eye-rollers who snicker and say copywriting is not a “real” career. I call them the dream killers because they try to plant the seeds of self- doubt.

If your coaching program provides two complete systems of actionable strategies as you say then I’ll make it work. You guys seem really authentic and real to me.

I’ve spent enough money getting good and any money I spend from here will be on marketing and getting clients.

I will give myself over to the coaching process because this is a make or break endeavor. I want you guys to look back and know you made the right choice. You’ll be able to say that guy Logan busted his ass and implemented the strategies fearlessly.

I’ve read a lot of great posts here. (good luck Sudheendra – really compelling). Whatever happens it’s time to move forward. Thanks for the opportunity!

-Logan

Fledgling Vermont Copywriter Wins Coveted Coaching Program!

On Saturday night, July 19th, 2008, Ann Kensek received an email that will change her life- and the lives of countless others- forever. Ultra-successful copywriters Ryan Healy and John “Angel” Anghelache contacted her with the news that she was the winner of their 6 –Month Freelance Copywriting Coaching Program. She expressed her deep thanks to Healy and Anghelache for this outstanding opportunity.
Asked why she wants to be a Freelance Copywriter, Kensek replied, “I was elbow deep in dishwater, while my husband watched the evening news on TV. Half listening and half absorbed in my own thoughts, the story came on about the cylone in Myanmar. I froze, listening intently. Unable to take in how huge the suffering was, how helpless the people were, how important minutes and hours were in saving lives, I thought, ‘I wish I could help’. Something inside of me said, ‘You can’. At that moment I decided to take my years of informal studies of copywriting forward and begin formally studying the art and science of writing effective copy.”
In addition to writing for the Fundraising market, Kensek wants to tap into the growing “Green” market, helping ethical businesses grow through her work. “The return to families and communities when businesses are successful is immeasurable,” she said, “ And to be able to contribute on multiple levels- economic, social, spiritual and ecological- all at once would make me deeply joyful.”
Well into her studies, Kensek welcomes the opportunity to learn and utilize successful and rapid marketing techniques with master copywriters Healy and Anghelache. “This Coaching Program will take years off my learning curve, and teach me to get the clients that need my services sooner,” Kensek said.
When asked if this program was “like the icing on the cake”, Kensek thought for a moment, then replied, “No, it’s not. This course is like the eggs or the baking soda. Without them, the cake won’t rise. Till you add them, you just have a bunch of ingredients in a bowl. I have most of the ingredients I need. Time to add the eggs!”
As to the money she’ll make as a result of the program? “Sure. I have goals… It’s been a tough year here in Vermont. My husband hasn’t had steady work since February. Thanks to this Program, he’ll be back in Graduate School next spring, realizing his dream of becoming an Analyst. When our 21 year old comes home from Iraq in November we can roll out the red carpet! And our 11 year old will benefit from growing up in a home where he’ll know both the value of dreaming and what it takes to make those dreams into realized goals. I look forward to enjoying the money and all the perks that financial freedom can bring. But money is only part of being wealthy,” she continued. “ True wealth is about living fully, about living authentically, about living a meaningful life. This is what I strive for, and what winning this Coaching Program will help me take to a higher- and deeper level. Many thanks, guys!

I’d like to be the person people are talking about when they say, “If HE can make it as a copywriter, ANYBODY can.”

Why would it be such a shock? My professional writing is focused on technical software requirements, which provides a living wage, but in no way is focused on generating a response.

And in today’s economy, response is what hundreds of small business owners in my area are praying for. It would be awesome to be able to come alongside them and provide a means of generating new leads and ongoing business, especially when many owners are wondering whether they’ll be able to survive.

How would this coaching opportunity help a rookie like me?
Only as much as experienced skydivers who strap themselves to the backs of first-time jumpers … but this time it seems like the jump is starting at 30,000 feet. I know the ground is down there, but I’m going to need oxygen to survive.

Many thanks for providing this opportunity.

Are You Prepared for the Explosive Changes in Your Life When You Master the Much Envied Skill of Copywriting, and Make Six Figures Per Year … With Ease?

I must be divinely blessed to have discovered this craft, because if there’s a better way to go, I sure can’t see it.

A copywriter soars through life as easy as if he or she were on a hand-glider above the clouds. Here’s why:

 You master the art of persuasion: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” becomes a way of life. From getting the best seats in a restaurant, talking your way out of a traffic ticket, getting the girl of your dreams, negotiating the best price on your cars or your house … your entire life runs smoother and easier.

 You can make tons of cash: If you can string together a coherent paragraph, you can learn sales copy and make money. Lots of it.

Ironically, most writers starve. You may be surprised to learn that some of those bestselling authors on the New York Time’s list are barely making a living. A decent, competent copywriter, a B-level writer, should have no problem pulling in six figures a year … if they learn a few simple marketing tricks.

 You clearly understand human nature: Imagine being able to read minds … well, a copywriter has such a deep understanding of people that’s the next best thing to knowing their thoughts.

 You are in demand: Nothing happens in business without advertising. And if they either try to avoid advertising, or avoid paying for good advertising, they’re not going to be in business very long. Smart business owners are seeking you out. They want you. They NEED you.

 You have power and influence: Copywriters often know more about marketing than their clients. This means you are positioned to be the authority, and your clients often become beholden to you for more than a simple letter. This is why Gary Bencivenga’s analogy of a “hired gun” is so much on target … you are the “expert from afar.”

 Fame, recognition, and Prestige: You become recognized in business. When you can do this, people know who you are. Several businesses rely on you as their go-to-guy. You may not make the cover of the “Rolling Stone Magazine,” but would you settle for “Business Weekly?”

So that’s why I want to be a copywriter. Now here’s how your program can help me…

 Both Ryan and John are authentic. They are doing the same thing I want to do, so it’s not about theory from another struggling writer.

 Ryan has some of the smoothest writing I have had the pleasure to read. I WANT that ability, too.

 John has more marketing skills up his sleeve than Jay Abraham. I’ve never seen such a diverse and varied arsenal of tactics for getting clients.

So, these guys are teaching both the writing of copy and the business of copy. It kinda makes it a drop-dead-simple choice … what Gary Halbert would technically term a “no-brainer.”

If you want to be a copywriter, there’s simply no way to lose with this.

And yeah, I’ve heard rumors of what they are charging. If the scuttlebutt is true, then it’s less than a single semester of college … but it’s going to pay off better than 87% of Ph.D.’s, who barely touch six figures in their entire lives.

So, folks, strap yourself in, because it’s going to be one wild ride. I can guarantee you this – your life will never be the same after this program.

Sincerely,
Kevin Dawson, Web 2.0 Copywriter

P.S.-I’ll bet anyone a C-note that it will be sold out within 24 hours of going live. Any takers?