First things first.
What is a direct response copywriter?
A direct response copywriter is a writer who specializes in writing copy that is designed to get the reader to take action.
The action might be to make an immediate purchase, sign up for an free report, make a phone call for a complimentary consultation.
The primary role of the direct response copywriter is to move your prospect through your selling process and deeper into your sales funnel.
Before he or she is able to do that, the copywriter must have a clear understanding of what your selling message is about and who your target market is.
For some marketers , this is a real eye opener. Many don’t have a clear selling message. Worse yet, they haven’t sat down and put together a profile of their ideal target prospect.
Some don’t know how to do it. Others simply don’t understand its critical role in the marketing process. And some find it intimidating.
Whatever the reason, copy that generates results must be rooted in this understanding.
So when business owners ask me how much it costs to hire me, my answer is nothing.
Investing in the services of a direct response copywriter or marketing consultant who knows how to sell- online and offline – is an investment that should pay itself.
Here’s what I mean:
Consider the results my copywriting and marketing direction produced for these clients…
“The results so far from the new website have been outstanding. We are currently tracking an increase of 25% in conversions compared to the first week of December 2010 and a 44% increase in conversions over the same time frame last year. What’s more, most of the conversions come through the home page, the program page, comprehensive care link and the how it works page, all of which were written by you!!” -Lisa Borg, VP Marketing, Slimband
“We are now averaging 5-10 qualified leads per day based on the web copy you wrote for our site. It’s unbelievable. We were hardly getting any before.”
– Elizabeth Gomes, Yonge-Eglinton Laser Eye Centre
“So far, the response from the sales letter you wrote has been 12.06% – that’s 25% over our projection.”
– John Andresen, Wyers Direct
I don’t know exactly what those numbers translated to as far as sales revenues were concerned but I went on to do multiple projects for them so it must have more than paid for itself many times over.
(By the way, you can see what your approximate INVESTMENT would be for a number of different projects by looking up my Copywriting Fees on my blog.)
In addition to getting a clear understanding of the message and the target market, a professional copywriter must take a lot of information into consideration before ever writing a a single line of copy.
Many business owners don’t realize what goes into creating effective direct response web copy, email marketing campaigns or sales letters.
For example, here’s a snippet from a proposal I sent to a prospect lately who was considering hiring me to create a basic marketing system for her that consisted of new direct response web copy, a free report she could offer as a sales lead generation tool and an autoresponder follow up email campaign to keep prospect “warm” until they’re ready to buy.
This is the “behind-the-scenes” work a copywriter does.
• Spend time with you/team to learn more about your company.
• Read all current company brochures, web copy, direct mail, and other relevant materials including industry reports, studies, trade magazine articles, statistical tracking reports etc.
• Meet with staff to hear their thoughts on what market conditions are like and see what insights they can offer.
• Gain insights into the current market environment so we can tailor our marketing efforts to meet the needs of prospects.
• Talk to current/past customers to better understand what they feel are the key benefits they received from their experience with your company. Very important and often overlooked. Feedback can help us create laser like focus on our selling story.
• Review competitive/like-minded web sites/initiatives so we know how the competition is positioning itself.
• Submit rough drafts of all content I write for review and approval.
• Create report concepts and titles and submit for review.
• Deliver finished copy to you for approval.
• Work with web designer to get things in place after approval and agreement from you.
• Provide you with the benefit of my writing, sales and marketing experience wherever I can.
The above list offers some insight about what goes into professional direct response copy.
Copy is salesmanship in print. The challenge with trying to engage prospects online is that, unlike an in-person meeting, you must be able to answer their questions and diffuse potential objections. If you don’t, there’s a good chance they will do what we all tend to do when we can’t find out what we want – we look elsewhere.
Well-researched direct response copy makes all the difference between a business that merely survives and one that thrives.
If you have any questions regarding copywriting or marketing, click on the facebook page icon on my blog and ask away. I’ll be sure to answer you – often the same day.
