|
|
Freelance copywriting course by Bob Bly
| The good news is: Now, as an AWAI student, you
can get all the answers to these questions and any others you
might have directly from me.
I’ll tell you everything I’ve learned in my 25+ years of
freelance copywriting.
Our New and Expanded “Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How
to Earn $100,000 a Year” tells you everything you need to do, in
the order you need to do it, to start (or jump-start) your
freelance copywriting business – and quickly get on track to
earn $100,000 … $200,000 … even $300,000 a year or more … enough
to make you a self-made millionaire within the next few years!
We launched the initial version of “Selling Yourself as a
Copywriter” about a year ago.
And already, AWAI students are achieving phenomenal income
results:
“I was initially skeptical that your 'Selling Yourself as a
Copywriter' course could benefit me. After all, I've been a
full-time copywriter for years. And I already earn well over
$100K annually. But Bob Bly guaranteed that I would pick up
several nuggets of information from the course that would help
me attract more and better clients – and higher fees. He was
right. This course is terrific. Thank you.”
–Steve Slaunwhite, Professional Copywriter
“The client hired me today for $750 per sheet. It is my first
copywriting job and I got it because my sales letter impressed
them so much that they never asked for any samples. Thanks to
Bob and all that I've learned from AWAI, I'm off and running.
This was a very practical, focused program and I believe it
was worth every penny!” –Carole D.,
Bowie, MD
“I'm afraid to keep promoting myself … I’ve landed so much
work I may not be able to do it all!”
–Victor E., Winfield, BC
“Following your advice, Bob, I sent out 50 DM packets for my
copywriting services to Chamber of Commerce members last week.
I have already received 2 replies, one for an immediate job
and one for more information.” –Mark
K., Chicago, IL
“Taking the Six-Figure Copywriting along with the Coaching
program is like building a super-high-performing sports car,
able to handle anything. What does ‘Selling Yourself’ do? It
puts the high octane in the tank of that sports car to get
you, super quickly, wherever you want to go. Where you only
dreamed of going. Where you never thought you could go.
Engage! Thank you again.” –Ken T.,
Nagoya, Japan But I wanted to provide our AWAI students and other
copywriters with even more and better help.
That’s why I’m pleased to announce that our new and expanded
“Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a Year
program,” now includes personal mentoring and coaching with
yours truly. It’s a program designed to guide you to steady
six-figure earnings in your copywriting career.
Turn your writing talents into
a multi-million-dollar fortune
“Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a
Year” is the most complete, powerful, and comprehensive program
for becoming financially independent as a freelance copywriter
that has ever been offered.
Everything in “Selling Yourself” is taught from experience –
by people who’ve already achieved what you want to achieve.
All the marketing methods I tell you about – from having your
own website, to taking on spec assignments – I’ve done
personally. There’s no theory in “Selling Yourself” … just
proven, real-world results.
Over the past two decades, I have spent literally thousands
of dollars and hundreds of hours on testing in order to discover
the methods that really work in getting clients.
By joining our “Selling Yourself” program, you can learn from
my “expensive experience” … and not waste a small fortune on
stuff that doesn’t work (like I did) …
… and spend your time only on those promotions and activities
that can quickly generate lucrative copywriting assignments –
even if you’re a total novice.
Here’s just a sampling of what I will share with you:
 | 3 ways you can immediately land a client – even if you are
a beginner with zero experience. Using one of these
techniques, I had 35 companies inquiring about my copywriting
services within 4 weeks after I quit my job to go freelance.
|
| The client already uses other freelance copywriters, and
an ad agency, and he has writers on staff. But he still needs
you and wants to hire you! I’ll tell you why – and how to use
this knowledge in your favor.
|
| Can cold-calling work? Yes, but not the way most freelance
copywriters do it. I’ll show you the right way to uncover new
prospects by telephone.
|
| New freelance copywriters always ask me, “Where can I get
mailing lists of potential clients?” Most list brokers,
unfortunately, have minimum rentals of 5,000 names. My
alternative gets you around this and allows you to mail to
500, 100, even 10 names at a time – at far less than it would
cost to rent a commercially available list.
|
| I’ll also tell you who to call to get conventional mailing
lists. There’s only one list broker in the United States that
specializes in renting lists of potential marketing clients to
freelancers. I’ll give you this broker’s name and phone
number.
|
| The easiest (and least expensive) self-promotion method on
the planet: writing articles for trade journals. I’ll explain
how this works, what publications to contact, how to get them
to agree to publish your articles, and how to generate actual
sales leads from every article you write. As a bonus, I will
also give you a list of titles and subjects for the articles
you need to write. In the early 1980s, I went from unknown
novice to a well-respected copywriter primarily on the
strength of this method.
|
| The quickest way to meet lots of potential clients and
build your credibility as a direct-mail copywriting expert.
You won’t have much competition, because most freelancers are
afraid to do this (and for no good reason; it’s really fun and
easy).
|
| The absolutely most effective direct-mail format for
generating sales leads for your freelance copywriting
services. The package needs only 3 elements, but you must
follow this format precisely – or else it won’t work. The
letter I wrote following this formula generated a 7% response
the first time I mailed it … a 10% response after I tweaked it
a little. To get 10 leads for my copywriting services, I only
had to mail 100 of these simple letters!
|
| Should you have a website promoting your freelance
copywriting services? Must you? What should be in it? How
should it look? What domain name is best? My website brings me
at least 3 genuine inquiries a week … and thousands of hits.
|
| How to follow up leads until they give you a job, but
without pestering them. Prospects have profusely thanked me
for using this follow-up method – and many have hired me
because of it. (I just got a $6,000 project from an old
client, for example, and Michael Masterson has said he “loves”
hearing from me in this way.)
|
| The Internet is exploding with “e-zines” – self-published
promotional online newsletters. Are there too many of them for
e-zines to work any more? Or should you rush right out and
create one? Mine goes to 30,000+ subscribers monthly and works
like a charm. I’ll reveal the easy formula responsible for its
success … and how to use it to generate dozens of leads any
time you need them … at virtually zero cost.
|
| How to write classified ads that get business, and where
to place them. I’ll also give you the inside story on my
full-page ad in DM News and whether the 71 leads it
produced paid off. (The ad costs $8,000, but I’ll show you how
I got it for FREE!) |
All of what I’ve just told you about involves marketing and
self-promotion – finding potential clients, generating leads,
and letting direct marketers know you are out there and
available.
And you can get these insider marketing secrets now! Just
click here.
Who wants to be a
multi-millionaire?
But in addition to the all-important marketing, we’ll cover
every other key aspect of starting and running a successful,
six-figure, freelance copywriting business.
Including:
| How to know when a client has a project on his desk that
he needs a writer for – so you can call him that day. Clients
only hire you when they have a project. They don’t create
projects just to give you work. Here’s the easy way to make
sure you call when they have a job.
|
| Building a “stable” of highly lucrative, ongoing clients
who give you a steady stream of high-paying assignments. I got
Rodale, Boardroom, Agora, Phillips, and Nightingale-Conant as
clients just by following these simple guidelines.
|
| How you can be incredibly prolific and super-productive –
and get twice as much work done as other freelance copywriters
in half the time. Bottom line: You’ll be up to 4 times more
profitable than the average freelance copywriter. (Your course
materials include a 234-page hardcover book that I’ve written
on this topic!)
|
| The reason clients may be passing you by in favor of other
copywriters. Surprisingly, it has absolutely nothing to do
with how good your copy is or how well it pulls.
|
| Setting and getting your fees: What to charge for typical
assignments … how to present your fee to the client … what to
do if the client says “Your price is too high” … how to get
and negotiate royalties … when NOT to ask for royalties … and
more.
|
| You hand in what you think is your best piece of copy
ever. The client says, “I hate it.” You are shocked – and you
think he is totally wrong in his unfavorable assessment of
your copy. He thinks he's right. Here’s what to do to save the
relationship and the project.
|
| Which computer should you use? Which Internet connection?
Which word-processing software? Which security system and
firewall? What other software do you need? How much will all
this cost? Where should you buy it?
|
| Closing the sale: contracts … letters of agreement …
retainers … advance payments … methods of payment. (I take
credit cards – and I’ll show you how you can, too!)
|
| The client comes to you with a single assignment. Here’s
how to turn it into 2 assignments … or maybe even 3 or 4. So
instead of getting a $1,000 or $2,000 fee, you get a $5,000 to
$10,000 fee. And, the additional assignments take only a
fraction of the time it takes to do the first one (if you
follow this secret) … so they’re even more profitable.
|
| How to handle the client who says, “I also need layout and
design. Do you do the whole thing, or just the copy?” You can
win the job even if you’ve never done a page layout in your
life – and don’t want to.
|
| Don Mahoney’s secret for earning $250,000 a year (or more)
from one single client. (This is just about the only thing in
the program I haven’t done. But Don has, and he’ll tell you
how.)
|
| Hate proofreading your own stuff? (Actually, I don’t know
any copywriter who can effectively proof his or her own work.)
With this little secret, you can deliver clean, flawless copy
to the client every time. |
In “Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a
Year,” I’ll deliver all this knowledge to you personally. It may
sound immodest, but not many people in the country know more
than I do about freelance copywriting.
And you won’t be learning only from me. “Selling Yourself”
will give you some of the best freelancing advice from some of
the world’s most successful novice and experienced freelance
copywriters: including Beth Erickson, Krista Jones, Paul
Hollingshead, Don Mahoney, Peter Beteul, Cathy Cairns, and Will
Newman.
Recognize some of these names? You should: Some are your
fellow AWAI students. They started as beginners – just like you.
They had no clients or portfolios – just like you.
But by following the simple methods we’ll share with you in
“Selling Yourself,” you’ll quickly be getting clients and
assignments and receiving big fat payment and royalty checks –
just like us!
We’ll also have people from the client side. Katie Yeakle
from AWAI, Jenny Thompson from Agora Health and other industry
insiders give you their views on what freelancers who want their
business have to do to get it. And the mistakes freelancers make
that you will want to avoid. (They even offer spec assignments
to you!)
Mike D. took Sandy Franks up on a spec challenge she offered
to “Selling Yourself” students and ended up with a $3,500
assignment … plus more to come.
Write, stay home, and make $100,000 to
$500,000 a year or more
As an AWAI student, you already know the many advantages –
money, self-employment, working from home, no commuting,
flexible hours – that the freelance copywriting life can give
you.
So I won’t waste your time talking about them again here.
But what I do want to tell you is that this is a career with
“legs.”
After 25 years as a freelance copywriter, I still love what
I’m doing. I literally jump out of bed each day, because I can’t
wait to get to my office, turn on my PC, and start writing my
various direct-mail projects.
And there are a lot of extra “perks” I’ve enjoyed – and you
may too – that AWAI doesn’t talk about when you join:
| You can rub shoulders with celebrities. One of my clients
is Sy Sperling, founder of The Hair Club for Men. Yesterday, I
was on the phone discussing a copywriting project with psychic
Uri Geller, the only man on Earth who can bend spoons with his
mind. And I just coauthored a book with Bo Dietl, subject of
the motion picture “One Tough Cop” starring Stephen Baldwin.
|
| I’ve had fun appearing on dozens of radio and TV shows,
talking mainly about marketing but also about other things. I
was a guest on CNBC and CBS Hard Copy. And both
Nation’s Business and TheNational Enquirer have
run full-page articles about me.
|
| I’ve given speeches and lectures on direct mail to
executives at Fortune 500 corporations, and have taught
marketing at a major university.
|
| You get to work with and learn from some of the smartest
marketers in the country. I’ve learned a lot writing copy for
folks like Bill Bonner and Michael Masterson. Other AWAI
members have, too.
|
| You can branch out into other types of writing. One AWAI
student writes screenplays and has actually starred in a
feature-length film. Another owns and runs a successful small
publishing company. Another is a well-known romance book
writer. And, the list goes on.
I like to write nonfiction books, and have written dozens
of books on topics ranging from Star Trek to Stephen
King. AWAI graduate and copywriter Kieran Doherty is a
successful children’s book author.
|
| You can get tens of thousands of dollars in repeat
business from steady clients. Some of mine have been with me
for over 20 years. Do good work and they will stay with you.
|
| You have total “job security.” Since you’re your own boss,
you can never be fired.
|
| You can make enough money to retire early … in your 60s,
50s, or even your 40s … if you decide you want to lie on the
beach and take life easy.
|
| Or, you can work for as many years as you like, because
the work is not physically taxing. My neighbor had to quit his
freelance carpentry business because of a bad back. But you
can sit at a computer and get paid to write direct-mail copy
well into your 70s and 80s. I know several writers who have
done just that! |
Listen: I’m not a best-selling author or the world’s top
copywriter. But despite that, in recent years, I’ve typically
made over half a million dollars a year from my writing.
(In 2002, in the wake of 9/11, I had one of my worst years in
recent memory. And I still grossed over $320,000. In 2004, I
earned $606,383.)
A couple of freelance copywriters I know have hit the $1
million a year mark. But that’s rare. I wouldn’t count on it
(though I wouldn’t rule out the possibility, either).
One copywriter I trained, living in an airy log cabin in the
bucolic New Hampshire woods, earns over $300,000 helping
construction companies market their services.
More freelance writers than I can count have hit and exceeded
the $100,000 a year mark using the methods I taught them.
You may make more. You may make less.
But I can virtually assure you of earning a great living as a
freelance copywriter when you follow the advice I give you in
“Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a Year.”
For details,
click here.
It took me 25 years of
expensive experience
to learn all this. Now it’s yours for less than
what I charge for just ONE DAY of my time!
Now, as to how we’ll deliver this information to you. When
you join “Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000
a Year,” you will get:
| A special e-mail address where you can ask me questions
about anything – and I mean ANYTHING – and get my best advice
on the subject right away. Through this special e-mail link,
you get *unlimited* access to me for personal, one-on-one
mentoring and coaching for a full year. I will work with you
as your personal coach and mentor for the next 12 months.
Value: At least $1,200. Could be much more. Depends on how
much you use it.
|
| A comprehensive 6-CD collection that includes a recording
of my sold-out New York workshop, “Secrets of a Freelance
Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year,” and “personal”
conversations with industry pros who share with you exactly
how they find clients, how they keep them happy, and how they
make $100,000 a year. VALUE: $499.
|
| A series of 12 one-hour teleconferences in which I
discuss, in great detail, the key issues of starting and
running a successful freelance copywriting business with
working copywriters and marketers such as Joe Vitale, Nic
Usborne, Paul Hollingshead, Sandy Franks, Steve Wexler and
Chris Marlow. Listen to them in your car and drill into your
brain what you must do to succeed. VALUE: $349.
|
| Lots of extra goodies – articles, samples, model
contracts, letters of agreement, model promotions – some in
print, others online. VALUE: $399.
|
| Password-protected access to a special “Selling Yourself”
section on the AWAI website – loaded with resources,
information, FAQs, model sales letters, ads, and more. VALUE:
$399.
|
| Four of my books, including: the revised 1997 second
edition of my classic Secrets of a Freelance Writer …
my time-management and personal-productivity book for writers,
Write More Sell More … my out-of-print 1983 classic
small-business marketing guide, How to Promote Your Own
Business … and a collection of my articles for writers,
Bob Bly’s Guide to Freelance Writing Success. VALUE:
$56.
|
| Our exclusive special report, “ The 62 Most Common
Questions Beginning Copywriters Ask About Getting Clients With
Answers from the Pros and Your Fellow Working Students.”
A compilation of the questions I get asked most often by our
members, along with my responses. VALUE: $49.
|
| Members-only discounts to AWAI bootcamps and mini
(regional) bootcamps. VALUE: At least $400. |
But wait. There’s more ….
Bonus: Get an assignment from
your “dream client”
Sign up for “Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn
$100,000 a Year” today, and you’ll receive an incredible bonus –
“Self Promotion Secrets for Novice Copywriters: How to Land
Work With Your Dream Client This Year.”
This special course was written exclusively for AWAI by one
of our top success stories, Cathy Cairns.
At age 23, with no money, no experience, and no college
education (we told you a degree is not required to do this!),
Cathy Cairns created a unique self-promotion campaign, the likes
of which had never been done before, with only one objective: to
get an assignment from her “dream client,” Nightingale-Conant.
Her bold self-promotion campaign, which you simply must see
(and you will, when you join “Selling Yourself”), generated a
100% response rate: Nightingale-Conant called Cathy with an
assignment, and she is now one of their top writers.
For the first time ever, you can see the actual
self-promotion package – and the follow-up e-mails – that Cathy,
a total novice, used to win the business of one of the country’s
major direct marketers
She also outlines, step by step, how her unique promotion
works … and spells out the 4 keys to targeting and acquiring
your dream client.
Plus, you get to see how another AWAI students, Vic Elias,
has successfully “copied (uh, I mean "adapted") Cathy's model to
get the attention of Rodale and other top accounts.
“I picked half a dozen target dream clients, used Cathy’s
method, and got three very excited responses with offers for
work,” says Vic. “My plate is already quite full.”
Join “Selling Yourself” today and get all 4 volumes of
Cathy’s course absolutely FREE:
| Volume I: The First Two Self Promotion Secrets for
Capturing Your Dream Client’s Attention … Cathy reveals how to
define your unique selling proposition (USP) as a copywriter –
so you can change yourself from a novice into a copywriter who
sells millions.
|
| Volume II: Mastering the Art of Following Up: How to
Ensure Your Dream Client Gives You a Project – and Keeps Work
Flowing Your Way … How to master the art of follow-up and
ensure that your dream client gives you a project – and keeps
work flowing your way.
|
| Volume III: Case Study … How Copywriter Vic Elias Used
Cathy’s 4 Self Promotion Secrets to Land and Keep His Dream
Clients.
|
| Volume IV: Five Items You Need to Prepare for a Client
Call so Your Dream Client Feels Confident about Giving You a
Project … How to follow up your promotional mailing with a
phone call that's guaranteed to answer all of the client’s
question and convince him to give you a try. |
As you know if you’ve heard Cathy speak at our bootcamps,
Nightingale-Conant keeps her busy with as many copywriting
assignments as she can handle!
Cathy’s unusual self-promotion method works, and when AWAI
starts marketing “Self Promotion Secrets for Novice
Copywriters: How to Land Work With Your Dream Client This Year”
as a separate product, you’ll have to pay dearly to get it –
probably $500 for all four volumes.
That’s a reasonable price, because I think studying Cathy’s
breakthrough self-promotion package will be worth a lot more
than $500 to you in your freelance copywriting career.
And I mean a lot more: $1,000 would not be an unreasonable
price to pay for studying and mastering this material.
But you won’t pay $1,000 … $500 … or even $100 … to get your
hands on the famous Cathy Cairns promotion.
Because, for a limited time only, you can get a copy
absolutely FREE – when you join “Selling Yourself as a
Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a Year” today. Just
click here now.
Rave reviews for Bob Bly’s
marketing advice
"Your books served as a complete reference when I started my
own freelance writing business a year and half ago. By
following the advice you laid out, I quickly reached goals
that I had set for year three of my business within the first
year. My philosophy is, if you've written it or recommended
it, I want to read it." –Carla Johnson
"Having read two of your books, I am now taking the leap. If
not for the strong encouragement of your books, I might not
have jumped. Thanks again for the roadmap that your books
offered." –Eddie Adelman
"I am a great fan and avid reader of your books. When I first
started out in this copywriting business nearly 10 years ago,
your book was my Bible (it's so dog-eared, some of the pages
are coming apart). You continue to be a great source of
inspiration and education." –John M. Mora
"The first time I read your book, I laughed picturing myself
as a business writer. The second time I read it, I made over
$1,000 in a week. I'm laughing for a much better reason now."
–Grady Smith
"Had I not discovered your books, I would still be a
frustrated, unfulfilled hack. Thank you for saving me from
that! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with the rest of
us and allowing us to take a piece of the pie. I already love
this new career that I never would have discovered without
your guidance. Thanks." –Elizabeth Hanes
"Your books helped me start work as a freelancer. I can't tell
you how many times those books saved my skin and got me
confidently through unfamiliar materials. I am very grateful
for your expertise and generosity." –Lorraine Thompson I genuinely want to help you
make a great living as
a freelance copywriter – if you will let me.
I’ve always wished I could sit down with you and all the
other freelance copywriters who write to ask me questions and
let you pick my brain for hours on end about my 25+ years in
this business.
With “Selling Yourself as a Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000
a Year,” you’ll be able to do that. We won’t actually be sitting
in the same room, but other than that, it’s equivalent to hiring
me as your private coach and mentor.
As you can imagine, over the years, dozens of freelance
copywriters have approached me about privately mentoring them in
the way I am proposing now. But I don’t have time to do it for
everyone individually – and even if I did, my $3,500 minimum
consulting fee is simply too much for the average freelance
writer to afford.
Now, through “Selling Yourself,” you get virtually unlimited
access to me – for a fraction of what I charge for just one day
of my time – for a full year.
You always have an experienced guide and friend to talk with
– whether you need a pep talk on a down day or my help on
pricing a job.
Believe me: The writer’s life is a great life. You’ll love
not having any money worries … making a handsome six-figure
income … avoiding the rat race … and staying home doing what you
love: writing.
Just look at all you get when you join “Selling Yourself” as
a member:
| Special members-only access to
me via e-mail |
$1200.00
|
| Cathy Cairns’ 4-volume course,
"Self-Promotion Secrets" |
$500.00
|
| The “Selling Yourself” 6 CD program |
$499.00
|
| The “Selling Yourself” 12 teleconference
collection |
$349.00
|
| A 4-volume set of my books for writers |
$56.00
|
| The “62 Most Common Questions” report |
$49.00
|
| Bonus materials |
$399.00
|
| Unlimited access to our members-only
website |
$399.00
|
| Bootcamp Discounts |
$400.00
|
The total value of all of these materials and services comes
to over $3,851. But when you join “Selling Yourself as a
Copywriter: How to Earn $100,000 a Year” today, you get the
entire program for only $1,995, a fraction of that price.
One more thing: your membership in “Selling Yourself” comes
with this personal guarantee from me….
You can ask me anything about the freelance copywriting
profession – anything at all – and I will ALWAYS give you a
full, prompt answer based on personal experience … in-depth
knowledge of what works in the real world … based on my having
earned millions of dollars as a freelance copywriter over the
past couple of decades.
That way, your every question will be answered thoroughly and
authoritatively. You’ll know exactly what you have to do to get
clients. And you’ll forge ahead toward your goal of earning
$100,000 to $250,000 a year with renewed vigor and confidence.
To register for “Selling Yourself,”
click here.
I promise you’ll be glad you did!
Sincerely,
Robert W. Bly
Board Member, AWAI
P.S. The more AWAI copywriters we sign up for this program,
the busier I get – and my time is already stretched to the limit
as it is (even with me working 12-hour days).
So I’ve told AWAI to limit membership to “Selling Yourself”
to just a few more copywriters. And it’s first-come,
first-served. |
|
Via Our Secure Server!
PS: From Dave Pierce: A note
about Bob - here is a sampling of Bob Bly's books...
The Copywriter's Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Copy That
Sells
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805011943/freelancewr02-20
The Online Copywriter's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to
Write Online Copy That Sells
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0658021141/freelancewr02-20
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Direct Marketing
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0028642104/freelancewr02-20
Internet Direct Mail: The Complete Guide to Successful E-Mail
Marketing Campaigns
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0658001361/freelancewr02-20
Selling Your Services: Proven Strategies for Getting Clients to Hire
You (Or Your Firm)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805020411/freelancewr02-20
Secrets of Successful Telephone Selling: How to Generate More Leads,
Sales, Repeat Business, and Referrals by Phone
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805040986/freelancewr02-20
Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $85,000 a Year
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805047603/freelancewr02-20
Write More, Sell More
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898798167/freelancewr02-20
How to Promote Your Own Business
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452254566/freelancewr02-20
|
|
|
