In short, I recognized I had a chance to
provide a better service to my direct marketing clients -- and also to
have more fun and make more money. All I had to do is take AWAI’s
Freelance Graphic Design Success program.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t intend to change my career and become a
full-time freelance graphic artist. And for my big assignments, I
fully intend to work with the professional graphic artists my clients
select.
But the benefits of being able to do the easy jobs myself ... and
provide a clearer picture of how I want the design to look on the big
jobs ... are so numerous and obvious that I simply couldn’t ignore
them.
Just think: In a relatively short time, you can acquire a second
financially valuable skill -- a skill that can earn you very good
money all by itself. But when attached to your copywriting business,
your mastery of desktop design will make just about everything easier,
faster, and more profitable.
I’d thought about adding desktop design to my portfolio of client
services many times in the past, but hesitated because I believed it
would be too hard to learn.
But the Freelance Graphic Design Success
program has changed all that for me, as it can for you too.
Before you get intimidated by the idea of adding desktop publishing to
your repertoire of client services, as I did, don’t forget: You and I
specialize in direct marketing. And the AWAI course focuses solely on
desktop design for direct response promotions.
We’re not talking about layouts for fancy Madison Avenue advertising
or elegant annual reports.
We’re talking about doing simple desktop publishing for direct mail
packages, sales letters, space ads, inserts ... the letters and ads
you’ve studied for months as a dedicated AWAI student. (In fact, the
marketing savvy you’ve gained as an AWAI student puts you heads and
shoulders above most desktop designers when it comes to knowing what
sells.)
And as you might have already figured out, doing desktop publishing
for direct marketing promotions is not at all complicated ... not in
the least. It basically requires using a few standard fonts,
typefaces, and type sizes to lay out sales letters like this one.
Take a look at this letter -- from a design standpoint.
Seems pretty plain, right? No fancy artwork, no splashes of color, no
pictures, no artsy graphics, no stripes or polka dots. In fact, the
entire purpose of the layout is to make the copy easy to read.
That’s deliberate -- and it’s what makes the desktop design principles
AWAI teaches in Graphic Design Success accessible to people, like you
and me, who consider themselves entrepreneurs or writers, not “graphic
artists.”
Sure, there are a handful of basic design “rules” you have to follow.
They’re easy, and Michael Masterson and the pros at AWAI teach them to
you.
But you’ve already learned the most important rule: Make the copy easy
to read. If you do that, you’ll maximize the pulling power of your
copy ... so that every package you write generates a higher response
rate.
When your packages are winners, your clients become deliriously happy.
They mail thousands or even millions of your winning controls, and
write you big, fat royalty checks in gratitude.
Best of all, when you include the design along with the copy, you can
charge a higher up-front fee whether your package becomes the control
or not.
For instance, a client who will pay $2,500 to have you write an insert
will give you an extra $1,250 when you also provide the layout in a
desktop publishing format. You increase your fee for the job 50% to a
total of $3,750.
On a direct mail package where your copywriting fee is $6,000, a
client might be willing to give you a total of $8,000 to $9,000 if you
deliver both copy and art as a “package” ... again boosting your
profit on the job up to 50% ... for very little extra work.
Between the higher up front fees you get for providing both copy and
design ... and the increased royalties you’re paid when your controls
roll out to bigger and bigger numbers ...
... adding desktop publishing as an ancillary service to your
copywriting can easily increase your gross income from freelancing 50%
to 100% or more!
That means if you were on target to earn $50,000 this year as a
freelance copywriter ... an extremely attainable figure for any
AWAI-trained student ... your income can hit $75,000 to $100,000 for
writing the same amount of copy for the same number of clients and
projects -- when you also include the design.
All you have to do is set your copy into a simple, clean layout.
Anyone can do it. No artistic skill or background required. We
guarantee it ... or your money back!
And it gets even better. When you do both copy and desktop design, you
widen your market and get many more projects.
That’s because you can now service all 3 types of direct marketing
clients:
1. Those who want both copy and layout from the same source.
2. Those who want copy only.
3. Those who already have copy and need desktop design.
Here’s something else: Almost every copywriter I know has, at some
point, lost a potentially lucrative when the client said, “I want
someone who can handle both the copy and the design -- I don’t want to
have to coordinate between a freelance writer and a separate freelance
graphic artist.”
Now when a client asks, “Can you give me camera-ready design as well
as copy?” -- you can confidently answer: “I can give you copy, design,
or both -- whatever you need.” And get the job as a result.
Make $100,000 a year working from
home
After taking AWAI’s Graphic Design Success
program, you’ll be fully qualified to make money as a freelance
graphic designer. And you can make a very nice living doing graphic
design only. Combine it with copywriting, and your income will soar
even more.
One colleague of mine, Nicole M., is only 33 years old and makes
$100,000 a year working out of her home doing desktop design for
direct marketers.
She said she learned 99% of what she knows about graphic design “on
the job” when she worked in the graphics department of a major direct
marketer.
Another young freelancer, Sean Martin, started out using Macintosh
design software creating designs for screen-printed T-shirts.
Creative? Yes. But not an easy way to get rich.
Then he discovered he could make a lot more money doing desktop design
for direct marketers.
Today Sean handles 5 to 15 jobs at any one time. That keeps him busy
50 hours a week.
And, with an hourly rate of $60 an hour, he’s earning an income even a
lawyer, doctor, or airline pilot might envy. (In his spare time, he
plays in a steel drum band.)
Mary A., another freelancer I know, started as a staff artist for a
publishing company. But she decided to quit and go freelance 5 years
ago.
At $85 an hour, she has all the business she can handle. She makes so
much money that she recently helped put her husband through law
school.
Sean, Marie, and Nicole make a nice living doing desktop design only.
But for you and I -- freelancers who do both copy and design (or soon
will) -- the sky's the limit!
Take my colleague Tom Martin* as an example.
One of the direct marketing industry's most successful creators of
winning DM packages, Tom's mailings routinely crush controls that had
gone unbeaten for years.
* Not his
real name (Tom asked us to use a pseudonym so he wouldn’t be flooded
with calls from fellow copywriters asking him to design their
mailings. ";Taking the Graphic Design Success course and you’ll make
more money doing your own design,” is his advice to AWAI students.)
Tom is also one of the highest paid freelancers in direct marketing,
getting up to $22,000 for a package.
He commands such a hefty fee for DM package creation not just because
he’s so good at writing direct mail copy, but because he provides his
client with both the copy and the layout.
By providing both copy and design, Tom has greater control over how
his words are presented. So he can give just the right graphic
emphasis to each headline, subhead, section, and phrase.
As a result, his packages far outperform the industry average. And
Tom’s copy and design services are in constant demand (he is often
booked up to a year or more in advance!).
And now you can join Tom and a select minority in the ranks of the
elite direct marketing copywriters/designers. Guaranteed. Or you don’t
pay us a cent.
Earned $1,200 in just 4 hours
Your lead instructor for Graphic Design
Success is Ray Holland, one of the top freelance designers in the
direct marketing industry.
Ray was a staff graphic designer for Boardroom Inc. for 10 years. As a
freelancer, he does work for a wide range of clients, ranging from
Georgetown Publishing and Planner Pads Co., to Verbal Advantage and
Cahners.
“I’m right where I want to be,” Ray told me when I asked him over the
phone recently about the opportunities in freelance desktop design for
the direct marketing industry.
“I make more money freelancing than I did in the corporate job I quite
4 years ago ... while having a lot more fun, freedom, and time for the
things I want to do.
“And frankly, I don’t work all that hard. In fact, my hours are much
shorter today than when I worked for a big corporation on staff. Yet I
earn more money now.
“For instance, I’m getting paid $1,150 to design this simple package.
It will take me less than a day.
“Last week I did two ads. I charged $1,200 each. The first took about
4 hours. The second took about 6 hours. That means I earned $2,400 for
about 10 hours of work.
“But let’s say when you first get started, you work more slowly and
get paid less. Say the client pays you on the low end of the scale --
$1,000 per assignment. And it takes you a solid 8 hours to do the job.
“Say you want to work mornings only, and leave your afternoons free
for golf or tennis.
“If you work at this rate 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday,
you’ll easily complete two assignments -- for a total of $2,000 in
earnings that week.
“The bottom line: You’re on track to make $100,000 a year, laying out
direct mail only on weekday mornings, and taking 3-day weekends to
spend time with your family, have fun, or simply goof off.”
And once you finish our program, you don’t have to limit yourself to
direct marketing work. You’ll be able to write and design promotional
materials for any local or national client....
Everything from ads and resumes, to posters, signs, circulars, and
brochures. Also media kits, business cards, letterhead, company logos,
catalogs, fliers, inserts ... whatever your clients need to market
their products or services.
You’ll also be able to design materials for Web marketing -- Web
sites, banner ads, and e-mail marketing. We’ll teach you how to design
for the Internet ... and get into that booming area of direct
marketing, too.
“My time is my own, to use as I please, as long as I meet my
deadlines,” says Ray. “That’s important to me, because I can spend
more time with my 11-year-old son, Tanner.
“Now that I’m my own boss, I can knock off at 4pm to pick him up from
his after-school program or coach his soccer team.
“I go to all his soccer games. Basketball too. Never miss one, since I
work at home, don’t commute, and don’t travel. (All my work is sent to
clients via e-mail. No postage or FedEx bills to pay!)”
Do you have what
it takes?
If you have read this far, then I assume what
I’m saying interests you.
But at this point you may have two concerns:
1.“I’m a writer, not an artist. Do I have to
have a graphic arts background?”
2.“Do I need a computer and computer
skills?”
Let me address those points now.
As to the first -- no artistic skills, background, or experience are
required to execute flawless desktop design of your direct mail copy.
Any writer can master the basics of simple desktop layout quickly and
easily.
Can’t draw a straight line? No problem. Flunked art in elementary
school? Again, no problem. We guarantee you’ll be able to do this with
ease -- or your money back.
As for the question “Do I need a computer or specialized software?”
...
A decade ago you didn’t. Lots of designers did the work manually,
cutting apart type from a typesetting house and pasting it up on a
board.
Today the industry is computer driven. Everyone works on a computer.
You will, too. You can choose either a Macintosh or IBM.
If you’re a writer working on an IBM PC or compatible, relax: You can
do desktop layouts on your current system. No need to buy a Mac.
As for software, you can use virtually any desktop publishing software
including Adobe InDesign, Quark XPress, Adobe PageMaker, or Microsoft
Publisher. Your clients can accept files sent via e-mail in these
formats. For simple jobs, like laying out a letter, you can even use
Microsoft Word or other software you probably already have on your
computer.
All of these programs are available at your local computer store. And,
they’re easy to use -- a real piece of cake to operate. Even if you
hate computers ... like some of our students once did.
A complete “desktop design
business in a box”
Graphic Design Success
is, as far as I know, the first and only home correspondence course
that can get the average person started in the desktop design business
with no prior training or experience.
It gives you everything you need to succeed, including:
~Rules of DM Design.
Designing letters like this one, as I’ve said, isn’t hard -- once
you know the commonsense rules of direct marketing design. We teach
you these step by step.
~Training exercises. You
don’t just read; you work. Exercises strengthen your core knowledge
and sense of what works -- and what doesn’t -- in desktop design.
~Examples. Clear “wrong
vs. right” examples -- and plenty of ‘em -- illustrate what works
best, and what to avoid. Once you see good and bad design side by
side, the right way becomes obvious and second nature. It will feel
totally natural and comfortable.
~Sample assignments. You
work with Ray and his fellow instructors one-on-one, via mail. You
do the assignments in the course. Then send them to AWAI. We’ll go
over your work with a blue pencil, as if you were the freelance
designer and we were the client. You send in the work and we’ll send
it back, and between us, you learn to design direct mail and space
ads.
~Templates. There are
standard designs that you can adapt and modify to do almost any job.
We’ll provide templates -- “cheat sheets” for design -- you can use
to create professional quality designs for clients in half the time
(and that means twice the profits!) others take.
~Swipe files. Your
course includes dozens of samples of some of the most successful
direct marketing ads and direct mail packages running today. In
direct marketing, we judge work by results -- if it’s selling, it
must be good. And these samples are great, being mailed or run
continuously. You’ll quickly get a sense of what separates the
ordinary from the superb.
~Secrets of the Masters.
A special bonus section where our Board of Advisors, Roger C. Parker
(author of the best-seller Looking Good In Print), and other top
desktop designers reveal their trade secrets for boosting response
to every ad, insert, or mailing they produce.
~How to Get Clients Fast.
You’ll hear -- from both the freelance and the client side --
everything you need to know to successfully market your desktop
design services, get clients, negotiate your fees, get paid, make
clients happy with your work, and generate lucrative repeat business
and referrals. Not only do we show you how to be a good desktop
designer; we also show you how to make much more money in this
business than the average “graphic artist” can ever hope to earn!
Graphic Design Success is shipped to you
in a sturdy, convenient 3-ring binder. You get all the rules for
becoming a great desktop designer ... training exercises ... sample
assignments ... easy-to-follow templates and “cheat sheets” ... a
“swipe file” of successful direct mail and ad designs for you to
“steal” (uh, I mean copycat) ... masters secrets ... the works.
Everything described above.
No expensive college degree
required
“Sounds like a business I can do and make good money
in. But what will it cost me?” Well, you could take graphic design
courses at a local college, if there’s one near you. But ... and I
hate to be the one to say this ... the $500 to $1,000 or so in tuition
you’d pay would be absolutely wasted.
Because their instructors come from a graphic arts or advertising
backgrounds, and know nothing about direct marketing design ... or job
opportunities in the field.
You could go further, earning a Bachelor’s in art from a 4-year
college. That will run you at least $50,000 and possibly as high as
$100,000 or more.
You’d certainly be trained in “the arts” after that. But you still
wouldn’t have the knowledge you need to sell yourself to direct
marketers, who are waiting cash in hand to pay desktop designers to do
all the jobs waiting to be produced.
With Graphic Design Success, I guarantee you’ll master everything you
need to know about desktop design for direct marketing ... including
how to do the work ... what to charge ... how to set up your freelance
business ... get clients ... complete projects successfully and ...
get paid.
Best of all, our E-Z Payment Plan lets you get started for as little
as $79 ... a pittance compared to the tuition at a conventional art
school. Act now, and we’ll even give you a free lesson! (See my P.S.
for details.)
But there’s one more benefit I haven’t mentioned yet:
Extra bonus: A handsome check for
your first paid assignment!
As you know, American Writer’s and Artist’s
Institute -- and our sister company, Fourth Avenue Marketing Group --
regularly hire freelance copywriters and desktop designers to produce
direct marketing promotions.
As a Graphic Design Success student, you will be given first pick when
we have high-paying desktop design projects we need to assign to
freelancers. (If you are already writing copy for us, we will buy both
copy and design from you, increasing the amount we can pay you on your
next job.)
Am I guaranteeing you a paid assignment as part of your course? No.
But on the other hand, we’ve asked our Graphic Design Success course
instructors to look over your class assignments carefully. And alert
us when they feel you are ready for a real freelance assignment for a
real project.
When that happens, expect a call from AWAI or Fourth Avenue with an
assignment for you. The check you receive for your first assignment
for AWAI or Fourth Avenue Marketing could pay your entire course fee
several times over.
And because you’re one of our students, we’ll do everything to make
sure things go smoothly and your first job is a rousing success. As
you know, we take care of our own.
Live your life the way you want
to....
“As I’m finishing the layout for this letter, I’m
sitting in my home office, alone in a quiet house, where peace and
tranquility reign supreme,” wrote Ray Holland in a recent e-mail to
me.
“I look out at my garden as I work, seeing Japanese maple, weeping
cherry, river birch, mountain laurel, rhododendron, abelia, and
hydrodrana.
“I sip my morning coffee, watching my neighbors hustling out of their
homes, making a beeline for the bus or train station ... part of the
‘rat race’ I happily got out of 4 years ago. And I’ve never looked
back since.
“Now I want to help you live your life the way you want to. As a
freelance graphic designer, you can earn $100,000 a year or more
working from the comfort of your own home. Offer desktop design
services in addition to your freelance copywriting, and you may make
even more.”
Examine it risk-free for 30 days.
When your course materials arrive, examine them
thoroughly.
Then, if you decide Graphic Design Success is NOT for you ... for any
reason or for no reason ... just return it within 30 days. We’ll
refund your entire payment in full -- no questions asked.
I do hope you’ll at least send for the material on a 30-day risk-free
trial basis ... and at least consider AWAI’s offer to train you as a
freelance desktop designer.
As an AWAI student, you already know more about writing
control-beating direct response copy than most freelance copywriters
will discover in a lifetime.
Now you can add design to your copy services -- offering your clients
an unbeatable combination of copy and art. You provide them with
single-source convenience, save them time, beat their controls, and
get them coming back to you again and again, for package after
package.
Please send for Graphic Design Success ... and double your freelance
copywriting income (or be on track to earn $100,000 a year) ...
starting today. There’s no risk or commitment of any kind. You can’t
lose!
Sincerely,
Robert W. Bly, Board Member, AWAI
P.S. If you order now you will
receive one full installment of Graphic Design Success (a $39 value)
absolutely FREE. Please note: Our gift to you of a free
installment is already indicated on your NO-RISK Enrollment
Application.
Via our SECURE
SERVER!
