What I don’t do is… teach. I’m too busy working to do seminars, write e-books and create DVD series for copywriters. I write a weekly email update for my clients (my “Ninja Copy Secrets”) but that’s all I have time for.

But I’m asked all the time: How do I get started as a copywriter? And, even more important, how do I get my first clients?

Until recently, I didn’t really have a quick and easy answer. But then someone told me about Ryan Healy (shown at left with his family on vacation). Ryan started out as a copywriter in 2005. Within a matter of weeks, he had his first clients. I was amazed by Ryan’s story, so I actually ordered his ebook, “How to Get Your First Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less.” I paid full-price, ordered it and read it cover to cover. I am holding it right now on my lap.

I have to say, this special report is the best single summary of what it takes to land high-paying clients that I’ve ever read. It’s not anything fancy, just 56 pages of single-spaced typed text, but his advice is (a) crystal-clear; (b) real-world; and (c) very practical and “actionable.”

Ryan teaches a complete beginner…

• How to find and dominate a particular copywriting format niche (opt-in pages, direct response web sites, sales letters, etc.) and a particular market (stock trading, weight loss, self-defense, etc.)
• How to create a unique “hook” that lets people know what you’re best at…
• The write way to create a sales letter to sell your services — and what NOT to do…
• How to get testimonials even when you don’t have any clients…
• Use a tactic to record audio testimonials from clients (or ex-bosses or friends or spouses!) and post them on your website…
• How to code your sales letter for the web (HTML) even if you don’t know anything about web design…
• The cheapest and easiest way to get a web page up and running…
• Why you DON’T need samples starting out…
• The best FREE ways to generate traffic to your website…
• How to work seminars for leads (Ryan generated $30,000 in assignments just from one event he attended!)…
• The best seminars for copywriting prospects (Armand Morin’s Big Seminar, for example)…
• The secret to closing — turning leads and prospects into customers for life…
• What beginners should charge for sales letters, opt-in pages, emails and so on…
• How to turn copywriting into a business…
• What to do to avoid self-sabotage (and how to avoid being and seeming DESPERATE)…
• The right way and the wrong way to quote a fee…
• What you need to know about Paypal, credit cards and the like…
• The truth about copywriting royalties…
• Contracts, agreements, invoices and all that…
• A great tactic to find LOCAL copywriting business leads…
• Why successful copywriters have more work than they can handle…
• Three secret websites where you can find copywriting clients — and websites to avoid…
• A step-by-step, 30-day action plan for new clients…
• Top questions and answers for beginning copywriters…
• And lots MORE!

I won’t kid you. This special report WON’T tell you everything you need to know to become a successful, six-figure copywriter, as I am.

I’ve been doing this full-time since about 1994. But Ryan’s report definitely will get you started. I’ve been doing this for 12, no 14 yeears now and I learned a lot from his report. It was worth every penny I paid (by the way, I never recommend anything I haven’t bought myself).

I’m delighted, though. Now I have a simple resource I can refer people to when they come to me to find out about getting copywriting assignments.

When people ask me, “How do I get copywriting jobs?” I now say: “Read Ryan Healy’s special report!”

If you’d like more info, visit Ryan’s website by clicking here. Ryan’s special report, “How to Get Your First Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less,” ain’t cheap as far as ebooks go… but it’s worth it. I paid full-price for my copy and I think it was well worth it. If you want to get into the copywriting biz, or want more clients, I would definitely try out Ryan’s ebook.

The Offer.

He told me he has tested every variable imaginable both online and offline - copy, lists, colors, text sizes, formats, you name it. But when push comes to shove, he said, nothing — absolutely NOTHING — produces sales like an irresistible, no-brainer, “you’d have to be crazy not to accept it” offer.

That was his specialty. He would cobble together 50% to 75% discount offers from airlines, car rental agencies, luxury hotels, restaurants, and cruise lines and put them all together into a package that he’d sell for something like $49.95 a year.

The offer was simply incredible. If you liked to travel, you’d have to be crazy not to accept it. Why pay $350 a week for a car rental when you could get the same car for $125? You’d pay for his service with a single coupon!

So, what does this have to do with marketing non-travel products?

Well, too manymarketers spend a lot of time on every other element of their marketing campaign and very little time thinking through their offer. You have to really ask yourself some tough questions: What’s in it for the customer? Is the offer you’re making something that is SO GOOD — such an incredible deal — something that provides so many overwhelming benefits — that he or she would be insane not to accept it?

The best resource I can think of for health marketers to bone up on creating superb offers is Mark Joyner’s now-classic The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less (John Wiley, 2005). You can pick this up used at any decent bookstore or order it from Amazon.com.

I don’t have time to go into all of Joyner’s theories right now, but let me just summarize a few key points. For Joyner, the Irresistible Offer has three basic elements:

1. An incredibly HIGH Return on Investment (ROI) for the buyer…

2. What he calls a TOUCHSTONE or instant summary of your offer… and

3. Believability.

The TOUCHSTONE is what is unique about Joyner’s approach - and which is difficult for marketers to achieve.

Examples are Domino’s Pizza’s “Pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free” or Columbia House Records’ “10 CDs for 1 Cent.” Another good Touchstone is Federal Express’s: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” That tells you immediately what they are offering - and, if you have a package that HAS TO BE THERE, it’s irresistible.

Believability is something everyone understands. If I offer to make all your wrinkles disappear overnight, I have to have some pretty heavy credibility enhancers. But if I can tell you I can make your wrinkles FADE in just 7 days, you might believe me - especially if I’m an MD and I have loads of studies to back me up.

The final point that Joyner doesn’t really discuss is the target audience. The best offer in the world will flop if you make it to the wrong group of people. You can’t sell ice to an Eskimo, as the saying goes, but you CAN sell ice… a lot of ice… to a thirsty crowd. All you have to do is give them a taste… and then offer them a second glass.

I recommend you check out Joyner’s book. He has dozens of valuable insights about such essential copywriting elements as offer intensifiers, risk reversal tactics, pricing tricks, viral marketing and more.

Take the time to master these secrets of top-level copywriting, and you can have orders flying in from every which way! Coming in via call centers, email, your website, fax machine, FedEx, mail, etc.

Copywriting is the ultimate security in a very un-secure world. Your ability to produce cash on demand for your business, through the power of persuasive words alone, is truly the modern-day equivalent of alchemy.

And it all begins with those two words: The Offer.

The only purpose of an opt-in or squeeze page is to elicit a specific response from a website visitor — usually to give a name and an email address in exchange for specific information. Smart marketers often have visitors land on a squeeze page first… before being redirected to a sales page.

In recent months, Internet marketers have been complaining about declining opt-in rates… but the truth is that many web developers ignore proven, tested techniques when creating their squeeze pages. Fortunately, just a few simple changes can dramatically boost your results — often doubling or even tripling your opt-in rate.

Step 1: Make sure your headline matches keyword search terms exactly. Fully 50% of people who visit your site after clicking on a search engine keyword make their decision to stay or go within the first 2 seconds. Their only question when looking at your web page is: Is this the right place? If they think it might be, they’ll linger for a few more seconds. Your first and most important job is to help them realize that, indeed, your site is the right place. If the dominant keyword for your product is “seaweed shampoo,” then the words “seaweed shampoo” better be in the headline of your squeeze page and found throughout the body copy.

Step 2: Tell your visitors EXACTLY what you want them to do and tell
them immediately. If you want visitors to sign up for your free e-zine, then the sign-up box should be front and center and “above the fold.” Smart Internet marketers put links and sign-up boxes throughout the body copy of their squeeze pages. You want people to always know what you want them to do.

Step 3: Show your product immediately. We call this the “hero shot” because your product or service is the “hero.” Again, this should be done above the fold. If you’re selling a service, then you must graphically represent the service with photos. The purpose of the hero shot is to convince visitors that they’ve found the right spot.

Step 4: Make sure you have a privacy statement right next to your sign-in or purchase box. The world loathes spam. If you don’t convince your visitors that you respect their privacy, right from the get-go, they’ll be gone Johnson.

Step 5: Use tables or bullets instead of text to describe the benefits of your product or service. As a copywriter, I never thought I’d say this… but on squeeze pages shorter copy is better than longer copy. You still can have body copy and sales copy, but 50% of people who opt in probably won’t read it. They’ll be convinced solely by your headline, hero shot, bullets and privacy policy.

Step 6: Ask only the minimum necessary for a sale or opt-in. Too many marketers ask visitors to their site for everything from their mother’s maiden name to their fax number. Keep it brief. Don’t frighten people off unnecessarily.

Step 7: Add audio or video to your squeeze page. It’s 2008. If you’re not using video or at least audio on your squeeze pages you’re badly hurting response. There are dozens of free or inexpensive tools available now that make online video a snap. If you don’t know how to add video to your site, ask your web developer. It’s now easy as pie.
Step 8: Use graphical credibility enhancers — again, “above the fold.” These credibility enhancers include your best testimonials… Better Business Bureau icons… any industry logos or association logos your company is authorized to use… and so on. You need to communicate immediately that your site is credible. You should try to do that as much as possible without words but with graphical elements.

I’ve used all of these steps for my clients – with amazing results. One project I worked on had a slightly less than 2% opt-in rate on a free offer. It was a long sales letter with an opt-in box at the bottom. After implementing the steps above, the opt-in rate skyrocketed to 15% and higher. That’s an amazing difference.

Bottom line: The only purpose of a squeeze page is to capture leads. It’s not there to sell a product… build brand identity… or tell prospects about your company. When you keep that in mind when designing your squeeze page, it will make an enormous difference in the results you get.

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