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  #1  
Old May 21, 2020, 10:34 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default A personal view of today's Direct Response copy writing, and all that jazz...

My head was being turned away from Direct Response well over a decade ago, before I had intensive sessions with Harvey Brody. After those sessions, my head was totally spun around like Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST.

See, I was raised on Direct Response, one of my first jobs was for a local direct response company, learning about lists and seeds, and advertising.

But Harvey helped show me things, which I knew, but totally ignored or didn't give much attention to, about D E M A N D.

There has been a steady demand for his ZOOM SPOUT oilers for over 60 years. A DEMAND for his pistol grips for decades now.

Oil is a consumable. Another thing which I did not pay attention to. Many years I spent writing, selling and promoting products which needed to be sold.

It was a good, a high paying JOB, to be able to SELL things by remote means.

As I was trying and SELLING products which needed to be sold...there they were, products and services which didn't need any real selling. There was some BRANDING involved, but even then, low end coffee seller CHASE AND SANBORN have been on the shelves for over 140 years. When was the last time you were sold a can of coffee?

Was there a guy in the isle pitching Dunkin Donuts or Folger's? Did you read a bullet point of benefits one had over the other? If you are a coffee drinker, you probably routinely buy the same brand, in the same place and have for years, right?

OR do you try a different can every month? My point...is there are categories of products which don't need to be sold. They get BOUGHT.

They are used. People buy more. TIDE vs CHEER. Any real difference? Maybe you think so, or is your Amway SA8 the better choice?? Whichever soap you use, you buy the same brand over and over and over.

So the real selling takes place in branding before you ever head to the store.

Well, I call myself a marketer. Because I sell products. And most of what I have sold online since 1986 have needed sold, they have a direct response promotion written for them, full of persuasion, influence and DR copy writing technique.

Well, I could have been selling, or offering a BRAND, or a consumable all this time, with repeat buyers built in.

And that BRAND didn't need to be real product, take Charles Shulz and his BRAND, PEANUTS. The brand that is still giving income to the owners of the Brand, 20 years after his death. Last year it was a reported 38 million dollars.

Oil, coffee, cartoons. None of which were sold to us, we choose them.

Today, I might grab a Little Debbie snack cake from the shelf when I buy a cup of coffee. Never had anyone try to sell me on Little Debster.

I see copywriting has become a Biz-Op, and like so many biz ops of the past they create commodities, a large group of people who never make it, struggle constantly, go through feast or famine phases all under the guise of freedom (freelancers) and control.

If there is just ONE person reading this, young enough with a tank full of time (God permitting and creek don't rise) then for goodness sake, don't get stuck in the muck buying into dreams being sold to you by those trained and skilled in the art of getting you to part with your money for their benefit.

Consider looking at a future which doesn't need your products to be sold, but consider a future of having your stuff being in DEMAND.

I tell you truthfully, it is the path less taken and it makes all the difference.

GordonJ

Last edited by GordonJ : May 21, 2020 at 10:49 AM.
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Old May 21, 2020, 11:54 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default PS The six figure freelancer.

Maybe there are tens of thousands of six figure ($100,000.00) a year freelancers out there.

My question, is how many do you know? And, how much do they actually work?

So 100 grand would be 8333 per month or 2k per week, taking two weeks off.

Two a week is very doable. But to do it over long periods you need a constant stream of clients, customers or consumers. If you had 100 people paying you 83 bux a month, as in a private group or membership program, you could do it.

But it could also become a grind. Writing and constantly finding clients, of course if you LOVE IT, that is a different story. If writing is your passion and you want to pursue it into greener pastures of stacks of cash are, then great.

For a new FREELANCER today competing against tens of thousands of other freelancers all over the world, the idea of creating a six figure income is a much harder path than they make it sound, they being the purveyors of the easy peasy courses which will get you the 100k per year in breakneck speed.

Most freelancers are barely making a minimum wage and that without benefits. In fact, survey sez: most freelancers have a working spouse with MEDICAL benefits which allows them to spend the time freelancing. Just some food for thought for you would be freelancers out there.
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Old May 21, 2020, 12:56 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default And also. Taxes and expenses.

CONGRATS freelancer, you made your 100k last year. Then you paid your 38k in taxes (more or less), so you netted pre expense of around 60k, or 5k a month, and then you paid up to 1k a month for medical insurance, depending on if was just you or you have a family.

Then, there was rent/mortage, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, and misc expenses.

Point being, especially to those freelancers who bad mouth employees, who may earn the 100k PLUS have benefits...

even iffin you reach the magic promised land of six figures...what is/was your net and we see instead of the 50 dollar an hour freelancer, a 15 to 20 dollar an hour (if that) take home worker bee. But a FREE one, at that.

GordonJ
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Old May 21, 2020, 05:28 PM
Millard Grubb Millard Grubb is offline
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Default Re: PS The six figure freelancer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GordonJ View Post
Maybe there are tens of thousands of six figure ($100,000.00) a year freelancers out there.

My question, is how many do you know? And, how much do they actually work?

So 100 grand would be 8333 per month or 2k per week, taking two weeks off.

Two a week is very doable. But to do it over long periods you need a constant stream of clients, customers or consumers. If you had 100 people paying you 83 bux a month, as in a private group or membership program, you could do it.

But it could also become a grind. Writing and constantly finding clients, of course if you LOVE IT, that is a different story. If writing is your passion and you want to pursue it into greener pastures of stacks of cash are, then great.

For a new FREELANCER today competing against tens of thousands of other freelancers all over the world, the idea of creating a six figure income is a much harder path than they make it sound, they being the purveyors of the easy peasy courses which will get you the 100k per year in breakneck speed.

Most freelancers are barely making a minimum wage and that without benefits. In fact, survey sez: most freelancers have a working spouse with MEDICAL benefits which allows them to spend the time freelancing. Just some food for thought for you would be freelancers out there.

The idea of 100 people paying 83 dollars a month for a membership seems to me one of the best ways. I did a variation of this when I sold my performing course. At the time, it was a six month course, with people paying me monthly.

I can see adapting this for the local market providing local businesses with business advice and tips every week with billing on a monthly basis. It is almost like consulting en masse. Might be worth looking into.
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Old May 21, 2020, 08:02 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Opportunity. My city, Cuyahoga Falls, has announced some summer fun...

A treasure hunt, or actually, a scavenger hunt.

So, people can get out and about, but not in crowds, like our former Easter egg hunts.

So, businesses will be open soon, how about we (anyone) do a BIZ treasure hunt. Collect recp'ts from the biz, and online, you get a clue, or maybe like a board game, you get a step closer to the treasure.

Think of variations on this. Businesses will need customers. You set up a simple online game, and there are tons of variations. Put a map of your city, and put some buried treasure* there. Then let people loose.

The TREASURE could be a gift card from one or more of the businesses.

The clues will lead them to a password and then the location. When they figure it out, they go the secret biz, give the password, collect the TREASURE.

You will see many variations of this, mark my words. But avoid the slop and mess of running around. Get the map set up, CALL and ask the biz if they want to be included (small fee) and then maybe upsell to ADS on the map.

So there you go, another one I wish I had time to do.

There is PENT up spending, and if the second wave of stimulus checks hit, then be ready. OH, by the way, here is a good article about where this money has been going.

https://on.mktw.net/2LLcOIS

GordonJ


Quote:
Originally Posted by Millard Grubb View Post
The idea of 100 people paying 83 dollars a month for a membership seems to me one of the best ways. I did a variation of this when I sold my performing course. At the time, it was a six month course, with people paying me monthly.

I can see adapting this for the local market providing local businesses with business advice and tips every week with billing on a monthly basis. It is almost like consulting en masse. Might be worth looking into.
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