Today, it is very hard to differentiate yourself according to products and services… because most companies offer the same thing. With today’s technologies, anyone can copy what you create. So the only way to differentiate yourself is how you communicate.

If we believe that’s true, that means marketing must elevate itself in the organization and it becomes part of the broader business model.

– Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute, “This Old Marketing” Podcast, Ep. 207

So back when I was the marketing manager for a cybersecurity company, I attended a local cybersecurity conference.

I visited the vendor booths and noticed something.

Everyone was using the same language to describe their products and services.

You could switch the logo and branding colors on sites with their competitor and not be able to tell the difference.

A few years ago, the American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon gave a keynote presentation to his peers. He explained the rapid changes in the accounting profession. He said this:

“In a world in which everything is changing, who are we to believe that we won’t have to change as well? The speed of change in our profession — and in our lives — is at an all-time high, and we need to think in a more complex way about change.”

– “Melancon: Accountants must commit to change,” Accounting Today, December 6, 2017

The Power of the Niche

Last year, I was invited by one of my clients to speak to his coaching students about the importance of developing a niche.

I flew out to Chicago and spent two days with two different groups of CPAs. For some of them, the idea of focusing on a particular niche was eye-opening.

So what exactly is a niche?

According to the online business dictionary, a niche is:

…a small but specific and well-defined segment of the population. Niches do not ‘exist’ but are ‘created’ by identifying needs, wants, and requirements that are being addressed poorly or not at all by other firms, and developing and delivering goods or services to satisfy them. As a strategy, niche marketing is aimed at being a big fish in a small pond instead of being a small fish in a big pond. Also called micromarketing.

Over the years, we’ve focused on the following niche industries: cybersecurity, HR and executive leadership training, sales training, eCommerce, accountants, financial advisers, and insurance.

All too often, I meet business owners who want to target “everyone” for their product or service. But when you try to reach “everyone,” you rarely catch anyone.

Why?

Because your message is too general. It doesn’t speak to a specific need for a specific niche.

What Happens Without a Niche

Here are 3 ways a niche-less business suffers:

1. You lose the opportunity to leverage your expertise/knowledge base to serve a more targeted market. As a result, lose profits and the ability to be seen as an expert.
2. You’re not able to create custom services that will truly help your niche. Such services could be very lucrative for your practice.
3. Technology is commoditizing the generalist. Being a generalist won’t differentiate you. That means a tougher time in getting the rates you want.

Because I have seen this happen countless times to good businesses, I know the importance of identifying a niche. If there is nothing to differentiate them from their competitors, they blend in. It doesn’t bode well for profits.

The Benefits of Developing a Niche

There are some great benefits to having a niche. Although you may feel that you’re excluding those who could use your services, you’re actually doing the opposite.

And you’re including those who can use your specific services for their specific business. Here are some other benefits:

1. You’re focused and in control. Knowing who your target market is, allows you to dig deep into their particular problems and challenges. You know exactly how you can help them.
2. Get the rates you’ve always wanted. With a niche, you can now create packaged services that truly meet a need. Because your targeted niche realizes they’re getting the “Ultimate Treatment” (and not just a number), they’ll choose your practice for their business.
3. You gain the respect of your niche. When you choose a niche, you’re instantly entering an “insider’s club.” You know the lingo, the traditions, behaviors, etc. of your niche. You’ll be seen as an expert.

Now here’s something I’ve talked about with various business owners that can turbo-boost your business…

Productize Your Service

If you are in a service profession, there’s a tendency to offer your service the same way — year in and year out.

Why not instead take “The Apple Approach?”

Apple comes out every year with new, upgraded products. Their fans eagerly anticipate the announcement of the improved versions of their beloved products because…

… people love the idea of getting something “new and improved.”

Whatever you offer — set aside some brainstorming time to think of ways you can also create a “new and improved” version.

Then use it for your niche.

When you focus on a particular niche, it will make it easier to market your service or product.

Why Lead Magnets Will Help You Differentiate Your Business

You need a lead magnet to build your email list.

With a lead magnet, you’re offering a free piece of information to prospects in exchange for their email. What existing content do you have that might become an effective lead magnet?

And the important takeaway is to choose a niche if you don’t already have one. Research the pain points of that niche and figure out how you can solve some of those problems.

When people realize you understand their pain and you have a solution, doors will open.

If you have questions, reach out and ask. I have a knack for identifying good niche markets and would love to help you find them.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Want more juicy marketing insights that will help you grab the attention of your target market and squeeze out all the delicious deals you know you want? Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, “The Gold Digger Marketing Letter.” We’ll see you on the other side!

About the Author

I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, a direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, CMO for Mickey Maguire Photo, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing. And especially on my website, maryrosemaguire.com.

This is a deeply personal story.

I have a hard time letting go.

I don’t know why I’m wired this way, but I have a very difficult time letting go of just about everything.

Just ask my husband. My habit of washing and re-using plastic storage bags and aluminum foil drives him nuts.

I still don’t know why I’m like this.

Perhaps part of it is thrift when it comes to keeping common household items. But I also do the same thing with relationships and behaviors. This practice has now become a part of me, moving under the radar of my consciousness.

Until today.

My Big Revelation

While getting my second cup of coffee and emptying out the dishwasher, my mind drifted toward the past seven years.

You see, in 2012, I left a full-time marketing job to launch my own freelance copywriting business. I had high hopes this would be an incredible shift for my skills that would allow me to help more business owners create marketing assets that would make an impact.

Two years prior, I started to work with a few clients, testing the waters to see if I could really make it work. I had some initial successes, which encouraged me to pursue more client work.

In 2012, I landed a large local client that needed dozens of case studies re-written and web page copy that needed to be refreshed.

The creative director loved my work and everything seemed to be going well until the two co-founders couldn’t agree on the company’s new direction.

This was a big deal. One co-founder wanted to move forward by re-defining everything. The other co-founder was more traditional and wanted to only make slight tweaks.

The project stalled and I was paid a kill fee to end our agreement. Everyone was cordial but I remember feeling a deep sense of disappointment. I was looking forward to working more with this company but under the circumstances, that just wasn’t going to happen.

Over the years, I had clients who would need copywriting help but not long-term help. Once you write web page copy, you often won’t change it for months — even though it’s a very good idea to revise it often for SEO purposes.

But again, I had certain expectations about client relationships that weren’t my reality. When it comes to offering copywriting services, most clients come and go. They receive the help they need and move on to other projects.

In other words, I had to let go.

Ideas for Those Who Have a Tough Time Letting Go

I’m not an expert in this. At all.

The revelations I’ve had today are brand new. I decided to share this because I have a feeling I’m not the only one who has a tough time letting go of stuff.

But I will share with you the insights I’ve had so far:

A Season for Everything

I remember clearly the first time I had difficulty letting go of a relationship. I was six years old.

One day, standing in front of our elementary school, my best friend Lisa told me she didn’t want to be friends with me anymore.

I was a confused little girl, wrestling with the complex feelings of rejection and abandonment. I can’t recollect anything I had done wrong. It was just a typical child-like desire for one person to move on and leave the other person behind.

The problem was, I wanted to be friends with someone forever.

And I have no idea how or when that “forever” concept became a part of my emotional fabric at such a young age, but there you have it.

I thought that once I was friends with someone, it should last forever. Don’t films and TV shows promote this? People who met in grade school and were friends throughout their life, some even marrying their kindergarten sweethearts?

Except this isn’t my reality. In fact, I could probably fill a large restaurant with all the people who have come and gone in my life.

Grade school friends, softball team friends, high school friends, church friends, work friends, dance club friends, book club friends, interest group friends… the list goes on.

The point is, there was a season to all of these friendships. They were important at the time and contributed to my personal development, but then circumstances changed.

Or… I changed.

And the autumn season that brought fruit from these relationship trees were finally done. The leaves served their purpose and they fell to the ground, making way for a long winter’s sleep.

When a season is done, it’s done.

Sure, we may be sad to say goodbye to spring and summer, but then again, we know it will be around again the following year.

That’s the thing about seasons.

There are always new seasons to look forward to.

A Purpose for Everything

Just as it’s important to recognize there are seasons in our lives, it’s also important to realize that certain relationships, habits, and behaviors have a purpose.

Once something has served its purpose, it’s time to move on and let go. We cannot receive anything new if we’re still tightly clasping that which is no longer needed.

This perhaps has been one of the most helpful revelations for me to accept changes in my life.

After reading Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, I started to de-clutter my home.

As I gave away clothing, books, and miscellaneous items that no longer served a purpose, I felt relieved. Lighter. Happier.

I realized that the very same principles that work well for de-cluttering our homes can also work for de-cluttering our emotions.

When you let go of relationships that have served their purpose, you can do so with deep gratitude and joy. For instance, a particular relationship might have helped me become stronger or more resilient.

Or another relationship was instrumental in teaching me about self-care and nurturing my interests.

But the purpose is complete. The lessons have been learned. And now it’s time to take those lessons and move on to the next level in life.

Celebrate Anticipation

Here’s the really cool thing about letting go.

There is new stuff to anticipate!

There are new adventures on the horizon, new people to meet who will teach you new things, and new experiences that will enrich your life.

The trick about personal development and growth is recognizing when to let go so you can receive the next thing.

And you know what? You know.

You know because that which used to thrill you and serve you no longer does. You’re not as excited about it.

To clarify, let’s say you started an exercise program. And for months you’ve been doing the same routine diligently. Over time, you’re not as thrilled as you used to be to head into the gym.

But that lack of excitement doesn’t mean to stop exercising altogether. It just means it’s probably time to try something new.

At least that’s the way it works for me.

So I don’t know if this helps you or not.

I’m simply putting these thoughts out there because as I said, many people have been introduced to “KonMari Method” that Marie Kondo talks about in her book. They may not have thought to apply these same principles to other areas of their life.

Letting go doesn’t have to be tragic and sad. It can be a time of gratitude for that which has been given. Learning and growing don’t happen if nothing changes.

Growth only happens when that which is no longer needed is discarded. Like the new butterfly who no longer needs the cocoon, we also can spread our wings and fly.

I wonder if that caterpillar ever thought that if it wasn’t for the cocoon, she wouldn’t have eventually enjoyed such a stunning, aerial view of the world?

Thank goodness for letting go.

Maybe you don’t have an email list.

Or you have a list of people but not sure what do with them. Or… maybe you’re wondering why I keep yapping on and on about email marketing.

Email marketing has experienced a lot of grief for not being a “cool kid” like social media. Supposedly, no one reads emails, anymore.

But we know that’s not true. In fact, here are a few stats to blow your mind:

• You are 6x more likely to get a click-through from an email campaign than you are from a tweet.- Campaign Monitor
• Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. — McKinsey
• 81% of online shoppers who receive emails based on previous shopping habits were at least somewhat likely to make a purchase as a result of targeted email. -eMarketer
• When it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social, direct mail and more. — DMA
• Email subscribers are 3 times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources. — QuickSprout
• 72% people prefer to receive promotional content through email, compared to 17% who prefer social media. — MarketingSherpa
• Including a call to action button instead of a text link can increase conversion rates by as much as 28%. — Campaign Monitor
• Email marketing drives more conversions than any other marketing channel, including search and social. — Monetate
• A message is 5x more likely to be seen in email than via Facebook. — Radicati
• 4.24% of visitors from email marketing buy something as compared to 2.49% of visitors from search engines and 0.59% from social media. — Monetate
• Sending four emails in a month instead of one significantly increases the number of consumers opening more than one email — WhoIsHostingThis “Email Deliverability 101.”

Often I’ve told clients and prospects that having an email list is like owning a home. No one can just knock on the door and kick you out because you hate broccoli.

Compare that to the fickleness of social media. You never know if you’ll anger the Silicon Valley Gods. An innocuous tweet may cause your account to be “shadow banned” (your updates won’t show up in your follower’s timelines).

Or a comment on Facebook thrown out in the heat of the moment may land you in “Facebook Jail” (where you won’t be allowed to update your page or comment on anyone else’s page for a few weeks).

If you’re using social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) for business, know that you’re living on “rented land.”

Those social media giants of course have the right to run their business the way they want. But it means that your marketing messages may not be heard.

I’ve significantly decreased my activity on Facebook and admittedly, my Twitter account has cobwebs. Out of all the social media platforms, I use LinkedIn the most.

Personally, I’ve not seen a strong ROI from my social media activity. But my email list?

I get nice responses from people all the time. But here’s where it really gets good.

An Email List Identifies Your “Tribe”

I’m using the term “tribe” as a general way to describe the type of clients, customers, and prospects who are attracted to you.

With email, you’re able to quickly see those who are engaged with your message versus those who aren’t. But don’t dismiss those who don’t seem to be interested.

People are busy but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be a day when they need your expertise.

Meanwhile, paying attention to those who are engaged is worthwhile.

It’s kind of like high school…

(Do we ever really grow beyond the social constructs of high school?)

My high school class consisted of 113 girls. I was usually friendly to all of them, hung out with a few circles, but only close to a handful.

That’s how it is with email.

It’s Like a Wedding Guest List

You may have an email list of hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. But as a business, you’re not going to be “close” to everyone.

So you check out who is engaging with your content ‒which will typically be 20% or less of your list.

Just as you didn’t have a close, personal relationship with everyone who attended your wedding (or your high school class), the same goes for email.

If you have someone opening your email on a regular basis and clicking on links… you don’t want to treat them like a stranger sitting next to you on a plane.

Instead, you want to send them a nice invitation to enjoy a lovely dinner in your home, complete with all the frilly stuff you only put out when special guests visit.

I’m not saying you literally invite people over… (unless you really, really love being a party host).

But I am saying that you treat those engaged list subscribers differently than everyone else.

Because they are special.

However, you won’t know this until you start emailing your list on a regular basis.

If you have questions, let me know. I have a lot of ideas on how you can let your “tribe” know that you appreciate them and give ’em some love.

Those who are your tribe will feel rightly cherished. And your profits will tell the tale.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Want more juicy marketing insights that will help you grab the attention of your target market and squeeze out all the delicious deals you know you want? Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, “The Gold Digger Marketing Letter.” We’ll see you on the other side!

About the Author

I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, a direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, CMO for Mickey Maguire Photo, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing. And especially on my website, maryrosemaguire.com.

You and I have one thing in common. We both have a burning desire to succeed.

How do I know this?

Because I’ve observed you.

I read your emails and newsletters if you send them. I watch your videos, listen to your podcasts, and read your books. I visit your website.

The drive to succeed is there, plain as day.

Maybe you’ve already figured out that “one thing” to succeed.

Or maybe not…

One of my favorite films is “City Slickers.” In it, Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal), a radio advertisement executive, goes on an annual guy trip with friends Ed Furillo and Phil Berquist.

He’s stressed out and going through a mid-life crisis. To cheer him up, his friends give Mitch a birthday present: a two-week cattle drive. They don’t know anything about horses or cattle drives, but they enthusiastically embrace the adventure.

The cattle drive’s trail boss is Curly (Jack Palance), who is an authentic cowboy. During this scene, he’s giving Mitch advice about finding happiness.

One thing.

In 2013, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan released a book, The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. It quickly became an Amazon best-seller.

In the book, Keller shares a story about his business and how it wasn’t seen as an authority in their industry (emphasis mine):

“In 2001, I called a meeting of our key executive team. As fast as we were growing, we were still not acknowledged by the very top people in our industry. I challenged our group to brainstorm 100 ways to turn this situation around. It took us all day to come up with the list.

The next morning, we narrowed the list down to ten ideas, and from there we chose just one big idea. The one that we decided on was that I would write a book on how to become an elite performer in our industry. It worked. Eight years later that one book had not only become a national bestseller, but also had morphed into a series of books with total sales of over a million copies. In an industry of about a million people, one thing changed our image forever.”

Keller said the importance of finding that “one thing” cannot be overestimated. It changed their world.

From Keller’s book, The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results:

“What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

In 2014, she published her book about organizing, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

Four years later, Netflix offered her the opportunity to work with eight couples on de-cluttering their homes. She created her own line of organizing boxes and I suspect this is only the beginning for her. She is now seen as THE expert for de-cluttering a home.

Business owners often underestimate the importance of “one thing.” So do marketers and copywriters.

Whenever you write an email, identify the “one thing” you want your reader to do.

What is the core message? Simplify it so a five-year-old could understand it.

What is the desired response? Make it easy to achieve.

What is the one emotional trigger to use with your message? One or maybe two, but no more. Emotions drive the purchase.

The bottom line is that all too often, businesses make it more difficult for their prospective buyer to buy. Either it’s confusing language, too many options, or a website that makes navigation too complicated.

Thinking of “the one thing” will help you distill your message so you can focus on creating desire and urgency for it.

Your prospective buyer is slammed with hundreds of “buy now!” messages. Make yours easy to understand so that your buyer will feel like they’ve already figured out that “one thing” that will help them succeed in life.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Want more juicy marketing insights that will help you grab the attention of your target market and squeeze out all the delicious deals you know you want? Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, “The Gold Digger Marketing Letter.” We’ll see you on the other side!

About the Author

I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, a direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, CMO for Mickey Maguire Photo, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing. And especially on my website, maryrosemaguire.com.

What is“quan?”

Ever see the film, “Jerry Maguire?”

Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) is a highly successful sports agent. He’s got it all. A gorgeous fiancée. A powerful career. Lots of money.

Until one day, he came up against the wall. He started to question everything — his purpose, his values, his place in the sporting world.

And he decides to write a manifesto.

Now when this movie came out, manifestos really weren’t a “thing.”

It was 1996.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin were Ph.D. students at Stanford University and their brainchild, Google, was still on the drawing board.

“The Cluetrain Manifesto,” which has inspired people like Tom Peters, Seth Godin, and Michael Wolff, was still churning in the minds of its authors. The landmark book wasn’t published until three years later — 1999 on the web and then in book form in 2000.

But “Jerry Maguire” didn’t know all that.

All he knew is that he wanted to make a difference. He didn’t want to just use people and realized there was something bigger out there. He just didn’t know what it was.

After hammering out an audacious mission statement, Jerry was shocked to find that not everyone shared his newfound commitment to being different. So he left his employer to figure it out.

He only had one client who agreed to still use him as an agent. Rod Tidwell.

Now Rod was a bit of a hot dog. Egotistical, brash, and with him… it wasn’t “there is no ‘I’ in team,”… there was no “team” in Rod. He was all about himself.

Jerry was determined to work with him and did.

And he succeed using one of Zig Ziglar’s golden nuggets.

Maybe you’ve heard of Zig’s valuable piece of advice:

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

Here’s a memorable scene from Jerry Maguire (NSFW at the end):

What Jerry wanted to do was genuinely help Tidwell reach his goals. But he had to find a way to show Tidwell the right path in order to succeed.

To do that, he became, in Tidwell’s eyes — his “Ambassador of Quan.”

You see, Tidwell coined a new term (pun intended).

He called what he wanted, “quan.” And it embodied more than just money.

Rod Tidwell: Because it’s not just the money I deserve. It’s not just the “coin.” It’s the… — “the quan”.

Jerry Maguire: That’s your word?

Rod Tidwell: Yeah, man, it means love, respect, community… and the dollars too. The package. The quan.

Jerry Maguire: But how did you get “quan?”

Rod Tidwell: I got there from “coin,” dude. Coin, coin… kwaaaan.

Love.

Respect.

Community.

Think about those three things the next time you put together your game plan to reach your audience.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

About the Author

I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, author, direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing. And especially on my website, maryrosemaguire.com.

If you’re an entrepreneur, making your way into this big, bad world, you might want to turn on the lights for this one.

Lock all the doors.

Double-check those windows.

Because it’s time for a scary story!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

I’m going to try to tell this story as honestly as I can without exposing the company.

I’d like you to focus on the lessons I’ve learned so you won’t have to go down the same, ghastly path.

If you’re an entrepreneur, I know you want to help your clients and be viewed as a partner for their success. To receive the respect you deserve, you have to work hard gaining trust. Then over-deliver on quality and value. It’s a lot of work to be an entrepreneur and not everyone is cut out for it.

Of all the different hats you wear, I’d say the toughest is the sales hat.

You see, without a sales process in place, you’re going to go broke real fast. Entrepreneurs have to learn how to market themselves and sell their services.

Sometimes that can take up more time than actually doing the work you love.

So when an opportunity arrives that allows you to do what you love to do but commit to just one company (and forego your own marketing), the offer is tempting.

No more attending boring networking events hoping you meet someone who could possibly use your services.

No more cold calls or warm emails.

And no more online job boards.

You can wave a cheerful goodbye to clients who think paying someone $5 for a 600-word blog post is fair.

When an acquaintance told me about an in-house copywriting position, at first I wasn’t interested. I love being my own boss. But after saying “no” at first, I reasoned that maybe I should check in with my husband to see what he thought. He is, after all, the “other half” of Maguire Copywriting.

When I brought up the topic, he was supportive. He encouraged me to apply because it would bring a more consistent cash flow. I also saw the benefit of being closer to the testing ground. Although I had worked with dozens of clients, very few actually tested their marketing copy.

Now I would be able to know which direct response copywriting tactics worked and which did not.

I decided to head toward the imposing mansion with the flickering lights and escape the “dark and stormy night.”

The Spooky Company with the Strange Moaning Sound

One of my most important values — for those with whom I do business with and those I call a friend — is integrity.

I’ve learned to keep my eyes and ears open for anyone or any situation that seems dubious, untrustworthy, or downright duplicitous.

No “tricksy” peeps in my Middle Earth.

I ended up interviewing with the company — let’s call them “Rogers’ Rangers” — and got the job.

The CEO and founder struck me as a man of integrity, but looking back, I realized I wanted him to be that person. I expected him to be that person. If for no other reason, his company sold products that would appeal to those who have integrity, plus a love for independence and freedom.

I was wrong.

Very wrong.

One of the conditions I negotiated during my final interview was to increase my salary by $10K if after 90 days we both still liked each other and my copy performed well. This was a concession made on my part. My original asking salary was adjusted with the CEO assuring me that he had no problem paying the extra $10K but wanted to essentially see proof.

I will also add the recruiter presented my salary range to the CEO before any interviews happened, so I assumed they were capable of paying it. However, for the point of the story, let’s call this Red Flag #1.

I was introduced to my boss, a 29-year-old marketing manager who had no management experience.

At least that’s what it looked like after I checked her LinkedIn profile. Her background was filled with jobs where she’d spend eight, four or seven months at various companies. The most time she spent at a company was a little over one year.

And although she managed accounts, she had never managed people.

That moaning sound you just heard was me.

Let’s call this Red Flag #2.

I figured since I was working as an off-site employee, I wouldn’t have to worry. After all, she wasn’t going to constantly visit my office on a daily basis. As long as I understood the goals of my projects, I reasoned all would be well.

Six weeks after I was hired, I flew cross-country to the company’s headquarters. And that’s when I started to see that not all was as it appeared to be.

The Ghostly Owner Who Disappeared

Overall, it was a nice visit. But there were a few strange happenings that occurred.

First, I discovered that the owner was an atheist/agnostic (his description).

Now, this might not seem a big deal. Lots of atheists and agnostics are running companies.

But the reason it was odd was that this company, in particular, targeted a demographic that was comprised (mostly) of church-goers — folks who love their freedom, are self-sufficient and don’t care for the government poking their nose in their business all the time.

And “Rogers’ Rangers” gave a very distinct impression that they shared these values.

Values are important and becoming even more so in our social issue-driven culture. When you’re able to clearly identify your values, you’ll naturally attract clients and customers who are a good fit.

So when I discovered this tidbit about the owner, I was disappointed. It seemed as though he wasn’t somehow being honest. I suspected that if some of his customers knew about his lack of faith, they wouldn’t feel he shared their values and consequently, not buy his products.

I know I’m speculating but I have some experience with this demographic. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that these are Bible-believing, church-going people who understand the need to pray to God during trying times — but also prepare for them as best they can.

After I was hired, I was told that I reported to my marketing manager and she reported to the CEO. I was able to interview the CEO when I was at their headquarters, which seemed to perplex my manager just slightly. She couldn’t figure out why I wanted to interview him.

I told her that in order to write copy for the company, I wanted to understand the founder’s perspective.

I wanted to know why he started the company and I wanted details.

I wanted to know what his mission was for the company, who he wanted to reach and why it was important.

I wanted to discover what made him different from his competitors.

And I wanted to discover any information I could glean about the audience.

All of these questions were extremely important for me to write the best copy because:

There was no tone of voice guidelines…

There were no branding guidelines…

There were no marketing guidelines or an employee manual, period.

We’ll call all of that Red Flag #3.

After having dinner a few times with the CEO, he essentially disappeared, except when he’d drop by Basecamp and give a biased critique of an idea. These critiques simply exposed his startling insecurity that appeared as a micro-management style which was both stifling and unproductive.

That was Red Flag #4.

One night, my manager and I had dinner with the CFO, who had let me know in a not-so-subtle way that he was really the power behind the throne. He actually said this to me, “I wish the CEO would quit ‘promising’ a new hire an increase in pay. I’m not against raises and believe in giving them, but he needs to talk to me more about that.”

Um. Yeah.

During the meal, he and my manager also talked about a graphic designer who used to work for the company but after 90 days, was canned. I was aghast.

First, it was inappropriate to be discussing this situation in front of me (a new hire).

Second, from my cautious question about understanding expectations, the response was he knew what was expected but just didn’t do what he needed to do.

I was concerned. Communication is one of the most important parts of company culture and it seemed as though there was no formal procedure in place to clearly define expectations to employees.

That was a big red flag for me. Red Flag #5.

Speaking of culture… “Rogers’ Rangers” had none.

And I mean none. Nothing. Nada.

No “this is the way we do things around here.” No company manual. No list of rules or anything that would help a new employee gain firm footing in the company.

I worked for this company for six months. And I wrote a lot of copy.

In fact, I was most proud of the fact that before I came on board, they weren’t doing any email marketing and I got it off the ground. They had a good-sized list but didn’t send out emails on a regular basis.

Within 11 weeks, by creating a bi-monthly newsletter and alternating those with sales emails, the copy delivered $43,129.96 of new revenue. One email brought in $7,348.36. My copy was paying off my salary by almost 3x their investment on a regular basis.

But something was lurking behind the scenes… something that can only put pure terror in the hearts of copywriters the world over like nothing else.

(Now would be a good time to turn on all the lights in your home…)

The Fiendish Grammarian Who “Dexter-ized” My Copy

Worse than the legendary “Night Hag”, the harpie that taunts you by night until your soul is ripped from your body and carried off to Hades — the blood-sucking, Fiendish Grammarian cloaked me with her pitch-black shadow and set me up for the kill.

Ever watch the TV show “Dexter?”

I haven’t because I’m a scaredy-cat. But I know enough about the story-line.

Dexter was a serial killer. But instead of just killing innocent people, he’d find other serial killers and then murder them.

And he did it in some of the evilest, diabolical ways. Slicing and dicing. Stabbing the life out of someone. The series was definitely not for the weak-hearted.

So imagine the knot of fear I felt in my stomach when I realized the “other copywriter” on the team was actually a literary version of Dexter wearing a dress.

Yes, I screamed. Many times, in fact.

Because this woman had no idea what direct response copywriting was all about. No clue.

I will say that too often, a business is overly concerned with grammar when what they really should be concerned about is if the copy sells their stuff.

I’m pretty black and white on this point.

I can pick out a dangling participle with the best of them but
when it comes to direct response copy, my main objective is to
engage the reader (grab ’em by the eyeballs), and persuade them
to pull out their wallets to buy whatever it is I’m pitching.

When I visited the corporate office, I was told that we (meaning myself and the other writer) were to “check each other’s work.” We were to make sure there weren’t any grammatical mistakes and to create consistent brand messaging.

I didn’t have a problem with checking each other’s work. But here’s what happened:

I only critiqued one page of her web copy. And that was it.

Meanwhile, she was critiquing everything I wrote.

Every. Frickin’. Thing.

Sales letter copy, newsletter copy, web copy, banner copy– all of it!

And she’d gleefully stab the life out of everything I wrote.

A 600-word article and 150-word sales section would regularly receive. on average, 29 bloody comments and corrections.

I checked with a few other copywriters to see if my writing was that much off the mark.

They all told me the Fiendish Grammarian was wrong.

At one point, she actually asked if I was using any tools to check my work. Did I have Microsoft Word’s Spelling and Grammar function turned on?

Good night.

So the revision process we established went like this: I wrote the copy, I gave it to my marketing manager to review, then after I made any changes (which were always slight), we’d pass it to the Fiendish Grammarian.

And that’s when she’d torture and kill my copy.

It got to the point where I had a heart-to-heart with my manager. I explained that direct response copy was an informal style of copy. I also pointed out that a good amount of the corrections were actually disagreements with that style.

And then I said that perhaps Fiendish Grammarian was the person who should be writing this copy.

I told my manager that I would never write like an English Lit major and never desired to do so. Besides, that wasn’t what I was hired to do. The position was for a direct response copywriter. Not the author of the Great American Novel.

My manager reassured me that she did want me to write the sales copy and that’s why Fiendish Grammarian was writing blog content and product descriptions. My manager seemed to be on my side.

Or so I thought. This situation turned out to be Red Flag #6.

The Clueless Duo Who Failed to Recognize a Superhero When He Appeared

I had the opportunity to introduce my marketing manager to one of THE top direct marketers in the world. His name is Brian Kurtz and if you’ve been in the copywriting and information marketing business for any length of time, you’d know the name.

Brian helped Marty Edelston build Boardroom, Inc. from around $3 million in revenues in 1981 to a high of $150 million in the mid-2000s. He eventually became its Executive Vice President of Marketing. He was named Direct Marketer of the Year by Target Marketing (a huge DM player) in 2007 in addition to other industry awards and recognition.

And the money was made decades before the Internet came upon the scene. He did it with direct mail, managing lists like a highly-skilled surgeon.

In other words, Brian turned the list business into an art. He has a talent for it that few will ever know.

When I was visiting the corporate headquarters, my manager mentioned that she’d like to “test direct mail” sometime. So when this amazing offer to get advice and input came my way — from one of the best in the field — I pounced on it.

I set it up nicely to my manager, giving her a few details to prove to her this was a golden opportunity.

Her response?

None.

No response to my email.

I was annoyed. So I wrote to the CEO and gave him the details, copying my manager on it but covering for her by saying she probably was busy but I couldn’t help but also share this opportunity with him and timing was a factor. (Which was true. Brian’s dance card was filling up fast.)

The CEO’s response?

He’d defer to my manager. She then responded by saying she wanted to focus on only one marketing channel at a time and from her experience, investing in such consultations usually didn’t provide any “actionable” items.

Unbelievable.

The mark of a good entrepreneur is recognizing an opportunity when it comes your way. This particular opportunity was actually served up to them on a silver platter.

And still, they ignored it.

I can almost guarantee you that they didn’t even search online for Brian’s name. If they did, they would have found a goldmine of information.

So I decided to pay Brian four-figures out of my own pocket and discover what he knew. And I got a tremendous bang for my buck.

But the Clueless Duo earned yet another red flag from this one. Red Flag #7.

Let’s Bring It All Home

Six months after I was hired and after generating new revenue for “Rogers’ Rangers,” I was fired.

My 90-day review date had come and gone in April. I had to remind my manager that we needed to set up a time for the review. We finally did. Seventeen days later.

And everything was fine. We had a great conversation. She told me about future marketing plans, what we’d focus on in October and what we’d be doing during the summer.

There were no deep concerns about my performance given. No warnings. Nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed as though all was well.

Then three weeks later, I get a call and was told things just weren’t working out and I was being let go for…

wait for it…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Bad grammar.

Yes. I was fired because of bad grammar. It even said so in my termination letter.

I was stunned. On the call, as my manager was essentially reading from the letter, my mind blanked out. All I could say was, “How can this be? You never once mentioned it to me before and certainly didn’t mention it during my 90-day review.”

My question was met with stony silence. She didn’t say anything because she couldn’t. It was obviously a bogus excuse and the CFO, who was on the call and acting as the HR person, also didn’t say anything.

She mumbled thanks and good luck, then ended the call.

And that was that.

I hung up the phone feeling as though I had just been hit by a train.

The previous month, I had notified my manager that my husband just received word that he was part of a company lay-off and we were reviewing our future plans for moving. Was it really necessary for me to move to the corporate headquarters or was there an option of living elsewhere? I felt that I had justified my ability to stay focused on my projects, communicated well through Basecamp and met all my deadlines.

So now I was faced with a husband who would also be out of work soon. And I was back to being a freelancer.

Thank goodness I had kept one client on the side. That client’s projects together with some savings kept us afloat for a few months.

But I realized I had just received a series of very valuable lessons and will now pass them on to you:

If you’re hired as an in-house copywriter, get everything in writing (Red Flag #1).

All I had was an email sent to the CFO that I was hired at XXX salary and after 90 days, would be bumped up by $10K. I believe this is the real reason why I was let go. They simply didn’t want to make good on their promise.

However, the more paperwork you have that defines the hiring agreement, the better. Insist on it and if the company hiring you balks, run.

Run away fast.

Do your due diligence regarding your boss (Red Flag #2).

Some Millennials are brilliant when it comes to running a company. Others lack soft skills and management skills. They simply haven’t had enough life experience or work experience to support their positions.

In this case, my manager didn’t have years of managing people under her belt. It was a big mistake on my part to even accept the position. I had more experience than she did and within weeks, that became crystal clear.

Ask about company policies (Red Flag #3).

A company that cares about its employees will know its culture. The CEO/founder/owner will understand that if he or she is running a company, they need to establish guidelines and policies.

If you’re interviewing for a position within a company that excites you, don’t let that excitement sweep you away. Ask if they have policies in place for your role. For marketing professionals, this includes guidelines on content marketing, social media, and best practices. If your question is dismissed or met with ambivalence, take a hard pass.

Beware the micro-manager (Red Flag #4)

Many younger companies have a tendency to over-manage. It comes from insecurity. “Rogers’ Rangers” wanted to grow as a company yet insisted on perfection in everything.

Nothing is wrong with having high standards. But if you micro-manage your creative, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. The need for speed in today’s market is unparalleled to what was considered “normal” twenty years ago. The Internet increased the speed of everything.

You simply don’t have the luxury of anxiously wringing your hands over every jot and tittle of your creative. If you sense your manager is like this, it will only get worse and will clog up productivity. Trust me.

Notice anything odd or unprofessional (Red Flag #5).

It was highly inappropriate for the CFO and my manager to discuss another employee in front of me. Very bad form.

If the person hiring you says anything negative about a previous employee, you can almost be certain you’ll eventually be on the receiving end, yourself. Professionals keep everything above the board. They don’t trash former employees and they show integrity by keeping their word.

“Rogers’ Rangers” did neither and I paid the price for not listening to my instincts to run.

Ask about the revision process if you’re a copywriter (Red Flag #6).

Unfortunately, a revision process wasn’t in place until I came along. Before there was just the Fiendish Grammarian and because her perfect grammar pleased the CEO, all was well.

Then I came in with a bucketful of messy, juicy copy that splattered all over the place and turned everything upside-down.

During my very short exit phone call, I reminded my manager that we had a revision process in place to catch any grammar mistakes. We were doing what every company does with creative — pass it under the eyes of several people before publishing it.

However, somehow I got the short stick out of this deal. I only read one page of the Fiendish Grammarian’s copy while she shredded almost all of my projects. Something wasn’t right. If you can discover this on your own before getting hired, more power to you. Confront it and confront it hard. It’s a very unfair position for the writer on the other end of the whip.

Ask about the company’s heroes (Red Flag #7).

You can tell a lot about someone by knowing who he or she admires. I should have asked this question during the interview.

Specifically, “Who do you admire in the marketing world? What books have you read? Do you know [well-known name]?”

In this case, I should have dug deeper regarding the CEO’s knowledge of direct response marketing. It turned out he didn’t have a clue and neither did the marketing manager, who eventually became the CMO (interestingly enough, she left the company nine months after I left).

Her experience was primarily from an advertising agency and I can tell you that most agencies are unfamiliar with direct response marketing principles.

Or they know about them and sneer. Either way, you need to know this if you’re considering an in-house position.

This has been one of the longest posts I’ve written but I believe it’s one of the most important.

Because I’m starting to see more and more companies hire in-house copywriters.

You need to know what’s at stake.

If the bottom drops out for you as it did for me, you’re going to be scrambling for new clients and it will take some time to get back on your feet.

It took me two months but I finally did get back on track with client work. I’m now headed into a completely new direction, which is very exciting (learn more by clicking here to join my list).

I learned a lot from the experience. And like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I’ve become an even more powerful marketer because of it.

So remember this chilling tale well. And carry a big grammar book with you, wherever you go.

Because you never know when the Fiendish Grammarian will attack.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Want more juicy marketing insights that will help you grab the attention of your target market and squeeze out all the delicious deals you know you want? Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, “The Gold Digger Marketing Letter.” Thanks, and we’ll see you on the other side!

About the Author

Hi. I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, a direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing. And especially on my website, maryrosemaguire.com.

A marketing director of a midsize company recently reached out for a potential project.

Actually, he needed several projects and admitted the agency he usually worked with didn’t have the resources to meet his needs.

We talked about the project, a sell sheet, which would require both copy and design. Since I do both, he thought I could help.

After he sent a template and some brief bullet points along with a few suggestions for the direction of the copy, I followed up with an agreement with my quote. This process actually happened out of order, since usually the prospect and I agree upon the terms of the project before any resources are sent.

However, since we had connected on LinkedIn and found common ground with our marketing philosophy — and had a great phone call where we discussed a few working details — I thought the agreement and quote was just a formality.

Perhaps not unsurprisingly, my new prospect rejected my quote. It was out of his budget. This, from a fast-growing company that employs 250 and made close to $57 million in revenue in 2018. It was a bit of a shock. My quote, by the way, was mid-priced by industry standards.

This also was after I had given my contact a range of quotes for various projects, which is between $500 — $2,000+, depending upon the project. I mistakenly believed he was familiar with the fees of a professional copywriter. Evidently not.

“Red Flags” of Corporate Marketers Who Outsource

This experience has opened my eyes in surprising and unexpected ways. At first, I felt genuine disappointment because I thought we had rapport. I found his marketing insights provocative and was looking forward to our collaboration. He has a lot of passion for marketing.

However, there were “red flags” at the beginning that this wasn’t a good fit for what I do and I failed to notice them.

First, he sent a template. This should have alerted me immediately that what he was looking for was not originality but duplication. He wanted a factory worker, willing to take Part A and fit it into Part B (cookie-cutter solutions) — no questions asked.

In other words, very little creative would be involved. It was simply a matter of “plug and play.”

Second, he wanted short copy and felt it would be easy to do. Again, if something is easy to do, I will guarantee you it won’t be interesting.

He had no buyer personas or avatars to target. No psychographics or firmographics. Without such key information, the copy is guaranteed to be bland because there is no focus on a particular audience’s need.

… if something is easy to do, I will guarantee you it won’t be interesting.

Third, he admitted he wanted to be “hands off” regarding the completion of these projects. Again, it was assembly-line language, not creative. He trusted that once the person who wrote the copy got the hang of the company’s objectives, then they could just churn out content all day long.

Let’s step back and examine the purpose of marketing.

Marketing refers to activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. Marketing includes the advertising, selling and delivering of products to consumers or other businesses.

The goal of marketing is to capture the attention of a buyer. Once that attention is captured, then the prospective buyer is directed toward ultimately making a purchase. You want to be on the mind of the prospect so when the time is right for a purchase, they think of you first.

The goal of marketing is to capture the attention of a buyer. Once that attention is captured, then the prospective buyer is directed toward ultimately making a purchase.

Cognitive Dissonance Creeps In

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

This marketer recently posted his thoughts on LinkedIn about email marketing. He observed that marketing automation might be doing more harm than good for SMBs because, without personalization, you’re basically spamming people. I agree.

Although this marketer didn’t want to create spam email, he wanted to outsource his marketing with the requirement that the contractor uses a template approach to create content, essentially generating a “Spam Marketing” asset.

And that’s exactly what most mid-size and large companies do. They create marketing collateral that is a template because of their urgent need to scale. They have little time to actually develop anything worth paying attention to.

As a result, you have marketing copy that is filled with corporate jargon that uses all the right words and phrases yet really doesn’t communicate much. It fails to impress anyone and doesn’t connect with the reader.

There is a cognitive dissonance with such an approach.

On one hand, I hear many marketers say they want marketing that resonates with their audience. They want marketing that is compelling, intriguing, and captivating.

Yet whoever is pulling the strings (not necessarily the marketers) don’t want to wait for that kind of marketing. Sales copy and content marketing is now required to be created at warp speed.

The end result is website pages, blogs, reports, brochures, and more that says pretty much what everyone else is saying. There is no differentiation. Nothing remarkable. And it’s completely forgettable.

It’s taken me some time but I finally realize that such a philosophy is not a good fit for me.

I cannot do my best work within a “plug and play” infrastructure. I’m committed to creating marketing assets that are full-course meals, not fast food. Many of my copywriting peers feel the same.

But this scenario paves the way for small business owners to take the field. They have the advantage.

Why Small Businesses Can Make Marketing Great Again

Because they don’t have departments that often produce more “red tape” than anything else. There is no marketing director to placate, no marketing manager to persuade. No board of directors to please or shareholders to cajole.

Instead, small business owners can take some risks and do something different that will get them noticed.

They can create marketing and advertising that has more originality and more heart than anything mid-size and larger companies produce.

… small business owners can take some risks and do something different that will get them noticed.

Consider www.kidsbowlfree.com. They have testimonials on their site and a helpful video that explains the service. Or the Duluth Trading Company. Everything they do is aimed specifically at the man or woman who wants durable clothing that looks good. It’s all about the experience. Their customer service page is one of the friendliest I’ve seen.

SMBs have a huge advantage over larger companies. They’re closer to the customer transaction and because of that, can easily track customer experiences. Connecting with a new customer regarding their purchase or the service they received is simpler than if you had a larger company with several layers of product or service deliverability.

Red tape can hinder progress toward your main goal — which is to get more sales. So can large committees. Many companies, when publically traded, become beholden to Wall Street. The more they’re concerned with pleasing stockholders, the less they focus on the customer experience.

You can have the most skilled captain in the world but if the ship is headed in the wrong direction, his skill really doesn’t matter unless it’s to turn the ship around.

As for me and the value I offer to my clients, working on templates so I can create something “fast” is like asking Leonardo DaVinci to complete a paint-by-numbers fresco. I have much more to contribute to marketing than creating a “one size fits all” asset.

Bottom line: I want to create quality work for my clients. And sadly, most of the marketing I see from businesses is not high quality. And when it’s not, it’s a quick race to the bottom.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Want more juicy marketing insights that will help you grab the attention of your target market and squeeze out all the delicious deals you know you want? Sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, “The Gold Digger Marketing Letter.” Thanks, and we’ll see you on the other side!

About the Author

Hi. I’m Mary Rose ‘Wildfire’ Maguire, a direct response copywriter, digital marketing consultant, and brand and email marketing fangirl. Tireless advocate for finding pain points and testing response. David Ogilvy is my invisible mentor, along with John Caples and Claude C. Hopkins. You can find me on Twitter or LinkedIn yakking endlessly about marketing.

I’ve been a paid copywriter for eight years.

Four as an employee and four as an independent creative contractor (or freelancer, if you prefer).

I read a lot. And I pay attention a lot.

I notice patterns.

I’m also a student of history. So any time I can get my grubby mitts on a book that gives me insight to something — whether it was the creation of Disneyland or the beginning of direct response marketing — I’m all over it.

What I’m about to share is said with the deepest care and concern for all of my fellow copywriters and those who hope to actually make a living as a “creative.”

Stop chasing the gurus and measuring your worth by whether they confer status upon you or not.

I understand that validation and confirmation is important. Everyone struggles with knowing if the direction they’re going is right or not.

Once we decide on a particular direction, then we look for people who will validate our decision.

In research, this is called confirmation bias.

It happens when you judge responses that confirm your choice as relevant and reliable, while dismissing evidence that doesn’t support your decision.

Confirmation bias is rooted in the natural tendency you have to understand and filter information, which often leads to focusing on one logical statement at a time.

To minimize confirmation bias, you must continually reevaluate your first set of impressions and challenge preexisting assumptions and hypotheses.

I’ll give you a personal example.

My First Date with Copywriting Confirmation Bias

When I first began my freelance writing career in 2012, I attended a copywriting conference that included a job fair.

I had already committed myself to pursuing copywriting as a livelihood. And because I ‘ve been a writer most of my life, I assumed I would do well with the job fair. After all, the conference brochure told me how many marketers would be there, eager to find new talent.

The marketing materials for the conference did a great job building up anticipation. I was very excited about the prospect of meeting these marketers and discovering how I could help them.

I remember how I carefully dressed for that job fair. I also had printed out copies of my resume and one sample of my writing — a nicely formatted case study.

The conference attendees received special instructions if this was their first time at the job fair. I couldn’t wait to get inside the room and start making connections.

The doors opened… and suddenly hundreds of copywriters descended upon the marketing booths. The volume in that room turned into the dull roar of a crowd at some sporting event.

The energy level was high. You could almost taste the expectations of those who had traveled hundreds of miles to be there, myself included.

Although I left the job fair without any closed deals, I still was optimistic.

I dutifully followed up by submitting spec assignments to various companies.

And then I waited to hear back from them.

And waited…

And waited…

And waited. Until I finally accepted the fact that no project work would be coming my way.

Not only did that happen in 2012. It happened again in 2013 and 2014.

Sometimes confirmation bias dies hard.

My Wild Affair With Copywriting Confirmation Bias

Here are a few of the assumptions I made with the job fair:

1. Getting clients for copywriting projects would be easy.

2. My background as a writer would ensure quick assignments.

3. Because I was told there was such a demand for copywriters, I thought I couldn’t fail.

It is important to note that the organization putting on the conference succeeded with their marketing. They definitely made the prospect of becoming a well-paid copywriter not only achievable, but essentially inevitable if you put in the effort to attend the event and network with the marketers.

Except it didn’t happen.

And it didn’t just “not happen” for me, but for many other aspiring copywriters. I discovered this because I research and analyze almost everything in my life (much to the chagrin of my husband). So in 2014, I started to ask questions.

I asked other copywriters about their success with the job fair and found that the large majority of them never had received any work from it.

I met a wonderful guy at the conference who asked if we could be “accountability partners” and have phone calls after the event. He also had met a couple other women and we formed our own “Circle of Support.”

And I discovered something amazing. In our small group of four people, two had their spec assignments chosen by marketers and were given a project.

But these projects were “one and done.” There was no repeat work. And for one copywriter, the company’s internal leadership fell apart before he was able to write anything for them.

Another semi-famous person also shared with me that although she had won the spec assignment for Boardroom (think “Coca-Cola” level in the direct marketing world), it never led to more work.

This despite her diligent follow-up after the project was finished.

My interest in continuing the affair with ‘confirmation bias’ quickly waned.

The Mad Pursuit for Confirmation Bias

Over the years, I’ve bought my share of programs, books, and audio lessons — all to help me grow as a copywriter.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking professional development. If you want to advance your career in any field, you need to constantly learn and develop new skills.

However, I briefly got caught up with chasing the gurus. And in copywriting, there’s a term for those taken under the wing of an accomplished copywriter.

It’s called being a “copy cub.” This is when a copywriter is mentored by one of the “A-list copywriters.” They also critique your copy so you can improve.

As you can imagine, the competition is fierce to get on the radar of one of those A-list copywriters. And most of them have packaged this opportunity as a coaching service with a hefty price tag. I can’t blame them. It’s a great way to capitalize on one’s skill set.

However, it seemed as though the majority of my time was taken by chasing the latest copywriting product or group coaching program. There is a constant FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) element attached to the marketing of these products.

And many well-intentioned copywriters fall for it.

Because when you’re “working on your craft,” it distracts you from why you got into this whole self-employed thing in the first place.

To make money.

And you don’t make money staring at your computer screen, listening to webinars all day.

You don’t make money trying to capture the attention of the “Guru of the Week.”

You don’t make money when you’re focused on whether the “cool Internet marketers” know your name because you’re constantly posting in an online community message board.

You make money when you simply do one thing.

You find potential buyers for your products and services and you get hired.

Why Am I Doing This?

One day I woke up and realized that my main objective to building my own copywriting business was to help smaller businesses get better results with their marketing.

They don’t care who I know.

They don’t care what kind of classic copywriting books I’ve read.

They don’t care if an “A-list copywriter” mentored me — or not.

All they care about is if I can solve their problem. And there are a LOT of problems out there.

I visit hundreds of websites in a month, both as a professional copywriter (doing research) and for personal interest (I can’t help but notice if a website is getting it right or not).

I constantly see areas for improvement.

It’s taken me years to realize that handcuffing around 50% — 60% of my time and energy to reading posts on copywriting forums, watching webinars and following the latest insight from an expert copywriter really wasn’t the best use of my time if I was serious about helping businesses grow.

The other aspect of copywriting is this: yes, there are a lot of programs out there that will help you understand the principles of copywriting. But few teach you how to sell your services and get clients.

I have seen other copywriters fall into this trap — the constant pursuit of knowledge at the expense of getting real-life experience.

Because after doing this for four years, I will tell you that I’ve learned things I never learned from the programs and books, simply by working with clients.

I’ve gained insights that have helped me market my business more effectively. I’ve learned processes that streamlined content creation. And I’ve learned how to avoid those who don’t value my services or time.

The key is asking specific questions — and then listening.

Intentionally listen to people, whether they’re clients, prospects, or even your professional associates. They will give you key information — information you can turn into strategies for your success.

How Did the Copywriting Legends Become a Big Deal?

Whenever I see a bunch of new copywriters chase the latest “hot” product by an expert, I think about the copywriting legends.

Claude C. Hopkins. John Caples. David Ogilvy. Clyde Bedell. Eugene Schwartz. And newer legends like Clayton Makepeace, Gary Bencivenga, David Deutsch, Jim Punkre, Bill Jayme, Mel Martin, Jim Rutz, Arthur Johnson, Parris Lampropoulos, Lorrie Morgan, Carline Anglade-Cole, and many more.

If you’re a copywriter reading this — and ESPECIALLY if you’re a new copywriter — I’d like you to listen carefully to what I’m about to say.

The older copywriter legends made their mark BEFORE the Internet came along. They invested their efforts into developing direct response copywriting strategies that got results. Measurable results.

If you send out 100,000 pieces of mail per month and receive a 5% response, that’s significant. But not all those copywriting promotions received that kind of a response. It was (and still is) an experiment.

The point is — these men took risks. They studied their target market, got inside the head of their buyer, and then developed a marketing strategy that was aimed toward generating sales.

They all learned by trial and error.

NOT by burying their head in a book or an online program.

Again, I’m a lifelong student. I love to learn new things, new ideas and new strategies for getting things done. But I understand that acquiring knowledge is just the beginning.

The real truth of whether this knowledge works or not is when you actually do something with it. When you put the principles into action and watch what happens.

I’ve already had my failures. I’m sure I’ll have more. But I welcome them.

I welcome failure because it is the rare teacher who will tell me what I don’t want to hear. Failure will always tell me what I need to hear. Sort of like my beloved late mother.

You think it’s easy to spend precious time developing an idea you’re sure will be received enthusiastically… only to watch it die a quick death as few even notice its birth?

Yeah. Painful.

But instructive.

So let me bring this very long rant to an end.

Choose carefully your teachers. Evaluate them. Look for a series of wins under their belt, not just one or two. Stay away from people who are selling programs or books that is all about making money and the only way they are making money is selling their program to YOU.

If you have a Chamber of Commerce in town or a professional networking group filled with small business owners, visit one of their meetings. Talk to these people. Ask questions about how they got started and some of their more important discoveries.

The Internet is a wonderful channel for marketing and making money, but it is only ONE channel. Newspapers still exist and yes, can still successfully advertise a business. So can radio ads, TV ads, civic groups, trade magazines, trade shows, etc. etc.

These are the “un-shiny objects” many entrepreneurs miss. It’s easy to get caught up with all the Internet glitter that claims to help you make six figures a month. But it’s like trying to grow a strong body just by drinking milk.

Your “business body” needs a lot of different kinds of fuel to grow. Don’t get caught up with a narrow menu. Expand your choices.

And then don’t get stuck in the product “shopping cart.”

Once you purchase a book or program, make a promise to yourself to thoroughly consume what you have before buying something else. Set aside at least 30 minutes a day to digest the information. Take notes. Then map out action steps from those notes.

Finally, apply what you’ve learned by testing the information. Some things will work for you. Others won’t.

But you’ll never figure that out unless you take the ideas from that book or program, and run with it.

Soar high.

The difference between those who choose to write and those who need to write.

It’s not a decision one makes lightly.

As though choosing to write for a living is akin to interviewing for a job.

Or someone who has observed how many laptop-cowboys are riding the seats at their local coffee shop, and they want to join in.

Think about other creative pursuits.

Let’s take acting.

Do people say to themselves, “Gee. I’d like to make some extra money. I think I’ll take up acting. I’m sure I’ll be able to pull in a few extra bucks by showing up at my local community theater.”

Or painting. Maybe sculpting.

“Yes. Must do that. Let’s see, I have a few brushes lying around, I’ll just buy a can of paint and start slapping some brushstrokes on a cheap canvas I bought from an arts and crafts store.”

Perhaps this isn’t a fair comparison.

Because you see, acting and painting are not commercialized. At least not to the extent writing is.

I suppose the truth of whether or not you’re a real writer comes out in moments like these…

When you’re sitting home alone, waiting for the one you love to return. And you can’t think of really anything else except to rip the lid off your head and start writing.

Simply for the sheer joy of writing.

To look at a blank screen and start filling it with words.

Your words.

Your thoughts.

Your heart.

Over the course of a few decades, I’ve noticed a lot of revolving doors.

People come and go throughout your life.

And people come and go throughout whatever career or job is suddenly deemed “hot.”

Those of us who have been writing for a very, very, very long time — realize that the only way you know you’re a writer is by your insane tenacity to keep on writing, even when you’re not paid to do it.

Even when no one reads what you wrote.

Or even when people read what you wrote and were unmoved, unchanged, unbroken, or uninterested.

Because see… we don’t care, us writers.

We really don’t care.

We write not because we desire fame (although that can serve a purpose).

We write because we must.

We always will write. And we’ll always be working on a draft.

First draft. Second draft. Forty-second draft.

It’s why there are so many unfinished novels floating around, clogging up the minds of many good writers and even great writers.

There is still a conversation that sticks in my mind, a rather surprising one I had a few years ago.

It was with an aspiring copywriter.

I had just finished a presentation and we were talking about the profession. I immediately started to recommend a few classic copywriting books that could help him hone his craft.

His response?

“I really don’t like to read.”

I was gobsmacked.

A writer who doesn’t like to read?

There may be a handful but they’re the exception. Unicorns, really.

Because I cannot think of one prolific and great writer who did not also love to read books. Who didn’t enjoy pursuing knowledge. I call it “the hunt.”

And “the hunt” happens on a regular basis.

At the library, a bookstore, or online.

The hunt is a deep hunger that resides inside the mind of every writer I know.

Heh. “I know..”

Knowing.

Both the prey and the reward.

But see, those who must write understand this.

And those who look at writing as simply a quick and easy way to make a buck, don’t.

There is a difference, you see.

The difference between someone who writes because… well, why not?

And those who write because it is the only way they know how to survive.

I just saw this project posted on a job board:

We are looking for some copy to be written for our website! To give a little background, we are a creative company that consults for businesses and how they’re structured. The flipside is, we aren’t the greatest at writing down how we describe our business and we need someone to help us focus that message.

This job will require us having an skype meetings so we may go in-depth about what it is we do and the message we are looking to get across.

Total amount of work? I’d say look here: http://arkitects.us/home.html

We need to fill out this entire website. Any of the blank spots you see, is what we need some copy for.

Total amount offered for this strategic marketing project:

$194

As a professional copywriter and marketer with over 30 years experience, I can safely say this website will receive mediocre creative at best.

At worse, they’ll get copy filled with half-baked sentences that would make an English teacher cringe.

I have seen startups make this same mistake over… and over… and over again.

Please. Stop.

Even if you’ve been in business for a few years and decide you want to re-design your website, you need to understand something about marketing.

It’s requires thought. And work. And time. And commitment.

Think about it. This is your business.

You’ve invested a great deal of time and money into finding the right “Big Idea,” the right producers, the right location, the right software, the right… well, everything.

And after spending all that time creating your baby, you essentially are taking it a garbage dump, hoping to find some ragged clothes to fit your sweet baby.

That’s what you’re doing when you look for the cheapest provider for marketing your business.

It never fails to amaze me how many business owners want to pay pennies for their creative (marketing, website design, graphic design, copy) yet expect to charge premium dollar for their services or products.

It doesn’t work like that, Chief.

You see, whatever you invest in your business… and I mean anything you invest… will come back to you tenfold.

So if you want a small company that has small growth, sure. Go ahead. Go for the cheap. Your competitors will love you for it.

But if you want massive growth, then the bottom line is this: you will need to invest in your business. Plain and simple.

And marketing? Good night. That’s one of the areas you especially need to be careful about when choosing the right service provider.

You’re talking high-level concepting.

Only amateurs talk about themselves. Successful companies spend a ridiculous amount of time (and money)studying their market.

They learn inside and out what their prospective buyers are thinking and feeling. How they behave. What they’re watching on TV, the way they spend their time, the car they drive, the neighborhood they live in.

Is there a demand for your product or service? And if you can figure that out, what is ticking off your prospective buyer about the current state of your industry?

See what I just did there? I should charge you $200 just for those ideas but you got it here for free.

And… I just blew the budget of our naive startup above.

Understand the Role of Marketing

Re-read that project description above.

Did you catch the part about Skype meetings? As in plural.

They want more than one meeting.

And what is the purpose of those meetings?

“…so we may go in-depth about what it is we do and the message we are looking to get across.”

For the uninitiated, this is called concepting and brand development. And it’s not something copywriters usually do.

You see, as a business owner, you should already have an understanding of what your company does, its mission, its offer and its audience before you contact a copywriter.

It should be crystal clear.

If you don’t know the answers, you need a marketing consultant to help you figure it out first. Before you contact a copywriter.

Developing a brand isn’t something you hand off to a copywriter and assume he or she will get it right — even after a few Skype calls.

It requires a great deal of time to discover those answers. Not just a one hour call where you tell a copywriter what you do and then expect them to pull a rabbit out of the hat that will magically mesmerize your prospective buyer.

Let me give you a real-life example.

Years ago, I had an ad agency reach out to write web copy for one of their clients. I wrote one page of copy, went through several phone calls to discuss what this ad agency was doing for them, and submitted the appropriate revisions.

They had another copywriter working on another page. The client would choose which style of copy he preferred.

Except we never got to that point.

The second copywriter bowed out of the project and I revised her copy in addition to mine.

But after all was said and done, the agency’s client didn’t like what either one of us wrote and wouldn’t consider additional discussion on the matter.

Here’s the deal (and why I know better now…): The ad agency didn’t even have a handle on the brand, let alone a clear understanding of their client’s expectations.

It was a big mess.

It was a waste of my time, the agency’s time, and the client’s time.

I had wrongly assumed that an ad agency would already know what their client wanted. That they would already understand the brand or at least be working with the client on developing one.

I haven’t made that same mistake again.

Spend Time Developing Your Marketing Strategy

I understand the world is moving fast.

Technology is in constant flux. New software is developed constantly.

But that doesn’t mean you should rush through developing your marketing strategy just to get it to the market fast.

Think about anything of value.

Like hamburgers.

You can drive down the street and grab a $3.00 hamburger within minutes.

Do you value the experience of eating that burger?

Now compare that to driving to a nice restaurant that is known for its gourmet burgers. Using Wagyu beef. Starting at $29 for one of those glorious patties served with all the fixings on top of a toasted artisan multi-grain bun.

Will you be grabbing that hamburger, hustle back to your home and sit in front of the TV watching The Walking Dead while munching away?

I didn’t think so.

You treat that $29 hamburger differently than the one you got at a drive-thru, right?

You savor that bad boy. Linger over each bite. And close your eyes in ecstasy as you taste that perfectly grilled piece of meat with all of its delectable toppings.

Do you think that restaurant said, “Hey, it would be cool to have a gourmet hamburger. Let’s go shopping at the nearest Sam’s Club to snag a few boxes, then go to town!”

No.

That restaurant planned it’s battle strategy.

They carefully put together what was needed to offer the gourmet hamburger and then planned just as carefully how to present it to the public.

And then they slapped a nice, fat $29 price tag on it.

Because it was at least worth that much.

Do yourself a favor. Don’t skimp when it comes to your business.

Don’t settle for cheap.

Treat your business as the precious entity it is by investing in marketing and creative that will make a difference.

Because if your perfect buyer does happen to visit your website, and sees copy that reminds them of what their 8-year-old daughter just scribbled down on a piece of paper, you’ve lost.

And it’s going to be as hard as hell to get them to come back.

First impressions count. Perhaps more than ever.

Get it right the first time. Invest wisely in your marketing.