Private Details Part 2…

Private Details Part 2…

I recently got an email that said something similar to this:

“Ben, I’ve studied dozens of copywriting books, have hundreds of 3X5 index cards filled with headlines and marketing ideas, I read The National Enquirer every week, I’ve studied Schwartz, Collier, Caples, Halbert and Carlton and can probably recite their stuff back to you verbatim. I write out ads long hand every stinkin’ day of the week, over and over and over again. But…

Boy, if I had a penny for every time I heard this, I’d be one wealthy white dude.

It’s a great question though.

Certainly one I struggled with for a while.

One, I’m sure, just about all copywriters deal with at first.

So, how do you get that first client when everyone wants to see a “portfolio” of your stuff and a list of people who’ll vouch for you?

Well, first off, you can sign up on a service like “elance.”

I got my first paying client that way and, if you have even a speck of talent, you’ll stand out like a sore thumb on there.

But I must warn you—unless things have changed in the past few years—the clients at elance are not very savvy.

Many of them wouldn’t know a good ad if it landed on their face, lifted its leg and peed.

Still, if you have your head on straight and know your stuff, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll walk away with a handful of testimonials and some money in your pocket.

Another thing you can do is collect the ads local businesses send you, and then contact them about how you can make their ads better and that you’re for hire.

You won’t make a fortune. But it’ll at least get you started. Just come up with a “can’t refuse” offer and see what happens.

There are also various “how to” books and resources that will show you how to get started.

I’ve gone through a few of them. And the best one I’ve seen yet is (by FAR) John Anghelache’s “Copywriter’s Profits” course. Another good one is Ryan Healy’s “How To Get Your First Paying Client In 14 Days Or Less” report. It’s very affordable (especially for what you get), and packed with easy-to-use tips anyone can use to immediately get paying clients.

However, there’s also another—lesser known—way to get started you may not have considered.

A way few others are willing to do.

A way that truly…

(No offense to you ladies—just a figure of speech.)

And even though this way takes a lot of guts and confidence in your abilities—and will stretch you way out of your “comfort zone”—it’ll spare you the inconvenience and hassle of licking anyone’s boots just to get a job.

By the way, I did NOT invent this way of getting started.

And you can read a variation of this idea in Gary Halbert’s newsletter titled, “Why Multi-Level Marketing Sucks.”

Anyway, here goes.

The first thing you do is…

Instead what you do is set up “joint ventures.”

Let me explain.

The way I got started was by going to www.sendfree.com and signing up for their free auto-responder service.

How did they help me get started?

Simple:

When you sign up for their free service they’ll (unless something’s changed) automatically sign you up (or give you the option of signing up) to be a part of what’s called…

This my friend, is (or was, if they aren’t around anymore) one of the “best kept secrets” on the Internet.

Why?

Because what this round table is, is a big email forum—like you see on “Yahoo! Groups”—where you’re encouraged to introduce yourself, tell everyone what you do and even…

You sometimes see this on Internet forums, where they set up a special section just for joint ventures and special offers.

The only problem is… the majority of people reading those sections are submitting offers, not necessarily looking for offers.

But with the Sendfree Roundtable, everyone on the list gets emailed the offers.

And since, back when I used it at least, they only sent 4 or 5 offers at a time, there was a good chance most people would see them all.

Most people in the roundtable offer discounts, free email courses, plugs for their ezines, that sort of thing.

In fact, I got a good chunk of my newsletter subscribers from submitting it to the roundtable.

And for someone just starting out as a copywriter, someone who wants to get their “feet wet”, it can be an invaluable tool.

What I did was this:

I sent an offer to write copy in exchange for…

No upfront fees, contracts, or strings attached.

I was writing for free, basically.

And that same day I got dozens of responses.

Of course, most weren’t running serious businesses.

And some wanted me to sell things that were unethical or even illegal.

But I did get 4 or 5 legitimate jobs out of the deal.

And gained a ton of real world experience (writing and dealing with clients).

Now listen:

I won’t paint some “romantic” picture making me out as some huge success with this.

Especially since—in material terms—it was a failure.

In fact, my stuff either wasn’t run, or was changed so much by the client that…

I even got screwed over by one woman who was making some good (high ticket) sales from my letter that would have put several hundred dollars in my pocket.

But I didn’t care. Because I went in knowing that would happen.

And even though I never saw a dime from any of these clients… and even though I busted my hump just to see my stuff ripped to shreds… it was one of the greatest learning experiences I ever had.

And I also got a few testimonials to get me started.

In his “freelancer” course, John Carlton calls this phase of the copywriting rookie’s career the “Shameless Whore” period. (And I can’t think of a more accurate term!)

So just know, if you follow in my footsteps, you might make little or no money—mostly because people are either flaky and/or will refuse to run what you give them.

But, at the same time, you’ll avoid kissing anyone’s butt (you’re doing it for “free” after all) and…

Experience you can’t get writing out ads by hand or reading books.

Plus, if you do get paid, you’ll be getting paid directly on your talent.

And baby… there’s NO better feeling than receiving checks based on the actual results of something you wrote.

Now, until recently, I was still doing these kinds of deals.

I no longer do them anymore except with a couple people who I know and trust. Everyone else pays a fee.

But, if you’re just starting out, and can’t seem to get any paying clients, why not do joint ventures like this until you do?

At the very least you’ll get experience and testimonials.

And if you’re dealing with an upstanding person and write a decent ad to a qualified list, you’ll get paid.

And even if you do get screwed over, never forget this one thing:

As Dan Kennedy once said: “There hasn’t been an original idea since Moses came down from the mountain.”

In other words…

Someone may think their product is the best thing since sliced bread.

And maybe it is.

But that does NOT mean there aren’t a dozen other products out there just as good… or even better.

Which is why, even though a quality product is essential, it’s the advertising that makes the difference at the end of the day.

Always has, and always will.

The best widget in the world is worthless without an ad to sell it.

While a good ad has value no matter what.

Which means, if someone decides to screw you over, you can usually apply much of the ad you wrote to any one of those competing products.

If not now, then later on.

Now, with all that said, please understand if you have a mortgage to pay or really need the money, don’t rely on these kinds of deals.

There are no guarantees and there are many things that can happen outside of your control.

Just look at them as a great way to get some good experience and hopefully some testimonials and referrals.

And on that note, there’s one more thing I want to share with you.

Something very, very important.

Something that’ll make your life a lot easier, and help you deal with the bad times, bad people and bad situations that will almost certainly come your way the minute you decide to pursue a worthy goal.

I’m talking about my own, personal secrets that keep me sane in an insane world.

And keep me “lucky” even when the chips are down and I’ve run out of options.

You don’t want to miss this…

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