From The Golden Thread Mailbag …
Working With Designers
Hi Scott,
I’m sooo close to finishing the vitamin assignment. But before I submit it … there is one thing I am not clear on.
Section 37 – the “putting it together” section. It describes doing things like putting info into parentheses and describing where italicized fonts and underlining should be. I’m confused, because I assumed that the whole letter was to be written with those font features and other writing styles already done. As I read the section, it describes what seems like writing plain text, then placing descriptions for areas that are to be written differently. Am I misunderstanding something?
– Terri
Hello Terri,
As a copywriter, you are not responsible for designing the DM package. The company you are writing for will pay a professional graphic designer to do the layout. And, as an assignment for the copywriting program, we are not evaluating you on the layout.
That being said … as a professional copywriter, you will have to learn how to give some direction to the graphic designer. In other words, you should have a concrete idea of how you would like the package that you are writing to look. You convey your ideas about the look the way the program tells you to do it in Section 37.
This includes things like putting your headline and subheads in bold, directing the designer as to where to put testimonials and asides (by putting these directions in parentheses following the text), where you want the text to be in a different color. Many of our copywriting members also take the graphic design course specifically for this reason.
All of these little things will make you an easier copywriter to work with. And that will get you hired more often.
Hi Scott,
I am currently taking the copywriting program, and I am enjoying it very much. I want to pass on to your readers a simple but effective study technique that I learned years ago and that really works for me.
As you go through the program, jot down on a separate piece of paper brief notes of the key concepts that you learn. Next to each note, include the page number, so you can easily refer to it in the program material. Title your notes “AH HAH!” By doing this, you will have a quick reference resource at the end of the program for writing copy successfully.
– Roy H.
Thanks for the tip, Roy.
Hi Scott,
I’ve been working my way through Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting. I’m also a subscriber to the Early to Rise e-newsletter. Between the two, my confidence is expanding as well as my writing skills. It’s been a slow process with my other obligations (read: job). But I wanted to share a brief story.
I’ve written a very successful “sales” letter for a fundraising effort at our school. Our Marching Band is the only band in the state to be invited to play in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. So I drafted a letter asking for corporations to help sponsor the trip (a $60,000 venture) so that each member of the Marching Band could participate.
That letter has so far garnered $10,000 in sponsorships! This will help defer much of the cost that the students must (so far) bear. I only wish I had “invoiced” the letter. But, it’s done so well that I’m using it as one of my samples.
I used techniques I learned from the program, such as “Picture, Proof, Promise, USP.” And I was surprised. (Not that the techniques work, but that I could do it!).
So I guess I’m finding the “glicken.” The best part is … I’m only through the first TWO parts of the program. I can’t wait to delve into the rest.
– Shawn M.
Hi Shawn,
Wow! It sounds like you are getting some very valuable experience … as well as your first taste of “glicken”
That’s it for this week. Thanks to one and all. And keep those emails coming!
Scott
How to Land Clients in 21 Days with Just Your Computer
How do I land my first client? It’s a question every aspiring freelancer asks eventually. Now, there’s a proven system for landing clients that removes the guesswork. Best of all? No cold calling. Learn More »
“I was thrilled to find I’d broken the $20K mark with minimal effort, but more than that it was incredibly satisfying to know I’d earned that money independently - using only my mind and a computer.”
If yes, you could be in big demand, earning big money, writing just a few hours a day from anywhere in the world you choose to be.
Get Nick Usborne’s step-by-step system for creating money-making information websites.
In just 6 hours and 35 minutes, you can be in business earning $60 – $150 an hour writing simple resumes.
Learn the secrets behind succeeding in this in-demand career.
The work is plentiful … the pay scales are generous and the competition is scarce!
Get the answers to the hundreds of questions and concerns commonly asked in specific, step-by-step details.
Use this eight-step plan to make the leap from aspiring copywriter to professional copywriter this year.
Let your fellow AWAI members show you firsthand the easiest, most powerful way to land your first client … BEFORE you finish the program.
Writing for the web is a huge opportunity for copywriters. Let web expert Nick Usborne show you how to write blockbuster web copy in record time … even if you're a complete internet “rookie”!
It’s an opportunity to make $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 a year or more … working just a few hours a day.
A once complicated profession is now something you can do on a standard computer – even if you have little or no “artistic” ability.
It’s one thing to have a website. But if your website can’t be found by the search engines, it may as well not exist.
The Internet creates new income possibilities every day. The biggest among them: online video marketing.
Get the very techniques top-performing copywriters use to rattle off one groundbreaking control after another.
In his new book, Michael Masterson teaches you his very own formula for powerful persuasion and how to apply it to direct mail sales letters as well as online promotions.
Guest, Leave a Reply
Please Note: Your comments will be visible by everyone.