Reality Copywriting: Two Weeks and $3,000 Behind

Ecolumn - Tuesday, February 13, 2007

2 Weeks and $3,000 Behind

A subscriber wrote recently asking if I could include more blow-by-blow "Reality Copywriting" stories. I stopped posting the detailed blog a while back, just because time wasn't allowing. But since you're asking I thought I'd share a little of what's happening...

Which is a little a chaotic.

Managing a home office with a baby in the house is a different sport altogether. Especially after living alone for four months.

I'm about 2 weeks and $3,000 behind in work. All the trips to the hospital, dealing with Jonah's usual gut/feeding/sleeping/excretion needs and my wife recovering from

everything they did to her in the hospital, is taking a sleep-depriving toll.

Some days (though working 7 days a week) I only put 3 or 4 hours in. Not good. That's changing this week, no matter what (or the landlord won't be happy).

I have a client's project that I already had to extend two weeks, now due on Wednesday with no possibility of completion. Part of it is because of my truancy from the keyboard, the other is that the project has turned out to be three times the workload I expected.

We are segmenting the copy for one product to six different target audiences.

In the end, the audiences and the variations of the product are diverse enough that it's really like re-creating at least three new products and three pieces of copy.

The project should be quite a success. It's in a market with almost zero competition. It's dealing with a complex alternative health program. The reason we rewrote the program, and broke it down into six different versions was first for increased

saleability, second for an easier-to-use system.

It's all coming out great. The work, however, feels like I'm trying to dig a tunnel through solid granite with a little hammer, on less sleep than I'm accustomed to.

With four to six hours of nocturnal rest (when I prefer eight) it can get a little wearing.

My clients have been very understanding, and happy with the progress so far. I'm regretful it's going to take until the end of the month, but I think they'll be thrilled not only with the content but with the profitability. They'd rather wait an extra two weeks and make an extra $20,000 by year end.

I'm fine with the level of work, as the royalty is 7.5% (along with $7,500 upfront). It could easily mean a $750 paycheque every month.

I'm also grateful that I know what I'm doing.

I mean, I'm not blindly trying to figure out what I need to write in order to sell the program. I have a step-by-step process of research, writing and editing, which produces the final results with ease. Time is the only factor and my level of

wakefulness.

To master the art of selling with words, you need to start where it all began. Claude Hopkin's classic, "Scientific Advertising" is considered essential reading if you want to make money (e.g. 6-figures) with your words...

www.realitycopywriting.com/resources/scientific_advertising

John A. Manley

p.s. Next email I'll fill you in on a 10% gross business income retainer deal I'm negotiating with another one of my alternative health clients.

p.p.s. Alright, don't forget to grab a copy, if your library doesn't already contain one (no copywriter should be without Hopkins)...

www.realitycopywriting.com/resources/scientific_advertising

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