Reality Copywriting: Waiting Versus Just Getting It Done

Ecolumn - Monday, January 8, 2007

Waiting Versus Just Getting It Done

As my cat Arjuna filled you in last Friday, the delivery of our baby boy has been delayed.

It was a lot of work getting everything in the office and with clients in place before I left last Wednesday. Plus packing and preparing for four days away from home. PLUS the mental preparation for the surgery and everything else Nicole would have to go through.

But Jonah's lungs weren't ready for the real world. Seemed kind of silly now, the docs wanting to do it this early. But they didn't expect Nicole would still be stable at this point, hence the earlier due date.

Sometimes that's the case with copy too. There was a project that I wanted done by the end of December 2006. Come end of December I saw that it just wasn't ready for action, so it's still under construction. Actually we revised the concept for the entire project and are in the process of reconstructing the product.

My client was thrilled with the new idea, even though it requires more time and more money. It also made the project a little more complicated. But in the end it will probably double or triple profits, plus open the door for an endless sequence of

backend sales. In short, several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It became so complicated and involved that this is my only client-based project this month (other than some consulting). I don't know how long it will take. We have a final cut off date of January 30th. I'd like to see it done earlier.

I'd rather err on the safe side and not book anything else this month. Other clients have booked work for February. If I get done early, I can start on the next batch.

This current project has a $7,500 bill attached to it. Not much for 2 months work, but the 7.5% royalty on a $100 product is what I'm working for. That's $7.50 (USD) for every product sold. That could mean an easy $500-$750 a month coming in for the next few years. Well worth the effort.

So it's always a balance between just getting it done, and getting it done right. In many cases you can do both. For instance, many copywriters would be better off just getting their first self-promo site up there, instead of waiting until it's perfect. You can always rewrite it.

I've done two from-scratch revisions of my self-promo. I know Ryan Healy's done the same. I'm sure most people have. And we'll do it again.

Of course, you need to be ready. As Jason Moffatt told me a while a back, "Sometimes I see copywriters' websites and I think, Where'd you learn to write? College?"

You need to know the basics to DIRECT-RESPONSE salesmanship in print. Writing well isn't enough. In fact, it can often be secondary to selling well, when it comes to copywriting. If you can do both, you'll be unstoppable. Best place to get started is

Brian Keith Voiles' Ad Magic. To find out more go to…

www.realitycopywriting.com/ad_magic

Capture, captivate, convert,

John A. Manley

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