As you know, the big money in copywriting is made selling investment newsletters and financial advisories. Publishers will pay top talent fees from $10,000
to $25,000, not to mention royalties that could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Despite what you may read on other Web sites, breaking into this field is not easy. Yet it's not as hard you may think. You can get into this field
with a little preparation and confidence.
When I say preparation, I mean it. Especially if you don't have any written sales samples or results in this field.
Here's what you must do before you contact a soul.
1. Bone up on investing and investors. If you plan to sell investment advice, you must know something not only about the many facets of investing but also about how investors
think.
2. Get a feel for the stock market. As I write this, the market is rebounding from a number of wild swings from the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, and corporate
earnings.
You must not only know what is going on in the markets BUT ALSO what this action means to investors and to stocks.
3. Think like a stock analyst. Most investment advisory promotions are driven by stock recommendations. As a result, you must be able to understand how investors are feeling in
relationship to the market and then connect the dots to a stock and then to the publication.
You'll need to know what a contrarian is...the difference between dividend and growth stocks...if tech stocks are good buys now...the difference between oil
drillers and integrated oil companies.
You'll also need to know why copper prices are spiking...how ethanol production is affecting corn prices...why natural gas prices are at all-time highs and how you
can profit from this...and much more.
This is really just the beginning of what you should know.
But the payoff can be quite huge when you break into this business. The checks can be mind-boggling. It all begins by gaining knowledge of the subject and of
how investment cycles work.
My Big Break
If you heard my interview with Clayton Makepeace, then you know I caught a huge break in 1992 with an assignment with Phillips Investment
Resources. My first package was for The Retirement Letter. It was called "The Great Retirement Betrayal."
When it finally fatigued, the company had mailed more than 20 million pieces and I had received--hold on to your hat--more than $250,000 in
royalties.
What I failed to mention in that interview is that I would have never been able to write that piece if I didn't spend a year working as contract writer at
The Ruff Times, the largest investment newsletter of the 1980s.
It was there I learned about the stock market and investors and began honing my writing skills. Of course, nothing I created there had the impact that my
first piece for Phillips did. Yet it was this training ground that helped me to gain the insights and
understanding that I credit for much of my success today.
So in order to break into the financial copywriting niche, you must add this critical knowledge to your background before you write one word.
In many ways, it's like training for a sport. Not only do you need to practice before you can play, you really need to know the game. How to Get Up to Speed on the Financial
Markets
First and foremost, you're going to need to read the financial sections of the newspapers and watch the TV shows. The reason is
simple.
You need to read what investors read and know what they know. That way you can tap into their feelings and emotions.
(By the way, if you're not interested in writing for the financial markets, this is good advice for whatever niche you specialize in.)
Once you begin to get a feeling for the financial markets and investors, you'll read through other direct mail and email packages with a whole new eye.
You'll see how they tap into not only the mass knowledge of investors but also the individual feelings that investors have.
A great way to learn this business is to study other people's work. Creating a swipe file is great way to do this. Just be sure you're grabbing the
right pieces.
If you're looking for winning ideas, you'd better be looking at winners. As you've undoubtedly discovered, some really great pieces you've read may not be
controls at all.
So you want to make sure you know what's working and what isn't.
The reason is simple: so you know which ideas and themes are working in the marketplace and which ones aren't so you can avoid
them!
Because I've seen more split-run copywriting tests that most copywriters, I've been able to avoid what doesn't work while many of my competitors work their fannies
off developing ideas that will ultimately go nowhere. So you better believe there's promotional gold in knowing what doesn't work and what does. The key, of course, is to know the difference.
How to tell? Easy. If you've received it more than one time more than likely it's a winner. If you receive a different piece from the same
source, chances are it's not. Once you've separated the wheat from the chaff, your real education
begins.
How to Study a Financial Promotion
You'll notice I said "study" and not swipe. You can't simply swipe your way to success in this business. The A-level clients I work with have more than
20 years of experience in this business.
They have seen all the promotions, since they are renting their lists to other companies. So what you must bring to the table is something original and
unique.
How to do this?
By studying other people's promotions. I mean studying. When I started out I would not only count paragraphs between arguments, but also look
deep into the arguments.
That's where the gold is. If you can hit your prospect with the right idea at the right time with the right reasons why, the result can be the equivalent of
owning a broken slot machine.
All this circles back to knowing the market, the product, and your end customer
The Secret to My Success
Unlike most direct response copywriters, who may see a few hundred or so split-run copywriting tests in their lifetimes, I have been privy to the test results of thousands of split-run
tests.
And not just tests on a small scale, but creative tests conducted for the top direct marketers in the country. The $135 million in test results that I have seen over the years have made it possible for me to not only avoid obvious mistakes...
...but also to claim one of the highest win ratios in direct response--beating the control nearly 70% of the time
Over the years, for example, I have been privy to the test results of close to 1000 split-run, head-to-head email and direct copywriting tests, which has allowed me to boost my batting average to one of the highest in the
industry.
(I realize that 1000 split-run tests may at first sound too high to be believable, but not once you consider the number controls that I have, how frequently they are tested via email, and the number of lists they go to.)
Frankly, no other direct response
copywriter whom I know has seen as many split-run tests as I have. Nor does any spend as much time evaluating results and drawing on this knowledge to create new promotions.
This is why my four-point system continues to help me create more profitable and more powerful promotions than many of my competitors.
A few of my successes to date include these: Blue Chip Growth Letter, Quantum Growth Letter, Global Growth letter, Profitable Investing, Trader's Advantage, Cabot China & Emerging Market Report, China Strategy, and Biotech Breakthroughs.
It is precisely for this reason that I
continue to test and refine key principles of direct response copywriting...
...and why my promotions for my A-list clients not only continue to achieve record sales but also give me one of the best "win ratios" in the industry.
This scientific
approach has become the vortex of my success--proving beyond doubt that words alone do not make the foundation of a winning promotion.
How My Time-Proven Approach Yields Consistent Results
All four principles of my copywriting system have been scientifically developed to identify what customers want, the offers that most attract them, and the themes they find most
appealing, in combination with what is going on in the market now.
So before I write one word, I spend a minimum of 40 hours of analysis and research using not only my four-point system as a guide...
...but also the knowledge accumulated over the past 20 years of
witnessing thousands of split-run copywriting tests.
By simply eliminating what has been tested and proven not to work, I've been able to not only avoid the unwitting mistakes most marketers make...
...but also develop some of the biggest breakthroughs in the
information publishing field, a niche I have specialized in for over 30 years.
My widely mailed and emailed control packages for InvestorPlace Media, Lombardi Publishing, Forbes, Prevention Health Books, Cabot Heritage Corporation, KCI Communications, and Eagle Financial Publications are the best proof I can offer that my approach works.
My classic instructional video, How to Write Long Copy that Makes Money, explains my system, how it works, and how you can profit from it. Everyone who writes copy or manages copywriters owes it to himself to watch it.
Once you see it, you'll understand not only why my approach has helped
me beat the control nearly 7 out of 10 times over the past 30 years...
..but also help you write more effective and powerful promotions for your clients as well as your own products.
First and foremost, you'll learn how to come up with a winning
idea. I know you've read on the Internet about magic copywriting words and other tricks. But truly, the key to success isn't the snappiness of your headline--it really comes down to knowing what to write about.
I'll explain how you can develop a strong sales premise along with three
questions you should ask yourself before you begin writing any promotion. Ask the wrong questions of yourself and you'll end up writing about the wrong things. This is always a package killer.
I'll also share with you my simple "National Enquirer" method for
identifying the "want-to-know" information that your prospects...well, want to know. Plus how to put this information together in a way that piques their interest, increases their desire, and triggers their action.
I'll also explain why there's no substitute for research and why
the more your direct mail promotions resemble a magazine or special report, the greater your chances are of creating a winner.
In addition, you'll discover my own approach to writing headlines
and why I prefer the BIG headline over the multiple-headline, magazine-like mailers.
I'll also share with you my simple MBWA ("management by walking around")
approach to identifying the big headline.
Plus you'll discover how you can mine promotion gold at magazine
stands and how writing with an editorial slant will pay off in droves.
And that's really just the half of it!
I'll also give you a peek into my second big winner, a magalog
launch package for personal finance experts Ken and Daria Dolans. I didn't know it at the time, but my "Tap the Hidden Wealth Inside Your Paycheck" promotion was hugely successful. You'll certainly see my excitement as you watch the video.
You'll also learn--perhaps for the first time--how to craft an expert-level
"reason why" argument. I explain how to lay out your reasons and organize them with strong headlines. Plus, I reveal why Reader's Digest presents a great model for copywriters.
In addition, I'll share with you my simple "so what?" approach to
identifying compelling themes, along with how to write in a way that solves your readers' problems.
Ultimately, you'll discover how to open up a conversation that results in a
sale rather than sounds like another sales pitch. Plus my secret weapon for writing highly motivational copy and tell you why most copywriters are swiping the wrong stuff.
I guarantee you'll understand why we as copywriters are really in the relationship business and why we should strive to put that relationship into everything we
do.
In all, you'll learn the techniques that I used to create the most successful direct mail packages in Phillips Investment Resources' history... that have helped me become one of the highest-paid copywriters in the U.S. today... and can now help you enjoy greater success from all of your copywriting efforts.
Given the success I've had over the years, you would think I would charge an arm and a leg for a copy of this instructional video.
Frankly, that would go against my goal of helping as many people as I can to get to the next level.
That's why I've made it available for you to stream this classic video for just $10.
Or if you prefer, you can own it for just $49.
That way you can see my approach and put it to work for you at the lowest possible cost.
In all, you'll learn the techniques that I used for form the foundation of the most successful direct mail packages in InvestorPlace' history,
including:
No matter what you decide, you'll learn the secrets to
my long-term success and be able to put them to work for you.
All good wishes,
Doug D'Anna
Meet Doug D'Anna
As a seasoned direct response copywriter, Doug has created hundreds of profitable
direct mail packages, emails, and video sales letters for the world's largest specialized information
publishers—generating over $100 million in direct sales.
