Are you leaving money on the table? How to tell...
Published: Sun, 02/05/23
When I launched my
career as a direct response copywriter, I quickly understood my value when I was paid $500 to write a two-page sales letter only to find they were paying their ad agency five grand.
That’s when I not only raised my price to $1,000 but started to research exactly what people in my profession were being paid. I networked with other
professionals in the field or checked their price list they published in the back of marketing publications.
As I continued my copywriting journey, I found two sources that helped me immensely:
A publication called “Who's Mailing What” had a companion publication called “Who’s Charging What.” This publication spelled out what others were being paid for sales letters, direct mail packages, etc.
Copies of contracts one of my clients gave me, which were from the world’s top copywriters and showed how much they were getting paid.
So while I was being paid $200 a day to write on-site, these big guys were being paid $7,500 to $25,000 per direct mail package—not including royalties.
Royalties? I had no idea. That’s when I swore to myself that I would get into that game too.
That realization made me understand what my talent was worth. I no longer thought of myself as a writer in a corner but as a big-time marketer as well.
With every job, I raised my price—from $1,500 to $3,500 to $6,000 to $10,000 all in one year!
Cha-ching.
That one job for $10,000 ultimately came packaged with a royalty that paid me a quarter of a million dollars over three years!
Because of that success, I raised my price again, from $10,000 to $12,500 plus a royalty of 2.5 cents.
Then one day, I got a call from the marketing director of a company I was working with. She told me she was leaving. I asked her, “Are you paying BIG TIME COPYWRITER $25,000 and a five-cent per piece royalty?” She said yes. I said, “OK.”
The very next
day, I called the new marketing director, whom I knew from another company, and I said, “Glad to be working with you. Since we worked together last, my prices have changed. I charge the same price as BIG TIME COPYWRITER, $25,000 and five cents per piece mailed.” She said, “OK!”
However, I wouldn't have received these royalties if I
hadn't:
Understood what I was worth
Negotiated a great deal
Put it in my contract.
As I regularly tell my coaching students, you only get what you negotiate and what you put in your contract. That's how I made millions of dollars in recurring revenue during my working days.
Which is why I spent over $10,000 refining my contract over the
years to make sure I always got paid—and I did.
There were a few times a few people balked, but I referred them to my contract and the checks were sent right away.
That’s the beauty of having a contract. It spells not only how much you get paid, but when you get paid and the ramifications for not paying.
If you don't have a contract, you can get a copy of mine.
It outlines everything that you can use as a model for your own contract. I spent over $10,000 in legal fees with three different attorneys over the years developing mine, but I am offering a limited number of copies for just $99.
Why so little?
This is because I promised myself that when I made it to the top of my field, I would help others achieve the same success as I have enjoyed. Offering it to you for just 1% of what it cost me to create is my way of doing just that.
I call it "Copywriting Contract That Pays You Royalties!" You'll call it the best thing that ever happened to your career.
That's because it spells out virtually everything you need to ensure timely payment for your work and includes a provision for royalties, allowing you to
continue to earn income from your work long after the initial payment has been made.
When you create a version for yourself, you may never again have to worry about whether you will be paid on time, as the terms of payment are clearly stated in the contract.
That's because my model contract offers protection of your payment, peace of mind, cost savings, and unique provisions not commonly found in other contracts.
By purchasing a copy, you can to only save yourself time and money in legal fees
because your attorney will have a model to work from, but also have a valuable tool for your career as a copywriter.
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.