As a copywriter, my ideas are my stock in trade. They are what make my copy unique and valuable, giving me a special advantage over other writers. They are, quite frankly, how my copy not only beat the control by over 70% but handed me millions of dollars in royalties.

I mention this not to brag, but only to emphasize the value of your IDEAS. Because your ideas are so valuable, there are those who will try to steal your ideas and pass them off as their own--cutting you out thousands if not millions of dollars in royalties.

The last thing I want to see is someone knocking one off my big money makers and cutting me out of my royalty stream. Unfortunately, this happens too often in the world of copywriting and can be devastating to your career and bottom line.

So, how can you protect yourself and keep people from stealing your ideas?

The answer is simple: with an iron-solid contract.

A good contract is the best way to protect you ideas and ensure that you get paid for you work. It should spell out exactly what you are providing to the client, including the rights to use the work, and specify how much you will be paid and when.

One important thing to keep in mind when creating a contract is to be very clear about the ownership of the work. That's why I make sure it is clear that I own the ideas and that the client is only purchasing the right to use them. This will prevent the client from claiming ownership of the work and using it without my permission.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

When I started in the business, I did not have a contract, only a simple letter agreement. I discovered that it meant nothing when a client had a copywriter knock off one of my promotions, including stealing several pages from my work and refused to pay me.

Of course, when I refused to work for that client and he decided to pay me $17,000 as compensation for this “mistake,” did I know the true value of my talent.

That's when I got smart quickly and sought an attorney to create a contract that spelled out I owned the work and licensed it to the client. Once in place, nobody ripped me off.

To be sure, there were times I saw my copy in another person's promotion working with another company, but that "accident" quickly resulted in a payoff just when I showed them the copyright certificates.

The bottom line here is this:

As a fellow copywriter, your ideas are your most valuable asset, too. Protecting those ideas with an iron-solid contract is crucial to ensure that you get paid for your work and your career continues to thrive and you will always be rewarded for your work.

If you don't have a contract that spells out royalties, check out mine.

I spent over $10,000 creating it and I'm practically giving it away.

The reason is simple: I don't want to see any of my brother or sister freelancers working for peanuts anymore.

Mine spells out how much you get paid, when you get paid, penalties for not paying you time, and the legal venue where all disputes are settled--your hometown.

And MINE spells you that YOU  OWN THE COPY--not the client--and that YOU will license it to them.

You are going to love that!

That's how you get paid royalties because you own the copy and you license your work to them--just like a songwriter!

Here's the best part.

If you follow my lead, you can create a ROYALTY MOAT around your clients that keeps your clients your clients.

Here’s how it works. 

You negotiate a FEE and a royalty arrangement for everything your copy sells.  

The FEE pays you to write the ad or email. 

The royalty is for updating the ads FOREVER--just for the royalty. I did not say to write new ads, just update the old ones. I’m talking about new headlines, subheadlines, leads, etc. 

By doing so, you will be giving “vitamin booster” shots to all your ads, continuing to give them new life. 

By doing so, your client won’t be inclined to hire another copywriter to test against your copy because you will always be providing a never-ending series of ideas to keep your promotions fresh. 

In other words, instead of your client having to pay your competitors a $25,000 fee to write a promo to test against yours, you will provide unlimited tests FREE--all part of your royalty arrangement. 

How do you get your client to pay you a FEE and royalty?

YOU GET YOURSELF AN GREAT CONTRACT!

One that spells out:

1. When you get paid,
2. How much you get paid,
3. The percentage of royalties you get paid, plus
4. Penalties for nonpayment along with the state and county with which all legal disputes are settled.

What's more, my contract even spelled out royalties in the event of my death--because I owned the copy and I licensed it to them. 

That is how you really make money as a copywriter, by owning the copy, just like a songwriter does.   

And just like a songwriting contract, my contract even included responsibilities for the client to keep records AND gave me the right to audit their records too. 

It also included a provision to keep them from hiring another copywriter to “knock off” my work. 

It happened once before and I swore it would never happen again.  So that was in my contract too along with indemnifying me against any claim against the client because of anything I had written. 

That's how you make sure you always get paid--with a real contract that spells out everything!

From 2002 to 2015 I spent over $10,000 with attorneys honing my contract. And there were only two times I had to enforce payment provisions.  

Neither of which, thankfully, had to come to any legal action.  The contract simply reminded them of what they had agreed to. 

This is why I continue to receive royalty payments from a number of clients for work I created over a decade ago.  

That's why I have decided to offer a SAMPLE COPY of my contract to my followers for THREE reasons: 

So you don’t have to start from scratch as I did,

So you can work with your attorney to craft a contract that works for you and MOST OF ALL

So that you don’t have to pay over $10,000 for legal advice as I have!

If you would like to obtain a copy, I will sell you one ONLY with the understanding that this is a SAMPLE for your informational purposes ONLY.   Specifically for you to give to your attorney to use as a basis for creating a contract for you. 

Here’s the deal. 

As I mentioned, it cost me over $10,000 to create a contract to not only make sure I was paid but to also indemnify me from an unforeseen lawsuit.  A few colleagues have offered me as much as $1,000 for a copy. 

But that would go against my goal of helping as many copywriters as I can get to the level that I enjoy today. 

That’s why I have decided to give them away for just $99!   

Why so little?

To give up-and-coming copywriters the opportunity to get the kind of protection of their work that I enjoyed at the lowest possible cost.

When you understand that your attorney will probably charge you $150 to $500 an hour to modify this contract for your purposes, you'll thank me 1000 times knowing you've given them a sample to work from.

So is it a deal?

I hope so!

Because protecting my work and building a royalty moat around my clients were two of the most profitable business decisions I ever made. I'm hoping it will be for you too. 

Click here now to protect yourself with my copywriter contract.

All good wishes, 

Doug  D'Anna 

P.S. Keep this in mind.

No contract will ever keep people from trying to rip you off. But it can provide you with the legal mechanism to combat this theft. Mine can provide you with a great sample contract to work from to ensure you're protected.

Click here to download your copy.