If you have been reading my emails for some time, you know that I have been incredibly blessed.

After all, I worked from home, typed letters for a living, got paid like an author, took my kids to and from school, coached their sports, went to jiu-jitsu at lunch (and got a black belt, too!) and was able to have dinner prepared by the time my wife got home.

Frankly, it didn't get any better than that. When I think of how the rest of the world commuted for hours a day and the time they lost with their families, I simply can’t be thankful enough.

My little copywriter's life gave me something that most people will never see—FREEDOM. The freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted. I want you to be able to do the same.

The secret to my success came when I learned how copywriters were getting paid royalties on their work.

So instead of writing dozens of direct mail packages to make thousands of dollars, they were making thousands—if not millions—writing one piece, and then collecting royalties FOR YEARS. 

I'll never forget the very, very first time I negotiated and got paid a royalty. It was for Phillips Publishing. I was working on a direct mail promotion for the Retirement Letter. I negotiated a $10,000 writing fee, but the publisher would not pay me a royalty.

However, when it beat a strong control package by the legendary copywriter Jim Rutz, the publisher offered to pay me a royalty to continue to work with them.

He was offering one-half cent per piece mailed; I knew the big boys were getting from 2.5 cents to 5 cents. I wanted a penny. I was new to the negotiation gig and was not really aware of the value my skill set offered them.

After all, there was no internet, no social media. There was no way of finding someone with my specific skill set to sell investment newsletters.

BUT—and here's the thing—he only wanted to pay me a royalty on NEW versions of the original promo.

 

So in order for me to get the royalty, my new version had to beat the control. And at just 1 cent royalty, and they tested 20,000 pieces—I would only get $200 for my effort.

 

I told the publisher, "I could rewrite that forever and never beat it."

So he agreed to pay me a half a cent for six months and a penny after that.

Guess what?

At the end of the day, I never beat the control.

In fact they mailed it for three years, sending out over 25 million copies, for which I was paid over $250,000. Cha-ching. 

(NOTE: I was finally beaten by the great Gene Schwartz, but my new version beat his promo and I had the control again for another six months.)

This was just the first of what I would call a “multi-platinum” string of copywriting hits over the years.

This is how I was able to live the ultimate copywriter's life. With the freedom and money that comes from owning the copy and licensing it to the company you are working for.

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

YOU GET YOURSELF A COPYWRITING CONTRACT THAT INCLUDES ROYALTIES

One that spells out:

• When you get paid,
• How much you get paid,
• The percentage of royalties you get paid, plus
• 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.  I was never going to be treated like a chump 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 work once and get paid over and over again--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 for work I created over a decade ago.  

The fact is, your clients could be making millions of dollars from your copy.

If you're looking for a SAMPLE CONTACT to work from, I invite you to grab a copy of mine.

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!

Charging a royalty early in my career was one of the most profitable business decisions I ever made. I'm hoping it will be for you too. 

Click here to grab a copy,

All good wishes, 

Doug  D'Anna

P.S. If you are in the midst of a negotiation with a potential client, you couldn't ask for betting time to get yourself a copy of my contract.

It spells out all the key items you need to work once get paid over and over.

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

Click here to grab a copy.

Sincerely,

Doug D’Anna