If you want to multiply your sales ten times or more, get cozy with the 40/40/20 rule.
It’s the secret that will
skyrocket your opens, conversions, and, most importantly, your sales.
So what is the 40/40/20 rule?
It’s an old-school direct response rule that holds the key to unlocking the full potential
of your copywriting prowess.
Let me spell it out for you because it’s a game-changer and it will increase the success of virtually every email, landing page, or video sales letter you ever write. Here’s the rule in a nutshell:
40% of your success hinges on your list,
40% hinges on your offer, and a mere
20% on your copy
This formula serves as a reality check
for those who believe that copy alone can carry the day.
Here's why:
List (40%):
The fact is, our copy's success heavily relies on the quality and relevance of your list. Great copy to the wrong audience is like a masterpiece lost in translation..
Offer (40%):
Your offer is the heartbeat of your campaign—a deal and a value proposition that makes the right audience sit up and take notice.
Nail your offer, and your readers will practically dive to the order form.
Copy (20%):
As much as it pains me to admit it as a copywriter, your copy plays a supporting role.
Truth is, a kindergartener could pen a winning ad with a great list and a compelling offer. A great writer, however, supercharges those sales.
Why Many Copywriters Miss the Memo:
The 40/40/20 rule often eludes many copywriters, especially in the era dominated by digital strategies.
In the shuffle of new tactics, the fundamentals get lost. But embracing this rule is your key to cutting through the
noise and achieving unparalleled success.
Which is why I continually stress to my clients and students to:
Invest time in understanding your audience, ensuring your message
aligns with their needs and desires.
Work closely with your marketing team to develop offers that stand out and compel action.
Tailor your copy to resonate specifically with the segments within your list.
Your copy's brilliance should amplify the allure of your offer, not compensate for its shortcomings.
REMEMBER
When it comes to creating million-dollar promotions, recognize that creativity is just one of your tools, not the entire
toolbox.
When you find the right balance between creative brilliance and strategic alignment with your list and offer, you will maximize impact.
Which is why I have said many
times, when you let the 40/40/20 rule be the compass that can guide you toward unprecedented success, you’ll automatically create targeting copy and offers that will skyrocket your sales.
When you own the copy and charge a royalty on sales , ka-ching, you could make millions as I have!
That's why I tell my copywriting students to put it in your contract. You own the copy and get paid royalties on all sales.
That's what I did.
You see, while I was making $25,000 a promotion, the big money was always made on the back end-- on performance.
I called it "Forever Income," because I would get paid FOREVER, as long it was their control.
I had some emails, direct mail packages, and landing pages the lasted for over a decade!
And that money came pouring in, like pennies from heaven, every 90 days!
I don't mention any of this to brag, but only to emphasis that what you're copy is only 20% of the promotions success, it can be worth millions to you, as it was to me.
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!
Because building a royalty moat around my clients was one of the most profitable business decisions I ever made. I'm hoping it will be for you too.
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.
