Good point, Dean. Presumably the OP would've taken that route by now if there were any profit in it...

You can get started on Clickbank to see what's selling.

And you can outsource to Elance or Rentacoder.

Thanks Suzanne, and Everyone

I am beginning to get testimonials from people. I just started working with one of these big names, and haven't actually written anything for him yet. As soon as I get a couple of projects with him under my belt I'm planning on asking for a testimonial and a referral to some of his colleagues.

I'm considering the product route as well, but it is still in the planning stages. I'm going to write and market an ebook, but I still need to write it. I'm also working on a very promising JV with another marketer.

Thanks for all your suggestions. It shows me I'm on the right track, I just need to implement some of these ideas instead of coming up with new ones all the time.

Best,

James

James,

You have a marketing problem, plain and simple.

If you aren't marketing yourself effectively...

If you aren't positioning yourself to attract the types of clients you want...

If you aren't SELLING your services convincingly...

Then most higher end clients won't give you the time of day.

The only "high-end" clients who might are the ones who are cheapskates and have a reputation for only hiring cheap copywriters. I'm not going to mention any of them but they have a well-earned rep for being cheap.

High-end clients don't wear nametags that say "I own a business that makes a lot of money". Some of the people you'll meet at seminars, conferences, etc. that you least suspect can be some of the most successful.

Example: Just got hired by a local business owner who is part of a local networking group I belong to. He needed a squeeze page and some offline copy written so I quoted him $4K for my help. I got his check by mail within 3 days and he's been a joy to work with. I didn't have a clue how successful he already was.

Now that he's become a client of mine, I was blown away by how much money just one part of his business produces... and I'm the first ever marketing/copywriting consultant he's ever hired.

I know A LOT of copywriters who turned one hit that they wrote into the launching pad where they make 4 or 5 figures per copywriting project. I just wrote a sales letter for a client a few months ago that produced six figures in sales in 4 weeks.

Now I'm twice as busy as I was before and I was already a full-time copywriter. If I can do it in less than 2 years, then I believe anyone else can do it too.

Make a plan and put it into action.

Good luck,

Mike

James,

One more thing. Take a close look at your website. Compare it to what other copywriters that you view as being ultra-successful and take some notes. What are they doing or saying that you're not?

Take what you learn and put it into action. This will position you better to attract the types of clients you are seeking.

For example, here's one mistake you're making with your site: Your website is not centered. This makes it much harder to read and hurts your presentation of being a professional.

Hope that helps,

Mike

Thanks, Mike, for both tips. I need to put a marketing plan into place that takes into account my limited time. Between writing client copy and my day job, I haven't had time to market myself as much as I'd like. I'm going to sit down today and work up a plan--then stick to it!

Yes, I've gone back and forth with the design of my website. I know I'm overdue for a revamp, but I don't have the money to hire a designer so I've been doing it myself. Part of my new marketing plan will be to make my site look more like a sales letter.

Thanks for all the tips and advice. Keep it coming!

Best,

James

James,

Whatever web design software you're using, there's probably some free tutorials online for it.

So if you're using Front Page, do a Google search on free Front Page tutorials.

Another option is to join Learning @ Your Own Pace® - lynda.com for a month and go through their online training videos.

RE: too busy to market. I hear this one alot but trust me when I say if you make it a priority you will find a way to do even a little marketing each week. If your long-term goal is to do copywriting full-time then it's even more important to build your copywriting business.

I understand busy. I'm a husband, dad of two (infant and toddler), and average 19 hours days, 6-7 days per week. But I market my business every week without fail because I want to keep the steady stream of new business flowing.

Good luck to you,

Mike

I am using Front Page, but between the WYSIWYG text editing capabilities and my knowledge of HTML, I'm able to do most things I need with it, but I'll check out the free tutorials. Thanks.

With anything else, it just takes time. I'm working on getting more testimonials and making a list of the type of clients I would like to work with.

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful tips and advice.

Best,

James

3 words...

Value Based Copywriting

Hey James,

I'm new to this board and it's my first post but I have been building my business for a few years now. And I noticed one thing about your website that I think you should change.

Your opt-in takes visitors to a download page instead of visitors getting the goods emailed to them.

I think it makes it way to easy for a visitor to enter a bogus email address just to get your report.

You're flushing leads down the drain. Some might say the people who enter bogus emails aren't quality leads anyway but I disagree. I think it's almost an automatic reaction to avoid giving out your email if you can.

Why give visitors that choice? Make 'em give up their real email address to get your valuable report.

Ev