Disillusioned Copywriter Demands The Truth

A disgruntled copywriter wrote me demanding clarifications. He believes most copywriters lie and exaggerate their claims of wealth. Let’s call him “Chuck.”

I understand where Chuck is coming from. Because I’ve been where he is. So I responded, not because I wanted to acquiesce to his demands but because I wanted to give him hope, ideas, and, dare I say it, a million-dollar education.

He says he will be asking other copywriters the same question, and even threatened (although, that may be too harsh of a word) to publish my reply.

For all I know, this copywriter may be gathering information to create his own product. Who knows? (If he is, I must say that his strategy is brilliant. And if he does create a product out of this, good for him!)

I’m reprinting the conversation here since I believe it will help a lot of other struggling copywriters out there. Also, I’m opening myself a little more than usual. I guess you can say that I’m exposing the real “Michel Fortin.”

My answer might surprise you…

First, here’s his question:

“Michel, can you prove this ‘billion dollar copywriters?’ Do you have to exaggerate so much? You are insulting anyone who reads your writings.

“This is harsh I know, but I am sick and tired of reading about the millions in products and services sold because of copywriters. Or the thousands they make per project.

“Where do you guys come from? Who is paying you these fees you speak of? Is there anyone outside of the ‘let’s all promote each other and get rich’ network?

“One other thing, if you are really making the kind of money you say, why do you sell courses, have a forum, do seminars, etc.? Is there little demand for your fee level?

“I do not believe any self-proclaimed top copywriter can make a six-figure income with copywriting alone.

“Is this the scary truth?

“You do not need to prove anything to me, or any other copywriter out there, of course. Just put yourself in our position. We struggle to get by, most of us.

“Then here you are, claiming to make thousands per project, yet seemingly doing all these other things online. Or maybe you are cloned?

“It makes no sense at all.

“All I want is the proven truth. Perhaps this is not possible online. A person can claim almost anything on the web and many will believe it.

“I may send similar letters to other ‘top’ copywriters (many of us have our doubts). Perhaps I will gather the info and create a report. The tone of my letter will be the same.

“This has an intended purpose. There are many of us struggling, disillusioned copywriters out here. We hope your reply will be specific, factual and quite frankly, give us hope. A ‘no reply’ will noted for the possible report.”

Chuck, I appreciate your concerns. They are legitimate, as I was in your position when I first started out as a struggling copywriter.

First, let me clarify a few things.

I’m not sure where you got “billions” (although I do know that Clayton Makepeace is indeed a “billion-dollar copywriter,” as he writes for large mailing and publishing houses, and also earns royalties). But I can say that it’s certainly several millions — at least for me, anyway.

And I also don’t know how you took those sales levels achieved as income generated from copywriting fees alone. To be clear, and as I often state in my own copy, I was instrumental in producing millions of dollars for my clients.

And for myself, too.

When I say “instrumental,” I mean that my copy, my coaching, and my consultation work with million-dollar clients produced millions of dollars.

And when I say “for myself,” I don’t mean just in copywriting fees or royalties. I also mean that my copy produced millions of dollars in sales, including the sale of my own products. (Plus, I’m sure you know the difference between gross revenue and net income.)

Second, many of my clients are partners, not just clients. So in some instances, I get a piece of the action for writing their copy. That means, I don’t get paid just a flat fee, which you seem to be implying. In some cases, I also get paid commissions and royalties that my copy produces for my clients.

This is the “next level” I believe copywriters should aspire to. Why? Because as long as you write copy for a flat fee, you are no different than someone working in a job trading hours for dollars.

Earning royalties is certainly a step above “for-fee” copywriting. And creating partnerships with clients is another step above that. (I’ll come back to what this means in a moment.)

Nevertheless, I hope this a goal for you, too. Obviously, it won’t happen overnight. It took me 12 years before I landed my first commission-based client. But it does get easier once you get better at marketing yourself.

Third, I’m not just a copywriter. I write the copy for my own businesses, too.

I own several businesses. Over a hundred, in fact. Many with my wife Sylvie Fortin. Some are tiny and insignificant websites selling products (mostly information) to highly targeted niches — products completely outside the “marketing,” “copywriting,” or “make money” industries.

But others are indeed larger and far more profitable. Granted, I also do sell products in the make-money arena. But it’s just one niche of many.

By the way, the latest one is a website that teaches people how to make money online — it’s the brainchild of my wife, Sylvie Fortin, who owns one of the most prolific outsourcing companies on the Internet.

(That’s how we met, incidentally. We were both service providers catering to the same clientele. I wrote their copy while my wife handled their customer support, product development, marketing campaign management, etc. And we did this for years until we discovered we were living practically next door to each other!)

That product is called “Success Chef.” And this product was created not just out of a need in the marketplace but also as the result of an epiphany we had while dealing with a personal challenge.

You see, ever since my wife’s breast cancer a few years ago, which included radical surgery (mastectomy), six months of chemotherapy, followed by three months of radiation treatments, we were glad that we owned our own businesses that were not tied to servicing clients.

We had no choice.

As a result, we had to train our staff to take care of our service businesses while taking time off to tackle this dreadful disease. In the process, we realized that many of our clients and coaching students would benefit from that training.

And the result became Success Chef, where we teach people how to start a business online by following some simple steps, much like following a recipe. You’ve probably seen it at SuccessChef.com.

(Do check out the “Free Video” on the site. It’s 70 minutes long, and walks you through the four steps we practice and teach.)

Fourth, I’m not sure why you seem to be confused about the concept of offering forums, seminars, and courses, outside of the service business.

They were created to help people — many of them were the result of their requests and questions. And some of them are completely free, too.

But they were also created because of my own personal situation.

Now, let me candid for a moment.

I’m opening myself up a little more than usual, but I’m doing this so you can get a better sense of where I’m coming from.

While I used to be “just” a copywriter, I was getting tired of making other people rich. I was tired of getting paid $5,000, $10,000, or even $15,000 for writing long salesletters, while watching them produce millions for my clients.

It frustrated me. It still does!

As a matter of fact, my best year in terms of income derived solely as a copywriter (many years ago), where I earned close to a million dollars in copywriting fees in one year alone, I was also getting burned out. In fact, I was getting terribly exhausted.

I was working 18-20 hour days to meet deadlines, and in some cases working without any sleep several days in a row. I was juggling three to five copywriting projects at a time, at any given time. While that may seem like a nice problem to have, my health was deteriorating as a result.

Sure, I was in demand, charging hefty fees, and doing well financially as a copywriter. But I hit two major walls: 1) I hit a plateau (obviously, there are only so many projects a human being can do at any given time). And 2) I was also taking on too many projects, overextending myself, and making myself sick.

I got so sick, in fact, that I “quit” taking on new projects, fired all my clients, refunded over $100,000 in copywriting fees, and took a sabbatical.

Nowadays, I own an agency. It’s the one you see at SuccessDoctor.com.

I still write copy for some clients. But I’m very selective now, and I prefer “partnership arrangements” as I stated earlier. Otherwise, I have my team of junior copywriters, who were students of mine at first, write for my clients under my agency’s banner.

Also, that’s one of the reasons why I offer “how-to” products, because many of my junior copywriters were first and foremost my students, whom I trained. They work closely with me, and follow my methodology, my formulas, my techniques, and my copywriting philosophy.

But the bottom line is, I prefer to teach and own my own businesses, than work as I did before strictly as a copywriter and getting so exhausted to the point of making myself sick again.

Fifth and finally, if you seek proof, I encourage you to visit my websites. (Check out the testimonials and case study sections — such as “Actual Results Achieved” page — where clients gave me not only testimonials but also revealed their results achieved with my work, which they’ve documented.)

Also, do check out my blog.

Speaking of which, I blog because I love it. Aside from writing copy, owning many businesses, and selling products in a variety of niches, my blog exists purely as a passion and a creative outlet for me.

True, I monetize my blog in a variety of ways — from advertising revenue and using it to attract copywriting clients, to making offers and selling products on it. But I do it because it’s fun, and moreso for that reason than any other.

Nevertheless, I’m not sure if this answers your questions and concerns or not.

But my suggestion to you is:

1. First, learn marketing.

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business — whether you’re a copywriter, or a gardener selling tomatoes. Go to my blog and read some of my articles. (My latest one, “Three Tips For Finding Top-Shelf Clients,” is one article of many I propose you read.)

2. Second, hone your craft.

The better you become at copywriting, the more in demand you will be. Your results, and your track record, will speak for themselves. They will sell for you. Especially by word of mouth.

3. Third, get a piece of the action.

Once you get busier as a for-fee copywriter, start to seek royalty arrangements. This is where you write copy based on performance. What I recommend (and it’s the way I do it) is to offer a flat-fee as a draw against future commissions.

For example, say you charge $5,000 for a salesletter. You can charge $5,000, which is drawn against, say, 5% of gross sales your copy produces for your client.

The way it works is simple:

Your client only pays you once the accumulated royalty exceeds the initial draw they paid you. And they pay you that royalty for as long as your client uses your copy.

Granted, finding such clients is not easy. But once you get better at writing copy and marketing yourself, these arrangements will start to fall on your lap. You will have clients who will be willing to consider paying you on performance, and not just for a flat fee.

4. Fourth, seek partnerships.

Once you get your feet wet with a few royalty arrangements, start seeking partnerships. This is where you grow as a copywriter to the point where you become a partner and have a vested interest in your client’s business.

In this case, you provide more than just the copy. You also provide consulting. You can share marketing strategies, test results, and business-building advice. You can seek out increased revenue opportunities, under-exploited profit centers, new markets to penetrate, and so on.

And your fee, in this case, is not a draw nor a royalty, but a larger percentage of their business overall.

5. And finally, start creating your own products.

Because when you write your own copy and pocket 100% of the profits, you will gain a lot more momentum, freedom, and money working for yourself than you will ever gain as a service provider making other people rich instead of you.

And the information business — and it doesn’t have to be about making money or copywriting, either — is often the easiest way to start. Again, I refer you to our training system, “Success Chef,” for some ideas.

You don’t have to join. Just watch the video.

Hopefully this will stir up some ideas for you.

As an afterthought, don’t forget to learn what you can, whenever you can. Always be a sponge, as I am. I may have read thousands of books and watched hundreds of videos. But I still continue to educate myself — about business, about marketing, and certainly about copywriting.

Because doing so will help you not just as a copywriter but also as a potential partner in your clients’ businesses.

Ultimately, seek to better your skills as well as your business. Because you are not a copywriter. You are a business. And your business provides a service. More to the point, your business provides results. Remember that.

One website I highly recommend is Peter Bowerman’s “The Well-Fed Writer.”

I hope this helps.

Last 5 Posts by Michel Fortin

• Social Media Isn’t Dead, But It Can Be Deadly
• How to Extract Doubt From Your Sales Copy
• It’s Not About Facebook, It’s About Integrity
• Did Larry Winget Go Overboard?
• The Oft-Confused Features And Benefits

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