A member on my copywriters forum started a thread on what makes my forum so popular. Everyone chimed in with some great answers, and I appreciate the feedback.

(The cool thing about it is, that very thread also reached an important milestone. It was the 10,000th one! Talk about a coincidence, eh?)

But then someone asked:

“Michel, can I ask how you initially got the word out about your forum?”

My answer revealed a bit more than what the member anticipated. Instead of talking about how my forum became so popular, I went on a tangent and explained the step-by-step process I used to book copywriting projects.

The answer was so well received that I decided to reprint it here.

Now, you may be wondering what promoting a forum has to do with promoting my copywriting services. Keep reading because you’ll soon understand why…

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A recent coaching session touched upon the growing trend that some marketers have adopted to squeeze out sales from exiting traffic.

In other words, you visit a website and read the salesletter. You decide it’s not for you, so you leave. But when you try leave (either as you close your browser or simply hover your mouse outside of it), the website attempts to make a last-ditch offer.

The common practice is to offer a discount, and a recent trend is to make it through virtual sales assistant just before the prospect clicks away from the screen.

(Virtual assistant or not, it is no different than a one-time offer appearing in an exit pop-up or spawned browser window once the visitor leaves.)

Not only is the practice annoying, it can be detrimental to your sales efforts.

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After reading my articles on how to find copywriting clients, a student of mine, Jeff, asked me an interesting question.

He’s an aspiring copywriter and wants to build his own freelance copywriting business. When he read that I wrote copy for free when I started my career as a copywriter, he asked me about doing the same:

“Mike, my friends have a very small business, and they have asked me to do copy for them. They say they can’t really pay me that much. I have told them I will do it for free as long as I get rights to the copy and can use it for a reference and in my portfolio. I think this is a wonderful opportunity to get more experience, but my wife wants to see some money on the table. I value your opinion. Can you help?”

Here was my answer.

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My last post, where a disgruntled copywriter demanded “the truth” about creating wealth in copywriting, inspired copywriter Andrew Cavanagh to share the story of his beginnings on my forum:

“Here’s how I made my first ‘money’ in copywriting.”

Then one by one, other copywriters started adding their own. The responses were nothing short of amazing!

Many of the stories show that there’s indeed hope. They also show that we were all struggling copywriters once, too. And we didn’t all become overnight millionaires with million-dollar clients, as “Chuck,” the disillusioned copywriter, postulated.

I loved it so much that I posted my own story. I’ve decided to share it with you here. (By the way, the picture at the top is of me, circa 1991. A lot thinner, with glasses, and a lot more hair!) Anyway, here is my story…

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EDITED: The special has been extended, possibly a day or so, since I made a mistake. (Read below for the details.)

Did you miss out on the 10th anniversary special I did last year, where I offered lifetime memberships to my private copywriting how-to site, “The Copy Doctor,” for just a fraction of the cost?

Since that time (and even to this day), I get hundreds of emails from people who missed out and want to know if I’ll ever do it again. I wasn’t planning on it since 10th anniversaries don’t come often.

However, with so many people clamoring for it, I thought about it for a while and made a decision. (If you missed out, then you’re going to like this!)

I’m ready to promote Lifetime Memberships of Copy Doctor for just $397 to a few select people, one more time, until the end of March, 2008 (ending in a few days). And possibly for the last time, too.

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I have been crazy-busy getting our newest product ready. It’s an all-in-one membership site that shows you how to create a moneymaking business online in just four steps.

We call it “Success Chef University.”

It covers everything. Every business model, traffic type, and marketing strategy. But do you know which ones you really need and why? What about outsourcing any of it?

Like following a recipe, you need to use the right ingredients in the right order. Success Chef simplifies it all for you with step-by-step video tutorials.

Success Chef is still in the pre-launch phase. However, we decided to invite you to join right now — long before we do launch — with a massive discount.

Limited to the next 50 individuals only.

The salesletter is also interactive, too. We’ve also recorded a special hour-long video to help you. That video is an education in itself! In it, we share those four simple steps to generating income on the Internet.

Check it out if just for the learning experience.

The other day I was asked, “How do I motivate a potential joint venture partner to bite? When you have a great idea and you’ve located the perfect partner, how do you motivate them to do business with you?”

In my last post, I talked about the power of a USP and how to define one. Being unique, or having an interesting twist or hook, will definitely up your chances of getting noticed.

But regardless of how you approach your prospective partner, whether it’s through an email, fax, or phone call, or by snail mail or FedEx, it is important to craft the offer in a manner that shows the benefits to your joint-venture partner.

However, there are a few extra tricks to motivate a potential partner.

Here are some of them…

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