Click on the question below to get your answer:

Q: Bob, what services do you offer to marketers who need copy written?

A: I offer 3 primary services to copywriting clients:

• Copywriting is writing the text for promotions such as landing pages, sales letters, video sales letters, print ads, e-mail marketing messages, press releases, web sites, and other marketing campaigns.
• Copy critiques involve reviewing copy you have written for your marketing campaigns and giving you my opinion along with suggestions on how to improve it.
• Consulting is advising you on your marketing strategy. For instance, if you sell widgets, should you rent a list of widget buyers and send them a postcard? If so, what is your offer to them? Why not send an e-mail instead of the postcard or in addition to it? Answering questions like these is consulting.

Q: How do I know which of these 3 services I should hire you for?

A: I am primarily a copywriter and so copywriting is what I do for clients 97% of the time.

If you come to me and say you need an e-mail to sell a widget to engineers in the chemical industry and you are offering a free widget buyer’s guide, I will respond by giving you a cost estimate for writing the copy for that e-mail.

On the other hand, if you want to sell widgets but aren’t sure how to go about it, I will respond by giving you an estimate for my marketing consultation service.

You can hire me to write copy straightaway as long as you can tell me what kind of copy you need – format, medium, product, offer, and audience.

If you are not at that stage and are trying to figure out how to sell what you have or determining exactly what you want written, that falls under marketing consultation, because I require a fee to help you figure it out.

I much prefer clients who know what they want to create and need “just the copy.” I quote a price, and with your approval, write the strongest copy for your promotion I can.

I’m not much interested in being an advisor, coach, mentor, or consultant – though if I feel strongly that I can help you, know the answer to your marketing problem, and that you need consulting, I may agree to do it.

My consulting focuses on the optimal strategies for either a single marketing tactic like an e-mail or a targeted and specific campaign like how to sell product X to audience Y.

If you need a formal marketing plan for your business, I will refer you to consultants who do that kind of work. I do not write marketing plans.

Q: If I hire you to write copy for us, what is your process?

A: To read my copywriting methodology, just click here.

Q: If I hire you to write a landing pages or online sales letter, how do I then generate revenues from that?

A: You need to drive traffic to the site. I can help you do that or find other experts who can; both they and I charge a fee for doing this work, of course. Some of the traffic generation methods you may want to test include:

• Pay per click advertising on Bing and Google AdWords.
• Facebook advertising.
• Coregistration.
• Paid media advertising.
• Banner and text advertising.
• Seach engine optimization.
• List swaps.
• Affiliate marketing and joint ventures.
• Article marketing.

…to name just a few. I have home study courses that teach many of these traffic building methods. I can also do some for you by myself or working with other experts in my network.

Q: Is there more to selling online than creating a landing page or online sales letter?

A: There are lots of other components involved including pop-ups, banner ads, paid media ads, PPC ads, squeeze pages, autoresponder e-mail sequences, online videos, and much more.

If you know which ones you want written, I can give you an estimate for doing the work.

If you do not know which ones you want or how these elements work together, you can hire an Internet marketing consultant – me or someone else – to tell you. You can also find the answer in my home study course on Internet marketing: www.theinternetmarketingretirementplan.com

Q: Do you guarantee sales results from the copy you write for me?

A: Click here to read what you can expect in terms of results.

Q: Are you easy to hire?

A: I am easy to work with, my clients tell me. But not so easy to hire.

Why not? Because I am incredibly selective about the clients and projects I take on. I only work on projects that interest me and I feel I can do better than other copywriters you can hire.

Also, as it states on my home page www.bly.com, I write all the copy myself and do not subcontract. So I can take on only a limited number of projects at any one time. Once my schedule is full, you may have to wait, and current clients get priority over new ones.

Q: I am a freelance copywriter and have been asked to quote on a copywriting job by a potential client. Can you advise me on what to charge?

A: I do not advise fellow freelance copywriters on what to charge – for several reasons.

First, we are competitors: for all you know, I am bidding on the same job.

Second, when I have in the past given pricing advice, the copywriters have been upset with me when their potential client rejected the quote and did not give them the job.

Third, it is price-fixing.

Q: What if I need graphics, not just the copy? Do you work with an artist?

A: I work with the best direct-mail artists and web designers in the world, but it’s not a package deal. After you hire me, I’ll give you some recommendations on the right artist for your job and you can come to terms with him or her on your own. I can also work with your artist or web developer, if you prefer. Either way is fine with me.

Q: I have a question not covered in your FAQs. How do I get an answer?

A: Call me at 973­-263-0562. I am almost always at my desk and I answer my own phone. And there is no charge for answers to short and simple questions.

If your question requires a more detailed answer than I can provide gratis in a brief call, I will either tell you the cost to retain my help – or refer you to one of my articles, books, or home study programs in which the answer is already written out for you. The articles are free; the books and courses are reasonably priced.