Hey Reader

I’ve got some good stuff, different stuff, weird stuff, coming your way in the weeks that follow this one.

But today, I’ve got to get something off my chest.

I’ve spent more time than usual turning down work lately.

Not because I don’t want to work.

But because, from my perspective, “copywriters” are ruining copywriting.

Allow me to clarify that last statement.

You see, when I took my first copywriting gig, I had zero experience.

I didn’t even know WTF a landing page was. I was worse than a newbie... I was an ignorant newbie.

Fortunately, I had a patient mentor.

And although I wouldn’t discover how powerful this was until later, I was also fortunate that my mentor was not a fellow copywriter.

He was and is a world-class marketer and entrepreneur.

And what he taught… dare I say drilled into me… is that above all else, the purpose of my writing was to generate revenue.

That was my job. Full Stop.

Focus on creating content, written or otherwise, that enhances the prosperity of the business.

As far as learning the mechanics of copywriting, I was kind of on my own.

My mentor gave me some pointers here and there. He always gave me honest and thoughtful feedback, and he pushed me to continue getting better.

Yet, when it came down to how to write sales copy, we didn’t spend much time on that.

Most of our conversations focused on marketing strategy.

Flash forward six years to the present day, and that early training has given me what seems to be a significant advantage.

Because in today’s world of copywriting, there is an influx of task-focused “copywriters.”

Here’s what I mean by task-focused…

Lately, I have been getting more and more inquiries from business owners who want to hire me for very specific projects.

For example, these prospective clients will tell me things like, “I need seven emails to sell my dog training course.”

Or…

“I need five new sales pages for my how to play guitar website.”

And based on that information alone, they want me to quote them a fee for my services.

I won’t.

Instead, if I don’t ignore these inquiries altogether… (Yes, I know that sounds rude, but some of these messages are rather demanding. Which pisses me off, so I ignore them. If you want a response from me, you can be direct and still be polite. Even over email, manners go a long way… anyway)…

… Instead of quoting a price, I ask them WHY they “need seven emails.”

Because the hard truth is they don’t need seven emails or five new sales pages.

They need a better marketing strategy.

Typically, even if their product is great, they need a better USP.

Or they need to work on their offer.

Will seven brilliantly written marketing emails change their business fortunes? The answer is almost always no.

Which is why I won’t take on these projects. It would be unethical.

I am a small business owner. And I’ve always respected those who refuse my money because they know it’s better invested in other efforts.

Yet, right now, there are tons of “copywriters” taking on these projects.

Now, you could say, “But Kyle, everyone’s got to start somewhere. Why shouldn’t a newbie copywriter take on these task-focused copy projects and gain some experience while helping out a small business?”

Two reasons.

The first reason being what my second mentor, the World’s Greatest Copy Coach, taught me.

I think it was our second coaching call when David told me in so many words to shut my mouth and open my ears.

Then he said to me, “Kyle, you are NOT a writing machine for hire! You are a highly trained and specialized marketing consultant.”

The second reason newbie copywriters shouldn’t take these projects is that marginal copywriting, even if it’s low cost, will not help a struggling small business.

Think about it this way…

If a business owner thinks thier number one problem is copywriting, yet they can’t afford to hire or train a top-tier copywriter, then they should not invest in copywriting.

Instead, their capital is better spent on lead gen or marketing strategy. They need to grow before they can really start to leverage good sales copy.

On the other hand, there are many well-off, established businesses that can gain a good return on average sales copy.

These businesses are attracting a lot of potential customers, i.e., they have good traffic numbers, email list size, etc.

What these businesses need is output. And they can provide a great training ground for up-and-coming copywriters.

These businesses can also afford to pay marketing strategists. So, if they hire a task-oriented writer, it's no problem.

The strategist points the writer in the right direction and lets them write. And whatever the writer comes up with is likely to yield a respectable ROI.

Do you see what I am getting at here…

In the truest sense of the craft, copywriters are NOT writers

They are marketing strategists who understand how to write sales copy.

But right now… and I‘m not sure if this is because of ChatGPT or the pandemic-influenced rise of the “remote worker,” there are copywriters under every rock.

They will write as many emails as you ask them to.

They will write for cheap, and they will write fast, with almost zero fucks given about whether or not their work will be profitable for their client.

The task is to write X amount of sales copy for X dollars. That task will get completed.

Now, you may think that since I spent 900-odd words ranting about this issue, it bothers me.

It does not.

This issue is actually helping me.

It’s slowly but surely driving up the price for my services.

Clients who have had a bad experience with “copywriting” come to me with a more open and patient attitude and dramatically lower expectations for quality of work. They are also past the point of expecting to get what they want “on the cheap.”

So, no, I did not write this to vent.

The reason I chose to write this is, first…

To acknowledge how fortunate I’ve been to learn from an elite level, hands-on marketing strategist.

And then to learn from a copy genius who’s thrived through decades of ups and downs in this business.... yet keeps going and keeps passing down the gospel to those who want it bad enough to work for it.

Jeff and David, thank you.

My gratitude grows by the day.

I also wrote this to offer a small morsel of wisdom to ambitious copywriters who are just starting out.

You are not a “writing machine for hire.”

You are becoming a highly-trained and specialized marketing consultant.

Your job is NOT to write sales copy.

Your job is to help your clients’ businesses prosper.​
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And that objective does not have a word count, and it probably doesn’t have an hourly rate.

But it will leave every business you touch better off for having worked with you.

Best of luck!

And rock on,

Kyle Jordan
The Full Funnel Copywriter
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