To write a letter, or to hire a writer....

[jlwilliams]

Ok, here's the situation. I'm working a sales job. I took the job to get better at selling. This is an "earn while you learn" experience.

I see an angle. I see an opportunity to (maybe) apply leverage by prospecting an area my new colleagues may have overlooked. My idea is to test my theory locally by putting together a list and mailing a letter. If it bears fruit, national scale lists could be bought (locally I could do it from public records) and the whole process scaled up.

Here is my conundrum. Do I exercise my weak copy writing skills and write my own letter, or sub that out? Pro side of DIY, I am doing this whole thing to improve my skill set. Con being that if my letter sucks it would skew the results of my test run. If I get weak response, I won't know if it was my letter or if my target is off. By extension, if it flops with a bought letter it could be because the hired writer's work wasn't a good fit. Lots of variables.....

Should I dig out my copy of Cashvertising and write, or should I focus on the prospecting and closing and hire a writer?

All opinions welcome, but I know this is on me in the end. I am asking advice, and am grateful to get anything that I can weigh into my decision. In the end I own the choice I make. I'm mulling this over during the time it takes to get a list (which is mostly a matter of making the time to get it in between hustling and family life) then it's time to act.

What would you do? Why?

 

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[amp0193]

Ok, here's the situation. I'm working a sales job. I took the job to get better at selling. This is an "earn while you learn" experience.

I see an angle. I see an opportunity to (maybe) apply leverage by prospecting an area my new colleagues may have overlooked. My idea is to test my theory locally by putting together a list and mailing a letter. If it bears fruit, national scale lists could be bought (locally I could do it from public records) and the whole process scaled up.

Here is my conundrum. Do I exercise my weak copy writing skills and write my own letter, or sub that out? Pro side of DIY, I am doing this whole thing to improve my skill set. Con being that if my letter sucks it would skew the results of my test run. If I get weak response, I won't know if it was my letter or if my target is off. By extension, if it flops with a bought letter it could be because the hired writer's work wasn't a good fit. Lots of variables.....

Should I dig out my copy of Cashvertising and write, or should I focus on the prospecting and closing and hire a writer?

All opinions welcome, but I know this is on me in the end. I am asking advice, and am grateful to get anything that I can weigh into my decision. In the end I own the choice I make. I'm mulling this over during the time it takes to get a list (which is mostly a matter of making the time to get it in between hustling and family life) then it's time to act.

What would you do? Why?

Write a letter. Have a copywriter give it a once over, and make some improvements.

You'll learn better that way.

You gotta know how to sell. Hard to completely outsource that.

 

[wade1mil]

Here's an idea.

Write a letter yourself. Then hire a copywriter to write one for you (without mentioning your letter). Go through the entire process with the copywriter so you see how a pro does it. Let the copywriter do his/her thing. This way you'll learn by doing it your way and learn by doing it the way a pro does it. You can even split test the two letters and see what happens.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

Here is my conundrum. Do I exercise my weak copy writing skills and write my own letter, or sub that out? Pro side of DIY, I am doing this whole thing to improve my skill set. Con being that if my letter sucks it would skew the results of my test run. If I get weak response, I won't know if it was my letter or if my target is off. By extension, if it flops with a bought letter it could be because the hired writer's work wasn't a good fit. Lots of variables.....

If you have an opportunity to learn how to write copy...always do it. Learning how to communicate through the written word is a skill that'll be needed at least until we die...

The best thing to do is write 2 letters. NOT two letters that are 'kinda' the same. Write two different angles.

For example, in copywriting, there's a common myth that the only two types of ad messages are "greed" and "fear." It's not true, but it doesn't matter, let's just use those two for now.

If you sold AC units for example.
1. One letter might be about "comfort, enjoyment of family together, all thanks to a working AC"
2. The second letter might be: "the absolute worst time to buy an AC is when it breaks...because you're more likely to spend 75% more than if you got yours checked out now...etc."

It's usually best to test at least 100 people with one iteration before calling it a success/failure.

So, start with at least 200 people. 100 for each letter.

IMPORTANT NOTES!!!!! The above will only work if two things are certain and verified...
1. The list you buy has the means to buy what you sell
2. They might actually need what you sell.

Selling an AC unit to someone on welfare would be a waste.
Selling an AC unit to someone in an apartment complex would also be a waste.

Both, these examples...you could send out 1000 letters with the best freakin' copy on the planet and get 0 responses.

 

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[V8Bill]

the absolute worst time to buy an AC is when it breaks...because you're more likely to spend 75% more than if you got yours checked out now...etc.

I'm convinced!

 

[jlwilliams]

All excellent input. Thank you all.

I like the idea of writing and then having a pro (or pros) help me fine tune it. Many years ago I wrote a patent, then had a patent attorney fine tune it before submitting it. I saved money, learned a ton about the process, and got my first patent (#5,737,841) I likewise like the idea of hiring and doing it myself at the same time. I'd learn a lot that way too.

@Joe Cassandra , thank you for reminding me about A B testing, which I wasn't even thinking about. This idea is hot and new in my sights so I'm missing basic stuff like that. I don't know if I can get 200 leads in my county that are in my target audience but I can certainly scale the concept to fit two groups in the trial run. I need to do my digging and find out just what this list looks like. I really can't be sure if I'm looking at 100 or 10,000 people within an hour of my door who are in my target demographic.

 

[GMSI7D]

. Learning how to communicate through the written word is a skill that'll be needed at least until we die...

yes. absolutely. thanks

people don't really understand the power of words.

words apply for all areas of life. not just selling products and services

words are symbols that trigger the emotional part of the brain.

with words, you can raise funds, start a war, transform people into fanatics , find a mate etc.

( is it useful to remind users here that finding a mate and transforming people into fanatics have nothing to do with logic ? )

these symbols ( words) are an incredible leverage

unbelievable leverage

Gary Halbert used to say that any sales problem can be solved with the right sales letter



propaganda is nothing more that copywriting anyway

you can save or destroy the world with written words








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