There’s something in my industry I’ve never understood.
Since I started copywriting, I’ve seen the festering battle between “offer owners” (otherwise known as business owners) and copywriters.
Now, you probably noticed that I put offer owners in quotation marks… and I did it on purpose. And I’ll get to that in a moment.
But for now, I don’t get why there is such disharmony between offer owners and copywriters. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Just so you know, I’m not naive or oblivious to the fact that some offer owners have been burned by copywriters.
I mean I have seen some scathing posts on social media say as such. Copywriters overcharging and underdelivering… or not delivering at all is a very common theme.
And I know people who have had horrible experiences with copywriters who took considerable amounts of money… and then ghosted them.
Obviously, these kinds of experiences can leave a bitter and bad taste in anyone’s mouth.
But here’s the thing. For every offer owner who has been ripped off by an unscrupulous copywriter… there’s a copywriter who has been ripped off by an unscrupulous offer owner.
And it all sucks. (Everybody has been hurt by somebody.)
But the fall out of all this is… copywriters are held to account at a much higher level than the offer owners.
And that sucks a big one.
As part of the due diligence, offer owners often demand things from the copywriter that they aren’t actually wholly responsible for… or they just don’t have.
I know it may surprise many people to know that not all copywriters have statistics for their copy.
And there are many valid reasons for that. Here are a few…
- If the copywriter is a freelancer, they aren’t a part of the company or team, so they aren’t privy to confidential information. So even though they will ask for the information… their request is often denied due to confidentiality.
- NDAs restricts and prevents the copywriter from the sharing of this kind of information.
- If a business owner tells the copywriter how successful their copy was… they risk empowering the copywriter and telling them how valuable they really are. And that may result in the copywriter raising their rates.
- And… often the offer owner doesn’t know their numbers, so they don’t have any stats to share with the copywriter.
But regardless, I still constantly see offer owners asking (or demanding) that copywriters provide them with their stats. And when they don’t have any, they dismiss the copywriter as a flake and go for someone with the “required” stats.
And there’s a problem with that.
I know tons of good and great copywriters who don’t have the stats and numbers to back up their exceptional writing skills. But although they outshine many of the copywriters who do have the stats… the numbers reign supreme in the eyes of offer owners.
And that’s a huge mistake.
So how can that be.
Well, it’s simple… it comes down to the “40:40:20 Marketing Ratio” that we all have drummed into us.
The first 40% is for audience. And the audience has very little to do with the copywriter. The selection and collection of the audience is up to the offer owner.
Sure, the copywriter can help with the collection of the audience with opt in copy… and then nurture the list with email copy. But the targeting of the list should not be up to the copywriter.
Then we have the second 40%, which is all about the offer. Well, as you can imagine, that is the responsibility of the… you guessed it, not the copywriter.
And of course, the measly 20% is the copy, which is in the realm of the copywriter.
So, how much of the credit do the copywriters get when it comes to the success of the business?
The answer is unclear because copywriters are constantly reminded, by marketers and offer owners, of how little copy moves the needle when it comes to business success.
So, if any of that is true… why do the stats even matter? Especially considering that it’s such a “miniscule” part of the overall success. (Or so we are told!)
But here’s the kicker! If the business fails… guess who is made to take 100% of the blame? That’s right, the copywriter.
So, this circles us back to what I was saying earlier.
We all know that many offer owners are jaded from their dealings with copywriters. But it isn’t all one sided.
Copywriters are also jaded from being a convenient or strategic scapegoat.
So, here’s something I don’t understand. While offer owners are ok to ask copywriters what their stats are… why aren’t copywriters asking offer owners probing questions about their capability to use their copy effectively.
Now just because a copywriter had great stats on one job, what makes the offer owner think they can replicate that same level of success. Unless they have the exact same team and skill set, nothing is guaranteed.
And here’s another important one… what is their payment history, and do they even have the capacity to pay?
So, why aren’t copywriters asking these questions?
Well, the obvious answer to my cheeky, but serious questions is… it has everything to do with how copywriters have been positioned (as a collective… and not by us).
For some unknown reason, copywriters aren’t seen as “offer owners” … and many aren’t even considered to be professional business owners.
And that is crazy.
Of course, there will be some that are hobbyists… but for the most part, copywriters are actual offer owners.
So, what entitles a copywriter to be called an offer owner? Well, because they actually have an offer. As in, they offer a service to other business owners.
But for some reason, the copywriter’s offer of a service isn’t seen as valuable as the “offer owners” offer.
And that probably goes back to something I said earlier… if copywriters actually knew or appreciated their worth, they would value themselves more (and probably raise their prices).
So, my theory is, that would probably mean that most “offer owners” wouldn’t be able to afford them. That’s why copywriters aren’t seen as offer owners.
But no matter what the reason is, my simple advice to my fellow copywriters is…
Knowledge Nugget #397:
Value Yourself And Your Offer!
The reality is, copywriters aren’t lower down the pecking order than offer owners… because if we have a legitimate business, we are actually offer owners.
And when we realize that and own it… it changes everything for us.
It changes the types of clients we attract.
It changes the fees we receive.
And of course, the types of deals we do changes.
But this can’t happen unless copywriters and business owners work together.
And the best way we can all work together is to drop the combativeness… realize we are on the same side… and just get on with it.
Because that’s when we can achieve the rare but super fulfilling scenario when we have a triple or even quadruple win.
The business owner wins.
The copywriter wins.
The prospect wins.
And if you want to think really big.. humanity in general wins.
It’s an almost magical outcome for everyone.
So, why don’t we drop the combativeness and get on with the business of being awesome together?
Until next week, stay awesome and be magical.
Pauline x x x
Pauline Longdon
a.k.a. “The Copy Alchemist”
P.S. Another piece of proof of competency offer owners ask for is samples of the copywriter’s work. But there are some huge problems with that.
There is no real way of actually knowing how heavily copy chiefed (or edited) the sample is… or if it’s even their sample at all. As you know, I’ve been a copy coach for a number of different programs over the last few years… I know how heavily edited some of the samples are.
If a copywriter is hired on the basis of those samples… the offer owner will be disappointed in the copywriter’s performance. A small test project is a great way to test your copywriter.
P.P.S. And of course, there are many copywriters who can’t share any relevant samples because of NDAs. And as much as that can sound like an excuse… it’s a legit problem.
But there are some offer owners who try to pressure copywriters to break an NDA. And that’s a dangerous game to play. If the copywriter breaks an NDA once… it’s easy for them to do it again. So how safe will their copy be in the hands of the same copywriter?
For me, my integrity is worth way more than any short-term gain.
P.P.P.S. I almost forgot… The winners of the free 60 minute mentoring sessions for promoting my book are:
Avinash S, Caroline B, Forrest E, and Nina C.
Congratulations to you all. And thank you all so much for helping to promote my book. I appreciate you!