The Only 2 Places To Get Copywriting Advice

As you grow as a copywriter, you’re going to need advice on improving your sales writing. The issue you’ll run into is that everyone has an opinion, but almost no one seems qualified to give you advice. This article will tell you the only two places you should look for feedback.
First, I’ll tell you the places you should not look for advice from. The biggest warning I can give you is to not take copywriting advice from family or friends that are not professional copywriters. If you’re lucky enough to have a dad who worked with Gary Halbert in the 1980’s, then you’re pretty set. However, it’s most likely that your family and friends have no idea what makes good copy. Even if they mean well, they’re most likely going to process your ad or sales letter with the question “Would this sales pitch work on me?” Copywriting professionals never look at a piece that way and instead ask themselves, “Have sales pitches like this worked in the past?”
The advice you’ll get from non-marketing people will often be tone down the hype, shorten your eight-page sales letter to a few paragraphs, and to not email your prospects so much. They mean well, so say thank you and ignore their tips.
The next place people end up looking for advice is on forums. There are some good copywriters in the big internet marketing forums, but they’re a small voice compared to the massive amount of people who have no idea what they’re talking about. People will have “Copywriting Coach” or “Direct Response Copywriter” in their signatures, but will have no track record of writing effective copy. Unless it’s a famous name, ignore most of what’s in the forums.
So where do you look?
The best place to get mentorship is from proven copywriters who have brought in millions of dollars with their sales letters. These include, but are not limited to, John Carlton, Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Clayton Makepeace, and Ray Edwards. These gurus are not always coaching with open programs, but they’ll often recommend a good mentor (often less expensive) if you ask them.
If you are a stellar networker, you may be able to get some help for free, but most likely you’ll have to pay some money. Many of these top copywriters have continuity programs where you can get critiques on your work and advice on your copy challenges. They may be as low as $99 a month, or higher than $1000 a month. Keep in mind that the lower the cost, the less personal attention you’re likely to get. However, no matter how inexpensive the program is, you just might be allowed some one-on-one attention from the main expert, so always do your research before choosing a program.
Other than that, the only other place you can get feedback from is through trial and error from split tests. This method will get you good from seeing what works and what doesn’t. However, depending on where you are in your career, spending money paying for traffic to split test could be more expensive than a $1000 a month price tag for some professional help. If you want the best of both worlds, get professional copy coaching while split testing your work at the same time.