Expert copywriter Clayton Makepeace is our guest for this special episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. If there were a list of the world’s most successful (and highly paid) copywriters, Clayton would have a place near or at the top. He’s the kind of expert worth listening to if you want to succeed as a copywriter (and especially if you want to write financial copy). Here’s what we covered in our discussion:

•  how Clayton went from running a folding machine to his first copy assignment

•  what he learned working in the film industry that applies to copywriting

•  how he went from employee to starting his own copy agency

•  the raw truth about why he became a copywriter

•  what he did to improve his skills early on (and the mentors he found)

•  how he went from unknown to the copywriter everyone wanted to work with

•  what he did to succeed that copywriters can model today

•  the storytelling secret he learned from an old coin

•  where you get the best criticism for your copy (it’s not a copy chief)

•  Clayton’s thoughts on how you get a prospect to read past page one

•  the process he uses with his team today to create a package

•  why you need a stick as well as a carrot in your copy

•  why leading with a big benefit might not be the best option

•  the two ways to overcome objections

•  specifics versus abstractions and why one works better in copy

•  when you should present the expert’s bio on a sales page

•  the “bars on the beach” reason he starts working at 4 am

•  the financial copywriting training he’s working on right now

We knew this interview would be great the minute we booked it, but the advice Clayton shared was even better than we expected. To hear it, download it to your favorite podcast app. Or click the play button below. You can also scroll down for a full transcript.

 

The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:

Jim Rutz

Gary Bencivenga

Carline Anglade Cole

Parris Lampropolous

Dan Rosenthal

Agora

Paul Martinez

The End of America

Mike Ward

MoneyMap

Clayton’s Financial Intensive

Jedd Canty

Henry Bingaman

Terry Weiss

Marcella Allison

Makepeace Total Package

Kira’s website

Rob’s website

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

Intro: Content (for now)

Outro: Gravity

 

Full Transcript:

Rob:   This podcast is sponsored by The Copywriter Underground.

Kira:   It's our new membership designed for you to help you attract more clients and hit 10k a month consistently.

Rob:   For more information or to sign up, go to the copywriterunderground.com.

Kira:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts? Ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits, then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work. That's what Rob and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast.

Rob:   You're invited to join the club for a special unnumbered episode as we chat with copywriter and direct marketing consultant Clayton Makepeace about writing copy in the most competitive niches, his checklists for writing more powerful copy, what he's learned mentoring other copywriters, and how you can learn to write copy for the financial niche.

Kira:   Welcome Clayton.

Clayton:        Hey, thank you for having me.

Kira:   It's great to have you here. It's an honor. You've been on our list. As I mentioned before we recorded, for a long time, so we were lucky to finally get you on the show. To kick this off, let's start with your story. How did you end up as a copywriter?

Clayton:        Okay, well, let's see. I was running a folding machine in 1968 or 9 at a print shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the print shop printed appeal letters for a nonprofit organization. One day this guy came through, his name was Richard Viguerie. He was in his forties, and it was like the second coming of Christ, and we had to clean up the warehouse for this guy. It was like a real VIP.