Why freelance copywriters are all a bunch of suckers

Happy suckers, in some cases. Content suckers, in probably most cases. Maybe even rich suckers, in a scant few cases. But suckers they are. And I’ll tell you a story that perfectly illustrates why: In the book Backstory 2 there is an interview with an absolutely brilliant screenwriter (but also a total sucker — and he basically all but admits it) from the 40’s and 50’s named Curt Siodmak. If you don’t know who he is, I can almost guarantee most have at least heard of some of the movies he wrote — like The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, Son of Dracula, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, and a whole bunch more. His scripts made hundreds of millions for the studio. (He only got $500 per week, if that gives you an idea of his suckernessness) Anyway, he drops a zinger I think every freelance copywriter should hear. Even if you don’t “want” to hear it. Frankly, especially if you don’t want to hear it. Here is what he said: “Irving Thalberg once said: “The most important man in the motion picture business is the writer. Don’t ever give him any power!” Even today the writers are oppressed. Even today a writer gets little appreciation. That’s why good writers become writer-directors, or writer-producers, to get more standing, and of course to make more money. I haven’t met a writer yet who owns a yacht like producers or directors. But don’t let them kid you. Where would they be without writers?” Now swap out “writer” with “copywriter. And “motion picture” with “direct response marketing.” And “writer-director” & “writer-producers” with “clientless-copywriter.” That’s why I say freelance copywriters are total suckers. Oh, it’s not personal. We’re all suckers in some ways. I certainly am, for example, when it comes to all the time and effort I waste writing fiction that will, in all likelihood, never make back anything more than the cost to have the covers created. We all have our vices… But freelancers are a special breed of sucker. At least the ones who think they’re anything more than high-paid employees. Absolutely nothing “wrong” with that, btw. If that’s your bag, and you like it, and I know some who love it, do it. Just like I write fiction for the love of it. But don’t for a single nanosecond think you’re not a sucker. After all: You are literally creating a better lifestyle for your clients than you are for yourself, while doing some of the most important work, while getting little or any of the real payout and/or glory. And if you get some glory, you’ll never make but a fraction of what they do. And that’s okay. That is really how it should be. The clients are doing the hard work of building the lists, building the brands, building the followings, and building the world, the offers, the infrastructure, and the business as a whole — at their risk, with their own money, and using their own resources. As a freelancer you are basically parasite who, hopefully, makes the host healthier. But that makes you no less a parasite. Thus they - the host - absolutely should make the lion’s share of the money. And the freelancer - the parasite - absolutely should get paid peanuts compared to that. But, that makes a freelancer who fancies themselves an entrepreneur no less a sucker. Entrepreneur implies risk. There’s very little real risk for most freelancers. If an ad they write bombs, they may take a hit to their reputation. But they presumably still got paid. If copy they wrote pisses off someone at the FTC (or an exec at a competitor who has the FTC in their hip pocket — which happens especially in the health niches) the client gets fined, sued, blinded with paperwork. If the product sold gets overrun with refunds the client has to deal with the merchant account fallout, bad PR, and customer service hassles. And so on, and so forth. The freelancer doesn’t really have to worry about that. They get paid either way, unless they are absolute noobs at making deals. Especially as so many have to keep hustling for more work, having to keep putting up with a lot of disrespect, keep putting up with clients who are both ignorant & arrogant (as the great Bob Bly once quoted someone as saying those are the worst kind — and it’s a fact), keep having to play the game, keep spending all your time working on someone else’s fortune, and keep putting long hours into someone else’s world and nest egg while getting crumbs compared to what you have actually contributed… and the list goes on. I fully expect a bunch of freelancers living in cognitive dissonance to balk at this. I can already imagine what the dumb Facebook thread would look like if someone complained about this there, with all the fluffrepreneurs hamster-spinning everything I'm writing about, throwing out anecdotes, and missing both the big picture and nuance. That’s fine. This message ain’t for them. And, frankly, the vast majority of freelance copywriters should do client work. They should be taking orders and doing as they’re told. And they probably should chase that secure fee, if such a thing even exists. Although the ones I keep hearing from worried about A.I. taking their jerbs… I dunno. They’re a special kind of sucker. But, there’s also a small handful of freelancers reading this who know I speak the truth. They can’t stand licking client boots. They hate having to constantly wonder where their next gig is coming from. Or, they wish they were their own client (i.e., an Alt-copywriter - which is a term I invented a few years ago to describe a copywriter who either does client work in conjunction with selling their own stuff like a Gene Schwartz, or just sells their own stuff like a Bill Bonner) and making the same or hopefully more money they do at freelancing… but are so entrenched in the game, they don’t know how to leave it. I’ve had more than a few copywriters working in the financial niches especially tell me this is their plight — since they get paid just enough in fees & royalties, despite knowing they are selling utter crap or info that is too old to truly be useful to the market by the time they are writing about, to stick around and not do their own thing. Those are the ones this message is for. And, if it does nothing but light a fire under their butts I’ve done my job. More: I spent 9 years as a freelancer. And I wanted “out” the entire time. But I simply didn’t have a framework for how to do so and had to build my own. I remember specifically, very early on, getting on the great “King of Email” himself Matt Furey’s list. And I used to salivate over the emails he’d write bragging about how he was on vacation in China while writing the email, not worried about editing or spelling, and was about to go ride elephants or something, and just ended with an offer he created and controlled, where he got to keep all the money with very minimal effort after having everything in place. Day after day I’d read these emails. Week after week. Month after month. And I used to think the whole time: Now THAT is the lifestyle I want. Screw this working my ass off, spending all my time either writing for clients, having to land new clients, or, in way too many cases, having to put more time and effort into persuading the client to get the copy tested than I did on the actual writing of the copy, only to be either proven right when they gave in or having to bite my tongue at how stupid they were for changing copy that would have worked, then watching it fail, and them blaming me. So much better to grow my own deal and play my own game. And write for my own offers. And control my own destiny. Because even the really good clients (and I was blessed with several, don’t get me wrong, the above was less common for me than other freelancers I know — many who still put up with that kind of disrespect to pay the mortgage/bills, etc) would never really pay me anywhere near the kind of money I was making them, nor really should they for all the reasons cited earlier. All right end of sermon. For those reading this wanting to go the Alt-copywriter route and be their own client I got a solution. It ain’t cheap. And it ain’t “overnight.” But I doubt it’ll take you the 9 years it took me if you do the work. What is the solution? It’s for a course that’s not even for sale called: “The Ten Minute Workday” You can only get on the waiting list now. (Some blue flame special always — without exception — speed reads through my emails promoting it, and says, “Ben it’s just a waiting list!” Yes, no shyt Sherlock. That’s what I just said…) But, if you get on that waiting list, you’ll get a copy of a report I wrote called: “The One Sentence Business Plan” It’s the exact business plan I use for all my ventures. (SaaS, info publishing, even my fiction should I ever want to invest the time.) And it’s also the seed germ for probably just about every successful direct response-driven business I’ve ever studied, modeled, or examined over the last 21+ years up in this business. To get the report and hop on the waiting list go here: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com/awai]( Ben Settle P.S. This course is NOT for newbies. And for the love of all that’s good and beautiful… It is NOT a “biz opp” thing. It's for those who have their own freelance copywriting business who want to be Alt-Copywriters. The amount of work required and the learning curve is big. Simple, yes. But not easy by any stretch of the imagination. And you should prepare to spend several months learning, implementing, and using the info. It’s a framework for running, growing, and managing your own clientless-copywriting operation. It’s not a checklist of stuff to do or a done-for-you thing. Thinking, working, and, yes, failing are required. You know, like with any legitimate business.. This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2023 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA