EDITOR’S NOTE:

Do you make these 3 copywriting mistakes?

Kim Krause Schwalm is one of the most effective direct-response copywriters in the world, a master with over 30 years’ experience and countless winning controls. And she’s generous with her knowledge, too, incredibly so. 

So I asked Kim to do a Micro-Interview: 

I asked her 6 questions, including: “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

“So many lessons…” she said, “but let’s start with these…” 

1) Is your copy unclear? 
“Don’t go for clever headlines that don’t immediately telegraph the main benefit or who it’s for,” she said. 

2) Is your copy unfocused? 
“Focus on one problem you’re solving or one Big Idea,” she said. 

3) Is your copy not valuable? 
“Don’t look like advertising; promise and deliver something of value just for reading,” she said. 

She answered the remaining 5 questions just as well, with clarity and focus and value in mind.

In just 467 words, Kim shares: 

• How to declutter your mind to make room for creative work…

• When you can probably charge more than you think for copywriting services…

• The marketing book she reads every year; the book that suddenly helped everything make sense…

And much more…

Enjoy!

Thank you, Kim.

Let’s get started. 

1) “What’s your work routine?”

After doing the most vital part of my morning, which is walking and feeding the dog and drinking vast amounts of coffee (and sometimes hitting the gym first thing), I like to start off by planning my top priorities for the day and scheduling them in order. 

This helps me stay focused and gives me the satisfaction of checking things off once I do them. More importantly, it helps me declutter and free up my mind so I can make the most of my morning, which is my best writing, strategizing, and creative time of day. 

I always break for lunch and get away from my desk and phone, then will schedule calls and coaching sessions in the afternoon. I then finish off most days with a walk in the woods with my dog and spend my evenings relaxing, doing Improv with my meet-up group, planning my next trip or adventure, or reading (or sometimes finishing up work stuff I didn't get to earlier).

2) “What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

If a client is pursuing YOU and really wants to hire you, you can probably charge MORE than you think (and cut a fatter royalty deal!)

3) “What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

So many lessons… but let's start with these: 

1) Be clear (don't go for clever headlines that don't immediately telegraph the main benefit or who it's for). 

2) Focus on ONE problem you're solving or one "big idea". 

3) Look valuable—don't look like advertising; promise and deliver something of value just for reading.

4) “What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Getting lots of opportunities to go up to "bat" even if I didn't hit it out of the ballpark every time. 

In fact, having a few big failures early on taught me many valuable lessons I've profitably used and applied since. So get as many chances as you can to get in the ring, don't be afraid of taking some risks and trying new things… you never know what you'll learn.

5) “What book has helped you the most over your career?”

I read Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins when I first became a freelance copywriter after working for several years for a top direct response publisher, and suddenly everything made total sense. 

I still read it once a year and glean many valuable insights that are just as applicable today as they were nearly 100 years ago.

6) “And your parting piece of advice?”

Study successful promos like a nuclear scientist—take them apart and deconstruct and analyze them, and understand why they're working… you will learn many lessons and the copy and tactics you discover you'll instinctively begin applying to your own promos.