Interview with:Craig Garber [kingofcopy]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? I first began writing sales copy when I was a dead-broke financial planner. I ordered a "How To Sell Life Insurance" kit that didn't work, but I liked the concepts it used. Those concepts -- emotional direct-response marketing and emotional copywriting -- have since made me a small fortune.
The fist person to read what I wrote was my son, who was 10 years old at the time. I had him proof-read my sales letters out loud, so I could catch any mistakes I made.
He was wonderful in the support he gave me and I'll always remember these times. |
| What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? I write non-fiction information about emotional direct-response marketing and copywriting, and sometimes about success in business. |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? I take a warm bath filled with Mr. Bubble. No, seriously, by the time I sit down to write, I've done so much research and put so much planning into my sales letters or even my books, that the words just come tumbling out of me like a geyser exploding.
Besides, remember... writing's easy, it's the editing that kills you. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? MONEY inspires me, not reading. I'm a non-fiction author and publisher, and one helluva copywriter. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? I've often written sales letters in the third person, which is something most people don't consider but probably should think about more often. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? Put it this way... I've never been accused of being boring, and I'm usually the guy who's got people rolling on the floor laughing at parties. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Not for me... it's a form of personal banking. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Immensely. One of the columns in my offline Seductive Selling Newsletter is a Q & A column that is exclusively reader-driven. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? No, rough drafts and final versions have nothing to do with one another, many times! |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? You know, this is something someone told me about, around 18 months ago. It was a long-time newsletter subscriber of mine and he said, "Craig, you've really found your voice."
I'm not really sure if this is true or not. I think I'll always be evolving (or at least I hope I will), but every writer or artist has some kind of traits or patterns that are specific to their style of doing whatever it is they do.
Perhaps I'm more confident and consistent, and that's what this fellow meant, but I plan on moving forward and growing as long as I can. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? I am VERY disciplined. I schedule out everything, even most of my free time, and I constantly update my to-do list. I am very goal-oriented and have learned how to break things down so my goals are achievable and I can see progress each step of the way. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? LOADS of posters, music, books, pictures of my wife and children, and other "feel good" nostalgia and nick-nacks. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? Write on my Mac, edit the entire thing at one fell swoop with a red pen. Usually, out on my patio smoking a cigar with a cup of black coffee. (Yes, my teeth hate me!) |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? |
| What has been your experience with publishers? I am self-published so I can't answer. |
| What are you working on now? |
ADVERTISING
| What is your specialty: creativity, contact, or research? As a copywriter, I specialize in connecting creatively. However, a great deal of your time must be spent researching.
As a publisher, I specialize in creatively delivering information. |
| Have you got a blog or web page? web address: http://www.kingofcopy.com
blog: http://blog.kingofcopy.com
Have fun! |
| What do your clients value more, strategy, creativity, design, or return of investment? Ultimately what they should value is the ROI I can create for them. I know that's what I value most. |
| The word 'creativity' is much-used in advertising, yet most commercials are annoying, why is that? Because people mistake creativity with gadgetry and they misconstrue what THEY think is creative, with what the customer wants. See, ultimately... all the customer really wants to know is the benefits of the goods and services you are pitching. How it can help THEM. |
| Can a bad advertising campaign sell well? If you are selling into a "hot" marketplace, yes. |
| How do you respond to the classic quote, "I love the idea, but right now's not the time"? Timing is only relevant if it impacts what people want. So for example, during a recession, if the stock market is constantly going down, down, down, it's not the time to try and sell some sort of a stock-picking system.
But want should dictate "timing," not the other way around. |
| What brings you the most satisfaction: when your advert pleases your boss, your client, your friends, or your mother? When my advert makes me or my clients a TON of money, or generates LOADS of qualified leads! |
| How do you see the transition between traditional advertising and online advertising? There are some "bells and whistles" that are different, but too much attention is paid to this, and not enough to the fact that you are still one person, trying to make a connection with another person.
That's what sells and that's what works. |
| Are people in advertising paid too much? People are paid what they are worth, or what they are perceived to be worth. And a large part of what others feel you are worth, is what YOU feel you're worth. |
| Is advertising merely spam? Most of it is! |
| Have you ever felt cheated by adverts? No, i just ignore them if they're bad. |
| What is your favourite thing about working in advertising and what is your least favourite? Favorite thing - it's easy to see if you've done a good job.
Least favorite - it's not easy to create winning ads, that's for sure. It takes lots of time and creative energy. |
| Do advertising festivals help to improve the industry, or are they only ways for the elite to pay homage to themselves? What do you think? The best, most effective performers in all industries, are self-motivated. |
| Has your experience in qualitative research served in helping you discover new pathways or, more often than not, to kill good ideas? The quality of your research is directly proportional to the quality of your marketing material, your ads, etc. |
| IMPACT! Is this the main scale for judging the work of an advertising professional? You judge consistency of results. No one's perfect, and anyone who says they are is lying. But good marketers will consistently, over time, produce good results. |
| What are the main mistakes clients make in judging creativity? Just that -- judging creativity. They should judge RESULTS! |
| Is it possible for someone in advertising to communicate well with people of other generations or cultures not their own? You're only as smart as your mind allows you to be. If you want to learn about different people, there's no limits at all with respect to what you can and cannot do. |
| In advertising, what is most effective, frequency or surprise? A bad ad seen 1,000 times won't sell a thing. What's most effective is what works.
A good ad ran over and over again, will work for a long long time. |
| Is a political candidate the same as a product? Hell yeah, and sadly, most of the time they are the same as BAD products. |
| How do you explain the way in which some brands have been able to expand so widely and rapidly without advertising? Are the laws of marketing changing? A hot marketplace sets ALL the rules. |
MARKETING
| Up till now, what has been your professional career path? I'm a copywriter and marketing consultant with an expertise in emotional direct-response marketing.
I also publish an offline monthly newsletter called Seductive Selling, which is read in 12 different countries world-wide. And, I host a variety of consulting and coaching groups helping entrepreneurs with their marketing and with positioning themselves in their respective industries. |
| Please list web addresses where one can see something about you. You can see my work published on my web site at http://www.kingofcopy.com and on my blog at http://blog.kingofcopy.com |
| In which market, products or services, are you currently working? I have sold everything from books and information to mortgages and financial planning services, to dating products and sexual aids!
If there is an area I specialize in, it's in generating leads through a two-step lead generation process, and in creating emotionally compelling sales copy.
I can't imagine there isn't anything I can't sell, but there are many things I won't sell and a small handful of people I won't work with, either. |
| Did this product exist ten years ago? And the brand? Yes! Selling has been around since commerce existed, and I have, in my collection, emotional direct-response ads written in the late 1800's. |
| What is the consumer or user like that you have to win over? I am not in the "convincing" business. That's a bad business to be in. I find prospects who are already interested in the kind of work I do, and then I expose them to my thoughts, ideas and writing, in my daily e-zine.
From there, they generally make a variety of lower-priced purchases, and ascend my product/services funnel. Sometimes this process goes faster than others, depending on the needs of the individual buyer.
People generally will be attracted to me for my copywriting skills, first... then marketing strategy and personality second. |
| What is the key to gaining consumer fidelity? In today's day and age, where mediocrity has become the new excellent, it is quite easy to get people to be loyal to you. If you simply do the things you promised to do, you're in like Flynn. And if you actually over-deliver and do more than you promised, your customers and clients will support you in a grand lifestyle, forever. |
| What type of communication are you utilizing? I specialize in print media, but for some reason, people love to hear me speak as well, so my Audio programs and interviews are quite popular. |
| Who/what is your competition? I'm a big believer that there really is not such thing as competition. This is a big big world and there's room for everyone who's willing to create something of value.
Check out Wallace Wattle's "Science Of Getting Rich" for more information about this. (http://www.kingofcopy.com/science is where you can find it.) |
| What differentiates your product/service from the competition? As a copywriter, I charge a lot of money. So for starters, I'm not for everybody. I won't take on a client unless their business model allows them to recoup their investment in me many times over, relatively quickly.
I'm able to take complicated processes or products and services and make them simple and easy to understand, and I'm also very sharp when it comes to setting up effective marketing systems that are easy to run.
As a publisher of "How To" information or as a marketing consultant, what separates me is my intuitive understanding of what makes people "tick," and my quick-witted delivery. Being able to cut through the crap out there and get to the point, is apparently, very refreshing. |
| How do you value the results obtained up to now? I have done very well, both in marketing for my clients and for myself. I never rely on the past however, and no matter how well I do, I always push harder. After all, how can you be the best unless you keep pushing for more? |
| What is a better way to communicate your product: emotional or rational? People buy based on emotions, and they will often justify their purchases with logic. The best ads are able to push the prospect's emotional buy-buttons, and then give them permission and rationalize their actions.
When you can do both of these things, you usually have a winning ad. |
| What's your answer to the typical question: does marketing create nonexistent needs? No, it is impossible to create "need." Besides, people don't buy what they need, they buy what they want.
If they bought what they "needed," things like cigarettes and fast food would be non-existent.
You cannot create want. You can, however, amplify it and tap into it at it's most emotional, raw "gut" level. And the more effective you are at doing this, the more effective you will be at selling. |
| The consumer is king: have advertisers realised this yet? I sure hope so! Last time I checked, it was the consumer who was forking out the money, not the other way around!
I spend a great deal of time identifying and illuminating all the benefits of whatever it is I'm selling. I care very much about my clients and about their customers as well. If we can't offer value, ultimately we have no business. |
| Are we heading towards more individualised marketing and advertising? If you are attracting the right people in the first place, they already want what you are selling, and so it's easy to speak to them about solving their problems and making their life better through what you're selling them. |
| What percentage of your marketing budget is invested in digital advertising and why? I spend much more of my marketing dollars offline. I am able to find better buyers, and more serious entrepreneurs. I can also control who gets on my list more effectively, and this makes a big difference to my bottom line. |
| What is the most surprising thing you have learned about digital marketing in the last few years? How important it is to niche your marketing. And how incredibly fast you can get results! |
| A few years ago, it was said that online sales would end up killing traditional store sales, but that has not been the case: how can you explain this? Most people (on the whole) would still rather go out and have a more intimate or up-close and in person buying experience. And many products simply have to be examined and "experienced" before they are bought. |
| How do you evaluate the potential of social networks for marketing on-line? Do you really think there is a new 2.0 marketing paradigm? I have not seen Web 2.0 as a profitable marketing platform. That's not to say others can't make it profitable. My marketplace is simply too darn busy to "socialize." They (and I) are busy working, and working and socializing -- no matter how "progressive" you are, really are two different animals. |
| Be a prophet. What phenomenon will revolutionize marketing in the next few years? Sorry, I'm just not that smart. I can't even tell you what we're having for dinner tomorrow night. I've learned, the best way to make God laugh is to tell him your plans for the future!
I can tell you, that whatever is working at that time, I'll be at the forefront of using it. |
| Are you part of any professional networking sites? Has it served its purpose for you? I have accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter. To be 100% blunt, I find my membership there quite annoying. Most people ask me to be their friends and to link up with them, and all it does is interrupt my day.
So why do I sign up? Because you can't tell what the future is going to look like, unless you peek your head out through the door every once in a while! |
| How do you do your own personal branding? What do you recommend other professionals do to position themselves in the job market? Three things.
One, learn as much as you can. Never stop learning, in fact.
Two, surround yourself with bright people who are higher up on the food chain than you are. Watch them and pay for their advice and guidance.
Three, never follow the crowd, ever. If you want conventional results, do conventional things. But if you want outstanding results, you must do those things conventional people are unwilling to do.
Oops, I need to give you one more thing, and it's important.
Four, take action always. If you don't do this one, nothing else ever matters. So often, people confuse "thinking" about doing things, and actually executing. No one ever made a dime because they "thought about making money.
Things happen when you're in motion, not meditation. |
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[kingofcopy]
Craig Garber
Tampa, Florida
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