The #1 Question That Separates the Pro Copywriters From Amateurs

If you’ve enjoyed my last two posts on how to hire a great copywriter, then you’ll love this one.  That’s because I’m going to reveal the single most important question you can ask a copywriter before you hire them.

This question truly separates the “average” from the “great” copywriter.  And it’s a question that most copy pros are hoping you don’t ask.

You see, this question scares the hell out of most copywriters.  Ironically, it’s about something they constantly tell their clients they MUST do in every promotion.  And yet only a handful of copywriters follow their own advice.

So what is this mystery question?  Simple.  All you have to do is ask your prospective copywriter one thing:

DO YOU GUARANTEE RESULTS?

You already know that a great guarantee makes all the difference when it comes to getting prospects to pull the trigger.  You’ve probably experimented with a number of them before finding one that works best for your market. And if you don’t offer a guarantee, I can guarantee you one thing—it’s costing you money.

You see, a great guarantee removes all the risk from the prospect. It removes that last barrier to the sale.  And it can actually be the centerpiece of your business.

And yet a good guarantee has one other aspect: it only increases your risks a tiny bit.   That’s because a really good guarantee is based around one thing: the biggest promise you can make to your prospect…and keep.  It can’t be wishy-washy or have too many conditions.

To really increase your sales, a guarantee has to totally remove any fear of failure on the part of the buyer and make taking action a no-brainer. In fact, it should make NOT taking action seem, well…kind of dumb.

So what kind of guarantee should your copywriter offer?  Well, any guarantee is better than none.  Many copywriters (myself included) guarantee that our copy will increase you profits—or we’ll re-write every single page of copy until we do.

For instance:

“If you don’t substantially increase your profits within 30 days of implementing my copy, I’ll rewrite every page until you do.”

And, for clients who use my consulting services, there’s an extra guarantee:

“If my consulting and copywriting services don’t create a 10% increase in your response rates and significantly boost your profits…my services are 100% free.”

The reason I can offer these guarantees is because I know that I can make good on them.  Any copywriter worth their salt can say the same.  But most won’t.

So why won’t copywriters guarantee results? I’m not sure.

But I see the same thing in other service professions, too. When I was selling real estate, I was the only agent in my city to offer any sort of satisfaction guarantee.  And those guarantees set me apart from the crowd. In fact, they were responsible for much of my success.  After all, when you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is, people trust you.  And when people trust you, they buy from you.

When you hire a copywriter, you’re trusting them to increase sales and add to your bottom line. If a copywriter is anything approaching decent, they understand that.  And they’ll be happy to guarantee their services.

So if the copywriter you’re thinking about hiring balks at offering a guarantee, think twice about hiring them.  Good copywriters can promise clients some sort of ROI.  And if the promotion bombs, they should be willing to make your investment worthwhile.

– Paul