{"id":747,"date":"2017-07-11T14:06:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T07:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/?p=747"},"modified":"2019-11-28T05:01:08","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T22:01:08","slug":"a-list-copywriter-kim-krause-schwalm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/a-list-copywriter-kim-krause-schwalm\/","title":{"rendered":"TCC Podcast #40: What &#8220;A-listers&#8221; Have in Common with Kim Krause Schwalm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kim Krause Schwalm joins Rob and Kira to share her thoughts and advice about copywriting. She also talks about how she went from successful marketing director to control-beating copywriter in less than two years. It\u2019s a great story. Along the way she shared her thoughts about:<br \/>\n\u2022 \u00a0climbing the copywriter ladder (and why it\u2019s so lucrative)<br \/>\n\u2022 \u00a0how to stay in control of your writing process<br \/>\n\u2022 \u00a0the copywriting lessons she (re)learned from Parris Lampropolous and Clayton Makepeace<br \/>\n\u2022 the one thing all A-list copywriters have in common<br \/>\n\u2022 and why you might not want Kim to make your next lasagna<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s another great interview and look into how a fantastic copywriter runs her business.\u00a0Click\u00a0the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript.<\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_4990\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-747-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/content.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/TCC040.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/content.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/TCC040.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/content.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/TCC040.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/content.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/TCC040.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/?powerpress_pinw=747-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/content.blubrry.com\/thecopywriterclub\/TCC040.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"TCC040.mp3\">Download<\/a><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/thecopywriterclub.com\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The people and stuff we mentioned on the show:<\/h3>\n<p><em>Sponsor:<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.airstory.co\/club?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com &amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">AirStory<\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/kirahug.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Clayton Makepeace interview with Kim<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/bottomlineinc.com\/about-us?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Boardroom<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/marketingbullets.com\/archive\/?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Gary Bencivenga<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.briankurtz.me\/jimrutz\/?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Jim Rutz<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydirections.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Healthy Directions<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tednicholas.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Ted Nicholas<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.labootcampintensive.com\">Kim\u2019s L.A. Bootcamp<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/davidldeutsch.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">David Deutsch<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/direct-response-expert-brian-kurtz\/\">Brian Kurtz<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.makepeacetotalpackage.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Clayton Makepeace<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/parris-lampropoulos-96531630\/\">Parris Lampropolous<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Advanced Bionutritionals<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/TheGirlsClub.club\/\">The Girls Club<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/kimschwalm.com\/blog\/?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">KimSchwalm.com<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/themarketingsuperpower.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">TheMarketingSuperPower.com<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/kirahug.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Kira\u2019s website<br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brandstoryonline.com?utm_source=thecopywriterclub.com&amp;utm_medium=shownotes\">Rob\u2019s website<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/kaleighmoore.us11.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=7bdb50a2eb0d5b0a501cd1bf4&amp;id=9bf46b3e1d\"><br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/thecopywriterclub\/\">The Copywriter Club Facebook Group<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\"><br \/>\n<\/a>Intro:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/fauves\/content-for-now\">Content (for now)<\/a><br \/>\nOutro:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/album\/gravity\/id304219081?i=304219099\">Gravity<\/a>\n<h3>Full Transcript:<\/h3>\n<p><em>The Copywriter Club Podcast<\/em> is sponsored by Airstory, the writing platform for professional writers who want to get more done in half the time. Learn more at Airstory.co\/club.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> 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\u2019s what Rob and I do every week at <em>The Copywriter Club Podcast<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> You\u2019re invited to join the club for episode 40 as we chat with A-list copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm about writing effective direct response controls, what steps other writers can take now to get a control beater, writing in the health and finance niches, and her ongoing efforts to help other women succeed in the business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Hi, Kim. Hi, Rob. Welcome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kira, Kim. It\u2019s good to talk to you guys.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Hey, it\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, we are so excited to have you here, partly because I\u2019ve known about you for several years. I think I remember reading an interview that Clayton Makepeace did with you a number of years ago, and I\u2019ve followed your career and I know Kira and you have connected recently as well. We\u2019re thrilled to be able to talk with you, but I think where we\u2019d really like to get started is just your story, how you got into copywriting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t know copywriting existed as a profession until I was working in marketing for a major publishing company called Philips Publishing. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve heard of it, but for many years it was considered one of the powerhouse direct response marketing companies. In fact, it was bigger than Agora at the time.<\/p>\n<p>It was up there with Boardroom and Rodale and other major companies in terms of working with the very top-level copywriters, the ones that we all consider legends like Gary Bencivenga, Jim Rutz, Clayton Makepeace, et cetera. I went to work for them back in 1992, which seems like an eternity ago.<\/p>\n<p>I actually had had marketing management and brand management experiences with other companies. I had an MBA in marketing and I was just full-bore marketing, but I always could write copy. It was always one of the many hats I wore in different jobs. It was the same story at Philips, but at Philips it was one of these things that was really valued because so much of their business was built on strong copy.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of my different roles, I would write copy as well as direct marketing efforts. I ended up, after being there just a short while, I was asked to help them launch their supplement business, to promote supplements formulated by Dr. Julian Whitaker. I helped launch and run that company, which is called Healthy Directions, and you may have heard of it, and grew that to a $23 million business within three years.<\/p>\n<p>Worked in some other parts of the company, but after a while I realized I\u2019ve always enjoyed copywriting, seeing the kind of lifestyle and income potential that the A-level freelance copywriters enjoyed, and that\u2019s when I became intrigued about it. When I was pregnant with my first child I started thinking about it even more. Went back to work after having him and then after about six or seven months decided to take the leap and become a freelance copywriter. That was about 19 years ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Wow. When you took that leap, what did it look like immediately? Did you have jobs, gigs, lined up or were you starting from scratch?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I had really the best possible situation. There was a supplement company in my area. I knew the person who owned it. He hired me into a retainer arrangement, which was going to guarantee me basically about 90% of my salary that I was leaving, but it was only going to take about half of my time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I was able to bring on other clients. This is why I was able to walk out of a $100,000-a-year salary job in 1998 and keep my full-time nanny and just start full speed. Had my one client. He referred me to a few others, and before I knew it, the first year I made 50% more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Wow. Did you start out with immediate successes from the stuff that you were writing? Did you have immediate control beaters, or did you take time to learn the business and figure out what you were doing in order to get to that level?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Definitely the latter. I mean, like anyone, I had to climb the copywriting ladder from the bottom. I did not start off writing those 24-page magalogs with royalty potential that I knew I eventually wanted to get to. I had never written something like that as an in-house marketing person. The type of things that I was good at or had experience with were inserts that rode along with newsletters or other types of back-end mailings. Smaller type promotions, renewal inserts for publishers, that kind of thing.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how I mostly filled my schedule. For the supplement client I was working with I was doing more than just copywriting. I was also doing marketing consulting, but I was writing catalog copy. I was writing renewals. I was writing all sorts of smaller type things for other clients, including the company that I left, which is, P.S., always stay on good terms if you do take the leap and leave a company &#8230; After I\u2019d been out for about a year or so they became by far my biggest client.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I had to write a lot of smaller &#8230; It was all flat fee the first couple years. I eventually was able to convince one of my clients, who was &#8230; He had a very small company promoting videos and books and that kind of thing, and he was actually writing his own direct mail letters. They were actually pretty good. He actually studied with Ted Nicholas, was one of his students. His copy wasn\u2019t bad at all. It was quite good.<\/p>\n<p>What I did was I convinced this client, after I\u2019d been working with him for maybe a year or so, that \u201cHey, maybe you should try a magalog. They\u2019re really working well in the health space, and you\u2019ve never done one, and I can write one for you, and blah blah blah.\u201d I convinced him to let me write my first magalog, which he paid me actually a decent amount of money.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a fraction of what I charge now, but I got paid to write it. There was no royalty or anything, but it was like, \u201cHey, I\u2019m going to do this and I\u2019m going to get my first real sample as a magalog.\u201d I wrote it for him. I probably should pull it out. I haven\u2019t looked at it probably in ten years. It would probably make me shudder to look at it, but it wasn\u2019t terrible. I think it did okay for him.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, I had a printed magalog control that I could show somebody. Sure enough, I don\u2019t know how &#8230; It was maybe a few months later or &#8230; I got a call from a supplement company down in Florida that somebody had referred me to, and he asked, \u201cHey, have you written magalogs? Can I see a sample? What do you charge?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sent him the sample. I asked for actually a pretty comparable going rate. It was not rock bottom by any means. It was about triple what I had charged to write this first one, and it had royalty potential. He hired me to write a supplement magalog. That\u2019s basically how I got that door opened.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> From the launch of your career as a copywriter until that point, it sounds like that was about eight years?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> No, I would say &#8230; I\u2019d have to go back and look at my timeline, but I would say that was just probably a few &#8230; Just within the first two years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Kim, I would love to hear more about the copywriter ladder, because it\u2019s such a great visual and I think &#8230; Especially for new copywriters. They can\u2019t totally see all of the rungs that they need to climb in order to successfully climb this ladder the way you have. Can you just explain how it works and why it works? Yeah, let\u2019s just start there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> It\u2019s just like any kind of career. You\u2019re not going to just jump out of college, \u201cI\u2019ve got my bachelor\u2019s degree,\u201d and someone\u2019s not going to hire you for a $100,000 a year director of marketing job. You\u2019re going to have to start maybe as a marketing assistant and do a bunch of schlep work and then you\u2019re going to maybe, hopefully, soon get promoted to marketing manager, et cetera.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re all familiar with the concept of climbing the corporate ladder. It\u2019s kind of the same thing with copy. It\u2019s a really challenging assignment to write a longform promo. A lot of people &#8230; Probably not everybody in your audience, but a lot of people out there keep hearing about all the huge opportunity with royalties and with this type of longform copy, which is &#8230; It\u2019s all true. There\u2019s definitely a lot of opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>The reason why there\u2019s so much opportunity, and the reason why it\u2019s lucrative, is because very few people can really do it well. It\u2019s not the kind of thing that you\u2019re just going to take a course and you\u2019re going to suddenly be able to do this really well. There are always, obviously, exceptions, but most people aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>The way you really build your copywriting chops, aside from doing whatever training you can and reading everything you can and getting yourself on as many mailing lists as you can and looking at all your junk emails that send you to sales pages, et cetera &#8230; Becoming a student of good copy.<\/p>\n<p>You have to start somewhere with your projects. You want to start with smaller projects that probably will be flat fee initially, and you do them well. Then you get more work and you get more work, and then you start to get a reputation and other people want to hire you. Ideally, you\u2019re doing some good work for a big client that can actually step you up that ladder.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I started having some successes in the health and supplement space, and then somebody referred me to a financial publisher. They work with people like Jim Rutz and all these A-level copywriters. They mailed a lot of names promoting their financial newsletters. This was way back in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n<p>The first things that I did for them was writing one-page or two-page renewal letters that would be inserts that we got with the newsletter or would be mailings or even emails. I was just doing a whole slew of that kind of stuff. Flat fee and move on to the next one. They were really happy with my work, especially &#8230; I had this one renewal campaign that was by far the most successful one that they\u2019d ever had.<\/p>\n<p>I had some successes with them. They\u2019re like, \u201cYou know what? Let\u2019s give Kim a shot at a magalog.\u201d That\u2019s how I got that opportunity. I worked with them. I can\u2019t remember, it was probably at least a year or so cranking out all those smaller type flat-fee work, and they were impressed with my copy. One of them even said, \u201cI feel like you\u2019re a hidden gem.\u201d Then they gave me a shot.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve told this story before in my boot camp that I had a few months ago, but I made a classic rookie mistake and that was, \u201cHey, I\u2019m going to take this really out-of-the-box approach to this magalog.\u201d I ended up putting &#8230; It\u2019s actually a pretty good cover, but it has a dinosaur on this magalog and it\u2019s like the change monster that ate the economy. This was when the economy was really in the toilet.<\/p>\n<p>Really good copy. I had Alan Greenspan on there, some other &#8230; George W. Bush on the front cover. There\u2019s much more to the whole story, but to make a long story short the first effort &#8230; It went up against Jim Rutz. He had a very strong control. It did not beat him. It didn\u2019t do well, but it didn\u2019t do terribly. It just didn\u2019t do &#8230; It didn\u2019t beat Jim Rutz.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, my client was far-sighted enough to say, \u201cHey, you know what? Let\u2019s give Kim another shot.\u201d It\u2019s not just because you don\u2019t &#8230; Smart companies realize that nobody bats a thousand. Sometimes that second effort or that third effort is going to be that one that really is the big winner.<\/p>\n<p>They hired me again six or eight months later to write a completely new package to go up against Jim Rutz, and this one I took a more conservative, tried-and-true approach. Again, being a rookie, why would I not do that? I ended up getting a control and beating Jim Rutz. That completely put me on the map as a copywriter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, what is your hit rate today? Do you win everything or is it 50-50? Are you Gary Bencivenga level, where nobody ever beats you? What does that look like now?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I think they\u2019re all pretty much winning. I had one product &#8230; It\u2019s funny, because for one particular client I\u2019ve written a lot for her over the years. I can\u2019t even tell you the exact number. I\u2019ve probably had at least a dozen or more controls, because everything I\u2019ve written has been a control for them and in some cases mailed for as long as eight years&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Wow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> &#8230;Or longer, as a control, meaning multiple other packages have gone up against it. I think I finally hit one. It was maybe two years ago, and it was a product focused on cholesterol, or at least the positioning was. We just tested it with inserts and online promotions, and so that one &#8230; [inaudible 00:12:22] like we could get work.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll just &#8230; I won\u2019t even name the person, but a person who is retired from copywriting who is legendary actually even gave me some tips to try to get it to work with some other subsequent tests, and we still couldn\u2019t get it to work. I think it was more of a product to market issue than copy. I just want to point that out too, because a lot of times it\u2019s not so much the hit rate. Sometimes you can have the best copy in the world and something\u2019s not going to work.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I think my hit rate\u2019s pretty good. I try to remember one where I haven\u2019t beat the control. A lot of times, too, I\u2019m doing a launch and it\u2019s just getting something new up and going, so it may not be testing against a control. It\u2019s testing against its ability to become a control, if that makes any sense.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I would say it\u2019s pretty high. I don\u2019t go around tracking it, but I honestly can\u2019t remember the last time it lost except for that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Kim, I want to know what your business looks like today as far as where you\u2019re spending most of your time. Are you still working on supplements or finance projects? Are you juggling a couple of projects at once?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I\u2019m always juggling a couple projects. What I try to do is schedule my time as far as new longform promos so that I would conceivably have one at a time for at least a four-week period, knowing it\u2019s always going to be some overlap because you can\u2019t always control when you\u2019re going to get the copy back from the client and what more work you\u2019re going to need to do with it, et cetera.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s always the time period where it\u2019s in design, and I do stay pretty involved through the design phase because &#8230; Especially when it\u2019s something where it\u2019s tied to royalty, because I\u2019ve had early-on traumatic experiences related to that, bad design. I\u2019m like, \u201cNo, you\u2019re going to kill my promo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s always a little overlap but I typically allow &#8230; What I\u2019m spending most of my time on now is still what I\u2019ve been doing all along, and that\u2019s mostly longform promos. I do have some smaller projects that I do for various clients that I\u2019ll bring in other copywriters to help me with and I act more as a copy chief, but the majority of what I\u2019m doing is longform promos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, what does your writing process look like? When you take an assignment, how much time do you spend doing research? What does that look like? What are the kinds of things that you\u2019re doing in that phase? How much time are you spending writing and re-writing? What does the back and forth with the client look like?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I would say normally it\u2019s about a week or so for research, and that can include everything from digging up studies to calling customers who used the product if it\u2019s a supplement. There\u2019s usually at least two weeks for the writing phase. I\u2019d say maybe two to three weeks, because then there\u2019s some procrastination period involved. Then there\u2019s like, \u201cOh, I got to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Typically I like to tell a client four weeks, because sometimes there\u2019s usually &#8230; What often happens, between you guys and I and a thousand other people listening, is I usually don\u2019t get started until at least a week late, because everything else is stacked up or taking longer than planned. I usually end up starting it late, but I do allow four weeks. I can usually get it done within three weeks, and then get that first full draft off to the client.<\/p>\n<p>Then typically within a week or so I\u2019ll get feedback, but again, your results may vary and my results definitely vary. There are certain clients who will go unnamed sometimes that can take a month or longer. That drives you crazy because you\u2019ve moved on. \u201cNow I\u2019m thinking about prostates and I\u2019m not even thinking about memory anymore, and now you got me back on memory,\u201d or whatever.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, so that\u2019s typically how the process goes. In an ideal flow, four weeks to first draft and then two weeks after that to final draft, and then it goes into design. That might take about two weeks, so it\u2019s pretty much birthed within two months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> I want to jump back into rates. Obviously you don\u2019t have to share specific rates, but can you share just ballpark numbers of how much you\u2019re charging today, so especially the new copywriters know what they can aspire to eventually charge if they\u2019re working hard? Also just how you know when you should raise your rates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s important that &#8230; Couple of things. One is you might hear that people were charging 15 or 20,000 or 25 or $30,000 to write a long-form promo, but if you have never written one in your life, obviously it would be unrealistic to think that you could just, right out of the gate, charge that much.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, I think it\u2019s important not to A, do things for free or on spec, and B, I think it\u2019s important to charge at least a reasonable amount of money for what you\u2019re doing. What I\u2019m going to be talking about as far as figures is for long-form copy and that\u2019s generally like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m delivering a Word file that\u2019s probably at least 25 to 40 pages in length,\u201d so it\u2019s a lot of copy.<\/p>\n<p>It can range anywhere from 15 to $30,000 plus royalties, and it depends on if it\u2019s a long-form sales page, am I including &#8230; Or is it a direct mail promo, which could be as much as 32 pages or even 64 pages if it\u2019s a small format? Is it including things like emails or anything else to drive traffic to the sales page? If it\u2019s a direct mail promo, there\u2019s usually a lot more copy than a sales page, because you\u2019ve got sidebars and other things, front and back covers, that need to be written.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s arranged, and then my royalties can range from &#8230; They\u2019re usually at least four to five percent or four cents per name, three to four cents per name, but I\u2019m starting to feel like &#8230; It\u2019s funny because I get on women &#8230; I don\u2019t get on them, but I do rag on them a little bit about &#8230; Especially women tend to underprice themselves. I\u2019ve seen some women who don\u2019t do that, but&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I think it happens, I think it applies to the guys too. A lot of people do undervalue what they do, and if you undervalue what you do then how do you expect a client to value it? If you are a good copywriter and you know what you\u2019re doing, that\u2019s something that\u2019s really a value to a business. If a business doesn\u2019t value that, then chances are you don\u2019t want to work with them in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I\u2019m at a point where I\u2019m booked out a year and I\u2019ve got people still begging to get on my schedule. I\u2019m thinking, \u201cYou know what? I think maybe my prices are going to go up starting in January or maybe sooner. Maybe it\u2019s time for a price rise.\u201d I just raised them a little bit recently, because I just realized, \u201cHey, you know what? More people want me than I can put in my slot on my schedule.\u201d It\u2019s just like anything. Demand-based pricing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, imagine that I\u2019m a just starting out copywriter and I\u2019m listening to this and I\u2019m thinking, \u201cI want to be there. That\u2019s the goal for me, whether that\u2019s in two years or in ten years, whatever that looks like.\u201d What specifically would you recommend that I do in order to be the next Kim Krause Schwalm?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Focus on what niche you feel most passionate about, like for example, if you were very interested in health and supplements, I would try to get on as many mailing lists and study what people were mailing as controls. Now, I have never done the whole method of writing controls out by hand, but a lot of people swear by it. It does make a lot of sense just terms of learning, and how you learn by the movement of your hand and it cements things in your brain.<\/p>\n<p>I would recommend maybe doing that. Write out some controls by hand, study what\u2019s working, and then try to get in the ground floor with some companies that promote supplements. Find the clients that need you to write those back-end promotions or those emails or those smaller projects, and do well with them. Work your way up to the magalog. If you\u2019ve never been able to &#8230; If you don\u2019t have a sample of something, I\u2019m assuming you don\u2019t, but it\u2019s like what I did. Get to that point that you can get that first break, that opportunity, and build from there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to jump back a bit, because you mentioned that you\u2019d worked on a project or two with bad design that potentially hurt your copy. We\u2019ve all dealt with that. How have you since learned how to deal with that and build it into your process so that you have the best design possible for your copy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> If I\u2019m working with a client that doesn\u2019t already recognize the importance of good design &#8230; Fortunately most of my clients are bigger successful direct response companies who do work with the very top designers as well as copywriters, so I don\u2019t have that issue &#8230; But when I do work with the occasional client who\u2019s a newbie&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I had one of these recently where it was a stretch to hire an A-level copywriter and there was a whole lot of additional client management stuff I had to go through with him. I told him right out from the start, I was like, \u201cOkay, I have certain designers I like to work with, and it\u2019s going to cost in this range, but I highly recommend that this is what we do. It\u2019s going to give the copy and everything I do the greatest shot of being your next strong control.\u201d I basically refer them to the designers that I want to work with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Jumping forward, you work with a few writers, I think, doing a little bit of coaching, at least on a limited basis. When you work with them, what are some of the mistakes that you see them making that you sort of like &#8230; \u201cAbsolutely, writers need to stop doing these things\u201d?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> That\u2019s a topic for another whole long call.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> We have time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> It\u2019s funny. I will just confess that sometimes in my first drafts, and I will go back and hopefully fix it and catch this myself, I make some of the same writing mistakes that I see a lot of cubs do, or people who are starting out. Not being completely clear is a huge one. Making sure that main headline is clear. Don\u2019t try to be clever or don\u2019t try to make it too long. Don\u2019t mix three or four different ideas into one main headline, or even into a sentence or paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>You got to look at it through your prospect\u2019s eyes and realize that they\u2019re going to just get completely lost. Being clear or not being clear is, I think, a very common mistake. Another thing is long run-on sentences. This is why it does help to read your copy out loud. It also helps to have somebody else read your copy.<\/p>\n<p>I actually have a woman who\u2019s wonderful, and she\u2019s my avatar in so many ways for a lot of the products that I market, because she\u2019s in her early 60s. Most of what I write for in health is mostly going to a slightly older audience. She has a background as a psychologist, and she also really knows direct marketing. She worked with Jay Abraham. She\u2019s worked with David Deutsch and many other people over the years.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s my copy therapist. I will have her, especially when I have time &#8230; Sometimes I\u2019m like, \u201cOh my god, I got to get this to the client. I don\u2019t have time for three or four more days.\u201d I will run it by her and she will read it from the perspective of my prospect. It\u2019s always interesting to get that kind of feedback. Where I\u2019ve tripped her up, where I\u2019ve left her confused, where I\u2019ve maybe said something but it came across differently than how I intended.<\/p>\n<p>I would recommend that you go through your copy, you make sure you\u2019re being clear, you look at every sentence, every word. Look at every word and you say, \u201cIs this helping my copy, is it hurting my copy, or is it neutral?\u201d If it\u2019s hurting your copy or it\u2019s neutral, get rid of it, because that\u2019s going to allow you to really tighten up your copy. You make sure you have somebody read your copy, ideally who\u2019s an avatar, and get their feedback and find out where they\u2019re getting tripped up, what\u2019s confusing, et cetera.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> I love that idea of having a copy therapist. We all need a copy therapist, our very own.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kira is my copy therapist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Yay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Yeah, I feel like I have a few, so I\u2019m good. Kim, how do you manage your clients and the entire process when you\u2019re working on a project so that you don\u2019t become a punching bag or even the client takes over and is telling you how to run the show, which happens to a lot of the new copywriters?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> That\u2019s a tough one, because it doesn\u2019t ever really happen to me anymore. I\u2019ve witnessed that situation maybe indirectly. Sometimes there are client red flags, right?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I\u2019m in a position where if I see red alert client flags, I can just say, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m not going to take this project.\u201d That\u2019s number one. If you see the red flags, just avoid it. Maybe you feel like you can\u2019t, because you need the money or you want the project. You want to have a sample that comes out of it, whatever. Or to, which happens all too often, it\u2019s too late. You didn\u2019t see the &#8230; There were no warning signs, and now you\u2019re in it and you\u2019re like, \u201cOh my god, this is a nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I think what you need to learn to do is speak confidently directly to your client and know when and how to push back. What you need to do is feel confident that you know what you\u2019re doing as a professional. They hired you to do a particular job. When you feel you need to push back and say, \u201cLook, this is how, based on my experience with other companies and other successes I\u2019ve had, this is really how we should do it, and this is how it\u2019s best for me to work, and how you\u2019re going to get the best work out of me.\u201d You need to just push back and tell your client that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Sort of about owning the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Owning the process. For example, and this isn\u2019t something that happened to me. Actually, I think it did with one client I worked with, who I will never work with again. They\u2019re process they do with all copywriters before they have you go on to that next, that full draft of copy, they want to see your headline and lead.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a couple companies that do this with all their writers. I don\u2019t know if they do it specifically with less experienced writers, but I think they do it with all of their writers. Then they have a whole committee of people who look at your headline and lead and decide which one they like best or which approach, and I think part of this too is they\u2019re determining do they want to kill the project right there and not pay you any more, or do they want to go on to that next draft where they would then potentially be liable for more money?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a screening process, I think. To me, the problem with that, at least the way that I write long-form copy, is my process is a lot more organic. Sometimes I\u2019m starting with a headline and a lead and I\u2019m going through. Sometimes I\u2019m starting in the middle. Sometimes I\u2019m just like, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m just going to get the order form and some of these sidebars done just to feel like I\u2019m getting going, and then I\u2019m going to jump in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s wherever I feel the inspiration, the ideas. Then even if I write that headline, by the time I finish the promo, I\u2019m like, \u201cThat headline\u2019s not right. It sucks,\u201d or \u201cThere\u2019s five other buried headlines in my copy that I think are better. I\u2019m going to use those,\u201d blah blah blah. To me, that\u2019s like &#8230; I don\u2019t start making the lasagna by putting the sauce on the bottom. I do, actually, when I make lasagna.<\/p>\n<p>Do you know what I mean? It\u2019s like my copy equivalent would be, \u201cPut that ricotta in there and now let\u2019s put the bottom layer and now let\u2019s put the cheese on top,\u201d or whatever. It\u2019s not always in that classic order. When a client is saying, \u201cWe want you to start with your best headlines and lead,\u201d it\u2019s like, \u201cYou haven\u2019t gotten deep into it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Especially for a supplement, it\u2019s like you have to go look at &#8230; Let\u2019s say there\u2019s five ingredients. Which one of these has the very best story? Which one\u2019s going to be the star of this product? What am I going to lead with and what are the other ones that play the supporting role? You got to dig out all that research. You got to maybe start writing and go, \u201cOh, that\u2019s actually &#8230; Oh, that\u2019s a really strong story. Oh, that could even be the headline. Oh, that could even be the lead,\u201d or whatever.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re not even going to get to that point until you\u2019re really digging into it. If you\u2019re just starting and you just got to write four or five paragraphs and a headline, it\u2019s not a reflection of what you might actually be able to do with that promotion. I think it\u2019s a very misguided approach.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Yeah, I find the same thing. When I write, I\u2019ll start somewhere, but oftentimes as you move down the page you find a better lead or a better hook as you go through it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Yeah, absolutely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> It makes me sick to think that I have to live on the very first idea that I come up with, or that first futile effort that I start with, because it just gets so much stronger as you work through the page.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Exactly. It just takes time to dig in and do that and get that research. That\u2019s definitely one problem area I\u2019ve seen. Again, I think client warning signs &#8230; You have to really trust your gut.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Sometimes you just know this is not going to go well. I had one client, this was probably five years ago, and I will just say, not to be prejudiced or anything, but sometimes those solo companies where it\u2019s just a doctor who\u2019s got his own product line, those can just be problem clients. Again, they\u2019re newbies to it. A lot of times they just have a problem paying anybody more money than they think they should earn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I have a friend who used to work for a practice, a whole company that was run by doctors, and she was basically the rainmaker, but they didn\u2019t think she should make money, because they were the doctors. It\u2019s like, \u201cNo, you wouldn\u2019t have a business without the rainmaker.\u201d You know what I mean? They don\u2019t always get that concept.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I could just tell. He sent me a &#8230; At the time I think I was charging 20,000, whatever, for a magalog. He had sent me the $10,000 advance to hold my time, and I wasn\u2019t scheduled to start for three or four months anyway, but I could just tell with my dealings that, \u201cYou know, I don\u2019t know. There\u2019s just something about this guy. He\u2019s going to be difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then as it got closer, I think he had entered into some kind of arrangement with a marketing agency and I guess that was going to cost him a lot of money, so he was like, \u201cIs it possible that maybe we could not do this? I might maybe do it another time, because I think I\u2019m going to be doing this thing with this other agency.\u201d Typically I would say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, it says in all my paperwork, $10,000 advance is non-refundable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Because I\u2019ve literally turned down other projects for that slot. I\u2019m saving it for you. As it turned out, another client &#8230; It actually was the one that originally gave me the retainer arrangement when I was first starting out. He called me and was like, \u201cHey, I\u2019ve got this project. I\u2019m wondering if you could fit me in.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cYou\u2019re in. This guy is out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I called this guy, or I called him or I sent him an email. I\u2019m like, \u201cYou know what? As it turns out, if you feel like it\u2019s not the right time to proceed, I have someone else who will take that slot.\u201d I couldn\u2019t send him back his $10,000 fast enough. He was thrilled. That\u2019s why I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t need any problems.\u201d I could have technically kept it, but I\u2019m like, \u201cYou know what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Just get rid of him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I don\u2019t need this kind of asshole in my life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> It is amazing how you just always know in your gut when that first conversation, or even that first email, when it\u2019s going to be a problem and then &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Yep.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> When I\u2019ve overlooked it, it ends up being a problem. I just have to trust my gut.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> You do have to trust your gut. Yeah, so there\u2019s a whole process. I\u2019ve had other people I get in email conversations about, and I can just tell when they\u2019re just trying a little too hard to try to get my price down or they\u2019re not willing to pay. I\u2019ll just say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry we can\u2019t come to terms. It would be nice to work with you. It doesn\u2019t sound like you\u2019re willing to spend what it takes for a copywriter of my level, but I wish you the best and if there\u2019s other people that I can refer you to that maybe aren\u2019t as expensive I\u2019m happy to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not going to suddenly give you this huge discount. No one\u2019s going to feel good about that. I\u2019m not going to feel good about it. They might feel like they\u2019re getting a deal, but bottom line is, they\u2019re not valuing what I bring to the table. I want to work with people who value what I can do for them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, I want to ask another really big question that probably could be its own episode. You have worked very closely with a lot of A-listers, and even if you haven\u2019t worked with them, they know you, you know them. Gary Bencivenga\u2019s talked about you. Brian Kurtz has talked about you. I think you worked with Clayton Makepeace when you launched Healthy Directions.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m curious. What are some of, maybe the top two or three lessons that you\u2019ve learned from these other A-list copywriters that have really moved your business forward?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> One of the top ones has really improved my copy a lot, and I already shared some of that when you were talking about mistakes that I see in copy, the younger copywriters or newer copywriters make. Parris Lampropoulos, I think everybody\u2019s heard of him, he has an arrangement with Soundview, which is also known as Advanced Bionutritionals, where he copy chiefs everybody that they work with.<\/p>\n<p>While Parris has his own group of copy cubs that he mentors, and I\u2019m not one of those cubs, anybody that Soundview or Advanced Bionutritionals hires to write copy, he also serves as copy chief. I think I might &#8230; That\u2019s the client I was referring to. I probably had at least a dozen. I can\u2019t even count. It\u2019s probably higher.<\/p>\n<p>Pretty much every promotion I\u2019ve written for them since the last 12 years that I\u2019ve written for them has become a control, but all my copy is always copy chiefed by Parris when I write for them. I\u2019ve learned a lot from him, and yeah, he has really helped me be more clear with my copy and make sure I\u2019m being &#8230; It\u2019s tighter and more concise.<\/p>\n<p>I think another thing is get more story into your copy, especially when it comes to studies. Again, when you\u2019re writing a lot of copy about supplements, studies are critical for providing proof. However, you want to make sure you\u2019re romancing the story more, that you\u2019re telling it like a story versus just reporting on &#8230; \u201cA group of scientists found that people who did this got 46% higher&#8230;\u201d You want to dimensionalize it more, like a story. Some of his feedback has helped me get a lot better at that.<\/p>\n<p>I think I just worked once or twice directly with Clayton. It\u2019s been years, but Clayton is all about getting that emotion into your copy. He taps a lot into anger quite well. He\u2019s really good at that. That\u2019s something that I\u2019ve gained from working with him and studying his copy. Those are the ones that primarily come to mind.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> What do you think these A-list copywriters, including yourself &#8230; Is there something that you all embody? Is it that you\u2019re just really hard-working individuals that have been critiqued over the years to excel or what is it that you all have? If there\u2019s one thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I think we have an insatiable curiosity. Being very curious, asking those questions, digging deeper and deeper and deeper to find out what is that USP? What are those possible objections people are going to have? Just digging, digging deeper. Being curious, being relentless, not just phoning it in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Right, yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I think that\u2019s the differentiating factor right there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> Kim, we could talk copy, I think, for hours. Before we run out of time, I really want to touch on what you\u2019re doing to help other women in the copywriting space. You\u2019ve created a group. I think you\u2019ve done some training. Will you talk a little bit about that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Yes. Back in November, I created a free Facebook group. It\u2019s called \u201cThe Girls\u2019 Club.\u201d If any women out there would like to join it\u2019s an amazing group of female copywriters and marketers and entrepreneurs. It\u2019s pretty much like any &#8230; It\u2019s very similar to your group, because I\u2019m also a member of your wonderful group.<\/p>\n<p>You can post questions, you can get feedback, or you can just share something that you think everybody is going to find humorous. We occasionally have some free group calls that I host where we\u2019ll talk about a specific topic. Then every month I highlight a woman who\u2019s really kicking butt and having success, because I think that that\u2019s inspiring.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not one of these groups where it\u2019s all about Kim. It\u2019s really all about the women in that group, and women elevating other women. That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing with that group. I did have my first boot camp session, which I purposely kept small, and it was just one day back in early March in Los Angeles. It was actually more than half guys. I didn\u2019t limit it to just women. Yeah, we had a great session and I definitely would like to do more of those in the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> If our listeners want to hear more from you, they can join the Facebook group and if they want to attend a future boot camp where can they find more information?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> I\u2019m glad you asked. I do have a landing page, which it probably needs some work. I do have my own web site, which people are welcome to go to. It\u2019s KimSchwalm.com. I haven\u2019t done anything to it in eight or nine years. Just to get more information about me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rob:<\/strong> I should jump in, Kim, and say your portfolio there is full of these longform sales magalogs and VSLs and some of the things that you\u2019ve done, and it\u2019s basically &#8230; You could spend a day or two there just going to school on the successes that you\u2019ve had and the work that you\u2019ve done there. I think it\u2019s a great resource.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Yeah, I think I only was able to put in five pages of each of the print things, because sometimes my clients really don\u2019t want me to put the whole thing out there. Yeah, you can definitely study it a lot. I want to encourage the guys and gals in your audience to go to TheMarketingSuperpower.com. If you go there &#8230; Like I said, I want to try to make this a little bit nicer landing page, but whatever. It does the job.<\/p>\n<p>If you go there, you can request a free report, which has my top seven strategies for creating winning promotions. I think I call it the \u201cA-List Copywriter\u2019s Manifesto.\u201d That\u2019ll put you on my list, and you\u2019ll find out about anything that I have going on for guys or gals. Also, the women will find out about the Girls\u2019 Club there.<\/p>\n<p>If you get on my list and &#8230; Just the main thing is when you put your email in, make sure you respond to the opt-in message. You got to click on that or else you\u2019re not going to get the free report. You\u2019re not going to get on the list. A lot of times that ends up in the junk mail folder. Everybody who\u2019s listening should go to TheMarketingSuperpower.com.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kira:<\/strong> Excellent. Thank you, Kim, for joining us today and sharing all of your experiences and insights with us. It\u2019s really been a pleasure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kim:<\/strong> Thank you. I\u2019ve really enjoyed talking with both of you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kim Krause Schwalm joins Rob and Kira to share her thoughts and advice about copywriting. She also talks about how she went from successful marketing director to control-beating copywriter in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[56,3],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast","tag-kim-krause-schwalm","tag-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TCC Podcast #40: What &quot;A-listers&quot; Have in Common with Kim Krause Schwalm - The Copywriter Club<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"[interview] Kim Krause Schwalm talks about the lucrative copywriting ladder, staying in control of the writing process, the big lessons she learned from...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thecopywriterclub.com\/a-list-copywriter-kim-krause-schwalm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TCC Podcast #40: What &quot;A-listers&quot; 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