Just lost my copy client. Wants to put my monthly retainer "on hold for a few months" while she looks at analytics. She was the source of a significant amount of my discretionary income.
She claims that the copy isn't converting any more than it was before they hired me and "after running a few tests," they determined that it was my copy writing style -- which consists of a heavy story driven style with an emotional hook. That irritated the hell out of me. Her boss was the one that requested that style. He said that's what their customers wanted, that they didn't respond well to benefits-driven sales copy. Not only that, I asked them about conversions last month and she claimed that everything was going great and they loved working with me.
Fast-forward a month, suddenly everything's changed. I'm like, look -- I was a marketing executive before becoming an entrepreneur, this ain't my first party. When they first hired me, they showed me a spreadsheet full of pages they needed copy for. I finished the last page about two weeks ago and I suspected this was coming.
Here's how this related to DMSI. In the past, I would've been extremely upset and pissed right now, probably to the point that I would've taken a day off. Now? It's like, whatever. I'll make up the income gap through product creation. Not only that, I kinda severed any future ties with them. Told them that I didn't appreciate the lack of a warning, the lack of communication, nor the feeling of being used. Said, assuming they're telling the truth about just wanting to "put it on hold," they'll need to find another copywriter.
The point of signing a retainer is income security. If you're going to come in and try to pause the retainer when it benefits you, then I lose the ONLY real benefit to myself. Simply put, they used the promise of regular income to get a lower copywriting fee and then canceled when I finished everything they needed.
Not only that, but what I perceive is the OE in DMSI and the AM6 programming is pushing me in a direction where my life's mission and my "job" will be one and the same. I get no enjoyable or fulfillment from copy writing, and I really can't stand working with clients in the first place. As such, I now view writing copy as high risk / low yield unless it's a one-off for a high paying client. I'm going to stick to product creation and product marketing.
On the dating front, I was mad at #3 for giving me her number and never responding. Well... looked at the numbers again. I texted the wrong number. Might be too late to recover, this is the second time I "vanished" on her. Sh*t.
She claims that the copy isn't converting any more than it was before they hired me and "after running a few tests," they determined that it was my copy writing style -- which consists of a heavy story driven style with an emotional hook. That irritated the hell out of me. Her boss was the one that requested that style. He said that's what their customers wanted, that they didn't respond well to benefits-driven sales copy. Not only that, I asked them about conversions last month and she claimed that everything was going great and they loved working with me.
Fast-forward a month, suddenly everything's changed. I'm like, look -- I was a marketing executive before becoming an entrepreneur, this ain't my first party. When they first hired me, they showed me a spreadsheet full of pages they needed copy for. I finished the last page about two weeks ago and I suspected this was coming.
Here's how this related to DMSI. In the past, I would've been extremely upset and pissed right now, probably to the point that I would've taken a day off. Now? It's like, whatever. I'll make up the income gap through product creation. Not only that, I kinda severed any future ties with them. Told them that I didn't appreciate the lack of a warning, the lack of communication, nor the feeling of being used. Said, assuming they're telling the truth about just wanting to "put it on hold," they'll need to find another copywriter.
The point of signing a retainer is income security. If you're going to come in and try to pause the retainer when it benefits you, then I lose the ONLY real benefit to myself. Simply put, they used the promise of regular income to get a lower copywriting fee and then canceled when I finished everything they needed.
Not only that, but what I perceive is the OE in DMSI and the AM6 programming is pushing me in a direction where my life's mission and my "job" will be one and the same. I get no enjoyable or fulfillment from copy writing, and I really can't stand working with clients in the first place. As such, I now view writing copy as high risk / low yield unless it's a one-off for a high paying client. I'm going to stick to product creation and product marketing.
On the dating front, I was mad at #3 for giving me her number and never responding. Well... looked at the numbers again. I texted the wrong number. Might be too late to recover, this is the second time I "vanished" on her. Sh*t.
