Recently I got an email out of the blue from a real estate guy in California, looking for help with a radio script.

photo by aleksandr/dpc

I’d never met him before, and asked how he found me. It turned out that he’d Googled “Best Real Estate Radio Ads”, and that took him to a video testimonial I’d recorded years ago after attending Dan O’Day’s Radio Copywriting Masters Class in Los Angeles.

I’d forgotten about the testimonial, but I’m reminded almost every day of the benefits that coming with being “The Salesperson Who Can Write Copy”.

5 Reasons Why You Should Be “The One Who Can Write Copy”

1. Your competitors can’t do it.  Face it: there are a whole lot of advertising salespeople. Every day your clients and prospects are hearing from other radio, television, digital, print, and transit/outdoor sellers. If you learn to write an effective advertising message, you are likely to be the only one who does. This will immediately set you apart.
2. It changes the conversation. While everyone else bores your client with rankers, graphs, and fire-sale packages, you’ll be talking with them about something they care about — telling their story and making more sales.
3. Better Copy = Better Results = Renewals. You will talk to a lot of business people who have tried, and cancelled, lots of different media… because it didn’t work. If you bring them something that actually delivers results, they’ll stay with you forever. Renewals are where you make the real money.
4. Other doors will open for you. Your clients will refer you to other businesspeople they know. And the competition will think of you when they have openings at their properties. Even if you’re happy where you are, it never hurts to have other options.
5. It may bring you some outside income. As I became known around town as The Salesperson Who Could Write Copy, outside opportunities to write for money came my way. I was careful not to take on jobs that represented a conflict of interest — at the time I was, first and foremost, an employee of Clear Channel Radio — but over the years I picked up some nice checks on copywriting projects.

These days my time is limited, but I still take on freelance projects from time to time…because I can.

Listening to that testimonial (Dan interviewing me), I was reminded I’d spent over $2500 out of my own pocket — tuition, airfare, and hotel — to attend that class. I made a profit within a week of my return by presenting a script idea to a Portland real estate firm and banking the commission on an $18,000 new direct sale.

I’m still making money with those skills today.

You can listen to the interview here — it took place in 2007, when I was still a salesperson for Clear Channel:

Question: What are your best sources for copy ideas? You can leave a comment by clicking here.