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   Are You "Confident" Enough to Get Good Clients?
http://www.ctcpublishing.net/cmd.php?Clk=2015180
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                COPYWRITER'S ROUNDTABLE #436
                               October 27, 2009

              How to Compress Two Days Worth of
                     Writing Into Just 20 Minutes

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 The Ideal Home Business for Over-50 Entrepreneurs
http://www.ctcpublishing.net/cmd.php?Clk=3335212
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          "I took a speed reading course and read
                 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes.
                               It involves Russia."

                                   - Woody Allen

I'm pressed for time. 

As you read this, I'll be on train headed for
Baltimore for two days of meetings.

Last night, we flew over from Paris. 

And as I write this, it's actually four days earlier
-- Saturday -- if you can follow all that.

We have a babysitter coming in 10 minutes so we can
have one more dinner out on the town before our
trip.

And this brief moment is the only time, between now
and when we fly on Monday, that I can put together
this week's issue of the CR. 

Still with me?

So what do I do when I've got very little time but
want to make sure you get the maximum amount of
quality, as thanks for opening the CR every week?

Frankly, I just tap one of our many smart and
talented CR readers and ask for a contribution.

If I'm really lucky, they send one unsolicited. 

That's the case with today's article from our
frequent guest expert, New Zealand copywriter Sean
D'Souza. 

But not everybody is so lucky. 

And for those of you who want to write articles to
get your name out there, Sean has another "shortcut"
he wants to share with you. 

I think it's a great one. 

But enough from me. I'll let Sean give you the
details... 

HOW TO SPEED UP YOUR ARTICLE WRITING BY A THIRD
by Sean D'Souza, Copywriter

Do you want to write articles and write them faster?

Do you want to write outstanding articles and write
them faster?

Do you want to avoid slogging over one darned
article for three hours?

Let's answer that question by looking at piano
lessons.

If you started piano lessons two and a half weeks
ago...would you want to play faster? Or better? 

Would you want the notes to sound like a bit of a
melody? Or would you want to rush through it, just
to be quick?

I know the answer: With the piano, you'd want to
play the melody. With the article, you'd want to
write faster—without losing the melody.

So you have one standard for piano lessons, but
quite another for article writing, but hey, that's
not a problem.

Because lack of speed does frustrate.

But no matter how slow you are, you need to know
something. It's important know that when I was in
your situation, I was taking two DAYS to write an
article! I'd have given anything to write in three
hours. Man, writing in three hours—that would have
been like taking the bullet train!

But surely there’s a way to speed up things without
sacrificing on quality...

Yes there is. It's called posting on forums. Or
blogs.

Because it takes me just a few minutes to answer a
post on a forum or blog. And it takes you
approximately the same few minutes to answer a post.
Of course, if you answer a post with a longer
answer, then it may take fifteen minutes. Or thirty.

But when was the last time you answered a post on a
forum or on a blog and took a chunky three hours? 

Never, eh? Never is the answer. 

Neither you, nor I have ever sat there and composed
a three-hour answer.

Any answer to any post is always done and dusted in
less than about 20-30 minutes, no matter how
detailed. No matter how long.

And that's because you're emotionally charged.

Your neurons are doing the salsa the moment you hit
the keys. By the time you get into the first few
lines of your answer, your neurons are on their
third margarita. 

And that's when you really start to write with a
flow. Often the thoughts come so fast, that you can
barely get them onto the screen.

So try it. Try answering a post.

Jump onto a forum if you can. And see if a question
tickles your fancy. Then answer the question in
great detail. 

I do this on several blogs. And several forums. And
as you've seen time and time again, in 5000bc. [ed.
note: Sean's excellent blog for small businesses,
www.5000bc.com )

I simply answer the questions in great detail and
then I have an article. Of course, if it's on a
forum or blog, then the person posting the question
may come back with more questions.

And because as I get more questions to my original
answer, I can fortify my original article as well.
Or in some cases, the consequent questions may lead
to different angles, and hence different articles on
the same topic. 

And you know what? 

It's much easier to answer a question when you're
charged up and all excited, than to write from a
cold start.

I know this because I write hundreds of articles
every year.

Of course if you're on an Article Writing Course,
you know that's no big deal. 

A person who's been on a course just for a week, is
writing six and seven articles a week. Even if you
take a couple of months off in a year from writing,
you can still turn out about 250 articles reasonably
easily. 

But you have to ask: Where are you going to get
questions for those hundreds of articles?

The answer is forums. The answer is blogs. 

But what if you don't find blogs or forums?

Well get a student.

Get someone who you can work with. Charge them a
fee. Let them come over week after week, and you
train them. 

The discipline of having to train them will fill
your head with ideas and concepts that you need to
write down. 

And of course, students have an unending number of
questions. All you have to do is to remember to make
notes of what you said in your answer.

So keep a piece of paper and a pen handy. As you
give that student the answer, make sure you write
down the points of your answer. Do this all the time
and for any question you answer.

Suddenly you'll have so many articles that you'll be
like an air traffic controller over Heathrow
airport.

Dozens of articles waiting to land. Dozens of
articles circling the airport. And you've got the
questions and the answers.

And of course we come full circle. You're not taking
three hours (or a miserable two days to write an
article) Instead you're doing it in 20-30 minutes or
less.

And yes, it may not be the best article in the
world...yet!

But hey, you become a lot faster. As you write on a
daily basis you'll get better too.

And then you've got the best of both worlds: Speed
and quality.

Just don't try this on piano lessons, ok?

---

Thanks Sean... great ideas, as always!

By the way, I often send CR readers over to Sean's
very original website for marketers, copywriters,
and entrepreneurs. 

But now there's an even better reason to go -- he's
added free podcasts to the mix. So be sure to check
it out: www.psychotactics.com/blog

(You can also subscribe iTunes, by going to the
iTunes story and typing in the keyword
Psychozingers.)

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LOOKING FOR A WAY TO "ESCAPE" THE 9-TO-5 RAT RACE?

Have you ever felt chained to your desk - at a job
you don't like - by the reality of having to earn
money?

Most of us trade our time for money. Sure, we may
make a very nice living doing that ... but we are
never truly free as long as we punch a time clock -
or have a boss telling us what to do.

We have to get up early in the morning every day ...
commute in the cold and dark ... and put in long
hours making money for someone else.

But now, Bob Bly has discovered a safe, sure-fire way
for you to completely retire - within 18 to 24 months
from today - even if you haven't saved a dime for
retirement.

In his new audio program, "The Internet Marketing
Retirement Plan," Bob will show you how he did it.

Wouldn't you like to be in a position where you can
do anything you want each day - rather than having to
get up early and commuting to work every morning?

To discover the 3 simple steps to building an online
"retirement income" just click here now:

http://www.ctcpublishing.net/cmd.php?Clk=2015179

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A-LIST COPYWRITER REVEALS 40 YEARS OF SECRETS

Just quickly, while I've got your attention, I've
got a rare and important opportunity I want to
share.

Richard Armstrong, a quick-witted legend of the
direct mail industry, also happens to be a reader of
the CR. 

He ALSO happens to be the guy who gave a speech so
powerful, David Ogilvy wrote to personally request a
copy. 

He's ALSO the guy who drove copywriting great Gary
Bencivenga crazy... by not charging enough for his
copy. 

And he's ALSO the award winning writer who's been
personally praised by another famous copywriter,
Bill Jayme... and who rubbed shoulders with people
who's names you might not know but should -- like
Gene Schwartz, Dick Benson, and  personally with
Eugene Schwartz, Milt Pierce.

Why do I mention all this?

Because Richard has just launched a new website,
centered around the fr*e e-book he's just written
that tells you all his stories and secrets from his
40 year career. 

Looks like great stuff to me. I highly recommend you
check it out: http://www.freesamplebook.com 

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THE MISSING LINK: Need an Easy Way to Invoice?

If you're looking for an easy (and fr*e) way to
send classy invoices to clients, look here:

http://www.billingboss.com/home

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EXTRA: CAN YOU REALLY EARN A
SIX-FIGURE INCOME IN THIS ECONOMY?

The answer is yes, says AWAI Hall of Famer Peter J.
Fogel and AWAI's 2006 Copywriter of the Year Donna
Doyle... because they're doing just that.

In fact, both are beating the odds and enjoying a
steady stream of "A" clients?(And in some cases even
turning down assignments.)

What's the secret to their success?

More importantly, would they share their marketing
and mind-set techniques with other copywriters so
they can get similar results? 

Yes, it turns out, they would.

In a 90-minute, no-holds barred, the-truth the-whole
truth-and-nothing but the truth, teleconference --
aptly called, "How to Be a Six-Figure Freelance
Copywriter During Challenging Times!" -- Peter and
Donna spill the beans.

You can find out more here:
http://tinyurl.com/yfjjwt5

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PETITE PRINT

Q? comment@jackforde.com

A: http://copywritersroundtable.com.

Oh and this...

All the above is ©2009 by John Forde. Except that
bit that's ©2009 by Sean D'Souza.

Tagged as: John Forde