Opinion on Copy Writing Programs?

Any replies?

I've been eagerly looking out for any replies from more experienced writers to your question about the AWAI programme's authenticity, i've been considering enrolling for one of their programmes myself in a bid to see myself as a professional writer, and i've also been wondering like you if it isnt just a massively hyped up programme without any true benefits. Have you gotten any satisfactory replies?

michaelas said:

Hi,

I hope I'm posting to the right place.

I've been considering a move to the copy writing business recently. I'm wondering if anyone has any opinion / comment on a particular copy writing program that I have been getting mail & e mail about. The hook is basically "How To Make $$$ Writing One Letter a Month, etc." I think the Company is AWAI (American Artists & Writers Inc.) If anyone knows about this program, is it a scheme? Is it a scam? Is it legit? Anyone done it?

If it's bogus, what's the best way to try out / break into the copy writing field?

Thanks.

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I'm not familiar with the company, but I have seen stuff advertised with the lingo I bolded above, and it just makes me think that I'm reading the letter that made THEM $$$ a month.

Go check out the freelance forum for better info than I can give you. Go read some books on the subject, found in the 808 section of your local library. Just don't fall for money-making schemes, because the only ones typically making money there are the scammers.

I've been known to lend my copy writing skills to companies who don't have adequate writing talent on staff. The pay ranges from good to great if you have the skills.

However, I've never taken one of these courses. I think if it's a field of writing that interests you, your money would be better spent on a few books on business writing and marketing. There is probably little this course could teach you that you couldn't pick up at the book store or library. Furthermore, once you take the course, the hard work of finding paying clients will be completely up to you. And few potential clients will be impressed with the "credentials" the $500 course bought you.

College-level business writing and marketing courses would be a better place to spend that money, too. At least you'd have a few more credits under your belt.

What is it they say around here? Money flows toward the writer.

michaelas said:

Hi,

I hope I'm posting to the right place.

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There's Bewares and Background Check, where I suppose this thread might eventually get moved to.

michaelas said:

I've been considering a move to the copy writing business recently. I'm wondering if anyone has any opinion / comment on a particular copy writing program that I have been getting mail & e mail

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If you're getting email about ANYTHING and you didn't sign up or somehow ask for that email, DO NOT respond (not in a positive way, nor ask to be "removed" from their list - that just tells them yours is a real email address read by a human that they can send MORE stuff to). That is spam. Even presuming the business is legitimate in EVERY OTHER WAY, responding positively to spam makes it worthwhile for the sender, who will send MORE spam, helping destroy what's left of the usefulness of email.
And while you're at it, scroll down to the bottom of this page and take The Boulder Pledge:
http://www.panix.com/~tbetz/boulder.shtml
(okay, spam is another hobby horse of mine. I think I'm done for the moment.)

michaelas said:

about. The hook is basically "How To Make $$$ Writing One Letter a Month, etc." I think the Company is AWAI (American Artists & Writers Inc.) If anyone knows about this program, is it a scheme? Is it a scam? Is it legit? Anyone done it?

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Googling "writing one letter a month" brings up some irrelevant hits and THIS page, that looks something like what you describe:
http://www.freelance-writing.net/writing-careers.htm
and looks a lot like what others have described. Is that it?

michaelas said:

If it's bogus, what's the best way to try out / break into the copy writing field?

Thanks.

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Duh. I dunno, but isn't there a non-fiction writing forum aroud here somewhere? Looking, there's writing nonfiction books, but probably the best fit for copywriting (barring the cynical thought that copywriting is fiction - just slap me) is probably the Freelance Writing forum.

michaelas said:

I've been noticing the pattern of many ad letters I've received in the mail and on internet.

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Presuming "on internet" is unsolicited email, see spam rant above.

michaelas said:

Whether the enticement letter is about stocks, real estate, health stuff, or various ways to make money, the formula is the same:
*they all set the initial bait, standard to most ads - do you want more money? Do you want to be healthier, stronger, etc.?
*The next part dangles the bait:
Would you like to vacation in Jamaica, buy a new car, have enough for retirement in four years, etc.
*The next part adds the voice of experience:
I worked a forty hour/week job for twenty years knowing there was something better out there and tried all these bogus methods promising financial reward...etc etc.
*Next comes the setting of the hook:
Then I saw this ad for (etc) and decided to give it a chance, and now I'm glad I did. Now I have more money than I ever dreamed of, etc.
*The next part is how easy it is, or how beneficial it is.

The rest of it, of course, is how you too can get in on it and it will cost you only....

The letter is usually a long one, designed to keep whetting your desire and get you excited about doing it, and depending on the writing skill of the ad copywriter, often does.

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It never does me, knowing that the sender almost certainly used stolen Internet bandwidth to deliver that steaming turd thing into my inbox.

michaelas said:

The bottom line is of course, the money you have to spend (the ultimate price tags) and the hidden things they don't tell you about. There is usually a minimal price to pay up front to get the course or CDs,

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If it's anything like the "plans" and hotel-ballroom "seminars" to "make big bucks buying and selling real estate" or Amway/Quitar or most any other money-making scheme that publishes books, cassettes or CD's (these are usually motivational/sales oriented), they might sell for $50 each at such a "seminar" but chances are you can find them at a fraction of the price on eBay (sold by people who paid full price, but want to get SOMETHING out of their "investment" instead of just throwing it away). I've heard it suggested that if you're "really interested" you get such material from eBay and check it out before you spend any actual money with the actual organization.

michaelas said:

followed a few weeks later by a personal phone call from a mentoring coach offering their services for $3 - 10,000 dollars to really get you up and running. This what they are really selling.

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(I have no idea what they might really be selling, and from the look of that freelance-writing.net website, I don't want to have anything to do with it...

michaelas said:

My take so far on the copy writing offer is that it is a course designed to teach you how to write effective copy letters for various companies using this basic pattern. For this one the cost is $500 for the course. I don't know yet if they follow this with a personal coaching plan. I haven't looked into it, but my guess is they will do so.

(Siddow - Like your picture)

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To think she abused a perfectly good lime just for the comfort of that cat...

I'm not planning on moving this thread. B&BC is more about editors, agents, and publishers. This thread seems to be discussing more the value or lack of value of different educational "opportunities" that aspiring writers receiving in the mail.

Okay, one more post:

michaelas said:

...
The hook is basically "How To Make $$$ Writing One Letter a Month, etc." I think the Company is AWAI (American Artists & Writers Inc.) If anyone knows about this program, is it a scheme? Is it a scam? Is it legit? Anyone done it?

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I googled American Artists Writers Inc and got here:
http://www.awaionline.com/
(overall, this website looks similar to the other one as far as the amount of hype and such)
The bottom paragraph goes: "Remember, this is a no risk opportunity."
Not sure of the details, but if they offer something like a "90 day unconditional money-back guarantee," keep in mind that most credit cards only allow disputes up to 60 days after a charge is made, so if you get past the end of 90 days and find out they "drag their feet" or basically decide not to honor their "guarantee," you're screwed. (well, I suppose you could call the Attorney General in the state where they do business and raise a fuss about it)

Continuing with that paragraph: "One that will quickly teach you all the secrets you need to know to break into a highly lucrative new career. A career where you get to set your own schedule and be your own boss."

Hmm, I wouldn't discount anyone for a once-in-a-blue-moon sentence fragment, but here are two sentence fragments in a row. Perhaps the author of that website could use some writing instruction.

A good place to start is Robert W. Bly's classic, The Copywriter's Handbook.

Before you shell out $500 for AWAI, shell out $12 for Bly.

Those "Make _____ in _____ Days by Doing ______" websites are all cut out of the same cloth...the cloth that is also used to make infomericals, dubious classified ads etc. There might be a kernel of useful information, but not enough to justify the inflated price. Usually it can be found for free online on websites or forums or very cheaply in good books. Whenever I see a come-on that reminds me of those guys trying to entice people into girly bars in Vegas, the alarm bells go off.

Maybe a local college offers a course you could take?

I get these ads, too, by regular mail. )They are thick, glossy course catalogs/ads --they put a lot of money into them.)