Can a Good Copywriter still sell a Bad Product? At least for 1% conversion rate?

The answer is probably not...

Copywriting quality is far down the list of what's important when it comes to having a successful product.

By a wide margin having a product that people want tops the list...

Followed in order by the list targeted and the offer presented.

Heck there are many that offer good products to good lists with a strong offer that aren't getting a 1% conversion.

I will go against the trend here and say: Sadly... yes.

I've done it. Not intentionally of course. But I've written great sales letters that pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars and the product turned out to be crap.

As a matter of fact I did one pretty recently. Got the research... the proof of claims... the testis... culled "facts" from the ebooks and videos and wrote a pretty remarkable letter. Never veering from the facts as they told them to me, and never claiming anything that wasn't supported by proof. The letter converting in the vicinity of 8%...

But... from the feedback I've seen buyers are none too happy.

I don't know this for a fact but I have to believe returns are probably in the mid-double digit %.

So... yeah, I believe a bad product can be sold. The rub is... how much money will the marketer end up with after returns?

On a semi-side note: There's a classic that was sold in the National Enquirer classified. Not just a bad product, but pretty much a con job. It was the portable coat hanger. A bunch of benefits were listed in the classified ad (carry it in your pocket, tested to hold even the heaviest winter coat, can be used over and over again, etc.)  and you could get them for only $1 each plus s+h.

As the story goes... a small fortune was made and the marketer filled every $1 order, with a 3 inch long finish nail. (portable and you can hang a coat on it)

So yeah... I believe good copy can sell anything. Although... it's much much easier when you have a good product.

Or the guy who sold metal engraved portraits of Abraham Lincoln -- and sent them a penny?  But I hear the Post Office uh, nailed, that guy.

Live JoyFully!

Judy Kettenhofen, Profit Strategist/Copywriter
NextDay Copy

Hey guys. Without revealing the exact product, it is similar to say "text messages".

There are tons of FREE "text messages" example online, like, funny text message, love text message, etc. What I did is, I gathered it, categorized it, included some "text message" that can't easily be found online. It's 400+ pages.

As I said, not really bad product, but it's not something that people are desperate to buy.

Can this be sold at least 1% conversion?

I'm asking this because I'm in a point where I'm thinking to drop the idea or re-invest to a better sales letter? Which will cost me at least another $2,500.

Thanks!

- Jon
P.S. Maybe any good copywriter who can sell this for 1%? Instead of paying you upfront, I'll give all the sales for 2 months which is a clear profit between 5k-6k based on my current traffic.

Buying a book full of template text messages... I'd say, no.

Young people buy cutting edge, innovative stuff at competitive or sometimes higher-end prices, if it's unique enough. (Using someone else's texts in your text messages is not considered unique in my book)

Older people come from a more authoritarian way of life and will buy stuff if they've been taught to believe they need it. There's good money to be made off that, because you can sell without having to be on the edge of things.

Example: They'll buy alternative health solutions, diet solutions or other information products that involve a student-teacher, expert-consumer kind of relationship.

Stick to the beaten path, don't reinvent the wheel and all that crap.

Guys, thanks for all the advice.

I think he said it's a book, Bruce. 400+ pages. Unless it's a book of links to ringtones?

Anyhoo... Assuming the market demographic is the same, or similar to, the text messaging demographic... the only way I can see this being attractive to that market is if it's something so cutting edge, they can't find it anywhere else.

A compliation of stuff that you can find on the Web... I dunno.

This may be a pig that no amount of lipstick can make look pretty.

With a strong brand campaign and lot of kick-ass viral marketing you can make a "lukewarm" product "hot" (See: Red Bull, et al). But you've got an enormous amount of work ahead of you.

When all is said and done, though, it's hard for anyone here to give you any advice without knowing the product and the market. If your market is 20-somethings, take it to a bunch of 20-somethings (strangers, please!) and test it.