The sales letter was good. It was more than good, it rocked.
Michel Fortin was my copywriting coach at the time, he didn’t have anything to add. It was ready to give to the client.
The client was a big name guru you’ve probably heard of.
And he hated it. He changed it quite a bit, including the entire angle, before he published it.
What happened? I didn’t manage my client’s expectations. Part of that job is to discover what the client is expecting the letter will look like.
And the easiest way to get that answer is to ask…
“1) Are there any competing sales letters you like that I should see?”
Have you ever heard, “The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side.” If your client likes a competitor’s sales letter, they’re probably looking for something similar.
Of course your sales letter needs to be unique to be successful. But you can get a good feel of the tempo and energy of the copy. And that’s likely what your client is looking for.
The lesson: If you want to keep your client happy, find out what they like about their competitor’s sales copy.