I know beyond any doubt that this article is going to generate a lot of controversy. I’m going to answer the question that the title puts forth. Do other copywriters’ opinions matter? The short answer?

Not a hill of beans worth.

Okay, now that I’ve ticked off just about every copywriter on the planet, I better explain my answer with something that makes sense and a bit of a disclaimer.

Here’s the disclaimer.

Unless you are selling stuff to OTHER copywriters, then what they think of your sales letter doesn’t mean squat. But why is that? After all, some of these copywriters are at the top of their profession. Shouldn’t they have a good idea of how well your copy will convert?

Actually, they have NO idea. Not a clue. In fact, they’d be taking wild guesses if they even tried to tell you how well or poorly your copy was going to convert.

You’re probably scratching your head right now wondering how that can be. After all, these people get PAID to write copy. Don’t they KNOW what they’re doing? Sure they know what they’re doing. They just don’t know whether or not your copy will convert.

Okay Wags, I give up. What makes you say this?

The answer is simple. They don’t know YOUR target market. They don’t know the people who are going to be reading YOUR sales letter. They can’t possibly predict how they’re going to react to it.

My first sales letter, back in 2006, had a big old STOP sign right at the top of the page. That was the FIRST thing that prospects saw. If I had shown that sales letter to other copywriters (in fact, I did) they would have, and did, laugh me off of the forum.

That product sold 200 copies a month for months and to this day, 6 years later, it is STILL my best selling product ever. I have YET to duplicate the success of that product.

And I did it with a big old STOP sign at the top of the page.

See, each market responds to different stimuli. I researched what my market responded to BEFORE I made that sales page. I knew that they liked cheesy things. And yes, a big old STOP sign at the top of a sales page is about as cheesy as it gets. But it worked. And I had a feeling it was going to work, even though everybody else said I was crazy.

Now don’t go putting up big old STOP signs at the top of YOUR sales pages without at least understanding your market first. I mean imagine if you’re selling a product aimed at MDs. Do you REALLY think that an MD will respond to a big old STOP sign at the top of your sales letter? I think that’s a great way to lose all credibility with your market. And then again, I don’t know because I don’t know your market.

So please do yourself a favor. Don’t take anybody’s word as gospel. Go with your gut and test.

You’d be surprised what can work on a sales page.

Yes, even a big old STOP sign.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write copy just like the pros? Visit my site at Basic Copywriting In Plain English and discover killer copywriting tips that have allowed me to write my own copy for years and earn myself a 6 figure a year income selling my own products.