Big Hitters Still Strike Out

A client hired me to write two different financial packages to be tested to his list.

I came up with the most compelling hooks I could… worked on each letter for 3+ weeks… put as much into the letters as I could… and then turned them in.

The client loved them.

Even the people in the office loved them.

So they ran the first one.

Dud.

Then they ran the second one.

Better.

But not quite as good as they were hoping for.

Right now I’m rewriting the second package… putting a new lead on it… to see if we can make this one a clear winner.

In fact, I’ll probably end up testing out TWO new leads for this package, each focused on a different sales angle.

So what’s the point of sharing this?

One: It’s important to remember that even big hitters strike out some times. It sucks, but it still happens.

Two: You never quite know what will work and what won’t. A roomful of hardened direct response marketers loved my work — yet the market didn’t.

And, as you know, the market is always the “court of last resort.”

Three: Success isn’t a linear progression. It’s an up-and-down journey that fitfully (and sometimes unpredictably) takes you upward.

By the way, I will be writing an in-depth “lessons learned” post about this experience for Copywriting Code members. If you’re not a member yet, sign up here:

http://clickora.com/CopywritingCode

-Ryan M. Healy