Review: Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure
Copywriting
by Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.thewriterslife.com/bb/mwd6/
I have to tell you, I was very skeptical in the beginning.
Nervous even. I had one finger on the "buy now" button, and one
finger poised, ready to request a refund. I guess, when I bought
Michael Masterson's course, I was anxious that this would be one
of those screaming, ranting, raving sales letter courses that
tells you that you HAVE to write all copy the same way with a
tone that sounds like a used car salesman on steroids. I just
wasn't going to do that.
Let me explain. I'm not a newbie. I've been in copywriting (for
various mediums) for over 20 years. I even published my own
copywriting course (http://www.copywritingcourse.com) that deals
primarily with website and search engine copywriting. The one
thing I've never gotten involved with, however, was writing sales
letters.
I guess I always had too much else going on to learn how. I did
know enough to understand that writing sales letters is a
specialized art that required a lot of training. I also knew
there was a TON of research conducted over the past few decades
to determine what really worked and what didn't. Lastly, I knew
successful sales letter writing - the kind that pulled in
million-dollar responses - was not something you could just jump
into.
I finally decided this was something I wanted to do. I wanted to
learn to write sales letters, and I wanted to do it the right
way. And what the heck, it was $39 a month, and I could cancel
at any time. Plus, if it was really bad, I could ask for a
refund anytime within the first 30 days.
I did it! I clicked the "buy now" button and started the
process.
What I Didn't Like About This Sales Letter Course
Let me clarify something before I tell you what I didn't like.
This is a correspondence course. The lessons are mailed to you
(along with a nice binder to keep them in). You complete the
lessons and return them via mail or email. It is a self-paced
course, but it is also instructor led to a certain extent.
Really, there was only one thing I didn't like about this sales
letter writing course, and it is a sheer matter of personal
choice. My only concern was that you get little feedback about
your assignments throughout the course.
What happens is this. You complete the first section of the
course and the initial assignment. Your assignment is thoroughly
reviewed and mailed back to you. I was really impressed with the
amount of time my instructor spent reviewing my assignment and
the comments he gave. The instructors move quickly, so you get
feedback within a couple weeks.
Then you complete the rest of the course on your own. You don't
mail in any of your other assignments to have them reviewed until
the end of the course. In the process of completing the other
assignments, you're actually writing your sales letter in
different sections. Then, when you're finished, you mail (or
email) the final assignment in to be reviewed.
Now, I do need to clarify that there is a student services
department and a forum where you can ask general questions and
what not. But they do not give feedback on your sales letter
writing assignments.
What I Did Like About the Course
What I did like FAR outweighs what I didn't like. I've always
said the best way to learn is through a combination of examples
and practice. The course is professionally written and gives you
lots of both. examples and practice elements.
It was easy to follow and laid out in an organized manner. The
sections weren't very long and could be completed in a fairly
short amount of time. (Important to me because I have a
copywriting agency to run!)
The course is set up for newbies, but - even though I've been
writing copy for two decades - it was still interesting to me.
While I may have known a lot of the information in the course, I
needed to study how that information applied specifically to
sales letter writing.
I was truly impressed at the quality of information (including
many insider secrets you usually only get from having years of
experience in the business). Every lesson had something that
made me think, and all the lessons flowed logically as I went
through the entire course.
Michael Masterson's course is published by AWAI (the American
Writers & Artists Institute). In addition to the course, they
offer a wide range of "job placement" opportunities in the way of
forums, databases and conferences. So, in addition to learning
to write sales letters, you also get help finding assignments
once you've graduated. That's a BIG plus for those just starting
out or those who are new to direct mail.
Lastly, as I mentioned before, when you do get feedback from your
instructor, it is helpful, thorough, detailed and insightful.
Your assignments are not just skimmed and topped with a short
"great job!" and returned to you. The ideas and suggestions the
instructors make truly are helpful.
Do I recommend it? Oh yes. definitely! But only if you're
serious about becoming a copywriter or enhancing your skills as a
copywriter. This is not recommended for people who aren't
dedicated to becoming the best. It will take some work to
complete.
I've enjoyed taking the course and learning how to apply
different skills and talents to writing sales letters. Most of
all, though, it's been profitable because it will lead to a whole
new world of copywriting projects!
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Karon Thackston
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