I have often wondered whether direct-response copy would work in large, more conventional businesses.
Our guest today put my question to rest.
Let me introduce you to my friend Jim Van Wyck. He’s been a direct marketer since the early 1990s. And because of businesses he built with direct-response copy, he’s had two seven-figure exits and one eight-figure exit.
In case that jargon doesn’t mean anything to you, I’ll break it down. A seven-figure exit is where you sell the business for more than one million dollars. An eight-figure exit is where you sell the business for more than 10 million dollars.
Jim opened an indoor tennis club in the early eights. He co-founded a bookstore in the early 90s. He had a small chain of weight loss centers in the late 90s in partnership with his wife.
Jim worked closely with a regional insurance brokerage in the 2000s, which was sold to a Fortune 500 company. More recently, he co-founded another insurance agency selling health insurance nationwide, and he was the CEO of that business.
He’s currently creating HealthAmigo.com, which is a national telemedicine and healthcare services company, and he’s the co-founder of that.
A lot of businesses to keep track of, but I wanted to give you an idea of how prolific Jim is when it comes to business building. I asked him to come on the show today to talk about the vital role of copy in his businesses.
Here are the questions Jim answered:
1. We have a famous disclaimer at the top of the show, which award-winning composer Dr. Doug Pew even set to music! But in a private conversation, you said most people have no idea what legal compliance is like until you set up an insurance company. Could you talk about that?
2. Now you have some copy, in story form, that will be used on a video for Health Amigo. Please read it out loud to us and then let’s talk about it.
3. How did you get started with copy? It was in the Yellow Pages, right?
4. Please share the ironic story about the scathing columnist for the Calgary Herald.
5. Any other stories about copy you’d like to tell us?
6. From a learning and knowledge perspective, what would you suggest to fellow business builder who want to write their own copy?
7. For business owners who don’t want to write copy themselves but plan to hire copywriters, what do they need to learn and/or know?
8. In your experience, what’s the difference between using copy for lead-generation (for brick & mortar and service businesses) compared to using copy to close the sale (for mail-order and online digital product businesses)?

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Seven- and Eight-Figure Exits, Thanks to Copy with Jim Van Wyck

Copywriters Podcast