Copywriting.org Interviews Prasanna Natarajan
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Q1. Where are you from?
Bangalore.
Q2. How did you discover copywriting?
Quite accidentally, when trying to help out my dad’s boutique jewelry shop. In my previous life as a software engineer I was exposed to digital marketing and so came across Google My Business and Google Ads. I was looking at the ads and descriptions from other jewelry shops in my country to get an idea for my own ads. That’s when I realized the difference between the ads of top brands and the small shops. The big brands had much better ads. They were catchy, short and highly specific, in contrast to the verbose, “news-like” ads of the small shops. So I googled “How to write good headlines for advertising?” That’s when I discovered the world of copywriting (and realized businesses outsource and pay big money for this kinda stuff). I already loved creative writing and was a hobbyist blogger. And I loved reading a good book. When I found out that I can also make money with my words, it was like I found my calling.
Q3. What forms of copy do you write?
Email and Twitter marketing. I write emails for websites that have decent traffic and have something meaningful to sell. Every time I come across a website with great content, I do a quick audit to see how they’re monetizing it. I come across many sites that don’t do a good job of that. Makes me sad considering they could *easily* earn an extra 30% if they did email marketing right. Instead they’re wasting all their hard-earned money on just ads to bring in leads that convert poorly (at 2%). For these websites, I can write: – a great welcome email series that introduces the human side of business, – an evergreen email sequence that’ll just print money even when the founders are sleeping, – weekly sales emails that bring quick cash for the owner (in thousands of dollars) – Relationship nurturing emails that’ll convert the visitors into loyal fans and repeat buyers Besides, I’m also good at all things technical when it comes to email marketing. I can ensure your emails have high deliverability and doesn’t simply end up in spam. I can set up complex zapier integrations that’ll save you $$$ in terms of building a custom software. As for Twitter, it’s my favorite social media because it has all the smart people as its users (people who love to read, as opposed to who like to watch videos and scroll). When used effectively, Twitter can bring in extremely high quality leads for your business. If your business targets audience with high-IQ, then promote your business on Twitter. You don’t even need ads. Just aim for organic reach with good content and strategic calls to action. You’ll start printing money. I’ve done it for my clients with great success.
Q4. What are your favorite niches to write in?
Anti-aging. Fitness. Fitness for men over 40. Hormone optimization. Online money-making. I’ve written for a top Twitter fitness guru for over 2 years. Helped him make hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling ebooks to his audience. I have prolific experience writing for these fitness niches: fat loss, muscle gain, strength gain, full-gym workout programs, home-gym workout programs, bodyweight-only programs, programs for ectomorphs, skinny fat men, women who want big booty, older men wanting to continue lifting without getting injured. I’ve also written for the world’s renowned hormone optimization expert. I’m well aware of the world of TRT, peptides and other stuff used at therapeutic dosage for maximum hormone optimization. Earlier this year, one of my clients hit a big revenue milestone since he started this online business model. So he created a course that explains his method. Since I’ve been working with him for more than 2 years, I’m very much aware of the method. I wrote an email for that course promo that generated over $3000 profit. (And I made $2500 in promoting this course to my own list).
Q5. What is the #1 lesson you've learned as a copywriter?
My dad never finished high school, nor did he read any book on sales, but he’s a veteran salesman. He’s been in this jewelry business for over 35 years now. If you see him in action, say when selling a big gold necklace to a husband and wife, you’d notice that the actual part where he sells the item is only around 20% of the time. That’d be 5% in the beginning and 15% towards the end of a long, hearty chit-chat with the customer. They’d talk about every damn thing except the item at hand. Of course, it’s my dad who drives the conversation. That doesn’t mean he’s doing it in a calculating, conniving way. He just genuinely cares about people, asks earnestly about their lives, sees if he can help if they’re tied up in any knots in their personal lives. He plays the networker during these times. If you were listening, you’d be engrossed in the chat too, but then somewhere during those moments, the sale would be over too. Item and money exchanged. Hands shaken. This isn’t typical at all across the industry. Nobody does it the way he does it. He does it for just one reason: To build trust with his customers. He genuinely wants to help his customers. That translates to my experience as a copywriter too. If you just see your audience as a wallet with a pulse, then they’ll sense that and nothing good will come out of that relationship. Instead, if you play the long game of building trust and cultivating relationships, you’ll be in the business for decades because your customers will always have your back. That’s the lesson I learned from my father and that’s the lesson I’ve seen work for my clients and me too as a copywriter.
Q6. Who is your favorite copywriter & why?
David Ogilvy. I learned how to write with class from his ads. They were never pushy and had an enthusiastic chill to them. They conveyed the brand’s prestige well. I also like Neville Medhora. Blending humor into copywriting for the sake of it never works. But he does it well and I study him.
Q7. Do you have any recent wins to share?
I wrote an email-only campaign for my client’s fat loss challenge group. It was 6 emails on 4 days. It brought in over $9000 in profit. We were just selling access to a telegram group. The offer was priced at $150. I wrote the emails to address one objection at a time, and told stories based on actual before/after transformations. It worked like a charm. The client was happy and asked me to do it 3 more times. I did, and brought similar results. Another recent win: Increasing my client’s open rate from 35% to 50% without affecting product sales and the number of emails that were actually opened. It was list of 42K people. The win here is increased deliverability and sender reputation.
Q8. What would you say to a prospective client who wants to hire you?
I have 2 unique skill-sets that set me apart from your run of the mill copywriters. Sales: I’ve worked part-time at my dad’s boutique jewelry shop for more than 15 years. I still go there every day. WHen my dad isn’t around, I sell the jewels to people. I know how to handle objections real-time, entice the prospects with offers, kneecap the competitors and position our brand as high-end. I firmly believe that a good copywriter should have hands-on sales experience. Technology: I’ve been a software developer for 13 years prior to this career. I’ve built websites, scripts and servers that have processed millions of visitors, dollars and datapoints. I still code as a hobby. This experience helps me quickly understand any new technology and find new and cheaper ways to help you in your marketing goals. Besides, I have other interesting life experiences that I can always draw unique angles from for marketing. (I built a house recently, I’m dad to twins, I’ve lived and worked in 4 states for several years.) Also, my clients can attest to how hard I work and how easy it is to communicate with me. I’m also a team-player. I can work with your in-house team in a constructive way. And finally, I have PayPal! Paying me will never be a hassle for you!
Q9. What is a good email address for prospective clients to contact you?
prasanna@rubywords.com