Katie Yeakle, Co-Founder of AWAI, Shares What It's Like to Start a Copywriting Company
Katie Yeakle, Co-Founder of AWAI, Shares What It's Like to Start a Copywriting Company
We publish and market home-study programs that offer people freelance job opportunities. Our flagship program, AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, shows people how to write winning sales letters. And, as with all our programs, we offer insider tips and strategies for getting started and succeeding in the industry.
When did you start the business?
1997
What were you doing before this, and is this your first business?
I was a direct-mail marketer for a large international publishing company.
Where did you get the startup money?
We were very lucky in that we didn’t need much money to get started. My partners and I created the copywriting program and promotion ourselves. And, we made deals with publishers to promoto our product on a revenue-split basis. Those early sales were our initial cash flow.
Who are your main competitors? How do you compete against them?
We were one of the first companies to offer they type of training we do. In the last 11 years, established copywriters have since started marketing programs based on the experience and expertise. As far as competing … we were the first and we are the most established. I think the support we offer our members is what makes us stand above the growing crowd. But, here’s a secret. Competition is good in our industry. As soon as someone understands the tremendous opportunity copywriting offers … and wants to become a copywriter … They want to learn as much as possible.
How has your experience in running the business been different from what you expected?
More people management than I care for.
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
No … The business has grown organically. Even mistakes have been useful in helping us improve our products.
What have you done that has been very effective in helping to grow the business?
Hired the best people I can find … incentivize them … give them plenty of room to shine.
What advice would you give to somebody else who wanted to start a similar business?
Ready, Fire, Aim is the mantra we live by. My mentor, Michael Masterson, recently wrote a book on the topic. Don’t wait until everything’s perfect … the stars are aligned just so. Test your idea as quickly and inexpensively as possible … Because you aren’t in business until you make your first sale.
Katie Yeakle CoFounder of AWAI Shares What Its Like to Start a Copywriting Company - To learn more about this author, visit AWAI’s The Golden Thread 's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Tell me about your current business. What are you doing exactly?
We publish and market home-study programs that offer people freelance job opportunities. Our flagship program, AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, shows people how to write winning sales letters. And, as with all our programs, we offer insider tips and strategies for getting started and succeeding in the industry.
When did you start the business?
1997
What were you doing before this, and is this your first business?
I was a direct-mail marketer for a large international publishing company.
Where did you get the startup money?
We were very lucky in that we didn’t need much money to get started. My partners and I created the copywriting program and promotion ourselves. And, we made deals with publishers to promoto our product on a revenue-split basis. Those early sales were our initial cash flow.
Who are your main competitors? How do you compete against them?
We were one of the first companies to offer they type of training we do. In the last 11 years, established copywriters have since started marketing programs based on the experience and expertise. As far as competing … we were the first and we are the most established. I think the support we offer our members is what makes us stand above the growing crowd. But, here’s a secret. Competition is good in our industry. As soon as someone understands the tremendous opportunity copywriting offers … and wants to become a copywriter … They want to learn as much as possible.
How has your experience in running the business been different from what you expected?
More people management than I care for.
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
No … The business has grown organically. Even mistakes have been useful in helping us improve our products.
What have you done that has been very effective in helping to grow the business?
Hired the best people I can find … incentivize them … give them plenty of room to shine.
What advice would you give to somebody else who wanted to start a similar business?
Ready, Fire, Aim is the mantra we live by. My mentor, Michael Masterson, recently wrote a book on the topic. Don’t wait until everything’s perfect … the stars are aligned just so. Test your idea as quickly and inexpensively as possible … Because you aren’t in business until you make your first sale.
Katie Yeakle CoFounder of AWAI Shares What Its Like to Start a Copywriting Company - To learn more about this author, visit AWAI’s The Golden Thread 's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to AWAI’s The Golden Thread's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Benefit From Analytics Pump Up Your Calendar The Human Network Business Plan Sample Free Marketing Plan Template |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Diversion Blogs
Top Diversion Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
