My name is David Johnson. I'm a freelance copywriter and this is my story.

I've been writing for years. It started in my 9th grade English class when my teacher announced on the first day that we would be responsible for turning in at least one page of personal writing on a weekly basis. Up until that point I think the longest thing I had ever written were the short answer questions on tests.

I found it really difficult to turn in a full page and at first just decided to take a zero on it. You see, the biggest reason why I found it difficult to write was because I didn't enjoy it, not one bit. Most of the time I would find myself bent over at my desk, in a dark room with only the desk lamp on and nothing to write.

I did try. I just didn't like to do it. After all, when would I ever need to put my thoughts, ideas and/or stories down on paper?

(Yeah I know!)

Fast forward about two months and one day after class my English teacher told me that she wanted to speak with me. She asked me why I wasn't turning in my weekly writings and I told her that I couldn't think of anything to write.

"Nothing at all?" She asked.

"Nope, nothing," I said. "I just don't enjoy writing."

"Well, you're going to have to convince me of that one David and if you can then I will give you an A instead of all those zeros you have been getting and give you a pass on weekly writing."

A challenge! Well I started to open my mouth but she cut me off saying something about writing it down and turning it in tomorrow. So that's what I did.

I spent about 4 hours and half-a-dozen erasers crafting what ended up being a 4 page report on why I don't like writing and why it won't do me any good. I didn't admit that night, but I really enjoyed writing it.

(I think I still have it and if I can find it I will scan it and upload it)

Well, the time came to turn it in and once again after class my teacher asked me to see her after class.

"This is very well written, David" she began. "Very convincing and well thought out. I can feel the passion behind your words, very persuasive."

"So you're going to give me an A?" I said.

I'll never forget the way she giggled and shook her head. "I'll give you an A for writing this, but I'm not convinced."

"But you said it was well written!"

"Yes I did, and it is. And because it's so well written I'm not convinced that you don't enjoy writing, you are very good at it."

"In fact," she continued. "I want to hear more of what you have to say. In the morning I want you walk outside barefoot, in the grass, and describe on paper what you see, feel, smell, taste and hear."

So I did and that's when I got hooked.

That night I went home and wrote down on a piece of paper the 5 headings: See, Feel, Smell, Taste and Hear.

I set my alarm for 5 am, jumped out of bed, and grabbed the piece of paper with the headings, a book for a hard surface to write on and a pencil.

As I walked outside I noticed that it was particularly cool for a mid November Florida Morning. I noted that under Feel.

I noticed a lot of things that morning that I never noticed before like the way the grass, wet from morning dew, tickled the inside of my toes. The way the slight breeze tugged at the little hairs on my arms.

For the first time I noticed that the air actually had a taste, much different from the taste of the hot mid afternoon or the taste just before dusk.

I could actually hear the world begin to wake up. More and more cars could be heard traveling down the road just a few blocks away. I could hear the squirrels chattering away in the trees and the sweet melody of blue jays announcing to all that could hear that a new morning had begun,

I had never noticed it before but it was absolutely beautiful the way the sun highlighted the large oak tree in the front yard, lining its leaves, branches and trunk in golden light.

I was hooked!

As I look back on those first months of 9th grade English I realize how naïve I was to think that I didn't like to write. I also like to think back on how my teacher baited the hook and got me to bite. She must be one hell of a fisherman! (Fisherwoman?)

Who we are is an accumulation of our past experiences. Good or bad we are shaped by our pasts, forged in the present, and battle for our futures. I fight everyday for my future with passion. Below are a few things that I have shaped me.

Winn Dixie

My first "real job" was as a bagger at Winn Dixie. For those of you that don't know what Winn Dixie is, it's a grocery store chain based in the south.

Without going into detail about my childhood I will tell you that I learned the meaning of hard work from my mother. My father was very lazy and not a good man at all, I learned from him what NOT to do.

Anyway, I threw myself into my job and did the best I could. I wanted to be faster at bagging, be able to push in more carts than anybody else and leave the store cleaner than any other bagger.

And that's exactly what I did. Once a year Winn Dixie has this youth manager day and for two years straight I was the one chose to be the general manger. After two years of bagging I moved over to the produce department where I learned that Eye Appeal is Buy Appeal.

As you know people come to grocery stores to buy food and its funny how many people DON'T follow their list. A grocery store is a great buying environment because most people travel down every isle looking at all the shelves.

In the produce department we always sold the most fruits and vegetables on the days we received our shipments. On those days our bins were the fullest, our apples the reddest, and our cantaloupe the ripest.

I learned that you must create a strong buying environment and always put your product in the best light. Showcase the positives!

The Magic Shop

I worked at the magic shop for a short period of time but I learned the value of a great presentation. I had to sell people the joy of entertaining others.

Magic is a total impulse buy and I did some amazing shows but learned that I had to ask for the sale. I had to close people early on so that they knew that I was selling them something not just there to entertain them.

I learned that a strong call to action is the only way to close the deal because once the prospect has left the website, threw away the letter or closed the newspaper the odds of them returning are almost nil.

Home Medical Delivery

While this wasn't a tradition sales environment I learned why customer service is as important as the sale to not only keep the business but to get referrals.

I wrote for the company newsletter that went out to a few thousand employees across the country, ran meetings and created how-to-videos for local nursing homes. Of any job I've ever done this is the one that shows me why passion is the single most important trait a sales person must have.

While the pay wasn't great I loved that job and created more referrals than I think anybody thought possible. The people whose homes I went to in order to set up the equipment would go back to heir doctors and tell them that they needed to send all of their patients to us.

I learned that you must have passion in sales because if you aren't passionate about your product and or service how do you expect your customer to get passionate about buying it?

Linen Service

I worked at the linen service for two years and when I began I had the smallest route there but by the time I left I had almost doubled it in size.

I learned how to up-sell and boy was I ever good at it! When I learned that all I had to do was get one of my existing customers to buy into another one of our services to get paid, I was all over it.

The first thing I sold was air fresheners. Everybody had a bathroom and as you know bathrooms stink so I would put in an air freshener free of charge and then two weeks later take it out.

I would walk back in two days later and speak to the person in charge. That tactic worked very well and I sold close to 75% of my existing clients.

I learned that the best customers in the world are people that have already bought from you. All you have to do is ask.

Car Sales

I sold cars for 6 months before taking over the Internet sales department and once again began to write. I crafted direct response emails, direct mail pieces and advertorials for local newspapers. I inherited a large database and would write emails knowing that each time I did I would sell a few cars.

I wrote a 15 page special report and a 5 part direct mail package that did very well and made me money. I grew the internet department from just me to 5 other people. After leaving the dealership I moved the family and myself from Florida to Portland Oregon where I began work as a Sales Trainer.

I learned at the car dealership how to hone my sales skills and to stand out from the crowd. I learned how to sell to the emotions not to logic.

As you can see, I have spent time in sales face to face, voice to voice and face to copy. I know what it takes to create a buying emotion. I have a knack for recognizing objections and overcoming them before they are even asked. As you can imagine this comes in handy while writing copy because you absolutely must know what the objections of the customer are so that you can overcome them before they reach the end of the copy.

I'm passionate about writing and I'm passionate about your product and/or service. I'm the right person for the Job.

For a free consultation just click here to Contact Me.

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