What you see in the picture is tea and coffee being enjoyed at the same time…

… Don’t believe me?

Then let me explain.

The curvaceous red cup on the right of the image clearly holds coffee. An American with hot milk. No sugar. Just the way I like it.

So, you may be wondering… where’s the tea, Gary?

Take a closer look at the cake on the left of the picture. Trust me. You are looking at tea.

Not tea as you would normally see it, I grant you. But tea nonetheless.

Look again at the elegant food on the plate. Look closely.

There’s a biscuit base. There’s a textured, crunchy topping. In between, not one, not two but three layers. Including one flavoured with… green tea.

Did it taste like green tea? Yes, it did. You’ll have to take my word on that. You’ll have to take it on trust.

And though the slice was advertised as cake, its texture and taste was more like mousse.

Again, you’ll have to take that on trust.

Which is a theme or topic on which the world’s most successful marketers and copywriters seem to be in agreement.

Trust.

And what do we – this band of premium copywriter and marketing consultant – have to say on the matter?

Firstly, only hire someone you trust.

Secondly, once you have hired that someone… give them EVERYTHING you have. Everything they ask for.

If you’re not prepared to do that then be prepared for lower results.

What is meant by giving a copywriter or marketing consultant everything? Your data. Your mailing list. Your past campaigns. Your previous marketing materials. Your ROI figures for past campaigns. Testimonials. Case Studies. Data cards. Complaint letters.

Everything.

It is all kept private and confidential. It won’t be shared outside. It’s just for the copywriter. For the marketing. For the purpose of helping you to get the BEST result and helping you to make money.

Why trust a premium copywriter with everything?

Because all that material is – in the right hands – treasure. A potential goldmine of information that the expert eye can use to your advantage.

You would not ask a painter like Picasso to create a masterpiece with just one or two colours on his palette.

You would not ask a conductor or musician to play music without having first seen the score.

You would not ask a historian to write a biography of a king or queen without giving them time to access archives and research the topic thoroughly.

So why would you expect a copywriter to produce gold when you deny them information which could mean the difference between a campaign fail and a campaign home run?

Why would you do that?

Why would ANY sane entrepreneur or business owner do that?

There can only be one reason. Trust (or a lack of it).

Marketing campaigns work best when there is a sense of partnership.

The copywriter values input from the client. The client can have valuable insights into factors like their product’s strengths and weaknesses, the market’s fears and desires, and the tone of their brand. Beyond that, the project should be left to the strategic copywriter to lead. Because they know what works in marketing.

That’s how trust works.

The copywriter trusts the client to know his or her company inside out. The business owner trusts the copywriter to deliver a campaign that works.

One of the copywriting heavyweights David Deutsch was once asked what clients could do to help copywriters do the job faster or better. He said…

“… tolerate discomfort more.”

What did he mean by that?

He meant that the premium copywriter is only interested in results for the client. If it were a choice between a ‘creative’ campaign and a money-rolling-in-faster-than-I-can-handle campaign… he would choose the money-maker.

He meant that the premium copywriter will often push to the limit (and sometimes beyond – though always on the right side of legal) to achieve the desired result. The client can be more hesitant.

Some clients resist something because it is different to what they have tried before. Some resist because they only know what they have tried in the past (the stuff, by the way, that has often failed!). Some resist because they worry their brand or reputation may suffer (when it will not).

What Deutsch is talking about is trust.

If you are hiring someone who, through experience, knows what works (and what does not work)… you should trust their judgement.

It’s why the premium copywriter is sought. Clients want a return on their investment and the established, experienced, strategic copywriter is well placed to deliver that.

If your current marketing is not working.

If your current marketing is now working as well as you would like.

If you do not know whether your current marketing is working.

You might want to hire a premium copywriter to fix it. To make things better. To help you uncover what to do more of, what to do less of… and what to stop doing right now.

Just remember the 100 per cent trust rule.