Dear Reader, please know that this post was NOT an easy one for the Natural Health Writer to publish.

In fact, I started this post over one year ago (!) and then abandoned it, ’cause I just couldn’t decide if it was right.

I should have listened to my microbiome.

My decision is now final: I will no longer share my nutritional supplement copywriting examples with “potential clients.”

But do not despair, dear reader!

The Natural Health Writer is serving up an even tastier dish:

I am going to LOAD this site with a lot more great content that shows off my chops.

Supplement advertising examples, health and wellness copywriting examples, and every form of nutritional supplement copywriting under the sun.

I am writing this post to:

1. Explain to Potential Clients why I do not share samples the way I used to;
2. Help noob natural health copywriters understand how to avoid the pitfalls and leverage free samples for maximum benefit

Let’s get to it!

The Potential Client was befuddled. I had just flat-out denied his request for a supplement copywriting sample.

“So… you don’t share samples. Is this to protect yourself, or your clients, or what?” He asked.

“Exactly.” I replied.

And remarkably, this Potential Client did not argue the point.

He understood and respected my position. Which in turn compelled me to take him on as a client.

But for most, my new “no free supplement copywriting examples!” stance may seem counterintuitive. Antagonistic even.

But I have my reasons, dear reader.

I will now demonstrate my reasons with three anecdotes, followed by my analysis.

#1. “Your supplement copywriting samples are exactly what we were looking for!”

I was contacted by a nutritional supplement copywriter who was working in-house for a large natural health products manufacturer and retailer.

He had a “big opportunity” (::eyeroll::) for me.

His company needed a lot of help creating rich, detailed blog posts that were research-driven and FDA-friendly, but also served as SEO and conversion rocket fuel.

Of course, this SEO-tuned supplement content in blog format is my specialty.

Now, this particular fellow and I shared a mutual acquaintance who had spoken highly of him in the past.

So when he asked me for samples that matched his needs, I said “Sure thing, Bro!”

I looked over his company’s website and natural health products. I evaluated their content, making notes along the way of FDA red flags, missed supplement marketing opportunities, etc.

Next I went through my vast archives to curate supplement blog post samples for him that were aligned with his company, his product line, and his clearly defined goal.

For the Natural Health Writer, this amounted to few hours of work.

But ultimately, I sent over a selection of the greatest nutritional supplement blog posts the world has ever seen.

“Thanks Pat! I will follow up in a couple of weeks,” the Potential Client replied.

A month or so goes by, and I hear nothing. Meh, whatever. So I follow up with the guy.

“We’re still looking at supplement copywriters,” He replied. “But I will be in touch. Your work is great! In fact, your samples are exactly what we are looking for.”

After that… radio silence.

Some time later, I check out their blog… only to find it has been populated with posts that are incredibly similar in style, format and form to the samples I had shared months earlier.

‘Twas then the Natural Health Writer had a moment like:

Boy did I feel like a dope.

But the last laugh is on them… because even though they did a great job stealing my moves, their blog posts were STILL riddled with highly risky red-flag claims.

Some of these claims were, in fact, not unlike the language that recently landed Mercola in hot water with the FDA.

::Facepalm::

#2. Natural Health Writer gets GHOSTED by a “Cheesy, Nutty” Potential Client after sharing supplement copywriting examples

This story is much simpler than the previous. A marketing guy from a supplement company contacted me via LinkedIn.

He needed sales-boosting nutritional supplement content, and lots of it. And of course, he wanted to see samples.

Mr. Nice Guy (that’s me!) said “Sure thing, Bro!” (I really want to name-and-shame this clown, but I will refrain).

One look at their website, and I saw that this company desperately needed my help with supplement copywriting, marketing, and a lot more.

If they had the budget, I knew I could be a RAINMAKER for them.

Enthused at the prospect, I spent another couple hours gleaning my archives for relevant samples.

Further, since this company was super-close, relatively speaking (about a 4-hour drive), I offered to make a trip and sit down with him in person to discuss working together.

I sent everything over. Three weeks go by, no reply. So I send a follow up.

::crickets::

I wait another week, send another follow-up.

::silence::

Finally, a couple of months later, I remembered this debacle.

Realization of the ghosting ticked me off, so I sent another email politely expressing that I am no longer interested in working with them.

That last email was infantile and unnecessary, I know. Similar to:

“I am breaking up with YOU.”

But whatever… it made me feel like less of a fool at the time!

#3. Fool me twice, shame on you. Fool me thrice…

This last one is a real doozy. One day, I will write the whole story.

But for now, I will do my best to keep it focused on the supplement sample topic.

A Marketing Director for a supplement company contacted me seeking help with sell sheets. Right up my alley!

We scheduled a call, and spoke for an hour about nutritional supplements.

As I looked over this company’s content, I must say, I was super impressed. Tight, credible, extensively researched copy, with nary a red flag in sight.

It turns out that the company founders were a couple of accomplished doctors. They simply no longer had the time to create this type of rich nutritional supplement content.

Yet again, here was a scenario where I knew I was the perfect fit for a supplement company’s needs. The Natural Health Writer could make all their copywriting headaches go away.

I discussed with the Marketing Director a timeline and an estimate, including detailed recommendations, to produce a Pilot Project sell sheet for them.

The Marketing Director was all-in, sounding very enthused for me to begin.

Over the course of the next week, I did a deep-dive on their brand, taking extensive notes along the way.

I then wrote up a detailed estimate, signed and ready to rock. I also sent an invoice for agreed-upon 50% project initiation fee.

I sent it out.

The next day I got the reply:

“Oh, my mistake. I thought you were going to do the first sell sheet for FREE within a week.”

Whaaaat?

The Marketing Director continued, “Can you send me some samples of supplement sell sheets you have written so I can show them to my bosses and justify the expense?”

nope.

Of course I said no! I immediately rescinded my proposal. The Marketing Director was shocked. LOL!

In anecdote #3, we have yet another variation on a discordant theme.

For the Natural Health Writer, it was another several hours lost in the void.

That, dear reader, was my tipping point, where I finally said…

I won’t be fooled again.

My Analysis on Nutritional Supplement Copywriting Samples, Examples, Etc.

The more I thought about sharing my samples with Potential Clients, the less sense it made. Here’s why:

• It is a waste of my time. I have 18 years’ worth of supplement content archives. I would always take far too much time to find samples that were highly relevant to the Potential Clients’ companies, products and needs.
• It is not fair to my past clients. Somebody else paid me to create something amazing…. Why should I give that Blueprint For Greatness to a potential client for free?
• Too many clowns have spoiled the show. Some Potential Clients have been genuinely appreciative and respectful when I send them examples of my supplement copy writing prowess. But as detailed above, many have also rude and disrespectful about it, even going so far as to ghost me and steal my moves. NEVER AGAIN!

Despite my ranting, there is a time for free supplement copywriting examples: Junior copywriters.

If you are a young natural health copywriter who has found this article, please take all of my commentary in context.

For those who are just starting out, the Natural Health Writer encourages you to share your samples!

And in some cases, actually writing a FREE SAMPLE (::shudder::) can even be greatly beneficial for securing new clients and starting a lucrative freelance writing career.

But once you get rolling, you must cease the freebies…. otherwise you are teaching Potential Clients that your work has little, if any, value.

Good luck rakin’ in the ducats then, noob.

Give ’em an inch, and they WILL take a mile.

Did you make it this far and STILL want to work with the Natural Health Writer?

If so, you have my respect and gratitude.

But how to get around this “I need to see samples!” issue?

Here is my pledge: Over the next several months, I will be loading the HECK out of this website with samples of my nutritional supplement content.

The Natural Health Writer has 18 years’ of complete and utter nutritional supplement industry DOMINATION under his belt.

“My archives are DEEP.” ~ The Natural Health Writer

Ergo, I can share my writing samples while still remaining true to my past clients. (for example, some pieces were never published, or supplements and natural health products may have been discontinued, etc.).

So watch this space if you want to work with me, but want to see some more of  my magic first.

In truth, dear reader, there is a much better way, however:

Email me at pjsdougherty@gmail.com, and let’s schedule a call.

I love talking about the nutritional supplement industry, especially with others who share my passion.

A 30-minute video chat (yes, I am real!) or phone call can more efficiently reveal if we will work well together.

Speak with me. After you hang up, you will have a general understanding of why The Natural Health Writer is The Greatest there is, and The Greatest there ever will be.

Work with me, and you will have proof of the same.

Until then, Dear Reader…

~ PJS, the NHW

P.S., OH! I almost forgot. There actually IS a way to get a “freebie” from the Natural Health Writer:

Challenge me and Defeat me at Words With Friends.

Doing so will win you a truly glorious prize: A free one-hour Natural Health Writer audit of one of your supplements.

(If you lose, you must send me a free bottle of said supplement).

Send me an email as your challenge, as I rarely check WWF. Then, Game on!

When I was 12, I watched the 80s sci-fi movie D.A.R.Y.L. (“Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform”… get it?) over at a friend’s traditional Asian household with his older brother, who was an accomplished violin virtuoso. I remember one scene where Daryl, a lifelike child robot powered by A.I., sat down at the piano and played… beautifully. “Daryl could never play that well in real life,” my friend’s brother sniffed. “He’s a robot… he could play the notes, but he could never play with emotion.”

The D.A.R.Y.L. scene and commentary replayed in my mind recently upon receiving an email from a keyword research company clobbering me over the head with “Buy Now!!!” sales copy about their new product: A software that can allegedly write highly effective copy.

“Complete Sales Messages In Under 90 Minutes!” It promised. “Users typically finish their first income-generating video sales message  in 90 minutes – with absolutely no copywriting experience.”

As a writer, I immediately took offense: They’re saying a robot can do my job!  I flashed back to D.A.R.Y.L., and started wondering… is it possible? Robots are amazing: They can vacuum floors, perform surgery and even explore distant planets!

I decided to investigate.

As much as I hate to admit it, I discovered that A.I. can indeed now “write” — but only in clumsy, basic forms, such as AP-style journalism stories and awkward erotica from “sexy chatbots”

(though I daresay A.I.-powered sexy chatbots could easily surpass the writing quality of 50 Shades of Gray).

But let’s be clear: Robots will never be able to write well, because writing, in its purest incarnation, is a creative art form.

Nutritional supplement copywriting, in particular, takes a deft touch. In order to sell any natural health  modality or product, we must connect with the reader’s feelings, fears, hopes and dreams.

Real writing requires something A.I. will never have: Feelings.

The same goes for painting, dancing, acting, and music. Any creative art, and those dummy stupid-head robots will fail.

Way back in 1987, my friend’s brother had been spot on about D.A.R.Y.L. and A.I. of the future:

Robots can play, but they cannot play with emotion.

Here’s what it sounds like.

Exhibit A.: Chopin – Nocturne No. 13 in C minor, Opus 48 No. 1

A damned dirty robot, ruining beautiful Chopin.

So clumsy! So devoid of finesse or style! Just a lifeless rendering of notes, like a player piano reeling through its scroll.

You can almost hear the robot saying, “CHOPIN SHEET MUSIC IS DATA. WILL PROCESS DATA. WILL TRANSLATE DATA ACCURATELY INTO APPROPRIATE NOTES. BEEP BOOP BEEP BOOP.”

(OK, maybe robots don’t say “beep boop” but they definitely think in all caps)

Human Valentina Lesitsa, playing the same.

So different. the Machine and Ms. Lesitsa the same? Taking “data” (the sheet music) and translating it into sound, using the physical tools at hand.

Yet their sound could not be any different. The reason why is best expressed at the 5:00 mark of Ms. Lesitsa’s video. It’s much better in the context of the performance, but in a nutshell:

Dat face.

She’s pouring her soul into her performance. Robots can’t do that.

Robots don’t have souls.

And why? Because as the plays, Ms. Lesitsa feels. She feels something Frédéric Chopin once felt, and mingles that with what she feels.  and bringing him to life once again. She mingles his brilliance with her own artistry; her own interpretation.

Deeper still, she is extending far into the Astral Plane, tapping into the infinite energy of the universe and pulling out something divine.

At the risk of mixing composer metaphors, Ms. Lesitsa becomes a mouthpiece for The Voice of God.

Is it any wonder that by the end, Ms. Lesitsa looks like this?

 

Exhausted. Drained. Slumped. She’s put every ounce of her mana into her performance.

It would be fitting for an assistant to emerge, drape a cape over her shoulders like James Brown, and help her off the stage.

What I am trying to express, I suppose, is that…

Robots will always fail at art because they don’t have souls.

There, I said it.

Robots cannot be creative. They will never be inspired by a muse. They will never suffer to sing the blues.

They might be able to muster a clumsy and soulless “performance.” But never will they be able to pour their soul into the music and leave it on the stage, as Ms. Lesitsa or James Brown. This is a human condition.

Ergooooooo, any software that claims it can “write” compelling sales copy is a joke.

And remember: Some of y’all “writers” are robots, too.

Any performing monkey can mine data from wikipedia, rearrange it, swap in a few synonyms and call it a day. That’s A.I.-grade writing.

Sure, it’s cheap, easy and plentiful. But it’s also mindless and soulless, and and quite frankly, it stinks.

The Google knows the difference. Your audience knows, too.

If your health message matters, you need a nutritional supplement copywriter who will give you a part of his soul.

Who, at the end of the performance, will be slumped over the keyboard in exhaustion, just as Ms. Letista is slumped over her keys above.

The difference in the finished product will be clear: More than merely words strung together into lifeless copy, you will possess writing as art that is a piece of the divine.

Robots can’t play Chopin.

And they sure as hell can’t write great copy.

Memo to all robots: Step away from the keyboard and get back to vacuuming my floors.

Fondly,

~ P.J.S. the N.H.W.

P.S. As you may have guessed, The Natural Health Writer is obsessed with Chopin Nocturnes. It’s better than chocolate. Listen to the Nocturnes once, all the way through, and they will unlock and open doors in your mind that will never close again. As you listen, you will feel your brain cells perking up, making new connections, flexing and reorganizing like cosmic antennae orienting to a higher power.

There are many who play Chopin Nocturnes, but in my opinion, Brigitte Engerer is best.