Here’s ProjectCopy with another great collection of articles from around the internet.
Make sure you read them and absorb the excellent advice within!
1. 3 Vital Copywriting Secrets That Filthy Rich Marketers Use to Keep Their Prospects Engaged!
2. Top 10 Copywriting Tricks To Dwell By
4. The Alfred Hitchcock Guide To SEO Copywriting
5. Busting the 4 Most Common Copywriting Myths
Enjoy!
I’ve worked with many clients and I’ve enjoyed a very fruitful and enjoyable business relationship with most of them. However, admittedly, there are some clients who make life very difficult for me.
So what separates a good client from one who can be frustrating? I think it all comes down to preparation and understanding how a copywriter goes about his or her work. It’s not necessarily the case that the client is just a difficult one, they just need a little enlightenment.
So, with that in mind, I’ve decided to help out all of you businessmen and women out there who are looking to hire a copywriter.
1. Copywriters need a lot of research – In order to write the most effective copy, copywriters need access to a lot of research and a lot of it needs to come from you, the client. Without research how can a copywriter possibly write accurate, informative copy? As John Anghelache puts it, “It’s like asking a marksman to fire blindfolded.”
In addition to your research, a good copywriter should provide you with a brief sheet full of questions for you to answer to get things started. If you don’t have a lot of extra information to pass on to the copywriter, your brief sheet answers should at least point them in the right direction.
2. Getting your copy perfect takes time and co-operation – Don’t think that any copywriter will be able to write exactly what you want them to the first time around. That’s almost impossible. The road to great copy is paved with edits and plenty of useful communication between client and copywriter. If you’re not willing to put the time and effort in to help the copywriter, then don’t expect amazing results in turn.
Be willing to provide your input and answer any questions the copywriter might have and you’ll soon be blessed with profit-enhancing copy.
3. Lastly, make sure you set reasonable deadlines! – The bigger and more complex the project, the longer it will take to complete. If you rush the copywriter, you’ll get rushed work back that won’t be as effective as it could be had you given the copywriter enough time to work his or her magic. When you’re spending the kind of money you’ll be spending hiring a copywriter, isn’t it in your best interests to get the best possible quality of copy in return?
Give your copywriter enough time and I promise you’ll not regret it.
What do I mean by enough time? A ten page website or long-copy sales letter can take from two to four weeks whereas an email might take a few days to a week. If in doubt just ask your copywriter how long they realistically need to provide you with the best possible copy.
By following those three simple steps you should make life much easier for your copywriter and if you do that, you’ll get more effective copy in return so it’s win-win.
Discussion time!
Copywriters: Have you worked with any clueless clients recently?
Clients: Have you got any questions about copywriting methods? We’d love to answer them.
You should never just "fill in the blanks" when creating your copy
It’s certainly an attractive idea. You write a killer sales letter for one company and your mind starts to go to dark places. You start to tell yourself, “Why do I need to write a different sales letter for the next company? This one is great as it is. All I need to do is change the name of the company and some other minor details and I can sell it to anyone.”
You’d drastically reduce the amount of time you need to work on your next sales letter and you know you’ll be selling a great piece of work…so why does it feel so wrong? Well, that’s because it is wrong. It’s also terrible business practice and here’s why:
Companies are paying you a very good fee for your time and your talents (or at least they should be – check out my article on what copywriters charge if you feel you should be earning more). They expect to get high-quality, 100% unique work that has been written with a focus on their company. If they were to find out that the sales letter or website copy you wrote for them is exactly the same as a whole bunch of other company’s sales letters and websites then you’ll soon find yourself in the dog house with a lot of businesses and that will do nothing to help your credibility.
Word of mouth and recommendations you receive from your clients are so important to a freelance copywriter that you can’t risk earning a bad reputation just because you want to save yourself a lot of time and try to “cheat” the system.
If you were still wanting to go down the route of selling templated copy then what you must do is inform your customers exactly what it is they are buying. You could create a couple of templates and sell them cheaply to companies who just want to get their websites up and running or those companies who are on a restricted budget. At least this way you wouldn’t be conning your clients.
You’d be doing yourself and your business a much better service by writing unique content every time you have a project. Invest your time and energy into making each project better than the last and not only will you earn a great reputation, but you’ll become a better copywriter too. You need to be your own copywriter, not somebody elses.
Now I should make some distinction here between using copywriting templates in your work and studying copywriting templates. Studying templates, to see what makes them successful, is certainly something you should do, but stop short at actually using the template. There are some great blog posts (particularly concerning how to write a great headline) and some great templates out there that you can look at so make sure you do.
What do you think? Do you use copywriting templates? Do you think that I’m talking rubbish? Let’s hear your comments!
Here’s interview number two. 
Yesterday we had Glenn Murray of Divine Write Copywriting, today we have James Tennant of JT Copywriting. We asked the same questions and he gave us the following insight.
Enjoy!
1. When did you decide to start your freelance copywriting business?
I decided to do it straight out of University in 2009. I had always had a passion for the written word (penning stories from a very young age will give you that passion I guess) and, while at University, I got interested in business, marketing and advertising. Like many students I wanted to travel after completing my degree and I did just that, heading to Canada. It was in Canada that I decided to put my skills as a writer and my love of marketing together and become a freelance copywriter. To be honest, it was the attraction of being able to work from anywhere in the world that finally won me over and I started JT Copywriting.
2. How long did it take before you established yourself as a leading freelance copywriter?
I have worked with some big name clients and I’ve been pretty successful to date but I’m not sure if I would classify myself as a leading copywriter. My clients certainly seem to think my services are worth paying for so does that make someone a leader in their field? Regardless, it took me about two years to get to the stage I’m at now but there are much bigger names and much bigger earners than me out there.
3. Are there any other copywriters you admire? If so, who and why?
I admire any copywriter that has made a success of themselves as a freelancer. It’s a very hard thing to start your own business and make good money from it. If you need names I would probably say Laurence Blume and of course David Ogilvy
4. What is the best way to get new clients?
I’ve found that networking is one of the best ways. You should jump at any chance you get to meet potential clients face-to-face. If you’re confident and you show you have the skills to back up that confidence then you’ll make yourself very attractive to any potential clients that may want to hire you.
5. If you could pick five traits or characteristics to create the perfect freelance copywriter, what would they be?
1. Determination – If you’re not determined to succeed then you won’t. It’s as simple as that.
2. Passion – You need to love being a copywriter. Don’t just do it because you think it’s a good way to earn money. If you do that you’ll never push yourself to overcome any hardships you might face. You’ll just give up and do something else.
3. Writing Skills – This one is fairly obvious. If you can’t write properly then I would stay away from a career in copywriting.
4. Confidence – Whether you’ve been a freelance copywriter for 10 minutes or 10 years, you need confidence to sell your services. Confidence is contagious so make sure you’re oozing with it (stop short at arrogance though…that certainly won’t help).
5. A Good Business Head – You don’t need a Master’s Degree in Business Management but you need to have a basic idea of how a business is run. Many start-up copywriters forget about this – don’t make the same mistake.
6. What’s your favourite power word (or word)?
‘Proven’ is a good one. Always gets a good reaction from the audience.
7. List five must-have items that you believe each freelance copywriter should have.
8. What are the annoying aspects of freelance copywriting?
Those clients that think they know how to do your job better than you (there are a few of them out there). I wouldn’t hire a plumber then spend hours telling him how to do his job so I don’t appreciate it when it happens to me. I’ll echo Glenn in his interview below when he said that working with clients that want you to write in a formal style can be very hard (who wants formal these days? Personally I think formal copy is awful – Clients take note!).
9. What are the most enjoyable aspects of freelance copywriting?
Being able to work from anywhere in the world. Since I became a freelance copywriter I have found myself completing work in the UK, Canada and across the European continent and I love it. If I want a change of scenery I can have it (budget permitting of course) and you can’t beat that.
10. Finally. What advice would you give to all the brand new freelance copywriters out there?
Give it a go. Really. I didn’t have a professionally constructed business plan or any funding to get started, I just wanted to do it because it seemed like a career I would love to do and I had nothing to lose by taking a chance. If you’re that passionate about something and you’re a determined person, then you have every chance of being successful. You just need to take those first steps (they’re the hardest ones).
Thanks to James for this one! Hopefully these interviews are giving you all some great insight into the life of a freelance copywriter and some great advice too!
Let me know what you think and, copywriters, if you want to do the interview yourself, just get in touch!
Show people solutions and they'll love you for it.
It seems to me that people tend to work harder to keep something they have rather than try to gain something they want.
Copywriters can use this fact to their advantage when they attempt to form killer copy and must-read headlines. By helping people hold on to something that’s important to them, you will prove to be a valuable information resource and you will also gain their trust.
Negative copy alerts your audience to a problem, minor or serious (the latter obviously gets more attention), which you can then provide a solution to as the copy goes on. People are always looking for the solution to all of life’s problems, so if you can solve them they’ll be forever grateful.
By highlighting problems, especially in your headlines, you’ll see far more of your articles read, emails opened and products/services purchased.
So go ahead: Make people aware of a problem and then solve it.
There are some great tips on how to master the negative headline here.
Today we are going to get stuck into one of the biggest problems that copywriters face as I see it. That problem is making your services so attractive and so necessary to every business that arrives at your website that you end up in the position where your inbox is crammed full of requests and your phone is ringing off the hook.
Let’s break this whole thing down.
First of all, what must a copywriter need to attract clients?
I believe the three examples above are the bare minimum a copywriter needs to try and get more clients. For those of you that are just starting out, I understand that you might not have a portfolio or any client testimonials but bare with me, I will be discussing that problem tomorrow.
However, even with a great portfolio and a whole bunch of client testimonials, some businessmen and women out there need to see more. They need to see absolute proof that you will increase their sales and profits and that, my friends, means using figures.
Now, from the research I have done so far, I can find no copywriter that includes such evidence on his or her website. There are no percentages and no charts or graphs.
I’m not saying that you need more than a website, portolfio and testimonials to get work, I am just saying that if we could prove with figures what we say we can do, then we could be attracting an even larger number of potential clients.
I’d love to hear any ideas you might have concerning this topic. What figures can we use? How can we present those figures and where can we get them from?
Discuss.
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