FIRE: Blogging for New Business
comment now!
The only way to get business in some markets is to prove yourself by writing about it. This is where blogs come in really handy as a marketing tool, even for the beginning writer.
Write about ten to fifteen articles (200-400 words each) about marketing for that specific industry. Set up a blog, either as part of your current domain, or set up a free blog at wordpress.com or typepad.com. Add your articles to the blog, and create an about page tailored to this industry, as well as links to your main writing site.
If you’ve done some work in the industry already, then go ahead and put the applicable pieces in your portfolio. If you don’t have many pieces for that industry, go ahead and beef it up with some of your other pieces. If you don’t have any paid work at all, yet, you can either throw up some spec pieces, or just let your articles suffice for the moment, until you get some.
You can use some of the articles you wrote for Article PR at submission sites if you want, but you don’t have to. A better strategy is to take a day or two out of your schedule and just start making phone calls. As always, you’re not calling to beg for work. Just to approach companies in this industry to see if they use copywriters, and if so, let them know you’re available and ask if they’d mind a follow-up call in a week or two. In the mean time, point them at your new site.
The fact that you have a site devoted specifically to marketing for their industry now puts you in a “specialist” category that not only puts you ahead of the competition, but also allows you to command a higher fee for your work. Now, take two or three hours once a month to write ten to twelve new posts for the blog, and schedule them to post throughout the month, every three days or so, and within a few months, you’ll have one of the most comprehensive marketing sites in that industry. Assuming you’re writing quality articles with helpful content, people in the industry will spread your name around, and you could soon be a recognized industry expert.
FIRE: Thanks for the Memory…
comment now!I had this idea while talking with a friend not too long ago. You can get jump drives (or flash memory drives) for very cheap, nowdays. In fact, my own “data backup” is a 2 gigabyte flash drive I got in a 2-pack for $25. A little searching online shows 256K flash drives for about three bucks.
So, put together a PowerPoint presentation (or trade out with a programmer who can create a flash presentation for you) selling your services, and add your portfolio, and send it to your prospects. Not only is it something no one else is doing, but they get a free jump drive out of it, something they’ll be reluctant to throw away.
SHELTER: Adobe Connect
comment now!Need to meet with a client across the country to show (or look at) documents? Adobe Connect is a fantastic, easy-to-use online meeting application. You get an online meeting room where you can share your computer desktop or specific applications with everyone else, plus you get a dedicated, dial-in conference call number for your meetings.
At the very least, this will save you gas money and drive time, if not airfare and lodging, for a long-distance trip.
There is a cost: $39 per month, so it might not make sense for everyone, but as you build your business and pick up more long-distance clients, it’s a good tool to have. They have a 15-day free trial, without having to enter and CC info, so you might want to just try it out and see what you think.
FOOD: Using Google Alerts
comment now!On of the big causes of writer’s block is that the well just runs dry. This usually happens because we get so busy we forget to replenish the well by reading up on the industry, subject or whatever the topic might be.
Using Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) is a great way to avoid this. Simply type in a phrase associated with your topic, and you will get an alert with news and blog posts about that subject daily in your inbox, so you are constantly kept in the loop about the topic, and you can have a wealth of material to draw from when you’re ready to write on the subject.
To avoid clogging your inbox with tons of alerts, you can set up a filter to send the alerts directly to a dedicated folder, of if you use gmail, apply a tag and skip the inbox, so they are there whenever you are ready to check them out.
With this tool, you’ll never be stuck for what to write again, no matter what your subject!
“On Spec”
comment now!I had a question from a reader about something I mention in 10 Days to Paid: creating a portfolio of “spec work.” As I mention, if you don’t have any work to show, spec work can be a great way to show prospects what you can do.
I was asked how one should label the spec work. In my own initial portfolio, it simply said “spec ad” or “spec brochure.”
This is a little different from work created “On Spec” (which is common in ad agencies, but not for freelance writers. In the agency world, a potential client will often ask to see an example of what your agency can do for them. So the agency gets a team together and creates a campaign to pitch to the prospect.
This work is “on spec,” or, on the speculation that they will be paid for the work if they get the gig (and sometimes, even if they don’t).
As writers, such work would be silly, as you’d be giving the client your words and THEN letting him decide whether or not to pay.
Wow…what a weekend.
1 commentI posed a question about answering your questions, and more than a few if you surprised me with variations on a theme. That theme:
“Write a bigger e-book and sell it.”
If course, perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me…this is a group of writers after all. But that goes against two of the basic tenets I set out with when I started this site: make the information accessible fast, and put it out for free.
It would solve the problem I wrote about. If I sold a full-length e-book based on the Copywriter Survival Guide (at this point, with all the extra chapters I’d add based on your questions, we’re looking at about 250 pages or so), then I could focus on writing it over the course of about two months, taking time off from other work to get it done.
Which is where this starts to get pretty hairy. If I put the time in and no one decides to buy it (and who can blame them…this is supposed to be a Free-Resource site)…then I’m out two-month’s salary. Which, let’s face it, isn’t a fun prospect to look at.
So, I’ve decided once again to leave it in your hands.
First, let me detail what the book would cover:
Right now, I’m looking at 17 Chapters
1. Introduction
2. Maslow and the Hierarchy of needs (a more in-depth study than my post here)
3. Water
4. Fire
5. Shelter
6. Food
7. Teach a Man to Fish (the art of copywriting)
8. A Good Knife (the copywriter’s most indispensible tool)
9. Tracking (getting inside the mind of your target)
10. Toolmaking (How-to’s on a wide range of copywriting formats, print, radio, newsletters, Web, email, brochures, etc)
11. Navigation (Dreams, Goals and planning for increasing success)
12. Living with the Land (Waste-nothing tactics for turning each job into recurring, residual income)
13. Trapping (Getting clients to come to you, instead of you looking for them)
14. Quicksand and Predators (Important legal and tax concerns copywriters must know about.)
15. Should I Stay or Should I go Now? (To expand your niche, go general-purpose, or move on to greener pastures)
16. Giving Back to the Land (You get what you give…so what should you give?)
17. Beyond Survival (A down and dirty primer for moving past survival mode and “getting civilized” as a successful writer).
Well, there you have it. That’s what I have planned. I have no idea if you want to pay for this or not…but I’m hoping you DO have an idea.
So here’s the deal: I’m going to take the next week and write one chapter (the chapter I think MOST people will be interested in seeing right away; the chapter on Water)
On the 7th of April, around noonish, I’ll put it up for sale on the site for just $7. In order to keep the site uncluttered and to truly gauge interest, I’ll make it available for just 24 hours. On the 8th of April, I’ll gauge the results. If there is enough interest, then I’ll make plans to write the entire thing, and try to have it out by the end of May.
The good news, then, will be that, since the basic survival information will all be available there, I can move ahead with the blog and the special reports, and start getting into the real, high-impact business-building, money-making stuff. Which, to me would be really cool.
But, first things first. If you’re still stuck in survival mode, you might not even be ready for that yet. So, I’m going to be posting sparsely this week, as I’ll trying to finish up Son of a Niche (you don’t even want to know about the resst of my weekend. Ugh) and writing the chapter on Water.
And we’ll go from there!
Here’s to your success!
One more reason to look into the online freelancing sites
comment now!I’ve talked a fair bit about sites like Guru and Elance, and how they should be a part of your search for paying work, albeit a small part. And I also advise picking one or the other to pursue jobs on. There’s no need to frequent both a couple of times a month. One will suffice.
That said, I would create a profile on both sites. I did this when I was first looking into the sites and trying to decide which seemed more worth it. I ended up going with Guru.
But I also opted to leave my free profile up at Elance. Two days ago I got a contact from a fairly well-known co-blogger. His business has picked up and he just can’t keep up the pace with the blog. He saw my profile on Elance, followed the link to my site, liked what he saw and asked if I’d be interested in ghostwriting his posts for a couple of different blogs.
Now, keep in mind…I’ve bid on maybe five jobs on Elance, back when I was first testing it out. But I don’t think I’ve even logged on for, like a year and a half. And I’ve gotten three sizeable jobs, just from people stumbling upon my profile. This one is recurring income, with 4-figures per month (one more step toward keeping me on-track for a six-figure year). And it’s gonna be fun work.
No, “setting & forgetting” profiles alone won’t get you rich, but as I’ve said before, the easier it is for people to find you, the more people will. And you’ll get occasional surprise gigs out of the blue, without having to lift a finger to find them.
Using Imagery to Evoke Emotion
comment now!Okay, so let’s talk a little bit about craft—and how to evoke emotion in your copy.
Why evoke emotion in the first place? Because you can’t make anyone buy your client’s product if they don’t already want to. But that’s okay, because making them want to isn’t all that hard…but it requires connecting with them emotionally on some level first.
And the single best way to do that, as poets and novelists have known for centuries, is through the use of imagery. Imagery illustrates the abstract and allows the reader to engage with it in a rael and tangible way. What do I mean? Here are a few examples.
People don’t get excited about love as an abstract concept. But they will react to a young man on one knee in the middle of a posh restaurant, ring in hand, heart pounding as he looks up hopefully…the entire restaurant holding its collective breath in anticipation of her response. They will react to the mother seeing her own reflection in the eyes of her infant girl as she stares down in amazement and wonder at the smiling face looking back at her. At the nervous euphoria of a clumsy first kiss. At the warmth flooding the adolescent boy’s cheeks as his note is intercepted by the teacher.
Imagery can be used to quickly convey powerful emotions that we have all felt at one time or another. We empathize, and even feel the emotion inside ourselves. And that emotion is the potential for action. Once the chord is struck, all that remains is to channel that emotion into the action we desire…where to buy the ring, where to deliver the baby, where to buy the corsage, what phone to text with.
Look at the action you want the prospect to take: where can you find the potential energy to drive that action…love? ambition? laziness? boredom? fear? humor? (careful with those last two). Now, what image can you tap into to help the prospect experience those emotions?
Imagery is like the key in the engine of your ad, just sitting there waiting to be turned. Go on…give it a go.
What we’re doing here…
comment now!Hopefully you read my post on Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs. So, what does that have to do with this site?
Well, As I said, the first needs are survival, and they must be met before you can focus on any higher-level needs. From a copywriting perspective, that essentially means that you must believe that you can actually make money doing this. That is why I recommend you start off with the “10 Days to Paid” and “Boot Camp” ebooks.
Next, you’ll need to achieve the “safety” level. For our purposes, that meas that you will need to start develop a little regular business coming in. Boot Camp will help with this, as will some of the posts here on the site. Plus, the FST prompts start building routines that will build the skills you need to run your business over time.
After Safety, comes Connection. That is, you need to develop a sense of community. This takes place in several areas: connection with other writers, with other business service providers, and even within your local, regional, even national business communities. Connection is essential in truly growing your business, but it will not come naturally until you feel SAFE in your new role as copywriter…which, in turn can’t happen until you have the exxentials you need to survive.
See how each level doesn’t just build, but DEPENDS on the level before? And does that help explain why, at this point, you don’t like to do cold calls? Why you don’t like networking in your local business community? Deep down, it has nothing to do with the fact that you don’t like sales. It’s that you either don’t feel safe in this new role yet, or you don’t yet believe you can survive.
So work backwards, try to make five calls in the morning, and five calls in the evening. If you still can’t bring yourself to do even that, then you need to work through “10 Days” again…maybe you need to strengthen your portfolio. Maybe you need to read up a little more on just what it is copywriters DO, or the businesses you’re pursuing. Or maybe you just need to get on Guru or Elance and get a few small jobs under your belt, to prove to yourself that you can do it.
But once you get to where you’re comfortable at the connection level, you’ll find you business starting to thrive. You’ll feel like a true colleague to your clients, rather than just another vendor.
Then you’re ready for the Self-Worth stage…you believe you’re not just capable of making it as a freelance copywriter, but you’ll realize you deserve top dollar for your work. You quit looking to outside sources to justify your rates. You no longer feel nervous asking for $75, $85, $125 an hour for your work. In fact…you don’t ask at all. People ask you, and you tell them how much it will cost. Very matter-of-fact. They’ll pay it, or they won’t, and you’ll move on to the next client.
And finally, you reach the stage of self-actualization. Creativity kicks in and possibilities open up before you. You approach clients you never thought you would…and get a yes. You realize…hey, I know how to promote a business…I think I might just promote a side business or two of my own! You realize you have time and money…and you no longer have to trade one in order to have more of the other.
Now…if all this sounds great, but you’re just rolling your eyes and saying “yeah, right,” that’s perfectly all right. Because you’re not at that self-actualization stage, yet. But all of the information I’m giving you is designed specifically to help move you through these stages as quickly as your own pace allows.
It will take some longer to get out of the survival or security phases, because they have more fear and inexperience to work through. And that’s fine…you can still get paid while you work through them. You don’t have to reach the top before you can be successful…but you do have to be there before you can enjoy it to the utmost.
Which is why I specifically set out to push you in some places. It’s why I tell you to make 20 calls a day in “Boot Camp.” First, it forces you out of your comfort zone, which is the only way you’re going to grow. Second, while you’re stretching, your setting the stage for the work to come in, which will help you transcend Survival that much faster.
It’s why Connection is an essential component of Son of a Niche (as you’ll soon see), even though it is primarily designed to instill the concept of safety. That way, while you create safety, you are priming the pump for the connection phase.
The point here is not “read this book, and make money…then read the next book and make money.” The point is, “do this to believe you can do it…then do this to create a security blanket…then do this to create an incredible network…then do this to understand how much you rock…then to this to realize your full potential as a writer and business person.” Each writer will have his own pace with each step…but here you’ll get specific tools to help you do it. And maybe to understand your own growth process at the same time.
Look at the things (doubts, fears, emotion, etc) holding you back from the things you SHOULD be doing. Ask why, in terms of the Hierarchy, and see where you are in the process. There’s nothing wrong with being in survival mode…only with being complacent and staying there.
So, let’s get going!
The Amazing Mister Maslow
comment now!So, where does all this “survival mode” business come from? Yes, I like playing in the woods, but the true source of this training is a man by the name of Abraham Maslow.
Maslow was a man concerned with human behavior. He studied men and their quirks and their motivations, and the result of that study was something he dubbed the Hierarchy of Needs.
According to Maslow, a person could only reach his full potential—he could only be really creative and productive—if he reached the point of self actualization. And in order to get there, he first had to have a few things.
First, he had to have the basic elements of survival. Second, he had to have a sense of security. Third, he had to have a sense of connection with others as equals. Fourth, he had to believe in his own self-worth. Only then coud he attain self actualization, which according to Maslow, encompassed “morality, creativity, honest, spontaneity, lack of prejudice, acceptance of the facts.”
Wikipedia offers an excellent starting point for a better understanding of Maslow’s hierarchy…which will give you a better understanding of what’s going on here at CSG.
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