Blog - Page 23 of 31 - Tanya Brody

3 Tools to Build Your Email List at Any Conference, Event or Other Networking Opportunity

March 7, 2017 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

I’m going to the Traffic & Conversion Summit this week. I’m very excited! I’ve never been to this conference before and I’m looking forward to it. As always, I’ll go armed to promote myself and the company I’m working for. (In this case, FunnelDash. If you’re going to be at T&C, please swing by our booth and say “hi.”)

I know I’m not the only person who attends conferences and networking events, or finds myself in a situation where I can grow my email list and add new customers. So, I figured I’d offer up 3 tools you can use when you find yourself in this situation.

1. A Way for People to Opt Into Your Email List

This may sound more complicated than it really is. All you want is to get someone to give you “permission” to put them on your email list.

You are an honorable marketer and don’t do weird things like buy convention email address lists or put people on your list without their permission. (Right?) So, you’re always going to ask that person to opt-in and be upfront about what you’re doing.

There are a few ways you can go about this.

An SMS Text Message Marketing platform

I have one of these set up for myself, and one for my client, FunnelDash, to use at T&C. I use Leaddigits, which are part of the Leadpages system. There are other systems out there, but this is my personal preference.

You automatically get 10 Leaddigits with a Pro account. I recommend them highly.

You can set up a Leaddigit in a couple of minutes. Then, you’re ready to start collecting leads by getting people to text a specific word to a phone number or short code.

If you’d like to see how an opt-in works with a Leaddigit, follow the instructions below. I’m going to use the Leaddigit I set up for FunnelDash as an example. (Please note – If you opt into this Leaddigit, you’ll be added to FunnelDash’s email list and you’ll get email from them, not me.)

Here’s what happens when you opt into a Leaddigit:

Open your texting app.

Type “44222” into the area where you’d normally add a contact’s name or phone number. (FYI, if you’re outside the U.S., this short code won’t work. There are also some U.S. carriers that will give a warning message when you do this, and a very few might not let you use this short code.)

Type “FUNNELDASH” into the area you’d normally put the message you’re about to send. (Upper or lower case, it doesn’t matter.)

Hit “Send” or “Enter”.

You’ll receive a text message asking you to enter your email address.

Type in your email address and hit “Send” or “Enter.”

That’s it. Once you’ve done this, your email address and phone number are entered into FunnelDash’s email list.

Nice, huh?

If you’d prefer to try this with my Leaddigit, follow the same instructions above, but text WRITEMYCOPY to 44222.

From the standpoint of the person collecting the email addresses, this is an incredibly easy way to get people to opt into your list. And because you’re right there with them, you can walk them through the process if you need to.

The typical opt-in rate with a Leaddigit is about 98% of those who text your unique identifier (that’s the fancy term for the word you have people text to opt into your list) to your short code or phone number.

You can use a Leaddigit just about anywhere, but phone numbers are only available for the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. Short codes are only available for the U.S. Anyone from a country other than the ones listed will be charged for an international text if they opt in.

For more information about Leaddigits, please visit the Leadpages website.

An Opt-In Landing Page or Form

If you’re not quite as high tech as using a Leaddigit or other SMS Text Message Marketing platform, you can set up an opt-in page or basic form where you send people during or after you meet them.

Again, I personally use Leadpages for my opt-in landing pages. However, you should be able to create a form on your website or through whatever email service provider (ESP) or CRM you use. Once you have this set up, you can just share the link with people you talk to during your event.

If your link is long and hard to remember, you can redirect it toward an event-specific domain name. You can also use apps like Bit.ly to shorten your link so it’s easier for people to remember.

When your opt-in landing page or form is ready to go, add the link to all of your marketing collateral and share it with people whenever you get the opportunity.

Collect Email Addresses by Hand

When I was a full-time musician, I had a clipboard with a mailing list sign-up sheet at every show. (I was also very specific about asking people to write as legibly as possible when they signed up on that sheet.) After each show, I’d enter people’s names and email addresses into my mailing list.

You can also collect people’s business cards, which are usually easier to read. If you do this, make sure you ask, “may I add you to my email list?” That way, when your ESP questions you on whether you have permission to email a new subscriber, you can honestly say “yes.”

It also helps to include something like, “You joined this email list when you signed up on my mailing list at (include the type of events you attend), or when you handed me your business card and I asked you permission to add you to my list” in your email footer. This just reminds people that you’re not sending them unsolicited emails, they really did opt in.

2. A Way for People to Contact You

This may seem silly, but sometimes when you focus on inbound marketing strategies, you forget about basic things like giving people your contact information.

There will always be people who don’t want to opt into your email list directly and who won’t want to take your printed marketing materials. For these folks, you need to have a simpler, smaller, but equally impactful way to connect.

The obvious way to give people your contact information is on a business card. Yes, this is a bit old-school. But it works. They won’t always follow up with you, but some will. And, of course, if you exchange business cards and ask if you can add them to your list, you’ll be able to follow up with them.

If you don’t have business cards printed already, you can get them cheap or free from companies like Vistaprint and Moo.

If you’re in a hurry, you can always get the sheets of Avery business cards from your local office supply store and print them yourself. It may not be the most professional looking card, but it’s far better to give someone a way to contact you than to have nothing at all.

3. Your Outgoing Personality

This may seem like a strange thing to mention as a marketing tool. But it’s probably the strongest one in your toolbox.

When you attend any sort of event, whether it’s a big conference, like T&C, or a get together with friends of friends, you must be willing to introduce yourself and talk to people.

I know this can be a challenge for some folks. I personally am one of those extroverts who is always happy to chat. If this is not you, you’re allowed to give yourself a bit of a crutch.

For instance, you can write yourself a short script and memorize it. One of the major points your script should include is your elevator speech. (If you have no idea what an elevator speech is, check out this blog post. It’ll explain the elevator speech and show you how to write yours.)

Whatever you do, make sure you’re starting a conversation, not just blurting out information about your business. Events like these are about building relationships. Yes, you want to self-promote, but you want to learn about others as well.

If you’re really nervous about speaking to strangers, ask a friend to role-play introducing yourself to people with you. It may feel silly at the time, but it will help you feel more prepared when you’re at your event and looking at a bunch of new faces.

What Tools Do You Use to Build Your Email List at Conferences and Events?

I’m always interested in new tools to talk about and try. Please tell me about your favorites in the comments.

Have You Prepared Yourself and Your Business for an Unexpected Illness or Accident?

March 4, 2017 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

A friend of mine had surgery and is house-bound for 2 weeks. Another friend of mine survived cancer, and now suffers from recurring health issues related to the cancer. A third friend is recovering from numerous strokes, one of which had a lasting effect, and just moved into an assisted living facility. It’s probably a permanent move.

Yes, I know, this all sounds doom and gloom.

As a small business owner, it made me stop and think about what would happen to my business if I got sick or hurt.

It’s one thing when you work for a large company that provides health care, disability coverage and worker’s compensation as part of your benefits package. A long-term illness or injury wouldn’t be fun, but you’d have at least part of your financial situation in hand.

Those of us who work for ourselves don’t have that kind of safety net. If we’re not there to do the work, the work doesn’t get done.

I pay for my own health insurance, so my hospital bills would mostly be covered. But if I don’t work, I can’t pay my health insurance… You see where this is leading.

It’s a complicated system we live in. I know there are various and sundry supplemental insurance programs out there that would cover me if I ever ended up not being able to take care of myself. But those cost money too.

And what would happen to my clients if I were unable to continue to work?

There are so many questions that surround this situation.

I realize this is an unusual blog post. But my friends got me thinking about what would happen to me if I couldn’t work for a while.

Obviously, if I knew this situation were coming, I would plan a certain amount of recovery time. I’d get my clients to the point where they could live without me for a few weeks. If it were longer than that, I’d find other copywriters who could step in and help.

But what would happen if it was sudden? Like a car accident or a heart attack? How would I manage my business from a hospital bed?

I know small business owners who have been through this problem, and come through it successfully. But it’s tough. If you create a physical product, you can teach someone else to make it. It’s worse when you provide a service and you have to refer your clients elsewhere while you’re recovering.

So, I’d like to ask you, my fellow small business owners, do you have a plan in place if you’re unable to run your company?

Are you running a company with more than one person? Can someone else take over for you? Have you taught someone else to do what you do?

If you’re a solopreneur with clients, like me, do you have someone who can take on your clients while you’re unavailable? And what happens when you’ve recovered and are ready to work again? Are you guaranteed to get those clients back?

If you make a product, do you have a staff that can keep making that product? Do you keep a backlog, just in case? How does your product get to your customers if you’re not there to send it?

Do any of you have resources that you can share with our community?

Do you have tools you use or work-arounds in place if this happens to you?

Is your business doing well enough that you have a personal emergency fund you can tap? If so, how much do you put into that every month, and how long did it take you to grow it to where it is now?

Please share your wisdom in the comments so we can all benefit. That way we can hope for the best, expect the worst, and take whatever comes.

Why Robots Will Never Replace Good Copywriters

February 21, 2017 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

In the last few years, there have been several news stories about robots replacing copywriters.

The Associated Press is now automating quarterly earnings reports through a company called Automated Insights. The Washington Post used a software program to write hundreds of posts about the 2016 Olympics in Rio. A company in Israel has created an algorithm that will write short blog posts geared toward SEO. The list goes on.

There have been rumblings of companies using these software programs instead of copywriters, as long as these programs have been around. I see colleagues mention this problem in copywriting groups on a regular basis.

Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen, at least not any time soon.

Here’s why…

Good Copy is Engaging, Not Just “Well Written.”

You can program a computer to string grammatically correct sentences together to create information on any given topic. But for people to want to read that content, it has to “speak” to them. There needs to be that “human touch” in the writing to attract a reader’s attention and keep them reading to the end of the article.

Personally, I have yet to see an article written by a “robot” that I found engaging. Most of them feel like long, rambling soliloquies on a subject that don’t quite make sense. There’s a great example of this at the end of this Tech Crunch article.

Computers Don’t Have Emotions

Good copy does more than inform the reader. It also makes them feel something. This “something” can be positive or negative, depending on the writer’s intent.

This involves knowing how to play on the reader’s emotions. Computer algorithms don’t have emotions, yet, so they have no concept of how to use emotions to their advantage. (Once they figure it out, we’re all in trouble.)

Humans are naturally empathetic. Different topics resonate with different people.

If you have a specific problem, you’ll be excited by a product post or sales letter that promises to solve your problem. If you are sympathetic to a political or charitable cause, you’re more likely to be swayed by a story involving someone who has been a victim of the opposing forces of that cause.

Good copywriters know how to use emotions to steer their readers toward the intended goal of the article or sales letter. It’s an art.

Computers Can’t Think for Themselves

A computer will do exactly what you tell it to. Nothing more, nothing less. I know this frustrates me on a regular basis, when I don’t understand how to tell the computer exactly what I want it to do, and I expect it to understand me.

Well, it can’t.

This is to my advantage as a writer. Because I can think for myself, I can interpret what my clients want or what my audience is interested in. I use my creativity to go beyond the “exact instructions” and bring more depth to the piece I’m writing than a computer ever could.

Good Copywriters Are Worth Our Weight in Gold

While I was at Converted 2016 this past October, Brian Massey of Conversion Sciences said “If you’ve got a good copywriter, hang on to them. Lock them in the basement.” (I objected to the locking us in the basement part on Twitter. Brian’s response is below.)

And we really are worth our weight in gold. When you find a copywriter who understands your company, your goals and your audience, you’ve got the key ingredient to your secret sauce that converts site visitors into leads and leads into customers. No computer algorithm can give you that.

Get Your Copywriting Project on My Schedule Now

If you’ve got a copywriting project coming up, and you want it to get results, hire a talented copywriter. I happen to have some openings in my schedule at the moment and would be happy to assist you.

Please email me ASAP so we can discuss your project. You can also schedule a free consultation call with me.

6-in-6 Freelance Copywriter Report – I DID IT! Errr… 11 Months

February 14, 2017 by Tanya Brody 7 Comments

11 months ago, I started this blog post series. The original post was titled: The Challenge: $6,000 a Month in Six Months As a Freelance Copywriter (and How I Plan to Do It).

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had succeeded in reaching this goal… 8 months ago!

I know! I was shocked too!

I sat down to review last year’s revenue to get ready for tax time. I ran a profit and loss report. Lo and behold, the numbers revealed that I reached my goal last June.

I was calculating my success by how much money was paid into my bank account every month. When I send a project proposal and fee agreement for a larger project, I give the option of paying 50% at the start of the project and 50% when the work is complete. And clients don’t always pay their bills as soon as they receive them.

However, if I look at the total invoices for the month of June, 2016, I contracted for $10,270 worth of work, in that month, alone.

The money didn’t all come in that month, the work for the projects I invoiced was spread over a couple of months. I never realized that technically, I made my original goal, 4 months after I stated that goal.

That’s really exciting.

Yes, I realize that work invoiced and work paid are two separate things. But that doesn’t change the fact that I did achieve my original goal of bringing in $9,000 in a month so that I can pay one third of what I earn to the government and have $6,000 income, net.

In fact, when I look at the numbers, I’ve achieved my goal a couple of times. October also brought in about $9,000. And March, the very first month I established this goal, brought in over $6,000.

Why are these numbers important to me? (And let’s face it, I’m probably the only person who cares about these numbers.) Because it means that working for myself is sustainable. I can make enough money to pay myself, my business bills and my taxes.

As someone who is on full-time business #3, that’s a big deal. It’s an incredible feeling to know you can support yourself, your family and your lifestyle, doing what you love.

(For those of you who are just joining this series, I have spent most of my working life being self-employed and running my own businesses. I made costumes for 15 years, and was a touring musician for over 10 years. Now, I’m a freelance copywriter.)

It’s stunning to realize I reached my goal 8 months ago. My new goal is to make my income steady. I’ve had some months where I’ve done really well. And I’ve had some months where I wondered if I’d be able to pay my bills.

I want to set my business up so that I’ve got enough coming in every month to pay myself a regular salary, and still pay my taxes. That way I’ll have enough to cover the occasional lean month.

I’ll probably change the title of this blog post series, as I’ve reached my goal. I’ll figure out the new title next month. Meanwhile, I’m going to celebrate the fact that I reached my goal, and feel a little silly for not recognizing it sooner.

Yay me.

Happy Valentine’s day, and thanks, as always, for following along on my crazy journey as a freelance copywriter.

My Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Leadpages and Use It Every Week as a Copywriter

February 7, 2017 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

Okay, I’ll confess, this post is a bit off the beaten track. My friend and former colleague, Kat Von Rohr, gave me the idea for this post. She mentioned that she did a Google search for “Leadpages copywriter” and my listing as a Leadpages Conversion Marketing Certified Professional came up on the first page.

Yeah, that’s pretty cool.

At last check, I am one of two people on that list who use the word “copy” in their title, and the only person who uses the word “copywriter.” I guess that explains that. Thanks, Google.

For those of you who may not know, I come by the title of “Leadpages copywriter” legitimately. I used to work for Leadpages, as a copywriter. I’m now going to rave about why I love Leadpages and why you should be using it in your own business.

Yes, this is a crass, commercial blog post, but I get to do those every once in a while.

So, here are the 5 top reasons (in my humble opinion) that all of you should be using Leadpages as one of your primary online business tools.

1. Thank You Pages

I know it seems silly to start with what is normally the end of a lead or sales funnel, but I probably make more Thank You pages than any other type of landing page.

Why?

Because I use them for every content upgrade I put on my blog. If you’ve ever downloaded a checklist or a cheat sheet from one of my blog posts, you’ve seen my Thank You pages. They look like this:

Honestly, this is very similar to how the original template looks. I think I added my logo, changed the text, removed one of the “speaker” sections and added my own picture and comment.

But now that I’ve got it set up, I duplicate it every time I need a new Thank You page, change the text and social media links, and I’m done. I attach it to the Leadbox for the week’s content upgrade, and it’s ready to go. (Don’t worry, I’ll rave about Leadboxes further down in this post.)

Thank You pages are useful, because they can lead to another action, even after someone has opted into your email list or made a purchase. The Thank You page above encourages my subscribers to share my blog posts with their friends, which helps grow my list.

By the way, if you click on the content upgrade at the end of this post, you’ll see the newest Thank You page in my collection.

2. Leadpages Makes It Easier to Write Your Copy

This is true. Leadpages wants you to be successful. They’ve made it easier for you to write good copy, even if you’re not a trained, persuasive copywriter, like me.

The great thing about Leadpages templates is, you know exactly how much copy you need for any given space. You don’t have to stick to the amount of text in the template. But generally speaking, you have a pretty good idea of how much copy to add, because every template is already optimized for conversion.

By the way, this idea was given to me by the fabulous (and aforementioned) Kat Von Rohr.

Every Leadpages template comes complete with some form of advertising copy. (I wrote several of these when I was there, so I know it’s good copy.) Even if you have no earthly idea what to write, you can find a template that is designed for your industry and customize what is there to your business.

I don’t recommend using the Leadpages template copy verbatim, that’s bad for SEO and will ultimately reflect poorly on your business. But you can look at what is in the template and craft your own message around that.

For those of you who are copywriters, having these templates can be very freeing. You can delete whatever is there and insert your own text, or you can adapt and improve the text to your needs.

3. Create Your Own Website

Yes, you can build a website entirely out of Leadpages templates. I’ve done it. As an example, here’s the Home page for my music website:

I am not a designer or a developer. I learned HTML when rocks were new, and I’m not very good at it. But I managed to build this website, despite that fact. I’ve done it for other businesses as well.

Leadpages templates are incredibly versatile. You can turn sections on and off in the Standard builder. The Drag-and-Drop builder lets you move sections around to customize the look. You can change images, colors, logos, add sections, whatever you want to do.

There are several template sets that go together to create category and detail pages. There are also templates that can work as one long website. So, if you’ve been frustrated by the fact that you need a new website and you don’t want to pay a huge amount of money to build one, use Leadpages templates.

There are several ways to get your new pages onto your website, including the Leadpages WordPress plugin and exporting the HTML.

4. Automatic Lead Magnet Delivery

A lot of email service providers (ESPs) let you upload your lead magnet to their system and deliver it as part of your automation sequence. But if you use a free version of these ESPs, or your ESP doesn’t offer this service, how do you get your Lead Magnet to the people who requested it?

Leadpages lets you upload your lead magnet to their system and they will deliver it automatically, as soon as someone opts into your email list. You can customize the email and add links to your website, sales landing page, or wherever you want to send people next.

You can send just about any file type, including Word documents, PDFs, images, ZIP files and MP3s. If you’re sending something like an entire course, with video, audio and document files, it’s probably better for your lead magnet to be a PDF with links to these items. (FYI, this is what Leadpages does for their courses.)

This feature saves me a lot of time and dithering when it comes to sending my lead magnets. I just upload the file, write my email and click “save.” They send the lead magnet every time someone enters an email address in one of my Leadboxes.

Speaking of which, I saved the best reason for last…

5. Leadboxes

A Leadbox is the Leadpages proprietary, 2-step opt-in form. They’re built into every landing page template. You can also make stand-alone Leadboxes and add them to any web page you have control of. (I’ve even added them to LinkedIn Pulse articles.)

I use Leadboxes every time I offer a content upgrade. In fact, if you look below, you’ll see a bright red button. If you click on it, that’s your example of a Leadbox. It’s a very simple, attractive opt-in form.

You can connect a Leadbox with a text link (like that), use a pre-generated button, like the one below, or link it to the image of your choice. Put these anywhere on a web page, and you’re ready to collect names, email addresses and anything other information you want to gather.

You can customize your image and headline, as well as your form fields. If you can add the form field in your ESP, you can add it to a Leadbox. Leadpages integrates with several different ESPs and CRMs, so you’ll have plenty of options.

Since we’re talking about Leadboxes, I recommend you click on the button below (or one of the links above) to download my current lead magnet, “The Top 5 Reasons to Use Leadpages for Your Business.” I’ll also send you a free email course on how to build your mailing list. You don’t need a Leadpages account to use this course, but it sure will help.

No, Really, You Should Get a Leadpages Account for Your Business

As I mentioned above, I am a Leadpages copywriter. I use my Leadpages account at least 3-4 times a week for myself and for clients. If you don’t want to get your own account, but want me to create landing pages for you, I’m happy to do that. Contact me and we can discuss what you need.

If you are a copywriter and want to be able to make landing pages for yourself and for clients quickly and easily, get a Leadpages account.

If you run your own business and want to grow your email list, build an easy website and promote your products and services, get a Leadpages account.

If you work for a company that wants to do anything listed above, talk to your boss about getting a Leadpages account.

If you’re worried about committing to Leadpages, they offer a 30-day, money back, no questions asked guarantee. Try it for 30 days. If you don’t like it, they’ll give you a full refund.

I’ll Give You an Extra Incentive to Get Your Own Leadpages Account

Yes, I’m pushing Leadpages hard. Yes, I am an affiliate, so I will benefit if you click on any of the Leadpages links in this post. But I wouldn’t recommend this service if I didn’t believe in it. I do. I know it will help you grow your business, because it’s helped me grow mine.

So, here’s a little extra incentive to get, and use, your own account.

Purchase your Leadpages annual account by clicking on one of the links on this page, between now and May 1^st, then send me your purchase confirmation receipt. I’ll review the first 3 landing pages or Leadboxes you make. Or, if you build a website, I’ll review up to 5 pages.

I am a trained persuasive copywriter, a Leadpages Conversion Marketing Certified Professional and I used to work for the company. I know what I’m talking about, and I can help you succeed with your marketing.

By the way, Leadpages used to offer reviews as one of their incentives, but they don’t anymore. If you sign up for an account through me, you’ll get a valuable service that the company no longer offers.

Get your Leadpages annual account now to start building your list and growing your company.