Blog - Page 30 of 30 - Tanya Brody

6 in 6 Freelance Copywriter Progress Report – 1 Month

April 13, 2016 by Tanya Brody 2 Comments

One month ago today I started this blog with the goal of making $6,000 net a month in 6 months as a freelance copywriter. So I figured this would be a good time to check in to let you know how I’m doing.

I was laid off on January 20^th. By the beginning of March, I had 2 clients, both of whom came to me through referrals. Yes, I started this blog with 2 clients. That’s part of the reason I decided to write about the journey I’m on. I finally knew where I was going.

Since the beginning of March I have received signed contracts from both clients and each client has paid half of their fee up front, for a total of $5,750. That’s close to what I want to be earning a month net, but definitely not there yet. I’ve got some serious work to do.

I do have a project starting in May, but I haven’t received a deposit on that one yet. I have also been pursuing other potential clients, some of whom have approached me and some of whom I have reached out to. I’ll let you know when those pan out.

I’ve also been networking in every way possible, including offering my services to a non-profit my father is involved in. I’ve reached out to friends and family. I’ve used social media, job boards and various other channels to tell the world I’m a freelance copywriter looking for clients.

Some of those connections have paid off, with various people contacting me, asking if I’m interested in a project. As I write this post, I’m waiting to hear from a friend regarding one of those projects.

I’m not yet prepared to say this freelance copywriter thing is even remotely a success. But it does have the potential to become one. And the Universe, or (insert your choice of deity here), does seem to be steering me in this direction.

Here’s how I know.

As mentioned in an earlier post, people (including those of you reading this post) keep sending me support and potential clients.

I have managed to secure two client contracts, both of which I am enjoying writing.

I’m learning tons. Even if this doesn’t pan out in the end, I can honestly say it was a learning experience.

I attended the Brian Clark/Bryan Harris email list building webinar on Monday and won a free “Get 10,000 Subscribers” course. (If that isn’t the Universe pointing me in the right direction, what is? I have a lot of list-building work to do now. Phew!)

I honestly feel like I’m off to a good start. I’m not where I want to be yet, but hey, I’m logging my 1-month mark. I’m doing pretty well. Stay tuned to see if I keep going up or if I hit a snag somewhere along the line.

So… yeah. After being laid off and not knowing what to do next, I can honestly say that so far, this freelance copywriter thing is a good idea. Not sure if it’s my “forever” career yet (though I want it to be). But it’s so crazy, it just might work.

I’ll report in again in another month.

Cheers,

Tanya

Why Creating a Quality Product Matters (And a Sure-Fire Method to Make Your Product Appeal to Your Customers)

April 7, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

Don’t skip steps.

The steps you set up for yourself are very important. Each one is a building block in the process to creating a quality product, whatever your product or service is.

I mention this because I realized this week that I had skipped a very important step in my writing process. I didn’t go through and list out features and benefits for a client’s project I was working on.

Those features and benefits really lay out the foundation of much of my writing, so skipping them was a big mistake. Once I took the time to do this very simple exercise, I was much happier with what I wrote as a first draft for the client in question.

I’ll talk more about this process later in this post.

For now, I want to talk about creating quality products.

Your Product is a Reflection of Your Business

Whether you’re a freelancer or a business owner, your product or service is pretty much your livelihood. If you don’t create a quality product or give excellent service, you’re doomed to fail.

Yes, some folks get away with providing shoddy service or a sub-par product and survive for years. But that’s not a great business model. Don’t be that person.

Instead, make sure you create a process that ensures you provide the best product or service possible, and stick to that process. Don’t cut corners.

Give that extra little bit of effort that will make your customers think, “Hey, I really got my money’s worth here.” Or, “Hey, that person was wonderful to work with. They went the extra mile to make sure I was happy and got what I wanted.”

Why do I say this?

Because I’ve seen what happens when you cut corners, from both sides of the equation.

As a customer, I’ve experienced what happens when I’m not happy with a product or service. I never do business with that company again, and in some cases, I’m unwilling to do business with any companies that seem similar to the one I was burned by.

I also don’t recommend that company to anyone. If my experience is really bad, I’ll tell people about that experience to warn them off from having the same problems. Companies that give bad service or create bad products get bad reputations.

As a freelancer, I’ve seen how upset customers get when they feel I haven’t done right by them, whether it was accidental or just part of the process. It’s not pretty, and it can do a lot of damage to your reputation, and to your business.

Your best advertising is through word of mouth. You need to protect your reputation whenever and wherever possible.

So don’t skip steps. Go through every step in your process. Do it right and do it well. I can’t guarantee that every single customer will be happy with what you’ve done. It is impossible to please absolutely everyone.

But generally speaking, if you follow my advice, you’ll satisfy the majority of your customers.

Those you don’t satisfy, you may not want as customers. That happens.

So long as you have done your best and you do everything you can to rectify the problem, including offering a refund, you can walk away from a bad customer relationship with your head held high. Most people will respect this. Those that don’t, you probably don’t want them as customers either.

Okay, stepping off my soap box now.

Here’s the step I realized I skipped. I went back and ran through this exercise and my writing went much more smoothly.

Features vs. Benefits

Every copywriter knows about the whole “features vs benefits” issue. It’s not enough to just talk about the features of a product. You have to talk about how a customer will benefit from that feature to convince them the product is worth their money and time. Basically, you have to answer the question your customer is asking, “What’s in it for me?”

A feature is something that is true about the product.

A benefit is something the product does to make a customer’s life better, easier or more enjoyable.

To show you how to compare the two, I’m going to use duct tape. It’s easy and everyone knows what it is.

Feature: Duct tape is made of fabric.
Benefit: That makes it more flexible and easier to apply to odd shapes or surfaces.
Feature: Duct tape sticks to pretty much anything.
Benefit: You can use duct tape repair almost everything. (Ironically, according to a report I heard on NPR years ago, the thing duct tape is not so great at: repairing ducts.)

That’s the easy part of the exercise. Here’s the part that is a bit harder, but gives that extra something so I deliver a quality product.

Ask the Question, “So What?”

This is a great exercise and I highly recommend using it in all of your marketing efforts.

What you’re doing here is finding that deeper benefit. The concern or desire that will really strike home with your prospective customer.

Marketing isn’t about selling logic, it’s about selling emotions. So instead of trying to rationalize your product’s benefit, you touch a deeper chord and present your product as the solution.

Again, I’ll use duct tape as my example.

Feature: Duct tape can be used to repair almost anything.

So what?

Benefit: If you have a roll of duct tape on hand, you can make a quick repair to your car and keep driving.

So what?

Deeper Benefit: If your car blows a hose in the middle of nowhere, you can fix the problem with duct tape. Then you can drive yourself to your destination, or to a repair shop, where you are safe and sound.

The emotion I appealed to here is the need to feel safe. I presented duct tape as the solution to the problem.

You can do this exercise with any product or service, and you should. It will make your copywriting better and your offer more appealing.

To learn more about the “So What?” method of finding deeper benefits, download your free guide by clicking the button below.

Download Your Free Copy of the “So What” Method Now!

So, like I said earlier, don’t skip steps.

Make sure you’re giving your customer the best possible product at all times. Everyone will benefit, especially you.

What are the important steps in your process that you never skip? Tell me about them in the comments below.

How to Manage Your Time as a Freelancer or Business Owner

March 30, 2016 by Tanya Brody 1 Comment

One of the many joys about working for yourself is being in charge of your own schedule. Yes, you have more time to spend with your kids, friends, family, or whatever other impetus caused you to quit your “day job.”

But being in charge of your own schedule means just that; you’re in charge. No one is going to yell at you for not getting your work done, except you.

There are lots and lots of websites/articles/books out there that will tell you how to manage your time, especially when working for yourself. If that’s what you’re looking for, please go read those. I’m not going to reference those here.

I’m going to talk about what I do, and what I’ve found to be true as a freelance copywriter, a full-time musician and a professional costumer (all businesses I currently own or have owned in the past.)

So, if you want a dose of what being your own boss is really like, please read on…

If Nobody Does the Work, It Doesn’t Get Done

This is the first rule of working for yourself. Especially when you are the Chief Cook and Bottle-washer. If you aren’t there to do the work you’ve promised to clients or to create the products you’re planning on selling, no one else will do it.

This means you need to build free time, sick time and vacation time into your schedule if you plan on taking them.

We all know that being sick never comes at a “good” time. But if you allow yourself a little extra time within your schedule to do a given project, you give yourself a cushion for being sick, just in case. And more importantly, clients love it when you finish their projects early.

Be like Scotty from Star Trek. Over estimate your time and look like a miracle worker.

Want to go have lunch with your mom or take a day off to get a personal project done? Great! Go for it. But make that time up somewhere else during the week.

“But I’m master of my own destiny!” I hear you cry. “I should be able to do what I want.” Yes, you should. But working for yourself means working for your clients/customers. You’re still accountable to someone, regardless of who writes your paycheck.

So yes. Work four 10-hour days so you can take that extra day off. Work into the evening so you can enjoy Mom’s company at lunch. Working for yourself doesn’t mean having all the free time in the world. It means having the freedom to manage your time to suit yourself. That includes how much you work and when you work.

Want to take that vacation in the Bahamas or go see a friend for the weekend? Awesome. Do it. But again, build that time into your schedule, or be willing to bring your work with you and get some of it done while you’re away.

One of the many things I love about being a freelance copywriter, as opposed to some of the other businesses I’ve owned, is all I need to do my job is a computer and an Internet connection. That’s it.

Music ties me to specific places at specific times, even though I choose where and when I perform. Costuming meant a lot of equipment and materials, which are really hard to haul around with you. (So are instruments and CDs, for that matter.)

Compared to my previous businesses, working as a freelance copywriter while traveling is a delight!

Manage Your Day to Stay Sane

I will be the first to admit that I used to work crazy hours, especially when I was costuming. I would go downstairs to my basement workshop (most costume shops are in the basement, we costumers are notorious for this,) around 10:00 am and start working.

Sometime around 4:00 pm I’d look up and say, “Oh, I should eat something.” I’d go upstairs to the kitchen, make something to eat, bring it back down with me and eat while I worked. Then I’d keep working until 10:00 pm.

Don’t do this. Seriously. It’s bad for you.

I’ve altered my habits considerably since my youthful freelance costuming days. Here are a few simple steps I now follow to stay sane during my work day:

Get up and move around – Doctors, ergonomic professionals and pretty much everyone else agrees that this is absolutely necessary during the day for physical and mental health.This can be something as simple as getting up and stretching for a couple of minutes to getting away from a frustrating project to take a walk and clear your head. Do it. Your body and mind with both thank you.

Eat – Yes, this seems obvious, but if you read the first paragraph in this section, you’ll see how easy it is to forget to do this during the day, especially when you are deeply focused on a project.

Give yourself permission to stop – As a business owner, and the person responsible for, well, everything, it can be hard to do this. But you must. Sleep, relationships with other humans and time away from your business are incredibly important. Sometimes they can be crucial to solving whatever problem is at hand.So yeah. Give yourself a firm stop time every day and go do something else. (And yes, this time will change from day to day. See managing your time above.)

Figure Out How You Stay Focused

Everyone has their own way of getting into the zone.

Legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz would set a timer for 33.33 minutes and concentrate solely on the project at hand. (Okay, he also drank coffee.) Then he got up and did something else for 10-15 minutes. He’d do this over and over, every day.

Other folks can multi-task, absorbing information from several sources at once, all while finishing whatever they’re working on, on time.

Me, I like to buckle down and work on something for a couple of hours, then take a 20-minute break. (Okay, I take some very short social media breaks in there, and I certainly research whatever I’m working on, but that’s how I roll.)

You will have to figure out what works best for you. Once you find it, keep doing it. Trust me, it will help.

Figure Out What Makes You the Least Distracted.

There are so many fabulous distractions to grab your attention, whether you work from home, a workshop or a coworking office space.

Your kids, your neighbors, your phone, your email, other folks using the same space, the construction work across the street. You name it, it is out to suck up your time.

At my house, it’s the cat, the laundry, the dishes, the birds at my bird feeders, or during the summer, all of the fabulous wildlife that visit me while I’m writing on the patio.

How can you not be distracted by that adorable face?

You need to figure out what will help you focus the most and distract you the least. Please notice I don’t say “will keep you laser focused all day, every day” because that’s unrealistic and unhealthy. But do find what lets you be the most productive.

For me, I need music. I love music. I don’t remember a time I didn’t sing and I’ve been musical in one way or another for most of my life.

However, it’s really hard for me to listen to music with words while writing. (And I don’t think my clients appreciate having weird lyrics sprinkled throughout their copy.) So I tend toward classical, electronica, jazz and music in languages I don’t speak.

I also have certain places I work in the house (or on the patio) that seem to keep me the most focused. No idea why, they just do.

When I was costuming, I listened to books on tape. They gave my mind something to focus on while my hands were busy.

Figure Out What Helps You to Stay On Task

I like having a list of things I have to do every day, or for every project. I use my calendar, Reminders on my computer or phone, and Trello to keep track of these.

Other folks use Post-It Notes, note books, alarms, or any number of other triggers to help them remember what they’re doing and when they’re doing it.

Feel Free to Throw All of This (and Any Other Advice) Out the Window.

Really, this is all about what works best for you. Everyone will give you their own tips, tricks, studies or whatever in an effort to be helpful. But ultimately, this is about building your ideal work situation. So feel free to experiment.

If the dog running to the window every 10 minutes to bark at the squirrels distracts you, send the dog off to daycare a few days a week.

If your family refuses to let you have a moment’s peace, commandeer a room with a door and say “You are not allowed to knock on, open this door or come into this room unless you are dying or the house is on fire.” Then hold to that. (They’ll never learn otherwise. Trust me.)

Most importantly, have fun! This is your life and your business. You chose this over working a “real job” because you wanted to enjoy what you do. So do it.

What has helped you the most when figuring out how to manage your time? Tell me about it in the comments.

Ask for Help – Let Your Community Support You as You Start Your Business

March 21, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

Photo via VisualHunt.com

Your own business.

It’s been your dream for years. You’re going to go it on your own! You’re going to show “the Man” that you can cast him aside and do much better by yourself. You want to be “the Man,” but you’re going to treat your employees far better than you were ever treated, once you get to that point.

Meanwhile, you’re a rugged individualist who can do it all. You’re ready. You have a plan. You’re going to make this happen!

Stop for a second.

These are great ideals, but I’m going to remind you of the thoughts of John Donne, the English poet, who famously wrote, “No man is an island.” None of us exists solely in and of ourselves. We are all part of a community that relies upon us and who we can rely upon.

Use that community!

The Facebook thread from when I admitted I’d been laid off.

When you’re a freelancer or small businessperson, you are Chief Cook and Bottle Washer. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask your family, friends and neighbors for help. Most, if not all of them want to help. That’s part of being a community.

When I lost my job, I put the following post up on my Facebook wall: “Well that sucked! Apparently I need some more life changes.”

After being accused of “vaguebooking” I confessed that I had lost my job. I will admit that I felt frustrated and ashamed at the time, which is why I didn’t admit to it in my original post.

The outpouring of sympathy and support from my community was incredible. People said they were sorry to hear it, that they had just been through the same thing and totally understood how I was feeling, they sent their deepest condolences.

Most importantly, they asked how they could help. They offered to introduce me to people in their LinkedIn networks. They invited me to visit so I could get away for a little while. And, they started sending me job postings. Seriously.

Several of my colleagues from the company I worked at before this one told me there was an opening for my old position. Numerous folks sent me links to jobs in my field that were available at their companies. Friends and family members who knew I wanted to be a freelance copywriter put me in contact with potential clients.

Not only did this make me feel supported and cared about at a time when I really needed it, it also showed me that my community wanted to help. So I accepted that help.

I followed up on all of the leads for potential clients that were offered. I knew freelance copywriter was the direction I wanted to go, so I figured, what the heck. I may as well give it a try. If I got a good response, I’d know this was the right road to follow.

I even applied for several “real jobs,” including a few I’d take if they were offered. I knew I needed options, so I took all of the options I could get.

It was worth it. It got me out of the feeling of loss and into the feeling of moving forward and on to better things.

Your community wants to help you too!

So as you’re starting your business, ask your friends and family for help. Yes, some of them will shake their heads and call you crazy. I’m sure some of mine are doing the same. But most of them will still be willing to help because they want you to succeed (even if they do think you’re nuts.)

There’s something about a “winner” or a “maverick” that everyone loves. We want to see that person who strikes off on their own strike it rich or make it big, so we can live vicariously through them. Some of us even follow in their footsteps, once we’ve seen it can be done.

The American Dream was founded on this idea of hard work leading to success. We love these stories and we want to be part of them, so we help those who are willing to take that leap of faith.

Obviously the help you ask for will depend on the type of business you’re starting. But here are some things you can ask for that your friends and family will probably be able to help you with:

Leads: Whether you’re looking for customers, clients or sources, someone in your community knows someone who has the answers you’re looking for, or the business you want to get.

Mentors: Know what you want to do but have no idea how to go about doing it? You probably know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who has done what you want to do. And successful people love giving back, because someone did the same for them, once upon a time.

Ideas: Grab some friends, take them out for a drink, pull up the voice recording program on your phone, hit record and start brainstorming. Come up with as many ideas as you can about your potential new business. Some of them will be crazy, some of them you’ll want to shoot down right away. Don’t. Record them all. You never know what may spark another idea that could develop into something very exciting.

Feedback: If you know exactly what you want to do, ask for feedback. Find the people in your community who are in your target audience (you know, those folks who would end up being your customers) and ask them what they think about your plan or your product. They can help you refine what you’re doing and build something there’s a demand for, because they’re the ones asking for it.

A few simple, but frequently overlooked pointers when asking for help:

Thank People for their Help

Really. It’s amazing how often we forget to say thank you, even when someone has done something that gives us that boost we really need.

Follow Up

When people offer their help, they want to know that you’ve accepted it. Not only should you follow up on the leads or offers given, you should tell the person who made the offer that you’ve done so, especially if they’ve directed you to another person or organization.

Give Back

Once you’ve got your product or service up and running, offer it to the folks who helped you out. Support a local charity to give back to your community as a whole or volunteer your time to help someone else when they’re in the same position.

This blog post is a way for me to say “Thank You” to all of the people who have helped me so far. I really appreciate everything that all of you in my community have done to get me started.

This whole 6 in 6 series is also a way to give back. I hope you’ll get something out of these posts that will help you move forward, wherever you are along life’s journey.

How have people helped you with your business? Please tell me about it in the comments.

The Challenge: $6,000 a Month in Six Months As a Freelance Copywriter (and How I Plan to Do It)

March 13, 2016 by Tanya Brody 8 Comments

7 weeks ago I was laid off from a wonderful company, along with 14 other people. I was told “it was a hard decision but the company was restructuring.” It was a job I absolutely loved and I was gutted when it happened.

The company was as gentle as it could possibly be about it. I can honestly say I don’t believe I was laid off because of performance issues. And I don’t blame the company for doing what they did. It was a business decision. We all got severance pay. But it felt a bit like being kicked out of Utopia. (Yes, it’s that awesome a company.)

Suddenly I was on the job market again with no warning. I had no time to prepare for a new position, no time to figure out what I wanted in a new company. I felt thrust back into the fray of job seeking with no idea what direction to go. (Thank heavens for that severance pay.)

So instead of freaking out, I decided to look at this change as an opportunity. I sat down and asked myself, “Where do I want to go from here? Do I want another ‘real job?’ Do I enjoy the security of someone else writing my paycheck enough to go work for another corporation?

“Or is it time to take control of my own fate again and become a freelancer?”

A little bit about me. I have actually spent more of my working life self-employed than employed by a company. I ran my own costuming business for 15 years, making costumes for people who performed at Renaissance Festivals, as well as for local theater companies in Minnesota.

I’m also a musician. I’ve performed all over the country in all sort of venues; from coffee shops and Renaissance Festivals to corporate parties and concerts. I booked, managed and toured with a Celtic band for 8 years.

I know how to be self-employed.

I know how wonderfully freeing it can be to report to no one but yourself and make your own schedule. I also know the reality of “If you don’t do the work, it doesn’t get done.”

What I hadn’t done full-time yet, was be a freelance copywriter.

Sure, I had taken writing projects on the side while working for different corporations (also as a copywriter) but I hadn’t actually “made my living” as a freelance copywriter. I hadn’t gotten enough projects to even consider making it viable.

Well, suddenly I found myself with the opportunity to see what happened. To see if I could succeed as a freelance copywriter, which has been my dream for the last 5 years.

So I’m taking it.

I am returning to my self-employed roots with my latest career in tow. And I’ve set myself a pretty hefty goal.

I want to be making $6000 a month, net (not gross, after taxes including self-employment tax) in 6 months. That means I’ll have plenty of money to pay my bills as well as my own health care and put money away for retirement. All while living comfortably in my lovely little house in Lake Minnetonka. (I live on an island so I get to say ‘in’ instead of ‘on’.)

Every freelancer’s dream, right?

The problem is, every freelancer, small business owner and entrepreneur sets out with these goals, or something similar, in mind. And many of them fail. I may fail. I’m willing to admit that up front.

But I’m going to find out.

So, being a writer, I’ve decided to write a blog post series documenting my path from laid off to full-time, fully-funded freelance copywriter and marketer. Why am I doing this? Well, partially to hold myself accountable and make sure I get this stuff done.

But I also want to show that it can be done. In fact, I want to show that you can do this, regardless of your skills, industry or chosen career. I want to put together a very basic road map that anyone who works for themselves can follow.

Will this be the ideal road map for absolutely everyone? Of course not! I would be foolish to think that could be true. But it will have some aspects that apply to everyone who wants to work for themselves, or even to those who want to start a small company and employ other folks.

So, welcome to the 6 in 6 blog post series. I will try to post something at least once a week. Some weeks there may be more. Some weeks I may promote products or people. (Hey, I’m in marketing, what do you expect?) But I will do my best to be honest and transparent about everything I do so you can repeat this experiment yourself.

Some of these posts will be musings about being self-employed, random thoughts, etc. It’s a blog and I’m a writer. These things happen. But most of what I plan on posting is real-life advice about how to run a freelance or small business and how I’m doing on reaching my goal.

I’ll talk about tools I use, obstacles I encounter and how I overcome them, and strategies I employ for myself and my clients. I’ll also talk about how I keep myself focused on the work at hand, instead of getting distracted by all the distractible things (a pitfall many freelancers encounter).

I hope you enjoy it.

Have you started your own business? Do you have questions or ideas you think would make a good future blog post? Please tell me about it in the comments.