Copywriting Archives - Page 5 of 6

6-in-6 Freelance Copywriter Report – 4 Months

July 15, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

I’m over halfway on my personally allotted time and I’ll admit I’m worried about making my goal. I have been getting work, and I have been making money. But I haven’t come close to reaching my goal of making $6,000 net per month as a freelance copywriter yet.

Why $6,000 net? For those of you who are new to this blog, my goal is to be able to have $6,000 a month to live on so I can live comfortably, pay for my own health insurance (and health care bills) and put money aside for retirement.

To do this, I need to make $9,000 a month because the government takes about 1/3 of what I bring in for taxes. Yes, yes, go ahead, grumble about the government, I do too. But I’d rather pay the taxes than get fined for not paying them. And I have a good accountant so I should get some of that back.

But I haven’t come close to that goal yet.

I have made $6,000 in a month, but I haven’t achieved that every month.

Yes, I realize that this is a process, and it takes time. Yes, I’m prepared to extend my allotted time, because I know that a goal is something you strive for, not something that makes or breaks you.

But I won’t deny that I’m worried. It’s part of being human.

I do have work coming in, just not as much as I’d like. (So if you need a project done in the next few weeks or months, get on my calendar now.)

I’m not going to starve. I have the weekly unemployment benefits from the CLIMB program coming in, so I can pay my bills. I don’t live extravagantly, so those payments cover most of my expenses and I save everything else.

But I need to change things.

I have enrolled in several online courses, some of which offer certification in their fields. I’ll be finishing up my Leadpages certification and my SEO Copywriting certification in the next few weeks. That will get me listed in each of their directories, which I hope will help.

I’m listed as a freelance copywriter in a few other places, and I’m going to promote those more, so I hope that helps too.

Meanwhile, work is coming in from unexpected sources. A friend mentioned that he had invented a product on Facebook the other day, but admitted he isn’t a marketer. I mentioned that I am a marketer and can help. We’ll be talking today.

Another friend and former colleague may hand off a project she’s working on because she doesn’t have time to do it herself.

And I’m putting together several promotional pieces that should attract attention and get more business in the door.

I have no doubt that I’ll be able to make this freelance copywriter business work. It’s all just a matter of time.

Thanks for sticking with me on this crazy journey. I hope you don’t mind that it may take a little longer than expected.

Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for me or anyone else running their own business. Who knows, I may take your idea and write a blog post about it.

How to Talk To Your Customers, Not At Them

June 21, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

“My customers don’t listen!” This is a common complaint among business owners.

Getting your current and prospective customers to pay attention to your marketing message can be difficult. People are busy. And these days, everyone seems to have the attention span of a gnat.

But I’m going to ask you an honest question: Are you talking to your customer or are you talking at your customer? Because there’s a huge difference. And that might be why your customers aren’t listening.

A lot of business owners still think all marketing and advertising should be a broadcast medium, like TV, radio or billboards. They think they’re speaking to a broad audience that is engaged and hanging on every word they’re saying, as though they’re in a play or at a political rally.

This is speaking at people. The assumption is you have to be all things to all people to make sure your message is heard. While this can work in broadcast advertising, it rarely works online.

Why? Because you’re not speaking to a broad audience on the internet. Even though millions of people may visit your site or read your emails every day, you’re really talking to one person, sitting in front of their computer, possibly in their pajamas, looking for a solution to their problem.

This gives you a unique opportunity to talk to your customers. (Instead of talking at your customers like many of your competitors.)

“How do I do that?” I hear you cry.

Have a conversation with them.

“But, they’re reading words on a screen. I can’t actually talk to them.”

Actually, you can. Here’s how…

Write to One Person

As I mentioned earlier, even though your website is viewed by millions, you’re dealing with one person at a time. Why? Because the internet isn’t a great big huge audience. It’s billions of audiences of one. That gives you a unique opportunity to connect directly with your customers.

Instead of writing a broadcast style message, write directly to the person reading your website. Your copy should read as if you were chatting with a friend about this awesome product or service you discovered recently.

Be Conversational

Really. Make your copy sound as if you were having a conversation with your customer. You’ll notice I do that throughout this blog post. I refer to you, my reader. I also refer to myself. And my language is casual and friendly.

Nothing is pushy. None of my copy sounds like I’m giving a speech. It’s just a conversation between two friends. (Even though we’ve probably never met. Hi, I’m Tanya, by the way.)

You’ll also notice that I fill in your part of the conversation every once in a while. A good example is at the end of the opening part of this blog post. I use quotes to say what I believe you’re thinking. It’s a nice way of “bringing you into the conversation.”

Use the Word “You”

I do this regularly in this blog post. A lot of good marketers do. It’s a really simple way to personalize your copy. Why does this matter? Because when you use the word “you” you’re including whoever it is that you’re talking to. (Did you feel included with all of those “yous” and “you’res?” See, it works.)

Here’s an example of a company that uses “you” in their copy:

Email from Orbitz that speaks to me instead of at me.

I received this email from Orbitz last week. Notice that the word “your” is in the subject line and in the headline. This email is a good example of a conversational message, or talking to your audience. When I read this, I feel like Orbitz is talking directly to me. I feel like they care about what I want. It makes me more likely to buy my next trip through them.

Here’s an example of a company that doesn’t use “you” in their copy:

Email from Travelocity that speaks at me, not to me.

I received this Travelocity email shortly before I received the one from Orbitz, their direct competitor. This would be a good example of a broadcast style message, or talking at your audience. There is nothing in the subject line or ad copy that makes me feel any attachment to Travelocity. I’d even go so far as to say their ad feels cold and impersonal.

Focus Your Message on Your Customer

I’ve said this in other blog posts and I’ll say it again. Your entire marketing message should be focused on your customer and how they’ll benefit from your product or service. This doesn’t mean your copy has to be long and complicated. But it should be customer-centric.

Here’s a great example from Apple:

Apple does an excellent job of focusing on the customer in this ad.

The tagline focuses on the customer. It tells you that you can do everything you want with a MacBook Air, as long as you want to. The message is attention grabbing, clear and concise.

Your copy can be as long or as short as you want it to be, but it needs to:

Show your customer that you understand their problem.
Position your product or service as the solution to their problem.
Show the direct and long-term or future benefits of using your product or service.

Build a Relationship with Your Customer

Remember that the internet is a two-way medium. Your customers can contact you via email or your website contact form. They can leave comments on your blog posts. (Please do, by the way. I love hearing what you folks think of my posts. Please also let me know if there are specific copywriting or small business subjects you want me to write about.)

They can also post reviews of your product or service all over the internet. We’ve all heard about companies losing business because they have one or two bad reviews floating around on Yelp or Google Reviews. Having a good relationship with your customers can help you avoid this problem.

All of the techniques I’ve mentioned above will help you build that good relationship. Other ways you can encourage this relationship include:

Sending all of your emails from a real person: You’ll notice my emails come from my email address and have my name on them. Lots of companies, large and small, send their emails from a general or info@ account.

Give your company or brand a “face”: The Verizon Guy, Flo from Progressive Insurance and Tony the Tiger are all company mascots, or faces of their particular brand. Your “face” could be your company’s founder, a member of your team, or a character like the ones mentioned above.

Respond quickly whenever a customer contacts you: I’m sure you’ve contacted a company about something and they’ve taken forever to get back to you. Or they’ve never gotten back to you. Did that leave a bitter taste in your mouth? The same thing will happen to your customers if you don’t respond to them.Responding quickly, or at least saying “we’ll get back to you within 24 hours” and sticking to that, goes a long way to building a good customer relationship.

Worried that you’ll never remember all of these techniques? Download my Customer Conversation Checklist.That way you’ll have all of these ideas handy when you start to write.

Download the Customer Conversation Checklist

Now That You Know How to Talk To Your Customers, Start a Conversation

What will you do to start the conversation with your customers? Tell me about it in the comments. I really do enjoy hearing what you think about these posts, and what you’re doing in your own business. So let’s start a conversation.

6 in 6 Freelance Copywriter Report – 3 Months

June 14, 2016 by Tanya Brody 1 Comment

I’m still at it and still solvent. Both of these things are very exciting to me. It means although I’m not progressing as fast as I’d like, I’m successful and I’m making this freelance copywriter thing work.

I’ve finished 2 major contracts and 1 minor contract. I have at least 1 upcoming project and I have several proposals out that just need to be finalized. I’ve also been contacted by 2 more possible clients, so I feel like work will be coming in. I’ll be a lot happier when everything is in writing and I’m working on whatever’s next.

I’ve discovered a few things about myself in the past 3 months:

I’m more inclined to work on a client’s project than my own projects, like marketing. This is good, because clients pay me to get their work done. However, it does mean my own business is growing more slowly than I’d like.

I’ll put off writing my own blog posts to do other things. This is bad because it means I’m not keeping up a “regular conversation” with all of you. I need to get better at this.

I really love what I do as a freelance copywriter! I enjoy going from one subject to another. I love learning about new things. New writing techniques, new marketing ideas, new subjects, new products, I find all of it fascinating.

I love focusing on my work. I am the sort of person who will get going on a project and look up 5 hours later to say “Oh, I should eat something.” I try to be careful of this, but I love being “in the zone” so I stay there whenever possible.

Even though I’ve been a freelancer before, I regularly gain a new appreciation for all of the stuff that goes into running a business.

In the last couple of months, I’ve investigated time tracking software, bookkeeping software, memberships to various organizations, as well as several educational programs. I’ve sat through webinars on new products to help my freelance copywriter business. I’ve even purchased or tried a few of those products. I’ve rejected a lot more.

I think one of the hardest things about being a business owner is the day-to-day “running the business” stuff. I think many of us go into our own businesses with grandiose ideas of what it will be like to “be in charge of our own fate.” It’s all very exciting, until you remember someone has to take care of invoices and pay the taxes.

So as a fellow business owner, I would encourage you to remember the day-to-day stuff, as well as the fun stuff. For me, the fun stuff is writing my clients’ projects. But I also enjoy doing my own marketing, when I make time for it.

The day-to-day stuff is remembering to turn on my work timer so I’m keeping track of my hours. Or remembering to make out the invoice so I can get paid. It’s figuring out how many hours it will really take me to complete a client project, not just how many I think it will take.

If you can’t do the day-to-day stuff very well, maybe it’s time to delegate some of that to someone else. I don’t think I’m at that point yet, but I expect I will be soon.

So, here’s to our growing businesses. May they continue to thrive. And may we be able to get all the work done, including the day-to-day stuff.

I’m off to do the day-to-day stuff. Like pay my taxes.

Where are you with your business? How do you handle the day-to-day parts of running your business? Tell me about it in the comments.

Why Your Company Needs a Style Guide

June 2, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

I firmly believe that every company, regardless of size, should have a style guide. This may sound like an extra layer of work that small businesses really don’t need to deal with at “this stage,” but I disagree.

It’s better to establish a style guide now, while you’re creating your voice and brand. If you wait until you’re well-known, you’ll have so many different practices in place, it might be hard to agree on a set of guidelines that everyone can follow.

So the first question you may have is…

What is a Style Guide?

A style guide is a document that sets the writing standards for everyone in your organization. It covers everything from the tone and voice of the company’s writing style to formatting and hex codes for the company’s chosen brand colors.

Please note: There is a difference between a content style guide and a design style guide. A content style guide refers specifically to anything written to promote the company. A design style guide refers to logos, brand color pallets, typography, icon sets, etc.

There are places that content and design style guides intersect, like pallet colors, formatting and whether your company uses a ™or ® in its logo or next to the company’s name in all marketing collateral.

Because I am a copywriter, I am talking about a content style guide in this article.

What Does a Style Guide Do?

A style guide acts as a reference point. New writers should review it and everyone should have a copy or a link handy. That way if they can’t remember whether the company uses the Oxford comma, they have somewhere to look.

A style guide also:

Keeps your company’s tone, voice and messaging consistent across all platforms.
Helps maintain your company’s brand identity.
Shows quality and professionalism.
Helps you write more effective content.

Why Do You Need a Style Guide?

Aside from the reasons above…

It puts your audience first

Let’s face it, everything you do in your marketing should be about communicating effectively with your audience. That includes your style guide. You should be shaping your style guide around what your audience wants from you and your products, as well as the problems you’re solving for them.

Your style guide will document the language and tone you use, your overall messaging and how and where you communicate with your audience.

It establishes your company’s voice

Every writer has their own “voice” and that will come across in your marketing. But having a style guide will give all of your writers a common voice to write in. Think of a choir. Every singer has his or her own unique sound, but when they sing together and listen to each other, you hear one overarching “voice” that carries through the whole piece.

Your audience will get used to hearing your company’s “voice” so you want to establish that early on. It will breed familiarity with your audience and consistency within your marketing.

It makes it easier on you and your employees

If everyone is held to the same standards, there will be less conflict over which way something should be written or whose concept of the “company voice” is right. It’s easy to update if company standards change.

It also acts as the “source of truth” whenever anyone has a question about how something should be written, or asks “why do we do it that way?” A good style guide can settle a lot of arguments.

Your writers will thank you. Your editors will thank you. Your entire marketing department will thank you. And most importantly, your audience will appreciate it, even though they don’t know it exists.

What Goes into a Style Guide?

Some of that will depend on your needs. I’ve seen style guides that are one page long and give basic guidelines. I’ve seen others, like MailChimp’s style guide, which is a mini-website. (Check it out, it’s really well done.)

Every style guide should contain:

Your chosen style manual

Most major media outlets use either the Chicago Manual of Style or the AP Stylebook. (There are arguments on which is better, I won’t go into any of that here.) Many companies adopt one of these style manuals as the basis for their own style guides. It gives them something to start with in terms of grammar and spelling. You can get an online subscription to both of these.

Your chosen dictionary

Why should you choose a dictionary? Because people have preferences. If you prefer the Merriam-Webster but one of your writers prefers the Oxford English Dictionary, you may have inconsistencies in your spelling. So choose one and make that the permanent reference point.

Voice and tone

I always ask my clients about their company voice. It helps me get a better feel for how they want to be represented. Here are some of the questions I typically ask:

Is your company:

Formal
Informal
Laid back,
Down-to-earth
Funny and cute
Matter-of-fact
Practical
Business like

Do you have a particular person you want to sound like? (Your CEO, a celebrity, a politician?)

Do you want me to write in:

The first person (I, me, I’m)?
The second person (you, yours)?
The third person (the company is, the company does)?

Would you prefer I write in an active or a passive voice? (Personally, I find this matters a lot in how your audience perceives you. I always prefer active, but I’ve written for companies that use the passive.)

Does your company use a lot of jargon? If so, does your audience understand that jargon or will I need to clarify it?

Thinking about these things can unify your writers into one company voice pretty easily.

Company branding

This section will deal with things specific to your company like:

How do you spell your company’s name? A lot of companies are combining two words into one these days, so this matters more than you’d think. MailChimp, FindLaw and SunEdison are all good examples.

Product names and how to spell them: Similar to company names, a lot of products have two words combined into one. Some companies use unique or clever spellings of common words for their product names.

Trademarks, Registered marks and Copyright marks: If your company or product names have been registered, you’ll want to use the ®. If they’ve been trademarked, you’ll want to use the ™ and so on. Also, some companies require that you use these symbols with every single use of the company or product name. Some only use it once per page. Establish that in your style guide so no one is confused.

Commonly troublesome words

This is where you decide whether you want to use Ebook, eBook, ebook or e-book. Do you capitalize Internet or not? (Editor’s note: Since I published this post, the AP Stylebook has changed its practice of capitalizing Internet from upper case to lower case.) Is it ecommerce or e-commerce? Go through all of the terms you use regularly and settle on one spelling.

This is also where you establish your company’s jargon. Some industries have more than one term for the same item or issue. Choose one and stick with it. Everyone will be happier.

Grammar and punctuation

To Oxford comma or not to Oxford comma? That is the question. If you choose a media style guide, this may be answered for you. If you don’t, you’ll need to answer this question.

What do you capitalize? Product names? Employee titles? Do Your Headlines Use Capitals At The Start Of Each Word? Or do You Only Capitalize the Standard Words?

Do you use abbreviations? If so, what abbreviations do you use? Do you write out the name or phrase that you’re abbreviating once somewhere on the page, then put the abbreviation in parenthesis next to it, like this: Search engine optimization (SEO)? After that, do you only use the abbreviation? Your writers will want to know.

Audience personas

Your marketing department (or your copywriter) should create fully-fledged audience personas for their own purposes. You should have the basics listed in your style guide for everyone to refer to so they have someone in mind when they write.

These can include:

Your target audience or archetype.
Persona name.
Where they see your message (social media, print media, radio, TV, etc.).
Their problems and pain points.
The types of solutions they may be looking for.
How your products solve their problems.

Formatting

This is where your content and design style guides will overlap. In many cases, your writers need to know some of your design standards. Such as:

Hex codes for approved colors, especially if your writers will create buttons for blog posts or landing pages.
Approved fonts.
Do images get captions?
Image placement.
Image width and height.
Can text wrap around images?
When and where should writers use bold, italics or underlining?
Do you use specific bullet shapes? If not, does it matter what the writers use?
Formatting for numbered lists.
Formatting for attributions and references.

Approved and unapproved content

Your writers will need to research. Where can they go? What types of sites can they use? For example, one content company I worked for insisted that we couldn’t use information from other content companies. They preferred we used professional and scientific studies whenever possible. They encouraged us to use sites with endings like .edu and .gov.

Some other examples of approved content sites might be:

Industry guides,
Market research sources,
Competitors

Sites you may want them to stay away from can include:

“Clickbait” sites
Taboo competitors
Unreliable sources within your industry
Controversial authors, opinions or sources

Examples of right and wrong

If there is any confusion about how to write something in any section, show a specific example.

For instance:

Our company name is FindLaw.

Please do not use Find Law, find law, Findlaw or any other variation.

How Do You Write a Style Guide?

Get input from your regular writers. (Or from the freelance copywriter you hired.) They’ll have established patterns and opinions on how things should be done. And people are more likely to follow your standards if they have a say in how they’re created.

Keep it simple. I know I listed a lot of information you should use here, but once you answer a lot of these questions, you’ll be able to distill it all down fairly easily. 4 pages is a good length.

Adjust your style guide as your company grows. This is a living document. Update it whenever changes are made so you’re always referring to the “source of truth.”

To make it easy for you, I’ve created a basic Company Style Guide template for you to follow. Just fill in the sections and you’ll be good to go.

Download the Company Style Guide Template Now

Does Your Company Have a Style Guide?

How do you use it? If not, why? Tell me about it in the comments.

6 in 6 Freelance Copywriter Progress Report – 2 Months

May 13, 2016 by Tanya Brody Leave a Comment

2 months in and I’m still reservedly thinking this freelance copywriter thing can work. This month hasn’t been as wonderful as I would have liked, but things are still heading in the right direction.

This has been a bad news – good news month. So I may as well start with the bad news.

Projects haven’t been going as smoothly as I would have hoped. I wanted to have my first two projects done by now. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. Some of that is on me. Life can get in the way of doing what we want. Some of it is just the reality of timing and clients getting back to me with responses.

I am always respectful of the fact that I am only one factor in my clients’ businesses. And until I’m the thing on their desk that is “on fire” I will be pushed to the back of the line. So when I have to, I ignite the flame. Believe it or not, everyone wins that way. I get the responses I need and they get their marketing done without having to do it all themselves.

The difficult part of not completing these projects is not getting paid. Fortunately, I had some money set aside to cover myself during this time. Unfortunately, I’m steadily burning through that money. Having been a freelancer in the past, I am well aware of this ebb and flow. As another freelancer friend of mine said, “Sometimes you eat chicken and sometimes you eat feathers.”

Now onto the good news.

There is definitely work on the horizon. I signed one new contract this month and have completed the first draft. This particular client could become a regular, which makes me happy because I really like his niche and how he works. It’s fun to be the “voice” for people who have interesting ideas.

There are several other contracts either promised as soon as “things come through” or in the works. I also have potential clients contacting me about projects they’ll need further out, or on a “Hey, can you fit this in?” basis. This bodes well for the future, but I’ll be happier when everything is in writing. It’s just the way I am.

As I mentioned in my last 6 in 6 report, I won a free subscription to Bryan Harris’s Get 10,000 Subscribers course. So I’ve been building my own email list. My main focus for this new list is potential clients. It’s a monthly round up of blog posts, updates and copywriting tips. I figure it never hurts to stay on people’s radar.

If you’re interested in hiring me as your freelance copywriter, or if you want to keep me top of mind to recommend me on to others, please feel free to join the list here.

Of course, I always encourage people to join the weekly blog post notification list too.

And finally, a bit of “even better” news.

When I was laid off in January, I applied for unemployment benefits. (As one does.) Up until now I think I’ve collected all of $300 on a particularly slow week. Because I’ve been working for myself, the state says I’m making money and don’t qualify to collect my unemployment.

Here in Minnesota, the state unemployment insurance program has something called the CLIMB program. CLIMB stands for Converting Layoffs Into Minnesota Businesses. Basically, it allows people who are starting their own businesses to collect unemployment while working on their own companies.

As of this past Tuesday, I am officially enrolled in the program. This means I’ll get my full unemployment benefits every week, without being penalized for working on my own business. Quite the opposite. I’m required to work at least 32 hours a week on my own business. No problem!

I’ll still have to report my work activities every week, but that’s not a big deal. Having this extra income ensures I can pay my bills during the lean times and build my reserves back up when things are going well.

I’m going to write a post about this program next week, just because I think it’s so cool. Other states have similar programs, so if you’re in a similar situation maybe you can take advantage of it too.

Overall, I feel like I’m still on track to make my goal of making $6,000 a month in 6 months as a freelance copywriter. Not declaring official success yet, but I still have 4 months to go.

Questions? Comments? Encouragement? Please leave them below.