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OK folks, I’m closing in on finishing the updated edition of TWFW – due out mid-2009. Just to refresh your memory, I’ve combined and updated the content of both how-to guides on lucrative commercial freelancing, The Well-Fed Writer and its companion, TWFW: Back For Seconds, while retiring the latter. Two 300-page books into ONE 300-page book. Can you say “Editing Job of Biblical Proportions”? Though, I will be offloading some of both the original books onto the web site and a beefed-up Well-Fed Tool Box companion ebook. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’m putting together THE key appendix: Well-Fed Writing Resources, the equivalent of Appendix A in Back For Seconds. I’d love to get your input as to YOUR favorite books, web sites, blogs, conferences, local commercial writers organizations in your area, or any other commercial writing resource you’ve found indispensable (or even just plain useful) as you’ve grown your commercial freelancing business.
Whattaya say? What are your faves?
Put another way, what resources should no self-respecting commercial freelancer be without?
By Joseph Ratliff
There’s no doubt, it’s been a tough year for most businesses.
The economy sucks, and many business owners are feeling the pain at the register.
That’s precisely why it’s been a good year for me, because I know that businesses need my copywriting services now more than ever. Now, I’m a direct response marketing copywriter, so my writing has much to do with the success or failure of marketing campaigns.
With my role being so critical in a business’ success, I market my services to that point exactly.
But this post isn’t about me. It’s about you, and the opportunities you must recognize in this “state of the economy.” Here’s the key:
When I started to notice that the “reason why” clients were hiring me started to change, I simply needed to change my “reason why” to match that of my potential clients.
It’s called message-to-market matching, and it’s a skill you must master for the long, tough economy ahead or suffer the consequences.
So, how do you match how you’re marketing your copywriting services to your potential market?
You ask them. It really is that simple.
Simply interview the type of client you want to serve. Ask them about their business, talk to them as “business owner to business owner” and they’ll start to reveal to you the very problems that you need to be solving with your marketing so you can skyrocket your freelance copywriting business.
It really boils down to starting a conversation, and just talking naturally to your potential client. Don’t sell anything, don’t “try to do” anything. Just talk to them about their favorite person: them.
That’s the secret, the very simple secret, that has my 2008 ending very well. I want yours to as well…so…
Do you use any methods that are working/not working to gain clients? Why/why not?
Have you followed this strategy and asked your clients to tell you about their businesses? If so, what came out of it?
Are there any obstacles that if you overcame them, you feel your business would skyrocket? (Think in terms of how you interact with people, what types of objections you’re facing etc.)
Joseph Ratliff is a Lacey, WA-based internet business growth specialist, direct response copywriter, and editor of The Profitable Business Edge 2 blog. He has been writing copy for over 7 years, and coaching online (and offline) business owners for the last 3 years to increase profits with their marketing. He uses a special marketing methodology when he works with each of his clients that is guaranteed not to fail, or Joe keeps working with you until it does, for no additional fees. For all the details (and to check out his blog), visit http://josephratliff.name and click on “Coaching Services.”
Put another way, is your business “a series of jobs” or a “profession”? (And yes, I know how most of the commercial freelancing pros who weigh in here would answer, and I’m counting on that…).
Success as a commercial writer begins in the mind.
I know, typical positive-thinking mumbo-jumbo, right? And not even terribly profound. But hang with me here.
I was thinking about how I started in this business of lucrative commercial copywriting 15 years ago, and realized that how I viewed this business and how I entered the profession has made all the difference. A dear writer friend of mine who does mostly magazine work likes to say, not unkindly, that I’m a businessperson first and a writer second. She’s not implying I’m not a good writer (perish the thought…), just that if I were a “pure” writing animal, I’d probably be writing feature stories or novels. Or would at least have started out that way. Fair enough.
When I discovered this field back in the early 90s after stumbling on Bob Bly’s, Secrets of a Freelance Writer, it was an epiphany. You mean companies actually hire freelance writers to execute many writing projects and pay them far more than typical “freelance writer” rates? Who knew? I’d wanted to be a writer, but wasn’t willing to starve at it. Proof, perhaps of my friend’s gentle charge of “businessperson/writer” not the other way around. Anyone who was a pure writer would relish starving – at least for a few years anyway.
But, not me. I looked at it dispassionately. I enjoyed writing, knew I was good at it, but I didn’t live and breathe it (remember: NO writing background, experience, or paid jobs before I started out). Nonetheless, I had long been on the lookout – perhaps unconsciously – for a way to turn that aptitude into a career. Once I read Bly’s book, I was hooked. This was how I was going to do it.
I know many of you have heard this story before, but the point here is this: Right out of the gate, and with zero starving-writer experience under my belt, I looked at this field as a true pay-all-the-bills career. It wasn’t a hobby. It wasn’t a lark. It wasn’t a supplement to other less-lucrative writing. It was my profession.
As a result, from day one, it wasn’t playtime. It was serious. And I think that’s made all the difference in how it’s turned out. But, that was MY path. There’s not a thing wrong with coming at it any other way, but I say the initial foundational perception of your business may have a lot to do with its outcome.
Many who come to this field were writers first, and came to this field as a way to make more money, crafting a mix of both jobs. I’d never say they’re not as serious as I am, but am curious as to their perceptions of how it unfolded for them.
I’m not 100% sure of the point I’m trying to make here, but my gut tells me it’s a good conversation-starter… 😉
How did you come to this field, as a businessperson/writer or a writer/businessperson?
If the former, what impact did that initial perception have on your ultimate success?
If it was writer first, and you’re successfully established now, was there a point at which it became more serious?
And what advice would you give other “pure writers” about making this a serious career instead of just a series of jobs?