VOLUME 16, ISSUE 4 – APRIL 2017
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: A BASKET OF BUSINESS-BUILDING BASICS!
Yours Truly Shares Some “Worth-Repeating” Reminders For Any Serious Copywriter
II. “FIELD” GREENS: WANT A RAISE? CHANGE YOUR PRICING MODEL!
GA FLCW Explains Why Project Pricing Beats Hourly Pricing—Hands Down.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: WHAT’S IN A NAME? PROFIT! (Part 2 of 2)
Canadian FLCW Shows Savvy Wordsmiths How to Tap The Lucrative Naming Niche
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
DE FLCW Taps Power of Cold-Calling “Chutzpah,” Stays Focused, Lands Deal!
TIP: NY FLCW Shares Site-Building Tool Both User-Friendly AND Feature-Rich!
I. APPETIZER: A BASKET OF BUSINESS-BUILDING BASICS!
Yours Truly Shares Some “Worth-Repeating” Reminders For Any Serious Copywriter
I’m coaching a medium-experienced commercial writer currently as he rebuilds his copywriting practice (check out his cool success story in the Dessert course), and I’ve just been observing some of the typical truths and lessons about the business-building journey that can apply to most everyone.
1) Go for Numbers: If you’re cold prospecting, whether calling or emailing, 200-300 calls (or certainly that few emails) won’t be enough to launch your business. Remember, any business that can pay $70-$150+ an hour is going to take some pretty serious ramp-up time; don’t imagine a few hundred calls will have $5K jobs dropping in your lap.
P.S. That upper-end figure noted above ($150+) is absolutely fact, and can go much higher, when you write fast and are working on flat fees (as you should be; see the next course for yet another reminder!).
2) One Good Lead Is Still ONE Lead: Don’t angst over—or celebrate—any one given contact, no matter how promising it sounds (i.e., “There could be a LOT of work!”). If you’re investing too much emotional energy wondering/wishing/hoping about one contact, it means only one thing: You’re Not Making Enough Contacts.
3) Keep In Touch: If a prospect sounds promising, but has no work now, make sure to keep in touch through a call/email/postcard every month or so. It’s the follow-up that’ll make ALL the difference in our business. Speaking of post cards and follow-up…
4) Follow-Up Multiplies Results: If you’re sending out a simple postcard mailing to 200-300 folks because you hate cold prospecting and figure this is just as good, it’s not. Go ahead and do it, but you’d better follow up with a call/email to everyone you mailed. You’ll absolutely multiple your results. And FYI, in the direct mail world…
5) Frequency Trumps Creative: FAR smarter to send out the same simple postcard 4 times a year than work overtime to create your ONE annual wiz-bang package with all sorts of inserts, flyers, and letters.
6) Everything Takes Longer Than Expected: This corollary to Murphy’s Law is in full force when building your business. If one promising client is suddenly mired in delays; or another didn’t follow up when he said he would; or a third has to get one more approval, welcome to Business As Usual. See #2 above. Related to the above…
7) It’s (Probably) Not About You: Too often, when one hits those delays noted above, you imagine you said the wrong thing or didn’t say the right thing or some other transgression. Actually, in most cases, assuming you’re a good writer with good samples, and the prospect has expressed strong interest in moving forward on a specific set of work, any holdups likely have little to do with you.
On that “the-good-stuff-is-worth-repeating” note, let’s eat!
THE WELL-FED E-PUB TURNS 15 THIS MONTH!
This is Issue #180, so do the math: 12 x 15 = 180! A BIG and sincere thank-you to all the contributors who, since May 2002, have generously shared their strategies, successes, and stories to guide and support all our respective commercial-freelancing journeys. Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: WANT A RAISE? CHANGE YOUR PRICING MODEL!
GA FLCW Explains Why Project Pricing Beats Hourly Pricing—Hands Down.
Atlanta-area FLCW Don Sadler hung out his shingle as a full-time freelance writer in 2009 after working for several custom publishing companies over the previous 24 years.
He’s a tireless advocate of project pricing—the subject of the great piece that follows—as the fastest and easiest way to boost your commercial freelancing income. Visit www.donsadlerwriter.com.
I’ve been writing a very technical, industry-specific niche newsletter for more than a decade. Because I know the industry and the subject matter so well, I can usually research and write the newsletter in 8 hours or less. My fee: $1,500 per issue.
If I were pricing this by the hour, what do you think the client would say if I quoted nearly $200 an hour? They’d laugh in my face!
But the client doesn’t really care how many hours it takes me to do the job. All they care about is that the newsletter copy is well written, accurate and delivered on time. The value the client places on this is $1,500 per issue.
In my experience, “project pricing” results in much higher income potential than “hourly pricing.” But most freelancers use the hourly pricing model—leaving lots and lots of money on the table.
Time vs. Project Value
Sure, hourly pricing ensures you’ll earn whatever you’ve determined your time is worth. Whether $25, $50 or $100 per hour, that’s what you’ll earn when you charge by the hour—no less, but also no more.
But determining the value of your time is the wrong way to go about pricing freelance work. Instead, determine the value of the project to your client.
So how much money might I leave on the table if I priced the $1500 job above by the hour? Let’s say I was able to negotiate a rate of $100 per hour—at the higher end for freelance work. I’d earn $800 per issue, and leave $700 on the table. And that’s a best-case scenario.
A Perverse Incentive
The other downside of hourly pricing? It penalizes you for working fast. No, you probably wouldn’t consciously slow your work pace to make more money, but, bottom line, the faster you work, the less money you make. How much sense does that make?
“But what if a client insists on knowing my hourly rate?” While rare, this does happen occasionally—especially when working with agencies. I simply explain that I only price work by the project in order to assure price certainty for the client and myself.
Usually, the client agrees with me and is happy to receive a project price. When agencies have told me they can only pay an hourly rate, I’ve politely declined the work. That’s how strongly I feel about project pricing.
Yes, project pricing requires experience, know-how and some gut instinct. But do it right, and you WILL boost your freelance income —and possibly significantly.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: WHAT’S IN A NAME? PROFIT! (Part 2 of 2)
Canadian FLCW Shows Savvy Wordsmiths How to Tap The Lucrative Naming Niche
Part Two of a great two-parter on the ins and outs of freelance naming gigs from Niagara Falls, Ontario FLCW LouAnne Reddon. Personally, if I could focus exclusively on crafting names, taglines, slogans, headlines and book titles, I’d be a happy boy. The process of “nuggetizing” a series of ideas, qualities or attributes into one pithy, compact final result is a kick.
In Part One HERE, LouAnne spelled out why the naming specialty is a good opportunity for FLCWs who have a way with “short copy.” In Part Two below, she explains how to do the work you’ve landed. Enjoy!
Last episode, we left our freelancing superhero (that’s you) with a clearer understanding of how important and valuable the name game is to your potential prospects and how it might be a very lucrative activity for you to add to your service offerings.
Now let’s look at the actual work involved. You’ve just been hired to name your client’s new product.
Step 1: Discovery Phase
Learn everything you can about the product. Who’s going to buy it? Use it? Ask for an actual sample or prototype. Visit the plant where it’s made. Actually use the item. If it’s edible, eat it and find out how it tastes. How and where will it be promoted or advertised? How much is it going to cost?
Are there other products like it on the market? If so, what’s special about this one? Will it be unique or just one of an entire line? If so, will you eventually have to create a whole family of names or a theme that works for all the products within the category?
(BONUS question and potential value-add to boost your rate! Are you fluent in a second language? Why not ask if the client would like you to propose names that work in that language too? If you can save him the time and expense of going through this naming process again—or worse, having to develop double lines of packaging, in, say, Spanish or French, he’ll gladly pay you a premium.)
Of course, you’ll be culturally sensitive and savvy enough to ensure your names convey the intended meaning in each language, n’est-ce pas?
If this is a new client, you’ll have to do some other research, such as finding out about the company’s target market’s demographics and competitive analysis—all the things you would normally ask a new client before starting any commercial writing project.
(NOTE: This is the first point at which many agencies conduct focus groups and/or market research. Many marketing professionals feel focus groups are of little value because people tend to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than what they really think—and this has been my experience, too.)
Agencies will typically have more focus groups later, when they present participants with the proposed names. In your cost proposal, be sure your client understands you’re saving him time and money by not conducting focus groups of questionable value.
Phase Two: Mindmapping
Mindmapping, brainstorming, free-word association, noodling, doodling—whatever method or word works for you, this is the process of getting your preliminary ideas down on paper (OR on screen, though neuroscience research shows that the physical act of putting pen to paper is more effective).
I just very quickly scribble down as many words related to the product that immediately come to mind. They don’t always make sense but that’s okay. Tangents may eventually converge in unexpected ways.
Phase Three: Incubation
Go do something else entirely for an hour, a day, a week. Seriously. Let those ideas froth, foam and foment in your subconscious. Sometimes inspiration strikes like lightning. Usually, it takes time. This step is not as silly as it might seem. Just do it. You’ll see.
Phase Four: Wordsmithing
At this stage, I usually have a few well-developed ideas in my head but I like to finesse them on paper. Sometimes, the words of a slogan need to be rearranged or edited for conciseness or clarity.
When naming products, it becomes easier to rule out some of the options after you’ve had them rattling around in your head for a while. Speak them aloud. Imagine people referring to the product by the name you’ve created. Will they know at a glance how to pronounce it? Is it memorable? Does it describe the actual product? Does it reflect your client’s branding?
Phase Five: Charging
Product naming is one of the easiest services to “productize.” You can offer clients, say, three different packages and customize them in various ways—most commonly, by the number of names you develop.
Some freelancers’ packages include as many as ten to twenty possible names. I find it’s better to narrow the choices down to no more than five that are SO good, it’s hard for the client to pick just one, yet alternatives remain for split testing (or focus groups).
Personally, I never suggest names unless I’ve conducted preliminary trademark searches to ensure their availability but this is something most freelancers prefer to leave up to the client.
(PB Note: I will generally do a Google search and a URL search for name options. On the latter, it’s not a deal-killer if the exact URL isn’t available, but it’s great to know if it is!)
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
DE FLCW Taps Power of Cold-Calling “Chutzpah,” Stays Focused, Lands Deal!
TIP:NY FLCW Shares Site-Building Tool Both User-Friendly AND Feature-Rich!
Inspirational story from Delaware freelance financial writer, David Rodeck—one of my commercial-writing coaching clients—about getting right back on the (cold-calling) horse after it throws you!
After that, a helpful piece on a solid website-building tool for the less tech-savvy amongst us, from Brooklyn, NY FLCW Chris Quirk.
I’ve been working with Peter for about a month and have made amazing progress with my cold calls. When you mix in a little humor and take some small risks, people are so much more responsive.
I remember one call where I turned a disaster into a really positive experience. It was at the beginning of a session on a cold, snowy day. I’ll admit it, I wasn’t totally awake yet.
When the first person answered, my voice was too much of a monotone, and I kept interrupting her. She said, “Oh, I’m talking to a robot,” and slammed down the phone.
In the past after a call like that, I would’ve gone right back to bed. But I had just re-read Peter’s book and the section on chutzpah, the importance of being bold in sales. I figured I had nothing to lose, so why not try something a little crazy?
I took a deep breath and called the woman back. I apologized and said, “It’s a good thing I’m a professional writer and not a professional cold caller!” She had a big laugh and we had a nice conversation afterwards.
Her company didn’t need a writer but I left that call feeling fired up and ready to hit the phone. A few calls later, I landed a $4,000 project. Sure glad I didn’t go back to bed.
I don’t think cold calls will ever be fun but by taking some chances, throwing in a little levity and showing chutzpah, they can be so much more pleasant. Good luck!
For freelancer writers, your website will often be where you make your first impression. Like it or not, visitors will begin to evaluate your professionalism and capabilities the moment your homepage loads.
Unfortunately, there is no website building product I’ve come across that is easy and seamless to use, while yielding first-rate results. But unless you can afford to hire a web designer, you’re going to have to use one of them.
I recently entered a second niche (white papers and case studies), and decided to create a separate website for it given the totally different client base from my first niche. I used WordPress.org for my first site. It’s a great tool, but unless you’re tech-savvy, you can find yourself in the weeds pretty quickly.
For the new site, I went with Squarespace; its templates are clean and elegant, and the process is largely drag-and-drop. It hosts your site as part of the monthly fee, and you can also register a domain name there if you haven’t yet done so. The prices are competitive, and good stock photos are available for easy licensing to your site.
No, it’s not all unicorns and rainbows, but the folks at the help desk, reachable through a chat box within the window, are excellent, and they can even quickly make a brief custom video (using your own site) showing you how to resolve a problem.
Definitely do the free trial to play around with a design and see if Squarespace works for you, but I found the combination of price, ease of use and professional appearance to be just the right balance among available options.