VOLUME 17, ISSUE 4 – APRIL 2018
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: GOOD WRITERS MAKE TIME FOR THIS…
Want to Be a Good Wordsmith? Make Time for More than Just Business Books!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: LEADS FROM NEWSPAPERS? FAR FROM “OLD NEWS”!
VA FLCW Shares Her Strategy for Landing Work from the Daily Paper!
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE “ATM” RULE?
GA Ex-FLCW/Business Coach Reminds: Discuss THI$ with EVERY New Client!
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
TIP: Danish FLCW Stands Out with Clients by Doing What “Nobody Does” Anymore!
I. APPETIZER: GOOD WRITERS MAKE TIME FOR THIS…
Want to Be a Good Wordsmith? Make Time for More than Just Business Books!
Just finished up a lovely novel, The Memory-Keeper’s Daughter (Kim Edwards; 2005). Though not without its flaws and overly flowery language, it still has oodles of beautifully written passages. And I know, beyond a doubt, that being exposed to well-crafted prose makes me a better writer.
FACT: To be a good writer, you need to be a good reader.
Certainly not an original epiphany, but one worth repeating. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m always a bit mystified when I speak to writers who say they don’t have time for pleasure reading. As if it’s some frivolous luxury, as opposed to an exceptionally enjoyable way to hone one’s craft.
Think about it from a structural standpoint:
Good writers simply have more immediate access to more vocabulary, more syntactical constructions, more effective phrases, more semantic devices, etc. And I say that immersing oneself in good fiction and creative nonfiction will unconsciously stock those linguistic larders.
When I write, I feel like I can quickly find just the right words and phrases to do the job needed at the moment. It’s as if all these words (and far more than would be available to someone who isn’t as proficient a writer) are all displayed in front of me, and I can quickly see and choose the one that’ll fit best.
I say that’s because I read as much as I do. I always carry a book with me. Yes, some business books, but far more from the genres of fiction and creative nonfiction.
The good practitioners of those two genres know how to weave words to deliver a certain effect and mood, draw you in, keep suspense building, sneak up on you, move you, touch you, jar you, bring a tear to your eye, etc.
Again, you may not even realize it consciously, but the next time you have to write compelling or engaging copy (and not just lead-generation stuff), what you’ve read and internalized is now within reach—yet another set of tools laid out before you, that you can draw on and put to work. To move, touch, persuade, and draw in a reader.
Yes, I’m giving you permission (in case you need it) to read for pleasure, exhilaration and escapism. Remember, it’s nothing less than “Continuing Ed.” On that happy, best-of-all-worlds note, let’s eat!
P.S. Notice the common theme running through ALL this month’s courses: No completely original ideas, but exceptionally valuable ones worth repeating!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: LEADS FROM NEWSPAPERS? FAR FROM “OLD NEWS”!
VA FLCW Shares Her Strategy for Landing Work from the Daily Paper!
Mining local newspapers for leads isn’t a brand-new strategy, but as this great piece from Richmond, VA FLCW Karen Wormald shows, a viable one. Love her take on it! Karen, who launched Kew Publications in 2002, has carved her niche as a content makeover specialist.
I mine for leads in my local newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Hiring announcements and feature stories about businesses help me find those I’d like to work with.
The “intel” I gather includes contact info, number of employees and growth, which indicates whether they might have the budget—and need— to hire an FLCW.
I hit the jackpot recently from a story about a one-woman bookkeeping service. She wasn’t a likely prospect, but one of her client testimonials was an SEO marketing expert I’ll call Dave. I checked Dave’s website and found he’d written several ebooks that needed polish, so I did a two-column “before and after” rewrite on one page.
Following Ed Gandia’s (up next!) “warm email” approach, I wrote to Dave, opening with how I found him quoted in the paper, and asked if he might be interested in seeing how I could make his ebooks sizzle.
He was, and so I sent over my side-by-side makeover. Crickets. For over a week. Had my rewrite offended him? Swallowing my fear, I phoned him. He’d just been out of town and was glad I called. He loved my work and wanted to meet.
Today, I’m Dave’s go-to copywriter on his freelance team. And, he promotes my services to his clients. So, in addition to editing his ebooks, I work on projects from his clients. They love that he can improve their content in addition to SEO. Everybody wins.
Even better, Dave’s a tireless networker and refers prospects to me that aren’t good fits for him. I get new projects and he builds his reputation as the man with all the answers.
When things get slow, I dip into my newspaper clippings and research companies to see if their websites need work, their blogs and newsletters are languishing, or even if they just need a proofreader.
When I make contact, I always open with how I read about them in the paper. Even if the story’s now old, it implies they’re memorable— always flattering.
This highly targeted approach results in new clients more often than not. Some say print is dead, but the newspaper has always been my best source of good leads.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE “ATM” RULE?
GA Ex-FLCW/Business Coach Reminds: Discuss THI$ with EVERY New Client!
Got this great piece from Atlanta-based former FLCW and business-building coach Ed Gandia (look for regular pieces from Ed this year).
Why is it so difficult (especially for newbies) to talk about money with clients? A lot of it is fear—of actually having to talk about money; of having one’s quote deemed too high; of sullying the purity of the writing craft with the whole “filthy lucre” thing, etc.
But, Ed’s message underscores a fundamental reality: This is a business, so treat it as such. AND, clients expect to discuss money.
There’s something you must do in your first conversation with every prospect.
You need to talk money.
You don’t necessarily need to quote a firm price or get into every detail of your pricing structure. But you need to bring up money during the conversation.
Otherwise, you have no idea what kind of budget he or she is working with, or how they’re thinking about the project OR the value of your work.
Here’s how I do it. Once the prospect and I have discussed the project goals and scope, I’ll have a pretty good idea of how savvy they are. I’ll then approach the issue in one of two ways:
a) If the prospect is savvy (i.e., a corporate marketer), I’ll ask, “What budget are you working with?”
b) If the prospect isn’t very savvy, I’ll give a ballpark figure, assuming I haven’t already done so.
In the first scenario, there’s always a good chance the prospect will reverse the question: “Well, I’m not really sure. What do you typically charge for something like this?”
If that happens, quote a ballpark figure. Here’s what I say:
“Katie, my fee to write a five-to-10-page white paper like the one we’re discussing is between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on the actual length we decide on, the number of interviews required and the amount of research necessary. Once I know a little more about your project, I would send you a quote with a fixed project fee.
“My fee includes all background reading and research, any interviews with subject matter experts, content and copy strategy development, title development, creating a detailed outline for your approval, the actual writing of the paper, any meetings or calls related to the project, and up to two rounds of requested revisions. Is this fee range within your budget?”
Notice I’m asking the money question again.
Why? Because I’ve just given the prospect what he or she wants—an idea of how much I charge. And once I do that, it’s easier to ask for something in return.
Their response gives me a good idea of what kind of prospect I’m dealing with. And I can proceed accordingly.
Plus, if we’re too far apart, I want to know that now—not after I’ve spent hours talking with the prospect and putting together a quote or proposal (or heaven forbid, actually driving across town to meet them!).
This “always talk money” (or “ATM” for short) rule will save you a lot of time. And it will put more money in your pocket by helping you focus on prospects that are a better fit.
ATM: A fitting acronym for a very important step in the client-intake process.
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
Chicago FLCW Finds $1000’s in Work in the Most Obvious of Places!
TIP: Danish FLCW Stands Out with Clients by Doing What “Nobody Does” Anymore!
Got this great “hiding-in-plain-sight” success story/tip from Chicago FLCW Matt Brennan. Sometimes the most obvious outreach strategies elude us (I know I’ve certainly forgotten this one from time to time), so it’s always good to be reminded, especially when this one’s an easy—and “warm”—one. Thanks, Matt!
After that, a great tip from Denmark FLCW Anne Nielsen. No, the holidays aren’t right around the corner, but Anne’s idea got me thinking about the endless possibilities.
I noticed that my freelance writing business stagnated late last year, and I was looking for a way to rejuvenate it. I set a significantly higher monthly goal for the month of September and listed on a blank piece of paper all the tactics I could use to hit that increased goal. The one that worked the best is not the one I expected.
Every Monday for the month of September I reached out to previous clients. I always figured that when things were quiet they didn’t need anything. I was wrong. They got busy. They got distracted. They needed help but didn’t have a chance to reach out.
I’ve landed several thousand dollars worth of work since I started doing this on a regular basis. It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of the latest and greatest ways to attract new clients. Don’t forget about the ones you’ve already succeeded with.
PB: In many ways, succeeding as a FLCW is a simple proposition (not easy, but simple): After getting your samples/portfolio/web site in order, you reach out, in a variety of ways (phone, email, direct mail, networking), to large numbers of the right kinds of people who can hire you, and who would find your particular skills of value and worth paying for.
And you KEEP reaching out to the ones who’ve let you know that they have occasional or ongoing needs for your services, until you have enough work. AND you repeat that process as needed, just as Matt did. And Matt nicely proved the old adage: It’s always FAR easier to land work from an existing client than to find a new one.
I was inspired by your January E-PUB Appetizer. While not as elaborate or as lovely as the idea you described, it’s still good for business.
I send out personal, hand-written, hand-addressed and postage-stamped Christmas cards to every client with whom I’ve worked during the year. I wish them a happy holiday and thank them for our collaboration during the year.
Sounds like a no-brainer, but Denmark (and, I suspect, the U.S. as well) is digitalized to the extent that even close friends don’t send physical Christmas cards anymore—just e-cards. You know, the kind that are viewed once, at which point they either disappear under an avalanche of other mails or are deleted into oblivion.
My greetings at least stand a chance of being displayed on the receiver’s desk for a whole month, reminding them of the sender. When I told an acquaintance about this, she said: “You mean an actual CARD? Nobody sends those anymore.”
My point exactly.
I can’t prove that a physical Christmas card has generated work for me. But I did get a lot of (emailed) thank-you notes. And on December 21st, I got an assignment from one of the card recipients.
In any case, I’m sure the cards have given pleasure. Who doesn’t love to get a handwritten letter in the mailbox these days?
PB: So simple, but SO worth doing. Plan on doing it next holiday season. In fact, why not put it in/on your calendar right now for roughly 12/1/18? “Send holiday cards to all 2018 clients.”
But, why stop there? No reason you couldn’t send such cards other times of the year, just to say, “Thanks for your business and your continued confidence in me.” Because personal notes ARE uncommon, they WILL stand out.