VOLUME 20, ISSUE 2 – FEBRUARY 2021
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: DON’T (ALWAYS) WATCH THE CLOCK!
With New Clients, Getting Up to Speed on YOUR Dime Builds Client Loyalty
II. “FIELD” GREENS: “COMPANY-SPEAK” TO “CUSTOMER-SPEAK”
ATL FLCW’s Ebook Translates Boring “Client-ese” Into Compelling Copy
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: FIVE LUCRATIVE PR WRITING PROJECTS
PR-Writing FLCW & Writing Guru: Here’s Where the Money Is in PR!
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
Client Saves FLCW’s Two-Month-Old Follow-Up EM, Leads to Big Job!
I. APPETIZER: DON’T (ALWAYS) WATCH THE CLOCK!
With New Clients, Getting Up to Speed on YOUR Dime Builds Client Loyalty
I was working on my first project for a new client sometime back. There’s always a bit of a learning curve when you’re diving into new material. As such, that initial copywriting process will take longer than it eventually does for the same project type.
I was keeping that reality in mind, when I had a “Best-Practices” moment about our business: Don’t Watch the Clock with a New Client.
Now, let me clarify… Given how many years I’ve been at this, I earn a pretty healthy hourly rate for the work I take on. If I don’t think I can make that hourly rate, I don’t accept the project (of course, my hourly rate is only for my internal calculations of flat fees, never to share with clients).
However, the caveat to that minimum-hourly-rate threshold is that, for the first several projects, I consider it acceptable to make less than that hourly rate, as I go through the process of educating myself about this new client and their “new-to-me” business.
I know, from 27 years at this, that similar projects for a client will absolutely get easier over time, and easier = less time, which = higher hourlies.
Yes, you always want to be nudging your hourly rate up, and once established with a new client, you should absolutely be making your desired hourly—or, in most cases, higher (and sometimes significantly higher) than that.
Certainly, I respect those who never settle for anything less than their desired rate for any project, whether it’s the first, second or 20th for a particular client. For me, I feel I need to earn my higher rate, and that means not charging my new client for the time I need to spend in getting up to speed on his world.
If, over time, for whatever reason, I’m not earning that target rate, I move on. But, in those early days, I’ll make the investment to acclimate to a new client. That allows me to do excellent work for that client right out of the gate, which reliably leads to repeat business and enduring client loyalty.
I want that excellent work from Day One to look effortless to a client. Course, I know it’s not, but putting in the time to foster that happy illusion, can lock in that client for the long haul. On that “plant-the-seeds” note, let’s eat!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: “COMPANY-SPEAK” TO “CUSTOMER-SPEAK”
ATL FLCW’s Ebook Translates Boring “Client-ese” Into Compelling Copy
Was speaking recently to a new graphic designer with whom I’m working on a project. We were talking about the importance of writing copy that speaks to what’s important to a reader (i.e., benefits) and doing so in a compelling way.
Later that day, she sent me a very cool ebook created by Tom Tortorici, an Atlanta copywriter, with whom she’d collaborated on a number of projects in the past.
In Tom’s words, he’s a marketing copywriter who began putting on his buyer’s hat when working for sellers, and learned some very interesting things. Check out his Optimized for Humans blog for surprising lessons about what works, and what doesn’t, in making genuine connections.
Ever read something and think, “I wish I’d come up with that!” That’s exactly what I thought upon reading this ebook of Tom’s.
Entitled, “Translation Guide from Company-Speak to Customer-Speak,” Tom offers multiple examples of how his clients want to express something, followed by his version, which will actually resonate with those clients’ customers.
Really good stuff, and worth reviewing before starting any project, to remind yourself what’s really important to a reader. Enjoy!
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: FIVE LUCRATIVE PR WRITING PROJECTS
PR-Writing FLCW & Writing Guru: Here’s Where the Money Is in PR!
Big thanks to PA FLCW Jennifer Mattern, PR writer and founder of the acclaimed All Freelance Writing site. Look for regular pieces from Jenn in the E-PUB in the months ahead. In her first piece here, she highlights five financially promising avenues in PR writing. Thanks, Jenn, and look forward to regular doses of your expertise!
The term “PR writing” is often mistaken for press release writing alone. But public relations writing is a broader, and quite lucrative, freelance writing specialty.
How lucrative? A seasoned PR writer can easily charge $100 per hour—or even several times that—depending on their experience level and specialty.
The project types available to PR writers are as diverse as the types of clients where you might find such work: PR firms, marketing firms, SEO firms, corporate clients, small businesses, nonprofits, and even your fellow creatives and solopreneurs.
Not sure what types of PR writing gigs exist? What follows are some familiar ones, and a few perhaps new to you. Rough rate ranges are included, but depending on your experience, track record, and add-on services like release distribution, rates can run much higher than this.
#1: News Releases ($300-1000+)
These are traditional press releases—crafted when you submit your clients’ news to the media, bloggers, and others who might be interested in publishing or broadcasting it.
News releases can pay significantly more than feature releases (next), especially when they revolve around short-notice news. Distribution and building custom media lists can boost your fees here.
#2: Feature Releases / Pitches ($300-$500+)
Feature releases are similar, using a press-release style rather than a pitch letter. The goal of these pieces is to entice the media to write a feature story about your client, not to highlight a particular news angle.
#3: White Papers / Position Papers ($4000+)
Not all white papers are marketing or sales-oriented; they’re used in PR, too. White papers can be teaching tools, position papers related to regulations or other industry issues, or broader thought-leadership pieces designed to persuade.
4: Digital Newsroom / Press Kit Copy ($500 for a short EPK – $10,000+ to build newsroom copy from scratch)
Your clients will sometimes want a set of references and resources for members of the media.
Corporate clients, for example, might launch a digital newsroom where journalists can find answers to common questions. Smaller businesses and artists will sometimes use what’s called a press kit or electronic press kit (EPK) instead.
The copy included in a newsroom or press kit might include backgrounders, fact sheets, bios or profiles, media coverage summaries, images and other downloads requiring summaries and descriptions, along with archived news releases.
#5: PSA Scripts ($100+ per minute)
If you work with nonprofits, government clients or with corporate social-responsibility outreach, you might be asked to write scripts for public service announcements, or PSAs.
PSA scripts revolve not around the client itself, but rather on raising awareness of a cause or issue affecting a particular community or society at large.
PSAs can also attempt to influence actions or change readers’ positions on an issue. For example, a local business negatively impacted by the pandemic might put out a locally-broadcast PSA about the importance of mask-wearing when visiting businesses like theirs.
While these five examples of PR writing can be high-value, high-paying freelance writing gigs, they’re far from the only ones.
Other types of PR writing include media advisories, speechwriting, case studies, certain types of blog posts and social media content, presentations, brochures, public issue statements, research-based reports, newsletters, feature stories, branded content, and even entire branded publications.
And that’s just a start. Once you learn the difference between PR copy and marketing or sales copy, you’ll find nearly any type of copywriting project can turn into a lucrative PR writing gig.
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
Client Saves FLCW’s Two-Month-Old Follow-Up EM, Leads to Big Job!
Got the following combo tip/success story from a FLCW who, given the circumstances, prefers to remain anonymous. I’ve been beating the “Follow-Up!” drum forever, never believing you can ever overstate how crucial it is to keep in touch with past clients. This story is a grand example of the wisdom (in case you had any doubts) of that philosophy. Enjoy!
Landed a nice, and potentially long-term project recently. It was for a marketing agency I’d connected with on LinkedIn in late 2019. Back then, they were in a bind on a short-turnaround project for one of their clients, and needed to create a four-part email series with landing page. They paid well, the project went well, and they were good to work with.
I stayed on top of them with emails for the first half of 2020, but no reply. And it wasn’t until the middle of last November, that I reached out again by email. My note included a refresher of who I was, the project we’d worked on together the prior year, and a few links to recent work I’d done for other clients that was posted on those clients’ sites.
A full two months later, just a few weeks ago, I suddenly get an email from them, as a reply to my “check-in” email of two months earlier, asking if I could take on a possible long-term gig for one of their clients, that involved a monthly retainer. It’s scheduled to start this month (February), and we’ll see how it goes.
When I mentioned that her outreach was a reply to my original check-in email, she replied, “I always save those – always!” Just in case you think you’re wasting your time with all that follow-up. Sure, most won’t pan out, but all it takes is a good one like this to prove its effectiveness.