VOLUME 23, ISSUE 2 – FEBRUARY 2024
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. AIRLINE SAFETY VIDEOS YOU WILL WATCH
Delta Delivers a Lesson in Drawing in an Audience
II. GOT MULTIPLE WRITING-INCOME STREAMS?
Seasoned CT Copywriter: Diversify!
III. WHO’S YOUR LINKEDIN ATTRACTING?
Small-Biz Coach Asks: How Profit-Focused is Your LI Presence?
I. AIRLINE SAFETY VIDEOS YOU WILL WATCH
Delta Delivers a Lesson in Drawing in an Audience
Took a flight on Delta recently, and I was struck—and charmed—by, believe it or not, their pre-flight safety video.
You can picture the meeting where the agency discussed their creative vision for the piece, which would’ve been all about this question:
How do you engage passengers, and get them to watch a video, whose content they’re sure they’re already completely familiar with, and, as such, will likely ignore?
Delta’s pushed the creative envelope before, adding downright zany humor to their safety videos, which, against all odds, draw people in—the whole point.
This latest one wasn’t joke-filled, but rather, was shot in an elegant theater—not on a plane. By foiling expectations, it grabs eyeballs, and makes you want to see the next scene, wondering how they’re going to do it. Mission accomplished.
Big lesson: we make our copy more compelling by taking unexpected approaches. And we do that by putting ourselves in the reader’s shoes, and given the context, imagine how to best attract and keep their attention.
II. GOT MULTIPLE WRITING-INCOME STREAMS?
Seasoned CT Copywriter Diversify!
Great advice from 20+-year CT FLCW (and E-PUB regular), Jennifer Mattern—seasoned PR writer and founder of the acclaimed All Freelance Writing site. Any financial advisor will give the same advice – diversify. Same here!
As a freelance writer, it’s a good idea to diversify your income. It leads to increased stability, and it can leave you with more flexibility in the freelance projects you take on.
But what exactly does “diversifying your writing income” mean? There’s no single correct way to do this. Here are some to consider:
- Maintain multiple active client relationships at any given time, never relying on just one. Even if business is good, keep up at least a minimum of consistent marketing; you never know when a “regular” can disappear.
- If your main specialty has natural slow times, work in multiple specialties (even better if they’re related; it makes marketing easier). For example, if you write for pet food manufacturers, that could help you land copywriting gigs for veterinary offices.
- Consider writing income sources beyond freelance projects. Ancillary products and services might include consulting, publishing books, or monetizing a website related to your subject matter expertise.
A stable freelance career doesn’t spring from a single income source like traditional jobs, but rather, from a diverse set of income sources.
If you lose one gig, money continues to flow in from elsewhere while you fill those gaps with something even better.
III. WHO’S YOUR LINKEDIN ATTRACTING?
Small-Biz Coach Asks: How Profit-Focused is Your LI Presence?
In this useful reminder, my friend, colleague, “business-building coach for writers and copywriters” and E-PUB regular, Ed Gandia, highlights a common challenge with LinkedIn.
Bottom line, your LI presence should add to your bottom line, not subtract from your already-scarce time. Thanks, Ed!
You’re committed to growing your LinkedIn network and doing a better job developing connections, engaging with prospects and joining the conversation on that platform.
But then one day it hits you. Most of the comments on your posts are coming from other writers—and so are the bulk of your connections!
Sound familiar?
If so, take a hard look at whom you’re attracting, engaging with and connecting with on LinkedIn. Ask yourself: what’s my main objective here?
Do I ultimately want to build awareness and trust with potential writing clients who could hire me … or do I want to generate dialogue with anyone willing to engage in that dialogue?
There’s no right or wrong. But you need to be crystal clear about your intentions and how you’ll use LinkedIn to meet your objectives.
You may find that active conversations with peers are really nice and beneficial for you in some ways. But if they don’t ultimately help pay the bills, you may need to change your approach and throttle those conversations a bit.
Because every hour you spend on a marketing activity that’s not ultimately putting money in your pocket is a real opportunity cost.