VOLUME 22, ISSUE 3 – MARCH 2023
THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: WORRIED ABOUT ChatGPT?
Why You Should/Shouldn’t Be, & How to “AI-Proof” Yourself
II. “FIELD” GREENS: FROM CLIENT INTEREST TO ASSIGNED PROJECT
Good News: It’s About Being a Competent Pro—NOT Magic Words
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: FROM “ORDER TAKER” TO STRATEGIST
Business Coach for Writers: Here’s How to Boost Your Value & Fees
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
Well-Paying Turnkey Project Wins Sales & Client Loyalty
I. APPETIZER: WORRIED ABOUT ChatGPT?
Why You Should/Shouldn’t Be, & How to “AI-Proof” Yourself
Recently got an email from an E-PUB subscriber asking if I was worried about the potential for ChatGPT to replace writers.
The main reason I’m not worried is that there’s a big difference between even a really well-written sentence and effective, logically structured marketing copy.
Think about it. Through research, interviews and assimilating source material, we gather the copy points we need to include, and guided by marketing principles (i.e., Audience, Features/Benefits, USP and The Curse of Knowledge), we determine the most effective way to structure that info.
How would AI do all that?
Others agree. On a recent episode of Ed Gandia’s High-Income Business Writing podcast on the subject, early on, his guest, Sarah Greesonbach, founder of the B2B Writing Institute, affirmed my thoughts, saying:
“As far as having your core shaken, and being terrified as to what’s coming, I have good news for writers. AI is going to be a pattern…of language; it’s not creative like we are.”
In grading the caliber of ChatGPT output as “a C…or C-minus,“ Sarah observed how basic the writing is. I’m paraphrasing here, but her essential message is:
Intermediate or senior B2B/marketing writers will consider ChatGPT’s output on the par with what they might have created in their first year in the business.
Which segues nicely into where and for whom the threat of ChatGPT lies…
Writers with middling content-writing skills (i.e., comparable to countless others) should be more concerned, given ChatGPT’s proven ability to craft writing on the par with low-to-modestly-skilled writers.
But, the emotional/psychological elements found in “conversion” copy (i.e., direct response, advertising, direct mail, etc.), will be far harder to match by AI.
Ditto with “educational” content that’s written such that it approaches conversion-focused writing in its effectiveness (as discussed last month).
What’s more concerning? Perception. While there’s undoubtedly a HUGE need for good marketing writing—given the ubiquity of crappy copy—one of our biggest challenges has always been convincing clients they need our services.
As a rule, I recommend (as does Ed Gandia) avoiding clients we have to convince, and instead, pursuing those already sold on the value we bring.
Yet, it’s only natural that certain clients, upon hearing about ChatGPT, will start seeing rainbows and unicorns, imagining their current content needs can aaaaaallllll be handled for a pittance by this wondrous new technology.
They’re likely wrong, but if they don’t know what quality marketing copywriting looks like, are happy with “decent” copy—or worse, only require decent copy—then does it matter that they’re wrong?
Though, would we ever have landed them, even without AI?
So, what’s the answer? We first have to be willing to spend more time educating clients on the substantive, “needle-moving” difference that good marketing copywriters can make.
Secondly (which partly answers the “how?” implied by #1), we have to ensure our skills are superior to what ChatGPT could crank out.
Which, if we’re operating in the marketing-copywriting realm (vs. just articles/blog posts), isn’t that high a bar.
And yes, courses like my Well-Fed Craft can enhance those skills. I know, convenient, right? 🙂
But seriously, I didn’t invent ChatGPT, yet its very existence argues for elevating your skills above the threshold at which AI presents a threat.
No, it’s not Panic Time yet, but AI isn’t going away.
So, if your skills fall into the “AI sweet spot,” be thinking about how to address it—i.e., cultivating a specific niche over time, embarking on rigorous self-study, or taking my course or others. On that “plant-the-seeds” note, let’s eat!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: FROM CLIENT INTEREST TO ASSIGNED PROJECT
Good News: It’s About Being a Competent Pro—NOT Magic Words
Some years back, I did a Q&A on a copywriting call, and this was one of the Qs I got. I liked it because it covers several dos and don’ts of the client-acquisition process. Look for more of these in future issues of the E-PUB. Enjoy!
Q: I’d like to hear more details about the initial contact conversation and how to convert that interest into a sale. Is revealing your hourly rate a bad idea? What do you say if asked?
Yes, revealing your hourly rate IS a bad idea. Again, when clients ask me what my rate is, I reply, “Sharing my hourly rate won’t mean much to you without the context of a particular project to quote on.”
That said, obviously, they need some idea of how you charge and what you charge to know if their budget can accommodate you. As such, consider saying, “Well, recently, I did a _______project for a ____ company that ran about $___.”
And know what project-pricing example(s) you’re going to share in advance (based on the project under discussion) so you don’t stumble over the question.
But your question points to another issue. You wrote: “I’d like to hear more details about the initial contact conversation and how to convert that interest into a sale.”
The question presupposes magic words one can utter to turn interest into a sale. Yet, in the vast majority of cases, that’s just not the case.
Nearly 30 years at this has shown me that either someone has a need for your services or they don’t. If they DO have the need, either you’re a match for those needs or you’re not.
Just as importantly, if you’re actually meeting with a prospect, in person or by phone, they’re largely sold. Since most businesspeople stay crazy-busy, they simply don’t have the bandwidth to “audition” a bunch of writers.
If they’re talking to you, they’ve vetted you (is your web site up to snuff?) enough to know you check most/all of their “must-have” boxes.
They WANT you to be the one they hire. Last thing they want is to go back to the drawing board.
And they determine you’re a match by discussing your experience, seeing you’re capable, knowledgeable, professional, and easygoing, viewing your work, and, of course, confirming your rates are a match for their budget.
Hopefully, this answer is comforting to those who are afraid they have to be a smooth salesperson to thrive in this field, and that’s just not true. Professionalism, competence and reliability are what win gigs.
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: ARE YOU BE A CONTENT STRATEGIST?
Moving Beyond “Order-Taking” and Boosting Your Value & Fees
It’s all about “content” writing these days, but to set yourself apart from the content-writing herd requires enhancing your value proposition.
To do just that, follow this excellent advice from friend, colleague, “business-building coach for writers and copywriters” (& E-PUB regular), Ed Gandia.
Many of my coaching clients start their freelance writing businesses as “order takers”—i.e., when a client wants a piece of content, the writer creates it, but isn’t involved in deciding what content to create or how to use it.
Nothing wrong with this arrangement; you can do quite well following this model (I did for years!).
But maybe you see opportunities to repurpose content or content gaps that should be filled.
As such, you want to get involved in the strategy side of copywriting or content marketing—providing advice, ideas and new perspectives beyond just writing copy. And then helping clients create an actionable plan to execute those ideas.
All of which can mean more billable hours.
But how do you get there?
Your biggest challenge? Many prospects don’t think they need ideas, insights and advice—especially from an outsider who can’t know their business that well, right?
They just want a writer to handle their immediate content needs now—and they don’t want to bog things down and send costs up.
Fortunately, there’s a middle ground: positioning yourself as someone who can help them create the marketing assets they need, and, when appropriate (i.e., don’t push it on every client), provide ideas, guidance and advice.
This means changing how you present yourself on your website, LinkedIn, etc. Beyond just providing writing “on demand,” let clients know you can also help them brainstorm ideas, bring new perspectives and design an actionable plan for maximizing these marketing assets.
Best of all, you can (and should) charge for this separate engagement.
How? Well, given that it won’t be a fit for every client, and you’ll be getting buy-in from the clients for whom it IS a fit, how your structure it is your call.
Simplest way? Calculate how many hours you think it will take to do the work, add another 20% (most of us underestimate time), multiply that by your target internal hourly rate, and quote that number to the client.
With experience, you’ll enhance and fine-tune your offering, and you’ll bump up your fee as your confidence grows.
Don’t think you’re a “strategist”? Most writers don’t. But, rest assured, if you’ve been writing for clients for a few years, you likely DO have what it takes: ever offered ideas to a client—about topics, content-repurposing, content planning, positioning, messaging and more?
Probably, but, you’ve likely been giving that advice away for free, while considering it a “value-add” that you bring to the table.
Here are three simple ways to become an effective, paid content strategist:
1) Learn how to ask more and better questions. When discussing a project with a client, go beyond questions of word count, deadlines and interviews required. Ask about their objectives, why they’re important, how they’re envisioning using the deliverable, and any appropriate follow-up questions.
2) Critically consider their answers. What resonates? What are they missing?
3) Study your client’s website and existing marketing materials with an eye towards identifying gaps or what could be repurposed.
4) Take a deep dive into your client’s industry, publications, industry associations and competitors’ sites. This 30,000-foot view can reveal content opportunities as well as how your client can raise their profile in the industry.
You have more to offer than you think. No need to change your title. Just explain the broader value you offer, and then look for opportunities to offer that strategic help.
IV. DESSERT: COMBO SUCCESS STORY & TIP
Well-Paying Turnkey Project Wins Sales & Client Loyalty
Got this great success story from a FLCW who prefers to stay anonymous.
His story is similar to my own with a client for whom I do a monthly turnkey project (discussed in my freshly updated ebook on partnering with designers).
Lots of good lessons here—not only the idea of providing a true end-to-end solution for a client, but solid advice as well on how to think differently about our pricing. Enjoy!
Hey Peter: I do a recurring monthly project (need to obscure the details) for this client, where I produce the whole piece with minimal supervision, and I end up averaging well over $200/hour for my time.
But, given how slammed my main contacts stay, it’s absolutely worth it to them to pay me that to have me deliver a final ready-to-go project.
Because the final piece doesn’t need to look amazing—just clean, polished and professional—I use a designer on Upwork that doesn’t charge much. As such, I can quickly and easily produce a professional-looking final deliverable.
Yet, to my client, having a turnkey solution delivered to them, ready for prime time, is golden, and well worth paying handsomely for.
The client’s shared that each of these projects will generate solid leads, some of which will “convert.” And knowing roughly what their solutions cost, I know that each sale, on the low end, will generate revenue that’s 20-30+ times what I’m charging them.
Point being, given the results, the client isn’t spending any time scrutinizing my fees, and wondering if I’m being paid too much. That’s how writers think.
Instead, all they’re thinking is, “The ROI on this guy’s output is off the charts.” I’m obviously charging them a healthy rate, yet, if I doubled my fee, they’d no doubt still think it was a bargain.
I won’t do that, because things can change, my contact could leave, a new person could come in, and if I’m charging rates that new person considers excessive, I could be out.
Bottom line, we writers have to get away from thinking about our fees in terms of the time we’re spending executing a project and start thinking about those fees in terms of the value of that work product to our clients.
Not easy to make that transition, but just be aware that our own mindset—not a client’s tight budget—is often the only thing standing in the way of us making more money.