RSS
Email
Twitter
LinkedIn8 website elements that generate freelance business
Freelance Websites — Part 3
Different freelancers take different approaches to creating websites.
One will produce a huge site crammed with information, such as articles and checklists. Another will include lots of interactivity, such as polls or a blog. Another will want a site highlighting vast experience, showing impressive samples and results.
The diversity is good. Your site should fit your own specialty, personality, and the expectations of your prospective clients.
But the common thread running through all freelance sites is that they are (or should be) geared for generating work for your professional freelance practice. However, thinking “business” is usually the hardest part of freelancing for most people.
Are you making these 7 freelance website mistakes?
Freelance Websites — Part 2
We are in the middle of a publishing and communications revolution. There has never been a time when it was easier or cheaper to put your message in front of a large audience.
Add to this the connectivity and search capabilities provided by the Internet, and the possibilities for generating business for your freelance practice are staggering.
In a desk drawer, I have what remains of a box of floppy disks I purchased about 15 years ago. I have no use for them now, but they were vital back then. As a freelance copywriter, it was the only way for me to send digital files to clients. I would save a file to the disk, put the disk in an envelope, and mail it. Two or three days later, the client would receive the disk.
My fax machine and phone were a lot more important then too. I would fax documents daily during a project. And communicating with a client meant calling their office (this was before cell phones were nearly universal) and usually leaving a message on a “machine” if the line wasn’t busy (this was also before voice mail was popular).
9 business-boosting benefits of a freelance website
Freelance Websites — Part 1
In the mid 1990s, I logged into my CompuServe account (remember CompuServe?) and created my very first website. It was a big deal, because the World Wide Web was fairly new to people at the time and I was probably one of just a handful of freelancers who had a site.
Of course, it was a complete waste of time, since few potential clients accessed the Web back then. It was cool to have a site, but not particularly useful. I don’t remember a single client who called me because of it.
Today, that’s all changed. Just about everyone has a website. Saying you don’t have a site is like saying you don’t have a phone or indoor plumbing.
But just because nearly every freelancer has a site doesn’t mean that every freelancer’s site is successful. Many have one for no other reason than everyone else has one. It’s often more a matter of not wanting to explain why they don’t have a site rather than finding ways to use the site to build their business.
This is the first of a series of articles on websites for freelancers. I want to discuss the benefits of having a site from a business perspective, what freelancers often do wrong when creating a site, and what elements you should include to make your site a business generator.
Blab and blather your way to great copywriting ideas
Blah! Blah! Blah!
That’s how you get great copywriting ideas.
Stay with me on this. It sounds silly, but this could be one of the single most powerful copywriting techniques you’ll ever use.
I discovered this some years ago while having trouble coming up with copy ideas for an important direct mail package. Others may do it, but I’ve never read about it anywhere.
What is it? It’s basically a way to brainstorm ideas by yourself by talking to an imaginary person.
Double your reading speed with this odd little trick
Copywriting isn’t just about writing, it’s also about reading. A lot of reading.
If you’re like me, you’ll spend anywhere from 25% to 50% of every project reading background materials, ads, reports, surveys, and notes. And then there are the books, blog posts, articles, and other things you’ll read to stay current.
Obviously, the faster you can read, the more productive you can be. If you can double your reading speed, you can double your productivity.
There are many things you can do to read faster, but I’ve learned one of the most important is to stop subvocalizing. Say what?
Subvocalizing is pronouncing every word you read, either under your breath or in your head. By learning how to read visually, seeing words and grasping their meaning without the sound of the word, you can double your reading speed.
This is easier said than done. So here is a video that demonstrates a weird trick to help you get out of the subvocalizing habit and boost your reading speed. (You may not want to do this when people are around. They might start to worry about your sanity.)
Do you have any other tricks for reading faster?
30 sales letter openers to kick start your sales pitch
There’s nothing more challenging to a copywriter than taking on a sales letter assignment.
And there’s nothing more discouraging than staring at a blank screen because you have no idea how to get your sales letter started.
I try not to follow any rigid formulas for sales letters, but I do try to keep the opening line short and punchy.
Here are some popular sales letter openers that can help get your creative engine running. If you have some of your own favorites, leave a comment and share it.
How to write a postcard for maximum response
In today’s down economy, more and more businesses are turning to postcards to advertise their products and services.
Postcards are cheap, versatile, effective, and easy to produce. Plus, you can get them in the mail fast and get results in just days.
The postcard shown here is an example. Click it to see both front and back as a pdf. This is a postcard I created for one of my clients a couple years ago to generate leads for a product. And it’s a prime example of how to make a postcard work.
Some copywriters have trouble with postcards because they don’t understand the format. Is it an ad you mail? Is it a small self-mailer? Is it like a billboard? Or is it merely support for other campaigns?
Here’s what I’ve learned:
New Copywriter Information Center
When I started out as a copywriter, few knew about copywriting as a profession outside of ad agencies or direct mail shops.
But in recent years, interest has grown dramatically. Maybe it’s the economy and job losses that has people seeking new opportunities. Or it could be the small industry that has grown around promoting copywriter career information.
Whatever it is, there are more people interested in discovering what this “copywriting thing” is all about than ever before.
I’m always getting questions about this, so I’ve put together a Copywriter Information Center on my main business website. Aspiring copywriters can find information about what copywriters do, who does the hiring, typical pay, available full-time jobs, and more.
I’ll be adding information over time, so bookmark the page for reference. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, let me know. I’ll make notes for future updates or answer your questions here on this blog.
Spelling errors that make you look like an idiot
Every copywriter takes pride in delivering clean, error-free copy. That’s why you proofread, run a spell checker, or use a program such as WhiteSmoke to catch goofs.
But sometimes you can spell a word correctly and still have a spelling mistake when two words are similar and you type the wrong one. Spell checkers never catch these errors. It’s up to you to watch for them.
Here are some of the most commonly confused and misused words.
loose vs. lose
- My shoelaces always come loose when I jog.
- It’s embarrassing to explain to my neighbors why I lose my running shoes.
7 ways to drive a copywriter stark raving mad
There are all sorts of things to love about being a copywriter. It’s profitable. It can be low-stress. You have control over your schedule. You will enjoy variety in clients and projects.
But after many years of making a living writing copy, I have experienced a few things that I don’t love. Some are annoying, a few are exasperating, and one or two things have come close to making me snap.
Want to drive a copywriter mad? Here’s how to do it:
Call up a copywriter and, in a sincere voice, ask, “I have a really important project and I need a good copywriter. Can you recommend anyone?” Make sure there’s not even a hint of irony in your voice. If the copywriter reminds you that you’re talking to someone who writes copy, act confused as if that’s irrelevant. “What I’m looking for is, you know, a copywriter.”
