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LinkedIn11 insider secrets for becoming a freelance pro
Most writers are trained to think in terms of putting in 40 hours a week and taking home a paycheck. But to succeed as a freelance copywriter, you must make a shift from the paycheck mentality to the professional mentality.
There’s a lot of information out there about freelancing, but not all of it is helpful for making a living as a freelance copywriter. Here are 11 “insider” secrets I’ve found that make the difference between the freelance hobbyist and the freelance professional.
1. Think like a professional. Whether you want to earn a little extra income on the side or go full-blown freelance, you should consider yourself in the same class as all other professionals, worthy of the same respect and income.
2. Ignore most of the advice from the freelance “industry.” Many magazines, books, and online sources give bad advice for those wanting to make money at freelancing. You must carefully weigh the advice you get, choosing to follow only what you know will further your business interests.
How does the gift of copywriting benefit mankind?
I’ve been pondering what I could write about for Christmas day.
Should I try to turn the holiday into a teachable copywriting analogy? Should I discuss how copy contributed to the purchase of all those gifts? Or should I dredge up the story about how Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer started as a copywriter’s promotional gimmick for Montgomery Ward?
Then I started thinking about how much copywriters contribute to society. Nearly all selling starts with a copywriter putting his or her hands onto a keyboard and pecking out words that turn products into the fulfillment of dreams.
If it were not for copywriters, very little would be sold in this world. The impact on commerce, and therefore on the lives of billions of people, would be immense.
So I’d like to pose a simple question: How does the gift of copywriting benefit mankind?
You can be as specific or general as you like. Just think about the effect your work has on the lives of people and share your thoughts.
We write ads or people die!
Do you ever feel that those around you simply don’t understand the importance of what you do as a copywriter?
You and I know that it’s all about the message. And the message requires words. Words that convince, persuade, and sell. Words that determine the fate of products, companies, and brands.
Quite simply, we write ads or people die.
Warning: This video contains some foul language and frightening truth. So if you can’t handle the words or the truth, move on.
How to write the perfect sales letter
The hot copywriting projects today are sales pages, email messages, auto responders, blogs, and all manner of online marketing.
But the good old-fashioned sales letter still works and its techniques are required for many online and offline marketing messages.
I fear that thousands of young copywriters now growing up in the Internet age are trying to learn how to write copy without ever learning how to write a sales letter.
Smart copywriters know better, of course. Trying to write copy without knowing how to write a sales letter is like trying to bake a cake without knowing how to turn on the oven.
3 “must-have” elements of direct response copywriting
A couple days ago, I got an interesting email from Neil Mattingley, a fellow copywriter and blogger from down under.
Hi, Dean.
My question is a tough one.
Assuming you have all the key element of a sales letter and you had to eliminate them one-by-one until you got to the bare minimum for a space ad, in what order would you do it?
I guess I want to have a clear understanding of what is essential in a space ad versus what is not.
And is there a relationship between a sales letter and space ad, or are they two separate beasts.
Neil Mattingley
Perth, Australia
That is a tough one. Neil is asking a highly sophisticated question about technique priority. How do you rank the importance of the various copywriting techniques and which techniques are absolutely required to get response?
I’m starting to sweat under my guru robes a bit. But let’s think about this for a moment.
Best Pro Copy Tips blog posts of 2009
Well, it’s that time of year when blog authors are doing their round ups of best blog posts, so I guess I’ll join in.
Of course, Pro Copy Tips is not even 4 months old, so this list is a bit on the short side.
How did I decide which posts are the best? Partly by the response they got, partly by personal preference.
My goal is to not waste your time with a lot of fluffery but to provide advice and resources you can really use to improve your copywriting. In the last few months, I think these posts did a good job of that.
AIDA and 14 secret copywriting formulas
117 tested advertising headlines that made money
30 copywriting blogs that are actually worth reading
Cut research time in half with this copywriting checklist
9 copywriting “number tricks” to manipulate readers
7 ways to drive a copywriter stark raving mad
Double your reading speed with this odd little trick
30 sales letter openers to kick start your sales pitch
187 marketing terms every copywriter should know
What do you want to know about copywriting? What problems do you have? What do you wish you could do better?
I don’t promise to have all the answers, but I’ve been around the block a few times. I’m willing to share all my experience with you.
Ask me.
Do you sound like a voice mail monkey? Try this …
“Hello, this is Bigtime Client. I’m out of the office. Please leave a voice message at the beep.”
*BEEP*
“Um, yeah. This is, er, um. This is Cathy Copywriter calling. I was, uh, just wondering if you, you know, got the samples I sent and, uh, well maybe you didn’t look at them yet because I know you’re busy, but they’re in a big red envelope and I, er, so if you like them maybe you could, uh … ”
*BEEP*
The dreaded voice mail message. It’s intimidating and merciless. It can catch you unprepared and will record every stuttering syllable as you try to string together a few intelligent sentences. More often than not, you end up sounding, shall we say, less than professional.
What’s the answer? Be prepared with a short “script.”
7 well-traveled roads to copywriting success
Copywriting is a lot like taking a road trip. Along the way, you have to make choices about which direction you will go.
Turn this way, and you end up one place. Turn that way, and you end up in another.
There are an infinite number of paths you might take, but it’s nice to know a few standard, well-worn paths that improve your odds of getting to where you want to go.
Here are 7 ways to structure your ad copy that provide a “road map” for your copy. Each is proven and gives you great creative flexibility.
The Straight Offer — This is especially good for a familiar product, a strong offer, and business-to-business marketing. With this approach, you simply state your offer, benefits, and premiums up front without any creative frills. You see this approach used with many magazines: Renew your People subscription today and get 53 weekly issues for just $2.19 per issue. Save 42%!
How to write a direct response TV commercial that sells
Unless you specialize in television advertising, you’re not too likely to get a copywriting assignment to write a TV commercial.
But you never know.
I have a background in TV and radio, so I occasionally write for these advertising media, but not as often as I would like. However, when the opportunity arises, I need to know how to handle it. And you do too.
First, watch this classic TV commercial for Ginsu Knives and pay attention to how it is structured. This is the granddaddy of all modern direct response TV (or DRTV) ads. Even though it looks dated, today’s commercials work pretty much the same.
Read more
187 marketing terms every copywriter should know
I’ve said it a thousand times. Copywriting is not just about writing. It’s about business.
For most copywriters, it’s specifically about marketing and selling. So if you want to be a smart copywriter, you need to understand the marketing industry and how things work.
To help with that, here are some of the essential marketing terms you should understand.
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Abandoned Call — When a caller hangs up before the call is answered or when put on hold.
Above the Fold — Part of a Web page or e-mail message that can be seen without scrolling. A newspaper term referring to text at the top of the page, literally above the fold.
Accordion Fold — Type of zigzag fold that makes paper open up like an accordion, as opposed to a letter fold or “roll fold.”
