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LinkedInConvincing the gatekeeper: writing copy for the real decision maker
Copywriting is a tougher job than most people realize, especially when you’re writing for what pros call the “complex sale.”
One type of complex sale is when you have to convince one person they need the product and another person to approve the purchase.
Here’s some advice from Sally Bagshaw on how to approach these tough projects.
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Imagine this: You’ve poured your heart and soul into one of the most persuasive landing pages you’ve ever written. You’ve used emotion, you’ve added great testimonials, in fact you’ve used every single copywriting trick in the book to convince the reader that this is THE product they MUST buy NOW.
But it doesn’t work. Your page barely gets a nibble. No one is impressed.
Especially not your client.
So what went wrong? You took a great client brief, you did a lot of research into the product, heck you even use the product yourself. Shouldn’t it be easy to convince that potential customer to buy it?
Well maybe you did convince them. The only problem was that they were not the person you should have been convincing. You should have been convincing the gatekeeper.
6 wonderful ways to win the heart of a web designer
I stumbled on Sara Lancaster’s blog recently and, true to the theme of today’s post, I fell in love.
She gives solid advice for freelance writers in a deceptively simple style. After reading a few posts, I asked her to contribute a post to Pro Copy Tips.
So, say welcome to Sara.
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If you’re a Web site copywriter, you typically have two people to make happy: the Web site owner (“the client”) and the designer of the Web site.
Because referral and repeat business is the name of the freelance copywriter’s game, winning the heart of the Web designer is an imperative.
Starbucks cards and links to hysterical YouTube videos will help with this mission, but you’ll also have to pull out all of these Web site copywriting stops.
Copy should come first, but it doesn’t always work that way
Web copy should determine Web site design, but, unfortunately, some Web designers prefer not to work that way. And many Web site owners can’t afford a truly original site design.
Because many Web sites are based on templates, copy usually comes second (read more about this concept in a previous post, Copywriter thumbnails and how to draw them).
Oops! 7 steps for handling a major copywriting screw-up
If it’s happened to you, you know how devastating it can be. If it’s not happened yet, get ready, because it will.
Sooner or later, you’re going to screw up big time on a copywriting project. You’re going to make a mistake so serious, you’ll think your life as a professional copywriter is over for all time.
And the question is, how will you handle it?
I’ve been fortunate. In my long career as a freelance copywriter, I can remember only one serious screw-up. It happened when I had just started out and was writing copy for a local agency.
The agency had volunteered to create a mailer for a prominent award show. That meant thousands of area advertising professionals would see the piece. The agency wanted to make an impression and was putting their reputation on the line. They were also putting their own money into the project.
My job was to work with the designer to create the mailer. It looked simple enough to me. Headline, some descriptive copy about the show, a list of VIP judges, and so on.
I worked hard to write the important copy I thought the designer needed. And, being inexperienced, I figured that I didn’t need to worry much about all the routine things that went into every direct mail piece.
Oops! That’s when I made perhaps the most incredibly stupid mistake of my career.
4 winning secrets of superstar direct mail copywriters
In the world of copywriting, there’s an unspoken pecking order. And despite the growth of the Internet, direct mail copywriters are still the superstars.
Here’s an article by direct mail superstar Hugh Chewning about working as a copywriter in a business or agency, redefining yourself, and becoming more than just a hired hand.
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When I was first starting my direct mail career thirty-some years ago, I wanted to become a copywriter. It was exciting and glamorous — the fighter pilot position within a direct mail agency.
Yet my mentor advised me to become a direct mail “generalist” rather than a copywriter. Copywriters, he warned, were “a dime a dozen.”
Well I took his advice and before I started writing copy, I learned about list selection, print production, how graphics affect results, what to test and how to analyze results.
Yet after all that, I make the bulk of my money from copywriting.
And over the years, I’ve tested against copywriters who wrote prettier words, enjoyed reputations more widespread and commanded larger fees.
And repeatedly, I’ve beaten them!
How to write snappy headlines that make sales
Joshua Black has been leaving comments on this blog for a while. And pretty smart ones too.
So I got curious, visited his blog, and found so much cool stuff, I decided to ask him if he would share some of his copywriting know-how. Fortunately for all of us, he said, “Yes.”
So here for his Pro Copy Tips debut is Joshua with his take on writing headlines.
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Now, before I get any further, I want to clarify that no headline in the world is going to close the sale on its own unless it is “free money, click here” or something close to magic.
However, the headline is the critical piece of the puzzle between grabbing your reader’s attention and eventually closing the sale. Even more critical, it is the difference between having your sales piece read and having it clicked off or tossed in the trash.
Most people read the headline first, then the price of the item (if they can find it), and if that combination satisfies them, they will start to dig into your copy.
Headlines are the workhorse of your copy. They make friends with the reader, drawing them in, emblazoning a question in their brains. Headlines take the prospect by the hand on a dive down the rabbit hole and into your copy. That is their sole purpose, to grab attention and get the prospect to keep reading.
How important is your headline? Well, if you can’t jar your reader out of their pre-installed anti-marketing filter, the rest of your ad will not get read … so it’s pretty friggin’ important. Capisce?
American English vs. British and Australian English
There’s an old joke that Britain and America are two nations separated by a common language.
And if you’ve ever written for English speaking clients outside your home country, you know exactly what that means.
Sally Bagshaw takes on this copywriting challenge with a quick look at some of the differences between American English and British / Australian English. (This post gave my spellcheck a heart attack.)
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I was chatting to Dean via email the other day, and happened to mention that I would send another guest post through in a fortnight.
Little did I realise that comment would send off a chain of belly laughs from across the Pacific.
“Fortnight?”
“Erm yes, you know in two weeks?”
“Oh we don’t really use that word around here.”
OK then.
I know Australians spell some words differently than our American counterparts. After all you can choose from a number of English options for your spell-check.
But did you know that there are a whole heap of differences between British/Australian English and American English that we all should be aware of?
The tweak trap: how to avoid nightmare rewrites
Recently a guy called me about my writing services. Says he has a small job he would like me to consider. All he needs are a few “tweaks.”
The phone conversation went like this:
Guy: Hi, Dean. Great to finally talk to you. I’ve been following your articles and have subscribed to your newsletter for years.
Dean: Thanks. I appreciate that.
Guy: So I wanted to talk to you about a project you might be able to help me with. A while back I hired a local writer to write a quick little sales letter for me and I’m not happy with it.
Dean: Okay. Why don’t you tell me about that.
Guy: Well, I just don’t like the letter. It seems to fall flat. So I was hoping you could tweak it for me. Do you do that sort of thing?
Dean: Tweak it? Can you define “tweak” for me?
Guy: The letter is headed in the right direction, but it’s just that the words aren’t quite right. So I was hoping you could, you know, just clean it up a little. I’m thinking it’s a minor revision.
Dean: Can you show me the letter?
Guy: Sure. I’ll email it to you. Again, I think it just needs a little tweaking.
If you’ve been writing professionally for a few years, in a job or as a freelancer, you can see the red flags in this conversation, can’t you? Because you’ve heard this conversation before.
$#!* Happens! A dirty story about freelancing success
It was about 11:00 a.m. when we started up the mountain outside of San Pedro Sula in the northwest corner of Honduras.
The humid air lay heavy and still in the valley below, causing the fields of sugar cane to shimmer in the hot sun.
We were videotaping b-roll for a few TV spots one of my fundraising clients wanted to test. Our task that day was the same as it had been every day that week: to capture images of the devastating poverty these people suffer.
The camera crew donned their battery belts, cables, and assorted gear and we followed the narrow dirt path toward the shacks above.
As we ascended a steep rise and veered to the right, we came across a young boy toting an armload of dry firewood. One of our videographers wanted to shoot this and positioned himself in the middle of the path.
That’s when it happened. And to understand what happened, you must understand the term “wrap-and-throw.”
Copywriting GPS: Finding your way to the first sentence
You’ve accepted a new copywriting project.
You’ve cashed your big fat retainer check, filed the contract, set the deadline, assured your client that you’ll write a winner, and you’re sitting at your desk staring at a pile of background materials thinking, “Now what?”
You have no idea what you’re going to write.
What you want is to know where you’re headed. You need to write that first sentence. But you can’t. Not yet.
You feel like you’ve started a journey and don’t know what path to take or where on Earth you’ll end up.
I experienced this lost feeling recently when I accepted a project to write copy to sell an investment product. It wasn’t a product I was familiar with and there were 10 separate pieces to the assignment.
Could I do it? Of course. I’m an old hand at this. And in my particular business, I’m working with new industries and products all the time. But even though I have faith that my experience will carry me through, I still don’t like those moments when I’m unclear about my direction.
So I did what I always do. I turned on my own personal Copywriting GPS, which is really nothing more than 3 simple steps that never fail to guide me through the chaos and lead me to that first amazing sentence.
