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LinkedInWhat is the matrix? The secret tool for focused copywriting
It’s happened to you. It’s happened to me. It’s happened to all of us.
We take on a copywriting assignment, ask for some background information, then squeal in horror when a truck pulls up to the door with 7 tons of brochures, reports, ads, surveys, and other stuff.
Well, here comes Sally Bagshaw to the rescue. This is Sally’s second guest post and it’s simply brilliant. Ignore it at your own peril.
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Warning, this post may contain graphic descriptions of spreadsheets!
There’s a lot of talk about blank pages being a copywriter’s nemesis. Staring at that blinking cursor on your screen, willing yourself to begin writing, wishing that the client had sent more than “make it sizzle.”
It’s the stuff of nightmares, right?
Wrong.
I think having too much information is far harder to manage.
Drowning in background material is overwhelming, time consuming, and if you’re not careful can result in lukewarm copy – no sizzle at all.
Tons of productivity tips for professional writers
Did you ever take notes on an important topic, file them away, then forget about them?
Well, that’s what I did a couple years ago with some productivity tips for writers. I googled some nice links, thinking I’d do a quick blog post, then immediately forgot about them. Until now.
Actually, they aren’t all tips for writers. Some are for designers, bloggers, or small business owners. But they’re all good ideas from a variety of perspectives.
So here are a few of those long-lost productivity and time management tips.
- Productivity Tips for Writers
- Time management for graphic designers
- Productivity Tips for Bloggers
- 30 Productivity Tips for Designers
- Five fast email productivity tips
- Twenty Unique Ways to Use the 80/20 Rule Today
- The Productivity Trifecta, Part 1: The Word ‘No’
- Inbox Zero: Processing to zero
- 10 Productivity Tips for Home-Based Businesses
By the way, here’s a little piece of advice about productivity tips: You don’t have follow every bit of advice you read. Pick two or three that work for you and go for it.
If you spend too much time worrying about time, you end up wasting time!
Merlin’s 5-step method for managing your email inbox
Isn’t email wonderful?
I’m serious. Everyone complains about email now, but many copywriters just starting out now don’t remember the good old days when there was no email. I remember having to actually pick up the phone to talk to clients. *gasp!* To send copy, design, proposals, invoices, and other documents, I’d use a fax or FedEx.
Sometimes, I would use an ancient data storage device called a “floppy disk” to send files. I still have a small pile of them in my office somewhere, sitting idle and useless since most computers now don’t have a floppy drive.
But today, it’s all done by email. Send a message. Send an invoice. Send copy. The copywriting business today is all about managing a blur of emails all day long.
Which brings me to my point. Isn’t email a pain in the butt?
Track your copywriting projects the easy, low-tech way
Organization doesn’t come naturally to most writers, but when you become a professional copywriter, you enter the business world. And that means you MUST organize and track your copywriting projects.
This is especially important when you work for a busy marketing department or launch a freelance practice. You could have a dozen copy projects running at one time. Without a practical way to track all those projects, you’ll be a nervous wreck. And you’ll start screwing up and missing deadlines.
Does this mean you have to buy an expensive, complex project tracking computer program with a 300-page user manual? Nope. I use a simple low-tech system that you can set up in a few minutes.
If you can find a computer program or online tool that works for you, fine. I use a wide variety of programs and tools for my business.
But for tracking projects, most of the tools I’ve seen are vastly over-complicated. And if a program doesn’t make the job simpler, why bother? With my system, I spend less time wrestling with software and have more time available for writing.
So how does my copy project tracking system work? You’ll need …
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?
Secret Google search hacks and tools for copywriters
I was chatting recently with Don Hauptman, one of the legends of copywriting, and he asked me if I had any “secrets” for finding information quickly online.
Well, of course I do. My schedule simply doesn’t permit me to flail around while doing research, so I use some little known Google hacks and tools to speed things along.
The Hacks
There are tons of search hacks, but here are the ones I’ve found most useful.
Generic Search
Type: investment newsletter
Google searches for: the words investment and newsletter
Either / Or Search
Type: investment OR newsletter
Google searches for: either the word investment or the word newsletter
Exact Search
Type: “investment newsletter”
Google searches for: the exact phrase investment newsletter
Cut research time in half with this copywriting checklist
Good copywriting starts with thorough research. So ideally, you should be able to take as much time as you need to gather background information.
But in reality, copywriting is always done on a deadline. Too often, you barely have enough time to write about a product or service, let alone do extensive research.
The answer? A copywriting research checklist. Below is a generic checklist I’ve used for years. I’ve also developed others for specific industries or project types. You can use a checklist to collect information quickly or as a structured interview guide.
ALWAYS do as much research as you can BEFORE you brainstorm idea or write a single word. Not only will a checklist save you time on research, it can significantly reduce your writing time because you’ll have something relevant to write about.
7 writing workflow tips to double your writing speed
While copywriting always requires a certain amount of creativity and can’t be too regimented, every writing project should have a similar workflow.
The more structured your workflow, the more efficient you can be, the less time you’ll spend on busy work, and the faster you’ll be able to finish writing.
Here are some tips:
Set up your files. You can devise any system you like, but here’s what I do. First, I grab a manila folder, label it, and dump everything I have into it. Second, I insert a job sheet where I track time, work completed, contact information, and other relevant data. Third, I set up a project file on my computer with subfolders for copy documents and background information. The computer folder matches the label on the physical folder with a job number and job title.
If you’re a freelancer, there may be other items to file, such as an estimate, contract, non-disclosure form, etc.
