You’re thinking I’ve lost my mind, right? You’re scratching your head and saying, “Why would a copywriter have to draw a thumbnail?”

(Do people really scratch their head when they’re confused … or is that just something people do in old black and white movies?)

Okay, I’ll admit that I may be misleading you a little with the photo of the big thumb.

But if you’ve been in the copywriting business for a while, you know what I’m talking about. Other than using an opposable thumb to help hold a pencil, your thumbs have nothing to do with thumbnail sketches.

So what is a copywriter thumbnail? Very simply, it’s a sketch drawn by a copywriter to show how his or her copy should be designed.

Click the picture to see my full-size sketch.

It looks something like this. (Actually, it looks exactly like this. I don’t why people say that.)

This is an actual thumbnail I drew for a recent direct mail project. The agency that hired me wanted me to take the lead on the message strategy for a pharmacy gift card mailing. This included providing them with both the copy and how I visualized the copy in a layout.

As you can see, it’s not a work of art. It doesn’t have to be.

A thumbnail has two big benefits. First, it helps the designer “see” the copy and have a good starting point for the design. Second, it helps you, the copywriter, visualize what you’re writing. After all, you can’t just write whatever you want at any length or in any order.

A thumbnail shows you want bits of copy you need, how long they are, and where they go.

“But I thought the designer determined the design and did all the drawing. Don’t writers and designers work as a team?”

That’s true, sometimes. But not always. Often, you as the copywriter will be asked to take the lead on what to say and how it should be presented visually. And when that happens, you should know how to do a simple thumbnail.

It’s actually pretty simple:

1. Get a plain sheet of white paper and a pencil. You need a pencil because you’ll probably need to erase here and there.

2. Sketch each item you’re writing. I’ve shown you a sketch for a small direct mail package, but you may be writing a brochure, an online sales page, a print ad, or who knows what. Show the overall shape, folds, panels, everything. If you don’t know what something should look like, dive into your swipe file (all those samples you should be collecting) and find something with a design close to what you’re looking for.

3. Show the location and arrangement of major elements. This includes headlines, copy blocks, bullet lists, photos, illustrations, testimonials, guarantee, and any other element you include. If your little thumbnail is too small, sketch a larger version to fill in the details.

4. Label each component and copy element clearly. Make sure to use the same terminology that you use in your copy document. For example, my direct mail thumbnails show a 4-panel brochure. I refer to the inside as a “4-panel spread” and label each panel 1 through 4 in both the sketch and the copy document. It doesn’t matter what you call things. It’s just important that you are consistent. This saves a lot of confusion.

That’s it. When you submit your copy, submit the thumbnail along with it. Not only do designers like this, your boss or client will like this too. Some people have a hard time visualizing the final product when all they can see is words.

Now I know what you’re thinking. (I have a good supply of Gilligan’s mind-reading seeds.) You’re thinking, “Are you kidding? Seriously. I can’t draw.”

Relax. You don’t have to. Not really. Look at my sample thumbnail again. It’s a bunch of lines and squiggles. You can scratch some lines and squiggles on a piece of paper, right?

And don’t worry about a designer making fun of you. They don’t expect you to render a Mona Lisa and would be shocked if you did. Do the best you can and that will be good enough.

Talk your designer through your idea, but be open to suggestions. Unless you have significant design experience, the final layout won’t match your sketch exactly. I do have significant design experience, and the designers I work with almost always deliver something better than my original idea. That’s their job.

I’m curious. Do you do thumbnails? How often?

Related posts:

1. 13 basic design concepts every copywriter should know
2. Do you design your copy before you write it?

But when I started looking at all the software and online tools I actually use, I had one of those “sheesh” moments. I had no idea just how many tools I rely on. I could have made a list of 101 tools.

But it’s a busy week, so I’ll cut it down to just 32 I use a lot. This includes some design tools since I offer design services to my clients as well as copywriting.

Oh, and keep in mind that I’m on a PC Windows system, so there aren’t any Mac tools here.

Writing and Design

OpenOffice – After using Word for years, I finally got fed up with how big and clunky it had become (like most Microsoft products). A friend suggested OpenOffice and I haven’t looked back. It’s basically a free alternative to the Microsoft Office suite. You can read my post on OfficeOffice here. I use the writing application to write copy and the speadsheet to track projects and income.

Notepad – If you use Windows, you have Notepad. It’s a handy, no-frills text tool that’s fast and simple. I use it to record project notes and to-do lists. The files are tiny and, as far as I know, universal, so you can open them in nearly any writing program.

Adobe Acrobat – In the good old days, you had to create physical mockups to show clients. Acrobat lets you print any electronic design to a pdf format and email it. It’s also the business world’s choice for sharing pdf documents of any kind. You can get the free Acrobat Reader, but you can only use it to read documents. I use Acrobat Pro since it offers more features for design.

Adobe InDesign – Quark once dominated the market for layout programs. But I bailed when it started getting quirky and stopped working well with Adobe products. InDesign is now the layout program of choice for just about everyone, and it integrates perfectly with all the other Adobe products.

Adobe Photoshop – Even if you don’t do design, you should at least get an old copy of Photoshop. It’s a big, complex program, but it gives you nearly every imaginable tool to manipulate and process photos.

Adobe Illustrator – I admit that I don’t know much about Illustrator. I have it because it comes with the Adobe design collection and it’s useful for dealing with logos and illustrations.

sendspace – If you’ve ever tried to send large documents by email, you know that sometimes they don’t go through. That’s because some email providers limit the size of attachments. sendspace is a free tool that lets you upload files up to 300MB, then send a link others can use to download them. It’s an incredibly handy tool.

Communications

Thunderbird – I loved Eudora for email, but it stopped offering updates. So I switched to Thunderbird. It’s fast, easy, and offers plenty of features for managing email, including a good file system and search capability.

RKS Fax – Some people claim to use a fax all the time. But I get maybe 3 faxes a year, so I dropped my fax line and tossed the fax machine. Now on the rare occasions I have to send or receive a fax, I can use RKS Fax and run the fax through my computer and phone line.

Yahoo Mail – Some claim that Gmail is a better option, and it may be. But I couldn’t get the text message confirmation to work, so I went to Yahoo. This is simply for throwaway email addresses for situations where I don’t want to provide someone with my primary address.

Business

ACT! – At this point in my career, I have thousands of contacts, including clients, prospects, colleagues, designers, fellow copywriters, business resources, and so on. ACT! is a contact manager primarily for sales people, and it’s a bit too complex for my needs, but I haven’t found anything as useful. It has a great calendar that is tied into contact information, so you can track everything you do with clients and potential clients.

TaxCut – If you make money, you have to pay taxes. I suppose I could hire someone to do this for me, but there are two problems. One, I’m a control freak, so I like to do this myself. Two, you really don’t save much time by hiring someone, because you have to organize and annotate records for them anyway. TurboTax (one of my clients) is just as good and maybe a little simpler.

Carbonite – The single best business tool I have. It’s an online backup service. Pay the $55 for a year’s subscription (a bargain), install a tiny program, and it automatically backs up your documents. Set it and forget it. Some people like Mozy, which does the same thing.

DropBox – James at Men With Pens turned me onto DropBox when I wrote about creating a computer recovery plan. This is a cool little application where you can drop any file and have it instantly backup online. It’s a great way to sync multiple computers or access files if you’re on the road. I use it to access files on my wireless laptop. If you get the paid version, you could keep all your files in it for an easy backup.

Norton Internet Security – I’ve had several virus incidents, one that killed my computer. So I’m fastidious about computer security. Norton is one of the better antivirus solutions and is priced reasonably.

PayPal – If you want to accept payments over the Internet, you need PayPal. It’s free and simple. Some clients pay me this way and all advertisers and affiliates pay this way.

Online

Firefox – I abandoned the Explorer web browser for the same reasons I abandoned Word. I don’t like most Microsoft products. Firefox is free, simple, and secure. And there are a zillion plugins and tools. Firefox also remembers my passwords for online services and tools, which saves a little time.

Bloglines – If you subscribe to RSS feeds, you need  way to read them. There are endless ways to do that, but I started using Bloglines a few years ago and have not had any reason to change. It’s free and does a nice job of organizing lots of feeds in one place.

Google Analytics – For blogs and websites, Google Analytics gives you a set of robust statistics and reports on visitors, keywords, traffic sources, and tons more.

GoDaddy – Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they offer lots of services for email, site hosting, URL registration, and more. Apart from putting this blog on a slow server, they’ve given me good service for years. And it’s hard to beat their prices. One nice freebie is the automatic installation of WordPress with any hosted site.

Alexa – If you want to see how your site ranks compared to others, this is a quick way to find out. Just enter your URL and click. The results are questionable, but it’s close enough for most people.

Compete – This is similar to Alexa, but gives you a wider set of information. The free version is limited, though. If you want the works, you have to pony up a subscription.

Publishing

WordPress – You know what this is. It’s the preferred blog platform for just about everyone. It’s free, easy to use, and there are endless themes and plugins to give you whatever features you want. As I said above, if you host your site on GoDaddy, they’ll install it automatically.

CoffeeCup HTML Editor – If you do any HTML code editing, you’ll appreciate this little tool. It automates many of the repetitive tasks of coding, such as endlessly typing tags. CoffeeCup is a neat little organization and offers plenty of other tools. Even if you don’t want to do coding, check them out.

FeedBurner – If you have a blog, you publish a feed. And if you publish a feed, you need a way to manage it. Feedburner does that. Google acquired them some time ago, so to use it, you need to have a Google account. Google will take over the planet someday with all their free tools, so you might as well submit now and get an account.

Filezilla – This is a free ftp program. If you don’t know what ftp is, you don’t need Filezilla. If you do know what it is, you may already be using Filezilla. If not, try it. Basically, it’s a way to upload and download files on the Internet, such as when you’re adding photos to your website or blog.

Constant Contact – If you publish a newsletter or do basic email marketing, you have several choices, including MailChimp, iContact, and AWeber. I settled on Constant Contact and like it. I use it to publish a couple newsletters (one of which is growing at up to 1,400 subscribers a day).

Social Marketing

Twitter – I had my doubts about tweeting, but it’s proving to be an easy way to share information and drive traffic to my blogs. I’m not an expert, but I’m learning fast. If you’re new to social marketing, Twitter is a great way to start. It’s easy. You can follow my tweets here.

Facebook – You’re probably already on Facebook, so I don’t need to describe it. But I would advise that you be careful about how you manage your account. It may not be wise to invite clients to your private page. I suggest setting up a fan page, which you can manage from your account but which will remain separate.

LinkedIn – This is probably the best business networking tool right now. It works a little like Facebook, but it’s geared for business. You can connect with people, publish updates on your activities, post a full resume, import your blog posts, join discussion groups, and send private messages to contacts. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here.

HootSuite – I just wrote about how to use HootSuite on my other blog. It’s the easiest way I’ve yet found to manage multiple social networks. I use it to schedule tweets and updates on 5 networks.

bit.ly – Web addresses can get pretty long, which causes a problem with Twitter particularly. bit.ly is a fast way to short URLs. If you use HootSuite, it has a built-in link shortener.

Do you have an essential tool you use frequently?

Related posts:

1. Secret Google search hacks and tools for copywriters
2. Merlin’s 5-step method for managing your email inbox
3. 8 website elements that generate freelance business

No? Well, I do. And it was a disaster.

At first, it was an amusing trick. But pretty soon, when everyone knew what everyone else was really thinking about them, it got nasty. Even Mary Ann got pissed off.

Well, I think it’s for the best that we can’t read minds. Too much truth isn’t good for anyone.

But it would be nice if you could swallow just one little mind reading seed to get a taste of what some of your clients might be thinking about you.

Would you like to give that a try? Here we go …

Stop being a diva. You’re not that great. Confidence is a good thing, as long as it doesn’t get out of control. You’re doing good work. You’re being paid well. You’re riding high and loving the life of a copywriter. But keep the ego in check. You don’t know it all. You’re not always right. And no, you don’t need someone to remove all the brown M&Ms. Get over yourself.

When you miss your deadlines, I miss my deadlines. Most clients are pretty accommodating. Some will even let you slide now and then on the schedule. It’s easy to start taking advantage of this and deliver work late repeatedly, but that’s a bad idea. They’re saying, “That’s fine” on the phone, but in their head they’re saying, “I gotta find another copywriter.”

I don’t care if the dog ate your copy. If you intend to earn a full-time living from copywriting, there are no excuses for making excuses. Stuff happens, sure. But when you start blaming problems on your dog, kids, wife, family, weather, car, health, or personal problems, you’re just acting like a child. Grow up.

Dude! Too much information! It’s important to make a personal connection with your clients. That means getting face-to-face if you can. Maybe picking up the phone now and then and just saying “hi.” You’ll end up sharing bits and pieces of your personal life. But what you don’t do is share really intimate bits and pieces of your personal life. Keep graphic details about that stomach virus, your rowdy sex life, or messy family disputes to yourself. Don’t talk about religion or politics. Don’t dish dirt about anyone. No one needs to know how drunk you were last night or why the doctor gave you that salve.

Why are you badmouthing your other clients? It’s natural to think you can bond with someone by talking trash about your difficult clients. After all, that shows how well you think of the client you’re talking to, right? “Oh, you are so much easier to work with than Joe Smith at World Wide Widgets. He’s such an idiot.” No. No. No. All you’re doing by badmouthing clients is demonstrating that you’re unprofessional and can’t be trusted. Clients will wonder what you’re saying about them behind their back.

I really do know more about my product that you do. Seriously. No one knows more about a product than the business owner who’s been selling the product for 20 years. They know who their clients are. They know what the best prices are. They know what their customers like and don’t like. What turns them on and turns them off. Listen. Closely. Take lots of notes. Your client may not be the expert on copywriting, but he or she is certainly the expert on what the company sells.

I don’t want poetry. Write copy. What sort of people are attracted to copywriting? Writers. What do most writers like to do? Write. What is the secret desire of every writer on the planet? To have their words praised as magical, lyrical, and wondrous. What can that tempt you to do? Write beautiful drivel. Look, your job is not to write. Your job is to sell stuff, and it just so happens that you’ll use words to do that. Your clients don’t want words. They want sales. You’re a salesman with a computer. If you want to write a sonnet or the great American novel, fine. Do it on your own time.

Stop dissing my designer. This is not as common now as it used to be. Back in the day, copywriters thought that copy was the only thing that was important. Designers were only people who made the copy look nice. One of my clients used to call designers “wrists.” But it was untrue then and it’s untrue now. Design is important. Really important. It’s what brings your copy to life and makes it sing. Don’t you dare diss designers. They’re the final link in the chain for creating printed or online messages and can make or break the whole project. Get to know the designers you work with and treat them like the professionals they are.

Answer my calls and emails, dammit! Okay, you’ve been taking some courses on productivity and now you’re doing the 43 folder thing, breaking your work into 20-minute chunks, and generally being an anal-retentive control freak. Fine. If that works, go for it. But don’t think for a minute that you can get away with only checking your email or phone messages once in the morning and once in the evening. Your clients expect you to be responsive. So respond. There are few things more annoying than calling or emailing someone and having to wait for a day or two before they reply.

Spell check. Use it. That about says it. You have a spell checker. Use it. Print out your copy. Check it again. No one expects you to be perfect. A few typos can easily slip through on big projects. But those should be few. It can really shake a client’s confidence if you deliver sloppy copy. Remember a few moments ago when I said you’re more of a salesman than a writer? Well, forget that. When you’re proofing what you’ve written, be a writer. Get the spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style right. And get it right the first time. I like to deliver solid copy that needs little if any editing. It impresses clients.

Keep regular business hours. One of the big benefits of freelancing is that you can set your own hours. Flexibility is wonderful and can dramatically de-stress your life. But if you’re always out, if clients always get your voice mail, if people can only reach you in the evening or at random times, you’re going to fall out of the loop. The business world works anywhere from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. You need to be available during these hours and doing work at the same time as everyone else. You can work at other times too, but there’s no getting away from regular business hours.

Get to the point. I’m busy. Being chatty is like having bad breath. No one will ever tell you. They’ll just try to avoid talking to you. Sure, you can socialize for a minute or two. But most clients are in an office with a pile of work on their desk and just can’t shoot the breeze with you all day. When you’re on the phone or in a meeting, know what you have to say and say it. You don’t have to tell a long story about it, just SAY IT. People don’t need every fact preceded by the history of Western civilization, for pity’s sake.

Stop bitching about your fee. If you think you deserve to earn more, then start charging more for your work. If you can’t get more for your work, maybe you need to polish up your skills and your reputation a little. The point is, once you agree on a fee, shut up about it. Do the work. Accept the fee. Move on. If you let a client negotiate you down from your normal fee, there was a reason you let that happen. You needed the work or you wanted to work with that particular client or whatever. You accepted the deal. Live with it. No one likes a cry baby.

It’s annoying when you send your invoice with your copy. Asking for your money the very moment you finish writing sends clients up the walls. It’s almost as if you’re saying, “Here’s your copy. Now PAY me!” It’s just too forward. It gives the impression that the money is more important than the client’s needs. Besides, your client may have a few changes. You’re not that great, remember? Wait until you’re sure the client is satisfied and the project is finished before sending your invoice.

Don’t call me every week asking for work. Clients don’t like it. Prospects don’t like it. No one likes it. Be aggressive in tracking down work, but don’t be a jerk. No one owes you a paycheck. There’s a big difference between being persistent and being a pest. For a pending project, you might call a couple times. But if you’re just fishing for new work, every three months is plenty. And you don’t have to always use the phone. Send a link to an article. Ask for advice. Comment on your client’s advertising. Just staying in touch is all that’s necessary. They know you want work and a light reminder that you’re still around is sufficient.

Had enough? That seed should be wearing off now, but I want you to remember this little experiment. Maybe it will help you make an extra effort to act like a professional. When you do, your clients will think a lot of really nice things, such as “I love your copy” and “it’s a pleasure to work with you.”

Related posts:

1. 7 freelance tricks to get new clients fast
2. 11 insider secrets for becoming a freelance pro
3. Are you making these 7 freelance website mistakes?

Yes, yes, I know. There are a zillion rules and formulas that copywriters follow to write effective copy. And yes, you can make a living just writing the same copy over and over for different clients. I even know one copywriter (no I won’t say who it is) who has admitted to literally cutting and pasting copy from one project to another to get work done.

But most copywriters find that creativity is an essential tool for writing well. This is especially true today, because there are so many different media and so much innovation in advertising and marketing.

I’ve written about ways to boost your creativity. But today we’re going to talk about some of the roadblocks to creativity.

You see, I believe creativity is something you’re born with. But along the way, we pick up bad habits that block this creativity. And if you want to energize your creative powers, you have to first consider what might be holding you back.

Ready? This might be a little painful. Or enlightening. Or both.

Are you …

Creating and evaluating simultaneously? You can’t drive a car in first and in reverse. Likewise, you shouldn’t create and evaluate. Creating is generating new ideas, visualizing, looking ahead, considering the possibilities. Evaluating is analyzing and judging, picking apart ideas and sorting them out into piles of good and bad, useful and useless. Most people evaluate too soon and too often, and therefore create less.

Avoiding real change? There are two forms of creative imagination: Hunting and Changing. Hunting is finding something that already exists and applying it to your problem. Changing is modifying something you already have and transform it into something new. Both are useful, but they are not the same.

Suffering from the expert syndrome? This a big problem in the copywriting field, where egos often balloon to the size of small planets. I suppose it takes a healthy ego to succeed in this business, but if you think you know everything there is to know, you’ll be blustering more than thinking. And you’ll inevitably make mistakes and miss opportunities.

Wallowing in the novice trap? You don’t know the basics. You don’t have experience. Or you think you’re too smart to spend time with the problem or understand the proven formulas and rules of thumb. You can’t be creative until you know what has been created by others.

Making the one right answer mistake? As a student in school, your teachers probably said they wanted you to think for yourself. However, come test time, you knew you’d better memorize the facts and give the right answers or your grade would suffer. This simplistic right and wrong orientation pervades our society and it’s the very antithesis of creative thinking. Except for simple problems like 2 + 2 = 4, there’s seldom just one right answer for anything.

Going with the first solution? One of the secrets to creativity is playing around with alternatives. Finding one solution is just the beginning. Many advertising writers, for example, write a hundred headlines or more before choosing the one they like best. When you go with the first solution, you’re not creating, you’re just recalling. You are settling for a ballpark answer. Sometimes that’s fine, but if you do it all the time, you will be trapped by your own limited experience.

Being too logical? Copywriting is a practical profession, but trying to be sensible and rational all the time will strangle a creative idea before it’s born. The brain is not a computer, after all, it’s a vastly complex organ designed to process emotion, intuition, language, symbols, dreams, and all manner of illogical data. That’s what it does best. Confining yourself to what’s practical is limiting and, frankly, illogical.

Sticking slavishly to the rules? Most copywriting rules are actually just guidelines, not laws written in stone. There are three levels of creative mastery in copywriting: 1) The Novice, who doesn’t know the rules. 2) The Hack, who has learned the rules, but is trapped by them. 3) The Professional, who knows the rules and, every now and then, breaks the rules, or even comes up with news rules, when it’s appropriate.

Cowering from the fear of failure? Most people remember baseball legend Babe Ruth as one of the great hitters of all time, with a career record of 714 home runs. However, he was also a master of the strike out. No one wants to make mistakes or fail. But if you try too hard to avoid failure, you’ll also avoid success. It has been said that to increase your success rate, you should aim to make more mistakes. In other words, take more chances and you’ll succeed more often.

Trembling from the fear of ambiguity? Most people like things to make sense and seek neat and tidy solutions to problems. Unfortunately, writing is not neat and tidy. There are some things you’ll never understand and some problems that you’ll never solve. Most great creative ideas emerge from a swirl of chaos. You must develop a part of yourself that is comfortable with mess and confusion.

Lacking confidence in yourself? A certain level of uncertainly accompanies every creative act. A small measure of self-doubt is healthy. However, you must have confidence in your abilities. Much of this comes from experience, but some will come from familiarity with how creativity works.

Allowing others to discourage you? Even if you have a wide-open mind and understand the need to make mistakes in order to learn, most people around you will not. They will tell you in various ways to conform, to be sensible, and not to rock the boat. Ignore them. The path to every victory is paved with predictions of failure.

Trapping yourself with functional fixedness? This is a common human shortcoming. A person suffering from functional fixedness sees a wrench as a wrench and nothing else. A creative person sees a wrench as a wrench, but also as a hammer, or a lever, or a weapon, or whatever else is needed at the moment.

Running away from complicated problems? If you like to solve problems quickly, it may be hard to sit down and spend time working on something elusive. We all have to work on a schedule, but rushing to an acceptable solution inhibits your ability to find a good solution. You think that the problem will take too much time or effort. So, you use a formula. Or you ignore the problem altogether and do nothing.

Living inside your comfort zone? The mind needs fresh input to remain fresh. It is helpful to venture outside your specialty to see things from a new point of view and to acquire new ideas. Sometimes the most important things to know are the things you think you’ll never need to know.

Telling yourself you’re not creative? Everyone is creative. Some are better at using their gifts than others. Some are more open and free in their thoughts. However, every human being on the planet has vast, untapped creative abilities, including you.

Related posts:

1. 10 easy ways to instantly energize your creative powers

I’m not talking about writer’s block. I’m talking about what some people would call willpower, the willpower to write regularly, stick to writing schedules, and succeed.

But what is willpower? We tend to define “willpower” as energetic determination or inner strength. It’s as if we’re saying, some people can overcome their hurdles while others are just too weak. It’s a comment about character.

But hold on a minute. I think that’s unfair and inaccurate. In my opinion, some people are simply programmed for writing success while others lack that programming. So it’s really about learned behavior.

Those who can flip a switch in their brain and start writing aren’t overcoming anything or exercising great power of will, they simply enjoy writing. And that enjoyment comes from programming in their brain that gives them pleasure and satisfaction.

This makes a big difference in how you think about writing, because while it’s hard to change character, it’s much easier to change learned behavior. We’re simply talking about breaking old habits and forming new ones. Right?

So let’s drop the judgmental attitude, and concentrate on creating some positive habits that can lead to greater pleasure from writing and greater writing success in your life and career.

How? I thought you’d never ask. I just happen to have 7 suggestions.

1. Set a goal. It’s not enough to say, “I’m going to write more.” You need something more specific. Say to yourself, “I’m going to write 5 pages a day.” Or if you have larger ambitions, such as writing a book, create a schedule for writing and completing each chapter. Be realistic. Set a goal that is reasonable and attainable.

2. Make a contract. A contract? Yes, a contract. Say it out loud and mean it. If you have to, write it down and sign it. Better yet, announce your contract to people you care about. Making a public commitment creates a sense of obligation and gives you extra motivation. Your friends will ask you how you’re coming along and, if you care about what they think, you’ll want to report success.

3. Shape your behavior. Professional dog trainers use a technique called “shaping.” If you want a dog to roll over, you can’t make that happen all at once, so you give it a treat for every action that comes close to the desired result. A treat for lowering the head. A treat for laying down. And so on. You keep up the treats as the dog slowly comes closer and closer to rolling over.

Okay, you’re not a dog, but the same idea can work. That’s how you learned to act and feel the way you do today. You weren’t born the way you are. Little by little, your behavior was shaped, probably by random events, so that you either loved to write, hated to write, or like most people, fell somewhere in between.

So begin to give yourself small treats for each tiny change that brings you closer to being the sort of writer you want to be. A treat for sitting down at your desk at the same time every day. A treat for writing one page. A treat for completing a project. The positive reinforcement can slowly shape your writing attitude and behavior. Choose any small reward you want and build on each little success.

4. Create new writing cues. If you’ve ever tried to diet, you know how environmental cues affect you. Turn on the TV and suddenly you’re hungry. Why? Because you’ve eaten while watching TV so many times, one becomes a cue for the other.

The same thing happens with writing. For example, set up a place to write and do nothing else in that area. Over time, all you’ll have to do is sit down and your brain will tell you to start writing. Even better, create cues with something particularly pleasant, such as your favorite song, an exercise you like, a cup of your favorite coffee blend, anything.

5. Do happy talk. You know that little voice in your head? (I know it’s not just me who hears it.) What that little voice says can have a huge effect on your behavior. Banish the stinkin’ thinkin’ and start complimenting yourself and bucking yourself up. Focus on what you do well while you write and ignore your shortcomings.

After all, you don’t have to be perfect to be a good writer. In school, my teachers marked all my errors in red pen and graded me based on what I did wrong. Later, the little voice in my head started doing the same thing. “Look at those weak verbs.” “Awkward transition.” “You spelled that word wrong, dummy.” It made writing agony because it was all about avoiding mistakes.

But over time, I silenced the critical voice and only listened to the positive voice. Now, while I still make mistakes, I revel in what I do right, in a well-crafted sentence or a point well-made. It makes writing something I enjoy rather than dread.

6. Record your progress. If you’re really serious about programming your brain, start a writer’s journal or a simple log to keep track of what you write. Don’t write down criticisms. Record only what you do well, every success, and each goal achieved. Record at least one positive thing about everything you write. As you review your notes, you can’t help but feel energized and encouraged.

7. Reward yourself. When you reach a major goal, give yourself a significant reward. Buy that pair of shoes you’ve been longing for. Splurge on a big screen TV. Take a vacation to your favorite beach or city. If it’s a really big deal, throw a party, invite your friends, and let them toast your success. Take the time to bask in your victory and enjoy the moment. These are landmarks in your life that can forever change your attitudes and learned behaviors about writing.

Just remember, you weren’t born with the attitudes and behaviors you have. You learned them. Your mind was slowly programmed to approach writing in a certain way. Some people won the lottery and got great programming naturally. But if you’re like most people, you didn’t get this natural programming and will have to re-program yourself.

So scrap the old mental software and program yourself for writing success. Do a little each day. If I can do it, so can you.

Related posts:

1. 7 writing workflow tips to double your writing speed

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?

All those emails can really eat up a big chunk of your day if you let them. Communicating with clients or bosses or colleagues is important, but if you don’t manage email efficiently, the time loss is huge. And if you’re one of those types who uses your inbox as an archive of your life, you’re in deep trouble.

For me, email management is a massive issue, since I run a copywriting business and help run an influential and rapidly growing nonprofit. I use templates to answer common questions. I use filters to auto sort messages into different in-boxes. I try to keep replies short. But I still get overwhelmed on some days.

Merlin Mann to the rescue. Merlin is the founder of 43folders, a blog about finding the time to do your best creative work. He gave a presentation to Google youngsters employees about how to handle email. His method is called Inbox Zero.

It’s all common sense, really. But if you’re flummoxed about the avalanche of email you get and send, this may help you sort things out and conquer your inbox.

I’m curious, what email management issues do you have? Are you able to get your inbox to zero every time you check your email?

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They’ve been around since 2008 and have billed themselves as a way for freelance designers to access a worldwide market, and an affordable way for small and medium-sized businesses to get logos and graphic design quickly and affordably. Now they’re expanding into freelance writing services.

Sounds great, right? That depends on your point of view.

From the point of view of hobbyists, stay-at-home-moms, out-of-work creatives, students, and desperate freelancers, CrowdSPRING probably sounds like a pretty good idea. From the point of view of a professional, the idea is pernicious and borderline unethical.

What CrowdSPRING is really doing is sounding a freelance cattle. They’re automating the spec work concept. They want to convince you to work for free … and like it!

Here’s how it works.

A business posts a project and the price they want to pay. Freelancers then submit “entries” for that project. CrowdSPRING promises the client at least 25 entries to choose from and boasts that the average project attracts over 100 entries. The client chooses a winner and the freelancer gets the “award,” while CrowdSPRING pockets 15%.

This is a great arrangement for the business. They get at least 25 freelancers to submit work, but they only have to pay for one. This is called “spec” work or work on speculation.

But for the freelancers, it’s not such a great deal. I looked at project and award statistics for the top 10 freelance designers (there were only 4 writing projects when I looked today). This top freelancer has received 944 awards out of 3,942 entries. That means this person has been paid for 1 of 4 projects since mid-2008.

So if this freelancer charges $25 an hour, the actual pay works out to $6.25 an hour. That’s less than minimum wage.

But it gets worse. In the top 10, one of the freelancers has received only 226 awards out of 2,643 entries. That’s 1 in 11. Using the same $25 an hour rate, this freelancer is earning $2.27 an hour. This is getting embarrassingly close to what some kids get for an allowance or a good report card.

And if you can believe it, one freelancer I saw has been paid for just 1 out of 311 projects. That’s so pitiful, I can’t even fathom the lack of self-respect and self-worth that would cause someone to do so much work for so little pay.

To be fair, CrowdSPRING is a solid business concept. It’s successful with over 50,000 freelancers around the world who participate  (though I wonder how many are in the U.S. vs. India or other low wage countries). And the fees for projects seem to be reasonable, if not lucrative. At least you don’t have the ridiculously low offers you find on some other freelance sites.

But you don’t get paid for all your work. You have to roll the dice and “win” the pay.

If you’re a professional, you don’t want to do spec work if you have any real experience or expertise. Spec work is the human version of a cattle call. You are asked to strut your stuff along with a herd of other freelancers and hope you are chosen.

What other professional does this? Doctors? Lawyers? Dentists? Airline pilots? Accountants? What would you think of a dentist who agreed to treat 25 patients and get paid for just one? You’d think he or she was desperate. Would you want to work with a desperate dentist?

For a professional freelancer, doing spec work perpetuates an unprofessional image, devalues your time and skill, and prevents you from reaching your full potential.

I’ve always turned away ad agencies and businesses who hold cattle calls for spec work. I refuse to work with CrowdSPRING or any similar operation. And if you seek to be a full-time professional copywriter, so should you.

CrowdSPRING will undoubtedly attract thousands of writers who don’t want to be a professional, don’t care about the profession of copywriting, and don’t realize they’re being taken advantage of. I hope you are not one of them.

You are not cattle. Ignore the freelance cattle call.

You’ll notice that I’m not giving you links for CrowdSPRING because I don’t want to promote their work-for-free concept. But I will give you links to two sites that agree with me that spec work is unprofessional:

Spec Watch

NO! SPEC

Both are focused on design, but are militantly against doing spec work of any kind.

Please spread the word. Share this article with every freelancer you know.

Related posts:

1. 7 freelance tricks to get new clients fast
2. 8 time-eating freelance client species to avoid
3. Freelance fees: hourly or per project?

Imagine a local school asks you to write a fundraising letter to raise money for a new library.

You sit down at your computer and start typing.

They laughed when I suggested a new library, but when the kids started to read …

Dear Parent,

It hit me like a bolt of lightning!

The kids at St. Mary’s Middle School don’t read. For years, no one could figure out why. But now, a new breakthrough scientific study has revealed the shocking answer. NO LIBRARY!

That’s right. How can kids read if they have no books?

I ran into the same situation at my former school and after years of hand-wringing, trying every reading program under the sun, we experimented with a simple, book-lined library. And it worked!

Instantly, kids started to check out books and read them. The results were astonishing. And now you can get the same breathtaking results at St. Mary’s. With no risk or obligation.

You’ll be amazed when kids start checking out books in a wild frenzy of curiosity. You’ll stare wide-eyed as their brains swell and explode with knowledge. They’ll go to college. Get degrees. Be elected President. Discover medical cures. Travel to the stars.

Others may ask for a donation of $500 or more, but I’m not going to ask for $500 or $350 or even $200. In fact, I won’t even ask for $100.

For the next 28 days, you can donate to the St. Mary’s Library, soon to be jam packed with big, thick, juicy books, for just $49.95!

Your satisfaction is GUARANTEED! If you’re not 100% satisfied with the new library, just ask for you money back within 30 days after the grand opening, and you’ll receive a full refund (less processing fee), no questions asked!

What do the kids at St. Mary’s have to say?

“Yeah, I guess I’d read a book. If we had any.” – Johnny S.

“I don’t want to grow up dumb. Other kids have a library. Why not us?” – Sally Q.

“What’s a book?” – Pete H.

Don’t delay! This is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a lasting legacy for the kids at St. Mary’s Middle School. Mail your check today!

Sincerely,
Sister Catherine

P.S. WAIT! If you donate within the next 28 days, you’ll receive the Orange Zester 3000, the amazing new kitchen tool used by all the top chefs in Brockton, PA. Donate TODAY!!!

Uh … yeah.

Writing a fundraising letter isn’t the same as writing a letter to sell widgets and slicer-dicers.

With most “selling” copy, your job is to encourage a transaction. But with fundraising, your job is to make a more subtle appeal for assistance.

How about you hit the delete key and try that letter one more time.

The children of St. Mary’s are asking for your help …

Dear Parent,

I have bad news.

Our recent fundraising event to build a school library fell short of our goal. And unless we can raise the last $50,000, we won’t get the matching funds available to us from the National School Alliance (NSA).

Sadly, that means no library. No books. And another year of giving our children an education that’s less than they deserve.

We need your help right away. Can you afford a gift of $50? We’ve written to 1000 of our best, most reliable supporters. And if each of you can spare just $50, we’ll reach our goal, get the funding we need, and build the library we’ve promised our young students.

We don’t like asking you for yet another donation, since you’ve been so generous already. But frankly, you’re our last resort.

As you know, St. Mary’s has a reputation for educational excellence and high student test scores. But in the last few years, we’ve fallen behind. This is due to our inability to afford a proper library with the modern tools and resources today’s students (and teachers) need.

Without your help, we face another year of going without.

Can you find it in your heart to give just $50? We need your help today. The deadline for getting the matching funds is just 4 weeks away.

Thank you for your years of generous support. It’s people like you who make our school, and our community, a shining example of what community spirit can accomplish.

Sincerely,
Sister Catherine

P.S. To show our appreciation for your gift, a memorial brick with your name will be placed at the entrance to the new library. This will remind our students of how you helped to build a path for their future.

This is only a quick example, much shorter and far less polished than you would actually write for a fundraising letter. But it shows the difference. The approach is softer. More emotional. More personal.

To sell, you tug at the wallet. To raise funds, you tug at the heart.

Related posts:

1. How to write the perfect sales letter

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 …

1. A “job” spreadsheet. Use whatever software you have, Excel, Works, or whatever. I use OpenOffice.org.

2. A calendar. Since I already use ACT! for contact management, I decided to use the built-in calendar. It has the added advantage of tying projects to my client records. However, Windows includes a calendar. And there are dozens of other calendar programs available. Take your pick.

3. Computer folders. I have a big folder for active clients where I keep a separate folder for each client. In each client’s folder, I create an individual folder for each project.

4. File folders. These are just ordinary, manila folders with a tab at the top. If you plan to recycle folders like I do, you’ll also want some labels.

Now I’ll tell you how I set up my system, but feel free to modify it to suit your own needs.

First, set up your job spreadsheet. Click here to look at my spreadsheet template. This will make it easier to follow along. I’ve included a few sample projects just to show how it works.

Create the following columns:

Job/Invoice – This is for a unique 6-digit number for each job. It represents the year, month, and day the project starts. If the project starts on February 8, 2010, the job number is 100208 (10=2010, 02=February, 08=the 8th).

Client - The name of the business you’re writing for, such as World Wild Widgets, Inc.

Project Name – The name assigned to the project, such as New Widget Brochure Copy.

Contact – The name of the person you report to.

Start – The first day you work on the project.

End – The last day you work on the project.

Billed – The day you invoiced for the project.

Received – The day you received payment.

Invoice – The amount of the invoice.

Services – The amount you paid to hire designers or other vendors, if that is required. This may also include the cost of buying photos or other items that represent significant out-of-pocket cost.

Net - Invoice – Services = Net.

Hours – Your total hours worked on the project. I don’t bill per hour, but I track hours to see how profitable each project is. This is useful for making adjustments to a fee schedule.

Per Hour – Net / Hours = Per Hour.

Now that you have your columns set up, insert a formula to do totals for the Invoice, Services, Net, and Hours columns. Usually the formula looks something like SUM(L5:L151), where “SUM” means “add” and “L5″ (or whatever) represents a starting or ending cell in the column.

Insert a formula for the Per Hour column to track your average profit per hour. It should look something like K3/L3, where you’re dividing the Net column sum by the Hours column sum.

Don’t worry, these formulas are generally built in and you can apply them with a couple clicks. Or you can save my spreadsheet template and use it for yourself.

You’ll notice that I use colors for the data. Green means an active project. Red means a project that is finished and has been invoiced. Black means a completed, paid project.

That’s it for the spreadsheet.

Next, you’ll need your calendar, but all you have to do with this is mark the due date for each project. I use red to indicate due dates so they stand out. If your calendar offers an “alarm” to warn you when something is due, you can use that too.

Finally, when you start a project, create a computer folder and a physical folder.

Each computer folder is labeled with the job name and number. So, for example, if I’m writing a sales letter for XYZ Company starting on December 10, 2010, the computer folder is labeled “XYZ Sales Letter 101210. This is where I keep project briefs, samples, research, copy files, etc.

Each physical folder is labeled with the client name plus job name and number. I don’t use paper any more than I have to, but I like to brainstorm on paper and organize notes this way. Plus, I keep a job sheet inside this folder to track activities and time.

And there you have it. This simple system is easy to manage, tracks the status and profit of each project, provides basic information for later reference, and helps you meet deadlines. It’s mercifully low-tech, so you have no software to buy or learn. It’s worked for me for years.

When I find something better, I’ll use it. But so far, I haven’t. If you have what you think is a better system or a simple project tracking tool, let me know.

Related posts:

1. 7 writing workflow tips to double your writing speed
2. Freelance fees: hourly or per project?

So I have a love / hate relationship with mission statements. Too often they’re an exercise in overinflated ego and empty rhetoric. (The photo is a tongue-in-cheek reference to “the vision thing” that leads some companies to write a fuzzy, self-indulgent mission statement.)

However, it is important for an organization to have a mission and that mission should be expressed in a well-written mission statement. It’s the corporate version of an elevator pitch.

Recently while writing a mission statement for one of my clients, I realized how hard it can be to express in just a few words the whole of an organization’s purpose for being. But in my usual, step-by-step approach to projects, I came up with a set of rules for how a mission statement should be written to make it useful.

It’s important to understand that a mission statement must guide and inspire. It’s a verbal road map that shows where an organization is and where it’s headed. It describes why an organization exists, what principles it adheres to, and what it strives to accomplish.

In other words, it defines the philosophy, mores, and goals of the organization. Generally, there’s a somewhat lofty tone that lifts the mission statement above the task-oriented language of most marketing. However, as I’ve already pointed out, this can easily spiral out of control and become empty rhetoric. So be careful.

Here are 4 tips for writing a good mission statement.

1. Keep it short. It should be about a paragraph. Long enough to say something, but short enough so that you can remember most of it.

Here’s an example of a mission statement from H&R Block that’s way too long:

To help our clients achieve their financial objectives by serving as their tax and financial partner. As the world’s largest tax services company, H & R Block has one-to-one relationships with millions of clients, helping them benefit from all of the deductions and credits available to them and build a better financial future. It is the only major company that offers a full range of software, online and in-office tax solutions, combined with financial information and suggestions that enable clients to consider how they could achieve their financial objectives. This advice — the H &R Block Advantage — includes suggestions about retirement savings, home ownership, saving for their children’s college education, eligibility for government programs and other alternatives. When clients request in-depth financial plans and investment advice, their H &R Block tax professional refers them to H & R Block Financial Advisors Inc., which can assist them with a detailed investment plan and investment services. H &R Block Financial Advisors, member NYSE, SIPC, employs more than 1,000 financial advisors serving clients in more than 150 offices in the U.S. H & R Block Inc. is not a registered broker-dealer. Clients who request information about home mortgages are referred to H &R Block Mortgage Corp., which offers a full range of retail mortgage products. Our research shows that our H &R Block Advantage advice package along with related financial services increased client satisfaction with H & R Block’s tax services. H & R Block has long been a trusted tax partner to millions of taxpayers. Now we are enhancing the value of our tax services by helping clients as their tax and financial partner.

Wow. Did you go to sleep while reading that? I did. I’m not sure this is even a mission statement. It’s more like an “about us” web page or bad brochure copy.

Here’s an example from a nonprofit called Food Gatherers that’s short and to-the-point:

Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community by: reducing food waste through the rescue and distribution of perishable and non-perishable food, coordinating with other hunger relief providers, educating the public about hunger, and developing new food resources.

2. Stay focused. A mission statement should not be a comprehensive business plan. It should briefly outline philosophy, mores, and goals and nothing else. These are guiding principles. The H&R Block example above is an example of a mission statement that strays too far beyond principles.

Here’s an example of a focused mission statement from CFCU Credit Union:

To provide the highest level of personal financial services in a friendly, professional manner; to encourage thrift, savings and the wise use of credit; to increase the knowledge and ability of our members to manage and control their financial well-being; to provide sound financial management in order to maintain earnings for our continued growth and to provide our employees with a challenging and rewarding career.

3. Be specific. A mission statement should be descriptive and actionable. Customers or clients should understand what the organization is saying. And employees should understand what they’re supposed to do.

Here’s a laughably unspecific example from Ninety Nine Restaurant:

A Passion to Serve.

I have no idea what that means. Maybe it’s a joke, because restaurants “serve.” Maybe whoever wrote it was just lazy. Either way, it’s vague and useless.

Here’s a much more specific example from Brannigans:

To ensure that each guest receives prompt, professional, friendly and courteous service. To maintain a clean, comfortable and well maintained premises for our guests and staff. To provide at a fair price – nutritional, well-prepared meals – using only quality ingredients. To ensure that all guests and staff are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. To thank each guest for the opportunity to serve them. By maintaining these objectives we shall be assured of a fair profit that will allow us to contribute to the community we serve.

4. Make it inspirational. This is the emotional element you need to infuse into your mission statement copy. If you write something short, focused, and specific, you have already out-written 90 percent of other mission statements. But if you can also make it inspirational, you’ll put it over the top.

Here’s an example from Denny’s Restaurant that really falls flat:

Our Mission at Denny’s is to establish beneficial business relationships with diverse suppliers who share our commitment to customer service, quality and competitive pricing.

Doesn’t exactly make you gung-ho about eating there or doing business with them.

Here’s a more inspirational example from CARE:

Our mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility. We facilitate lasting change by:

• Strengthening capacity for self-help
• Providing economic opportunity
• Delivering relief in emergencies
• Influencing policy decisions at all levels
• Addressing discrimination in all its forms

Guided by the aspirations of local communities, we pursue our mission with both excellence and compassion because the people whom we serve deserve nothing less.

This mission statement runs on all cylinders. It’s short, focused, specific, and inspiration. Notice that it even uses bullet points to drive home the actionable language.

Like a lot of copywriting, writing mission statements isn’t just about how you write, but what you write. If done properly, it can be a fairly involved project. But the payoff for the organization you’re writing for is a single, simple statement that lays the groundwork for future branding, marketing, and communication.

For more examples of mission statements, good and bad, take a look at MissionStatements.com.

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