Solopreneur clients—one-person businesses—can be great copywriting clients. But where do you find solopreneurs? Read on… Today’s question is from Jakob F., who asks, “I read your article about solopreneurs and think they might be a great target for my growing copywriting business. Where do I find them to pitch myself?” As you know, I always recommend that brand new … [Read more...]
Looking Back at 2016 and Planning for 2017
As we’re wrapping up the new year, I thought I’d share a year-end ritual that preps me for success in the new year. First, I start by looking back at the year that’s ending and asking myself a few questions. The key, of course, is to be gentle with myself and what’s over, but also be ruthlessly honest in my evaluation. What went well with my career this year? What were my … [Read more...]
SEO Copywriting Guide for Search Result Ranking Success
SEO copywriting, as I’ve said before, is a bit of a misnomer: All good copywriting should already be some degree of SEO copywriting. But, that said, there are still a few steps to take that can make your copy—and more often your content—more likely to show up on a search engine results page. Use this SEO copywriting guide as a checklist as you're writing and to check your work … [Read more...]
Gifts for the Writers on Your List (or for Yourself…)
If someone on your holiday shopping list is a writer, you know we can be a hard bunch to buy for. After all, we already spend a lot of time online shopping as we procrastinate while headlines loom. ;) So, to give you a little helpful holiday hand, we've put together this list of gifts that should make any writer gleeful. And if you happen to be a writer yourself, well, … [Read more...]
Where Content Belongs on Your Copywriting Portfolio Site
Content writing is different from copywriting. (For more on that, check out this article.) But it’s very likely that, at some point, a copy client is going to ask you to write content for them. Great—but where do those content samples belong on your portfolio site? Your portfolio site is for featuring your very best work, so it makes sense to put great samples up … [Read more...]
Why Copywriting Discounts Don’t Work
There are certain times of year (Black Friday, in particular!) where it can feel like every business is running discounts. But does that mean you should be discounting your copywriting services? Let’s dig into exactly what discounting copywriting services means for building your business. It’s true that many (if not most) businesses run some kind of sale on Black Friday, … [Read more...]
Copywriting Job Sites Will Cost You BIG Time
We’ve talked before about how copywriting job sites—sites where you post a profile and bid for work—are trouble. But today I want to show you just how much you could be losing. Our team receives a lot of questions about copywriting job sites or freelance job listing sites in general. They seem like a great deal: You create a profile, then people who are looking for … [Read more...]
What Copywriters Should Charge for Content Work
Professional copywriters know the difference between copy—writing that sells and persuades—and content—writing that educates, entertains, or inspires. They also know that, as copywriters, it’s likely that their clients will call on them to write content at one point or another. But what many don’t know is what they should charge for that content work. It’s true that content … [Read more...]
Creative Ways to Market Yourself as a Copywriter
Marketing your copywriting services via your website, networking, and with pitch emails is both crucial and here to stay. But with new technology and new outlets appearing every day, there are all kinds of opportunities to market yourself as a copywriter in new and creative ways. As I’ve said before, and I’m sure I’ll say thousands of times more, you absolutely must have an … [Read more...]
How to Deal With Copywriting Clients Who Don’t Pay
Every freelancer’s fear (apart from not finding work) is that their clients won’t pay them. For the record, it’s very, very rare that a client will just never pay you. In the course of my nearly 20-year copywriting career, it’s never happened. Remember: clients are human. And, as such, it does happen from time to time that they put off paying invoices longer than they … [Read more...]