Building a copywriting career isn’t easy—sometimes we need a little help. As you know, we don't recommend paying for any sort of software for copywriters unless it's going to pay for itself. (Or, unless you're so far along in your business that it doesn't matter!). But there are lots of free apps, sites, and software that allow you to keep track of your work, cut out … [Read more...]
How Do You Write an Email Funnel?
Many copywriters make the mistake of thinking of emails as single messages, shot out at their target audiences. Email funnels create a fuller conversation, taking the reader on a journey—and, ultimately, guiding them to your end result. Sometimes, the best copywriting can be simply to explain the benefit of a product and say “Buy Now.” But often, a prospective buyer needs to … [Read more...]
A Response to “I Never Should Have Followed My Dreams”
A story that I read in a decade ago on Salon.com popped up in my newsfeed again, and I was as baffled by it this time as I was the first time. The article is called “I Never Should Have Followed My Dreams,” and it’s about a man who quit his job in a social policy research organization to become a freelance copywriter. The gist of what happened is that he took an … [Read more...]
The Keys to Writing Landing Pages
A landing page can be one of the most important pages on your client’s website. But what makes for great landing page copywriting? A landing page is, very simply, the page that a visitor lands on after they’ve taken an action you wanted them to take—such as clicked on a Facebook ad. On that landing page, you’ll also have another action you want them to take; it might be to … [Read more...]
Copywriting Q&A: How to Find Solopreneur Clients
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...]