As the year draws to a close, it's a great time to start planning for success in the next one. Copywriters and small business owners, get out your pens! Here are questions for you to answer that will help you get a handle on how to ensure you're about to enter a winning year. Copywriters: Review your portfolio. Which kinds of pieces do you want to have more of? (Direct mail, … [Read more...]
4 Keys to Find Laser-Like Focus To Write Copy
Finding clients or planning a project is one thing, but actually sitting down and writing copy is another thing entirely. Here are four keys to improve your focus to write copy. First of all, keeping your mind on work is rarely an easy task (especially when you work from home)—even when it's something you're excited to do. Luckily, there are a few keys you can incorporate … [Read more...]
Beat the “Bad Economy” Blues
Do the words "fiscal cliff" and "economic trouble" fill you with fear? Take heart, copywriter—you're better set up than most... Today's question is from Brandon H., who writes, "I really want to get into copywriting, but don't companies tend to cut back on advertising and marketing when the economy isn't great? I don't want to put time and money into something that isn't … [Read more...]
The Right Ways to Provide Value
Today's post is another continuation of our discussion of the Top 10 Tips for Copywriters. (If you missed last week's discussion of the first three tips, you can find it right here.) So, without further ado, let's get right into it and talk about how to provide more value to clients and bosses. 4. It’s not about you: write for your client’s needs and exercise humility This … [Read more...]
Top 10 Things Every Copywriter Needs to Know
When you're first exploring copywriting, there's definitely a lot to learn! But there are a few quick tips that will help you gain traction a bit faster. Here's your no-nonsense list of 10 tips for copywriters (that every copywriter needs to know!). 1. Write About the Benefits (Not the Features) This is, hands-down, the most crucial point for any copywriter to … [Read more...]
Home Office Essentials for a Copywriter
If you're planning on working from home as a copywriter—whether it's full-time or part-time—you'll need a home office. What are the home office essentials you must have to work as a copywriter? Let's assume that you're going to be writing copy as a freelancer and doing it from home (as opposed to being on staff or working as a contractor at a company). The great news is that … [Read more...]
One Simple Resume Swap That Changes Your Game Completely
There's one simple swap that will make your copywriting resume stand out above all others. In fact, this is a swap you should make for any industry, copywriting or otherwise (so send this along to your friends). Most people have resumes that sound like they could have come out of a book—and usually because most people learned how to write them from a book. Which is all fine … [Read more...]
What Do You Bill For? (And What Don’t You?)
Many of us copywriters, even the Filthy Rich ones, have a hard time figuring out how to charge for our services. When you're working with a client who has an office that's far away from you—and they expect you to occasionally come in for meetings—do you charge them? Do you charge for meetings in general? Do you line-item revisions? As a sought-after professional … [Read more...]
Get Your Copywriting Clients to Sell Your Services For You
Once you've done work with clients, one of the best ways to get additional copywriting work is to re-pitch those same clients. But another great way to land additional copywriting work is to have your clients sell for you. What does that mean? Well, in essence, this is all about the magic of leverage: letting other happy customers sell you and your services to future … [Read more...]
How to Make Yourself Your Client’s Go-To Copywriter
Everyone wants to be needed. Well, okay, so sometimes things get a little complicated in the personal arena, but when it comes to business: Everyone wants to be needed. Being needed in the business arena directly translates to job security. But writing great copy alone is not enough to make you indispensable. Let’s explore how to make yourself the go-to copywriter for your … [Read more...]