Entries Tagged 'copywriter' ↓

In our last post, we brought you the first instalment of our interview with Andy Maslen talking about copywriting.

In this second instalment, Andy talks about working as a freelancer.

Andy Maslen on Freelancing

1. What prompted your decision to go freelance?

I got sacked while on holiday and realised I didn’t want to be a marketing director any more.

2. How do you make sure you manage your time effectively?

I’m not sure I always do, but I try always to write copy between 8.30 and 11.00 a.m. because that’s when I do it best. I ensure we have deadlines for every project, then stick to or beat them. I have an office, not a space in the house. We have a dog and two children to look after as well, so there really is only a finite amount of time for working – that concentrates the mind, I find.

3. What would you say is the biggest challenge of working on a freelance basis?

It has to be money, doesn’t it? If you don’t work, you don’t make any. That would lead you on to selling yourself. So that’s the number one challenge. I happen to enjoy selling, but I know a lot of freelancers don’t.

4. What are the advantages of being freelance?

Where do we start? Freedom, up to a point. Earnings potential, ditto. No office politics. It’s very motivating running your own business, too.

5. Do you have any tips on how to network effectively?

To paraphrase JFK, ask not what this person can do for you; ask what they can do for your network. I’d also say, figure out who you want to work for then identify people who could help you enter that market. If you want to work for international oil companies, you probably won’t need to worry about your local business breakfast club. You might, though, need to fly to Dallas for a conference. And also, get over your shyness. Everybody feels a bit nervous, so practice your introduction: smile, shake hands and say, “Hi, I’m Andy. What do you do?” (You’ll get your chance to say what you do in a minute or two, but asking questions is an easy way to develop quick rapport.)

6. As a freelancer, which marketing tool have you found most effective?

These days, as MD of a copywriting agency, my reputation seems to open the doors. When I didn’t have a reputation, I used to telephone people I wanted to work for, or write to them. My newsletter, Maslen on Marketing, is a great marketing tool, and we devote a lot of time building our list.

7. What advice would you give someone who is considering going freelance?

Build up a six-month financial reserve. And either be good at selling, become good at selling or hire someone who is good at selling. I’ve written a book called Write Copy, Make Money that gives a lot more detailed advice, including interviews with some pretty successful freelance copywriters – you included Sally!

8. Just for fun, what little known fact can you tell us about Andy Maslen?

I once went on a summer holiday with John Mackay, who went on to play guitar for Souxsie and the Banshees.

9. Is there anything you have in the pipeline you want to share?

We’re launching a new venture called The Andy Maslen Copywriting Academy. It’s a website with a free resource centre and we’ll be running a ten-week online course in copywriting twice a year, in March and September. The 2012 course starts on 10 September. The site’s in beta just now but it will be at www.copywritingacademy.co.uk.

Thank you so much Andy for taking the time to do this interview. As for all you copywriters out there (established or just starting out), you can get your hands on Andy’s books here. Plus, you can sign up to Andy’s Copywriting Academy and receive his 5 free resources (including his newsletter) here.

Andy Maslen F IDM

Andy Maslen is Managing Director of Sunfish Ltd, a copywriting agency specialising in corporate publicity, direct marketing and subscriptions. He writes and speaks regularly on copywriting and corporate communications and is a best-selling author.

Andy has worked with, among others, The Prudential, Nobel Biocare, The Economist Group, Emap, the DTI, BBC Worldwide, Hamleys, The London Stock Exchange, The British Standards Institution, the RSPB, Time Out, The New York Times Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Andy is a lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing and author of Write to Sell: the Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting; 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: from Leading Companies Around the World; The Copywriting Sourcebook: How to Write Better Copy, Faster – For Everything from Ads to Websites, and Write Copy, Make Money: How to Build Your Own Successful Freelance Copywriting Business, all published by Marshall Cavendish.

www.sunfish.co.uk

www.copywritingacademy.co.uk

It’s not every day you get an email from one of your idols, but that’s what happened to me last year.

When I started out as a copywriter, my holy grail was a book called ‘Write to Sell – The Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting’ by Andy Maslen. His words helped me develop my writing techniques to enabled me to become a successful copywriter. So, you can imagine my shock (in a good way) when I received an email from Andy asking if he could interview me for his new book ‘Write Copy, Make Money‘. I finally got to meet him at the launch of his book and we’ve stayed in touch, which has led to this post.

Now it’s my turn to interview Andy. He’s been kind enough to talk to Freelance Copywriter’s Blog about working as a copywriter and the world of freelancing. Today’s instalment is all about copywriting.

Andy Maslen on Copywriting

1. How did you get into copywriting?

My first ‘proper’ job was working as a marketing assistant for a research publisher. Copywriting was part of my job – for mailshots, press releases and catalogues. I discovered I was good at it and tried to do as much of it as I was able. I started buying books to find out how to do it properly and nagging my boss to send me on courses.

2. What is it about copywriting that gets you out of bed every morning?

Simply that I love writing it. No two days are the same and I get to spend my time working on some fascinating projects with some very nice people.

3. What has been your greatest challenge so far?

Sending in the first draft of my first-ever copy as a freelance, back in 1996. I could hardly bear – or dare – to let it go. I wanted to ensure it was perfect, which, of course, it never can be, before letting the client see it, and I was terrified it wouldn’t beat their control (it was a mailshot for an IT magazine). It did, for which I will be eternally thankful.

4. What has been your best copywriting experience?

I do like it when clients send me grateful emails without being asked. And I love it when we write something that helps a client hit their business targets. In straightforward copywriting terms, probably writing the Annual Report for a Swiss client – stakeholders up to and including the Chairman of a quoted company.

5. What has been your worst copywriting experience?

Ooh, tough one. There was a job I turned down – to write copy for a new product on which, as I was told, “Our Chairman and our CEO don’t agree, and we also have a few other directors of business units who don’t want to launch it. Oh, and we haven’t fixed the price yet. We thought you could help us sort it all out.” In general, I am grateful, still, for every copywriting job. Even if it ends up not going in the portfolio, we still get paid.

6. What would be your dream copywriting job?

Writing launch copy for a new Jaguar sports car – but I’d have to spend a few days driving it round country roads and test tracks to ensure I got all the emotion-led benefits copy just right.

7. How do you deal with difficult clients?

We try to avoid problems in the first place by taking on clients who think the same way about copywriting as we do. We’ve developed a very simple set of questions we ask them that helps everyone decide whether working together would be a good idea.

If they’re asking reasonable but challenging questions about the copy, we explain why we’ve written it the way we have. If they’re challenging our copy on the grounds of personal taste, we will argue the point but may decide to concede. After all, they’re paying the piper.

If they’re being difficult about paying, we send a series of emails culminating in a friendly note that we intend to seek legal redress.

8. Can you describe the creative process you go through when starting a new project?

You’ll have to forgive me for quoting my hero, David Ogilvy, who said, “I don’t want you to tell me you find my adverts ‘creative’, I want you to find them so compelling you buy the product”. In other words, I don’t see what I do as a creative process; it’s a commercial process. And it goes like this: I spend some time thinking very hard about what problems the client’s product or service solves, and for whom. I find out everything I can about the customer, and the product, preferably from the people who make it as well as sell it. And I get a very good written brief from the client.

Then, once I’ve done all this I usually go for a walk with my dog. I mull over the approach I want to take and come back to the office. Then I sit and stare at my screen very hard for a few minutes. If something comes, I start writing as fast as possible without looking at the screen until I run out of steam.

If nothing comes, I do some more thinking and switch to a different project or activity. I find that an approaching deadline stimulates my creativity wonderfully.

9. What advice would you give someone thinking about breaking into copywriting?

Go for it! It’s a lovely way to earn a living. More specifically, read everything you can lay your hands on about selling, marketing, advertising and, of course, copywriting. Know the kind of copy you want to write and the kind of company you want to work for, either as a freelance or as an in-house copywriter. Develop a thick skin and good diplomacy skills. And realise that you should break into copywriting because you love selling not because you love writing. If you love writing for its own sake, write fiction or poetry or be a journalist – copywriting is a business and it’s a tough one at that.

10. You’ve written a number of books about copywriting, how did that come about?

When I set up my agency, Sunfish, in 1996, I wrote our marketing strategy on a little piece of paper. In full, it read “Books – Articles – Speeches – Training”. So I always knew I would have to write a book. I wrote a draft of one that sat in my pending tray for about five years, then a friend introduced me to her publisher and he expressed an interest. I wrote a second draft and submitted it and he liked it, so that was that. It sold moderately well, so my publisher was keen for me to write more and I was happy to oblige.

Stay tuned for Malsen on Freelancing…

Andy Maslen F IDM

Andy Maslen is Managing Director of Sunfish Ltd, a copywriting agency specialising in corporate publicity, direct marketing and subscriptions. He writes and speaks regularly on copywriting and corporate communications and is a best-selling author.

Andy has worked with, among others, The Prudential, Nobel Biocare, The Economist Group, Emap, the DTI, BBC Worldwide, Hamleys, The London Stock Exchange, The British Standards Institution, the RSPB, Time Out, The New York Times Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Andy is a lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing and author of Write to Sell: the Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting; 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: from Leading Companies Around the World; The Copywriting Sourcebook: How to Write Better Copy, Faster – For Everything from Ads to Websites, and Write Copy, Make Money: How to Build Your Own Successful Freelance Copywriting Business, all published by Marshall Cavendish.

www.sunfish.co.uk

www.copywritingacademy.co.uk

If you think marketing and advertising are one and the same, there’s a pretty good chance your marketing efforts are being less than successful.  

If you cast your mind back to the bad old days, companies would advertise to you left right and centre. You would be bombarded by less than subtle sales messages wherever you went.

Our TVs, magazines, newspapers and mailboxes were full of ‘buy from us now’ messages desperate to grab your hard earned cash.

But the landscape looks very different these days, with businesses moving away from advertising and towards marketing.

Nope, still don’t get it

In that case, you’re probably a business that has dabbled in social media, blogging, article and video marketing only to decide that it doesn’t work for you.

Well, the reason it’s not working is probably because you’re still advertising rather than marketing.

Let me explain.

If you’re advertising, you’re effectively shouting at your customers ‘buy now’ with little regard for what they actually want.

Perhaps that approach used to work for you, but today’s consumers want more than that, they want to be appreciated, wooed and persuaded.

The subtle art of marketing

Today’s marketing channels are social media, video and article marketing and blogging. Each of these disciplines offers the consumer engagement, information, and advice – effectively something for nothing. Or at least that is how it appears.

You see, people now want to feel as though you, as a company, value them and their business. They don’t just want you to come along, take their money and then head off into the night.

Today, you must engage with them, talk to them, offer them great information, be responsive to their questions and generally take in interested in what they want. And that’s why you must market and not advertise to them.

You see, marketing is all about getting to know your customer and being interested in what they really want, their likes and dislikes and being prepared to chat with them to build relationships.

Think carefully about them and how your product or service will benefit them and then show them.

The days of the blatant advertising are numbered; today your consumers want more. Talk to them, engagement with them and give them something for nothing. As you do so something magical happens, they begin to trust you and that trust will be manifested in the form of their credit card.

Market to your customers and they’ll be customers for life.

Sooner or later, you’ll realize that keeping up with the amount of content you need to keep your online marketing strategy going, is impossible on your own.

So, it’s time to call in the experts.

You’ve done your research, you’ve found a copywriter you believe you can work with – so what next?

Well, if you were thinking you could just email them a list of your requirements and then let them get on with it without any input from you, you’d be wrong.

Your writer is going to need a lot of information from you and they’ll probably either use a briefing document (which they’ll email to you for completion), or if they’re close enough, meet with you.

So, what can you expect to be asked about?

Ready? Here goes…

Your goals – what you’re looking to achieve with that particular project

Brand personality – how you want your company to seen. Plus, the work they do for you will also have to fit in with your current brand image, so they’ll need to know things like preferred vocabulary, house styles etc.

Preferred voice – do you want it formal, informal, conversational etc.

What’s worked in the past? – if you’ve had a particularly successful campaign in the past, let them see it so they can use its style within the new project. Also, if you know something doesn’t work, again let them know.

Your audience – they’re going to need to know whom they are writing for. That is your present clients base and potential clients, or those you want to do business with.

Background – don’t forget your writer is unlikely to have a background in your industry so don’t assume knowledge. Provide them with details of your main competitors, articles and blogs that might be relevant etc.

Back to basics – as mentioned earlier, your writer isn’t going to be an expert in your field, so be prepared to get right back to basics. After all, you’ve acquired a lot of knowledge over the years, but that doesn’t mean your audience have the same knowledge levels.

There’s a bit more yet – here are a few other things to bear in mind:

• Give them time – last minute deadlines don’t help anyone
• Give them one point of contact – this will avoid confusion and mixed messages
• Review drafts quickly – it saves a lot of time chasing
• Keep them in the loop – let them know what’s going on, especially if it’s going to affect their work

Treat your writer as a member of your team. The more they work with you, the more familiar they will become with your business, products and audience.

And that will be worth its weight in gold.

As a copywriter I know the power of ‘you’.

It’s a small word, but one that creates an instant connection between you and your customers. It shows you are thinking about them and how you can help make their life easier.

Back in 2010 I wrote a post about this very subject. It’s such an important part of copywriting I think it deserves a second airing – enjoy:

Those immortal words were famously uttered by Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in the 1976 classic, “Taxi Driver”.

This post isn’t about that particular iconic film though. Rather, I want to  talk about your website copywriting and how it should be written to gain the greatest effect.

Who do you want to read your website?

This is a topic that I have touched on in the past but it is so important, I’m going to talk about it again.

You might think it an odd question – “who do you want to read your website?” – but it isn’t really.

Look at it another way – what do you want your website to do?

Hopefully you answered “sell” or perhaps “generate enquiries”. But you will only do that if your website copy talks to your reader. Think back to the last networking event you went to. No doubt someone came up and introduced themselves to you and launched into their elevator pitch. What would you find most interesting? Someone who says:

“I’m John, I sell websites. My websites have state of the art features and they look great. They are really eye catching and I work with clients all over the country. I can create ecommerce sites, flash sites and just about anything else you can think of. My company is called Websitearama, this is my card, look me up.”

Lost the will to live yet? I’m guessing that you have now made your excuses and left John to find another victim to bore.

But what if John had said this?

“Hi, I’m John and I can help your website attract targeted traffic that will generate a constant stream of sales. With our software you’ll never lose a sale because it will automatically follow up every lead. You will no longer be walking away from business because you don’t have time to keep in touch with all your prospects – your website software will do it for you.”

In the first scenario John bangs on about his company. At no point does he even attempt to say how he can help his clients. His websites have state of the art features – so what? The are really eye-catching – so what?

But the second attempt starts to address his audience. His website attracts targeted traffic – so what? – so it generates a constant stream of leads. It follows up every lead automatically – so what? – so you’ll never lose another sale.

This time John has qualified the benefits of his product by illustrating what that will mean to his clients.

So what’s all that got to do with websites?

When someone lands on your website they are there for a reason – they want to buy what you are selling.

To make yourself stand out from all the other websites, you have to make sure you give them what they want. If they land on your site only to read all about your company (an Ego website) they’ll get bored and move on.

But if your website copy addresses them directly and tells them what you will do for them, you’ll get their attention.

You

That is a word that should be littered throughout your web copy. By using “you” and “your” you are directly addressing your reader. You are involving them in your website and showing them precisely why they’ll benefit from your product/service.

Stating what your benefits are and what they’ll do for your reader will prevent them from saying those dreaded words:

“What’s in it for me?”

If they have to say that you’ve failed to get your message across clearly.

So next time you are writing your web copy make sure you banish “we” and replace it with “you”. By writing directly to your reader you’ll begin to write benefits driven copy that will sell. It may take a bit of practice but stick with it as it will pay off.

By the way, this is also true for your other sales materials.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter