Entries from November 2008 ↓

As a copywriter I am used to blank expressions from people when they ask what I do. It is one of those professions that can be shrouded in mystery. It is quite nice at times to be viewed as mysterious, but for the sake of this article, I shall enlighten you.

In simple terms, a professional copywriter is a business sales writer. It is their job to produce persuasive copy for brochures, leaflets, sales letters, websites etc.

I like to think of myself as the G.I. Jane of the marketer’s arsenal, but with more hair.

Grab one of your brochures or check out your website; if you were honest, are these marketing materials really performing as you would want them to? Is your website copy drawing traffic to your site and is it the right kind of traffic? Do you get quality leads from your brochures?

Basically what I am asking is, are you frustrated by the lack of success of your marketing efforts?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then you need to find yourself a good freelance copywriter. They will work with you to produce effective copy that will increase your sales, create continuity in your marketing and therefore create an image of trust and credibility in the eyes of your customers.

Many businesses don’t go down this route because they think it is too expensive. But just think for a moment. How much of your time have you spent trying to write good copy? Surely your time would be better spent doing what you do best?

Good writing will pay dividends. The initial outlay will be recouped several times over by the increased sales. Just think about that for a moment…makes sense, doesn’t it?

To be a great copywriter you have to be gregarious.

Why?

Well, first off you have to be personable so you can build up a rapport with your clients. Secondly, you have to be a great listener to ensure you understand exactly what they want. And thirdly, you have to understand your reader 100% – you have to live by the motto ‘Getting to know you getting to know all about you’.

Don’t worry I’m not a closet Yul Brynner enthusiast who will burst into song every 5 seconds. However, remembering that particular song is a great way to focus on your sales writing.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, The Copywriter’s 7 Deadly Sins you have to get inside your reader’s head. Find out what makes them tick; what drives and motivates them. If you can understand the inner foibles of your readers mind, you will find it a lot easier to sell to them.

Attention to detail

If you are sending out newsletters to your customers at least have the good grace to master the intricacies of mail merge and address it to the person to whom it is being sent, not just to ‘Dear Customer’. Rather than getting that warm and fuzzy feeling when you think the sending company cares about you, your readers’ reaction will be ‘oh great, another mail shot’ and it will be confined to the recycling bin.

People are real

So when you are trying to get to know your reader, don’t rely on market reports and data, go out there and actually talk to people. The betting is that no matter what your target audience, you will know some people who are in it. Be it friends, neighbours, people at the gym or at your local corner shop. Talk to them, find out their concerns and you’ll be able to write from their heart.

Multiple readers

You will be writing for multiple readers 99% of the time. This makes your life slightly more difficult but not impossible. Here you need to think about your typical reader – the person who embodies the traits shared by your readership. Ignore this and you’ll end up writing bland and tedious copy as you attempt to write for every personality known to man.

What you must always remember when involved in any kind of copywriting is  that you must get to know your reader. Yes, you have to keep your client happy but it won’t be them that will be doing the buying. You are writing for an audience – forget the ‘me marketing’ that you see all too often, customers don’t want to read about when your company was formed, they want to know what your product will do for them; what problem will it solve for them.

Answer that and your copywriting will hit a new dimension.

What I am about to tell you will probably revolutionise your business. It will give you access to one of the most prized commodities of the modern world. It will change the way you work forever.

What am I talking about?

Time.

It is the one thing many of us never seem to have enough of.

Picture this scenario:

It’s raining; I’m standing in the bus queue and strike up a conversation with the guy in an orange hat next to me:

Orange hat: ‘Miserable today isn’t it?’

Me: ‘Yes, beginning to wish I hadn’t left the office.’

Orange hat: ‘What do you do?’

Me: ‘I’m a copywriter’ [Orange hat nods but has no idea what I’m talking about] ‘I write web copy, press releases, newsletters…’

Orange hat: ‘Oh.’

Me: ‘But most importantly I save my clients time.’

Ta Da! There you go, the most important aspect of my role (other than producing killer copy for a range of copywriting services), is that I will save my clients time.

Whatever you do – running your own business or work for someone else – you know how important time is. There never seems to be enough to get everything done.

Shall I tell you why?

Because you are trying to do too much.

If you own your own business you would have noticed the correlation between success and time. The more you have of one, the less you have of the other. This is why you hire people to help you. Your time is precious so you need to use it effectively.

Many business people are capable of writing their own copy.  But it is time consuming. To help your business flourish you need to let go of some of the work. A copywriter will help you with that. Not only will they write cracking copy, but they can also use their creativity to help devise new and innovative ideas.

You should think of copywriting as an investment not an expense. If you do, you’ll see your business soar and you’ll have the time to enjoy your success.

Sales writing is probably one of the hardest things to do.

It isn’t about how clever you are at writing amusing phrases or snappy catch-phrases. It’s not even about how impressive your vocabulary is. Sales writing is about one thing, and one thing only.

Your reader.

Forget that and you might as well not bother. I know many people think that using a freelance copywriter is a bit of an unnecessary expense. But is it?

Think about it for a second. If you don’t have to do the writing you will have time to get on with more important things. By using a copywriter you will get great sales copy that will actually work because it will be about the needs of your customers and not about how great your company is.

So if you look at it that way, a copywriter will not only save you time and money, but they will also make you money – you can’t lose!

So what has all of this got to do with a new marketing eBook?

Well, you need to consider every communication you have with your customers. Although you will get a professional in to write your webcopy or brochure text you probably won’t use one for daily emails etc.

Therefore I have put together a free eBook which details the 5 Simple Steps to Sensational Marketing which should be followed for all customer correspondence.

To get your free copy simply visit my website, complete your details and download it. As a thank you, you will also receive regular news from me with more copywriting hints and tips.

Happy reading.

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Just picture this for a moment: you are ready to launch your new product or service; you have identified your target market; you are now sat in front of the blank screen of your PC with an equally blank mind.

Sound familiar? Where on earth do you start?

Let me give you a clue – ask yourself what your reader is interested in.

The answer is simple – THEMSELVES.

You have to get to know your reader in order to write about your product from their point of view. This is exactly what freelance copywriters do; they get inside the heads of their readers as described in What Are You Thinking About Right Now?

Don’t waste time telling them what it is; tell them what it does for them. Basically tell them how your product will make their life easier, more rewarding and more complete.

So, what are the Copywriter’s 7 deadly sins? Well, they are the keys that you need to tap into your customer’s emotional desires:

Pride – Make your reader believe you by flattering them. Make the suggestion that someone with as much talent for making the right decision as they have ought to be signing up for or buying your product.

Envy – Tell them some people already have it and are benefiting from it and they’ll hate to think they are missing out.

Gluttony – People will always want more of something. If you can convince them they will feel contented when they ‘consume’ it you will be on to a winner.

Lust – Hmm, a tricky one. Try to convince them that this product will satisfy their craving and they’ll snap your hand off.

Anger – The last time I was angry was over my mobile phone’s pathetic battery life. Give your readers a way out of their present frustrations and they’ll thank you.

Greed – A major motivator.

Sloth – We are all inherently lazy, so if your product can save time and effort, wallets will open throughout the land.

Of course we are all human and therefore will try to rationalise our buying decisions. So, all you have to do is provide sufficient objective reasons why buying your product is the sensible thing to do.

People always buy on an emotional basis first so my tip is to make sure your sales pitch firmly presses at least one of the deadly sin buttons and then you’ll be on to a winner.