Entries from August 2012 ↓

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

Did you know about the Facebook for WordPress plugin?

Well, in June it became available to help self-hosted WordPress users to easily integrate Facebook features (e.g. social publishing and mentions) through their WordPress platform.

Basically, it allows you to cross-post content published to WordPress to your Facebook timeline and the Facebook Pages you manage.

To find out more about how to instal and use this plugin, pop over to SocialMediaExaminer who take you through a step by step guide.

Here’s the link: How to Use the New Facebook WordPress Plugin: A Complete Guide

IBM published a very gloomy statistic – around 80% of corporate blogs don’t get beyond a fifth post.

Isn’t that incredible?

Is it really that difficult to run a blog?

Well, I’ve been blogging for about 5 years now and I’m still going strong, so what is that I’m doing that the corporates aren’t?

Showing commitment

One of the first things you must realise when you start to blog is that you must be committed to it.

It’s no good going into it all gung-ho only to suddenly realise you have nothing left to say after a few posts.

Coming up with great ideas day after day is one of the basic requirements of a blog. Of course, in a large company you have the benefit of numerous staff members who can also contribute, so there should be no excuse for running out of material.

If you don’t have the manpower to run the blog, why not outsource some of your writing to a copywriter who can create fabulous posts for you by recycling old white papers, interviewing some of your subject matter experts or producing posts commenting on industry news?

But content is only one aspect, you also have to publicize it through your social media channels, make sure your posts are found by using your keywords and keep an eye on your analytics to measure your reach.

Then you have the comments to consider. These must be responded to in a timely manner and monitored.

You see there’s a lot to think about.

Finding your voice

Assuming you have the commitment necessary to make your blog a success, you then have to think about how you want to come across to your readers.

There’s no point mimicking someone else’s style because why would anyone want to read a copycat blog?

It’s vital you find your own voice and style and come up with posts that are unique to you. After all, no one wants to subscribe to a dozen blogs that all comment on exactly the same stuff.

Also, try to mix your posts up a bit. Don’t just comment on industry news all the time, try adding in some ‘how to’ posts or top tips, perhaps even an interview or case study to keep it fresh and challenging.

Be patient

A lot of companies give up too easily. Once they start to blog, they expect to instantly see a vast increase in their traffic. But it doesn’t happen that way.

You must be patient because it will take time to get your posts to work effectively in the search results, for them to be found and for your readership to grow.

To encourage people to read your blog, make sure it’s easily accessible from you website, mention it in your newsletters and other customer communications and publicize each new posts through social media.

Above all be patient, it will happen.

Blogging isn’t a quick fix; its ROI won’t materialize over night. It’s a long-term commitment. So don’t give up, keep going because sooner or later you will begin to see the benefits.