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A Message from KellyWelcome to The Copywriting Connection! This week we are asking you to understand the purpose of marketing pieces before you work on them. Copywriters are challenged to redo a brochure or update a website. It's easy to accept these projects and redo them because we are asked to. However, you are doing your client and yourself a disservice by not asking why. Is the piece no longer effective? Why not? Being a smart communicator helps both you and your client achieve your goals. I encourage everyone to listen to the new posting on The Sounds of Copywriting Podcast. It's a short five minute audio discussing how you can use questions to uncover your client's 'perfect client' in order to write effective copy for that person. Understand it's not necessarily the clients your business has right now, but the clients you want to have. Preparing questions to ask the interviewee before conducting an interview is key. Writing copy for yourself? The same techniques apply! Happy Copywriting! Kelly
Are You A Smart Communicator?Before redoing, or beginning any new marketing piece, it's important you take the time to think about what role the piece is going to play in the sales process. Always remember every marketing piece ranging from your business card to a simple flyer you hand out at events, should move a prospect forward in your sales cycle. Your sales cycle may be long or short depending on what you do and who you are selling to. You may use the same medium, such as your web site, to move people forward in different places of the sales cycle. The bottom line is you have to move people closer to buying from you. That is the sole purpose of any copywriting you do. Let's look at a few ways you may be "moving a prospect forward" and some marketing tools that may help you do that…
Understand that eliminating readers as prospects is a positive step. You are moving them forward by taking them out of your sales funnel. You may get a no for an answer and that is ok. The point is for you to know where you stand so you can move on to another prospect. Don't waste your time with people that aren't interested or don't have the money to spend. Let's look at an example of how this knowledge can be used in a real business scenario: Let's say your boss decides you need a new brochure. The one you have is old and she knows you are running low on supplies so now is a good time to redo them. Before you jump in and decide to simply redecorate the piece to make your boss happy, look at what you've been using these brochures for. Have you been handing then out at speaking events, or dropping them in the mail when leads come in? Is the shipping department inserting them in the product when it is mailed? If you ask the questions "what action do I want the prospect to take" and "are my current methods working?" you will end up with a more productive piece. Also ask yourself "Is this the best way to get the prospect to take that action?", "Are people doing what you want them to do?", and "Is a brochure the best or most efficient way to accomplish the task?". Maybe redoing your brochure is a fine idea, but you find that placing them in like minded businesses in a plastic box and asking for a business card to get a free report, is a better way to accomplish that goal rather than putting them in with the final product when they leave your business. Smart marketers don't just make a brochure to have one. It has a purpose. If you find you are having a hard time knowing what to put in your brochure, you may not be totally clear on its purpose. Ask yourself these smart questions….
Once you are clear about what you are trying to do, you can make an informed decision about if this is the right piece for that purpose. Taking a few minutes to evaluate your goals of the piece, and analyzing if what you've done fits the goals is important if you want your piece to work. © The Copywriting Connection. All Rights Reserved. Want to use this article for your e-zine or web site? No problem! Just let us know at support@thecopywritinginstitute. We'll send you a short bio to include at the end of the article.
Copywriters ChallengeBefore starting on your next copywriting project clearly define its purpose. Ask yourself "what is the goal of this piece"? Create a written process or checklist to use to ensure you do this for every project from here on out. Word of the WeekThis week's word of the week is lackadaisical [lak-uh-dey-zi-kuhl]. Lackadaisical means without interest, vigor, spirit or determination; listless; lethargic; lazy. An example of it used in a sentence is: The man found himself to be lackadaisical at work, especially on Friday. Tools for your Successwww.radio-locator.com - Radio-Locator.com is a comprehensive search engine for radio stations. There are links to over 10,000 radio station web pages and over 2500 audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world. If you have any other great resources you'd like us to share with everyone, let us know and we'll check it out. rachel@thecopywritinginstitute.com
Build Your Copywriting Business Course - Get started for only $260 down. In this course you will get your copywriting business off the ground and put systems in place to attract high paying clients! You'll have homework, write your own marketing materials, learn what's important to your target market and how you can best help them. You'll learn how to get to know your ideal client, how to uncover what they need from a copywriter and how to get in front of them. You'll also learn what things you MUST do in order to be a high earning copywriter and learn what marketing methods work best for successful copywriters. Develop marketing materials - like your web site, business cards, a sales letter (and get feedback on them from those that have done it successfully!) And you'll create writing samples and learn how to get them published. Course also includes coaching and feedback on all assignments and written materials. www.thecopywritinginstitute.com/buildyourbusiness.html All content is copyrighted© 2008 |
