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When the Samantha Brick women-hate-me-because-I’m-beautiful story broke, I didn’t even know who this woman was. So I Googled her and read her original story on the Daily Mail Web site, along with several other contributions she has made to that online publication.

Although Samantha Brick is a very good writer, every article she crafts is filled with vapid, arrogant and delusional opinions of herself and the world around her.

Never once did she connect with me, her reader, on a heartfelt or personal level. Because of this, even when she was describing a situation where she was about to step off a metaphorical cliff, I didn’t want to give her a hand to hold onto – I wanted to give her a little shove in the back to speed her demise!

Therein lies the lesson for copywriters everywhere.

Copywriting is about Connecting

Copywriting is about connecting. Every product datasheet, case study, article, white paper, press release or advertisement is designed to connect a prospect to a product or service by evoking an emotional response that prompts action.

If you write marketing materials like Samantha Brick writes personal essays, instead of engaging the potential client, you’re more likely to piss them off. While Samantha Brick has proven that pissing people off is a very effective way to generate negative publicity, it’s not a very effective method for helping your clients make sales.

That being said, stirring up a bit of controversy isn’t necessarily a bad thing if your goal is to start a conversation. Unless you’re Samantha Brick and the only conversation you’re interested in is the one about you.

Copywriter Confession: Samantha Brick, we don’t hate you because you’re beautiful. We dislike you because you are a shallow narcissist. And from one writer to another, I want to say that your personal essay writing would be so much stronger if you stepped off your high horse once in a while.

 

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Freelance copywriters are often hired to create Web content, which seems like a pretty straightforward project. Yet there are many ways that this freelance writing task can get off track. And that’s where a Web Site Copy Brief can help.

For a client, there is nothing more frustrating than receiving Web site copy that misses the mark and ends up requiring multiple rounds of rewrites. When this happens, valuable time is wasted for both you and your client. To reduce re-work, it’s important to get as much detail as possible upfront so that you and your client are on the same page.

What is a Web Site Copy Brief?

A Web Site Copy Brief is, quite simply, a planning session that outlines your client’s expectations for the finished product and allows you to gather the details necessary to deliver content that meets those expectations.

Taking a Web Site Copy Brief allows you to gather critical information from your client that should help you come closer to nailing the copy on the first draft, which simplifies the final revision process. While each freelance copywriter will ultimately develop their own style of information-gathering, here are some factors that you should consider covering during your Brief:

The Basics – Always ask your client to cover the basics: who is the target audience; where does their Web site traffic come from; what products/services does the company offer; what are the benefits; what problems do the products/services solve for their clients; who are their competitors; what sets them apart from their competition? These basic questions will help create a foundation for the content and help you determine the best writing style and tone for the audience.

Project Details – If you need to speak with other people in the company to gather additional details for specific Web pages, ask your client to provide names, titles and contact information. It’s also a good idea to have your client introduce you to additional company contacts, which paves the way for a smoother, less confusing information-gathering process.

Critical Keywords – Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of Web site content development. Because of this, it’s important to ask your client which keywords should be included in the copy. Getting a list of important keywords before you start writing will make it easier to craft copy that supports your client’s SEO efforts. .

Marketing Phrases Blacklist – Some companies are restricted in terms of the words and language that can be used in their marketing (e.g. insurance companies and nutritional supplement manufacturers). If your client has a marketing terms blacklist, ask for guidelines around what words, phrases or language should not be used.

Existing Marketing Collateral – Reading existing marketing materials will give you a good idea of the tone and style of writing that has been approved before and will guide you in deciding what approach to use for this project. In addition to asking your client for existing marketing collateral examples, review the materials with your client to see what they like/don’t like about the messaging.

Five Descriptive Words – Ask your client to give you five words that define or describe their company. This will give you an idea of how the company views itself and what corporate values it holds. It is also a good way of solidifying the client’s expectations of what will be conveyed in the Web site copy.

Call to Action – The call to action is one of the most important aspects of a Web site copywriting project. What action does the client want visitors to take after visiting the site? The call to action should be simple and direct, such as picking up the phone to “Call Now,” clicking on “Contact Us” to get more information, clicking a “Buy Now” button to purchase a product or filling out a short form and clicking “Submit” to download a white paper. Although it is sometimes necessary to offer multiple calls to action, whenever possible, offer a single directive. Too many choices can confuse the visitor, leading to the least desirable action: “Leave Now.”

Copywriter Confession: Although I don’t have a formalized form for taking a comprehensive Web Site Copy Brief, I recommend creating one, especially if you’re just starting your freelance copywriting career. Taking the time to define what information you need before writing can truly cut down on confusion and minimize the amount of time you spend revising your work. This, in turn, will highlight your professionalism and increase your possibility of repeat business!

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Once upon a time, I was a naive newbie freelancer with more spare time than paying projects and a willingness to offer a bit of free consulting to land a new client. So, when a prospect asked me to give him some marketing recommendations for a new business that he wanted to start, I eagerly scheduled a conference call so he could get me up-to-speed on his ideas through something he called a “brain dump.”

Although I didn’t know it at the time, “brain dump” is code for: “I have a bunch of incomplete, unconnected and poorly-developed thoughts swirling around in my brain and I want you to listen without interrupting while I dump them in your lap. If you ask me questions, I don’t be able to answer them. And if you make any suggestions, I’ll find excuses why they won’t work.”

Two hours later, the prospect decided that, even though I had some good ideas, they weren’t what he was looking for. When I asked him what, exactly, he WAS looking for, he couldn’t tell me. “Let me think this through a bit more,” he said, “and I’ll get back to you.” Much to my relief, he never did.

But my “brain dump” lesson was only half over.

A Brain Dump is a Brain Dump

Flash forward two years. Business had picked up, but I still offered the occasional free consult to referrals from existing clients. This time, the prospect had an established business but needed to fine tune his messaging and expand the content on his Web site. When he uttered “conference call” and “brain dump” in the same breath, I got gooseflesh.

This was an experienced businessman referred by a valued client. Surely his idea of a brain dump was different than the previous prospect. Right?

Wrong. [Cue ominous music.]

I invested another two hours of time listening to a guy who was never going to hire me as a copywriter. While he liked my ideas, he was pretty sure they weren’t right for his business. He decided he should think things through a bit more and get back to me. Which, of course, he never did.

No Pain. No Gain. No More Free Brain Dumps.

For a long time after my second brain dump lesson, I lived in fear of the phrase. I did away with the free consult concept and started charging for telephone calls. Potential clients had to pay up front if they wanted to discuss their marketing needs. This worked out well and weeded out the people who were looking for free advice – or a free sounding board.

But I couldn’t help wonder if I was missing out on an opportunity to help budding businesses while adding a new revenue stream to my freelancing services. Thus, the Brain Dump Brainstorming package was borne.

Now, instead of fearing the term “brain dump,” I welcome it. Because I have a premium consulting package designed to turn a prospect into a client and convert their ramblings into useful feedback with recommended action items.

Painful experiences are part of the human experience, whether you’re growing up or growing a freelance writing business. Learn from those experiences and use them to your advantage.

Copywriter Confession: I’ve never actually sold a Brain Dump Brainstorming service package and I’m okay with that. The key take-away here is that the next time a potential brain dumper comes my way, I’m prepared to capitalize on the opportunity!

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Photo credit goes to my good friend Bill Hinsee. This is a picture of Seattle's Space Needle on January 1, 2012. Check out Bill's photogblog at www.billhinsee.com

Happy New Year! As I wrap up loose ends from 2011 and reflect on the year I’ve had, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the copywriting business lessons I’ve learned over the last 12 months.

Lesson #1: Don’t let distractions be your downfall.

I had a lot of personal and family stress in 2011, which ended up being a constant distraction that affected my work productivity. As a freelance writer working alone, it can be hard to detach from the day-to-day drama of life. If you’re not careful, the days can easily get filled with other people’s problems rather than your client’s projects.

Focus on one aspect of your life at a time: work or home. Freelance writing takes an enormous amount of self discipline. When your non-writing life becomes overwhelming, find a way to carve out a set number of hours each day to focus exclusively on work – and refuse to let your mind wander to non-work thoughts. When those hours are over, give yourself permission to put your work aside and focus on your home or personal life. In the long run, you’ll be a more productive freelance writer and a more attentive spouse/partner/parent/friend.

Lesson #2: Prioritize your projects and plan your day.

As your business grows, you’ll likely find that there aren’t enough hours in your day to complete everything on your to-do list, even if you limit distractions. That’s why it’s important to develop a system for prioritizing your work tasks and planning your day.

Although there aren’t any hard and fast rules for prioritizing your work tasks, you’ll generally want to focus on billable writing projects during your peak hours of productivity. For me, that’s usually 8am until noon. Using this four-hour time window as an example, I might schedule 1.5 hours for a longer project and break the remaining hours into shorter segments assigned to various writing assignments. I often use the use the early morning to answer email or finish up something quick and easy and later afternoon hours to tackle busy work, such as paying bills or invoicing clients. When possible, save personal tasks, like laundry and errands, for evenings or weekends.

In the middle of my crazy 2011 year, I bought a large white board and hung it in my office. I made a project list for every client and wrote the list on my white board, using a color-coded system to prioritize tasks and milestones by due date so I have an at-a-glance visual of my current workload. I also have a column for “Today’s To-Do” list and update it each morning. Currently, my white board has nearly 30 ongoing and one-off projects-in-progress spread across nearly a dozen clients. (In case you’re wondering, that’s a heavy work backlog, even for me!) Without my white board, I’m pretty sure that some of those projects would slip through the cracks.

Lesson #3: Pay attention to procrastination.

Procrastination was a regular visitor to my copywriting business in 2011. But the more it knocked on my door, the more I tried to hide from it. Until the threat of deadlines drove me to invite procrastination in for a heart-to-heart talk.

What I discovered is that, for every project I put off, there was an underlying reason why. To move beyond procrastination, I needed to identify why I was stuck. Some examples:

Inexperience – In 2011, I had several writing assignments that were completely new to me. Frankly, since I had never written these types of documents before, I didn’t know how or where to begin. Asking my clients for additional guidance was a tremendous help. Once I better understood their objectives, it was easier to begin these unique projects.

Repetition – When you’ve been in business for several years, it sometimes seems like you’ve written everything you can on a given topic. Trying to find a fresh way to present a repeating message isn’t always easy. To overcome this challenge, I took a step back from my client’s messaging and put myself in their prospect’s shoes. If I were looking to buy XYZ, I wouldn’t care if the message was fresh as long as it resonated with my needs.

Fatigue – Chronic stress and sleep deprivation wreck havoc on creativity. In a misguided attempt to get my work done despite feeling exhausted – emotionally and physically – I pushed myself to stay in my office even when I wasn’t getting much done. But getting up earlier and spending longer hours at my desk proved to be ineffective methods for overcoming procrastination. When I recognized this, and gave myself permission to catch up on some much-needed rest and take extra time off during the holidays, I was able to start the new year with a fresh perspective – and genuine enthusiasm for my work.

Did 2011 teach you any lessons about managing your copywriting business? If so, feel free to share them by adding your comment below.

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