I’ve got into these copy-heavy bits of work designed to promote myself as a freelance copywriter.

They’re stylish, efficient, and a great way to present my views on copywriting in a way that isn’t a 140-character tweet or a blog post.

The latest one covers that tricky issue of SEO. You can view it by clicking the thumbnail below.

It’s designed to showcase copy, provoke opinion, and steal attention. But, while I love how SEO has expanded the market for copywriters online, this is also fairly reflective of what I really think.

The Copy:

OMG! Your SEO! Front page. First position.

But WTF? It’s not helping.

Your SEO drives traffic, but your content drives customers away. Customers. You remember them, right?

They’re the humans. The people looking for help. The ones that really matter. The ones with the money.

Robots don’t spend. SEO doesn’t sell.

So here’s an idea. Let’s forget articles for algorithms. Forget content for crawlers. Forget SEO. Forget PPC.

I can help you connect with PPL.

Just a quick one from me today.

And what better Valentine’s Day gift could there be?

As a freelance copywriter, I love those opportunities to get creative. Yes, I know – we’re always being creative – but when you get to come up with a snappy heading or a catchy, memorable angle for marketing copy, it’s incredibly rewarding.

But the thing about creativity is that it has to come on demand. I’m a creative copywriter, but – more than that – I’m a tradesman who tries to keep things practical.

As you’ll see in these copy ideas for Valentine’s Day cards.

Copy That Tells It Like It Is

A couple of years ago, I wrote some greetings card copy. Everything from engagements to birthdays. Today, I thought it’d be a good idea to post up two of my favourite Valentine’s Day cards, in their raw, plain-text form.

So, here goes.

1. Card

Front: Valentine, I’ve got a thing for you.

Inside: It’s a card.

2. Commercial

Front: Valentine’s Day was only made to sell cards.

Inside: And I was only made to give them to you.

Who is Your Copywriter Writing For?

Posting these was a bit of fun, really, but as I’ve written this post I’ve realised that they actually illustrate a point worth making.

Audience is everything.

We all know it, but now and then, swamped in a wealth of copywriting, we forget it.

The cards above speak to a certain kind of person. They have a touch of cynicism and, well, that’s the point – there aren’t a lot of cards for those types of people. But, particularly in the second example which is by far my favourite, they match the cynicism with a sweet sentiment.

They highlight those common complaints about Valentine’s Day, but say, above all else, that an excuse to show your love for someone can never be a bad thing.

Whether it’s on a card or a billboard, great copy always connects with a specific audience, however niche. Know your audience, write better copy.

There should be a crime against weak online content.

That’s the argument that I put forward in my recent guest blog post for People Per Hour – Why Weak Online Content Should Be Criminal.

After all, if you’re not taking the time to grab attention, inform potential customers, and persuade them to part with their money, you may as well don a balaclava and invest in a knife. It’s your job to court customers, not grab the cash and run.

As a freelance copywriter, I firmly believe in the importance of quality online content. The web puts businesses at their most open and accessible – if you don’t do a good job online, rest assured the entire world can see it.

But let’s not confuse striving for perfection with achieving it. Only one of those is possible.

A Freelance Copywriter with Criminal Content

I’m not happy with some of the content on this website.

I know what you’re thinking – if anyone should have consistently great content across their website, it’s a copywriter. Unfortunately, it’s that old habit of spending all my time on work for clients and far less time marketing myself.

Now, I’m not saying there’s anything about my existing content that I loathe, but would never claim that it’s perfect. That’s just arrogant.

After my People Per Hour blog post was published, one copywriter contacted me through Twitter. She felt motivated to extend and expand her own website content, which was great.

But she also felt just a little bit intimidated, aware that writing perfect copy for her entire website was a mammoth task.

So let me be the first to say that if your online copywriting is not perfect, that’s fine.

The only thing that matters is that you know it should be.

Copywriting Never Stops

Sometimes, it’s hard to know when a piece of copy is right. Ultimately, the only way I decide I’m finished is when I’ve met the brief and there’s a deadline looming.

I know that there is little more important on the web than the quality of your written content. That’s why, given the opportunity to revisit my own website time and time again, I’ll continue to make incremental changes and improvements, tweaking bits and pieces here and there.

It’s a task that will never quite be finished, but will always be moving in the right direction.

Weak online content is criminal. But – as a caveat to that idea – the odd transgression is fine as long as you are trying to get on the straight and narrow.

And if you are, I can help with that.

How much are your services worth?

One of the hardest tasks as a freelance copywriter is working with the money side of things. It’s a shame, because for all of the job satisfaction and wonderful clients, it’s the money that matters.

If you’re not getting paid, you may as well quit copywriting and write your world-changing novel or script!

But negotiating a good deal with no experience is tough. Some extra advice can help you to organise your thoughts, set a price, and know how to get the copywriting fee you deserve, or the terms that suit you.

HomeForBusiness is an excellent resource, designed around the needs of new start-ups in any industry. The articles, newsletters and free resources on the site are tailored to people that work from home, but are valuable to just about anyone who runs their own business.

Recently, I contributed a guest article to the site – Don’t Undersell Yourself – Negotiate a Better Deal.

The article was written drawing on my experiences as a freelance copywriter, but applies to any freelancer who wants to maximise their revenue and grow their business – without compromising on customer relationships.

The Importance of Reciprocation

As a side note, I’m surprised at the amount of people I speak to who understand the selling techniques that make great copy work, but rarely use them as part of their own business.

Any copywriting book worth reading mentions the rule of reciprocation – that is, if you give something to somebody, they will naturally feel inclined to give something back.

This is why:

• Charities give away pens that nobody needs
• Online content gives away educational information that is valuable
• Companies create reports and free resources to give away to customers

Of course, if you’re looking for an example, HomeForBusiness is a great one. When you sign up, you get a selection of impressive resources, including two free ebooks. These aren’t just incentives for sign-up – they are quality resources that people find useful.

And when you give somebody great content for free, they will want to give something back.

Compromise Sells

Negotiation is not just a way of being friendly and winning more business. It is an essential tool of persuasion.

When you concede on price or the terms of your service, you are giving something away. You’re sowing the seeds of reciprocation.

So make sure you know how to negotiate, and read my article on negotiating for some extra advice.

Give something away to your potential or existing client. It just might win you that next job, or get that payment in on time.

Let’s face it – a big one makes it easier for everyone involved.

It can provide a handy shortcut for decision makers on whether they want to start a relationship or not. If you know that other people are satisfied, you can be more confident than ever that your freelance copywriter will satisfy you too.

But a big brand just isn’t the be all and end all. Size isn’t everything.

So why are so many copywriters eager to pull out their brands and measure them side by side?

Too Much Disclosure

I recently read a great post on Alastaire Allday’s blog, titled NDA Not OK: Are NDAs Harming Your Freelance Reputation?.

Alastaire makes the simple point that sometimes, not being able to tell people about your biggest brand-name clients is just not worth the financial gain. Every job is a stepping-stone to the next project.

The truth is that I don’t have much to add. NDAs are not ideal, but I try to recoup the value of lost marketing potential in financial terms. That makes it fair for everyone – the agency or company in question get secrecy, and I increase my revenue.

But what I found most interesting is the way in which copywriters use brands as an indicator of work. One of Alastaire’s friends, working in a full-time copywriting role for an agency, took objection to the idea that he did the same as a freelance copywriter. He laughed at the notion of writing copy for anything less than a multinational household name. He had this idea that the work he did was more worthwhile.

Quite simply, he was wrong.

A Tale of Two Copywriters

Let’s look at a case study.

Copywriter A is working at an agency full-time, dealing with household names that even your gran would recognise. Meanwhile, Copywriter B is freelance, occasionally working with big brands through agency deals, but mostly helping lesser-known businesses to communicate with their customers and, ultimately, sell things.

Copywriter A can talk about brands with no non-disclosure agreement. So he does.

If anything, he’s irritating with it, constantly going on about Fortune 500 companies and how he is in-tune with multinational brand identities. Of course, they’re brand identities that have been well-established by now.

Copywriter B, on the other hand, can’t talk about brands. He can’t name drop. All he can do is talk about businesses you’ve never heard of, where the name won’t convince you of anything.

He can’t depend on the size of what he has.

He just depends on the work he has done.

It’s What You Do With It That Counts

This business is all about the work. Big name brands put out terrible work all the time – but I bet those copywriters and creative directors involved still leap at the chance to drop a name into every conversation.

The NDAs that I have signed prevent me from doing that. So instead, when you browse my portfolio or contact me to discuss your project, I do less telling, more showing.

You can forget who the work is for, and just look at the work itself.

Don’t get me wrong – I would love to do the next Apple campaign or hear the stylish voice over I’ve written going out on a prime-time TV advert slot. But if those opportunities came my way, my priority would stay the same – work that’s good, whoever it is written for.

Small or big doesn’t matter. All I care about is that it’s perfectly formed.

Well, let’s hope you pay your copywriter.

But what exactly are you paying for?

It is the job of a freelance copywriter to write things, of course, and only natural to assume that the fee relates to the words. But why, then, do so few professional copywriters get into messy ‘per page’ or ‘per word’ discussions?

Over at the Professional Copywriters’ Network, members continue to discuss how much different types of work should cost. What are people charging for website copywriting? What is the going rate for a single page sales letter?

But if you’re looking for a copywriter and wondering how much you should pay, think less about the words and more about their purpose.

Words Aren’t The Expensive Part of a Copywriter’s Fee

Anybody can write. There, I’ve said it.

When it comes to stringing words together and making a sentence, there are no barriers to entry. That’s why the business is flooded with would-be copywriters who think that because they can write, they can write great copy.

But writing is really just one part of what makes copywriting work.

You see, a copywriter is using words to sell. And just writing aimlessly, without purpose, isn’t going to sell much of anything.

Most of the time, I have completed the most specialised part of a project before I have written any copy. I have consulted on the purpose of the copy and the strategy for creating it.

When a client comes to me and says ‘I need help with my blog’, for example, it takes a discerning eye to tell them:

• What’s wrong with their existing blog
• What they should be doing
• How they can achieve it

When you pay a copywriter, you are paying for his expertise.

You are paying for something more overall than just the writing. You are paying for experience working with copy, conveying messages, and selling ideas. You are paying for how a capable eye could help you find what your copy needs.

Cheap Copywriting. After You Pay For The Standard.

The first cut is the deepest, and the first page of any copywriting project is the hardest. It establishes a direction, a suitable voice, and the core themes that will run through every page. The first page defines the message.

Before you pay anybody to write, you need to pay for that. It’s not cheap.

But if you come to me and say I have 10 pages, but later realise you have 15, fear not. You’ve already paid for the most expensive part of the task.

As you look for a copywriter and begin discussing rates, always remember the importance of consultation and pay fairly for it.

Your copywriter will be fair with the rest.

Cue the fireworks. This piece of news is very, very exciting.

You see, for the first time ever, this company is doing a thing. The thing is incredibly exciting. The company said ‘We are very excited about doing this thing.’

As well as calling on a press release writer, the company also decided to get their copywriter to put together a blog post. The blog post was just as exciting, but less formal. In fact, the lack of formality made the excitement all the more frenzied.

Here is a tip for everybody who has ever issued a press release – it’s not that exciting.

But that doesn’t matter.

Nobody Cares About Your Baby

Let’s imagine you’ve found out your having a baby. You’re excited and, well, that’s fine – you clearly haven’t thought about the hard work, yet.

So you start telling everyone you know. Friends, family, colleagues, strangers. You want to shout it out and I understand that.

But you must accept that the majority of people just don’t care as much as you do.

When your company invests in new technology, makes sweeping policy changes, or has a rebrand, there is a good chance that you are more excited about it than anybody else is. That’s not a bad thing – you can use your excitement to invigorate your copywriting wherever you have the chance.

But as you ask your press release writer to send your message out into the world, understand that you might need something more. How can you relate your news to your customers and prospects? What interesting information can you share that will make the release or blog post copy more timely?

Some people will be excited when you make your big announcement. Your brand has an immediate family of customers and they’ll hotly anticipate the arrival of your baby.

But if you really want results, you need to work hard to engage the rest of the world.

A Good Press Release Writer Finds The News

It would be a lovely idea to think that every company had a good reason to put a press release out there. The truth is, they don’t.

Sometimes, clients contact me with an idea of the subject they’d like to cover – it’s my job to find the information that makes the release as relevant, engaging and publication-worthy as possible.

On other occasions, clients don’t know what to talk about, just that they’d like to be heard. I can suggest ideas to help them find the news that is right there in their businesses.

So stop looking for exciting news to share and, even if you have something that you are passionate about sharing, realise that it’s just the start. Excitement doesn’t just happen, it is created.

Contact me to discuss how what exciting things are happening with you right now.

Look at that lonely lightbulb.

That right there is inspiration. As a creative copywriter, it comes without notice – often not exactly when I need it to.

But when it does come, my word, it shines brightly.

Enough with the metaphor – a copywriter can write, sure, but also trades on creative ideas. Coming up with the right approach, the best angle, and the ideal way to sell to customers is the most important duty of a copywriter. When inspiration strikes, nothing is more exciting.

But sometimes, getting inspired is a source of frustration.

Creative Copywriting That Clients Don’t Know They Want

For two completely different clients, I have recently been fortunate enough to come up with some really strong copy. These are the kinds of ideas that set the standard for an entire campaign, distilling lots of information into a clear, concise angle.

Both of these ideas can be expressed in less than five words. And yet, in those five words, they:

• Describe what the client does
• Describe what makes the client unique
• Address the audience’s main motivation for making a purchase
• Define the client’s voice that can be adapted for everything from website copywriting to print.

Most importantly, though, they make me smile. They make me sit back and say, in a self-obsessed kind of way, ‘Well, that’s a good piece of work.’

Of course, my clients don’t say that. Because they don’t even know that these ideas exist.  You see, they are ideas that nobody asked for and that don’t apply to work we are currently doing together. These are the flashes of inspiration that seem utterly useless.

These are the orphans that a copywriter creates.

These two ideas are abandoned souls. They are left to fend for themselves in a world where they are not wanted, not loved, not used. They exist only to sell things to people, but they’re not selling anything. They have no meaning, no purpose, no point.

So what are they for?

Clients Don’t Want My Copywriting. Yet.

One of those great creative copywriting ideas just punched me. In the face.

You see, the whole orphan thing was a trick. They’re not abandoned. They’re not cowering. They’re biding their time, building their strength, becoming more refined with every passing day. These copywriting orphans are waiting to pounce.

My clients don’t know how much they love these new ideas, but the time will come when they’re ready to be unveiled. I’ll be there, waiting to release my orphans out into the world.

And – because they’ve been made to wait – they’re stronger than ever before.

Meet A Copywriting Orphan

Sometimes those sparks of inspiration aren’t ever intended for clients. These are my babies, being trained to go out and sell me.

I thought I’d end this post by giving you the chance to meet one of them. Meet Copy-Led Advert 1 (I named him myself).

He’s nearing the time when I can send him out to stand for himself, I just can’t decide yet where to put him. A postcard? A press ad? Who knows.

But although I’m not sure how and I’m not sure where he’ll make his mark, I’ve every confidence that when he finds his home, he’ll do great work.

The Copy:

Hello. Howdy. Hi. Nothing. That’s what’s wrong with your brand.

Sure, you’re talking. Your brochure blabs. Your press ad prattles. Your homepage harps on. You’re talking. A Lot.

But you’re talking to yourself like that woman who is always at the bus stop. People pass by, giving you funny looks.

They never say hello.

So they don’t know that you’re witty, you’re intelligent, you’re trustworthy. They don’t know you have exactly that special thing that they’ve spent years searching for. They don’t wait around to hear what your business could do for them.

They just see you waffling on without wisdom, speaking without the sparkle.

Your flyer should fascinate. Your voice should be vivid. Your text should testify.

I can help with that.

]]> http://www.stephenmarshcopywriter.co.uk/blog/spare-a-thought-for-creative-copywriter-orphans/feed/ 0 http://www.stephenmarshcopywriter.co.uk/blog/spare-a-thought-for-creative-copywriter-orphans http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smcopywriter/~3/-xJkgaaUD5M/dont-ask-your-freelance-copywriter-to-do-social-media http://www.stephenmarshcopywriter.co.uk/blog/dont-ask-your-freelance-copywriter-to-do-social-media#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:47:14 +0000 Stephen http://www.stephenmarshcopywriter.co.uk/?p=893

For blog posts, the blog is the place.

But to make the most of my new Facebook page, I’ve written a post about social media copywriting and published it – exclusively – on Facebook.

Find out why you shouldn’t ask your freelance copywriter to do social media.

Facebook provides a new way for you to get in touch, find out what I’ve been up to, and get an insight into how projects come together.

And don’t forget you can also find me on Twitter!

Going forwards, I’ll be using the Facebook page to post those updates that are too long for Twitter, but not long enough for the copywriting blog.

Coming Soon: Blog Post – Spare A Thought for Freelance Copywriter Orphans.

Guru Nanak earned his title.

This guy was a radical, from the age of 11. He stared into the face of Hindu and Islamic thought and decided it wasn’t right. In one the most famous stories of Guru Nanak, he announced that people should be judged by what they do, not the threads that they wear. This was the foundation of the Sikh religion.

A radical free-thinker that defined an entire religion. That’s a guru.

Does it really apply to your copywriter?

Gurus Deserve Worship. Not Copywriters.

Now, this isn’t about whether you are a religious person, or agree with the specific actions of a given guru. This isn’t about copywriters, creatives and so-called entrepreneurs using the term guru where it simply doesn’t apply. Over the years, it’s become a shorthand, like genius.

The problem is that guru doesn’t fit the way that a freelance copywriter should be seen.

Gurus are respected masters, people who truly advanced the pattern of human thought. Even the best social media marketeer is, at the very most, applying old techniques to a new format.

Nobody has redefined marketing since the early days. A copywriter can innovate, create and inspire, but it’s all to one single end – selling stuff to people.

Most worryingly, the term ‘guru’ comes complete with a sense of adoration. People made offerings to gurus in exchange for their insight.

A self-proclaimed marketing guru will always take your offering and bestow his wisdom.

But isn’t this missing out on the practicalities of marketing?

Copywriting is Construction

However much I feel that sometimes the best thing a copywriter offers is insight and advice on more general marketing issues, there’s a fair leap to reach a word like guru. I’m not a guru.

Day-to-day, I am a builder. I’m on-site putting the bricks together to make something good.

At other times, I’m a site manager. I might even be the architect, depending on how far I want to push the simile.

But when you make me an offering, you are owed the work, not bestowed it. When all is said and done, it is your business and your brand.

A creative copywriting guru is a myth. It’s a poorly applied term that doesn’t suit the product at all.

Next time you see a self-proclaimed guru, ask yourself if this inability to use words where they apply might be a common trait.