Category: Advice for copywriters

Why do gangsters wear bling:

Is it because they enjoy the feeling of golden chains around their neck…

….or because they like the way it looks?

The reason why is a lot simpler.

Bling is, “Evidence of wealth.”

It’s basically advertising and proof they have money and can run a successful enterprise.

(After all, you wouldn’t want to join a gang that isn’t RICH, would you?)

Proof is also what I want to talk about today.

You see, in marketing proof is paramount.

The first step is always to prove that your product does what you claim.

Without proof no one will ever buy.

There are dozens of ways to do this.

The easiest is to get into the media. Appearing in newspapers, magazines, or on TV and the radio provides instantly credibility and proof. Just mention that you’ve been interviewed by this or that outlet and people will believe whatever you say. I mean if it was in the newspaper it must be true, right? Then you have scientific studies, testimonials, and also before and after examples. Celebrity endorsements are great if you can get them and so is a world class guarantee.

But probably the best form of proof is demonstrating the product.

Old school salesmen relied exclusively on demonstration.

(Think about those classic Billy Mays adverts.)

All of these will help to prove your claims.

Remember, proof is paramount.

At the end of the day it’s not about your traffic, affiliates or connections.

You first need to make people believe 100% in what you’re saying.

If you can do that they will fight to give you money.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

The other day I was on a message board for freelance writers.

Someone asked a really great question:

Basically this person had a PhD. In Biochemistry.

They wanted to know if they should tell this to prospective clients.

Would it make a difference in them being hired?

The answer is yes and no.

You see, your credentials and qualifications don’t actually mean anything to most people.

Clients don’t care about your education or the rewards you’ve received.

What they care about is the RESULTS those qualifications are going to get them.

That being said, you don’t have to stay quiet about what you’ve achieved.

Instead, you have to present your credentials in the right way.

Realize they’re features and features are benefits.

What you need to do is frame them in a way that provides benefits to your client.

You do this by:

1. Writing them down.

2. Putting them in context and telling clients how the credentials benefit them.

3. Figuring out what type of clients you want.

4. Displaying credentials that appeal to the type of client you’d most like to attract.

For example:

Let’s say you’re a real estate agent and you’ve won an award for sales.

Don’t tell clients this directly.

Frame it in a way that lets them know the award was given for selling the most houses.

Therefore you should be able to quickly sell their house.

Bottom line?

Clients don’t want to know about your degrees and achievements.

They want to know what you’ve done for other clients.

And more importantly what you can do for THEM.

That’s it for now.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

Should copywriters have a blog?

The answer is YES.

In fact, blogging is one of your most powerful marketing tools.

You see, here’s something you need realize:

Most copywriters get hung up on having samples. But I’m not really a big believer in this. Most of the time clients don’t even read them. Also, if you’ve been working a while you probably have dozens or even hundreds samples. Eventually updating and maintaining your sample file becomes a massive chore.

The solution to these problems is your blog.

Why?

Because everything you write is a sample.

So instead of giving clients examples of your work simply send them to your blog.

For copywriters this is almost too perfect. Blogging gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of marketing and persuasion. Every post you write allows you to show off your skills and prove that you know what you’re doing.

The caveat is that you have to make an effort.

You have to write each post as if you were being paid a thousand dollars.

As if someone had a gun to your head and you had to convince them to hire you.

Blogging also has other benefits. It’s a great way hone your skills and also gives you something to do when you don’t have client work. If you’re not busy just write a couple of blog posts – it’s better than sitting around all day and doing nothing.

The last step is to set up an email list.

This will also help you market to prospective clients.

It doesn’t have to take any extra work.

Just send them the blog posts you’ve already written.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

If you’re an aspiring copywriter here’s a BIG tip:

When I first started out I spent 90% of my time chasing clients.

As you can imagine this was extremely stressful and even when I found work I made very little money.

But then I got smart and started doing things differently.

And before I knew it I had more high quality clients than I could handle.

What did I do?

It might sound counterintuitive but I realized most copywriters DON’T actually write copy.

What most of them actually do is sell copywriting courses.

There’s a good reason for this:

(Besides making money.)

You see, when most business owners realize they need copy they can do one of two things.

They can hire a copywriter or learn how to write it themselves.

That’s where you come in to sell them an instructional product or two. The trick is that if your product is good they might just decide to hire you instead. At which point you’ve created a HIGHLY qualified prospect…

…with more than enough money to spend on your services.

THIS is how you find dream clients.

Bottom line:

Don’t waste your time chasing bums.

Get clients to come to you instead.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

Back when I was a struggling newbie copywriter I used to work on content mills.

This was an unbelievably depressing and difficult time in my life.

To make any money at all I had to do an enormous amount of work every day.

Sometimes this would mean writing as many as 5000 or more words.

To survive this period I developed a few tricks for writing content at lightning speed.

The first of these was using writing formulas and templates.

One of my go to formulas was something commonly used by journalists. It’s one of the most basic formulas for developing powerful and persuasive content. Not only that, it will stop your copy from sounding boring and you can use it whenever you’re staring at a blank page.

This formula is known as the  5 Ws.

To use it you basically ask the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY and HOW.

Think about these in the context of the topic or person you’re writing about.

For example:

WHO are you?

WHAT do you do for people?

WHEN did you get started?

WHERE do you work?

WHY do you do this?

These questions can be used as a checklist when writing anything. They make your writing richer, more real and make people feel a deeper sense of rapport and connection. With them you can rapidly come up with any type of content…

…and do it almost effortlessly.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

Should copywriters do trial jobs?

Every now and again I get asked about this:

The answer is yes and no and it really depends on who you’re dealing with. You see, a lot of people use, “Trial jobs” as a way to get work done for nothing. If you ask ten prospective writers for a blog post, you could end up with five great posts (And do it without having to pay a cent for them.)

In many cases this is obviously what’s being done.

On the other hand, I landed some of my biggest clients by doing trial jobs.

Sometimes the client has no malicious intent and simply wants to know what you’re capable of.

Many times it’s a test to see if you’re willing to follow instructions.

So what it really comes down to is experience and being able to sniff out shady people.

It’s also about the job. Depending on what’s being offered it might be worth your while to make an effort. After all, you really have nothing to lose but your time. If you don’t get the job you can chalk it down to experience. That being said, make sure you don’t spend too much time on the task. Anything that takes more than an hour or two isn’t worth it.

If you’re still uncertain ask them to pay a nominal fee upfront.

This will help to weed out people who aren’t serious.

The best thing you can do is avoid putting yourself in this position.

You want to be getting so many offers you can pick and choose the best ones.

You also want such a good reputation that no would dare ask you to do trial work.

(It also helps if you skip clients altogether and focus on selling your own products.)

Cheers,

Alastair Walton