Answers to More Questions from Freelance Copywriters
John “Angel” Anghelache and I were talking today. Many questions that copywriters have submitted to us haven’t been answered yet. So we decided it was time to answer them. This time, John provides the answers. -Ryan
Q: “How does one get clients when their cash reserve won’t permit mailing out packages? Even if one could mail out packages, how does one persuade the client they are capable of doing the job?” -Ruth
John’s Answer: Resort to a combination of email and phone calls. Send an email with an abbreviated version of your pitch. Then follow up with a call.
Samples are one way to persuade clients. Put together a portfolio of ads. Even if they are “mock ups”. Something is better than nothing.
Ryan’s 2 Cents: If you decide to mail out some packages, Ruth, make your copy more conversational. Instead of saying, “How does one get clients?” say, “How do I get clients?” When you use the word “one” for a person, it sounds like a mid-term exam.
Q: “I’m the only breadwinner in my household and on my job I have very little ‘free time’ to do anything else. By the time I get home from work most of my prospects are gone for the day.
“I’m still a copywriter in training and it seems you would be required to bang the phones following up on your lead generation letters etc. to land some jobs. Any advice is greatly appreciated!” -Emette
John’s Answer: Get someone else to do the follow up calls for you. Have them schedule a phone meeting with the prospect when you will be available. There’s no shortcut here. You have to talk to prospects to turn them into clients.
Ryan’s 2 Cents: Hi, Emette. I’ve been in your shoes. If I were you, I’d schedule follow-up calls during my lunch hour. I’d take an early or late lunch if necessary. I’d make phone calls from my car, then eat lunch at my desk after making my calls. (I’ve actually done this.)
Q: “Tracking down the decision-maker.” -Paul
John’s Answer: Do research on the company. Find out who the decision-maker is. Contact them directly. They will either talk to you or hand off the project to someone else. Playing “phone tag” is part of the game. A good offer compels prospects to get in touch with you.
Q: “Time management people always say to just set a limit and make it be done. But me, hours later I’m still working away at an article. How the heck are you supposed to do that?” -Tracy
John’s Answer: There are tricks to writing faster. One is to use a template. Another is to set a timer on your desk. Write for a specific period of time. Then go on to another part of the writing job. You’ll get faster the more you write.
Ryan’s 2 Cents: Sounds like you might be a perfectionist, Tracy. In addition to what John suggested, try to establish what is good enough. Stop writing once you’ve reached the “good enough” level. Then test the copy to see what kind of results it gets.
Q: “Can you give us an in-depth discussion on building our niches and USP? For example, should I just say I am a copywriter who specializes in writing sales letters for the I.T. market? The concern I have here is that I might only receive projects from the IT sector even though I am equally qualified to serve the financial sector, aviation and aerospace, and the oil and gas industry.” -Raj
John’s Answer: Customize your offers to different markets. When approaching the I.T. market, talk about your experience in that market. When approaching the financial market focus on your experience there.
It doesn’t make much sense anyway to present yourself as a financial copywriter when going after the I.T. market. The key is to customize your self-promotions.
Q: “How difficult would it be to break into freelancing for established ad agencies in NY City or elsewhere? What do you think might be the right approach? Who would be the best person to contact at an ad firm? What kind of fee arrangement should I look for? Is this a crazy idea? Thanks for your input!” -Chris McMorrow
John’s Answer: First off, define what kind of ad agency. Conventional or direct response? There are huge differences between the two. I would go after direct response agencies. Compile a list of Creative Directors for various agencies. Send them a letter with a relevant offer.
(Hint: They only hire freelancers to unload work when in-house copywriters are swamped.)
Take whatever they pay. Usually, it’s somewhere in the $2,000 range or so. Go for the experience. The money will come.
-John L. Anghelache
[Editor’s Note: We’ve now released three videos about finding and landing copywriting clients. The first video is free. You can watch it here. If you’d like to see all the videos as they are released (including Videos #2 and #3), please enter your name and email in the form that appears underneath the video. Thanks. -Ryan M. Healy]