All you need is the copywriting skills to build a responsive list, and that’s the one difference between copywriters who make a fortune and copywriters who struggle just to pay the bills. In this article, you’ll discover three simple “hooks” for helping your customers get more of their emails opened, more clicks on their offers and more sales.

1. 1. Copy the Best Copywriters

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel in copywriting.

Multi-million dollar companies are already paying a fortune for the best converting headlines in the business. If you model your headlines after these tried and tested headlines, you’re well on your way to helping your customers get more conversions.

You can see these headlines on the magazine rack when you’re going through the grocery line. The National Enquirer, Weekly World News, Cosmopolitan and Reader’s Digest, these magazines have millions of readers, which means they can’t afford to hire boring copywriters. In emails, these are the subject lines of emails that you open even though you have a crap load of other emails with subject line vying for your attention.

Just pick a few of the headlines on the magazine covers and repurpose them to fit your client’s offer.

2. Curiosity + Controversy + Benefit = Irresistible

Email headlines need three elements, the first one is curiosity. Curiosity makes people do things even when they know they shouldn’t. If you add controversy to that curiosity, you’ve just turned up the heat on your headline. If you add a promised benefit to boot, you’ve greatly increased your chance of sealing the deal.

See if you can spot the use of these three elements in the example below:

“How Does This Ex Starbucks Barista Make More Money in a Month Than YOU Make All Year?”

The controversy is in the idea that an ex-barista can get rich while you’re struggling just to get by. The curiosity element is in the story about how they did it, and the suggested benefit is that if you read the story, you’ll learn the secret for yourself.

You do want to know how she did it…don’t you?

Of course, you need to deliver on your promise by telling the barista’s story in your email. At the same time, if you give too much away you’ll have nothing left to carry the reader through to the sale. That’s where our third hook comes in . . .

3. Fulfill Desire While Creating Desire

Some copywriters create desire with their headline, but they satisfy it before creating another layer of desire. This leaves the reader with no reason to keep reading. This is why you have to create multiple layers of desire, leaving a bread crumb trail all the way to your customer’s payment button.

For example, while telling the story about our rich ex-barista, tell the reader that the ex-barista had “stumbled across the single secret which separated rich people from the broke people.”

Next, go into detail about how the barista’s life changed as they started buying all the amazing things they could never buy before. Just don’t tell the reader what the

“secret” is.  Instead, promise them that if they keep reading, the secret will be revealed later.

Come on, who wouldn’t want to keep reading?

Those are your three hooks for creating a responsive email list for your clients, and your clients will love you for it.

If you want an example of these three hooks in action, just open up one of those magazines and enticing emails with the juicy headlines and subject lines and start reading. Look for how the copywriter uses curiosity, controversy, a promised benefit and bread crumbing to lead your eyes down the page.

THAT is how you build a responsive list and win your clients’ loyalty by helping them plant their own money tree.

As a copywriter, here are three things you can do to write awesome tweets and other short messages for your client’s marketing campaigns . . .

First – Start With a Long Message

Instead of trying to create a super short, super awesome Tweet, give your creativity a chance to breathe and write something that’s 50 to 60 words long. Trying to write a great message in just a few words is a lot harder than writing an entire paragraph. If you start out trying to say something short, engaging and compelling, you may invite writer’s block.

Initially, give yourself plenty of words to work with instead. Let your thoughts flow freely. This is where your creativity will work its hardest. You can compress your message, edit it and become obsessed with perfection later. Starting with this approach could also help you come up with enough material for several smaller messages.

Second – Now, Say What You Just Said in 20 Words or Less

Once you’ve got a good body of thoughts written, start taking out all the weak words like: sort of, actually, virtually, possibly, somewhat, really, kind of, etc. Also, look through your message and take out the word “that” wherever you can manage without ruining the sentence structure.

Third – Work on Something Else for about 24 Hours

Once you’ve got something that’s nice and short (or if you’re stuck with just a few extra words and can’t seem to compress it anymore), find something unrelated to do for a day if time permits.  Coming back to your project after having slaved over it gives you a new perspective on it. It helps you determine whether you’ve written something worth keeping or if it just sounded good in the moment and needs to be rewritten.

Practice Tweet Writing Everyday There’s a saying that goes: “The best time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining.” Likewise, the best time to learn to write good Tweets is when you’re not under the pressure to deliver on a deadline. Make a daily practice of compressing your messages into 20 words or less. Find a few ads that you really like and see how short you can make them without diluting their most engaging quality.

For example, a message like this one…. “This is the most amazing business management application on the market! You’ll fall in love with their user-friendly interface and the inquisitive data analysis tools.  The real-time collaboration features aren’t too bad either!” …can be compressed into this: “Want simple business management with Intuitive, real-time interaction? Check this out…” If you practice compressing other people’s messages into 20 words or less, and if you start your writing process by giving yourself 50 to 60 words to work with, you’ll be able to crank out high quality Tweets and dazzle your clients.

A few of our colleagues from WarriorForum.com have listed their favorite books for copywriters.  I’ve taken the liberty of borrowing this list. Enjoy.

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America’s Top Copywriters
Joseph Sugarman

Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words
Joe Vitale

Steal This Book!: Million Dollar Sales Letters You Can Legally Steal to Suck in Cash Like a Vacuum on
Harlan Kilstein

Breakthrough Advertising: How to Write Ads That Shatter Traditions and Sales Records
Eugene Schwartz

CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

Drew Eric Whitman

Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy That Grabs Their Attention and Compels Them to Buy
Maria Veloso

Grabbing the reader with headlines that work.: An article from: The Newsletter on Newsletters
Clayton Makepeace

Magic Words That Bring You Riches
Ted Nicholas

Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End
Karl Iglesias

How to Write a Good Advertisement
Victor O. Schwab

How to Write Sales Letters That Sell
Drayton Bird

Making Ads Pay: Timeless Tips for Successful Copywriting (Dover Books on History, Political and Social Science)
John Caples

There is something in this list for everyone and for every copywriter’s style.  If you find yourself getting stuck as you write copy, perusing some of this material will certainly help get you back on track.

Happy Writing,

Stacey

Need More Qualified Leads? Use HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing System. Try our FREE 30-Day Trial!

Inbound marketing (attracting people to your site) is the way small businesses that are in-the-know think and act. But, of course, if you’re not a tech geek, online marketing and web design are tough, if not impossible.

Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing System has revolutionized the ease and power of what your freelance copywriting website or blog can do and be. As you’ll find out in a moment, Hubspot’s marketing software is more than just a mere traffic generator. If you simply follow Hubspot’s system and use their tools, you’ll find yourself ahead of 90% of other freelance copywriters who are still living in the ancient times.

Why spend massive amounts of time searching for and then researching the most practical ways to optimize your first freelance copywriting website. Hubspot will do that overwhelming legwork for you!

HubSpot’s software gives you everything you need to make marketing that copywriting clients will actually love – earning quality leads and loyal customers in return.

Inbound channels, unlike outbound channels, produce higher quality leads. Learn how you can make your marketing efforts more inbound. Receive a Free Marketing Assessment From HubSpot!

HubSpot utilizes the platform for inbound marketing to help you:

• attract qualified visitors to your website with remarkable content
• convert your website visitors into leads and then into customers
• analyze your online marketing efforts

What is HubSpot? HubSpot software:

• helps you get found online by more qualified visitors.
• shows you how to convert more visitors into leads.
• gives you tools to close those leads efficiently.
• measures and improves your marketing.

HubSpot’s inbound marketing tools incorporate website design, website and blog content, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, lead conversion, and web/marketing analytics.

Sign up for a FREE 30-day trial of Hubspot’s all-in-one software! There is no risk, no obligation and no credit cards needed for this trial. Drive qualified leads. Convert more leads to customers. HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Software: Free 30 day trial!

1. Study the sales pages of other people. Analyze the writing style and type of wording used. Review the placement of testimonials  and “buy” buttons. Study the “angle” from which the writer is writing.  Repeat this process for emails,  forum signatures, banner ads, and anything used to entice you to DO something.

2. Split test different content and track what converts and what doesn’t, and go with what the target market is telling you.

3. Copying something by hand can trick the mind into thinking that you’re crafting it.

4. Research and get up to speed with good market research. For example, tap into Q & A databases, social chatter and blogs.

5. Pull out a good thesaurus and create a list of all the words you want to use. Dig out all the power verbs that hit the target.  Do that with every word.  Do this with every job, and you will always have a spectacular selection of words all ready and waiting for you.

6. Study the absolute best proven ads.  Write them out by hand.  Pick out the key elements, then rewrite the ads in your own words. Compare yours to the original. Toss into the trash can. Do it again, and again, and again. Use different ads by different authors.

7. Occasionally look at poor ads. Rewrite some of those. But do it in moderation because you don’t want to pick up their bad habits, even subconsciously.

8. Learn everything you can about split testing. Study the losers and winners on split-testing websites like “whichtestwon.com.”  The results are sometimes shocking. The benefit of such sites is that many winning writing styles are available to study. Split-testing your own ads will become easier, faster, and you will produce better results.

9. Learn how to do research beyond Google. Get to know your target prospect by becoming your target prospect; understand and appreciate their joys, their sorrows, and what makes them tick.

10. Write, write, write, daily. Your thesaurus should be dog-eared, tired, worn, and well-thumbed. Know words that sell, emotional trigger words, and phrases.

11. Learn to outline. A well-prepared outline is the foundation upon which everything else is developed.

12. Study marketplaces, results, ads, mailings, radio spots, techniques, websites, marketing trends, business trends, technology trends, psychology, and most of all, study people. Read all kinds of books, newspapers, magazines, white papers, and even spam, because the best ideas are often formed by seeing the connections between seemingly-unrelated bits of information.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. It’s simply another way to give your talent a boost.  I say, even if it’s completely unorthodox, if it works, do it . . . provided it’s legal, of course!

Happy Writing

Stacey

P.S.  I find that stopping and finding something completely unrelated helps to get the creative juices flowing again, thus improving my copywriting experience and proficiency.

•Identify the brand or company.  I’ve received text messages from G-d only knows who and, invariably, my reflexive response is “delete.”   Let them know the brand or the company that is sending the text. You want to avoid your text being treated like spam.

•With SMS text message marketing it’s important to remember that your message has to focus on Only your client’s broadcast subscribers.  You are not directing the message to the general public.

•Other than “FWD 2 a friend,” stay away from text talk, slang, abbreviations and hype. Yes, it may be cool when two “real” friends are texting each other. Yes, it may seem like the suitable thing to do, since, after all, you are texting, but don’t. Your SMS message should be professional.   You can, however, do so, if:  (a) your client’s target audience for the campaign are all teenagers; and (b) you can pull it off authentically, where you don’t sound like an adult who’s trying to sound youthful; and (c) your client tells you to “go for it.”

•Your message must stop the reader in her or his tracks, with a strong headline. You should have a clear understanding of what the customers or potential customers want and immediately satisfy it in your mobile message.  In addition, the offer has to be of immediate value, and has to clearly communicate the benefits of acting now.

•Create two versions of your text message headline so that your client can test them.  Urge her or him to do so. Provide two even if they don’t plan on testing.

•Lead with the benefits of your product or service.  Use your features to validate the benefits – in that order. She wants to know immediately the advantage of buying your product. Will she save time, lose weight or find the right Kindle cover?

•Tell them “the when,” “the where” and “the how.”  Also, if there is some convenience of your product or service, mention that too. Does your bedbug extermination include moving furniture for them? Your message will not be doing its job if your customer has to go online to figure this out.  Most likely, they won’t.

•Your call to action should be no more than 21 characters and leave nothing to the imagination.  Short and easy.  Be crystal clear so it cannot be interpreted in any other way, other than how you mean it.  Give the customer an incentive, perhaps some perk or discount, etc.  Time limits also work well, “Happy Hour” or “Lunch Hour Special.”

•Help your client’s customers spread the brand’s message.  Include the words “Fwd 2 a friend,” at the end of each text blast message.

•Use compelling wording that evoke emotion and action.  Study the language of your brand’s industry and use those words that they’ve used which have been successful in getting their customers’ attention.  The customer should be able to imagine the benefits; it’s your job to paint that picture.

•If you are promoting your client’s SMS vanity short code, don’t forget to provide the short code’s digits for those customers with QWERTY keypads (first 6 keys in  top left row of keypad).  “Text YES to 92259 (WACKY).”

•Never ask the customer to “guess what . . .”  Time is not on your side when you are creating text marketing messages. Get to the point or you will be deleted.

SMS text messaging is the world’s most widely used data application. There are 2.4 billion active users.  You can expect that you will be asked in the near future to write copy for a text message marketing campaign.  Now that you’ve got the basics, you can do so with a bit more confidence.

P.S.  Click here for more resources on mobile marketing or visit: Mobile Marketer.

One of the most promising methods for generating leads for any freelance copywriting business is networking.  But, like anything, in order for your presence at a networking event to work, you can’t pussyfoot around.  You have to go for the gold! To go for the gold, you have to know what you’re doing.  Sadly, so many people who say networking is an “okay” marketing practice don’t achieve the great results that are begging to be achieved because they are – plain and simple – going about it in the wrong way.

Successful networking takes planning. Don’t get nervous, it’s not rocket science.  Nor is it too time-consuming, but you do have to be committed, and you have to be willing not to take short-cuts. People who do that are kidding themselves and are the very folks who complain that “It’s not working.”  Of course, it’s not working – for them!  Showing up and handing out your business cards, or attempting to sell your product or service to people you meet while networking is a sure-fire way to alienate potential business contacts.  Your goal is to cultivate a community of evangelists, to experience the same money-spinning outcome that master networkers experience.

Networking is about crystallizing relationships, establishing trust.  It’s about communicating that unforgettable core message about your freelance copywriting brand that your fellow networkers HEAR and REMEMBER so that when a copywriter is needed, it’s YOU they remember to refer. It’s about being the answer to their financially driven prayers, their problem solver.  You want it to be your business card they’re fumbling through their briefcase looking for. THAT’s what you want. That’s why you network.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have people lining up to work with you, people willing to wait until you have an availability to work on their project?

I’ll answer for you. Hell yeah!

Now, let’s talk about “the how.”

How do you virtually guarantee that networking leads to continued success for your freelance copywriting business? Answer: You Prepare.

 STEP 1 – Find Out Who’s Attending the Event – The ultimate purpose of networking is to build your business. While, as you will learn later, anyone can be a great referral source, you still want to make a point of talking with people whose businesses are complimentary to your freelance copywriting business.  For example, that graphic designer on the list of attendees, the ad agency owner or the digital marketing manager may have overflow work for you in the near future.  Of course, this is certainly not something you will bring up at the event. However, it is a subject for which you should be well-prepared to discuss for as long as they like, if they bring it up.  Since, in all likelihood, everyone will be wearing name tags, it probably won’t be too hard to spot them. Often, networking hosts ask that you write your company name on your tag as well.

If the event has a website, check it out to see if there is a picture of the person and send it to your phone or print it and tuck it away somewhere.  Try to find out a little about their business, so you can make meaningful commentary (one or two points only; don’t be over-the-top).  Read their reason for attending the function, if it’s posted, so that your contribution to the conversation can stay within those parameters.

STEP 2 – Craft Your 15-second Promise – Some people refer to this brief description of your business as the “elevator pitch.”  This introduction is something you share with business people you meet when they ask you what your business is about or what you do.  I prefer to call this story a “15-second promise.”   The most efficient way to tell your story is to include your freelance business’s brand promise in the spiel.  Your brand promise is what all of your customers experience when they work with you.  It’s why your customers like working with you.  It identifies what potential customers should expect from all transactions with you.  Your brand promise is who you are.

The other component of the 15-second promise is a very streamlined, four-sentence case story, featuring a true statistic that highlights the way your copywriting improved a client’s business. Stories are compelling. They give the listener a visual.  It’s provable, and it says to the listener, “that could happen to your business if you stick with me.”

When you sit down to develop your brand promise, keep in mind, it must be: clear, compelling, concise and credible.

Hi Stacey, my name is Ron. I am a graphic designer. What do you do? 

Hi Ron. I write marketing material that helps companies attract customers. For example, I crafted a brochure for a day care center that helped them increase their enrollment by 100% in a couple of months. And then the city forced the school to create a waiting list.

STEP 3 – Ask Good Open-Ended questions, Listen While You Let Them Talk – This simply means asking questions that begin with “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” or “how.”  The idea is to generate a conversation that demonstrates to the person that you are interested in hearing about them.  Ask them, “How can I help you?”  and ”What can I do for you?” They will get around to asking about you.  The best way to learn more is to let them talk.  The more they talk, the more you learn how you can help them, or the more you learn about ways their business and/or who they know complements your freelance copywriting business goals.  Don’t pre-judge.  Sometimes you discover invaluable things. They may know just the type of person you’ve been looking to connect with.  You never know who another person knows or what they know just by looking at them.

STEP 4  – Write a Memory-Jogging Note on the Back of Their Business Card – After the event, you will follow-up with all the people you met that day.  While at the event, casually jot down notes on the backs of the business cards you receive. Write something that will help you remember who that person is.  Write something you can insert in an email that will show them they made an impression on you, perhaps something they said or alluded to.

STEP 5  – Follow-up that Night  – After the event, take an hour or two, while the event is still fresh in your mind.  Open a file with the function date, the name and place of the function and create a spreadsheet for it.  On that spreadsheet, add the contact information from each of the business cards. Go to their about page or linkedin page and copy a picture onto your spreadsheet to help you remember them months afterwards.  Also on the spread sheet, add the notes that you jotted down on the backs of their business cards.  Add any more information  that you recall them mentioning, particularly the answer(s) they gave when you asked “how can I help you…”  Then write a “Nice to Meet You” email to the people with whom you made contact.  Add a brief piece of info from the card (not everything you remember)  into your email so that it has a natural sounding flow and does not sound staged when you read it aloud to yourself.  Every email should be original. Do not use a boilerplate email. Someone at the event may forward your email to someone else you met.  You don’t want that next person to see that they weren’t important enough for you to take five minutes to come up with an original thought.

STEP 6  – Reach Out 6-8 Weeks Later  – Six to eight weeks after the event, send something complimentary, non-solicitous, that could help them with their business or with their copywriting.  Remember, your spreadsheet will have notes about them and about areas where they need.  Take an hour or so (as part of your marketing schedule) and go through mailings or postings you’ve received that include webinars that may interest them or some other function that may help them with their business.  Go through your emails to see if someone asked you to refer someone with their expertise and make an email introduction.  This will come back ten-fold!   At the conclusion of your email, you can say , if they have any questions, they can email or call you.  The idea is to stay fresh in their minds – in their minds as that helpful writer they met.

Networking is a great, low-cost marketing approach for building your business and expanding a client base for freelance copywriters, making this career a rewarding journey. However,  like anything, you have to work it.  And, as far as my experience has shown me, it is certainly one of the best ways, if not, the best way to build your freelance business.   It works, but you have to do it consistently.  Make it a regular part of your marketing strategy if you want to get serious about freelance copywriting.  You will see the fruits of your labor.  I’ve seen the benefits of networking.  I’ve had waiting lists of my own as a result of networking, to the point where I needed to take a hiatus from networking because I got a bit overwhelmed with incoming work.  Do it wrong and you’ll miss. Do it right and you’ll hit.

BONUS: Below are Links to Three Trusted Sites You Can Use to Find Networking Events:

Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups.

LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site

Eventbrite features an increasing amount of free networking events.

P.S.   Want to learn about networking? Learn how to network so that you get great results from it and feel authentically yourself the whole time.  World-renowned Fabienne Fredrickson shares ALL of her secrets in The Secrets of Master Networkers Manual.

P.P.S. Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System®, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your income, enter your email address below right away.

1-Blogs

Google the name of your target audience demographic and the term “blog.” For example, enter the following in your search box: “stay at home” “mom” “blog”.   I always recommend visiting blogs that cater to very specific groups. People who participate in narrowly targeted blogs/communities tend to be more candid with their real views on the subject in question.  They come to these communities to genuinely talk and let their hair down.  The comment providers are more inclined to be themselves too.  If the blog has a search feature, enter terms related to the subject of your copywriting project, e.g., “summer camp,” “teachers” “husbands,”  “bullies,”  etc., and read the posts and comments connected to those tag words or keywords.  Consumer mindset is key.  Customer psychology can provide insight into what motivates your consumers.  When you conduct marketing research, customer psychology is more important than statistics. Statics are important, but they only reveal a fraction of the truth.

2-The Online Version of Magazines and Newspapers

Look for stories directed at your market – pet owners, baby boomers, the unemployed, small business owners, yoga lovers, techies, joggers, etc.   The beauty of using online periodicals is that they are often written in blog format and allow readers to comment.   Find magazines whose readership is your client’s target audience.  If, for example, you are writing about a fitness machine designed for women, visit the online version of Women’s Health Magazine, Women’s Fitness, Oxygen, Muscle and Fitness – Hers, Shape, etc.  In the cases, where the articles don’t have an area for commenting, check for the magazine’s blog, which may be found on its Home page.

3-Your Personal Facebook Account

If you have a Facebook account and have a diverse group of “friends,” you may be in luck. Find all the friends you have who fall into your client’s target demographic and poke around on their walls and profiles.  Don’t worry; it’s not snooping; it’s there for you to see, unless their settings prevent you from poking around.  The idea is to listen to the conversations and exchanges they are having.  See what products they like or don’t like. What books are they reading?  What games are they playing?  What “pisses” them off or gets them hyped?  What content are they sharing with their friends?  And visit their friends who fit the demographic . . .  rinse and repeat.  You’ll be amazed at how much a Facebook page can your clue you in on about the individuals in a particular group/category.

 4-Forum and Discussion Boards

Forums are a great way to become privy to your demographic’s mindset while they are busy being themselves.  Find threads that relate to the subject about which you are writing.  In the way you searched Google for blogs, you can do the same with forums.  What’s nice about researching on a forum is that you get a large number questions being asked by folks who are allowing their guards to come down; folks who are saying here’s what’s wrong; help me.  Forums tend to bring out vulnerabilities and insecurities, which help lend shape to unexplained findings.  Watch especially for threads with many answers, because often, the person asking the question engages in an exchange and you really get to see various thought processes, etc.

5-Amazon.com Reviews

Type in the name of your product in the Amazon.com search box.  If you want to know how people feel about your product, Amazon has some of the most outspoken customers on the planet.  They are verbose and love being on stage and sharing their honest, raw and sometimes, hurtful opinions of a product.  If they love it, you will know it.  If they dislike it, you will know it.  You can also type in the name of a book that your target audience is inclined to read (based on what you learned about them from your client).  When critiquing books, you can often discover people’s most important concerns.

It’s very helpful to have an idea of a consumer’s attitude about topics related to what you are writing about.  Additionally, as a copywriter, you will want to address probable objections, and Amazon, for example, is a great way to find out what those objections are likely to be.   The social media resources mentioned above allow you to be a fly on a “concrete” wall!

How can you tell you have either a good copywriter or a bad one?”

I combed through all the answers in each group and pulled together a list of my 10 favorite responses.  I believe this will be quite helpful to new freelance copywriters as you develop your portfolios and your copywriting skills.

1-”A track record of delighted customers who are happy to recommend the writer to you.”

2-”Are they reaching your target audience? It’s good to keep in mind that your internal people/colleagues may be good at evaluating the copy from the ‘representation of the business’ perspective, but not necessarily from the customer perspective. A good copywriter will be able to balance that delicate line. Also, response to feedback and if you don’t understand something, they should be able explain in a non-defensive manner. As with any subject, you’ll get what you pay for, as well!”

3- •”Talk to them about your target market to see if they understand it.
•Evaluate their work in the medium you want to use. There are slightly different writing requirements for print and social media, for example.
•Take up references, preferably in a similar industry.
• If you like what you have seen so far agree on a small, paid assignment. When you brief them, if they are any good, they will ask lots of questions about things like your target audience, the messages you want to put out, the offers you have, the style that’s most appropriate, the word count etc. Personally I put a lot of work in at this stage to make sure I really understand what is required
• Evaluate the copy you get back. If the copywriter is good I would suggest it should be at least 80% what you are looking for. Your time is valuable. You want to be able to brief the writer and let them get on with it, rather than getting involved in orchestrating lots of rewrites.”

4-”Everything you need to know about a copywriter will be evident by their portfolio. If their work is good. They’ll be good. And vice versa.”

5-”A good copy writer is first of all a good listener.”

6-”I, personally, think empathy towards clients and consumers is one of the most important prerequisites for a strong copywriter, and it makes them genuinely curious about the world around them. Conceptually, this should help your creative tailor specific messages for specific audiences. I would go through their portfolio and then decide whether or not you actually like their work. Is the messaging effective? Last, I’d look at their styling.”

7-”I think every communication you have with a copywriter tells you about him or her. Are they clear, concise and thoughtful in their email messages, for example? Or are there misspellings, improper punctuation, wrong tense, etc? If it’s there, that’s going to tell you something about the product they’ll deliver for you.  I have samples of many different types of projects on my website, covering everything from trade show presentation scripts to press releases. But I also like to remind my clients that EVERYTHING on my website (with the exception of clients’ testimonials) is my writing. I want them to see not only how I sell for my clients, but how I sell myself, as well.  In short, a good writer is a good writer. You don’t turn in on and off. You do it in everything you do, or you just don’t do it well enough.”

8-”Read things the copywriter wrote. Did you get to the last line? Did you want more? You found a good copywriter. I speak to this on my homepage at www.feldmancreative.com and offer what I feel is an insightful paper on the subject. ‘Find the Right Copywriter.’ ”

9-”Good copywriters can sell themselves first, sell you second, and sell your product third.”

10-”I would say, no such thing as a stupid question, if a copywriter is asking, then they are trying to fully understand your brief and needs, and may just raise things that you haven’t though of or realised.”

There are just so many wonderful and valuable reasons to be a part of linkedin.  It’s not simply a social media site to use when you are out of work.  This list is just a tiny representation of the plethora of helpful information linkedin has for new and veteran copywriters.  Register, join groups and join the conversations!

Stacey

Read their profiles, in their own words:

1. Advertising Copywriting - This is a group for advertising copywriters and everyone interested in the copywriting craft.

2. Advertising Creatives – This group is for all creative advertising professionals –  Art Directors (AD),  Copywriters (CW),  Creative Directors (CD),  and professionals who work in creative media, creative planning, or anything else creative.

3. Marketing Communication - Marketing Communication is defined as messages and related media used to communicate with a market via advertising, social media, branding, direct marketing, graphic design, affiliate marketing, packaging, promotion, publicity, sponsorship, public relations, sales, sales promotion, online, mobile apps, crm, seo, search, events, pr, tv, cim and marketing jobs. The group is for Marcom professionals.

4. MarketingProfs – MarketingProfs is a community of marketers centered around smart, quick, and actionable know-how and discussions.  More than 360,000 subscribers read their newsletters and blog, attend their events and seminars (both live and virtual), and participate in the MP discussion forum.  All marketing professionals are welcome to apply to join.

5. Copywriters – This group is all about how to find copywriting jobs.

6. Digital Marketing - Digital Marketing is one of the most exciting and dynamic groups on LinkedIn for digital marketing professionals. Group discussions cover the depth and breadth of the digital marketing landscape and include topics such as social media marketing, mobile marketing, search engine marketing, online PR, email marketing, online advertising, measurement and web analytics, best practice digital marketing and more. They provide updates to the latest white papers and industry reports to keep you updated on trends, innovation and best practice digital marketing.  They also organize an exciting events program of  conferences, social and networking events to bring the digital marketing community together.

7. E-Marketing Association Network – This is the largest and most active Marketing Group with 396,000+ members. Managed by the eMarketing Association, the worlds largest Internet marketing association, it is open to all interested in Internet Marketing.  They focus on social, eMail, search and web marketing.

8. Copywriters Beat - This group is for copywriters and bloggers or anyone interested in the art of marketing copy.

9. Copywriting Classifieds – This group is a subgroup of Advertising Copywriting.  It was created exclusively for the purpose of advertising skills and services.  The discussion board of this subgroup is open for any posting about a blog, services, upcoming events. In short, it is the perfect forum to market yourself.

Keep in mind that these groups, as with all social media are designed for just that – to be a social networking tool.  So, take time to add to the discussions, offer advice, ask questions, become a part of the mix. You’ll get something of value out of it. I do every time I participate, and so do the other members.

Additionally, I know I said this is about groups on linkedin.com, but I have found that Twitter is also a great source when looking for freelance copywriting jobs.   Just remember to enter your search as a hashtag, e.g.,  #copywriter.  There should be no space between the # and the word “copywriter.”   You can also enter #freelancecopywriter.   Again, there should be no space between “freelance” and “copywriter.”  Lastly, when you use Twitter for business, be mindful of the Twitter protocol.

Happy job hunting guys and good luck!

Stacey