For those of you who don’t know, Client Attraction has been ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies for 2011! And it’s identified among the Top 100 for fastest-growing women-owned companies.

Join Fabienne Fredrickson tomorrow – FREE tele-training on how to quickly attract all the high-paying clients you need- http://bit.ly/wfVn6w

How successful you will be as a freelance copywriter is determined by how committed you are to making it happen.  Your first priority is get that this is not a hobby.  If it is a hobby, that’s fine, and you really don’t need to read this post.  If you are freelancing for a living or to help make ends meet, you must look at this like a business . . . because that’s exactly what it is.  Lots of money can be made, but if you don’t take it seriously, and realize that your time is money, then the level of income you bank will match the level of focus you commit.

Create a Schedule

The next thing you need to recognize is that everything has the potential to take longer than you plan for it to take.  Consider this as you allot time for items in your schedule.  Whether you freelance on a part-time basis or a full-time basis, all of the necessary activities get included in your schedule, including your marketing activities.  Each of your educational or marketing activities should be represented in your calendar with specificity.  Don’t just enter “marketing.”  These activities can include article marketing, cold calling, Tweeting, Linkedin, Facebook for business, attending offline networking functions, blogging, speaking engagements, trade conferences, instructional/industry webinars,  teleconferences, etc.).

Make every effort to only deviate from your schedule if you need the time to work on a project. Monitor and measure your marketing results. If one marketing strategy is working, employ it more than the ones that are not working or that are not as effective.

Start Building Your Portfolio

Each time you finalize a piece of work for a client, grab a copy and add it to your portfolio (and you should be building a portfolio online and offline).  These are your credentials.  Show them off.  If you have nothing to put into a portfolio, create your own marketing materials and add them to your portfolio.  Your own website, if you  created it, is a credential.  Start writing and publishing articles about your niche market. This takes about one to two hours, depending on how involved you get in the subject matter.  Publish these articles to popular online article directories, e.g., goarticles.com and ezinearticles.com.  Post these articles to your own site as well.

Distribute a Press Release

The business world loves niches.  This is not to say that you can only write for your niche market, because, quite frankly, a talented copywriter can adapt, learn and write for any market.   But since niche markets are easier to leverage, let’s concentrate our efforts on them.  So, if you have chosen a niche market and you are one of the few specialist in this area, or if you uncover some unique and marketable skill in this area that you have that others do not, write an SEO press release letting your target market know that you exist and where they can find you.  Submit it online to free or for-profit press release distribution sites.

Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Etc.

This is called “social” media for a reason.  Be there.  If you are going to set up automated Tweets for example, and never appear on Twitter, what’s the point of having a Twitter account for your business. That’s not marketing.  Marketing online is about being social. It’s about building relationships. It’s about building trust.  Your potential clients and potential referral sources cannot establish rapport with an automated gizmo.  If you plan to use these tools to enhance your business, but you want to do so in an automated way, you may want to rethink their function and purpose.

As to networking on Linkedin, join a few groups and initiate discussions or offer comments on discussions.  Be seen.  Be heard.  Become a familiar face on your social networks.  Success follows Trust. Trust follows familiarity . . .  It’s a process, but it won’t work if you don’t work it.

Be Easy to Find and Easy to Reach

Make sure all your information is on every marketing tool you use. It should prominently be on your website, in your email signature, on all of your social media accounts.  Also, make sure that you have a dedicated phone service, or virtual phone service to get calls that you are unable to answer when they come in.  Lastly, set up some way of automatically responding to email inquiries that come in.  Then make sure you check your emails regularly so you can respond promptly.  People are not going to wait for you forever.  Yet, they are inclined to wait a little bit, if you have some mechanism to temporarily address their inquiry in a professional (not personal) way, elements of good customer service.

Everyone Around You Should Know This is Your Job

By “everyoneˮ I mean, your children, their friends, your neighbors, and if you work, your co-workers.  Other people tend not to take the freelancer’s time very seriously. You have to gently, but firmly, make sure they get it.  Set aside time to handle your freelance work (whether it is writing a project or handling an administrative task like repairing your hard drive with your computer geek.  Once you set this time aside, everyone has to respect it.  Your neighbors can’t drop by for coffee to chat.  Your kid’s friend can’t pick your brain about and issue he is having with his mom.  If you have a day job, but do this at lunch time, don’t coffee clutch just because a co-worker wants to share the latest gossip.  This is your time, your professional time. You would not do this (I hope) to your employer if you worked for someone else, so don’t do it to yourself.

Work Administrative Tasks Into Your Routine

There aren’t many of us out here who enjoy reconciling invoices, tracking accounts receivables, filing research printouts, cleaning our email inboxes, but it has to get done.  When you let these responsibilities pile up, they can hamper your progress, because the stress that knowing it needs to get done can weigh on your mind.  Make them a part of your regular weekly schedule and deal with them a little at a time.

Offline Networking Works Well Too

Don’t sleep on offline networking.  Very often, when people physically see the small business owner they are considering delegating their copywriting project to, the trust factor is expedited and the bond gels at a faster rate than it does online. This is especially important when you are new at this.  Once the initial word of mouth has momentum, the trust element will later transfer over to your online business which, itself, will then pick up speed.

I highly recommend joining a serious business networking groups, like BNI, or your local Chamber of Commerce or a resourceful Meetup group (not just any Meetup group). These are just some of the many, many networking groups out there.

These groups have meetings where, as a member or guest, you will have an opportunity to give do an elevator pitch or a presentation about your freelance copywriting business. Once they get to know you and your work product, members will begin hiring you and recommending you to their friends.

You Simply Need to Just Go For It

A freelance practice is within your reach. I started my business by just going for it.  I bought two books, read them cover to cover and just went for it!  And I haven’t looked back.  If you consistently work this business, success will follow, but you have to be willing to continue marketing your freelance practice, even when you have a full roster of clients.

Good luck!

Stacey Mathis

P.S.  These two books I read to start my business were: The Copywriter’s Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells and Start & Run a Copywriting Business.

Let’s face it, without customers, we wouldn’t have freelance businesses.  The last thing we want and the last thing many of us can afford to do is to drive them away.  Many times, small business owners commit customer repelling acts that could be avoided.  Often, it happens because our time isn’t managed well. Other times, it’s because we don’t have systems in place that can prevent these occurrences.   What follows are six common reasons customers don’t come back after doing business with a freelancer or why freelancers don’t close sales with potential customers and what you can do to change this.

1 – You take too long to return their phone calls

When a prospect calls your freelance business, chances are great that they are ready or nearly ready to do business.  It’s an opportunity that you do not want to miss.  It’s also a call that, if you miss it, you want to return it immediately. The best option is to always answer the call and tell them you will call them back; however, as a small business owner, that luxury is not always an option.  Since you can’t be too sure what situation you are leaving a customer in, and you want to demonstrate that you are a reliable freelancer they can count on, do not keep them waiting long.  Although you may not be able to serve their need at the moment, it’s important that they know they are being heard and attended to. The first second you have, return the call.

Successful business is built on trust. Trust is created by you, the person at the helm. When it’s breached, there is no one else to blame . . . even if there is.

Many freelancers and other small business owners, myself included, have found virtual phone systems to be an indispensable addition to their business models.  These phone systems provide your freelance business with the same features enterprise phone systems have, minus the high price tag.  There are many services out there to choose from.  You can get a toll-free phone number and have it ring to your cell phone or house phone, to your virtual receptionist or the calls can be placed, momentarily, on hold until you are finished with the call you are handling (if any).

The virtual receptionist can provide your customers and potential customers with information and can guide them through your freelance business’s virtual phone system. Your callers can also dial extensions and be connected to voice mail boxes designated for specific issues, e.g., “if one if you are a new client and wish to contacted by Stacey Mathis, press 1; if you are a current customer and have a question or comment about an ongoing project, press 2 for all other calls . . .

2 – Your customer relations management is inadequate

Perhaps, you don’t continue to make your customers feel appreciated and important.   Or maybe your attention to their concerns wanes after their check clears.  These are some of the complaints customers have about dealing with small businesses.  Making matters worse, small businesses cannot recover as quickly as a large one can once we fail a customer.  And, in light of Twitter, Facebook and the like, the damage to our businesses can happen in seconds.

As freelancers, you have to be vigilantly conscious of the how you treat your customers.  The following few small, but conscientious, gestures can have huge positive results for your business

■Don’t just pay attention to the compliments, pay attention to the complaints, and address them.

■Service your customers with a smile, whether you are in the mood or not.  They don’t have to do business with you.

■ Listen to your clients.  It’s not just about the money.

■Address them by name.

■Pay attention to details.

■Try to anticipate their needs.

■Keep them in the loop as progress is made.

3 - You make it hard for them to contact you

Your contact information should be displayed prominently on your website, your Facebook page’s information page and any other social media tool you use.  A customer should never have to figure out how to get in touch with you.  You should even have relevant contact information as part of your phone system recording, which should also include your hours of operation and any holiday information you think is necessary.

4 – Your email replies take days. Customers have no idea if you received their email inquiries or not

Automate everything.  This is one of the greatest things about doing business in a high-tech world – being able to automate certain steps in the course of doing business.  Autoresponders are excellent tools to handle email inquiries. They’re perhaps one of the greatest inventions for small businesses, heck, and big business.  It’s a way of responding to your customers’ and potential customers’ emails without having to get back to them instantly yourself.  In addition, autoresponder emails allow you to introduce potential customers  to your freelance business; you can address frequently asked questions; and you can establish and build trust by sharing valuable information and perform a host of other business marketing tasks.

5 – Your talent does not live up to the hype.

Did you get caught up in the moment during a networking session and exaggerate your capabilities to a potential referral source.  Or perhaps you included samples in your portfolio that you merely lightly edited, but did not actually create.  These are the types of actions that result in clients feeling disappointed. This happens because your actual work product does not meet expectations.  It is especially exasperating after the customer has invested time in working with you on a project, and it’s too late to turn back. You’ve taken away their choices.

Do not hold yourself out to be something that you are not.  It breaches trust and will come back to haunt you in the end.  People talk.  It’s your responsibility and in your best interest to help assure that the chatter out there about you and your freelance business is good stuff.

6 – You give them just what they paid for and nothing more

One way companies are attempting to hold on to business (and it’s working extraordinarily well) is by going above and beyond the expectation customers have by giving them more than their money is paying for.  No one is saying you have to bankrupt yourself or provide more that you can give, but do a little something to help them remember your services.  You want them to become a fan, an evangelist to sell your services for you via word-of-mouth.

An outstanding follow-up experience is one thing you can do. It can help to build a stronger relationship between your clients and you. In today’s market, your job is to deliver an exceptional customer experience, which should include a great post-experience service anyway.

Lastly, send out, by regular mail, a handwritten “thank you” note.  If you can’t mail it, say it in some other memorable way, but, by all means, say it and make it genuine.  Your “thank you” should not sound like a form letter.  Add something to it that is specific to their project, perhaps mention some aspect of it that you enjoyed working on, etc. Thank you is an enormously powerful tool, if you will.

Your customers are top priority or should be.  Run your freelance business proactively, and you’ll increase the chance of repeat business and the likelihood of converting leads.

1. Green Marketing Myopia

Green marketing has two goals: (1) customer satisfaction; and (2) improved environmental quality.  Don’t be overly engrossed in the product’s greenness when you craft your copy.  Do not fail to attempt to convince them of its non-green benefits.

Your client’s customer may be an eco-friendly consumer, but your marketing message still must answer the prospect’s primary question “what’s in it for me.”  This is especially true in cases where your client is trying to appeal to consumers who are not yet green. If it’s a cleaning product, show how it benefits the busy work-at-home dad. The idea is to understand and address the customer’s non-green pain points.

In addition, green products tend to cost more and customers have complained that they are not as effective as their eco-unfriendly counterparts. These are the types of objections you’ll have to keep in mind and overcome as you brainstorm and construct your piece.

2. Educate the Consumer

Establish how environmentally conscious products help customers protect their health, protects nature and the outdoors (for recreational purposes), and preserves the ecosystem/environment for their children and their children’s children. Empower the customer by showing she can make a difference. Use figures and images to drive home the point.   When companies make the effort to teach their green living customers, these lessons can enhance involvement and imagery, not to mention improve the brand’s credibility.

3. Green Living Consumers Don’t Want Perfection. They Want Honesty

The writing part of the campaign is your job.  Thus, it is your job to unearth the marketable truth about your client’s product so that you are not responsible for or a party to greenwashing.  And “truth” is the operative word here. The claims you make in your copy have to be credible.

“Green-wash (green’wash’, -wôsh’) – verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service,” as defined by sinsofgreenwashing.org.

Bonus#1: You may find it helpful to download and skim through the Sins of Greenwashing Report before crafting copy for companies whose campaign marketing segment is green living consumers or the like.

Between you and me, before you start writing your copy, on your own (without alerting the client), run your client’s company’s name through the GreenWashing Index to see where they stand so you can be certain your copy does not contain inaccuracies or does not conflict with information that is already out there and which may contradict what you are saying in your text. The GreenWashing Index is an interactive forum that allows one to evaluate ads that make environmental claims. You can register Right Here. (Registration takes 9 seconds or less, literally . . . and it’s free).

4. How Well Do You Know Your Client’s Green Target Audience

Make sure you really know the target audience your client is marketing to. Understand their needs.  Be certain the client’s customers that you are targeting are concerned about the issues your offering attempts to concentrate on. Are they even aware of the concerns you are addressing?  If they are aware of them, do they care? Once you’ve determined all that, let the customer know how your offering is better or different from the competitors who offer the same thing or something comparable.  This still matters . . . even with green consumers.

Know what shade of green your client’s consumers are:  ”dark green”, “light green” or “basic brown.”  Conduct basic research to figure out the customer’s personal green interests. As presented by J. Ottman, a green marketing consulting firm and one of the country’s leading experts on green marketing, it’s helpful to ask your client the following about their customers: To which environmental organizations do members of our target audience belong (The Appalachian Mountain Club or Greenpeace)?Which types of vacations do they take (hiking or the beach)? Which environmental magazines and websites do they read or visit (Sierra or Animal Fair)? Which types of products do they buy (green fashions or energy-sipping light bulbs)? Which eco-labels do they seek out (“USDA Organic” or “Energy Star“)?

You’ll want to know if they are  ”Resource Conservers,” “Health Fanatics,” “Animal Lovers” or “Outdoor Enthusiasts” or a combination of one or more of these segments.   This way you have a better handle on the mindset you are dealing with so you can hone your copy.

Green marketing can be a useful tool, but the campaign has to align with the needs of the target consumers.

P.S.  Bonus#2 Additional Site/Report that you may find useful:

Green Marketing in the US -  This Note discusses key regulatory requirements and sets out practical tips for companies to consider when engaging in green marketing in the US.

Before You Sit Down To Create Your client’s Marketing Piece, Let’s Talk -

Know Your client’s Product (or Service) Inside and Out

Take a closer at your client’s product or service. Make a list of every benefit (e.g., it increases productivity, saves time, etc.). Sometimes it helps if you list your client’s product’s features in one column and then list the benefit the feature provides in another column. Remember to include on your client’s list those benefits that your client does not mention on their website or in their other marketing materials. A customer may find important something that you take for granted. Are there things on your client’s about page that they do as part of their business that they don’t mention in their marketing tools, because it just comes with the territory? Add their benefits to the list.

Know Your Client’s Market Segment 

Read about boomers and seniors so you can identify what it is they really want, how to classify them, what matters to them, what offends them, beyond the subjective  “obvious.” Don’t make assumptions about the trends, the lifestyle and nature of the mature markets. You can have two 60-year-olds, who are chronologically the same age, but are cognitively far apart in age For example, one lives the life of an active 30-year-old, free-spirit and shops at the Gap and the other has a much slower-paced, regimented routine and no longer shops for clothes, because she has enough to wear.

This is not to say, however, that the energetic 60-year–old wants to be 30 again; she or he is just living an active life often associated with that of a younger person. Unless your client’s product or service is distinctly age-related, like hearing aids, arthritis creams and burial plots, keep your client’s marketing words age-neutral!  Steer clear of mentioning old age’s cousins, as well, e.g., golden years. Delicately and discreetly convey that you are including the mature generations, not that your client’s product is for their generation.

Example: If you have a resort and the most attractive feature you want to promote is the 24-hour golf course, promote the benefits that would appeal to most golfers (and particularly the older golfer), like, “24-hour golf just got better. We now have glow in the dark golf balls!”

There are, however, a few generalizations about the 50 plus generations that you, as a copywriter, must make.

Primarily: People over 50 nowadays are not the same as people over 50 in 1978 and before. Additionally, mature adults no longer feel or live like a homogeny.

■ Today’s 50 plus are more alive than yesterday’s 50 plus.

■ Today’s 50 plus are more health-conscious than yesterday’s 50 plus.

■ Today’s 50 plus tend to be more active and fit than yesterday’s 50 plus.

■ Today’s 50 plus are more likely to do something about not being considered relevant than yesterday’s 50 plus would.

■ Today’s 50 plus expect to be treated as independently as they feel, which is very independent.

■ Today’s 50 plus are more open-minded than yesterday’s 50 plus.

■ Today’s 50 plus prefer if marketers use more concrete advertising claims like specifying which vitamins their product is fortified with.

■ Today’s 50 plus are not a niche market and want marketers to recognize this fact and demonstrate it in their advertising.

Creating Your Client’s Marketing Piece

Pictures 

The mature market of today is not ready to be carted off.  They prefer to enjoy their relevancy.  Thus, your client’s pictures should reflect their involvement among people of different ages.  The pictures should, of course, fit with what your client’s product is about. Don’t just throw in a picture of a man with his son and grandson which has no connection with what you are promoting. Pictures should help to sell the product, not decorate it.

Headline

You must begin your client’s marketing piece with a headline, whether it is a brochure, sell sheet, or the Home Page of your client’s website. This is where your client’s USP (unique selling proposition) makes its first appearance. You have 3 to 10 seconds to capture the attention of anyone, but particularly the mature market; advertisers are increasingly vying for their attention.

Example: If you are an Image Consultant who targets boomer and senior women, your client’s headline should immediately shout: “Comfort. Fit. Style. Finally, an Image Consultant Who Gets It!”  Make the mature consumer want to read further.

You need to make an immediate, emotional connection with the person glancing at your client’s marketing collateral. This is why identifying your client’s USP is paramount.  The company name should not be the first thing they see, unless its name helps the prospect understand something about the product or service that will help sell the product or service.

Body 

Begin with most critical benefits and features of your client’s product and work your way to the least critical. One simple way to handle the body of the marketing piece is to weave the product’s features quietly between the benefits, with more weight on the benefits. Your client’s job at this point is to convince the reader or site visitor of the value of the product, by painting a credible picture of the exceptional advantage of the product’s introduction into this fabulous 50 plus person’s life.  She should smell the scent of the shampoo wafting past her nose as she throws her head forward to secure her helmet.

Separate categories of information with bolded subheadings. Short paragraphs or bulleted lists work best, because they have built-in rest stops, they are fifty plus, reader-friendly.

Testimonials 

If you have them, use them. However, if you don’t have them yet, when you request them, ask the customer to provide a detailed account of their experience. Fifty plus folks are big on facts and do not like ambiguity in marketing and advertising. The more details in the testimonial, the better.

Mature market consumers cannot be understood unless you have a clear assessment of their assorted and particular experiences.  Remember to take into consideration elements like life stage (e.g., mid-life parents, empty nesters, second career professionals, etc.) when writing copy for your client’s mature target audience.

Sharing Too Much Personal Information

Posting personal information is fine, but within reason.  As freelance copywriters, i.e., small business owners, we are building our brands.  This is probably not the best platform to share a tweet about last night’s hangover  and hurl-fest – not that you could tell that in 140 characters anyway . . . but I digress.

The ideal practice is to keep your business Twitter account separate from your personal Twitter account.  However, if you have already built up thousands of followers on your personal Twitter account and the information you and your followers have tweeted is not too offensive, then it’s probably okay to keep using that account, but tone it down and make your future tweets more palatable for your business followers. If you can’t do that, I would seriously suggest starting a business account and build from scratch.

Risqué or Tactless Profile Photo

Yes, you want to use a good photo of yourself. I’m not the most photogenic person in the room, so I certainly understand that some of us have to work with what we have.  Nevertheless, you do have control over how you take the photo.  That really cute pic of you on the beach in a two-piece is probably not a good choice.

Ignore Your Follow Status

When  you notice after a month or two that people you are following are not following you back, unfollow them.  On Twitter, as a business owner,  you don’t want to appear desperate.  It’s not a good look.

Ignore Your Followers

Twitter is a social media networking platform.  “Social” and “network” mean mutuality.   Set aside some time a few times a week so you can reply to your followers’ tweets.

Ignore Twitter’s Search Feature

One great way to find out what’s going on in your industry is to simply search for the keyword (e.g., your field, your niche). You will find many Twitter folk/colleagues and potential clients.  There are also many social media and Twitter tools that can enhance process.

Constant Direct Solicitation of Business

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We are on Twitter for business purposes, but remember, networking was never about constant solicitation.  Like networking offline, networking online, via social media, is about building relationships and building trust.  Do not bombard your Twitter followers with tweets that ask for business.  Interact with your followers. Show interest in what they do and they have to say.  After this, it’s okay to occasionally share links about your services.  If you are offering free products and services, then you can increase the frequency, but don’t overdo this either.

Don’t Sound Like a Real Person

People use so many automated tools that they forget the true purpose of Twitter. There is nothing wrong with using Twitter tools; heck it’s cost-effective and saves time. But don’t let these tools replace the human being behind the door.

Twitter can be quite effective, but you have to understand how to and how not to use it in business.  Use it wisely.

Twitter for Business – Wondering how Twitter presence could be more effective? Download free ebook.

The following are the top groups for their respective categories. They represent those groups that I believe can be of huge value to freelance copywriters right now, as reflected by their membership numbers. So, in their own words, I present the top eight:

Creative Intensive Network – For All Advertising Creatives

This group is for all creative advertising professionals. If you’re an Art Director (AD), Copywriter (CW), Creative Director (CD) and work in creative fields.

Copywriters Beat

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

Post Freelancer Jobs

This group is for those looking for freelance assignments. It is for event and exhibition organizer copywriters, web-designers, graphic designers, photographers, sales & marketing professionals.

Copywriter

This group is set up for self-employed (freelance) copywriters who simply want to “help each other.”

The Confident Copywriter

This is the premiere group for new and accomplished copywriters alike, to meet and share valuable information to bring their careers to the next level.

Freelance Professionals

This group is for freelance copywriters, IT 3D modelers, animators, architectural designers art directors, editors, proofreaders, film/video/multimedia professionals, graphic designers, illustrators, interior designers, journalists, marketers, photographers, programmers, stylists, PR professionals, agents, web designers, and finance and legal freelancers.

The Freelance Writers’ Connection

This group is here to connect with community support, provide networking opportunities and mutual expertise in freelance writing. The goal is to advance the members’ individual writing careers while connecting members with each other in meaningful relationships.

Creative Designers and Writers

This is a group shared with artists, creative designers, animators, game developers & creative writers. It includes four active subgroups for web graphic design, writing (science fiction fantasy), art lovers (painting sculpting), and professionals in 3D animation computer games (Special Visual Effects VFX, CGI Motion Graphics).

At any rate, based on some fairly time-consuming research, I was happy to learn that the actual demand far exceeds my original list of 10 niche markets. I thought 10 may be pushing it in light of the economic downturn. I was really wrong.

So here’s my list. In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit, I sort of cheated a little with my list because I wanted to make it 21. Therefore, you’ll notice I combined many related niches. 21 just sounds more marketable to me, than, believe it or not, 29. So I went with 21. Okay, so sue me!

Now, without further ado/adieu, you will be happy to know that there is actual demand out there for talent in the following copywriting niches (NOT GENERAL WRITING) – actual copywriting (marketing):

1. Website/Landing Page
2. Technical and Engineering
3. Diet
4. Health and Wellness/Fitness
5. Spanish
6. Green, Organic, Natural
7. Blogging, Social Media
8. Travel
9. Ecommerce/Mobile/Apps  Ad copy/Marketing Technology
10. Edu Market (Education)
11. Fashion/Music
12. SEO
13. Computer  Tech
14. Online Store and Catalog
15. Email Marketing
16. Article Marketing
17. Video/Audio
18. Gaming
19. Medical
20. Web Content
21. Products

There is a market for virtually every type of copywriter known to mankind. Find a niche in which you feel comfortable writing and go for it. You can even try to become the “go to” freelance copywriter for that market and send out a press release letting the businesses in that industry know about you. Start building a reputation for yourself in that market!

Happy Writing,

Stacey

Stacey Mathis Copywriting

The Copywriter’s Highway to Success

Tweet me: @staceythewriter

Before people part with their money, they want engagement, and they want a value-added customer experience. Brands now have to prove they are worthy of a customer’s money or email address or phone number, and, increasingly, in many cases, have to ask permission to prove their merit to the consumer. The days of conventional selling are over! What does this mean for copywriters? This means that traditional copywriting will soon be history. The copywriter’s approach, and thus the type of text and the delivery, so to speak, that we are used to crafting, must change. And it must change immediately if your copywriting talent is being used for a mobile marketing or mobile advertising project.

Understanding Copywriting – Then and Now

Then – In the old days, pre-2008-2009, traditional copywriting meant: learning about your target audience; discovering something unique about your product; presenting your product’s benefits first, features second; and persuading your target customer to “buy now” or “click here” or “contact us” or “email today,” etc.

Now - The new marketing landscape requires that we offer the customer a more liberating experience. Consumers, especially, the younger set, but gradually, boomers as well, want to be engaged, not sold to. Copywriting now means: (a) learning about the target audience’s “consumer insight” that you want to address, vis-à-vis what your brand stands for; (b) leveraging that information and (c) enhancing the quality of the customer’s life, by either providing practical/useful information and/or content and/or by entertaining or indulging them. Keep in mind, however, cliché or condescending approaches will fail and there is almost no possibility for redemption without it, potentially, costing your client a fortune.

Concepts/Questions to Keep in Mind When Preparing to Craft Copywriting Text for the Mobile Marketing Project

• The context of your copy is just as important as the content, perhaps even more so.

• Prioritize with respect to what the consumer (mobile user) finds important, not what your client finds important.

• Be sure you are clear about how your client’s target customers incorporate their mobile devices into their lives so that the copy resonates with the intended audience.

•What is the message your client is trying to communicate to the mobile user?

• In what context is your client’s customer seeing the ad?

• You cannot place repurposed static banners, videos next to unrelated mobile content.

• If SEO is a component of your task, the intent of the mobile search is extremely different from that of the desktop searcher. Your SEO keywords will not necessarily be the same as the one in the campaign for their desktop shopper. The research must be done separately.

• You will want to know the business objective of your client? It will also be very important for you to be familiar with your client’s other marketing strategies for this campaign so that your mobile plan is in sync with them. You want your client to be able to integrate the mobile strategy with print, broadcast, online and all other media they may be utilizing.

•Request to work closely with the tech folks handling the interface so that you know what’s next in the steps that a mobile campaign takes and what page follows, etc. so that the copy you craft makes sense and has the impact they need it to have in order for the campaign to be effective and not fail.

Start creating a swipe file of mobile copy, preferably, an electronic one, so that you can become acclimated to mobile writing styles. Look for text written in connection with the following types of tasks:

1. Mobile Web Ads/Banners

2. Social Media Engagements

3. Mobile SEO

4. SMS (Text Messaging) Advertising

5. Mobile Campaign Promotions (copy techniques for getting permission to get the prospects cell# so your client can then promote stuff to their customers)

6. Mobile Contests/Gaming

7. Mobile Apps

8. Mobile video and audio

9. Email Marketing

10. Location-based Coupons/Discounts

Yes, mobile marketing has changed the game folks, and the sooner we freelance copywriters catch up and get on board, the more valuable to companies and ad agencies, etc. we will be.

Happy Writing,

Stacey

Stacey Mathis Copywriting

The Copywriter’s Highway to Success

Tweet me: @staceythewriter

P. S. Just as in traditional hardcopy and email, where we regularly included the “P.S.,” in mobile copywriting, we regularly include share features, like “Tell a Friend” to spread your client’s message.