Freelance Copywriters Tip #1

[ewenmack]

"The freelance copywriter who accepts assignments from clients can never make even a small fraction of what I make by telling the clients what the assignments given to me ought to be.

And I have just handed you a very, very, very big secret."

Dan Kennedy
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Best,
Ewen

[Dietriffic]

Does this mean you're better just doing business consultation?

Or, does it mean clients should contact you to do the copy before they create the product?

[jamesboulay]

I think he has the guts to tell the customer a different route to go. If that's the case I fully agree! Many freelancers are afraid to "go against the grain" and share their opinion with their customer.

[Mark Pescetti]

A major part of any copywriter's job is utilizing the information you get from your clients and steering them in the most effective direction.

When a client gets to receive real feedback, on the phone or in person, it becomes a journey of discovery... in a sense.

Once an idea is stripped down to its absolute essence, the organization and execution of a project is much easier to ascertain.

This gets the client excited, even if that means they need to drop their agenda and open up for new ideas to take center stage.

I record my consultations with clients and get all kinds of ideas from listening to them... I highly recommend doing this.

Remember, clients wouldn't be coming to you... if YOU weren't the expert.

[aandersen]

What I got from this post was more along the lines of...

"Mr. Client, I'd like to talk to you about your product. Please, listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you because if you do, you stand to make a A LOT of money..."

[jamesboulay]

Originally Posted by aandersen

What I got from this post was more along the lines of...

"Mr. Client, I'd like to talk to you about product. Please, listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you because if you do, you stand to make a A LOT of money..."

You could take it that way. I was going for impact myself especially since freelancing is a pretty huge market as less site owners are having a hands on DIY approach.
One issue I have with hiring out freelancers is they want cash upfront and they can all "research" and few solidify themselves in a particular segment.

[ewenmack]

By looking for choke points in the whole sales pipeline
you and your client have so much more opportunity to profit.

Places to look are...

shopping cart abandonment
buyers first thank you letter
buyers tips on using the product
upsell letter at purchase point
thank you letter to the upsell buyer
upsell to the biggest spenders
follow up tips to this buyer
downsell letter if don't buy
work out buyer keywords
write Adwords ads
configure Adwords set up
Write Facebook ads
Configure their set up
Write Press releases and have distributed
Website search optimization...both on page and off page
Consult on Live Chat use
Consult on auto responder use
Consult on list segmentation
Consult on ad swaps, jv's, newsletter ad buying, banner advertising
direct mail, newspaper and magazine ad buying
Consult on list brokering
Write offline advertorials
Write industry articles
Write direct mail letters
Write direct mail postcards
Write radio script
direct mail letters
Write letters for joint venture partners
Write ads for newsletters
Write jv recruitment sales pieces
Write video script
Write all scripts for a product launch

Those are just from the top of my head...bound to be more when you dig in
looking for more ways to squeeze dollars out of a sales funnel.

Once that sales pipeline is flowing well, then fix another.

Create another.

Bring in experts in areas where you are weak in.

With all that going on, the client is going to see you in a whole new light...

a profit maximizer.

Best,
Ewen