13 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
13 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Copywriters: Marketing your own business

by miwriting
11 replies
Hi everyone - I've been reading this board off and on for awhile, but this is my first post. I've been a freelance copywriter for three years and I'm about to launch a marketing campaign for my writing business.

As I was getting the list and letter ready, I started to wonder... We spend a lot of time talking about everyone else's marketing efforts. So how do you like to market your own copywriting business? Everyone seems to have their favorite marketing techniques that work best for them.

So far I've had a fair amount of luck with direct mail. What works for all of you?
#business #copywriters #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Ramsey
    I'm just now working on my first direct mail campaign. It's going to be extremely small, but once I have the funds, bigger campaigns will go into play.

    I get most of my clients from PPC at the moment. I simply send traffic to a sales page and the sales page does the rest. By the time they send their info to me, they're quite qualified so the sale is pretty much made.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1069074].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bill Jeffels
      Here's what has worked for me.

      I'll put a small display ad in the newspaper offering a free report on how someone can make more money with their business. This will be a 2-step ad. Sometimes I can get a remnant or stand by price sometimes I can't.

      I will send them the free report with some very good information. Then the other half will be me telling them about my service. What I can do for them, all the benefits they will recieve when they will work with me.

      What's in it for them. This small step of building a relationship with my prospect works great. I'ts alot better then the "Give Me Money" ad.

      Take care,

      Bill Jeffels
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1069137].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Kyle Tully
        When I first started as a freelance copywriter I used Adwords. There weren't many people using it and the competition was poor. The only person of note I even remember "competing" against was Harlan.

        And it was ridiculously easy to get clients, I think I was averaging about $4000 of work for every $100 spent. You could literally turn on a campaign for a week and be booked up for the next month.

        Now in my consulting business I almost exclusively use direct mail. I love direct mail because it's highly targeted and 99% of online copywriters either have no idea how to do it right, or are just too lazy, so competition is virtually zero.

        The system I teach my consulting students -- and there are at least 3 copywriters in the group -- is based on direct mail + referrals. If you setup this kind of system correctly you can get busy very quickly and stay that way for a long time.

        Whatever methods you choose the KEY to success is consistently executing your marketing system -- no matter how busy you are.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1069194].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BigVin
    Direct mail and display ads are my all time favorite, however online methods (PPC mainly) work very well too.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1069091].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author lisag
    Early in our business development stage we targeted advertising agencies as clients. Woman weren't particularly well received in the ad industry back then, so we fronted my husband and didn't mention me at all.

    We had a caricature made of him sitting at a typewriter (yes -- it was that long ago) and had it printed on helium balloons. We tied a long ribbon to each balloon and stapled a note to the end, boxed the balloons up and sent them to agencies.

    When the person receiving the package opened it up, the balloon floated to the ceiling and the note hung in their face.

    The note read:

    "Ever wish you had a inflatable copywriter? One you could blow up and put to work when you needed help and then put on the shelf until the next time?

    Call me."

    We were swamped with work; 25 years later -- we're still working.
    Signature

    -- Lisa G

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1088206].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Angela Kambarian
      Don't forget about TARGETED cold-calling.

      On the one hand, it's the least effective strategy ( compared to others).
      On the other hand, it shouldn't be completely eliminated from your
      marketing mix. Tedious or frustrating as it is, cold calling still works.
      If done properly and if you target the right people at the right time,
      you may generate some good leads. As pointed out by other
      copywriters, you need to utilize a few different strategies. Do not
      put all your eggs in one basket.

      Another reason to resort to cold calling is because it is
      cheaper than DM or Adwords. If you have a limited budget,
      this maybe the best way to get the ball rolling. Besides, most
      business providers are afraid to do it. Don't be a chicken.
      Don't be afraid. Pick up the phone and make some calls. See what happens.

      Good luck!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1089590].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Lam
    SEO/SEM has been my primary target and source of clients. Some of my biggest clients fly in through the search engines. Just Google of course. I'm tempted to use AdWords myself, but have been busy with many other projects. I almost put up a WSO for like $397/copy just to reach my 20 client mark, but Mike Humphreys is convincing me otherwise. So I think I may back out of it.

    I'll be moving it to its own site soon and I'll be re-doing the copy to convert better. Anyway, I don't have the need to use direct mail/postcards yet, but I'd like to try that out within the next month or 2.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1089688].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FreeDVDRequest.com
    Been in mail-order for over 16 years.

    Me personally, a 4-page sales letter works the best and it asks for the sale, right then and there. I prefer direct mail over display ads, but it all depends on your offer and ad copy.

    As for direct mail, depending on your industry, I recommend a 'buyers list', over a 'seekers list'. It's always best to target the market of people who constantly have their wallets out, instead of the looky loos wanting more information.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1098382].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter
    Almost all my copywriting business is from referrals and word of mouth--though I only work with a few people a year. I took 2007-2008 off and I worried that it would be tough to "jump start" the process again, but I found that once some of the clients I had worked with in the past knew I was working again, they provided me with enough to get started.

    But I only work with 5-8 people a year. Your mileage may vary.

    I don't enjoy cold calling and haven't felt the need to do so--though you never know. I have balls of steel in print. We won't comment about how I do on the phone.
    Signature
    The Miracle Squeeze Page: Scientifically Proven to Convert 84.1% of Visitors into Subscribers

    Works for Anybody, Any niche - It's so simple you'll wonder why everyone isn't using it
    Click Here Now to Download It!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1101545].message }}

Trending Topics