HEADLINES are one of your biggest weapons for getting MORE PEOPLE TO NOTICE YOUR ADVERTISING, for whatever medium you choose to use. Now you are using headlines, aren’t you? And NOT your logo - that’s not a headline. Only one person cares about your logo, AND THAT’S YOU.

Whereas a headline is something every single one of your prospects will be glued to like a kid on a cartoon. Whatever you’re writing, you’ve GOTTA HAVE A HEADLINE. But here’s the deal, there a are good headlines and bad headlines, so I’m going to give you an absolute killer template headline that you should use THIS WEEK in your business.

Remember, a headline’s goal is to do one thing only - STOP YOUR PROSPECT IN THEIR TRACKS AND LOCK THEM ONTO YOUR AD, and some people say you only have 1.5 seconds to catch their attention, so you need to make it good!

Master copywriter David Ogilvy has said… “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” So if you’re using your own logo at the top of your ad, you could improve your response IMMEDIATELY, just by sticking ANY kind of headline up instead!

So would you like to know one of the great secrets for writing headlines that literally slap your prospect in the face and demand they open their wallet?Good, well here it is for you… MODEL HEADLINES THAT ALREADY WORK!!

Don’t try and reinvent the wheel, the best way to come up with fantastic headlines is to take what already works, and adapt it to your own business.Isn’t that simple?

Here’s an absolute knock-’em-dead blockbuster template for a headline:

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS:

Don’t pay another phone bill until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR WOMEN:

Don’t buy any makeup products until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS:

Don’t run another ad until you read this…

Do you see how powerful this is? And I’ve shown you 3 different versions, so all you have to do is apply it to your own business and you could easily double or even triple your responses! How about these headlines:

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Money?

Do You Make These Mistakes Playing Golf?

Do You Make These Mistakes In Bed?

Do You Make These Mistakes Baking Cakes?

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. This particular headline works on your curiosity. It gets the reader to say to themself, “maybe I’d better read on and find out.” The main thing you really want your headline to do is to get your reader to be interested enough to see what else you’ve got to say. MAKE AN IMPACT! Remember the old saying ‘first impressions last’? Well that saying still applies today.

And now that we are bombarded with up to 5,000 advertising messages each day, it is more important than ever to stand out and BE NOTICED! If you have a headline that literally screams out, READ ME, then you’ll be more than half way to having an effective advertising campaign that starts making profits for your business! Remember the 80 cents out of each advertising dollar? Well now you know how to focus your efforts to have the maximum impact!

HEADLINES are one of your biggest weapons for getting MORE PEOPLE TO NOTICE YOUR ADVERTISING, for whatever medium you choose to use. Now you are using headlines, aren’t you? And NOT your logo - that’s not a headline. Only one person cares about your logo, AND THAT’S YOU.

Whereas a headline is something every single one of your prospects will be glued to like a kid on a cartoon. Whatever you’re writing, you’ve GOTTA HAVE A HEADLINE. But here’s the deal, there a are good headlines and bad headlines, so I’m going to give you an absolute killer template headline that you should use THIS WEEK in your business.

Remember, a headline’s goal is to do one thing only - STOP YOUR PROSPECT IN THEIR TRACKS AND LOCK THEM ONTO YOUR AD, and some people say you only have 1.5 seconds to catch their attention, so you need to make it good!

Master copywriter David Ogilvy has said… “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” So if you’re using your own logo at the top of your ad, you could improve your response IMMEDIATELY, just by sticking ANY kind of headline up instead!

So would you like to know one of the great secrets for writing headlines that literally slap your prospect in the face and demand they open their wallet?Good, well here it is for you… MODEL HEADLINES THAT ALREADY WORK!!

Don’t try and reinvent the wheel, the best way to come up with fantastic headlines is to take what already works, and adapt it to your own business.Isn’t that simple?

Here’s an absolute knock-’em-dead blockbuster template for a headline:

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR HOMEOWNERS:

Don’t pay another phone bill until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR WOMEN:

Don’t buy any makeup products until you read this…

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS:

Don’t run another ad until you read this…

Do you see how powerful this is? And I’ve shown you 3 different versions, so all you have to do is apply it to your own business and you could easily double or even triple your responses! How about these headlines:

Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Money?

Do You Make These Mistakes Playing Golf?

Do You Make These Mistakes In Bed?

Do You Make These Mistakes Baking Cakes?

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the idea. This particular headline works on your curiosity. It gets the reader to say to themself, “maybe I’d better read on and find out.” The main thing you really want your headline to do is to get your reader to be interested enough to see what else you’ve got to say. MAKE AN IMPACT! Remember the old saying ‘first impressions last’? Well that saying still applies today.

And now that we are bombarded with up to 5,000 advertising messages each day, it is more important than ever to stand out and BE NOTICED! If you have a headline that literally screams out, READ ME, then you’ll be more than half way to having an effective advertising campaign that starts making profits for your business! Remember the 80 cents out of each advertising dollar? Well now you know how to focus your efforts to have the maximum impact!

Ever wanted a job where you could spend all day, every day, writing clever and inspiring prose? Yes? Well don’t become a freelance copywriter!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job, and for some of us it’s a calling that won’t be denied. And you definitely do get to write clever and inspiring prose. It’s just that you don’t do it all day, every day. In fact, when you sit down at the end of the day and think about what you’ve done, the percentage of time spent writing is surprisingly low.

So what does a freelance copywriter do other than write copy? Well, basically, they run a business. This article discusses 11 daily rituals involved with running a freelance website copywriting or advertising copywriting business (other than writing). It also provides some tips for performing them successfully.

1) Quoting

Freelance copywriters serve many masters. They generally have quite a few clients, and spend quite a bit of time quoting on new jobs. When you quote, you’re calculating how much to charge for the job. For a freelance copywriter, there are a number of important factors influencing quoting. You need to have some way to accurately estimate time. Generally the best way to achieve this is to be diligent in your tracking. If you know how long past jobs have taken you, you’ll be much more confident and accurate in your estimates. You need to know how much time you spend not writing (as you should try to cover as much of this as possible). You need to have a feel for what the client is prepared to pay (are they a big or small company, how highly do they seem to value copy, etc.). You need to know how much your competitors are charging for the same thing. You need to understand what differentiates you from your competitors. You need to think about how badly you want or need the work. And, of course, you need to estimate how time-consuming the client will be.

2) Submitting Proposals

A quote is not the same as a proposal. A quote is generally contained within a proposal, but it’s not the same thing. When you submit a copywriting proposal, you’re marketing your skills, your solution, your work ethic, your customer service, your commitment, and your experience. Basically, you’re justifying your price, and differentiating yourself from your competition. And it’s not just about WHAT you say. It’s also HOW you say it and how you PRESENT it. Everything about your proposal plays a part in the client’s decision! If possible, include additional helpful information. Use a title page, a table of contents, headers, and footers. Introduce at the beginning and summarise at the end. Include your price, but call it an “investment”, not a “cost”. Show the client you’ve thought their job through by summarising their requirements. Outline your proposed solution. And most importantly, give the client a clear call to action (“Where to from here?”).

3) Chasing reviews

The freelance copywriter is almost never the bottleneck in a copywriting job. In 99.99% of copywriting jobs, the bottleneck is the review process. Most clients take a long time to review. In fact, about a third of clients need to be prompted at least once before they’ll get back to you with their changes. It’s not uncommon for a one-day writing job to take a full month to reach sign-off &ndash or longer. Some clients will put the copy review on the backburner for months (just another reason to request a deposit before commencement of work)! As a result, freelance advertising copywriters and website copywriters spend a lot of time chasing reviews. Make sure you factor the delay and the chasing time into your quotes as best you can. And always record which clients take a long time, so you can be prepared when discussing deadlines on the next job.

4) Project scheduling & tracking

No matter whether you work on big projects or small, project scheduling and tracking are vital. You need to know the exact status of all work in progress (tracking), and you also need to be very aware of what’s coming up and how you’ll manage it (planning). If you’re doing it right, you should be using your tracking and planning tools several times a day. In fact, they should be the hub of your business. TIP: A good way to track copywriting projects is to use a job (and contact) tracking database. I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit .divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

5) Accounting

Issuing invoices, processing payments (and part payments), chasing outstanding invoices, recording expenses, managing bank accounts, putting tax aside… It all takes a lot of time. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You’ll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you’ll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

6) Visiting clients

Although the wonders of modern email let a freelance copywriter get through about 95% of their work without ever leaving the office, it’s sometimes still a good idea to do things the ‘old-fashioned’ way &ndash especially if you expect to work with them quite a bit. Shake hands and put a face to a name. And remember, everything about the meeting reflects on you and your business. As with your proposals, think about WHAT you say, HOW you say it, how you PRESENT. Always organise the meeting with plenty of notice, confirm the day before the meeting, be on time, summarise the meeting, and provide a call to action. (Try to do these last two both at the end of the meeting and via email after the meeting.)

7) Office admin

Even for a low overhead business like copywriting, there’s always something! Changing phone plans, upgrading/fixing computers, your internet service is down, your website is temporarily unavailable, you’re enhancing your data storage procedures, you need new printer or fax ink cartridges… Office administration takes up a surprisingly large chunk of your day. Make sure you allow for it. This means allowing time to do the work, and factoring that time into your quotes. If you don’t, you’ll be continually working into the wee hours and/or losing money.

Marketing strategy

How do you generate business? Cold calls? (See .divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.) Website? (See .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for numerous website & SEO articles.) Networking? Word of mouth? Repeat business? Agencies? (See also .divinewrite.com/freelancecopywriting.htm for some tips on succeeding as a freelance copywriter.) No matter what your strategy, you need to give it the time it deserves. It’s a good idea to average around an hour a day to thinking about and implementing marketing strategy.

9) Industry research

Stay up to date on the latest copywriting industry research. Read research on usability, readability, and scannability (visit .useit.com or .goodexperience.com and subscribe to their newsletters). Read up on search engine optimization (see .divinewrite.com/SEOCEO.htm or try subscribing to a newsletter from .webpronews.com or .site-reference.com). Try to track how day-to-day language is changing (what buzz words to use, what buzz words to avoid, what rules are being overlooked in spoken English, what sounds make a positive impression on people, etc.). Know the difference between writing for the web versus writing for print versus writing for search engines (see .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for some relevant articles). If you want to scratch the surface, spend 10 minutes every day.

10) Subject matter research

Whether it’s website copywriting or advertising copywriting, to do a good job, you need to know a lot about your subject material. This means both specific knowledge about the client’s product or service as well as more generic ‘domain’ knowledge. Clients have a tendency to not supply enough information. Make sure you interview them thoroughly. And then let them know you’ll probably need to ask further questions. Even then, you may find yourself doing a bit of independent research. The Internet is your saviour, but always run any information by your client before publishing. When you’re quoting on a job, try to figure out how much detail the client will be able to supply. You can even ask them to estimate how much they’ll supply (i.e. All, Most, Some, or None). This is a good technique as it gets them thinking about your requirements while at the same time giving you some idea how much time you’ll spend researching.

11) Planning

In one important respect, website copywriting and advertising copywriting are no different from any other form of writing; planning is vital. For more specific planning information, see .divinewrite.com/benefits.htm and .divinewrite.com/webbenefitwriting.htm.

Happy writing!

Every week I receive a couple of emails from people seeking advice on how to get into freelance copywriting. While there’s no simple answer, and no answer which applies to everyone, there are a few tips which I believe will help most people make the move into freelance copywriting, and survive the first few months at least.

1) Invest in a website

The best place for any freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter to start is to fork out for a website. A website is invaluable because when you cold call and email prospects, you’ll need to direct them somewhere that gives them more information. Keep your website simple, include a portfolio page, add any samples of any sort of copywriting you’ve done, talk about the places you’ve worked, the clients you’ve written for, and include any testimonials you’ve received. Make sure you include your address and contact details as well, so people don’t think you’re a fly-by-night operation. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to include a photo either. If you can’t say much about your experience, don’t say much. It doesn’t even really matter if you don’t say anything. Remember, just like any other form of advertising copywriting, writing about yourself requires the art of subtlety. If you lack experience, but you’re confident you can do the job, you can be very clever in what you don’t say, and most people will read it the way you intended.

2) Don’t target agencies

If you’ve never worked as an advertising copywriter or website copywriter before, don’t target advertising agencies and web design agencies. They know exactly what they’re after, so if you don’t have a portfolio, you won’t stand a chance. Managing an inexperienced copywriter and controlling quality takes a lot of time and introduces risk. Most agencies are too busy to give unproven copywriters a break, even if you’re prepared to do the work on spec. Target end-clients directly.

3) Cold call, cold call, cold call

One of the best ways of generating business in the early days is to cold call potential end-clients. It’s hard work and very time consuming, but you can generate some very qualified leads. For more information on cold calling, take a look at .divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.

4) Use a contacts & jobs database

No matter where you’re at in your freelance copywriting career, you NEED a database of contacts and jobs. Kind of a scaled down CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Use it to record everything! Particularly names, phone numbers, and the details of any correspondence (especially phone calls). I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit .divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

5) Write a few samples

If you’re targeting specific clients or industries, don’t be afraid to write a few samples and send them through. You can offer the pieces free of charge (everyone likes something for nothing) or at a discount, or you can use it as an incentive to sign them up for future work. It all depends on the type of work and the type of client. The important thing to remember is that samples are virtually as good as a portfolio to most prospective clients.

6) Invest in an accounts package

Don’t be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You’ll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you’ll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

7) Give great service

This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s important to remember that “great service” means different things to different clients. Most of the time you’ll be working with direct clients (quite often startup businesses) and agencies. Both appreciate great service, but define it entirely differently. Agencies rely on their freelance copywriters to meet strict requirements (get the work done well, get it done on time, don’t exceed the budget). They have end-clients breathing down their necks, so reliability is as important as writing quality. End-clients, on the other hand, need an advertising copywriter or website copywriter who sees their business the way they do, and can convey that vision. They’ll probably need a lot of guidance as well, particularly if they’re just starting out themselves. If you can, help them understand that copywriting isn’t just about telling people what products and services the business offers; it’s about conveying the benefits of those products and services. A good advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be able to help their client think in terms of benefits instead of products and services.

Expect hard times

The first year or two as a freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be difficult. It takes a while to generate momentum and during that time, you’ll probably find yourself wondering if you’ve made the right career choice. While it’s possible to earn six-figures each year, you have to be patient (so it’s not ideal for new or intending parents or anyone with huge mortgage commitments).

9) Don’t spend too much on training

In my humble opinion, no money spent learning is wasted. However, you have to weigh up the return on investment. I don’t know much about what copywriting courses are available, but if they’re expensive, I’d think twice. In my experience, most clients (be they agencies or end-clients) value copywriting ability over training.

10) Know you can do it

Confidence in your copywriting abilities is a must. If you’re not adamant you can produce the results the client is after, you’ll never be able to convince the client. Remember that everyone feels daunted at the start of a new copywriting job. There’s always a steep learning curve in copywriting, and generally quite a bit of time-consuming labour. Don’t fall into the trap of focussing on what you don’t know and what you haven’t done.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Ever wanted a job where you could spend all day, every day, writing clever and inspiring prose? Yes? Well don’t become a freelance copywriter!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job, and for some of us it’s a calling that won’t be denied. And you definitely do get to write clever and inspiring prose. It’s just that you don’t do it all day, every day. In fact, when you sit down at the end of the day and think about what you’ve done, the percentage of time spent writing is surprisingly low.

So what does a freelance copywriter do other than write copy? Well, basically, they run a business. This article discusses 11 daily rituals involved with running a freelance website copywriting or advertising copywriting business (other than writing). It also provides some tips for performing them successfully.

1) Quoting

Freelance copywriters serve many masters. They generally have quite a few clients, and spend quite a bit of time quoting on new jobs. When you quote, you’re calculating how much to charge for the job. For a freelance copywriter, there are a number of important factors influencing quoting. You need to have some way to accurately estimate time. Generally the best way to achieve this is to be diligent in your tracking. If you know how long past jobs have taken you, you’ll be much more confident and accurate in your estimates. You need to know how much time you spend not writing (as you should try to cover as much of this as possible). You need to have a feel for what the client is prepared to pay (are they a big or small company, how highly do they seem to value copy, etc.). You need to know how much your competitors are charging for the same thing. You need to understand what differentiates you from your competitors. You need to think about how badly you want or need the work. And, of course, you need to estimate how time-consuming the client will be.

2) Submitting Proposals

A quote is not the same as a proposal. A quote is generally contained within a proposal, but it’s not the same thing. When you submit a copywriting proposal, you’re marketing your skills, your solution, your work ethic, your customer service, your commitment, and your experience. Basically, you’re justifying your price, and differentiating yourself from your competition. And it’s not just about WHAT you say. It’s also HOW you say it and how you PRESENT it. Everything about your proposal plays a part in the client’s decision! If possible, include additional helpful information. Use a title page, a table of contents, headers, and footers. Introduce at the beginning and summarise at the end. Include your price, but call it an “investment”, not a “cost”. Show the client you’ve thought their job through by summarising their requirements. Outline your proposed solution. And most importantly, give the client a clear call to action (“Where to from here?”).

3) Chasing reviews

The freelance copywriter is almost never the bottleneck in a copywriting job. In 99.99% of copywriting jobs, the bottleneck is the review process. Most clients take a long time to review. In fact, about a third of clients need to be prompted at least once before they’ll get back to you with their changes. It’s not uncommon for a one-day writing job to take a full month to reach sign-off &ndash or longer. Some clients will put the copy review on the backburner for months (just another reason to request a deposit before commencement of work)! As a result, freelance advertising copywriters and website copywriters spend a lot of time chasing reviews. Make sure you factor the delay and the chasing time into your quotes as best you can. And always record which clients take a long time, so you can be prepared when discussing deadlines on the next job.

4) Project scheduling & tracking

No matter whether you work on big projects or small, project scheduling and tracking are vital. You need to know the exact status of all work in progress (tracking), and you also need to be very aware of what’s coming up and how you’ll manage it (planning). If you’re doing it right, you should be using your tracking and planning tools several times a day. In fact, they should be the hub of your business. TIP: A good way to track copywriting projects is to use a job (and contact) tracking database. I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit .divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

5) Accounting

Issuing invoices, processing payments (and part payments), chasing outstanding invoices, recording expenses, managing bank accounts, putting tax aside… It all takes a lot of time. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You’ll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you’ll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

6) Visiting clients

Although the wonders of modern email let a freelance copywriter get through about 95% of their work without ever leaving the office, it’s sometimes still a good idea to do things the ‘old-fashioned’ way &ndash especially if you expect to work with them quite a bit. Shake hands and put a face to a name. And remember, everything about the meeting reflects on you and your business. As with your proposals, think about WHAT you say, HOW you say it, how you PRESENT. Always organise the meeting with plenty of notice, confirm the day before the meeting, be on time, summarise the meeting, and provide a call to action. (Try to do these last two both at the end of the meeting and via email after the meeting.)

7) Office admin

Even for a low overhead business like copywriting, there’s always something! Changing phone plans, upgrading/fixing computers, your internet service is down, your website is temporarily unavailable, you’re enhancing your data storage procedures, you need new printer or fax ink cartridges… Office administration takes up a surprisingly large chunk of your day. Make sure you allow for it. This means allowing time to do the work, and factoring that time into your quotes. If you don’t, you’ll be continually working into the wee hours and/or losing money.

Marketing strategy

How do you generate business? Cold calls? (See .divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.) Website? (See .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for numerous website & SEO articles.) Networking? Word of mouth? Repeat business? Agencies? (See also .divinewrite.com/freelancecopywriting.htm for some tips on succeeding as a freelance copywriter.) No matter what your strategy, you need to give it the time it deserves. It’s a good idea to average around an hour a day to thinking about and implementing marketing strategy.

9) Industry research

Stay up to date on the latest copywriting industry research. Read research on usability, readability, and scannability (visit .useit.com or .goodexperience.com and subscribe to their newsletters). Read up on search engine optimization (see .divinewrite.com/SEOCEO.htm or try subscribing to a newsletter from .webpronews.com or .site-reference.com). Try to track how day-to-day language is changing (what buzz words to use, what buzz words to avoid, what rules are being overlooked in spoken English, what sounds make a positive impression on people, etc.). Know the difference between writing for the web versus writing for print versus writing for search engines (see .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for some relevant articles). If you want to scratch the surface, spend 10 minutes every day.

10) Subject matter research

Whether it’s website copywriting or advertising copywriting, to do a good job, you need to know a lot about your subject material. This means both specific knowledge about the client’s product or service as well as more generic ‘domain’ knowledge. Clients have a tendency to not supply enough information. Make sure you interview them thoroughly. And then let them know you’ll probably need to ask further questions. Even then, you may find yourself doing a bit of independent research. The Internet is your saviour, but always run any information by your client before publishing. When you’re quoting on a job, try to figure out how much detail the client will be able to supply. You can even ask them to estimate how much they’ll supply (i.e. All, Most, Some, or None). This is a good technique as it gets them thinking about your requirements while at the same time giving you some idea how much time you’ll spend researching.

11) Planning

In one important respect, website copywriting and advertising copywriting are no different from any other form of writing; planning is vital. For more specific planning information, see .divinewrite.com/benefits.htm and .divinewrite.com/webbenefitwriting.htm.

Happy writing!

Every week I receive a couple of emails from people seeking advice on how to get into freelance copywriting. While there’s no simple answer, and no answer which applies to everyone, there are a few tips which I believe will help most people make the move into freelance copywriting, and survive the first few months at least.

1) Invest in a website

The best place for any freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter to start is to fork out for a website. A website is invaluable because when you cold call and email prospects, you’ll need to direct them somewhere that gives them more information. Keep your website simple, include a portfolio page, add any samples of any sort of copywriting you’ve done, talk about the places you’ve worked, the clients you’ve written for, and include any testimonials you’ve received. Make sure you include your address and contact details as well, so people don’t think you’re a fly-by-night operation. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to include a photo either. If you can’t say much about your experience, don’t say much. It doesn’t even really matter if you don’t say anything. Remember, just like any other form of advertising copywriting, writing about yourself requires the art of subtlety. If you lack experience, but you’re confident you can do the job, you can be very clever in what you don’t say, and most people will read it the way you intended.

2) Don’t target agencies

If you’ve never worked as an advertising copywriter or website copywriter before, don’t target advertising agencies and web design agencies. They know exactly what they’re after, so if you don’t have a portfolio, you won’t stand a chance. Managing an inexperienced copywriter and controlling quality takes a lot of time and introduces risk. Most agencies are too busy to give unproven copywriters a break, even if you’re prepared to do the work on spec. Target end-clients directly.

3) Cold call, cold call, cold call

One of the best ways of generating business in the early days is to cold call potential end-clients. It’s hard work and very time consuming, but you can generate some very qualified leads. For more information on cold calling, take a look at .divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.

4) Use a contacts & jobs database

No matter where you’re at in your freelance copywriting career, you NEED a database of contacts and jobs. Kind of a scaled down CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Use it to record everything! Particularly names, phone numbers, and the details of any correspondence (especially phone calls). I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit .divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

5) Write a few samples

If you’re targeting specific clients or industries, don’t be afraid to write a few samples and send them through. You can offer the pieces free of charge (everyone likes something for nothing) or at a discount, or you can use it as an incentive to sign them up for future work. It all depends on the type of work and the type of client. The important thing to remember is that samples are virtually as good as a portfolio to most prospective clients.

6) Invest in an accounts package

Don’t be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You’ll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you’ll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

7) Give great service

This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s important to remember that “great service” means different things to different clients. Most of the time you’ll be working with direct clients (quite often startup businesses) and agencies. Both appreciate great service, but define it entirely differently. Agencies rely on their freelance copywriters to meet strict requirements (get the work done well, get it done on time, don’t exceed the budget). They have end-clients breathing down their necks, so reliability is as important as writing quality. End-clients, on the other hand, need an advertising copywriter or website copywriter who sees their business the way they do, and can convey that vision. They’ll probably need a lot of guidance as well, particularly if they’re just starting out themselves. If you can, help them understand that copywriting isn’t just about telling people what products and services the business offers; it’s about conveying the benefits of those products and services. A good advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be able to help their client think in terms of benefits instead of products and services.

Expect hard times

The first year or two as a freelance advertising copywriter or website copywriter will be difficult. It takes a while to generate momentum and during that time, you’ll probably find yourself wondering if you’ve made the right career choice. While it’s possible to earn six-figures each year, you have to be patient (so it’s not ideal for new or intending parents or anyone with huge mortgage commitments).

9) Don’t spend too much on training

In my humble opinion, no money spent learning is wasted. However, you have to weigh up the return on investment. I don’t know much about what copywriting courses are available, but if they’re expensive, I’d think twice. In my experience, most clients (be they agencies or end-clients) value copywriting ability over training.

10) Know you can do it

Confidence in your copywriting abilities is a must. If you’re not adamant you can produce the results the client is after, you’ll never be able to convince the client. Remember that everyone feels daunted at the start of a new copywriting job. There’s always a steep learning curve in copywriting, and generally quite a bit of time-consuming labour. Don’t fall into the trap of focussing on what you don’t know and what you haven’t done.

Good luck, and happy writing!