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A Copywriter Speaks: Hey, Give Me Back My Pen!
It’s no wonder I have a permanent crick in my neck. I’ve spent the last ten years shaking my head piteously at people who think they can write. Fellow scribes, let us gather now for a virtual group hug, as we console each other for the fruitlessness...
Advertising Copywriting - The Top Ten Clichés and Why You Should Avoid Them
We've all seen them plenty of times. Frankly, once is too many. Copy clichés are more likely to put off prospective customers than convince them to buy your product or service. If your advertising copywriter comes up with them, find another...
Hotel Internet Marketing and the Secret of Copywriting
Are you a Hotel Marketer? Do you want to improve your Hotel Internet Marketing Sale? Here are the suggestion: revise your website copywriting!
I've seen many websites in our hotel & hospitality industry crowded with copywriting mistakes. These...
The Mind's Fancy Dress Party - Or: Brainstorming With Contentclix Copywriters
In Berlin a restaurant opens for anorexics and in Buffalo a lawyer with a stutter wins a court case. When everything you're working on has gone STALE and your own initially promising concepts are starting to annoy you, you need a brainstorming...
The Writer's Dilemma: Should You Write For Free?
*Article Use Guidelines* Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please include the resource box. Please send me a copy, if possible. Many thanks. ** Summary: If you're a professional writer, it goes against the grain to write for...
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How to Get B2B Clients: A Primer for Copywriters
In more than 20 years of copywriting for both
business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B)
clients, I have found mid-size and large B2B clients to be
generally easier to work with, and more professional than B2C.
(I do not recommend working for small business in either B2B or
B2C.)
In my experience, B2B companies tend be more "corporate" and
less entrepreneurial in their thinking and procedures than B2C
companies. For instance, B2B clients are more likely to use
creative briefs, meet deadlines, and pay on time.
The marketing departments of B2B clients also tend to be more
sophisticated in their approach to marketing; this is nice for
the copywriter who wants to have more say in testing, offers,
and other elements of a response campaign.
The more process-driven a marketing department is, the easier it
is to get winning promotions, as well as information on the
results of promotions, work samples, and other data that helps a
copywriter build his business.
Winning a B2B Client
Because B2B clients are by nature more oriented to
"professional" processes and thinking, the copywriter who wants
to win their business must also appear professional. Here's what
you'll need in order to successfully approach a mid-size, large,
or enterprise-level B2B client:
* Professional-quality letterhead, envelopes, and business cards
are a must. You don't have to be exotic or fancy; graphic
designers need flash and dazzle but copywriters don't. Don't
fret about design...but do make sure your most basic business
tools look professional. If you can't afford a designer's help,
opt for simple and straightforward.
* Know what you stand for. It pays to create your own unique
selling proposition (USP). These days both B2C and B2B clients
want to know why you are the best copywriter for them. Once you
determine what sets you apart, you should create a tag line that
appears on your business cards and letterhead.
For instance, the tagline I helped one of my coaching students
create is "Helping your build and maintain profitable long-term
customers."
* Go to a niche market. Related to the advice above, you will do
well to go to a niche market for which you have a connection...a
point of differentiation that sets you apart. Many experts will
tell you that you can find your point of differentiation in your
work history. But this is only partly true.
With my coaching students I regularly help them discover what
makes them unique and special not only in their work history,
but in their passions, and their talents.
For instance, one of my students wanted to use her literary
talent to sell her copywriting; so we carved out a unique
copywriting market that would appreciate -- and benefit from --
the power of her written talent for story telling.
* You must have a Web site. And it had better be professional. A
professional Web site for the corporate market must exhibit
obvious elements of good lead-generation.
The elements of a good lead-generating Web site are many;
however, for the purposes of this primer, I will touch on the
most important four elements:
1. Your Web site must have "you" orientation. It's not about
you, it's about them. Your Home Page headline must acknowledge a
pain of your audience, and offer a solution. One example from
one of my coaching students: "Are you a software marketer
looking for a steadier stream of qualified software leads?"
Contrast this with this "me oriented" Home Page headline of
another copywriter: "Bill S., Freelance Advertising Copywriter."
Even the lead-in sentence was me oriented: "I'm an advertising
copywriter, which is why my website utterly lacks graphics."
2. Your Web site must have an offer. Direct marketing without an
offer is not direct marketing. If you are a copywriter who wants
to make a great income, then you must let your potential
clients
know that you will bring in more than you cost.
You offer should in some way convey that. In lead-generation,
which is what your freelance business depends on, one of the
best offers you can advance is free information in the form of a
report, or other valuable information product.
3. Your Web site must have either a very clean, orderly, and
simple but sophisticated design...or it must be designed by a
graphic designer.
If designed by a direct response designer, your Web site will
exhibit signs of high level branding and direct response design
"magic"...all of which will impress a B2B audience.
An aside: In my experience, Webmasters are excellent at what
they do, but they do not have direct marketing graphic design
skills -- even though they usually think they do!
If you're going to build your Web site yourself, take the time
to learn about direct response design; otherwise, invest a small
sum in having a direct response designer create a design
template that you can follow...or have her design the full site
herself.
4. Post samples. Samples are the equivalent of showing a
portfolio. For new copywriters, this is a tough one. But there
are lots of ways to work this to your advantage.
First, understand that no potential client wants to see more
than three samples; then understand that you can post a "spec"
sample that never mailed; and third, know that you can even post
a sample that was never entirely finished...
If, for instance, you did a critique of a potential client's
campaign, you can post that critique on your Web site -- as long
as you gained permission to do so.
A note on testimonials:
Yes, they're important. But I was lazy in this department.
Instead, I concentrated on getting response rates and writing
case studies of my winners. Not having testimonials on my Web
site never hurt me. However, one day I wanted to diversify into
coaching and other copywriting related pursuits...and then I
became concerned.
So my advice to you is to be vigilant about collecting
testimonials. The moment your client says something positive
about your work is the moment to say "can I quote that?"
* You must have business processes. Once again, because of their
professional nature, B2B companies work best with copywriters
who use fee agreements, creative briefs, meet deadlines, and
nail down exactly what it is they're expected to do (right down
to the size and fold of the brochure), put it in writing, and
then do it.
Many copywriters work without fee agreements, "set in stone"
timelines, and like the "handshake" approach to doing business.
But not only is this a sure path to disappointment, it's also a
red flag to corporate clients that the copywriter is insecure, a
poor business person, or both. Having a clear process for how
you do business will not only make your business more
profitable, but it will make the B2B client more confident in
your abilities.
* Be a salesman. Whether their marketing is lead-generating or
order-generating, B2B clients are very efficient at salesmanship
and closing. Don't shy away from mailing sales letters to them
and then following up. They do it, and understand that it's
"just business" to be on the receiving end.
In fact, I've found it much easier to market to B2B companies
than B2C. If you've done a good job of targeting -- you've
created a niche or USP that matches you with your target -- then
you should enjoy at least a 1% conversion rate to your marketing
efforts. B2B companies are generally accepting and interested in
your call, as long as you've done your homework to determine why
you're the best copywriter for them.
About the author:
Master copywriter and coach Chris Marlow publishes a free ezine
for copywriters who want to quickly build a profitable business.
Visit:
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