I very much enjoy being a freelance writer. It gives me the freedom to make my own schedule and to prioritize my work to suit my own needs and responsibilities.
There is, however, one part of freelancing that I really don't enjoy. Self-promotion. I blame my mother. She told us often as children that bragging about something was tacky and that ego was a repulsive character trait. It's funny really, because she is quite proud of her on accomplishments and skills. Regardless, the general rule of thumb in our household was that if you wanted to do something, you were to do it to the best of your ability and let your work speak for itself.
To be honest, this method has worked well for me in every job I've had. Good work gets noticed, and is generally appreciated, and rewards tend to follow, naturally. Sadly, this does not work in the world of freelancing. Its a big world with millions of writers in it, so getting noticed take a little more work... and a lot of self-promotion.
YAY. I still feel mildly dirty every time I have to do it... but I can't escape it either. I have decided to try a compromise. My plan is to offer my services at a really good price, and then show them what I can do and hope they like it well enough to hire me again, or tell their friends.
With any luck a small amount of self-promotion will go a long way (and I can avoid it for a while), and we can both build our business in the process.
A Good Deal on Content or copy
So, here it is, my little "Build More Business" Promotion. I will build my business by helping you build yours. It's a win-win. So, how does it work?
I have created two offers. One involves copy (writing that is done with the intention of convincing someone to do something specific -usually buy something), and one involves content (writing that is done with the intention of educating or entertaining). Which you choose will depend on the type of business you have, and it's needs.
If you have the type of business that is built around a particular skill or expertise, then you may prefer the content package because it will allow you to showcase your talents far and wide. This package can be marketed as a series, necessitating the reader to sign up to an email list (so they receive the rest of the series automatically) and creating a connection that will keep you in mind when they need your services.
If you already have a good-sized mailing list, then the copy package may be more your style. This package will allow you to focus on a particular product or service, such as a webinar , a series of books for sale, or a seasonal offer and really sell it.
The Copy Goddess Content package
If you have read my last post, entitled How Can a Blog Increase Sales then you understand that by offering a regular stream of interesting content in various forms is a great way to entice new people to your website, or online store. While it may not lead to direct sales the way an advertisement does- it does build a relationship with potential customers, allowing you to showcase your skills/expertise. This naturally engenders a level of trust, so that when they need the service or product that you provide, they naturally think of you, and may arrive already inclined to purchase.
The fact that blog posts are sent out on a regular schedule, keeps your business in mind, and provides a natural (non-pushy) way to introduce new or promotions throughout the year. They are a relatively passive method of promoting your business, but they are also very cost-effective, and the content- once produced and posted- will remain on you site until you actively remove them, providing visitors lots of useful information, and thus giving you a higher rating with Google's search engines.
I currently have an introductory offer that provides a blog post for $100, but this is a special promotion, so...
Here is my offer. I will provide a series of 6 blog posts that:
are well-written and compelling
cover a range of topics related to current trends in your industry (I welcome your input/suggestions)
are 1000-1500 words each (less than this won't be found by google search)
have at least three related images
include topic-specific keywords and phrases
include appropriate links
These posts will be provided in a google document that you can then copy/paste directly into your website and then publish. You can choose to publish them weekly or monthly.
(I recommend including a sign-up form so they can receive the next post automatically)
I will also include a short email teaser explaining what the each post is about (with which you include a direct link to the post once it is published). This will allow you to send out an email blast to your current email list and re-engage them)
So what will it cost, you ask?
$600.00 (for 6 posts, and 6 email teasers)
That's a savings of $160.00 ($100.00 for the posts, and $60.00 for the email teasers).
The copy goddess copy package
Where 'content' is used to educate or entertain, the purpose of 'copy' is to sell or convince. To learn a little more about the difference, you can read The Power of Copy here .
When most people think about copy, they picture advertisements, and that's a good example. However, there is another way to make copy work for you, and it's much more direct and targeted. As an added bonus, it's also fairly cost effective.
That's because it is aimed directly at people who have already shown an interest in your business or product, whereas advertisements are bit like ticker-tape parades. They coat everyone in range with coloured bits of paper, that most people ignore.
I'm talking about an email campaign. If you understand the concept of a sales funnel... the people at the ticker-tape parade would be at the very top of your sales funnel. Because most of them won't be in the market for your product. In general terms if you advertise to 100 people in your target audience, only 20 of them will actually be interested in your product/service at that particular time.
Advertising to the masses is necessary, because the more people you can get your product/service in front of, the better... but it's all a numbers game. 20 % of 1000 is better than 20% of 100... right?
By advertising to the masses, you find the ones who might be interested, and hopefully, you make a connection that allows you to tell them more about what makes you and your business- special.
The ideal way to do this is by asking them to subscribe to an email list. Most sites have sign up forms, and the names entered go into a mailing list. If someone is interested enough to give you their email, they have entered the next phase of the sales funnel. They may not be ready to purchase yet, but you have generated enough interest to get their attention.
Congrats! Do how do you turn these potential customers into active customers? The most effective way to do this is called an email campaign. The form of the campaign is unique to every business, but the idea here is to provide your (now captive) audience with information that will help them decide if your product/service will work for them.
You can do this with content, as I mentioned above. You can do this with product information, or special promotions, you can do it by comparing your product with other similar products, you can even do it using testimonials from existing customers/clients.
The common-denominator in all of these methods is that they only work if the people on your mailing list KNOW about them. An email sequence goes directly into their inbox. If the subject is interesting or applicable, they'll open it and read it. If you've timed it right, they will follow the link (every email MUST have a "call to action"- usually a link to your website/product listing/blog post- so they can take the next step).
Another important benefit of an email sequence is that your website's tracking algorithms will keep track of which emails are opened, and how many people actually follow through by clicking the link.
This gives you some very useful feedback. It can be used to streamline what you send individual people based on their interests, or it can be used to make note of which products/services are most popular.
Those that click the link and head to your website to learn more have moved themselves farther down the sales funnel, and they have given you some insight about what they need.
That means the next email that you send them can be targeted to fill that need!
They may not need it right that moment, in fact, if it's a large purchase, they may do research for YEARS before they make the leap, but over that time, they information you send will keep you in their mind and build a level of trust in your business. That's why regular contact is important. Most people will not make a purchase on first contact, and if you don't maintain the connection, you run the risk that they will forget about you or be distracted by a competitor's product.
So, what does my copy package include, you ask?
The best sales emails are relatively short, use concise but compelling language and get to the point quickly, before they loose interest and hit "delete", and writing them can be a tough skill to master.
So, let me do it for you! We can have a discussion about what makes your business special, what type of clientele you get, who your target audience is, and products or services that you wish to promote. Then I will get to work on a sequence designed specifically for you.
It will include:
an introductory email, for people who have just signed up to your email list,
2 product/service specific emails so you can brag a little about the benefits they provide,
a special promotion email-because getting them "in the door", is the first step,
a thank you email that you can send out to anyone who has made a purchase, this can include a "special offer" for existing customers
and a follow-up email for any products that are related to what was purchased, or requesting feedback/testimonials that can be used on the website.
And the cost? $75.00.
That's a total of 6 emails, for the price of 5, and each will include a call to action (such as a link to the product or website). The sequence will be provided on a google document so you can cut and paste into your business email server.
The bottom line here is this... finding new business isn't easy- for any of us. So let's work together. Let me show you what I can do, and if you like my work, tell your friends... please... because I really hate having to promote myself!
I'd much rather promote you and your business!
If you have any questions about either of these promotions- or you want to take advantage of them, just click this link.
Or head to The Copy Goddess website. There you will find more information about me and what I do. You will also find a link for a free consultation. Feel free to get in touch for any of your copy or content needs!
Last but not least, you can skip all that and email me directly at vikijodetlor@gmail.com.
Toodles for now! Thanks for reading!
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