Mike
If you want some additional "how to..." material you might want to take a look at some of the material from Robert (Bob) Bly - www.bly.com. He has been a successful copywriter for more than 30 years. I find some of his early stuff very good (and still entirely relevant) but some of the more recent material seems to me to be a little too pushy / salesy. Just a view.
In copywriting, as in most other businesses, potential clients will take it as read that you can produce good copy: it is a hygeine factor. Therefore to sell your services on the basis of "how good you are" will probably not make you stand out in the eyes of potential clients. Your success will likely be driven by your ability to identify the right kind of client for you, to locate people like that and then rapidly make a connection with them at a basic, personal level (I call it "like and trust").
In my experience it will help if you can work out how to answer the inevitable question "What do you do?" (which is really client shorthand for "Why should I take the time to talk to you and get to know you?"). A useful formula to structure what you say is:
* Short description of your perfect client
* Outline of their most important problem or dream they want to fulfil
* Outline of how you resolve that issue or enable them to fulfil the dream.
In your case that might look something like: "I work with personal trainers who are passionate about enabling their clients to lose weight but struggle to make them understand that they can do that by eating more and exercising less. I give them the exact words they need to help clients see what they can achieve and how, so that they willingly sign up."
I hope that helps.
Stephen
He continues . . .
In my view you do not need to know more about the client's business than they do. You need to know more about copywriting, or rather do it better, than they do or feel that they have time to do... It's not the same thing. You will need to learn how to ask the right questions that help you to learn what messages your client wants to give to their customers and what makes their business different so that you can explain the Value your client offers and what makes them different from evryone else in their field.
In that sense you need to build a good basic understanding of marketing and sales. You will help your clients do what you are doing with them.
I am not a lawyer. Nowadays many of my clients are in the legal profession, however. Can I make them better lawyers? Absolutely not, in a technical sense. Can I help them to build their practice by developing excellent relationships with the right kind of client, gathering information about what drives the client at an emotional level and using that to put themselves in a Role for that client that sets them apart from other lawyers? Certainly.
In order to build a sample portfolio of work, one option is to do some stuff free of charge for a local not-for-profit or Church. Another is to identify a number of local businesses that you would like to have as clients. Do some research on each of them to identify what you feel to be their most important strength. Look at how you could improve how that is presented in their existing marketing material and work up an alternative of your own. Try to get in front of the owner or manager for 15 minutes to talk to them about their business and test your ideas before showing them what you produced.
Even if they say "no" you still have a piece of work prepared for a prospective client.... You will also have the benefit of learning how to have this type of conversation most effectively.
If you want some additional "how to..." material you might want to take a look at some of the material from Robert (Bob) Bly - www.bly.com. He has been a successful copywriter for more than 30 years. I find some of his early stuff very good (and still entirely relevant) but some of the more recent material seems to me to be a little too pushy / salesy. Just a view.
In copywriting, as in most other businesses, potential clients will take it as read that you can produce good copy: it is a hygeine factor. Therefore to sell your services on the basis of "how good you are" will probably not make you stand out in the eyes of potential clients. Your success will likely be driven by your ability to identify the right kind of client for you, to locate people like that and then rapidly make a connection with them at a basic, personal level (I call it "like and trust").
In my experience it will help if you can work out how to answer the inevitable question "What do you do?" (which is really client shorthand for "Why should I take the time to talk to you and get to know you?"). A useful formula to structure what you say is:
* Short description of your perfect client
* Outline of their most important problem or dream they want to fulfil
* Outline of how you resolve that issue or enable them to fulfil the dream.
In your case that might look something like: "I work with personal trainers who are passionate about enabling their clients to lose weight but struggle to make them understand that they can do that by eating more and exercising less. I give them the exact words they need to help clients see what they can achieve and how, so that they willingly sign up."
I hope that helps.
Stephen
He continues . . .
In my view you do not need to know more about the client's business than they do. You need to know more about copywriting, or rather do it better, than they do or feel that they have time to do... It's not the same thing. You will need to learn how to ask the right questions that help you to learn what messages your client wants to give to their customers and what makes their business different so that you can explain the Value your client offers and what makes them different from evryone else in their field.
In that sense you need to build a good basic understanding of marketing and sales. You will help your clients do what you are doing with them.
I am not a lawyer. Nowadays many of my clients are in the legal profession, however. Can I make them better lawyers? Absolutely not, in a technical sense. Can I help them to build their practice by developing excellent relationships with the right kind of client, gathering information about what drives the client at an emotional level and using that to put themselves in a Role for that client that sets them apart from other lawyers? Certainly.
In order to build a sample portfolio of work, one option is to do some stuff free of charge for a local not-for-profit or Church. Another is to identify a number of local businesses that you would like to have as clients. Do some research on each of them to identify what you feel to be their most important strength. Look at how you could improve how that is presented in their existing marketing material and work up an alternative of your own. Try to get in front of the owner or manager for 15 minutes to talk to them about their business and test your ideas before showing them what you produced.
Even if they say "no" you still have a piece of work prepared for a prospective client.... You will also have the benefit of learning how to have this type of conversation most effectively.
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