Hiya CopyStar!
It was January 1, 1999 when I officially hung up my copywriting shingle — and took the plunge into the freelance pool!
I remember that it was August and — I still hadn’t gotten a real writing project.
Boy…
… I was really starting to sweat bullets!
Fortunately — I had ONE client who hired me as a mail plan consultant — so I was at least bringing in some steady income. But I still hadn’t broken into copywriting — my REAL goal — yet.
But perseverance paid off and I got my “big break” writing copy for a male potency product — and as the saying goes, “the rest is herstory…”
And some 22+ years later…
… I still love my job! I get to wear my P.J’s and bedroom slippers to work!
As I reflect on my freelance career…
… I realized that I made a bunch of mistakes — but I also made a few good moves — and that’s what I want to talk about in this issue:
3 great moves that helped me work fast… boost my income… and establish myself as an A-Level Copywriter!
One of the BEST moves I made didn’t happen until my 5th year in biz. It was a simple move — but it changed the entire way I worked my business.
Wanna know what it is?
Smart Move #1: I “niched” myself!
Sounds painful, right? But I call that move GOLD!
Yep — when I stopped trying to be a “Jill of all Trades” — writing financial, health, self-improvement and you name it copy — and specialized in writing primarily for the alternative health field — it changed my life in 3 ways:
- Got more productive! No more trying to learn a new marketplace with every new project. I stayed in the health field and I got to know it inside and out. The result?
Shorter learning curve and faster turnaround time for my project. Bottom line: I went from writing 6 packages a year… to 12… to 16… or more! Yep — I doubled… tripled and even quadrupled my royalty income!
- Became an “expert” in my industry! Who woulda thunk that turning down jobs would actually give me MORE business! Certainly not me — but it’s true.
Once I started letting prospects know I specialized in the alternative health field and actually turned down non-health projects — and recommended OTHER copywriters for those jobs — I was getting more requests to write health promos.
Prospects saw me as a focused specialist in one area. And if health was their field — they wanted a health specialist!
And the other writers I referred for the jobs I turned down actually reciprocated and gave my name to clients looking for a health writer!
Bottom line: I was now only working in the industry I loved — and gaining more experience with every project! Plus…
… I was invited to speak at seminars and webinars and dubbed “an alternative health specialist writer.” Woo hoo!
- Multi-tasked and multiplied my income! Now that my schedule was set with mostly health projects — I had a better picture of what was in store for my year. For example…
if I knew I was going to work on a hormone… colon… heart… and liver project — I would create a dump file for each project.
And as I’m working on one project — I may come up with an idea that doesn’t fit well with that project — but would be PURRfect for another project.
So — I jot down the idea and throw it in the dump file. Many times, when I’m ready to start a new project — I’ve already got 5…10… 20 pages or more of research copy/ideas in the file! And here’s the bonus…
… many times — the package nearly writes itself — and I just collect the checks! Like I said earlier: working FASTER + being more EFFICIENT = Additional INCOME!
By the way — I do take on occasional non-health related projects — just to avoid burnout. But they’ve got to be pretty darn awesome! That’s why…
… I said YES when an opportunity to write for Oprah came knocking at my door!
Ok — so that was my first smart move. This next move proved to be a huge time saver — and a major credibility booster for my promotions. What is it you ask?
Smart Move #2: Got a researcher!
I didn’t take this great step until about 17 years ago — but boy am I glad the light bulb finally went off in my head!
Here’s how my life was “pre-researcher”:
Client offers me a job. Client sends “whatever he has” about the product. This may include previous samples, research on the product, books, articles, newsletters about the doctor and product samples.
If I didn’t get enough good stuff — I would now spend hours searching the internet trying to find it. Very time consuming. Very exhausting.
Now — here’s my life “post-researcher”:
BEFORE I accept an assignment… I ask the client about the research information he has. And if it’s not adequate then…
… I highly recommend he/she get a researcher who can deliver a solid copywriting kit full of credible sources… information on each nutrient in the product… and whatever else is needed to support any claims the client makes about the product.
This has proved beneficial in soooohhh many ways. Here are just a few:
- It makes the client accountable for his product. My job is to write convincing sales copy — not to develop the client’s product. If the client isn’t sure what his unique selling proposition is — he usually doesn’t have credible research. How could he?
