Category Archives: Copywriting

How to Choose a Copywriter

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There are literally thousands of freelance copywriters out there, each with their own personality, specialty and skill level. If you do a Google search, you’ll find way too much information. And, unfortunately, unless you’re looking for a copywriter to handle your SEO web content (which is a very valid specialty,) the first one on the list in Google is not necessarily the best one for you.

Here are a few factors to consider when narrowing down the selection:

Geography – In all honesty, this is almost a null issue in 2010. With the ease and speed of communications, especially all the various forms of online connections possible in most places, you should be able to work just as well with a copywriter from across the globe as you can with someone just down the street. But, there is a comfort level involved here as well. If you’re truly more comfortable dealing with professionals you can shake hands with across the table, you’ll want to narrow your search geographically. If a copywriter’s marketing material and website doesn’t include a physical address or some clue as to where he operates, chances are he prefers to work exclusively via phone, fax and e-mail.

Specialty - Obviously, if you’re looking to have your Annual Report written and you locate a copywriter who bills herself as “The Annual Report Queen”, you’ll tend to give her a second glance. Although most freelance copywriters are generalists at heart (that is to say, they’ll take on nearly any project they’re confident they can do well,) it’s only practical to have one or two specialties: whether it be a particular subject, format or media. They will often be able to highlight specific success in these areas, and their experience should coincide with their claims. Now, that’s not to say a copywriter who is not a specialist in the type of project you’re looking for will do a bad job. As a matter of fact, you may find a writer coming into an area that’s new to them brings in a fresh perspective the specialist may not possess.

Personality – Don’t ever underestimate the importance of getting along with this person you’re considering partnering with on one or more projects. No matter how great a writer he or she is, if they’re a jerk, it’s not going to be a pleasant transaction. You can get a good feel for a copywriter’s personality by reading through their marketing materials and website, because (for obvious reasons) copywriters generally write their own. And, most freelancers realize that they really are their own brand. In other words, the only thing a freelance copywriter has to sell, really, is herself and her skill. So, hopefully, she’s going to try to make both as appealing as possible.

Experience – This one’s tough, because the tendency is to look at a huge portfolio as the be-all-end-all of a copywriter’s ability. But the fact is, there are a lot of very talented, enthusiastic up-and-coming writers out there who would do an incredible job on your project, and likely at a lower fee than some of the heavy hitters. On the other hand, there really is no substitute for experience. One option to consider while you’re searching: consider a copywriter’s website and marketing materials as samples of their work. View them in that light, and you’ll hopefully see a much thicker portfolio, even from a relatively green writer. Even though they didn’t write those pieces to a client’s specs, they were written for the same reason your project needs to be written: to convince a target audience to part with their hard-earned cash in exchange for a product or service they want or need, and to pick the writer over the competition. If you look at it that way, and realize that it’s working on YOU, maybe you’ve found your writer.

Justin P Lambert is a freelance copywriter, ghostwriter and speechwriter who offers his thoughts on all-of-the-above and more with each daily post on his blog: http://justinplambert.wordpress.com. Come join the fun!

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Copywriting Services – Which of These 5 is Best For You? – And What Do You Need to Know About Them?

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Whether you’re looking to learn about various copywriting services, or you’re looking for things to consider when outsourcing copywriting services, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, not only will I list 5 types of copywriting services; I also hope to give you some insightful ideas that will help you see new communication channels through which you can reach your market.

This is not an exhaustive list, but rather, a list of 5 selected types of copywriting services that are representative of all possible types. Your professional copywriter can help you determine which type, or combination of types, is best for you.

So…What Are The 5 Copywriting Services?

To begin, we an classify all the various types of copywriting services into two broad categories: off line and online.

Infomercials, direct mail, and radio are all examples of offline advertising. However, since this article is written with the Internet-oriented business owner in mind, online services are what I’ll focus on. (Keep in mind, however, that with proper guidance, most offline advertising can be transferred online, and vice versa. An infomercial can easily be converted into an online video format and placed on your site. Conversely, your best-converting pay-per-click ad can easily be printed in a newspaper classifieds.)

Copywriting Service #1: Sales Page Copywriting (But Not What You Think)

Though all marketing should lead to the page where the prospect becomes a buyer, this isn’t the only type of copywriting I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about the OTO, the one-time-offer page.

The OTO is a salespage your customer sees after they have just made a purchase. It’s part of a strategy based on the fact that a certain percentage of your buyers are likely to buy again…especially while they’re “hot.” And because it’s a one-time-only offer, they won’t see that same offer at that price again. If they close the page or refresh, they lose out. They can buy later, but not at this low, one-time price. Of course, the offer presented here is complimentary to the purchase they’ve just made. In fact, it may even be an enhancement/upgrade of it, or even a “platinum” version.

Because of this one-time situation, and if your copywriter has done a good job at presenting your one-time-offer, your buyer will feel very compelled to make a second purchase. In fact, it might not even be a hard decision at all, because if your copywriter has done a great job at presenting your one-time offer, your customer will clearly be sold on your offer. This can drive profits by up to 65% or more.

The OTO is a very profitable example of how a good, pro copywriter can add value to your bottom line.

Copywriting Service #2: Video Copywriting and Marketing Services

Is a PowerPoint-to-video presentation best for you? How about an infomercial-style video? How does the fact that most people are visual learners influence how you’ll produce a visual message? I’m sure you know that online video is a huge trend, confirmed by the growing number of video sites like YouTube, Metacafe, and DailyMotion.

Video marketing, when done well, can be a profitable marketing channel for you. One need look no further than Blendtec’s popular “Will It Blend” series of videos on YouTube. Though the traditional definition of copywriting services didn’t include video marketing, when you consider the fact that 52% of all Internet traffic is video, or video-related (eMarketer, December 2007), it becomes apparent that you should consider the services of a professional video marketer. You can also ask your copywriter if they provide video marketing services to their clients. Currently, there are very few who do, but since video is increasingly used as a viable marketing medium, the need for video marketing services will increase, and copywriters are in a very good position to offer this.

Copywriting Service #3: Pay-Per-Click Campaign Management

Last month, one of my copywriting coaches told me something I had heard numerous times before: that a small change in an ad can yeild a significant increase in response.

In addition to writing pay-per-click ads for your marketing campaigns, a professional copywriter can also manage them. That is, a good copywriter who understands pay-per-click advertising (Google AdWords is a prime example) can monitor each pay-per-click ad. Some will be profitable for you, whereas a few will break even or fail to yeild a positive ROI. Your copywriter can deactivate the losing ads, and direct more effort toward creating ones that resemble those that return a positive ROI.

Copywriting Service #4: E-Mail Copywriting and Autoresponder Series

If you’re wondering what an autoresponder is, I’ll explain in a moment. Not only can compelling sales messages be written for web pages; they can also be delivered to your prospect’s inbox. Before going further into the subject of e-mail copywriting services, we should note that being CAN-SPAM compliant is one thing to keep in mind.

For years, it’s been said that over 80% of online sales take place after 7 exposures. That is, your prospect may need to see messages from you 7 or more times before they make a purchase.

But the tricky thing is this: depending on the market, people may not welcome overt sales messages being delivered to their inboxes, even if they’ve subscribed to your e-mail list.

So…how do you keep in touch with your e-mail subscribers, without scaring them off by repeatedly sending them “buy this” messages? Send them e-mails that discuss on how much better their lives will be as a result of having your product, or service.

In addition to regular, timely e-mails, an autoresponder series is a great way to automatically keep in touch with your prospects. An autoresponder series is simply a number of sequential, pre-written e-mail messages that are sent to your e-mail subscribers.

I’ve seen entire products devoted to e-mail marketing. Last month, 2 colleagues of mine attended a seminar devoted to e-mail marketing, and I know of at least one copywriter who specializes in writing autoresponder e-mails. All these things confirm the validity of e-mail marketing and how, when done legally and properly, it can be a profitable way to keep in touch with your prospects and customer base.

Copywriting Service #5: Split-Testing and Conversion Tracking

What if all your advertising got better and better? I’ll let you in on a little secret…

Most marketers either haven’t heard of it, or simply don’t do it the profitable way. Without going into too much detail, split-testing is just testing two ads or messages, finding out which of the 2 works better, and improving our findings. For example, what would you do if you had an advertising campaign that gave you an ROI of 2:3? ($2 profit for every $3 invested.)

You’d be running a loss…but why? You could simply just say, “I guess my advertising’s bad…” But why?

Most marketers never look beyond this point.

This is where a pro copywriter and marketing strategist can help you. Let’s say that we find that you advertising campaign consists of 2 different ads. Upon close inspection, we find that one of the ads is losing money, and the other one is actually profitable for you. The losing one costs you $4 for every $1 it brings in, whereas the winning one produces $2 for every $1.

At this point, we can deactivate your losing ad, and focus more of our advertising into the ad that works. The overall effect of this is that your previously-losing campaign will now turn in a profitable ROI of 2:1. There’s a little more to it, but that’s essentially what split-testing is. Imagine how successful you’ll be after just a few months of new, proven, ROI campaigns?

Conversion tracking is a little more involved. Basically, it’s a split-test that tracks your prospects throughout your marketing funnel. In conclusion, I hope I’ve begun to open you up to the many profitable opportunities that exist for your business. As I said earlier, this is in no way an exhaustive list of copywriting services, but rather, my best attempt to represent all the various services, using a manageable number of examples. A great copywriter can help to implement everything I’ve discussed here.

D.K. Fynn is a marketing strategist and direct response copywriter who offers a bundle of copywriting services to his clients, customized to their needs. To provide even more value to his clients, D.K. adds split-testing and conversion tracking as a follow-up to his services (an extra most other copywriters don’t offer, even though they should). D.K. has recently been coached by 2 top copywriters, and has worked with a handful of successful internet entrepreneurs, such as Dan Lok and Alex Jeffreys. Only serious, prospective clients are invited to schedule a free, one-on-one consultation with DK at DirectResponseCopywriter.DKFynn.com (Please note that there’s no L in DK’s last name.)

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