Module 9 Putting It All Together In this module, well cover: How to find a Guest Client Sample letters to send to new prospects Scripts for telephone calls to source new business A step-by-step guide to working with your first client How to build your database How to build your business networks Other courses to help you build your business
So, what now? You ve read each module. You ve completed the assignments. You ve had your coaching calls. And now you re ready to get moving and get some work. If you follow the guidelines listed in these modules, you will find work quickly and easily. But you must follow the guidelines. The amount of work you get is directly related to your willingness to try these business-building techniques. There is ample work out there but you need to get out there and find it. It won t come to you. But if you invest time and energy in applying these techniques, the work will come. The Guest Client Exercise If you feel that you need more confidence before you start charging money for your work, we suggest you complete the following exercise. It s called the Guest Client exercise. This exercise will help you put into practice what you have been learning, because until you re able to apply this knowledge to a real business, it will remain theoretical. No money exchanges hands for this work. It is an exercise whereby the student gets hands-on experience working with a real business and the client gets some new ideas for their business. The clients are welcome to use the student s work provided they get the student s permission. Should they want further work done afterwards, then it s a normal fee-for-service arrangement. The students love this exercise because it lets them put the theory into practice. It s also a challenge to step up to the plate and create real work for a real business. Because this is a Home Study course, the logistics of finding a Guest Client for each student is not practicable. But it s very important that you as a Home Study participant have access to this exercise because this is where the real learning takes place. So, to help you find a Guest Client in your area, we have written a letter you can use to source these clients. This is the process we recommend you take to find your Guest Clients. Step 1 Start looking around for advertisements, brochures, websites and other promotional material that you d like to work on or think could be improved. Step 2 Check to see if an advertising agency created the work or not. Most big brands will have an ad agency attached so it s best to steer clear of them. Most small businesses however won t have an ad agency and they are the businesses you should be focusing on. You can tell when an ad agency is involved because (in general): The ad will be quite good i.e. well-written, no typos, have a call to action, a great offer etc.
The copy will be high quality The images will be high quality It will be a medium to large brand If in doubt, ring up the company, speak to the receptionist and tell them you love their advertising and ask who does it for them. That d be the quickest way to find out. If an ad agency isn t involved, the ad is normally written and produced by the newspaper. If the brochure isn t good, chances are it was written by the owner, the owner s niece, the graphic designer or someone equally unqualified to write copy. Most owners also write their own web copy or leave it in the hands of the web designer! Step 3 Ring up the company and find out the owner s name. You don t need to speak to the owner (although be prepared to have them answer the phone). Here s a script you could use if the owner answers the phone. Can I have the correct spelling of the owner s name please? Why? I have a package I d like to send her. I m the owner. What s this about? I d be happy to explain. Do you have a moment to speak? Yes My name is Jane Doe. I m a copywriter I write ads, brochures, newsletters and things like that. I ve just completed my training and for my final assessment I need to find a business that I can work with to create copy for them. I noticed your ad in the paper and really loved the product and felt that I may be able to come up with some ideas that could get some good results. It won t cost you anything. This is a free service and you aren t obliged to use any of the work. It s simply a way for me to get some experience and to get some pieces for my portfolio. I was wondering if this sounds like it could be of interest to you? (If No) That s ok. Do you mind if I send you my details anyway? If you change your mind, feel free to call. (If Yes) 2
Great. The process is very simple. We set up a time to meet. I interview you about what sort of material you d like to create and what products you d like to promote. Once we ve established that, I ll go away and create some advertising work for you. Then in about two to three weeks, I ll come back and present them to you. If you like them, you re welcome to use them. If not, no hard feelings. How does that sound? It sounds a bit too good to be true. What s the catch? I know if sounds good. But it s truly a genuine offer. I need to do this for my final assignment, and in return, you get some new advertising ideas. You don t have to pay for them but in future, if you d like more work done, it would be great if you d consider me to do it for you on a commercial basis. How does that sound? Sounds good. Where to from her? What time would be good to meet? How is next Thursday at 10am? Ok. Great. Can I get your details in case I have to contact you before then? Thanks. Your email address? And mobile? If the receptionist (also known as the gatekeeper for obvious reasons) asks What is it about? say, I have a package I need to send her and I wanted to make sure I had the right address. That will quieten the gatekeeper down. Whilst on the phone, you should get the correct spelling of the owner s name and title as well remember, you re building your database now so it pays to get the correct details of all your prospects. The package should consist of your business card and the attached letter. Feel free to adapt the letter to suit your own personality and needs. This is just a template you can use to get started. It can also be sent as an email but a letter will generate better results. 3
Katie Smith Copywriter PO Box 123 Armadale VIC 3183 Mobile: 0412 555 555 Email: katies@hotmail.com Web: www.kateskopy.com.au ABN 89 107 286 700 Date Jane Sample Sample Business Sample Rd, Sample City NSW 2000 Hi there, Would you like to receive FREE copywriting? Do you write your own brochures, sales letters, website text and advertisements? Do you wish you could delegate this time-consuming task to someone else? What if you could delegate it to someone else and get it done for free? Would that be of interest to you? If so, please read on. I ve just completed a course called Get Paid To Write. This course taught me how to write advertisements, brochures, sales letters, websites, newsletters and other forms of marketing communication. As part of my assessment, I am looking for a business-owner who would like some copywriting done for them. For example, I could write any of the following for you: Brochures Sales letters Newsletters printed or electronic Website page(s) Newspaper or magazine advertisements Media Releases Advertorial/Editorials Radio/TV commercials 4
This is a free service. I know it sounds too good to be true but it is a genuine offer. It s a win/win. You get free copywriting. I get experience with a real client. In addition to gaining real world experience, this process helps me generate samples for my copywriting portfolio. It is also one of my final assignments so you would be helping me a great deal if you agreed to this proposal. If you were interested, two meetings would be needed: 1. An introductory meeting to discuss what material you would like created (time commitment: 1-2 hours) 2. A presentation meeting for me to show you the work I have created (time commitment: 30 minutes) You are under no obligation to use my work although you are welcome to use it should it meet with your approval. If you do choose to use it, all I ask is that you let me know it s being used so that I can get a copy of it for my portfolio. I am very passionate about copywriting and I am passionate about (insert the nature of their business e.g. snowboarding) which is why I ve contacted you. If you would like confirmation that this is a genuine offer, you are welcome to find out more about the course, just click on www.copyschool.com. I will call you in the next few days to see if this letter has arrived safely and to see if this offer is of interest to you. With kind regards, Katie Smith 5
Step 4 When you have your first meeting, explain that you need to take a brief and that you ll be asking them lots of questions. You may even want to send them a copy of the briefing template before the meeting so they can get acquainted with the briefing questions before the meeting begins. Step 5 When you re at the meeting, follow the briefing questions as per the module The Creative Brief. The most important facts to establish are: What do they want created? A brochure? A newsletter? A radio ad? What products/services do they want to promote? Who is in the target market? How will the piece be distributed? Mailed to database? Put in stands in a shop? What is the unique selling proposition? What makes them different to the others? What should the tone (or personality) of the piece be? What is The Offer? What is the Call To Action? Do they have a website? Who is their main competitor? If you can source (at a minimum) this information, it will be enough to work with. If you can collect more information than that in the one to two hours you have, even better. Step 6 Keep an eye on the time you spend with them. It pays not to overstay your welcome. The meeting shouldn t run for more than two hours unless you can see that the client is really enjoying herself. You have to remember too that the business is like a baby to the owners so they will (generally) love talking about it. Be conscious of your time, as well as theirs. Keep it professional you re not there to be best friends; you re there to get a job done and hopefully make money on the next one. 6
Step 7 Once you have all the information from the client, you ll need to conduct further research. Get online and find out as much about the product category as you can. Look up the competitors and see what they re offering. Ring them up and ask for them to send you some information. Go to the shop or retailer or wherever the product is sold and watch people as they buy it. Read, read, read as much as you can about the product so that you know it as well as the owner of the business. Step 8 Get started. Don t leave it until the last minute. Start early. Start now. Go easy on yourself and just start collecting the facts about the product. There s no need to start writing copy yet. Just get started with the research which will act as a nice, relaxed entry point into the job. There s nothing worse than a blank piece of paper so avoid it by immersing yourself in the world of the product. Eventually you ll feel ready to start writing. Step 9 Call the client to confirm your second meeting. It s best to set this date at the same time as you set the first meeting date so that you have a real deadline to work to. It may feel like you re placing undue pressure on yourself by creating this deadline, but it is the best thing you can do without a deadline, the project can easily slip away, the owner can forget about it or get bored with it and you can find that the momentum subsides. Establishing a deadline upfront forces you to take action. Step 10 Present the work to the client. See the module Presenting Work To Clients for further reference. Step 11 Ask for feedback. 7
Step 12 Provide one or two sets of revisions. Step 13 If the client continually asks you to make extra revisions, you will need to advise them that you ll have to start charging at some point. It s best to state this upfront at the briefing meeting. This serves to let them know that you re not a resource that can be used and mistreated. It also serves to let them know that they have to make up their mind eventually about what they want. (Some clients can t make up their mind so they keep asking for changes until they do make up their mind don t get into this loop.) Step 14 Check to see what assistance they need to get the piece made. Do they need a quote from a printer? Do they need to book media space? Do they need a graphic designer? If you can help them with these activities, you will make yourself indispensable. Ask for a copy of the piece when it s completed. Step 15 Send a thank you note to them letting them know you appreciated the opportunity and ask that they contact you in the event they need another piece created. If the work was very well received, ask them for a written testimonial outlining how much they enjoyed working with you. It only needs to be a few lines and can be sent via email. These comments will eventually find their way into your personal brochure or your website. Step 16 Put their details in your database. Send them a newsletter every month. Keep in touch and let them know you are available to do copywriting work for them at any time. 8
Step 17 Follow up with a phone call in a month s time and ask them how the ad/brochure/ website is going. This is an opportunity for you to ask: Are there any other promotional items you would like created? This is a leading question. It is basically saying have you got any work that you d like me to do? but it s not quite so direct. Step 18 If they do have work for you, meet with them again and take a brief. Before you meet with them however, you may want to let them know a ballpark quote for your rates so that they don t have a heart attack when you meet with them and reveal that you charge $100+ per hour. You don t want to go to all the effort of meeting with them if they think you re rates are too high and that they can t afford you. If this does happen say: I understand that may be outside your budget. If at some point you change your mind or you re able to extend your budget, please give me a call. I d love to work with you again. If you re happy to work for contra (exchange of goods and services) let them know so that they are aware you d be happy to work in this way. Sometimes it pays to have this arrangement to start with. Once they see what you re capable of and what you can do for them, they can often find the money to pay you. Step 19 If for some reason the client relationship doesn t work out they take you for granted, they want extra work done for free, they don t provide you with the information you need to write the copy don t despair. Just move on. Life is too short to worry about clients who can t see the value of what you re offering. There are dozens of other clients who will appreciate what you offer so invest your time with them instead. 9
Step 20 That s the end of the course folks! Thank you for working your way through this course. We hope it s been a valuable experience and one that will reap great rewards in the future. Please keep in touch. Let us know how you re going. Keep checking the website (www.copyschool.com) because we ll be posting job listings on there from time to time as well as valuable information that will help you in your copywriting career. If you want further help with regards to any aspect of your career, please contact us. 10