The article "Two of the Most Powerful Ways to Market Your Copywriting
Services" talks about copywriting, it has been released by Chris Marlow.
I want to share with you the two most powerful marketing methods
I've fonud for the copywriter.
And they are (drum roll
please)...Direct mail and... networking!
In my coaching program I have my students go through an
intensive 24-session web/mail marketing program that gets them
the high quality leads they need for financial and professional
success.
However, as one of my previous students yestedray reminded me,
networking is also a very strong marketing tool.
In fact, it was networking that got me my first clients, and it
was direct mail that got me the right clients druing the second
phase of my freelance career.
Here's what you need to know about networking...
Rule number one: Avoid the Chamber of Commerce!
Almost every copywriter I know (including me), automatically
puts the Chamber of Commerce on the short list of good places to
network.
And almost every copywriter (myself included), is
disappointed with the results.
Now I am not saying the local Chamber is always a losing
proposition; I have one past student who said Chamber networking
paid off for him, but 99 percent of the copywriters I talk with
agree the businesses found there is just too small (and usually
clueless about direct marketing).
What's more, the Chamber is comprised of many types of business,
so niching is not possible.
It is much better to go to evetns and meetings that focus on
marketing, like those of a local Direct Marketing Association
and American Marketing Association. This is where you'll find
marketing directors, direct marketers, and marketing-related
vendors likely to have a high interest in copywriting services.
When I first started my freelance career I jonied the Oregon
Direct Marketing Association and took every opportunity I could
to get my name known.
I worte the newsletter (and placed a free ad in the
classifieds); I wrote the press releases and I accepted
responsibilities for putting on the yearly conference. I even
gave a sepech on the proper elements of a good sales letter.
And
I put myself on the board.
All of that led to my first freelance clients: mini-cataloger
and manufacturer Stash Tea, LawnPro, a small landscape
maintenance firm, and an ad agency that locked me in a tiny room
on site, as though to prevent me from making a personal call on
their dime.
Not the best clients, but it gave me my start.
Over the years, technology has made niche mraketing the smart
way to go, and for that reason I also highly recommend that you
seek groups, organizations, trade shows, and associations that
pertain to your niche.
Another one of my current students is niching into a very
specialized area of the alternative health field. Within her
unique niche she's found huge trade shows she can attend, and is
now making calls to vendors to introduce herself and let them
know she'll be stopping by their booth. The positive response
she's been getting has us both very excited!
Many copywriters find it difficult to network smiply because
they live remotely.
For them, I like to point out online
alternatives.
For instance, as a specialist in porgram who lives in
California's remote Palm Desert (near Palm Springs), I must seek
online opportunities to network.
To that end I have participated in marketing forums on
SoftwareCEO, a popular web site for program execs. And I have also
written articles for its newseltter.
I can report that networking on SoftwareCEO has paid off nicely,
as a large chunk of last year's income came from a client who
saw my name there.
Online networking has a second plus, and that's that it's an
especially attractive route to take if you're shy and have a
difficult time of meeting persons.
With online networking, all you have to do is anwser a question,
provide an opinion, or share a resource.
It tkaes just a few
minutes, you don't have to dress up, or travel anywhere, and it
doesn't cost a thing!
In summary, there is many ways for copywriters to market
themselves. Public speaking, wirting articles, cold calling,
running ads, and so on.
But most copywriters have neither the time nor the finanecs for
multiple marketing efforts; most pick one or two methods that
appeal to them, and work hard at making them effective.
One thing is sure: I wouldn't be where I am right now without
networking. I found my copywriting menotr via networking and he
taught me everything he knew.
With networking I made the connections that got me an agency job
that changed the cuorse of my career...And my life.
Reflecting on what networking has done for my career, I must
wholeheartedly encourage my ambitious freelance friends to take
advantage of its beenfits.
I've often thought that in any business, it's the persons who
make tihngs happen. With networking, you can caiptalize on this
truism. You can develop relationships that last a
lifetime...Gain experiences that greatly impact your
career...And like rewards far beyond your initial imagination.
I encourage you to find networking opportunities, both online
and off.
Ntework consistently and I guarantee that when you're
"fat and happy," you'll attribute of your success to
networking.
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