Start & Run a Copywriting Business. Steve SlaunwhiteЧитать онлайн книгу.
have to line up at a busy restaurant or eat a meal at my desk. I can relax at the kitchen table, read the paper, or watch the news.
12:30 p.m.
A half hour later I return to my office and continue on the website.
1:30 p.m.
The phone rings. The caller is the marketing manager of a mid-sized technology firm. He explains he was given my name by one of my current clients and says, “We have a direct-mail package we need put together to generate leads for our sales staff. But, before we go any further, could you send us some information on your services, and perhaps some samples of your work?”
I thank him for his call and tell him I would be delighted to have an opportunity to quote on his project. I make it a point to put together the information he needs, so it can be mailed today. I also make a note to thank my current client for the referral.
2:00 p.m.
I make some follow-up calls on leads and inquiries I’ve received over the past couple of weeks. I also take some time to review a postcard mailing I’m planning to send to marketing managers of key software firms. Although my workload is generally full, I schedule time each day for marketing and other business activities. I’m busy. And I want to stay busy.
2:30 p.m.
I’ve been working on the website for a while today and my energy level is starting to ebb. I decide to switch gears and begin work on an Internet direct-mail piece I’m writing for a major client. Internet direct mail — which is not to be confused with spam e-mail — is very similar to a sales letter. I love writing these, and enjoy the challenge.
4:00 p.m.
My day is almost over. I clear my desk, sketch out my work plan for tomorrow, and notice that an e-mail has come in. It reads:
“Hi Steve. We all liked the work you did on the sales letter and brochure package. We made some comments on a couple of sections, however. Could you take a look at these and get back to us in the morning? Thanks, Bill.”
There is a file attached. I open it and review the comments Bill and his team have made. Pretty minor, mainly concerning content. I e-mail him back saying I’ll schedule time tomorrow to call them and that I can have a revised version to them within two business days.
On another project — a small sales brochure nearing completion — I make a call to the designer and ask if she can send me a pdf of the layout by e-mail. Portable document format (PDF) files, used with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader, are a common way to view graphic files across different computer platforms. I work on a PC, but most designers use Macs. The designer agrees to send me the file and says, “It’s a work in progress. Please give me your opinion of the layout.” In my experience, the more closely I can work with the designer, the better the results for my client.
4:15 p.m.
Time to pick up my daughter. It’s been a great day.
Typical day? I admit, this one does sound a bit idyllic. Some days are much more hectic, especially if the day includes travel to a client meeting. But it’s not too far off the mark — and similar, I suspect, to the workdays of many busy copywriters.
Can you see yourself spending your day this way? Or do the writing tasks, solitude, and client demands I describe seem overwhelming? Only you can decide.
3
Getting Started
Ready to get started? Great! Let’s take a look at some of the things you will need to launch your new copywriting business (or kick-start your current freelance copywriting efforts).
The great thing about this business is that you can start reasonably small and accumulate your office supplies, sales materials, resources, and other necessities as you go. What I recommend in this chapter are minimums, but I also suggest items you will likely want to invest in as your business grows and matures.
A note about costs: I have done my best to give you the most educated estimates I can based on my experience as a freelance copywriter in the greater Toronto area. Costs in your area, however, are bound to differ. Use my numbers as a rough guide to help you budget.
Your personal needs, preferences, and ambitions will greatly affect your start-up costs. I suggest you start modestly, but if you have the money and inclination to set up a fancy office, design an elaborate website, and have reams of expensive letterhead printed, go for it. Just remember, this isn’t a necessity.
When I started my copywriting business, my wife and I were waiting for our home to be built (which, because of labor strikes, took more than a year). In the interim, we lived in a small condominium apartment where I worked out of a little office not much bigger than a closet. There was barely enough room to fit a desk, let alone a copywriter. Yet I managed to complete some of my first paid copywriting assignments in that little room and built the beginnings of my client base. So, yes, you certainly can start small.
Focus on a Goal
This isn’t a motivational book on goal setting. However, I strongly suggest you set clear short-term and long-term goals for your copywriting business. In his popular book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.” Good advice. In my experience, without a clear picture of where you want to go, it’s all too easy to waste time spinning your wheels.
I’m hardly an expert on goal setting. In fact, I admit my history of setting and achieving goals is shaky. Sometimes I feel I got where I am more by accident than by design. But the times I felt most energized and motivated were when I set out to achieve a clearly defined goal.
Author and sales coach Tom Stoyan suggests writing your goals down and reviewing them at least once a month. Because I spend so much time at my computer, I keep my goals in a computer folder named Goals and review them frequently. Inside my Goals folder are four separate files: 90-day goals, one-year goals, three-year goals, and overall goals.
My 90-day goals tend to be very specific. Among my 90-day goals for this quarter, for example, are to attract another Fortune 500 corporate account, get another major mail-order copywriting assignment, and ride my bike around Lake Simcoe (a goal I set before I realized how big Lake Simcoe was).
My three-year goals and overall goals tend to be less specific and more lofty. One of my overall goals, for example, is to be an outstanding father. One of my three-year goals is to be among the top 2 percent of successful freelance copywriters in my two target markets: marketing managers of business-to-business Fortune 500 corporations and direct-mail marketers. Because I market my services to these specific groups, it’s easier for me to gauge how I stack up against other freelance copywriters in the same markets.
When I began my copywriting business, I didn’t define many goals and tended to drift. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Set some milestones you want to hit within the first few months and years of your copywriting business. Write them down and review them often. Remember: goals evolve. You can, and I’m sure you will, change them as you go along.
Ask yourself: “Where do I want my business to be in three months? A year? Three years?” Your three-month goal might be to get your business up and running and secure your first copywriting client. Your one-year goal might be an income objective — to consistently invoice $3,000 per month, for example.
I like to think of goals as a road map. There’s always a way to get from where you are to where you want to go. You merely have to find the best route. Just remember, as with any journey, you are bound to encounter bumps in the road, hitchhikers, bad weather, and unexpected obstacles, and at times you’re going to run out of gas. But I firmly believe