21 Secrets of Freelance Copywriting Success
December 2nd, 2008 by Bob Bly
1—Work with clients whom you genuinely like – or at least have good personal chemistry with.
2—Your freelance copywriting business exists to serve your clients. Without them, you’d starve.
3—If you want to have the final say on your copy without being told what to say and how to write it, market your own line of products, and make yourself your primary copywriting client.
4—Do not promise your copy will generate a specific result. It is unethical and not true: no one can guarantee a particular response rate.
5—Proofread every piece of copy before you send it to the client. I recommending hiring a freelance proofreader; it is difficult to proof your own copy well.
6—When can you raise your fees? When you have so much business that you can afford to lose clients who are not willing to pay the higher fees.
7—Use a standard PC with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and other standard software packages. Don’t write on oddball word processors, use antiquated software, or send nonstandard file formats that your clients can’t open and read.
8—Number each page in your copy manuscript, so that if the pages get separated, you can easily put them in order. Also, in a discussion, it lets you and the client reference sections on specific pages.
9—The easiest way to prevent yourself from getting ripped off by deadbeats is to demand half your fee in advance before you even start the job.
10—Never work without a written contract that the client has signed off on. Verbal go-aheads are not enough.
11—Trust your instincts. If you have a bad feeling about a client or a project, turn it down. Your gut feelings are right 95% of the time.
12—Be humble, not arrogant. If you are a nice person and your copy doesn’t work, the client will give you another chance. But if you are a jerk and your copy flops, you’re out.
13—Find a peer or someone else whose judgment you trust. Give the headline and lead of every promotion you write (the first page or two will usually suffice) to that outside reader for a second opinion. Never send out copy that at least one person other than you, even your spouse, has read and commented on.
14—Use more charts and graphs in your copy to support your key claims. Even when the reader doesn’t really understand a chart or graph, the fact that there IS a chart or graph helps convince them that what you say must be true.
15—Keep up-to-date in your field – both in marketing as well as the topics (e.g., health, investments) you write about.
16—The only way to become a better writer is to read and to write. Read and write every day. Read magazines, newspapers, and books during your leisure time.
17—Get up early and dive into your toughest copywriting assignment first thing in the morning, without delay. Work until you tire. In the afternoons, you can tackle less demanding tasks like reading background material or answering e-mails.
18—Create a workspace that is comfortable, isolated, and quiet. Barking dogs, ringing door bells, TV in the background, and screaming kids all harm your productivity.
19—Give yourself small rewards throughout the day for accomplishing various work-related tasks; e.g., going out to a coffee shop for lunch instead of eating at your desk.
20—While negotiating the work agreement with your client, ask for at least a week more than you need. As a corollary, never accept jobs that must be started and finished overnight.
21—Don’t take it personally when a client calls and says “I don’t like the copy.” Instead say: “I want to make it as strong as we can. Tell me your thoughts and suggestions.”
Do you agree with the items in this list? Are there any you can add?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
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December 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
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December 2nd, 2008 at 9:34 pm
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December 2nd, 2008 at 10:27 pm
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December 3rd, 2008 at 1:31 am
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December 3rd, 2008 at 3:28 am
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December 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 am
Very useful list!
Here’s one more from someone who’s run an independent direct marketing shop for 20 years: Stand up for what’s right.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Great list, Bob. #6 is particularly good advice.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
[…] 21 Secrets of Freelance Copywriting Success […]
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I disagree with the overnight job advice - sometimes you have to do a rush job if it’s for your biggest client, for example, and you know the product or service you’re writing about inside and out. AND you have the time to do it.
I would agree with that point though for ANY new client - you’re just setting yourself up for failure that way.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
So succinctly written. I enjoyed.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Great list, Bob. I remember reading many of these over the years in your materials. They never go out of style, do they?
I’ll add my two cents:
Have an opinion. Even if clients disagree, most will respect you for saying what you really think. (And if you don’t know something, don’t pretend that you do.) This gets easier when you have some clients and years under your belt.
A corollary: Have a personality. In other words, be yourself. This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to be overly self-conscious or even intimidated when it’s little ol’ you serving big corporations or other clients. Relax, be professional and be yourself.
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
This is such a concise list, that covers many of the blunders and stumbling blocks that I have hit in moving my business forward.
Well done for writing this list and sharing it with others.
Fiona Fell - The Profit Maximising Web Geek
http://www.FionaFell.com.au
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
In addition to small rewards throughout the day, how about finding time to rest and rejuvenate throughout the week? I’d also add to take care of your body through exercise and adequate nutrition.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
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December 4th, 2008 at 2:18 am
My father Bob Kalian directed me to your site and subsequent blog. Amazing level of content and real world advice. I recently started getting involved a bit with blogging and am here to learn anything I can from one of the masters of freelance copywriting. Goal being - to apply Bob Bly’s copywriting advice to my blog posts as they relate to our various audience(s).
December 4th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Printed out and kept within easy reach of my monitor. I totally agree with asking for 50% upfront, enabled me to sidestep a few risky clients.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hi Bob,
Good stuff here. Thanks! Copied to a Word document for future reference (with credit of course). Knowing that I already live by most of these is a good affirmation that I’m doing this business right. I began to religiously practice #1 over the last couple years. I have recently begun to struggle with #17 - putting off for too long those projects less attractive to me. I used to do them in stride.
slr
December 4th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Great list…it’s always so nice to have some sort of guide to go by.
I might add to write in a conversational manner using words that your prospects would use to help create rapport with the people you’re selling to.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am
[…] 21 Secrets of Freelance Copywriting Success […]
December 5th, 2008 at 5:38 am
great advices! thank you… #10 seems quite essential ;))
December 5th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Your list of secrets is outstanding. It fully corresponds to my life experiece even if I have never been a freelancer (but I´d like to be). Thank you.
December 5th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
The elements of good copy need to exist on the web as well. A well written blog post can be a thing of beauty.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Believe that you are a great copywriter. It works!
December 6th, 2008 at 1:07 am
Eben Pagan has taught me in his Kick Butt “Wake Up Productive” program a way for you and I to enhance number 17 on this list…
17?Get up early and dive into your toughest copywriting assignment first thing in the morning, without delay. Work until you tire.
Eben learned from a man named Tony Schwartz, the author of “The Power of Full Engagement” the principle he calls 50-50-30.
Using this principle while working would mean you would work uninterrupted on one project for 50 minutes straight followed by a 10 minute total disconnect from what you were working on.
Then you go for another 50 minutes on a single project and then take a 30 minute break to relax, disconnect and eat.
Your meal should be healthy and be a portion that leaves you a little hungry. No big comma inducing oink fest here.
Eating a healthy meal (fresh vegetables, raw nuts, lean protein) will keep your blood sugar from crashing which will definitely make you think you can’t write any longer.
This ratio of time is supposed to coincide with our natural body rhythms. Studies have found that our mind goes to mush without breaks and adding in a small meals keeps us from saboutaging our energy.
I have absolutely fallen in love with this system and I am sure anyone who uses it will also.
Note Taking Nerd Numba 2
www.mynotetakingnerd.wordpress.com
December 6th, 2008 at 10:43 am
When i was new i didn’t even know the meaning of a freelancer.Now i am a successful Freelancer anyways nice tips for newbies.
December 6th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I particularly like #21 because we should really take criticisms positively. Never be discouraged but instead, take it constructively for us to improve and hone our skills more.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Great list. I’d agree with #9 also, it gives you some security.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I am just starting to get into copywriting so thanks for info.
December 6th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Great list! Id like to add one.
Write with passion, if you can find a way to love the product and/or service your writing about it will not only make it a pleasure to write about but the copy will convert higher.
December 9th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
This list is great. I particularly like number 13. I recently starting getting a lot of copywriting work through oDesk and if it weren’t for my sister, who is an aspiring novelist, I’m sure more than a few mistakes might have slipped through.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I have a question related to No. 6. When I first started consulting, I used a pricing philosophy that assumed you kept your fees low at the beginning, and then gradually increased them as you gained experience. Ten years later, I heard something completely the opposite: That you should set your fees high and lower them only gradually and rarely (if at all), because people use price as a shortcut for measuring quality before they hire. If you have a low fee, they will assume unconsciously that you are a low quality consultant, and tend to look more critically at your work. On the other hand, if you keep your price high, the clients that do hire you will be predisposed to finding your work of high quality (because they don’t want to think they made a mistake), and you will probably produce better work because you have that great feeling of getting paid a good consulting rate. In other words, the price primes the perception of the client.
I have to say that after being a consultant in various forms and shapes for nearly twenty years, I fully subscribe to the latter philosophy, and would be interested to hear your thoughts and the thoughts of your readers on these contrasting pricing philosophies.
December 9th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
wonderful ideas! this will help me as i’m still looking for freelancing jobs. thanks again and more power!
December 12th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Keep track of the time spent on each project. Even if your clients never know how fast or slow you write, if you know, it will help you with your own efficiency.
Also, be a stickler for correct usage and grammar, which should go without saying.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Great list of common-sense rules.
Three that I’d add:
A - Do not be afraid to turn down work that doesn’t meet your standards for pay, content, schedule and quality of client. If anything about the job raises red flags or makes you uncomfortable, walk away. Have the confidence to believe that it is not the last assignment you will ever get.
B - As a corollary to #6 and Henry’s post just above: learn what hourly rate you really need to earn to hit your income goal, track your time to learn how many hours different types of projects actually take you to complete, then charge flat project fees calculated to compensate you at or above your hourly rate. Charge by the project as often as possible. Recognize hourly billing for what it is: a cap on your income.
C - If a client tells you your price is too high, do not respond by immediately dropping your price. That’s negotiating against yourself. If you’ve quoted a price that the client doesn’t want to pay, the next move is his. Ask him why he thinks the price is too high and — more importantly — what price (or range) he had in mind. If you still want the work and can live with his price, still don’t immediately accept it; that just says your first price was in fact too high. Instead, redefine the scope of work so that you are doing something different (presumably less) for the lower price. If the client/prospect won’t tell you why he thinks your price is too high or what price he had in mind, refer to rule “A” above.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Fantastic advice. I had a prospect come back to me after I’d politely bounced her for the derisory amount she offered. It helped that I’d given her a few free and useful suggestions in the initial conversation. Just shows that you never know!
Happy New Year when it comes.
Russell (in the UK)
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I’ve been writing for myself for a long time. Not that I think I’m the best writer in the world but because I feel that nobody can write with the passion about MY products and/or services that I can. Not that I don’t ask for help because I do all the time.
I say all that because it’s posts like this that help make me an even better writer. Well that and Bobs books! lol