Welcome to my living room...

Get a drink, pull up your chair and let’s chat about small business advertising.

Every business wants effective marketing. You want promotional materials that fuel business growth, and you want someone who works with you to make your business marketing plan a reality.

Obviously these are things I do – otherwise I wouldn’t be mentioning them. But let’s forget about me for a while so we can just talk about copywriting and advertising services you can use for strategic marketing.

This is the Home Page. So let’s make like we’re sitting in my living room having a chat. This is my chance to speak with you about

ü      Editorial Copywriting

ü      Direct Response Marketing

ü      Copy Editing, and

ü      Copy Critique

…without the pressure of having to persuade or sell.

Sure, I like having clients as much as the next guy – or gal. But it’s just as important for you to be the right client as it is for you to find the right copywriter.

It’s worth my time and energy to put this page together so you can get to know me a little before you take the time to read through the rest of the site. Like I said, this is my living room. Sit back, relax and read for a couple minutes.

By the time you’re done, you’ll know more about marketing than you do now – and you’ll know enough about me to decide whether it’s worth knowing more.

So let’s dive right into my passion:

Editorial Copywriting 

The most cool thing about editorial copywriting is that everyone knows what it is, but no one recognises the name.

Clients call it:

ü      writing a book

ü      article writing

ü      white paper writing

ü      freelance writing

ü      ghostwriting

Those are just a few of the names I’ve heard for editorial copywriting.

You can see how all the names go together and play a part in content development. After all, content is king, right?

This is what editorial copywriting is all about – content development.

When you develop your business marketing plan, you think about things like

Ø      What information can I give a prospect, and

Ø      How do I show my value without always selling?

Every business owner knows they need advertising copy. Smart business owners harness the power of direct response marketing.

Successful business owners capitalise on every aspect of multi-channel marketing to

ü      Engage their audience

ü      Educate their prospects, and

ü      Empower their customers

That means having the quality information products that only skillful editorial copywriting can produce and combining them with persuasive advertising copy, direct response marketing techniques and strategic marketing.

(It’s fair to say I’m a little biased, so of course I put the information products first. Hey, I’m human, too.)

But think about it for a second…when you put a sign-up box on your web site, what do you put with the sign-up box? A free report, right?

And when you sell an info product, what do you put with it? Other info products – articles, reports and e-books – as bonuses.

The best example of someone who gives away powerful, useful editorial content is Rich Schefren (www.strategicprofits.com ). Rich spends months researching and writing each of the reports he gives away to build his e-mail list. That’s because Rich recognises the ability of editorial copywriting to start a relationship off well and help readers achieve their dreams.

You can do exactly the same thing Rich Schefren does. Put editorial copywriting to work creating information products (free or otherwise) to build your brand identity.

Now, I’m not talking about a brand identity like Coca Cola™ or Volkswagen™. These are companies that can afford millions of dollars to put a picture of their product – or just their name – on billboards and in magazines around the world. Your brand identity – and your brand management – are much simpler than that.

Think of it this way: Your brand is the impression each prospect and customer takes away from every encounter with you or your business.

This makes your editorial copywriting even more important than your advertising copy. After all, promotional materials just make the promises – it’s your editorial copywriting that has to fulfill all those promises.

Direct Response Marketing 

How about we start with why “direct response marketing” and not just “marketing” or “advertising.”

The answer is simple and you already know it.

It’s called “direct response marketing” because you want people who see your promotional materials to take a direct, specific action.

ü      Space ads get people to dial a number or visit a web site

ü      Direct mail letters are most often intended to have recipients make a purchase

ü      The sign-up box on your web site gets visitors to subscribe to your ezine

Rich Schefren recognises the value of good direct response marketing. You won’t find Rich promoting a new report with just plain old “here it is” advertising copy.

He isn’t alone. Look at the promotional material Michel and Sylvie Fortin used when they promoted the marketing sins reports. Just because you’re giving it away doesn’t mean you can cut corners on the info product or the advertising copy.

The thing is – direct response marketing isn’t just big, long letters on web sites or something sent out by Rodale and Agora.

Direct response marketing is an attitude toward marketing. It’s an attitude that says you know marketing is just the same as inventory control, payroll management and accounts receivable. It’s an investment in your business.

Direct Response Marketing is something that can be measured, tested and made to provide a return on your investment (ROI).

The big question for you is: How do I find the right copywriter for my business?

Most copywriters, like lawyers, doctors and accountants, are specialists. They write for specific markets (health, finance, self-improvement, etc.), have client preferences (small business, business to business), and some even focus on specific media (direct mail, web copy, or e-mail).

You can see how finding the right copywriter – a good freelance copywriter for your business – is a little more difficult than calling your local paper and asking them to whip up an ad for you.

A good place to start is finding out what sort of training they’ve had. Have they taken a course through someone like Clayton Makepeace or American Writers and Artists Inc? Do they have some experience writing for your kind of business?

The next thing to find out is whether he/she has time to take your project. Writing a direct mail letter takes a lot more time than a short-copy e-mail. On the other hand, are you looking for someone to do a single project or do you want someone you’ll be able to work with steadily? How much time your project will take – and especially whether it’s a one-off or the start of a relationship – can be THE deciding factor in whether a copywriter accepts you as a client.

The last thing you want to look at is the price. This is where you’re really going to see what you’re getting for the dollars you spend.

When a freelance copywriter gives you a price, you need to take a good look at what they’re going to do for you. When you want a landing page written, are they including the transaction page, thank you page, thank you e-mail and delivery e-mail (or download page)?

Even while they’re putting a price together for you – are they asking questions and helping you decide what you want written? Every one of my clients has needed me as a consultant during the decision making process. They’ve all had questions and things they weren’t sure about. Can you imagine me getting to work with March of Dimes Canada or the Ontario General Contractors Association if I weren’t willing to answer questions for them?

That said, be sure you’re ready to compensate the writer for the time she spends answering your questions. Your time is valuable, and so is theirs.

Copy Editing 

This ties back in to editorial copywriting. Lots of business owners are a dab-hand at getting things written up.

Who knows your business better than you? Who knows how to do what you do better than you? Right. You know your business and how to do it right. Just like copywriters know the fine points of writing.

An editing service can save you a lot of money and help you get things written faster. You just write up a draft of your information product, then have a freelance copywriter help you make it better. Even if it takes three drafts to get it right, hiring me to edit you copy is less expensive than hiring me to write the entire information product.

Copy Critique 

This is a first cousin to Copy Editing. The difference is that Copy Critique is what you use for advertising copy.

Editing always focuses on making sure your writing is clear, accurate and delivers benefit to your readers. The difference between the two is that Copy Editing makes sure your writing informs, and Copy Critique makes sure your copy sells.

Whether it’s a new piece you want help with, or an older piece you want to rejuvenate, a copy critique is an inexpensive way to get the job done. It also gives you a chance to “try on” a copywriter before working on a larger project or starting a long-term relationship.