Does your company have a freelancer database?
June 19th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comLast month or so, I was invited by my corporate client to be part of their internal database of freelancers. The marketing department already knows me, obviously, but this type of exposure would give the rest of the company access to my contact information in the event they may need a reliable and trustworthy copywriter to help work on projects.
I was flattered to receive the invitation, and thought it was a highly functional way for this company to maximize their outsourcing potential. Let me describe to you how they’ve organized their internal database:
Popularity: 72% [?]
Posted in Brochure Copywriting, Business Management, Business Writing, Catalog Copy, Commercial Writing, Copywriting Samples, Freelance Lifestyle, Marketing Communications, The Copywriting Client, Wordfeeder Copywriting | 1 Comment »Should You Sell a Product or Service?
June 10th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comTons of marketing experts preach the Marketing Funnel or Product Pipeline. Their theory on online business is that you should offer an array of product choices, one for every market segment. Your high end consumer will go for the bells-and-whistles package, your budget-conscious consumer will choose the economy offering, and then your middle men will fill in the remaining rungs of the ladder. On top of that, they’ll encourage you to simultaneously market services along with the product you create.
I’m more of a marketing realist myself. As much as they might like to, most of my clients just don’t have the bandwidth to give their readers “everything and a bag of chips.” For those with limited resources, budgets, time and energy, it might be a more practical idea to focus on one, or the other - product, or service, for the time being.
So let me ask you: are you a product man, or a service gal?
Popularity: 72% [?]
Posted in Branding Strategy, Business Management, Business Writing, Marketing Communications, Small Business Marketing, Target Audience, The Creative, Wordfeeder Copywriting | No Comments »7 Easy Steps to Getting Your Copywriting or Design Samples Up on a Website
April 30th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com
To all the copywriters who send me emails asking for work, let me throw you a bone. The best way to attract interest in your talent is to get a website up. Not just because you should care what I think, but because you should care what anyone who entertains the possibility of hiring you to write their copy thinks. This goes for designers too, although I’ve never met one who was hard up for projects; most have their work cut out for them.
Step 1. Gather those copywriting or design samples.
Ideally, this should be anything that’s been published on behalf of a client - marketing brochures, magazine articles, website copy, flyers, whatever you have. If you’ve got actual clips of the designed pieces, scan and turn them into PDF files or .jpgs. Make sure the files are small enough that they won’t take ten minutes to load or make people’s computers blow up when they click on them.
Popularity: 39% [?]
Posted in Business Management, Copywriting Samples, Small Business Marketing | No Comments »100 Marketing Secrets
March 18th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comI just wanted to call to your attention a compilation that Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends has put together.
It’s her 100 Marketing Secrets downloadable report, contributed by the readers of Small Business Trends, including a panel of hand-picked, well-known names in the industry.
If you want to download the report instantly, click here.
If you prefer to poke around on Anita’s site and blog first, visit http://smallbiztrends.com.
What’s especially nice about this, for me, is that I got to help Anita compile and organize the report, and she has publicly acknowledged this on her blog. What a great feeling, and the gesture really says a lot about Anita’s character.
Another perk to being behind the scenes on a project like this is taking the time to click through to each contributor’s website. I’ve gotten to know some people in the marketing industry who I didn’t know before.
Download Anita Campbell’s 100 Marketing Secrets report!
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Popularity: 41% [?]
Posted in Branding Strategy, Business Management, Gracias, In the Spotlight, Marketing Communications, Resource Room, Small Business Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »Why Copywriting Contracts Are B.S.
March 11th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comOne of the first things they tell you in the Copywriting School of Hard Knocks is that you should have a couple of work contracts and an NDA (nondisclosure agreement) on file. When new clients come calling, you can hand these out as testament to your professionalism. Everybody adds their signature and we can all sleep better knowing we’re bound together by a piece of paper with some inflated sounding words on it.
I have to make a confession right now. I think copywriting contracts, and freelance work contracts in general, are mostly B.S. I say *mostly* because there is one part of the contract that makes sense to me. This is the part where you define the work terms.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Posted in Business Management, The Copywriting Client | No Comments »Copywriting Lessons I’ve Learned While Squatting in the Trenches
February 20th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comUnbeknownst to my readers and clients, I’ve got a lot going on behind the scenes here at Wordfeeder.com. In both my personal life and my work, I’m experiencing major change, with some growing pains along the way. For those of you who buy into dream interpretation, my sleeping hours are taking me on a wild ride lately. Last week I dreamt that two of my back molar teeth fell out. I tried to screw them back into my gums but they weren’t having it.
I don’t know if every copywriter is like this, but I seem to have a talent for dual perspectives. Although I’m looking ahead toward expansion, team building, and a higher level of service, my mind is simultaneously in reflection mode. I find myself constantly assessing where I’ve been as I navigate a new and unbeaten path.
Here are some tips for those who want to be successful in the field of copywriting:
1. You MUST be Other-People Oriented.
People who “break into” copywriting begin by writing their own material. They stream their own consciousness on their blogs. This is enjoyable, and easy. They think, “Hey, I’m cut out for this copywriting thing. Soon I’ll be making millions.”
Popularity: 30% [?]
Posted in Business Management, Project Manager, Small Business Marketing, Target Audience, The Copywriting Client, Wordfeeder Copywriting | 5 Comments »The Quick and the Good: How to Be Fast on Your Feet in the World of Online Business
February 16th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comI worked as a copywriter in the creative department of a large corporation for many years. The downside to this is that “creative” is not so creative when you’ve got fifteen or 20 sets of hands stirring the sauce. The upside is the organizational skill you gain with after working with a group of graphic designers and computer geeks all passing and sharing files on the same network.
If you’re in this business game to serve people well and make a good living, then that’s a huge upside - and it applies to any business, not just advertising or copywriting.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted in Business Management, Copy Right, Project Manager, Small Business Marketing | No Comments »