Here’s today’s question for the copy bitch: What is email segmentation?
Ready for the big reveal? Let’s get to it!
Or, if you’d rather watch a video, here’s the one I did on this topic. Otherwise, scroll past and keep reading.
The Power of Email Segmentation
OK, so what is email segmentation, and why does it matter? Simply put, email segmentation empowers you to send the right message to the right person at the right time.
Think about it. Let’s say you’ve got an email list of 10,000 people. Sending the same message to everyone would be a recipe for disaster. And by disaster, I mean lackluster results. Here’s why: Those 10,000 people are not the same. They have different needs and pain points and are at various stages in the buying cycle. One might be ready to buy, while another is just getting to know your brand. A one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t cut it.
Why Tailored Messaging Works in Email Marketing: A Real-Life Example
One of my clients is a senior living marketing agency. Their audience is senior living communities. The communities are trying to attract people into independent living, assisted living, and memory care. Many of the communities offer all levels of care within the same campus.
So, consider the various audiences that the communities need to reach. We’ve got married couples, widows, active 60-somethings, and those needing assisted living and dementia care. And don’t forget the adult children looking for senior living options on behalf of their parents, like a daughter seeking a memory care facility for her mother.
What would you write about if you lumped all prospects into the same email list? The newly retired couple in their 60s have entirely different needs from the 84-year-old woman seeking assisted living.
The Stats Don’t Lie about Email Segmentation’s Effectiveness
Still skeptical about email segmentation? Let the numbers do the talking. Consider the following . . .
Segmented email campaigns boast over 100% higher click rates than non-segmented ones. (Source: Moosesend)
And the kicker? They can spike your revenue by up to a whopping 760%. (Source: WebFX)
Segmentation Made Simple through Marketing Automation
The beauty of modern technology is that it has made email segmentation a breeze. Tools like Constant Contact, Mailchimp, or more advanced marketing platforms like HubSpot enable easy backend segmentation and marketing automation. This ensures that your perfectly crafted message lands in the right inbox at the right time.
Writing for Segmented Lists: The Copywriter’s Role
As a marketer or a copywriter, you must understand the people on your various email lists: who they are, their pain points, and what they want. Going back to the senior living example . . . the way I talk to an adult child who’s urgently in need of memory care for her mom would be different from the way I talk to a couple in their 60s excited about making a move to senior living.
If the message I wrote for the 60-somethings ended up in the inbox of the stressed-out adult daughter, there’d be a major disconnect. Not to mention possibly a lost prospect if she decided to cross off my client’s community from her shortlist.
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
Get in touch or visit my YouTube channel and leave a question in the comments on one of my videos.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2024-01-29 07:56:312024-01-29 07:56:31What Is Email Segmentation? The Secret to Successful Email Marketing
Today’s topic is a fun one: digital content development.
Below, I’ll discuss the following:
What is content?
What is digital content?
What are examples of digital content?
When did things shift to this digital marketing mindset?
Why is it essential for businesses to produce quality digital content?
Why do you need a digital content STRATEGY before you develop digital content?
What’s the copywriter’s role in the digital content development process?
What are some tips for creating strong digital content?
What’s AI’s role in the content development process?
Do you learn better by watching a video?
Here’s my video on the topic of digital content development. Or scroll past it and read away!
What is content? What is digital content?
Content is the words and images we read and watch every day: TV shows. Articles in newspapers. Billboards on the commute to work. Podcasts, YouTube videos, our latest Netflix binge. Textbooks in school are full of content. So are the magazines in doctors’ offices.
The examples above include print items (like newspapers) and digital items we access online (like YouTube videos and podcasts).
Content is content. But the delivery mode can be different: print vs. digital.
For this post, we’re talking about digital content, specifically the kind businesses and brands use to promote their services, products, or causes. (That’s the simplest definition of copywriting: any writing that sells a product, service, or cause.)
What are examples of digital content that businesses use to market their services?
I mentioned some examples above.
Here’s an incomplete list of digital content that businesses use to engage with prospects and customers:
Blog posts
Case studies
Checklists
Digital ads
Ebooks
Emails
Graphics
Infographics
Landing pages
Podcasts
Social media posts
Videos
Webinars
Websites
White papers
User-generated content (like Yelp reviews and memes)
LinkedIn did exist. (It began in the founder’s living room in 2002 and was officially launched in 2003.)
When I started freelancing in 2002, I had an AOL address. I had a very basic website. I also had a physical portfolio—an actual binder—with clips and examples of my work that I’d haul to meetings with prospective clients.
I still wrote many print materials in those early days: trifold brochures, sales letters, and direct mailers (postcards). I was writing some website copy, too. But it was still very much a mix of print and digital.
I do have a distinct memory of a turning point—a seminal moment—in my journey.
It was late 2008 or early 2009. I was working with a marketing colleague. She co-managed a marketing firm I did a lot of copywriting work for. We were working on a client’s website in her office in the basement of her home in central Massachusetts. We were frustrated because we couldn’t easily make the changes we wanted to the client’s website. We’d have to involve the client’s web person, which was a pain.
One of us mentioned we’d recently heard about a Boston-based company called HubSpot and its streamlined content management system (CMS). What’s funny: The other person (I can’t remember if it was her or me) had recently heard about HubSpot, too.
Together, we turned to her computer, visited the HubSpot website, and began poking around. We both knew that HubSpot was different—that it was special. Before long, we booked a demo and never looked back. (We moved the client’s site to HubSpot.)
THAT was a turning point in my career, and things moved quickly from there.
In a nutshell, inbound marketing focuses on attracting people who are already on the hunt for your products or services. You attract them via optimized search, lead them to your primary digital asset (your website), and delight them with helpful, engaging content—and you continue to deliver this engaging, helpful content at every stage of their buying journey.
On the other hand, outbound marketing blasts marketing messages to everyone—even though most people probably aren’t on the market for that particular product or service. Think about the billboard on the highway. Not everyone driving by needs that product or service. But those who go onto Google and search for a solution to a problem—or a type of product or service—are the folks inbound marketers want to capture.
At the core of inbound marketing is high-quality digital content: websites, blogs, emails, and social media posts.
Bottom line: Digital content makes the online world go round, which is why it’s vital to businesses and brands.
So you might be wondering: OK, great! How do I create quality digital content? This must be where the digital content development part comes into play, right?
Before you can produce quality digital content, you must have a robust digital content strategy.
Producing digital content just for the sake of putting digital content out there won’t get you far.
Instead, you must have a robust digital content strategy to guide your digital content development.
A strong digital content strategy involves the following:
Knowing your target audience. What problems do they have? What content do they want? For example, if you focus on older Gen Z (people between 20 and 26), giving them 2000-word blog posts won’t cut it. This is the TikTok generation. They want videos.
Agreeing on the goals of each digital content asset. Be specific and align goals with different content. For example, the content you develop for social media will have different goals than the landing page you’re developing for a pay-per-click campaign. With social media, you might measure success based on engagement. For the PPC campaign, you’d measure success based on conversions.
Collaboration. Digital content development involves collaboration between the marketing team, writers, and designers (and, ideally, the sales team).
You’ll want to research keywords and what competitors are doing. You’ll want to create different and better content than what’s currently out there—more on this below.
Planning. Whether you use a Google spreadsheet or more robust project management software like Monday or Basecamp, you need an online calendar that everyone can access. People must know their responsibilities, due dates, and other relevant details.
Execution (aka, the actual content development). Writers and designers get to work creating the various content assets.
Promotion and repurposing. Just as you need a strategy for developing the content, you need one for promoting the content—not just once, but over the long haul. You also need a plan for repurposing the content. You can (usually) repurpose one piece of content into multiple formats and share it across different channels.
Ongoing analysis. You must constantly measure performance. If your digital content isn’t achieving your goals, how can you improve it? Metrics you’ll measure include organic traffic, page views, bounce rates, time spent on a page, engagement (social media), click-through rates, conversion rates, and retention rates. (That’s an incomplete list.)
I don’t recommend going longer than a quarter at a time when planning.
Strategizing beyond a quarter can be challenging. Sure, you can have broad strokes. For example, if you host a virtual conference every fall, you can have it on your radar. But as you’re planning Q1, you won’t be coming up with all the details for the October virtual conference.
What’s the copywriter’s role in the content development process?
To be honest, copywriters aren’t usually as involved as they should be, especially when we’re talking about larger brands and businesses. This is especially true if you’re a freelancer, but I see it happening to full-time copywriters working for brands and agencies.
Too often, the marketing folks devise a plan based on what they’re seeing. They might go so far as to map it out. Then, they bring in the writers. Skilled marketing writers will often spot gaps in the plan’s logic and spend more time trying to understand the goals and revise the plan accordingly, all of which takes more time than if the writer had been involved from the beginning.
IMO, copywriters should be involved (and, in many cases, leading) the content development strategy—they shouldn’t be coming in mid-stream.
But that’s a perfect-world scenario, and we all know we’re not living in one of those.
The good news is if you’re working with small businesses, you can often train them to include you earlier in the process—or if you’re working with solopreneurs, you can lead the charge in the digital content strategy.
And the strategy layout doesn’t need to be complicated. You can create a simple plan if you’ve considered the objectives, researched, and discussed what worked in the past.
It might be something as simple as the following:
Let’s produce an optimized blog post a week for one quarter.
We’ll pull content nuggets from the blog post and create social media posts.
At the end of the quarter, we’ll create two white papers or guides based on the content from the blog posts.
We’ll gate the white papers and create robust landing pages.
We’ll run some paid ads to drive people to the white papers
We’ll review the results: Have we increased organic traffic to the site? Have we seen increased engagement on social media? How many downloads of the white paper have we gotten, and can we attribute any business to these activities?
Keep in mind that each piece of digital content you create will involve its own steps and workflows.
For example, think about everything that goes into developing an optimized blog post:
Discussion with the client re: the topics they want to cover
Keyword research to figure out the best keyword phrase for each blog post
General research – see what content exists online for the keyword phrase and devise a plan to make more substantial (aka, better) content. For example, if the top content for a keyword phrase is 1500 words, you’ll want to create something that’s longer—say 2000 words. If the top piece of content lists “top 10 ways to do X,” you’ll want to create a blog post focusing on 15 ways.
Interviewing subject matter experts
Writing the first draft
Getting client feedback
Revising
Layout/images
Publishing/promotion
Repurposing, as appropriate (for example, if you wrote a blog post on the “15 ways to do X,” you might create 15 separate social media posts, each one devoted to a different way).
What are some tips for creating strong digital content?
If you want to create quality digital content assets that get results, then . . .
You must create content that’s different from the existing content about the topic.
Again, producing content just to produce content won’t get you far. And keep in mind your competitors will be writing about the same topics. You must find a different spin and angle on the same old content everyone else is putting out there.
Sometimes, that might mean going longer. Going back to our blog post example . . . if the existing blog posts that rank on the first page of Google weigh in around 1500 words, try writing content that goes deeper into various points so that you can hit 2000 or 2500 words.
If the top blog post lists “top 10 benefits you get from installing solar panels on your home,” you’ll want to create a blog post focusing on 12 or 15 benefits.
You’ll want to make sure the digital content you create is optimized for search—for web pages and blog posts, that means having only one H1, keyword-rich H2s, appropriate H3s, bulleted lists, no errors, etc. For videos, that’s making sure you have keyword-rich titles and thorough descriptions.
Again, each piece of digital content will have its own workflows and best practices.
You must create content that’s developed specifically for the target audience you’re trying to reach.
For example, if your target audience is older Gen Z (maybe between 21 and 26), writing 2000-word blog posts isn’t the way to engage with this audience, which is all about TikTok.
And remember that your audience will have different content needs depending on where they are in their journey. People at the top of the sales funnel searching for a solution to a problem and becoming aware of your client’s business are in a critical educational stage. They respond well to blog posts and helpful FAQs. People at the bottom of the sales funnel might be looking to book a demo.
The content must be created (or heavily revised) by a human.
Large-language models, like ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, Writer AI, etc.—are fantastic tools. But they’re just that: tools. AI is not ready to replace human copywriters yet—or any time soon.
I know I might be wrong about this, and that’s OK. Things are moving fast. But right now, AI can’t produce the critical nuances needed for compelling digital copy—and trust me, I’ve been trying to get the various AI tools to do that.
I’ve been using all four of the ones I mentioned above—and I’m on the PAID version of ChatGPT and a paid version of Writer (through a client). I’ve been using these products regularly. They are excellent tools because they are lightning-fast. They can come up with copy points you might not have considered. They can review work and provide instant and helpful feedback. They can create decent outlines.
But they have yet to adequately capture a brand’s voice—and I’ve been trying to train it. And they can’t develop a digital content strategy. AI tools like ChatGPT don’t have awareness. It only knows what it’s been trained on. It’s a reactive tool, not a proactive tool.
And creating a digital content strategy requires a thoughtful, proactive approach.
Again, AI is a great tool. I begin much of my content creation using ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing. However, I’m using these tools for brainstorming or outlining in the early stages of digital content development. I must revise (usually heavily) any content it produces and find accurate sources to cite.
Also, currently, AI can’t produce quality long-form content. Not in my experience, anyway. Nothing beyond 700 words. It loses the thread. “Ask Writer” and ChatGPT can’t deliver more than 600 or so words at once (again, I’m using the paid versions for both). I’ll ask it to deliver longer copy in 600-word chunks, which it can do. But even then, both will often have difficulty reaching word counts beyond 900 or 1000 without sounding incredibly repetitive.
This will likely improve over time. But as of right now, I’d never hand off AI-produced copy to a client PRECISELY because it sounds like everything else that’s out there. And that violates one of the rules governing effective digital content—you must develop content unlike anything else out there.
Quality digital content WON’T sound like anything else already out there. To accomplish this, you need a human writer. We can imbue a brand’s voice and personality into the copy. We can identify how to elevate a piece of copy so it sounds different from everything else. We can spot gaps within the content—and address those gaps.
AI, in its current incarnation, as I write this post in 2023, can’t do those things.
Also, you can’t trust ANY stats it provides, even if it includes attribution and URLs. Both Bard and Bing will cite sources and provide URLs. I’ve found that even if the URLs are accessible and “on topic,” they seldom reflect the exact stat the AI tool tries to convey. I’ll question the AI tool, and it stutters and apologizes. I suspect this will also improve over time, but you can’t trust any stats or sources it shares. The spirit of what the AI tool is getting at with the stat is usually correct, which is helpful. But the copywriter still must go out and find a reputable source with a similar stat.
Bottom line: Anything a large-language model writes in 2023 is “OK,” but rarely (if ever) on brand or different enough from all the other content out there.
The “on brand” thing can be subtle—you know it when you hear the difference. And that’s the thing . . . someone who isn’t a skilled copywriter might not be able to pick up where things falter. They just know something doesn’t sound quite “right,” even if the content itself is otherwise acceptable.
This is where skilled writers excel. We can spot those “off” issues quickly and rectify them. We write for subtext. We write with nuance in mind. We know how to vary sentences. We’re not afraid of contractions. We know how to conduct solid research and get reliable stats and sources. We know how (and when) to push the envelope and how to sound on brand.
Digital content development: Think strategy first.
Digital content is an essential ingredient in an effective digital marketing strategy for businesses large and small. Copywriters create the content for various digital assets, like blog posts, social media posts, paid ads, web pages, etc.
Ideally, copywriters would be part of the digital content strategy from the get-go. But at the very least, writers can focus on creating quality digital content by making sure it’s different from all the other content out there, that it’s appropriate for the various audiences the client is trying to reach, and that it’s written and revised by a human, not AI.
Got a question for the Copy Bitch?
Get in touch or visit my YouTube channel and leave a question in the comments on one of my videos.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-11-09 14:19:002023-11-09 14:19:00Digital Content Development: What It Is, Why It Matters & How to Do It Right
How to start copywriting is one of the most common questions I get as The Copy Bitch.
Watch my video on this topic. Or scroll past it for my written take.
How to start copywriting: What beginners should do
Before you start copywriting, make sure you have solid writing “chops,” as I like to say.
Make sure you understand the fundamentals of good writing (punctuation, grammar, paragraph construction, etc.). You can start by testing your assumptions: Take a free assessment test like this one. This online resource offers free business writing tests as well as online courses.
Make sure you have a reliable computer, Internet access, and software to write the copy.
Google Docs is fine (and free), or Microsoft Office 365 is another good option. (I use both.)
Be a sponge. Soak up everything you can about copywriting.
Here’s the good news: Plenty of online options exist, including free ones. HubSpot Academy is free. I recommend starting with the Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing certifications. You could bang them out in a weekend.
Practice what you learn.
Subscribe to a bunch of emails from businesses. (Set up a separate Gmail account strictly for this purpose.) Analyze subject lines. What works? What doesn’t? Challenge yourself to rewrite the subject lines. Ask ChatGPT to rewrite the subject lines and see what you think of what it comes up with—and you could do the reverse. Share your list of subject lines with ChatGPT (after explaining what the business is, etc.) and ask it to provide feedback. (This is a great way to use ChatGPT.)
Do the same with direct mailers, billboards, radio spots, print ads, and business websites. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Learn, learn, learn. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Follow other copywriters. They can be a huge source of inspiration. Follow them on LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and their blogs. Attend networking functions (for writers, marketers, or small businesses, like your local Chamber). Another option that helped me early in my career was Business Networking International.
Create a simple online presence for your copywriting business to show who you are and samples of your work.
When clients are looking for writers, they want to see examples of good writing. So I highly recommend having a website portfolio, even if you fill it with “fake” copywriting samples (like some of your practice assignments) until you have real client work to showcase. (Because, again, everyone has to start somewhere.)
Got other questions about how to start copywriting? Ask the Copy Bitch!
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. No doubt, you’ll have other questions. Hit me up in the comments section on my YouTube channel, or email me.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-09-01 07:00:472023-08-31 19:16:28How to Start Copywriting: What Beginners Should Do
OK, time to get vulnerable. I recorded the video (below) a couple of weeks ago about how much do freelance copywriters make, but I decided to sleep on it. For two weeks. Is it “safe” to publish money numbers? Will it come across as boastful? Or the opposite—unimpressive—given I’ve been doing this since 2002?
Watch the video. Or scroll past it for the text.
What’s my motivation for sharing how much I make as a freelance copywriter?
Overall, I think it’s good to share this info, as long as it doesn’t send people spiraling into the comparison game. Talking openly, kindly, honestly, and calmly about historically “inappropriate” subjects like money isn’t inappropriate at all, IMO. If anything, it can be helpful, enlightening, and reassuring. So maybe this is my attempt to help normalize it a bit, including for myself.
And here’s the thing: People have questions about how much money freelance copywriters make. How do I know? Well, with tools like Semrush, I can see the search volume on keyword phrases people plug into Google. MSV stands for monthly search volume.
How much can you make copywriting (50 MSV)
How much can copywriters earn (40 MSV)
How much can a freelance copywriter make (30 MSV)
How much do freelance copywriters make (90 MSV)
These are not huge numbers by any stretch. But the numbers suggest sustained curiosity.
When you search for these phrases, sites like Salary.com and AWAI appear. Both have excellent info, but the info is based on approximates and averages, along with a healthy dose of “your mileage will vary” caveats. (According to Salary.com, “The average Freelance Copywriter salary in the United States is $55,689 as of June 26, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $50,305 and $62,691.”)
Below, I’m sharing a look at my revenue numbers over the years.
How much do freelance copywriters make? My numbers.
First, some context . . .
Reminder, I’m in the U.S., just outside of Boston.
I started my copywriting business in August of 2002. Until May of that year, I’d been working in radio full-time. I started in radio in the summer of 1994, heading into my senior year of college. I worked full-time until February 2001. I left radio to write fiction. But I returned to radio in November or so of 2001. Then, I left full-time for good in May of 2002. But I stayed part-time on the weekends and holidays for the next five years. This is all relevant.
In August of 2002, in addition to starting my copywriting business and working weekends on the radio, I also worked as a part-time activities assistant in a nursing home for about nine months. Yes, before I was the Copy Bitch, I was the Bingo Bitch. In 2003, I started doing some teaching as well (as an adjunct).
Again, this is all relevant.
I don’t have 2002 numbers for some reason, maybe due to a different computer or misplaced folders. Who knows. I didn’t make much from copywriting during those five months.
So I’m starting with 2003, my first full year as a freelance copywriter. I’ll show you 2003, 2004, and 2005. I’ll jump to 2008, which is when I made my living from freelance copywriting only. And I’ll show you the three most recent years (2020, 2021, 2022).
For 2003, 2004, and 2005, you’ll see listings for copywriting (revenue only) and my various side hustles (radio, teaching, bingo bitch). The numbers for the latter (radio, teaching, bingo bitch) show income (in other words, with taxes taken out). But the copywriting numbers I’m sharing are revenue numbers only (so no deductions for taxes and business expenses).
2003:
Copywriting: $5,555
Radio: $7,543
Bingo bitch: $4,605
Teaching: $1,500
TOTAL: $19,203
2004:
Copywriting: $14,906
Radio: $7,000
Teaching: $6,250
TOTAL: $28,156
2005:
Copywriting: $13,420
Radio: $7000
Teaching: $9000
TOTAL: $29,420
2008 – the first year I made my living entirely from copywriting.
Copywriting: $55,537
And now, let’s jump to the last three years.
2020: $85,740
2021: $86,151
2022: $82,750
I was incredibly fortunate during the pandemic. I didn’t lose any work (in fact, I picked up two new clients—I’m still working with one of them). And my numbers are consistent.
Again, the 2020, 2021, and 2022 numbers are only REVENUE numbers. These numbers don’t account for taxes and business expenses.
My numbers will be surprising and not-at-all impressive for some people reading this. That’s all? You’ve been doing this for 20+ years! What about the six-figure incomes touted by copywriters on YouTube? Are they for real?
I suspect they are for real. It’s definitely possible to make six figures. For *most* people, it’s unlikely to happen right away. The people who crack that nut in their first year are the outliers. Again, remember the Salary.com numbers I mentioned earlier about the average income for freelance copywriters being $55,689. With taxes and expenses, I’m just north of that figure currently. So, a little above average.
Currently, my revenue numbers aren’t far off from six figures. Again, that’s revenue, not income. I could see my revenue cracking six figures someday and possibly soon. However, I’m unsure if my income will crack six figures from copywriting alone.
I’m OK with this.
I live comfortably.
I don’t have any debt except for a reasonable mortgage.
I also don’t have kids, which I ABSOLUTELY understand is a big difference.
I have a partner (Mr. Word Nerd), and we own our home—but this is a recent development (since Halloween of last year). I was a renter up until then. And I pay less now than I did when I rented. Even though Mr. Word Nerd and I split expenses . . . the full amount of our monthly mortgage payment is only a little more than what I was paying by myself in rent for a studio apartment. Wild, right?
I also have plenty of time to devote to my passion projects—like fiction writing, humor writing, and drawing. The time I put into those things could be used to woo and work with other clients. This has always been the case. Over the years, I’ve turned away work whenever I felt the “day job” was interfering with my passions. I haven’t always gotten it right—I’ve gone for stretches where I was juggling too much. I’ve also gone for stretches where I’ve been a little more nervous.
And now, of course, there’s so much hype around ChatGPT and how it will affect copywriters (and writers in general). I have no idea what the future holds.
Anyhow, if you’ve gotten this far, I hope the numbers and this article helped you somehow.
And if you’re a new(er) copywriter, I wish you much success in your journey.
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-07-07 14:42:422023-07-07 14:42:42How Much Do Freelance Copywriters Make: Here Are My Numbers
I started my YouTube channel, Ask the Copy Bitch, in late 2021. I often get questions from new writers and have mentored some over the years. Why not turn everything into videos and go wider?
For stretches, I’d get into it. But I also went long stretches ignoring it.
That’s not a winning strategy.
Fast forward to mid-April 2023. I wanted to “get serious” about my channel and make a go of it.
By “go of it,” I mean “make money.” 🙂
Just keeping it real, folks.
I’m happy to share free advice. But if I can monetize my channel in the process and make a few extra bucks, why not?
I think it’s smart of to have multiple revenue streams, especially those that make money in your sleep.
Do I have the right persona for YouTube?
I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter for over 20 years. I make decent scratch. I pay the bills. I’m not one of those copywriting gurus who can teach you how to make six figures in six months. But I have my own point of view, my own stories, my own victories, and my own ongoing challenges. I’m approachable. (I think?) And I have a soft touch.
Plus, I have a plush sloth named Stewie.
There he is, working hard!
I mean, how come I’m not already making bank from my YT channel, right?
Anyway, back to my mindset in April about “getting serious.”
My fiction persona has always benefited from discipline. For years, I’d write 1000 words a day. All to build muscle.
I had to take the same approach with this channel.
And so, I declared May to be “One a Day May.”
I’d publish one video and one corresponding blog post a day for the entire month.
In case you struggle with maths like I do, that’s 31 videos and 31 blogs.
Easy-peasy, right? Surely if I did this, the subscribers would flock, the watch hours would shoot up, and I could quit my day job and just make videos sharing my wisdom-pearls with the masses.
I’m not sure if this is true of all writers, but this writer can sometimes have delusions of grandeur. It’s the fiction writer in me. Yeah. We’ll go with that.
I’m happy to say I did it: I posted 31 videos and 31 blog posts in May.
But the results weren’t exactly what I had expected.
This is my post-mortem blog post on what I learned and how I can parlay these learnings into advice for freelancers—and not just copywriters. What I’m about to share below pretty much applies to any freelancer hanging out a virtual shingle.
What I Learned. And What You Can Learn from What I Learned (aka Advice for Freelancers)
I treated myself like a client.
Something I’m good at: carving out time for my own passion projects. And I’d call this a passion project for now, even though I also consider it a part of my business because of the subject. But I knew I’d have to devote many hours to this work. Hours that I wouldn’t see any immediate “returns” on. Not until the 31 days were up and the subscribers had flocked.
Advice for freelancers: You need to treat your copywriting business as if it’s a client. Your business is Client Zero, the Original Coke of clients. You need to devote time to marketing, blogging, writing—all the things you do for your paying clients. And it’s SO EASY to let this one fall by the wayside, especially when things get busy with paying clients or with life or both. I can’t stress this enough: FIGURE IT OUT NOW.
I wanted to quit. Several times. I didn’t.
I do think this is a normal emotion for many people. No, not everyone. And if you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t experience the overwhelming desire to yell SCREW IT ALL in the middle of your backyard, more power to you.
But I wanted to quit.
Starting on May 1.
As in the first day of my grand “One a Day May” plan.
May 1 was a Monday.
A rainy Monday after a rainy weekend.
I’d already scheduled a few blogs and videos, so I was on schedule, but in order to stay on schedule, I had a very demanding daily schedule of recording videos and writing blog posts, and that Monday turned into a shit show with unexpected client work. Nothing horrible, but I had little wiggle room.
Luckily, this wasn’t my first rodeo. Whenever I start something like this—writing a novel, going back to school, working with a new client—I get an overwhelming desire to quit before I even start. Part of it is fear of failure. Part of it is fear of success. Part of it is just plain laziness since I know how much work I need to do.
I was able to talk myself off that cliff pretty quickly since I had anticipated it.
Advice for freelancers: At times, you will want to quit. Don’t. Push through. I know this is easier said than done. But seriously, don’t quit.
Perfection is the enemy of the good.
Who said that? Voltaire? Whoever it was, they were right. I’ve long since abandoned perfection so this wasn’t a huge issue for me this time around, but I know perfection can be an issue for creative types, especially those just starting out.
Advice for freelancers: If you spend all your time trying to get something perfect (a blog post, a video, a business plan), you’ll never get anything done.
Nothing good comes from comparing yourself to others. But your doubt monkeys will love smoking that crack.
Oh, man. I purposely avoided looking at the competition on YouTube, even though that’s usually considered a best practice when developing video content: Look at what the competitors in your niche are doing and either do it better or find the topics they haven’t covered that still receive searches.
I was SO naïve when I started my copywriting channel, figuring I was the first brilliant copywriter to even THINK of doing such a thing.
LOL, nope.
There are SO many copywriters on YouTube who are crushing it that I’ve often wondered if there’s a place for me considering it really is a niche topic.
Honestly, the jury is still out, and I’m still figuring out what the best content is for me to focus on.
I suspect it’s going to be honest, vulnerable, messy posts like this. Because if someone needs a tutorial on “how to write a headline,” for example, there are better places to get that info.
That said, toward the end of the month, I did start looking at my competitors more and not just on YT but also on LinkedIn. Again, there are people CRUSHING it.
We all know comparing ourselves to others—especially the “others” we encounter online—isn’t healthy. But my doubt monkeys love smoking that crack. My doubt monkeys also get really nasty when they’re high on that shit. I have to limit my exposure, walk away, remind myself I am worthy, blah, blah, blah. It’s hard. Sometimes I allow myself to wallow, too. The key is getting out of the funk. That’s not always easy.
Advice for freelancers: I know you’re going to do it. I know you’re going to look. Because comparing ourselves to others is another wholly human flaw. My advice: limit your exposure. Wallow if you must, but only to a point. Get your ass off social media and do something to distract yourself.
Checking stats repeatedly isn’t healthy. (I’ve been down this road before.)
I self-published a couple of novels over a decade ago, and I became obsessed with checking sales and reviews. FOR YEARS.
My YouTube channel and Google Ads Sense account replaced this obsession.
I’m now limiting how often I check.
Checking too often is a waste of time. Maybe someday my channel will be at a point where checking it three times an hour makes sense due to all the activity, but I’m SO not there yet.
Also, it’s not healthy for my psyche.
Advice for freelancers: Freakin’ results. I know you want to see them, too. More clients. More sales. More revenue. Yes, you need to be aware of your numbers. But that little tart named Awareness likes to flirt with that cad called Obsession. Be careful if they hook up.
Cliché time! It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Can I come up with something better?
It’s risotto, not instant rice.
It’s a novel, not flash fiction.
It’s waiting in line at the DMV, not breezing through the self-checkout.
I’ll stop now.
You likely get my point.
Inherently, most of us know when we’re building something—a business, a YouTube channel, a house—it doesn’t happen overnight.
EVEN THOUGH GODDAMMIT WE WANT IT TO.
I was hoping 31 days wouldn’t be the same as “overnight” in the universe’s eyes. I mean, c’mon. Waiting a whole month for glory feels fair, right?
Advice for freelancers: If you’re a new freelance copywriter, don’t expect overnight success, despite what some of the online copywriting gurus tell you. I’m not saying they’re lying. (They’re not.) But not everyone is going to follow that trajectory. I reckon there a more people like me out there than not. Slow and steady can win the race, too. Eventually.
I hit a wall. But not when I expected.
I worked two weekends during May full time on this crazy little venture. I’m talking 8-hour days on Saturday and Sunday. See “treating yourself like a client” above.
I was determined not to work Memorial Day weekend. And I didn’t. I had everything recorded, written, produced, polished, and scheduled by the end of the day on Friday, May 26. Stewie and I could take the weekend off from video-making. I was caught up on work, too. So it would be a work-free weekend.
I expected to be exhausted over the weekend. But I was still wired. I did fun stuff over the weekend, but I also did some work—I did my editorial calendar for June and July and settled on a Wednesday and Friday publishing cadence. I worked on my humor writing. I did some bookkeeping. Etc.
Not because I had to, but because I had some pockets of time here and there and was still buzzing on adrenaline.
But I hit a wall on Tuesday, May 30. As in when everyone went back to work, including me. It was also a bit of a depressing whiny wall. Why did I bother with any of this, what a waste of time, there are so many other channels and copywriters who are doing it better, when can I retire, I just want to draw and watch birds.
I said it was whiny, right?
Again, not my first rodeo. Been there, done that many times over the years in relation to my copywriting business but also my fiction writing endeavors.
What do I do when I’m like this?
I’m gentle with myself.
I allow myself to lean into the feelings—to a point.
I warn people, like Mr. Word Nerd, that I’m feeling this way so that if I’m grumpy or snappy around him, he knows it’s not him.
I sat in the sun on my porch in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.
I drew a picture of George Clooney.
I watched birds.
I allowed myself to think that I’d take a break from the blog and videos, even though I’d planned on putting this blog post out on Friday, June 2. In addition to a corresponding video.
And doing all of the above was enough to get my butt back in my chair and writing this here blog post.
Advice for freelancers: You’ll hit walls, too. Often when you least expect it. My best advice is to think about it now—what’s worked in the past to help you get back up and dust yourself off? What do you think might help that you haven’t tried before? Fill your back pocket with these nuggets and pull ’em out when you hit the wall. AND THROW THOSE NUGGETS AT THE WALL INTO YOU MAKE A HOLE THAT YOU CAN CRAWL THROUGH. As that annoying saying goes—annoying because it’s true—this too shall pass.
I made new goals.
It’s funny. I’m not usually a goal person in the traditional sense. I might have a hazy goal in my head for fiction writing (like 1000 words a day). But I rarely set goals on January 1, for example.
I don’t know if it has something to do with turning 50 or what, but I’ve been extremely goal-oriented this year, with both my copywriting business and my creative writing endeavors.
You already know about my “One a Day May” goal.
But I also had some personal goals during this time, including doing a daily morning yoga session in May, which I also achieved. I’m a very basic yoga bitch. I do the same 25-minute morning session every day, which is full of stretches and gentle ab exercises. I also got back into my walking game. I have a route around my new house that works for me. It’s about 30 minutes. Normally, I’d focus on doing at least 45 minutes, but I was OK with hitting 30 + yoga.
At the beginning of the year, I decided to take a break from long-form fiction. My goal was to submit a short story (or some piece of creative writing) monthly.
I’ve exceeded this goal because I reconnected with my love of humor writing. And I’ve had success! Allow me to indulge by sharing links to the pieces that got published in the last few months.
I’m still submitting pieces monthly, at least. (Landing something in McSweeney’s is my ultimate goal.)
My big hairy scary goal for the YT channel is 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours by the end of the year. Honestly, this feels like a tall order right now, given where I’m at. But I also know growth can happen exponentially ON yt. One good video that somehow takes off can boost watch hours quickly.
My short-term goal is to simply get to 100 subscribers, lol.
Oh, in terms of videos . . . the goal is to stick with a twice-a-week cadence and to have 100 videos total by December 31. Totally doable if I mostly stick to the schedule.
Advice for freelancers: I think it’s good to have a mix of short-term achievable goals so that you don’t always feel like throwing yourself off a cliff when your big, hairy, scary goals (which I think you should also have) don’t always work out exactly how you imagined.
Nothing ever goes exactly how I imagined. (And it probably won’t for you, either.)
Actually, probably not totally fair. I sometimes stop and consider my surroundings—like the house Mr. Word Nerd and I bought together last Halloween—and I can recognize that it very much aligns with the picture I had in mind for years.
So there might be some truth to the law of attraction etc.
But in the immediate moments, like coming off my “One a Day May”—no. This doesn’t look like what I had hoped or imagined. Things rarely do, for me. But maybe a year from now, things will be closer?
Advice for freelancers: Things probably aren’t going to go exactly how you plan things, either. Life happens. Clients throw curveballs. You might throw yourself a curveball. Sometimes you have to, dog help me, PIVOT. It’s OK. It happens.
Beyond that, all I can say is keep trying, keep doing.
Of course, I did a video on my video project.
I share a few nuggets in the video that I don’t share here.
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-06-02 17:15:532023-06-02 16:16:15Advice for Freelancers: Learnings from My “31 Posts in 31 Days” Challenge
My copywriting business name is E.T. Robbins Productions LLC.
Where the heck did that come from?
Well, I’m about to tell you.
Or if you prefer watching a video, here you go.
It all began circa 1982.
Yes, kids. We’re talking decades ago in simpler times before smartphones, social media, and streaming. I was a wee lass of nine. I’m the youngest in my family and closer in age to some of my nieces and nephews, like Jason and Tesha.
I was nine or so, and Jason was two and Tesha was right behind him.
They had a hard time wrapping their little tongues around “Aunty Robyn.”
They said “E.T. Robbins.”
In my tween wisdom, I declared that E. T. Robbins would be my pen name when I grew up.
Because by this time, I knew I wanted “to be” a writer.
I’m not sure why a nom de plume held such allure.
But it did.
And it lasted!
Then what?
Fast forward twenty years. I’d done some stringing for my hometown newspaper under E.T. Robbins. I wrote an article for the Globe once, and I tried using my pen name, but they rightly informed me that they didn’t allow that. Makes sense, of course. I think that experience helped me transition to using my real name for bylines moving forward (even if the publication allowed pen names).
I decided to use E.T. Robbins Productions for my copywriting business name.
Why did I add the word “Productions”? To sound cool? More professional? Bigger than I was? I was coming from a seven-year stint in radio, so I think I envisioned doing voice-over work in addition to writing. So the word “productions” felt all-encompassing.
But yeah . . . it was a little confusing, especially in the early days when I networked and handed out business cards. (I can’t remember the last time I handed out a business card, although I do have them.)
The evolution of my copywriting business name over 20+ years.
When I revamped my copywriting website a few years ago, my web designer (hi Jeff!) and I discussed my business name and logo at length. Should I change it? We decided to keep the name and the domain, but we shifted the emphasis from E.T. Robbins Productions to Robyn Bradley in the logo and throughout the site. I think the logo, the contact page/footers, and now this blog post are the only places I say the name.
But! Plot twist! I formed an LLC earlier this year, so now my official business name is E.T. Robbins Productions LLC. And because I’ve made this shift, I need to keep it somewhat prominent.
I usually joke that how I named my business is a lesson in how NOT to come up with a copywriting business name.
A few years ago, I made this crack to a prospect after explaining the name’s origin. The prospect surprised me and said he disagreed because the story behind my business name was interesting and memorable.
I’d never thought of it that way, but since then, other folks have said similar things.
It helps that it’s not a long story to tell. It’s easy to explain and for people to understand. And it usually elicits a chuckle or smile.
But I still find the name kind of clunky, especially when I have to give someone my email address over the phone or in person: robyn at etrobbins dot com. I often default to my author email or my Gmail address for ease.
I do sometimes wonder if I’ve lost potential clicks when my site appears in SERPs (search engine results pages). The name is meaningless if you simply see etrobbins.com. Of course, I strive to have good page titles and meta descriptions, but still.
So what can new copywriters learn from my story as they come up with a copywriting business name?
If you’re just starting out and you’re simply a party of one, your copywriting business name won’t likely make or break you. Yes, branding matters. And sure, a business name is often a core part of a brand’s identity. Think Google, Microsft, Dropbox, and Nike. But you’re not Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, or Nike, right? My point: Don’t agonize over this decision. Yes, you need a name. But if you’re stuck, go with the obvious: your own name. That’s what many copywriters do, and it works just fine.
If you’ve secured your name (or some version of it) as a domain, you can use that for your website. And it can be the building block for a potential copywriting business name. For example, if you’re Jane Smith, and you’ve registered JaneSmith.com, you could use that for your business website. Your business name could be something simple like Jane Smith, Copywriter. Or Jane Smith.
If your name isn’t available as a clean [FIRST NAME][LASTNAME].com, try modifying it and seeing if that name is available. Like JaneSmithWriter.com. Or JaneSmithCopywriter.com or JaneSmithCopy.com Again, the domain doesn’t have to be your business name. You could still use Jane Smith as your business name.
Do consider registering relevant domain extensions. For example, if JaneSmith.net and JaneSmith.biz are available, you might want to snag them just to avoid someone else scooping them up and creating confusion.
Be careful when trying to develop a clever name. I tend to see two types of copywriting business names. The first involves the writer’s name. The second is usually something more creative, clever, or punny, like The Hired Pens. I think The Hired Pens is a great name. It’s clear what the company does. But coming up with clever ain’t always easy. And one person’s “clever” might read as corny or cliche to someone else. I’m not saying you should avoid coming up with something clever. Just think it through. AND MAKE SURE YOU GOOGLE THE HECK OUT OF IT BEFORE COMMITTING. You might think you’ve come up with the Best. Name. Ever. Chances are (very) good that some other writer is using it. Being clever and creative is what we writers do!
Remember, nothing is forever. You can always change your business name. I’m not saying it’s an easy decision . . . or that it would be easy to do, depending on how long you’ve been in business. But it’s doable.
Two resources to check out to guide you as you name your copywriting business.
I recently discovered this AI tool to help you name your copywriting business. I’m not suggesting you use whatever it spits out. But it might be fun to play around with. It could get your creative juices flowing.
Check out the Fritinancy blog, especially the sidebar items under Naming 101. LOTS of excellent advice. And the woman behind this blog, Nancy Friedman, has a website, too. She offers a low-cost way to get advice on naming a business. (I haven’t used the service, but I do know a company that used her for naming a product, based on my mentioning her to them . . . and they loved her process.)
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-05-31 07:00:192023-05-26 15:53:35The Story Behind My Copywriting Business Name: What Copywriters Can Learn From It
I recently discussed what a copywriter does, but now let’s drill down into some categories: What does a website copywriter do?
If you’d prefer watching a video, here you go. Otherwise, scroll past it for All. The. Words.
First, what is website copywriting?
Website copywriting is exactly as it sounds: You’re writing the words that appear on websites. In this case, we’re talking about company websites. Go to any business website and look at all the pages. Someone had to write those words, right? And that someone is often a professional copywriter.
I say “often” because not every business website under the sun was written by a pro. The business owner might have penned their own site. This is especially true for small businesses that are a party of one. But when a company gets big enough, they’ll often outsource the copywriting to a writer or to a web design firm or marketing firm (and those firms will either have writers on staff, or they’ll outsource to someone like me).
Do all copywriters do website copywriting?
It’s hard to be a successful copywriter today if you don’t have any website copywriting skills. Just about all businesses have an online presence. The company website typically serves as the main hub.
That said, I’m sure there are copywriters out there who only do, say, email marketing or long-form direct response copywriting for printed sales letters. But I suspect those folks are exceptions and not the rule.
Isn’t website copywriting just . . . copywriting?
Not when you add the words “search engine optimization” or SEO to the mix. I’d argue that all website copywriting is (or should be) called SEO copywriting. Because you want to optimize a company’s website for search. You want to attract people who are already searching on phrases related to your client’s products or services.
Of course, as I write this blog post in May 2023, we’re possibly in the midst of a seismic shift in how search is going to work moving forward. Yes, I’m talking about ChatGPT, Bard, and Google unveiling Search Generative Experience (SGE).
So moving forward, good website copywriters will likely be thinking about SEO and SGE . . . and whatever else we have to think about to keep up with how people search . . . and how search engines deliver results to search queries.
OK, so let’s get back to the question: What does a website copywriter do?
A good website copywriter will write compelling, optimized copy that draws in targeted traffic and helps you turn that traffic into leads and eventually customers.
Website copywriters will draft optimized copy for things like . . .
But before they get to the writing, a good website copywriter will . . .
Have an in-depth discovery call with the client
Study the client’s target personas
Review competitors’ sites
Review and analyze the current website (if there is one) and all related marketing materials
Collaborate with the designer, marketing manager, and other key decision-makers
Do keyword research/analysis
That’s not an exhaustive list, either.
A good website copywriter will also keep up with SEO trends and SGE (see above).
So there you have it. Hopefully, this gives you a good sense of what a website copywriter does.
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-05-30 07:00:532023-05-26 15:34:13What Does a Website Copywriter Do?
One of my specialties is coming up with ideas. I’m never at a loss, whether in my copywriting life or fiction-writing life. The problem is never a lack of ideas. It’s a lack of time to do something with all the ideas. (And, of course, not all ideas are good ideas. But that’s a subject for another time.) Not everyone is like me, though, and that’s OK. Some truly gifted writers struggle to come up with ideas, which is precisely why I’m writing this blog post on how to brainstorm content ideas without hurting your noggin.
Below, I provide ways to get those creative juices flowing so that you’ll be pumping out ideas in no time.
If you learn better by watching a video, here you go. Otherwise, keep scrolling.
1. How to brainstorm content ideas: Turn to Google.
Yes, I’m starting with the obvious. If you have a topic, go to Google, plug in a question about the topic, and see what comes up in the various hot spots, as I call ’em. (Or if you want to get all formal about it, the featured snippets.)
If you’ve ever plugged a question into Google, you no doubt encountered the “people also ask” box. That’s a rich source of content ideas (and keyword-rich ones, too, which are great for blog posts).
2. Use your keyword research tool.
Plugging in a main keyword phrase (what’s known as a seed keyword) will bring up plenty of other keyword phrases. And depending on the tool, you can continue drilling down from there. One of the things I love about Semrush, which is the keyword tool I use, is that it generates keyword-rich “optimization” ideas for me. It even regularly sends me emails with new ideas.
3. Visit Quora or Reddit
Both Quora and Reddit are underused by copywriters, and yet both have a treasure trove of info. Type in a topic, and bam! I guarantee you’ll find threads on the topic and a bunch of angles you never considered.
4. Get a little help from your friend ChatGPT or Bard.
AI is GREAT at brainstorming. I told ChatGPT that I was working on this blog post. Check out my prompt and ChatGPT’s response. (I did this AFTER I’d come up with my ideas for this blog post already. Interestingly enough, we didn’t overlap much beyond the tip about engaging with your audience.)
5. Pick your client’s brain.
Seriously, they are the keepers of great content ideas. They just don’t always realize it because they’re too close to what they do. Always remind them that if they hear the same questions from prospects and customers, the questions would make a great springboard for a piece of content. This is especially important if your client has a sales team. Make sure you have access to the head salesperson so you can pick their brain, too.
6. Survey your client’s audience.
You want to write content that resonates with your client’s specific audience. So why not ask the audience what content they need? OK, so you might not be THAT direct. It’s not like you’re going to run a survey asking what four blog posts they want to read next. But conducting occasional surveys to see what’s on customers’ minds can be a treasure trove for content ideas (among other things).
7. Read reviews. (And not just for your client.)
Reading reviews will reveal what’s on people’s minds, why they chose to buy from your client, what the experience was like, what they love about the product or service . . . or not. This is great intel for the entire marketing team, but you’re likely to find content gems buried in the good, the bad, and the ugly. And ditto on competitors’ reviews.
8. Check out social media.
For platforms driven by hashtags, do searches on relevant hashtags and see what people are talking about, posting, and sharing. For example, let’s say I was writing a blog post about Women’s Health Month, which is May. I might do a search on that topic and relevant hashtags. From there, I could create a quick curated blog post on “Our Six Favorite TikToks Celebrating Women’s Health Month.” That could be a fun blog post for the urology practice I blog for.
9. How to brainstorm content ideas: Develop content around holidays and monthly designations.
That brings up another idea I use. Holidays and monthly designations. Going back to my urology client, we do lots of themed content, like Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the other March Madness . . . no I don’t mean basketball. I mean vasectomy season. (If you know, you know.)
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-05-29 07:00:162023-05-26 15:17:51How to Brainstorm Content Ideas without Hurting Your Noggin
A company’s “contact us” page should never be an afterthought or a place to simply dump phone numbers and a snail mail address. In this blog post, I’m going to discuss how to write a contact us page for your clients that will wow them—and actually work.
And by “work,” I mean the page copy will inspire people to fill out the form, email, or call.
How to write a contact us page: Don’t do it last.
When I tackle website writing projects for clients, I often start with the contact us page. Why? Well, the page copy itself tends to be shorter—and it’s also hyper-focused.
When you get ready to write this page, start by asking yourself some questions: Why would someone click on “contact us” and subsequently NOT take that action? What’s causing them to hesitate? And what can your words do to help them overcome that hesitation?
It’s a fun challenge. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes.
Are they worried about the cost? You could allay those fears by saying there’s no obligation or that the initial consult is free, for example.
Are they worried they haven’t done enough due diligence? Contact pages are a great place to include one of the client’s most powerful testimonials. On other pages, like home pages, I usually encourage the client to have scrolling testimonials. The contact page is a different beast: Put your best one on there—the one that could help persuade that hesitant person to make the call.
Are they looking for an email address, but you only give them a phone number or a form? Give people multiple ways to give in touch. Put them in charge. (I discuss this more below.)
Make sure you optimize your “contact us” page for a keyword phrase.
Like all pages on your website, you want to optimize it for a keyword phrase. Write a compelling headline around the phrase. Resist the temptation to simply have “Contact us.” That’s a wasted opportunity.
After the compelling headline, remind people, with a bit of inspiring copy, WHY someone should contact you.
This serves another purpose. You never know how people will enter your site. It’s possible they could enter your site via the contact page (especially if it’s optimized well). So by having a clear, compelling headline and good copy on “what’s in it for the prospect,” you’re helping to orient the new site visitor.
Make recommendations for the form fields . . . and give people a choice on how they want to make contact.
As the copywriter, you won’t be building the page or setting up the form. But you can share recommendations on what to include on the form. Different businesses will have different needs. And while longer forms do create friction, you’ll likely want to go longer than simply name, email, and phone number. Other landing pages on the site could have super-short forms. But contact us pages are places where you can ask for more details.
My next suggestion will require your client’s cooperation, but I always believe the prospect should be able to choose how they contact a business. If they prefer phone, great. But if they prefer sending an email or filling out a form, that should be allowed as well.
Here’s the challenge: many small businesses aren’t good about monitoring emails or contact forms. So offering choices will ONLY work if the client actually pays attention and monitors all the different modes of contact.
Make it easy for people to connect in other ways . . . and give them a reason to stick around.
For most business websites, the social media icons live in the footer or in the courtesy link area at the top of a website. But the “contact us” page is a great place to highlight them and encourage people to follow.
After someone submits a form, what happens? Ideally, they should receive confirmation that the form went through. From there, it’s a smart practice to include a link or two to helpful content—like an FAQs page—to encourage people to stick around the site.
Do I follow my own advice? YES.
I wouldn’t make recommendations that I don’t follow myself. In the video below, I walk through my contact us page. You can see how it stacks up against these suggestions. Or you can simply navigate to the contact page itself.
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-05-28 07:00:132023-05-26 14:55:08How to Write a Contact Us Page [Copywriter Tips]
One of the most common questions new copywriters have is how to put together a website, including the all-important copywriting portfolio. My advice? Look at other copywriter websites for inspiration, which is exactly what we’re going to do in this blog post.
Below, I’m including screenshots from five different copywriter websites. I’m not affiliated with them, and I don’t know them, either. I think these sites are well done, for various reasons, which I’ll get into. See what you think! I’m also embedding a video at the end from my YouTube channel where I walk through the sites in real time.
I love the feel of the site, which reflects the fun name “Salted Pages.” The headline clearly explains what these women do: “Infusing Storytelling with SEO to Stir Up Organic Leads &Sales.” The whole site feels like a breath of fresh sea air. The copy reflects the sea theme, too. (Packages include Low Tide, Sea Level, and High Tide, for example.) They list prices for copywriting packages, which is interesting. I’d be curious to know how well that works for them.
There are pros and cons to including pricing. The pro: It helps someone self-identify whether they have the budget. The con: You could potentially lose someone who has the budget, but doesn’t understand the value of copywriting—yet. Sometimes you need to have a few discussions with prospects to get them to understand. Then, they might be more willing to accept a quote that they might have otherwise found “pricy.”
Kat is well-known in the copywriting space. She does a lot to help new copywriters thrive. Her website captures her professional work and the work she does on behalf of new writers. The navigation clearly indicates where people need to go if they want to work with her—or learn from her. The writing itself is excellent . . . conversational, friendly, and warm. You truly get a sense of what it would be like to work with her and the writing she’d produce for you.
I love the flow of this site—it’s smooth and aesthetically pleasing. It’s not overly complicated. Her contact form is good (so if you’ve been wondering how to address this on your own site, Amanda’s is a good one to study).
I *think* Amanda is a newer copywriter, which is one of the other reasons I’m including her site as an example because it shows how you can have a great site even when you’re just starting out. (I’m gleaning this from her Insta page for her copywriting biz, which looks like she started in January of 2022; also she uses a bunch of spec ad examples in her portfolio, which is absolutely OK. When you’re starting out, you can use copy that you write “on spec” for a brand or fictional company to demonstrate your copywriting chops.)
Kevin is a direct response copywriter, and what I LOVE about his site’s home page is that it’s written in the format that copywriters use for direct response—so he demonstrates his ability for this copywriting service right on his own home page.
Direct response copywriting in a nutshell—it’s a type of longer-form copywriting that takes advantage of people’s willingness to scroll if the info is good, with the goal of getting them to ACT NOW. This type of writing is usually very persuasive, starting with the problem the prospect is having and then walking through a solution, social proof, the “deal” that people will get if they choose this solution, compelling calls-to-action peppered throughout, etc. And it’s not just for digital. You’ll find direct-response copywriting techniques used in sales letters. (Have you ever gotten a long sales letter in the mail? I’m talking multi-pages? That’s direct response copywriting at work. Oftentimes, copywriters will earn royalties.)
Anyhow, Kevin’s home page does a brilliant job of showing people he knows exactly how to write engaging long-form copy.
Charlotte is a specific type of copywriter—she writes for the skincare market—and her site makes this immediately clear while reinforcing her own brand. It’s a lovely site, and I imagine it would be extremely appealing and persuasive to a beauty brand looking for a beauty copywriter.
Here’s the video where I walk through the sites.
Definitely watch since I poke around the writers’ copywriting portfolios, too!
Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?
That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.
https://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.png00Robyn Bradleyhttps://etrobbins.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/robin-bradley-logo-300x105.pngRobyn Bradley2023-05-27 07:00:322023-05-25 08:21:57Copywriter Websites: 5 Great Examples to Learn From
