Better To Go Deep Than Wide, Part I

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the right stuff to turn our dreams into reality.”
–James Womack, author

In This Issue:

Better To Go Deep Than Wide, Part I
by Monica Day

Yesterday I got a high-priority email from a CP reader requesting advice. I was put off for a minute by her urgency as I was drowning in a couple of my own deadlines. But as soon as I read her predicament, I knew I needed to take a few minutes to slow her down and shed a little light on her situation.

You see, this novice copywriter was about to cross a significant threshold into the next level of her career. She was asked by one of her clients to commit to a deeper relationship – one that could include a monthly retainer, a promise of steady work, possibly even a commitment of exclusivity.

This kind of request can make a freelance copywriter as nervous as a guy who finds a copy of Bride magazine sitting on his girlfriend’s coffee table. Endless hours of shopping for china patterns flash before his eyes. He breaks out in a full-body sweat. The urge to run for the nearest exit is almost impossible to resist…

If you’re just starting out as a freelance copywriter, this analogy might baffle you. Isn’t a steady client the Golden Fleece? Well…yes and no.

You see, by the time a client approaches you for an ongoing commitment, you’ve likely spent many hours marketing your services and building your client list. You’ve probably got steady work, and you know what to do to keep yourself busy. And let’s face it, a contract sounds an awful lot like employment – the very thing you just shook off.

I remember the first time it happened to me. I was at a large investment conference – many of my clients were in attendance, and I was the conference reporter. The marketing director for one of my clients pulled me aside and introduced the idea of entering an exclusive contract to write just for them.

My first reaction? Well, not unlike the response I had to the first marriage proposal I received. A little giddy at having been asked…accompanied by this loud screaming voice inside my head shrieking, “It’s way too soon, you’re not ready!” In fact, my exact words to a close friend were, “Marriage is enough monogamy for me…at least in my business, I still want to play the field.”

I was certainly honored at being asked – this was no slouch of a client. But I was worried. What if I failed – and then couldn’t get my other clients back? What if someone called next week offering me twice as much money for a project – and I had to turn them down?

Two years and one contract later, I realize how foolish I was being. And I’m thankful I took my time to consider the offer carefully, consult my more advanced colleagues, and got my head on straight before I responded.

Here’s what I learned when I polled others in our industry about committing to a deeper relationship with one client…and today I realize they were absolutely right:

  1. Your job gets easier: This surprised me, but it’s true. When you dedicate a good portion of your time and energy to one client, you’ll write about a wider range of their products, learn more about their customer, and churn out more of their controls. Writing copy for them will get easier with every promotion. And since any good contract will include a bonus or royalties for performance, your income will increase as well.
  2. Your value increases: When you are in a contractual relationship with a client, they treat you more like family than a guest. This means they share more about their business with you. As a result, you gradually become an expert in their industry. Your insights into their business are then worth more. Whether the contract goes on for years and years – or ends after just one term – you’ll have developed a specialty you can take with you later, and your value in this subject area will go way up.
  3. You are still free: Even when you sign a contract, you are still technically freelance. As long as you deliver on the terms of the agreement, you still get to work when and how you want and keep your own hours. It’s really the best of both worlds. All the freedom, with enough commitment to feel secure that you’ll have enough work. Think of it as an open marriage, if you will.

Next week, I’ll let you know how I handled that first offer, along with the finer points of negotiating your own contract when the time comes.

Resource Referral: The Price of Becoming A Genius

In any field – doctors, lawyers, electricians, mechanics – there’s a need for continuing education. You have to stay sharp and current with your industry if you’re going to be successful.

That’s why I always recommend that copywriters subscribe to AWAI’s Monthly Copywriting Genius service. Think of it as your monthly dose of continuing education that you simply can’t do without if you’re serious about succeeding in this business.

Every month MCG takes a blockbuster direct-mail package and breaks it down, analyzes it, and tells you why it worked, and how you can incorporate its success into the next letter you write. Also included is an in-depth interview with the promo’s writer that reveals the very secrets that made their letter a blockbuster. These tips, techniques and secrets will help you strengthen your copy and make it more effective – driving up your response rate – making more money for both yourself and your client.

But the value of MCG isn’t only in the monthly installments – although these are a significant help. When you join MCG you also gain access to the last three years of archives. Let me tell you, I refer to these back issues all the time when I get stuck working on a promotion. It’s about as close as you can get to being able to pick up the phone and call one of the top copywriters in the business and ask their advice. Except you can do it in the middle of the night without apologizing to them!

Now – I’ll just say upfront – I thought $497 a year sounded like a lot at first, until I broke it down and realized that comes to just a little over $40 an issue. I have friends who spend a couple thousand dollars a year getting their continuing ed. credits in their field. They’d love to get off this easy! Not to mention how much more you can earn when you get these insights and secrets under your belt. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I’d pay $100 an issue (and I hope my friends at AWAI skip reading that line, for all our sakes!) But really, it’s just that powerful an edge. Check it out today.

Quick Copy Tip: Becoming Your Target Prospect

If you follow my advice and initiate a deeper relationship with your primary clients, you’ll want to also go a little deeper into understanding your target prospect as well. Subscribe to the same magazines they read, collect the same books, follow along with the same blogs and websites. You want to start to think the way they think – and have the same information they have from the same sources. The more you can match their tone and emotional approach to the subjects that are near and dear to them – the more they will trust you. And trust equals sales.