Reach Out And Touch Your Clients

“The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink.”
–Fran Lebowitz, American author

In This Issue:

Monica’s Note: Last week I told you how to be a road warrior and still get your work done. Today, Copy Protégé’s own research guru, Clayton Imeri, shares his tips for staying in touch on the phone – on the cheap. Clayton and his writing partner live the quintessential copywriter’s life. Based in Prague for the last several years, they usually escape for a few months during the harsh winter…and in last decade they’ve lived everywhere: America, Canada, U.K., Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Slovakia, Korea, Australia, Panama, Germany. This essay grew out of some email correspondence when I asked Clayton to help out a Copy Protégé reader who lives in Israel – but is trying to get his bread buttered on US clients. Here’s what he shared that I think could be useful to anyone living or traveling abroad and still trying to earn a living as a copywriter:

Reach Out And Touch Your Clients
By Clayton Imeri

Once upon a time it would cost a mint-per-minute to call abroad. Now it’s quite cheap and cheerful. There are now a number of good options. I’ll tell about the two we use…

One is a callback service. Simply, you signup and they give you your own private “trigger number.” When you want to make a long distance or international phone call you dial the U.S. based number that they issue to you. Let it ring a few times and hang up. The service calls you back at ANY number in the world that you provide.

Then – and this is the genius of it – the service uses the low-cost telecommunications infrastructure of America to get you a VERY affordable line out to anywhere. It acts sort of like a telecommunications hub.

We’ve used a number of different callback providers over the years, but the best I’ve found so far price/quality wise is United World Telecom (www.uwtel.com). You will, however, need to give them a credit card that they can bill each month. United World is quite cheap and the clarity is excellent. They’ve also been expanding their range of services. For example, you might be able to get a US-based local number, that when rung will forward the call to your home phone in whatever country you may be in. It’s a great way get build a U.S. presence if you live abroad.

Although globalization is now a commonly accepted reality, American clients tend to feel more comfortable if you have a U.S. number. And if you’re more than about five or six time zones out from either coast of America, they’ll feel you’re a lot closer. The only drawback is that you may have to arrange to take calls at odd hours in your day. But when you are a world traveler – without a trust fund! – odd hours are just part of the territory. You adapt.

The other service we use is called PC-to-Phone. It’s a subsidiary of Deltathree and all you need is a headset with a microphone. The clarity is also generally excellent. On occasion it can be a bit scratchy, but lines into America are generally quite clear. Unfortunately, it only works on a PC. They don’t have a dialer program for the Mac. But, all-in-all, it’s a similar setup to Skype – just MUCH better (more on that in a minute…).

I’d use this option for more casual calls with people who you’re more familiar with. I say this just in case you need to ask them to repeat what they said from time to time – which is something you’d rather avoid when you’re trying to woo a new client. You can find PC-to-Phone at www.iconnecthere.com.

As for Skype, I’d avoid it like the plague. It has never worked properly for me or anyone I know. I’ve taken it on as somewhat of a personal mission to get as many people off of it and onto one of the two services I mentioned above! Not that I have anything to gain – but I’ve lived through the frustration of it enough to want to spare others.

The worst part of Skype is being on the receiving end of the call. It sounds like the person calling you is paying by the echo. Whether you have a budding career or an established one, Skype just makes you sound unprofessional. It also gives the impression that you’re cutting corners where you shouldn’t be. When you’re working far from where your clients are located you need rock-solid (and affordable) communications. Since you’re out of office, it’s your only link to them.

My advice is signup for both United World and PC-to-Phone. It’s just a good hedge to have and you can use both accounts anywhere in the world.

One last note…we prefer these services because we travel quite a bit. But VoIP is another great option if you’re at a more permanent location. It requires a more involved setup and sometimes requires a contract or a minimum amount of usage. The best place to start is with the ISP’s is your area. They usually have package deals or bundles that you can get that can include VoIP service and the little VoIP box is usually subsidized. Otherwise, sometimes you have to buy the little box. They’re not expensive but, they’re not cheap. Last I checked they were somewhere in the neighborhood of about $100. I found this site on VoIP. It’s quite compressive and international. www.voip-info.org/wiki/

Happy Writing…and Safe Travels!

Resource Referral: Get Paid To Travel

Right now, you could be enjoying a week at a tiny hotel on a small Caribbean island, relaxing on a fine stretch of white sand, listening to the palms rustle overhead… for FREE. In fact, you could be getting paid to do it.

I’ve been telling you this in my essays here for a while. But I know it still seems like a pipe dream. So I’m going to suggest you plop down $20 to hear the experts tell you more.

On June 12, 2007, they’ll show you how you can get started — and reveal to you real-world strategies to access this lifestyle. If you’ve always dreamed of far-flung travels… on someone else’s dime… then this is your opportunity to make it happen. www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tel3/b7

And stay tuned for more from Clayton very soon! I’ve got to tell you – he just spits out information like this on every imaginable topic. It’s brilliant. And when you follow his tips, you’ll find you can do it, too. Our research report is in its final stages of being prepared to send your way – I’m putting my money on a month from today that puppy will be ready to go. Go Clayton!

Quick Travel Writing Tip: Save Everything

Sometimes you don’t know that you’re going to write an article about a trip until after you come home! Then, you’re kicking yourself for not remembering the kinds of details you would need to pull an article together quickly an easily.

Instead, keep a small journal with you to jot down your impressions, what you ordered for dinner, the name of the host who sat you and gave you free drinks at that little shack on the beach. And save everything – brochures, menus, local newspapers and real estate listings for the area.

Then, voila, in your file drawers, you’ll have everything you need to recreate your trip and turn it into an article that earns back some of the airfare it cost you to get there!