Working as a freelance copywriter, I can’t tell you how many times someone called me or emailed me and said, “I need a copywriter and you were recommended to me.” I’d ask them what they needed written and they’d respond with, “Well, I don’t know but I’m trying to get some marketing done and someone told me I needed a copywriter.”
So I’d spend an hour with the business owner, help them get a strategy in place, and then write their most critical marketing pieces for them. Three days later, I’d have 5 referrals from the person I just helped.
And it made me realize, one of the biggest challenges faces small business owners is…finding a way to produce content. Very few people enjoy, or even have the skills to write good content. A lot of business owners sit in front of the computer writing and deleting, writing and deleting. And rather than send off an email that’s going to pull in more sales, they give up. Or they send out occasional messages and then go months with nothing.
Up until now, there haven’t been many options for the copy dilemma. You could hire a copywriter to write your messages for you. But copywriters can be expensive – charging $100 or more for a single email. Or, you find someone who’s affordable, but they’re in such high demand that you have to wait for them to get around to you. Meanwhile, your marketing efforts are put on hold.
And if all that weren’t bad enough, there is no guarantee the copy you receive will perform the way you hoped. Then, your money is gone and you still don’t have anything in place.
As a freelance copywriter, I spent a lot of years taking on more clients than I could even handle because I felt bad turning down business owners who would beg me to help them…no matter how much time it took. And often, I knew I wasn’t a great fit for the business, but they didn’t know where else to turn.
So what’s the solution? How do you fill your own content needs without spending hours and hours trying to draft something? Or thousands of dollars getting someone else to create it?
To get you started, here are 5 ways you can produce good content right now:
Record yourself. If you can talk about your business, you can write about your business. Next time you have a discussion with a prospect, record it. And make note of when the person seems the most interested in what you are saying. Chunks of conversation can easily be converted into an email.
Pretend you’ve just called someone and reached their voicemail. What message are you going to leave? The same kind of message can be used in an email or a text to your prospects.
Link out to other content. Who says you have to write something amazing every time you contact the people on your list? If you find an interesting article or video, let your contacts know about it. A short paragraph telling them about it is more than enough. Just remember to include that link.
Jot down your personal feelings. People love it when you get “real” with them. Journal your thoughts and send them out to the people on your list. Just make sure those thoughts relate to your business and what you are trying to sell.
Use Ready To Go Copy. We have hundreds of emails, sales letters, free reports, etc. already written, ready to go. All you have to do is find the sequence (in your industry) that fits your marketing plan, download the word documents, and plug it into your marketing strategy.
You need content. The more businesses that spring up, the more you need to set yourself apart. And great content is the way to do it. So be sure to leave room in your schedule (and/or marketing budget) to get that content in place!