Perhaps you’re a small or large business getting ready to launch a marketing campaign. Or maybe, you’re a mom- or solo-preneur working hard to get your name out there, but have an overflow of work you can’t handle without extra assistance.
Are you one of those folks who has made the mistake of hiring your cousin’s sister’s brother because “they’ll do it for free?” Perhaps you thought “it’s easy to write copy so why pay a professional for something anyone could do?” In the end, you may have quickly discovered that you didn’t get the desired results you’d hoped for. Wonder why?
Well, think about this . . .
If you have a toothache, you go to a dentist. If you’re sick, you go to a doctor. If you need a brochure or Web site designed, you go to a graphic designer or Web programmer. And, whatever your line of work is, you hope people will recognize you as the specialist in your field and hire you when they need someone with your expertise.
It makes sense that, if you are not a marketing copywriter yourself, you’d contact a professional to do the best job for you. When you don’t have the creative talent and marketing background, call upon an independent copywriter to assist you.
How Do You Know You’ll Get Great Results?
Working on any promotional literature, be it a Web site, brochure or a direct mail package, is a team effort – a partnership created to develop the best tools for promoting your product/service. Each person in the partnership has certain responsibilities.
The purpose of this blog is to help you be aware of your role – obtaining and organizing the valuable information a copywriter needs from you.
Being organized and prepared before you meet with the writer for an input meeting will save you time and money in the long run. And, it increases your chances of getting the results you’re looking for – record-breaking ones.
There are 5 steps to follow to help you gather the appropriate information you need to pass along to your writer. Here are Steps 1 and 2 (Steps 3-5 will be covered in Part 2).
1. Define your goals — convey them clearly.
What is it that you want to achieve with the project you’re going to assign? Do you want to:
- Sell more products/programs/services?
- Gain name recognition?
- Increase your exposure?
- Create a brand image?
- Generate new leads?
Remember, if your objectives are too complex then you risk confusing your copywriter. Simply state your goals. It sets your copywriter off in the right direction — to create an effective, results-oriented promotion for you.
As a professional copywriter, I take the time to listen to you. Tell me what it is you need to say. I’ll tell you how to say it. I make sure that I clearly understand your goals, translating them into fresh ideas that sell your product/service.
2. What does the project entail?
Marketing isn’t just one element or another – it’s several components that come together like pieces of a puzzle. So, let your writer known which components she’s going to write. For instance, are you asking her to write content for a:
- Blog
- Brochure or Self-mailer
- Direct mail package
- E-mail autoresponder(s)
- Newsletter
- Postcards
- Press release
- Sales page
- Social media update(s)
- Video sales letter
- Web site
Now that you’ve read Steps 1 and 2, what do you think? Have you been heading in the right direction when working with your copywriter? Share your most recent experience in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you. Thanks.
Ready for Part 2? Here’s where we explore Steps 3-5.
