▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬
Center for Technical Communication 22 East Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628 (201) 385-1220
[email protected] A Note to the Reader This manual is intended to give guidance on how to start and run a freelance copywriting business. The Copywriter’s Toolkit is copyrighted by the Center for Technical Communication. No portion of this manual may be reprinted or reproduced in any way without the author’s express written permission except by the authorized purchaser of this e-book, who may make copies of forms, checklists, and letters for his or her own use. © Copyright 2007, by the Center for Technical Communication. All rights reserved. This is NOT a free e-book! Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his or her computer and to print out one copy only. Printing out more than one copy—or distributing it electronically—is prohibited by international and U.S.A. copyright laws and treaties, and would subject the purchaser to penalties of up to $100,000 PER COPY distributed.
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 5 1. General fee schedule ........................................................................................ 6 2. Seminar forms ................................................................................................... 9 3. Lead-generating sales letter to software companies ...................................... 14 4. One-page bio sheet .......................................................................................... 16 5. Non-disclosure agreement ................................................................................ 18 6. Dear Marketing Professional lead-generating letter ........................................... 22 7. Direct mail reply card........................................................................................ 24 8. Free e-zine ....................................................................................................... 26 9. Testimonial sheet .............................................................................................. 31 10. Standard copywriting agreement..................................................................... 34 11. “Results disappointing” memo......................................................................... 36 12. Press release to your local paper ..................................................................... 37 13. Online copywriting fee schedule...................................................................... 38 14. Newsletter publisher letter .............................................................................. 41 15. Marketing communications audit..................................................................... 43 16. FAQs .............................................................................................................. 46 17. Kill fee schedule.............................................................................................. 48 18. Client contract ................................................................................................ 49 19. Client list ........................................................................................................ 54 20. Client questionnaire........................................................................................ 57 21. Seminar description ........................................................................................ 60 22. Inquiry fulfillment letter ................................................................................... 62 Center for Technical Communication. © Copyright 2007
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 23. Daily to-do list ................................................................................................ 67 24. Long-term to-do list ........................................................................................ 69 25. “To come” list (potential jobs).......................................................................... 73 26. Idea starters checklist ...................................................................................... 75 27. Copy disclaimer .............................................................................................. 78 28. Copywriting questionnaire .............................................................................. 79 29. Multiple copy platforms ................................................................................... 81 30. Travel itinerary for business trip....................................................................... 83 31. Space ad promoting copywriting services......................................................... 86 32. Copywriting order form ................................................................................... 87 33. Invoice............................................................................................................ 90 34. Fax cover sheet ............................................................................................... 92 35. Cold-calling script ........................................................................................... 93 36. Sales letter to industrial marketers .................................................................. 96 37. Collection letter series..................................................................................... 98 38. Query letter .................................................................................................. 100 39. Letter to obtain testimonials .......................................................................... 102 40. Letter for getting permission to use existing testimonial ...................................... 103 41. Form for keeping track of sales leads ............................................................ 104 42. Letter requesting referrals ............................................................................. 106 43. Promoting yourself through speaking engagements....................................... 107 44. Sample copy critique ..................................................................................... 108 45. Sample copy manuscript ............................................................................... 110 46. Follow-up call scripts..................................................................................... 113 47. Compliance disclaimers ................................................................................ 115 48. Small display ad............................................................................................ 117 49. White paper template ................................................................................... 118 50. Article reprints .............................................................................................. 120 51. Seminar brochure ......................................................................................... 122 52. Flier announcing a speaking engagement ..................................................... 124 53. Tax form for Canadians working for U.S. clients ............................................ 125 54. Creative Brief ................................................................................................ 126
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 55. Overcoming objections Web page................................................................. 128 56. Letterhead .................................................................................................... 130 57. Product order forms ...................................................................................... 131 58. Detailed copy platform.................................................................................. 134 59. E-book disclaimers ........................................................................................ 138 Appendix I: Copywriter’s Roughs .................................................................... 139 A. #10 direct mail package................................................................................. 139 B. Slim-jim brochure ........................................................................................... 140 C. Full-page direct response ad........................................................................... 141 D. Sales brochure ............................................................................................... 142 E. Editorial-style ad ............................................................................................. 143 F. Buck slip.......................................................................................................... 144 G. 4-page insert ................................................................................................. 145 H. Order card with tear-off stub .......................................................................... 146 I. Postcard........................................................................................................... 147 J. Premium sheet ............................................................................................... 148 K. Voucher ......................................................................................................... 149 L. Landing page .................................................................................................. 150 M. HTML e-mail .................................................................................................. 151 N. Illustrated sales letter. .................................................................................... 153 O. Lift letter ........................................................................................................ 154 Appendix II: Sources and Resources .................................................................. 155 About the author............................................................................................. 165
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INTRODUCTION Almost all small businesses use a variety of forms, letters, boilerplate documents, and checklists to manage their marketing, sales, accounts payable, accounts receivable, client relations, business planning, bookkeeping, and other business functions. For many businesses, such as rental property owners, you can buy forms customized for that industry. A landlord kit, for instance, might have rental agreements, model leases, eviction notices, and so on. Now, in The Copywriter’s Toolkit, you get all the forms, checklists, model letters, contracts, and other documents you need to start and run your freelance copywriting business. I did not develop these forms in a hurried afternoon just to make money selling them to you as an e-book. I created them as I needed them during my 25 years as a full-time freelance copywriter—and used them in a freelance copywriting business that has grossed, so far, many millions of dollars in revenues. If I added up all the hours spent planning, writing, testing, and refining the tools in this collection, and then multiplied by my current hourly rate, it would come to well over $25,000. Now they are yours to use for a tiny fraction of that price. One important note: I am not a lawyer, and these forms and other materials are for general guidance only. They are no substitute for legal counsel, and when you are asked to sign an agreement to do work for a client, you should always have it reviewed by an attorney.
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1. General fee schedule When I got into freelance copywriting in the early 1980s, most copywriters did not publish their fees. My mentor Sig Rosenblum was one of the exceptions, as was another senior copywriter, Burt Dubin. In their “packages”—information kits they’d send to potential clients—they said exactly what they charged for a 1-page lead-generating letter … 4-page mail order letter … and so on. I took this concept a bit further and published the fees for all the copywriting projects I handled on an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of my letterhead. My current fee schedule is reprinted below. The front is my copywriting fees for the assignments I handle along with my terms and conditions. The back offers clients some additional copywriting options. Unlike Sig and Burt, I don’t publish a firm price for each assignment but instead give a range. Reason: each project is different. Some are more labor-intensive than others. I find out exactly what is involved and then quote a fee that is fair to me and the client. The purpose of the fee schedule then is not to allow the customer to order copy without speaking to me, but to show him the range he can expect to pay for what he wants. Clients are more comfortable with copywriters who have fee schedules for a couple of reasons. First, they get some idea early in the process of hiring a copywriter what the copywriter charges. Second, it communicates to them that your pricing is not random. You are not charging them a lot because you think they can afford it. You have a standard price range, and if the fee you quote is within that price range, they will be comfortable.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Schedule of Estimated Fees Print ad, full page Sales letter Direct-mail package, lead generation Direct-mail package, mail order Renewal series Blanket renewal Insert Magalog Bookalog Self-mailer Postcard or double postcard Voucher Brochure Data sheet Catalog Newsletter Feature story Short article White paper Case study Booklet Press release, 1-2 pages Audiovisual or multimedia script Telemarketing script Radio commercial (three-spot package) Slogans or product names (package of 10) Copy critique Online copywriting
$2,500-$3,500+ $2,000-$8,500+ $4,500-$6,500 $6,500-$9,500+ $1,000-$1,500/letter $2,000-$3,500 $2,500-$5,000 $9,500-$15,000 $15,000-$20,000 $2,500-$5,500 $1,500-$2,500 $2,000+ $750-$1,000/page $2,000 $750/page $750/page $1,500-$4,000 $500-$1,500 $4,000-$5,000 $1,500-2,500 $3,000-$4,000 $750-$950 $3,000+ $1,500-$2,500 $2,000-$3,000 $2,000 $750-$1,500 Request fee schedule
Terms: Purchase order or letter of authorization required for all jobs. Copywriting fees for initial projects are payable 50% in advance, balance upon delivery. Copy critique fees are payable in full, in advance. All revisions must be assigned within 30 days of receipt of copy. Two rewrites are made free of charge unless the revision is based on a change in the assignment made after copy is submitted. Listed fees are guidelines only. Call today for a prompt price quotation on your specific assignment. See reverse side for special “bundled” offers. NOTE: This fee schedule current as of July 2007 and valid for 90 days from date of receipt. Be sure to call for current fee schedule when ordering copy or consulting service. (over)
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Marketing Program Fee Schedule Marketing Program #1: Lead-Generation Campaign
$7,500
Copywriting of a 1-2 page lead-generation letter, optional teaser copy, reply element, and “bait piece” or information premium such as a booklet or special report. Marketing Program #2: Lead-Generation and PR Campaign
$8,500
Copywriting of a 1-2 page lead-generation letter, optional teaser copy, reply element, and “bait piece” or information premium such as a booklet or special report, plus a press release announcing publication of the report to the media. Marketing Program #3: Feature Article Placement
$7,500
Writing of a feature article and query letter you can use to persuade editors to publish the article. Placement not guaranteed, but article text can be used as a self-published booklet or special report and offered as a premium. Marketing Program #4: Press Release Distribution
$5,500
Copywriting of a 1-2 page press release, distribution to as many as 300 media outlets, and onetime follow-up with the top 10 media outlets via phone. Includes recommendation on strategy and media list, but client procures list directly from the recommended source. Marketing Program #5: On-Call Copywriting and Consultation
$5,000/month
10 hours of my time for copywriting, marketing advice, or whatever else you require based on $500 per hour. Payable in advance on a month by month basis—no long-term contract required. 2-month minimum.
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2. Seminar forms It is likely you will do a bit of public speaking as a copywriter. You may give short lunch or dinner talks at ad clubs and other venues to promote yourself and get clients. Or, corporations may ask you to come in for a day and train their employees in copywriting, marketing, or another topic you know well. Here are two forms that will help you in these endeavors. The first is a pre-program questionnaire. Give this to the person in charge of the meeting and ask her to complete and return it to you. It’s a quick, efficient way to find out what the meeting planner wants you to deliver.
Pre-Program Questionnaire This questionnaire is designed to help me tailor our seminar to the specific needs, interests, and background of the audience. Please answer each question as best you can and return this form to our office. Thanks! 1. Program you would like us to present for you: [ ] Effective technical writing [ ] Effective business writing [ ] How to write copy that sells [ ] How to use direct mail to generate more leads and sales [ ] Selling your services [ ] Successful selling
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ [ ] Keeping clients and customers satisfied [ ] 14 ways to sell any product or service in a recession [ ] Other: 2. Tell us a little more about the group. Number of people who will be in the audience: Average age: Male/female ratio: Annual personal income [if relevant]: Educational level: Average number of years with company or organization: Job titles/functions of people in the audience: (1) (2) (3) 3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the majority of your audience toward our upcoming training session? [ ] Very eager and enthusiastic—really looking forward to it [ ] Somewhat eager and enthusiastic—if perhaps a tad skeptical about our ability to deliver something they can use [ ] Neutral—neither enthusiastic nor skeptical—their attitude is “show-me” [ ] Not terribly interested but not unhappy about going [ ] Hostile, bored, or both—don’t want to go and are being forced to by supervisor or manager [ ] Smug—think they already “know it all” [ ] Other: 4. How well educated is the audience in the topic of the seminar? [ ] They’re all experts—the presentation should be advanced and on a high level [ ] They’re fairly knowledgeable but recognize there’s always more to learn and room for improvement [ ] They have some knowledge of the topic but haven’t been exposed to it that much [ ] They’re novices and require a strong education in the fundamentals [ ] Other: 5. What are the three most pressing challenges or problems faced by the members of your group? (1) (2) (3) 6. Which professional speakers have you previously used to present programs on my topic? (1) (2) (3) 7. Aside from #6 above, what are the three most significant events or trends to have Center for Technical Communication. © Copyright 2007
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ occurred in your industry, or within your company or group, during the past year or so? (1) (2) (3) 8. What are your specific objectives for our program? (e.g.. what skills do you want your people to gain, what changes in attitude do you desire, what actions do you want them to take as a result of the training, etc.?) (1) (2) (3) 9. What specific information, strategies, techniques, or topics in particular do you want to make sure I cover in the program? (1) (2) (3) 10. Are there any issues or topics that you want me to avoid during the program? (1) (2) (3) 11. Have you any other suggestions or advice to help me make this program your best ever? (1) (2) (3) Instructions: Please complete this form and mail it back to us at the address below: Return to: Bob Bly Seminar Leader/Consultant/Copywriter 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628 phone (201) 385-1220 • fax (201) 385-1138 © Copyright 1992 Bob Bly
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ The second form below is more specialized. This is a Writing Audit I use in my writing seminars presented in-house for corporate clients. For instance, a corporation may have a dozen people on staff who write marketing materials. They will fly me or another trainer in for a day to give them training in copywriting. I ask the meeting planner to distribute the Writing Audit in advance to the attendees, and require them to return the complete Audit to me with a writing sample attached.
Please Complete and Return This Form 1. Name Company
Title Phone
2. Which of the following best describes the type of writing you do? business writing technical writing copywriting other: 3. Which of the following do you write as part of your job? ads
articles
brochures
catalogs
direct mail
letters
manuals
memos
proposals
reports
speeches
others: 4. Please attach one or two short samples of your writing—1 to 2 pages each at most. 5. Which of the following writing problems do you have? Deadline too tight Copy is ruined in the approval process Subject matter too technical for me to understand Conducting effective interviews Finding and using suitable graphics to go with my copy Overuse of technical terms, buzzwords, and jargon Overuse of cliches Making spelling mistakes Proper use of punctuation marks Using correct grammar Making complex subject matter clear and understandable Making dull subject matter interesting to the reader Expressing numbers and mathematical terms in writing Overuse of abbreviations Center for Technical Communication. © Copyright 2007
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Creating attention-getting headlines and subheads Writing abstracts of longer pieces Use of tenses Keeping ideas in writing parallel Overuse of antiquated phrases and stuffy language Paragraphs and sentences too long Words too big Being concise and writing to fit the available space others: 6. What questions about writing do you have that you would like us to answer in the seminar for you? (1) (2) (3) 7. What do you want to learn in this seminar? (1) (2) (3) 8. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 = superior, 5 = average, 1 = poor), how would you rate your writing skills: 9. What would it take to increase your rating of your writing skills to an 8, 9, or 10?
10. Any other requests, suggestions, or comments?
Mail to: Fax to: Call:
Bob Bly CTC 22 E. Quackenbush Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 (201) 385-1138 (201) 385-1220 © 1993 The Center for Technical Communication
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3. Lead-generating letter to software companies Here is a successful sales letter I used to generate inquiries for my freelance copywriting services from potential clients in the software industry. As I recall, it generated around a 5% response, with excellent leads that turned into many thousands of dollars worth of assignments. Dear Software Marketer: “It’s tough to find a copywriter who can produce result-getting copy for software, computers, and related high-tech products and services,” a prospect told me over the phone the other day. Do you have that same problem? If so, please complete and mail the enclosed reply card, and I’ll send you a free information kit describing a service that can help. As a freelance copywriter specializing in direct marketing, I’ve planned and written successful lead-generating and mail order copy for over a hundred software and high-tech companies including Computron, Hyperion Software, IBM, On-Line Software, Mortice Kern Systems, Yourdon, Syncsort, Micro Logic, Citrix Systems, Wolfram Research, Symantec, Digital Linguistix, HB Pascal & Co., Letraset, MacSciTech, Intrasoft, and Isogon. Does my copy work? * Convergent Solutions was getting a 1 to 2% response to mailings for its CS/ADS application development tool. A simple wording change to the beginning of their sales letter increased response to 5%—more than double the control. * Another mailing campaign, promoting disaster recovery services, pulled a whopping 56% response … and generated an immediate $5.7 million in sales for U.S. West. (The mailing won a Gold Echo award from the Direct Marketing Association.) * On a space ad for Chubb Institute, a computer training company, we doubled the number of inquiries produced over all previous ads … simply by changing the presentation of the offer.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ * For Isogon, a three-part mailing inviting MVS professionals to a seminar on software asset management generated a 21% response. To see some of these successful ads and mailings … and others more related to your product … just complete and mail the enclosed reply card today. You’ll receive a complete information kit including copywriting samples, client list, testimonials, fee schedule, and more. For fastest delivery, call 201-385-1220. Sincerely, Bob Bly P.S. Respond now and I’ll also send you a free tip sheet, “20 Secrets of Selling Software in Print.” This reprint is packed with proven techniques for increasing the selling power of your software ads, direct mail, and brochures.
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4. One-page bio sheet You will frequently be asked to provide your bio, so it pays to make up a one-page bio sheet you can e-mail to people who request it. I include this bio sheet both in the copywriting information kits I send to potential clients as well as post it on my Web site.
Business-to-Business/High-Tech/Direct Response BOB BLY is an independent copywriter and consultant with more than 20 years of experience in business-to-business, high-tech, industrial, and direct marketing. Bob has written copy for over 100 clients including Network Solutions, ITT Fluid Technology, Medical Economics, Intuit, Business & Legal Reports, and Brooklyn Union Gas. Awards include a Gold Echo from the Direct Marketing Association, an IMMY from the Information Industry Association, two Southstar Awards, an American Corporate Identity Award of Excellence, and the Standard of Excellence award from the Web Marketing Association. Bob is the author of more than 50 books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Direct Marketing (Alpha Books) and The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt & Co.). His articles have appeared in numerous publications such as DM News, Writer’s Digest, Amtrak Express, Cosmopolitan, Inside Direct Mail, and Bits & Pieces for Salespeople. Bob has presented marketing, sales, and writing seminars for such groups as the U.S. Army, Independent Laboratory Distributors Association, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Marketing Association. He also taught business-to-business copywriting and technical writing at New York University. Bob writes sales letters, direct-mail packages, ads, e-mail marketing campaigns, brochures, articles, press releases, white papers, Web sites, newsletters, scripts, and other marketing materials clients need to sell their products and services to businesses. He also consults with clients on marketing strategy, mail order selling, and lead generation programs. Prior to becoming an independent copywriter and consultant, Bob was advertising manager for Koch Engineering, a manufacturer of process equipment. He has also worked as a marketing communications writer for Westinghouse Defense. Bob Bly holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and has been trained as a Certified Novell Administrator (CNA). He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Business Marketing Association.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Bob has appeared as a guest on dozens of TV and radio shows including The Advertising Show, Bernard Meltzer, Bill Bresnan, CNBC, and CBS Hard Copy. He has been featured in major media ranging from the LA Times and Nation’s Business to the New York Post and the National Enquirer. Bob Bly 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628 201-385-1220 fax 201-385-1138
[email protected] www.bly.com
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5. Non-disclosure agreement Many prospects and clients are concerned about the confidentiality of their project and are afraid you will—accidentally or on purpose—share proprietary information with others. To prevent this, they will ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Normally, they provide the agreement for your signature. But occasionally, a prospect will ask the copywriter, “Do you have a standard non-disclosure agreement?”—and it helps you win the business if you can provide one such as the below.
Client Confidentiality Details of our work together are kept in strictest confidence. A model confidentiality agreement is presented below for your use. NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT is made on BETWEEN 1. [Your company name here], (the "Disclosing Party"); and 2. [ Bob Bly ], (the "Receiving Party"), collectively referred to as the "Parties". RECITALS A. The Receiving Party understands that the Disclosing Party has disclosed or may disclose information relating to [Name of Project Here], which to the extent previously, presently, or subsequently disclosed to the Receiving Party is hereinafter referred to as "Proprietary Information" of the Disclosing Party.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ OPERATIVE PROVISIONS 1. In consideration of the disclosure of Proprietary Information by the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party hereby agrees: (i) to hold the Proprietary Information in strict confidence and to take all reasonable precautions to protect such Proprietary Information (including, without limitation, all precautions the Receiving Party employs with respect to its own confidential materials), (ii) not to disclose any such Proprietary Information or any information derived therefrom to any third person, (iii) not to make any use whatsoever at any time of such Proprietary Information except to evaluate internally its relationship with the Disclosing Party, and (iv) not to copy or reverse engineer any such Proprietary Information. The Receiving Party shall procure that its employees, agents and sub-contractors to whom Proprietary Information is disclosed or who have access to Proprietary Information sign a nondisclosure or similar agreement in content substantially similar to this Agreement 2. Without granting any right or license, the Disclosing Party agrees that the foregoing shall not apply with respect to any information after five years following the disclosure thereof or any information that the Receiving Party can document (i) is or becomes (through no improper action or inaction by the Receiving Party or any affiliate, agent, consultant or employee) generally available to the public, or (ii) was in its possession or known by it prior to receipt from the Disclosing Party as evidenced in writing, except to the extent that such information was unlawfully appropriated, or (iii) was rightfully disclosed to it by a third party, or (iv) was independently developed without use of any Proprietary Information of the Disclosing Party. The Receiving Party may make disclosures required by law or court order provided the Receiving Party uses diligent reasonable efforts to limit disclosure and has allowed the Disclosing Party to seek a protective order. 3. Immediately upon the written request by the Disclosing Party at any time, the Receiving Party will return to the Disclosing Party all Proprietary Information and all documents or media containing any such Proprietary Information and any and all copies or extracts thereof, save that where such Proprietary Information is a form incapable of return or has been copied or transcribed into another document, it shall be destroyed or erased, as appropriate. 4. The Receiving Party understands that nothing herein (i) requires the disclosure of any Proprietary Information or (ii) requires the Disclosing Party to proceed with any transaction or relationship. 5. The Receiving Party further acknowledges and agrees that no representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by the Disclosing Party, or by any of its respective directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers, as to, or in relation to, the accuracy of completeness of any Proprietary Information made available to the Receiving Party or its advisers; it is responsible for making its own evaluation of such Proprietary Information.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 6. The failure of either party to enforce its rights under this Agreement at any time for any period shall not be construed as a waiver of such rights. If any part, term or provision of this Agreement is held to be illegal or unenforceable neither the validity, nor enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement shall be affected. Neither Party shall assign or transfer all or any part of its rights under this Agreement without the consent of the other Party. This Agreement may not be amended for any other reason without the prior written agreement of both Parties. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the Parties relating to the subject matter hereof unless any representation or warranty made about this Agreement was made fraudulently and, save as may be expressly referred to or referenced herein, supersedes all prior representations, writings, negotiations or understandings with respect hereto. 7. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Disclosing Party is located (or if the Disclosing Party is based in more than one country, the country in which its headquarters are located) (the "Territory") and the parties agree to submit disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement to the non-exclusive of the courts in the Territory. [Disclosing Party]
[Receiving Party]
Business Name: [your company name here]]
Business/Individual Name: Center for Technical Communication
Name:
Name: Bob Bly
Title:
Title: ___________________________
Address:
Address: ________________________
Date: January 9, 2007
Date: ___________________________
I’m not a fan of long agreements written in legalese, so I use a much simpler—and shorter—nondisclosure memo in my own copywriting business: TO: Sue Simon, ABC Systems FROM: Bob Bly, phone (201) 385-1220 DATE: 12-11-06 RE: Nondisclosure agreement 1. “Confidential Information” means any Information given to me by ABC Systems. 2. I agree not to use, disseminate, or share any Confidential Information with my employees, vendors, clients, or anyone else. 3. I will use reasonable care to protect your Confidential Information, treating it as securely as if it were my own.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 4. I won’t publish, copy, or disclose any of your Confidential Information to any third party and will use my best efforts to prevent inadvertent disclosure of such Information to any third party. 5. The copy I do for you shall be considered “work for hire.” ABC Systems will own all rights to everything I produce for you, including the copyright. I will execute any additional documents needed to verify your ownership of these rights. Sincerely, Bob Bly
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6. “Dear Marketing Professional” lead-generating letter This was my main sales letter for promoting my copywriting business in the days when I was strictly business-to-business. It generated a 10% response with excellent inquiries from prospects who gave me enough work to make my business successful.
Dear Marketing Professional: “It’s hard to find a copywriter who can handle business-to-business, industrial, and hightech accounts,” a prospect told me over the phone today, “especially for brochures, direct mail, Web sites, and other long-copy assignments.” Do you have that same problem? If so, please complete and mail the enclosed reply card and I’ll send you a free information kit describing a service that can help. As a freelance copywriter specializing in business-to-business marketing, I’ve written hundreds of successful ads, sales letters, direct mail packages, Web pages, e-mail marketing campaigns, brochures, data sheets, annual reports, feature articles, press releases, newsletters, and audiovisual scripts for clients all over the country. But my information kit will give you the full story. You’ll receive a comprehensive “WELCOME” letter that tells all about my copywriting service—who I work for, what I can do for you, how we can work together. You’ll also get my client list (I’ve written copy for more than 100 corporations and agencies) … client testimonials … biographical background … samples of work I’ve done in your field … a fee schedule listing what I charge for ads, brochures, and other assignments … helpful article reprints on copywriting and marketing … even an order form you can use to put me to work for you. Whether you have an immediate project, a future need, or are just curious, I urge you to send for this information kit. It’s free … there’s no obligation … and you’ll like having a proven copywriting resource on file—someone you can call on whenever you need him. From experience, I’ve learned that the best time to evaluate a copywriter and take a look at his work is before you need him, not when a project deadline comes crashing around the
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ corner. You want to feel comfortable about a writer and his capabilities in advance … so when a project does come up, you know who to call. Why not mail back the reply card TODAY, while it is still handy? I’ll rush your free information kit as soon as I hear from you. Regards,
Bob Bly P.S. Need an immediate quote on a copywriting project? Call me at (201) 385-1220. There is no charge for a cost estimate. And no obligation to buy.
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7. Direct-mail reply card I enclose a reply card with any letter I send out to generate leads, either for myself or my clients. The reply card shown below is the one I use for my own letters. Some people ask why bother to enclose a reply card when you can have the prospect call your 800 number or go to your Web site. The answer is that a reply card is a visual indicator to the recipient that “this is a letter that you are supposed to respond to”—and enclosing a reply card almost always boosts response rates. PLACE STAMP HERE
Bob Bly Copywriter/Consultant 22 East Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, N.J. 07628
(Front)
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Bob: Please send more information on your copywriting services. Give me a call. I have an immediate project in mind. Not interested right now. Try us again in
. (month/year)
Name: Company: City:
Title:
Phone: Address: State:
Zip:
My industry is: (Ad agencies—please list types of accounts you handle) Type of copy I need:
Ads
Direct Mail
Press Release
Feature articles
Brochures Newsletters
Other: (describe) (Back)
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8. Free e-zine For 5 or 6 years, I have sent a monthly e-newsletter to my clients, prospects, seminar attendees, book buyers, and anyone else who requests it. Today I have over 50,000 subscribers. I started the e-zine simply as an inexpensive means to promote my copywriting service by keeping my name in front of clients and prospects, on a monthly basis, for virtually no cost. Today I am an active Internet marketer, selling dozens of my own information products online and making thousands of dollars a week doing so. I would not be able to do this if I did not have a large opt-in e-list of subscribers interested in my advice and writings. From: Bob Bly Subject: Is “benefit selling” obsolete? Bob Bly’s Direct Response Letter: Resources, ideas, and tips for improving response to business-tobusiness, high-tech, and direct marketing. June 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.bly.com or because you are one of Bob’s clients, prospects, seminar attendees, or book buyers. If you would prefer not to receive further e-mails of this type, go to www.bly.com, enter your e-mail address, and hit Unsubscribe. Your subscription brings you one regular monthly issue, usually at the beginning of the month, plus one or two supplementary messages each week, usually recommendations for information products on marketing and related topics. I review each product personally before endorsing them and in many cases know the authors. We do not rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any peers, friends and associates you think would benefit from its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Get famous on other people’s blogs*** A marketing consultant told members of a rock band to shout to their audience at concerts: “Take a picture of us with your digital camera; when you get home, blog about us, and put our picture on your blog!” As a result, the band gained fame—and boosted CD sales—through blogging. And they didn’t even have their own blog! Source: Simplify Your Life, 10/06, p. 10. ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Do you talk too much?*** “If, in any conversation you’re speaking more than 60% of the time, you’re talking too much,” says career coach Marty Nemko. Rule of thumb: you have twice as many ears as you have mouths, so you should listen twice as much as you talk. Ideally, in any conversation, you should talk no more than 30% to 40% of the time. This is especially true in business and sales situations, where listening is vital. Source: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 4/07, p. 90. ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Do benefits sell?*** Is “benefit selling” obsolete, or does it still work in today’s market? Indeed it does, says Doug Hall, CEO of Eureka Ranch, who gained brief notoriety as the “mean” judge on a reality TV show for aspiring inventors. According to Hall, of 901 new products and services studied over a 5year period, the survival rate for those whose marketing communicated specific benefits was 38% vs. only a 13% survival rate for goods whose benefits were less clear. Conclusion: stressing clear benefits increases your product’s chance of success more than threefold. Source: BusinessWeek SmallBiz, 5/07, p. 36. ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Get listed in Who’s Who*** For over a century, inclusion in “Who’s Who” directories has been recognized as a singular mark of success and distinction. But what not one person in a thousand realizes is that there are dozens of different version’s of “Who’s Who” out there.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Some of these directories are highly selective … and accept new candidates strictly by “invitation only.” Others are far less restrictive—and openly invite you to nominate yourself for inclusion. But most people … including your prospects … don’t know one “Who’s Who” from another. To the public, all “Who’s Who” directories are equally prestigious. And being listed in any of them immediately distinguishes you as someone at the top of your field, industry, or profession. So what are you waiting for? It’s high time YOU were in “Who’s Who,” right next to some of the richest—and most successful—men and women in the country. To get started … and discover how you can gain the prestige and honor of being listed in a “Who’s Who” directory this year … just click here: http://www.getlistedinwhoswho.com/ Caution: many Who’s Who directories will call to notify you of your selection—and then ask you for a credit card to lock in your inclusion. Is it worth it? Early in your career, maybe: it’s still an impressive credential to many. Once you’re established, don’t pay it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Referral marketing online*** Marketing expert Shel Horowitz built his successful consulting business largely through word-of-mouth advertising on Internet discussion groups. Here’s how it works: when Shel gets a client from one of his Internet discussion groups, he asks the satisfied client—in private, after completion of a successful project—whether they’d be willing to post a comment about how happy they were on the list. “It didn’t take long for these testimonials to bring in a steady stream of work, as well as referrals from list members, whether or not they’d used my services,” says Shel. “The direct and indirect leads I’ve gotten from discussion groups exceed those from my Web site, speaking, and media exposure combined.”
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ For more information on Shel: http://www.frugalmarketing.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Do you want to write a book?*** Over 80% of people plan to write a book. And more than six million of them have already written a manuscript. Admittedly there are dozens of companies who will take your money and publish your book. But how do you get a legitimate publisher to pay you for your book, and not the other way around? Former book acquisitions editor Terry Whalin says editors and publishers don’t read manuscripts. They read book proposals. In his book “Book Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success,” Terry shows you how to achieve your dream of becoming a published author. I’ve sold more than 70 books to traditional publishers, and I can say without reservation that Terry’s book is accurate, useful, even entertaining. For more information or to order, click below: http://www.webmarketingmagic.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=551747 ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Recommended vendor for: e-book cover design*** When you are looking for e-book and book covers that sell your books, contact my friend Andrew Linick at CCA, phone 631-924-3888, e-mail
[email protected]. I’ve just started using CCA for my own e-book covers and interior design, and their work is spectacular, A+. You’ll get 3 to 5 outstanding four-color covers to choose from which will greatly increase your odds of producing a best-seller. To see samples of their work, visit www.NewWorldPressBooks.com and www.linick.net . ---------------------------------------------------------------------***Quotation of the month*** “Find something you enjoy doing, and do it. If you are happy at work, you will have found the secret to contentment in life. You will find yourself happier at home, you will be more productive at work, and your career will mean something.” --Stan Sebastian Source: Sebastian, Stan, “Succeed in the Workplace,” Chemical Engineering Progress, 1/07, p. 53. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ ***Bob Bly’s last-ever speaking engagement*** I am “retiring” from public speaking (but not from copywriting!), so here’s your last chance to attend a live public seminar with me. I will be on a panel at the SIPA conference in Washington DC on June 5 talking about how to write e-mail marketing messages that generate higher click-through rates and conversions. For details, click below now: http://www.sipaonline.com/Events/Annual/2007/index.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------***60-second commercial from Fern Dickey, Project Manager*** Bob is available on a limited basis for copywriting of direct-mail packages, sales letters, brochures, white papers, ads, e-mail marketing campaigns, PR materials, and Web pages. We recommend you call for a FREE copy of our updated Copywriting Information Kit. Just let us know your industry and the type of copy you’re interested in seeing (ads, mailings, etc.), and if Bob is available to take your assignment, we’ll tailor a package of recent samples to fit your requirements. Call Fern Dickey at 201-797-8105 or e-mail
[email protected]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------Bob Bly 22 E. Quackenbush Ave. Copywriter/consultant Dumont, NJ 07628
[email protected] phone 201-385-1220 www.bly.com fax 201-385-1138 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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9. Testimonial sheet One of the most effective ways to convince potential clients that you are a superior copywriter is to show them testimonials from satisfied clients. I put an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper, printed with testimonials on both sides, in the information kits I send to potential clients. A much longer list of testimonials is posted on my Web site www.bly.com.
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT BOB BLY’S COPY AND COUNSEL: “I don’t know a single copywriter whose work would not be improved by reading this book [THE COPYWRITER’S HANDBOOK, by Robert W. Bly]. And that includes me. After reading it, I am a bornagain fundamentalist.” -David Ogilvy, author OGILVY ON ADVERTISING “My initial mailing was 1,677 letters into 31 states for a 3.28% rate of response. That rate is terrific.” -Dick Barry, Management Consultant “Thanks for your great copy. This is the first letter I write in years to thank you for increasing my sales. Coming from an advertising background, I checked all famous copywriters and thought your direct mail letters and brochures were very good. The market confirmed that your work is great. Your work was worth every penny we paid. It is always a pleasure to work with someone who is a master of his trade. And most of all, without your knowledge of computer software, this project would have been impossible.” -Max Rambod, Executive Vice President PC Publishing “Thanks for the ad copy. As usual, a job well done. You know how to listen—and give us copy that’s right on target the first time. We seldom change even a single word in the ads and brochures you write for
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ us. Your technical know-how and copywriting skills are an unbeatable combination for industrial and business-to-business advertising. We know we’ll keep on using it—and you.” -Kenneth I. Tradexman, President Graphicom “I’ll have to admit that I was initially somewhat skeptical that copy for a brochure could actually be written by mail, without all those meetings we’ve come to associate with the process. But your excellent copy made me a believer. It was clear that you had not only read the materials that I’d sent, but you also understood them. Your fresh approach won all-around approval. I don’t think the changes we made affected more than three or four sentences. I look forward to future projects.” -John W. Alexander, Jr., Vice President The Philadelphia National Bank (over please …) “Bob Bly is a first-rate writer of industrial print advertising. Bob has developed efficient methods for working quickly and effectively by mail, fax, and phone. And his price structure, deadlines, and revisions policy are fair and easy to understand. Bob is a pleasure to work with—I’ve never been disappointed.” -Bernie Powers, Partner Pruitt, Humphresss Powers & Munroe “I just finished reading your copy for our CERTINCOAT System brochure and I was very happy with it. You did an excellent job of editing a large amount of information, much of it extraneous, into a strong, cohesive selling message.” -Len Lavenda, Advertising Manager M&T CHEMICALS INC. “Potence insert is looking good, currently projected to achieve a 3.64% response with a $60 (three units of purchase) average order.” -Glory Kneass, VP Drs. Preferred “Bob Bly is one of the best! He’s adept in all media, and has a stylistic range that allows him to communicate effectively with virtually any audience. Bob truly delivers.” -David Totten, Creative Supervisor Chapman Stone & Adler “In addition to Bob’s obvious skill as a copywriter and expertise in marketing, his most all-encompassing characteristic is his professionalism. Working with Bob is a pleasure because of it. He contributes brilliantly, delivers on time, and always provides quality work.” -Steve Isaac, President The Stenrich Group Inc. “Bob Bly, our marketing consultant, helped us produce over 8% response in less then 2 months. We got inquires from the cream of the crop on our target list and we generated about 350% increase in dollar business over the previous year.” -Sheila M. Anderson, President
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Commercial Property Services “The advanced renewal you wrote for Utility Forecaster is doing great! Mailed 4/29 … 5.2% response [as of 5/27] and an average sale of $116. Thanks!” -Lori Bethea KCI Communications “Congratulations. Your Forecasts & Strategies ‘Internet Infrastructure’ package is a winner … your piece is doing almost twice as good as our ‘Y2K Sample Issue’ mailing. I am looking forward to working with you again in the future.” -Chris Marett, Senior Vice President Phillips Publishing For more client testimonials visit www.bly.com
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10. Standard copywriting agreement Here is the standard agreement we send to all potential clients when they ask us for a quote on a specific project. The client must return the approved agreement with the required deposit for us to book the job and slot it into my schedule. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copywriting Agreement Dear : Thank you for hiring Bob Bly to write _____________________. Please read this through to make sure these are terms you agree to and send a REPLY e-mail that all is fine. (Please include this e-mail in your reply.) FEE The fee for the ________ is $_______. This fee is based on Bob handling the assignment by mail, phone, and e-mail, and does not include a face-to-face meeting. We require a 50% deposit up front. We accept credit cards via phone or checks made payable to “Center for Technical Communication.” Projects begin when we receive your deposit and a copy of this e-mail with your “OK.” Upon receipt of payment, we will send you a PDF invoice showing the deposit is paid. We will invoice you the balance due upon completion of the project. REVISIONS Up to two revisions are included at no extra charge unless they are based on a change in the assignment made after the copy is submitted. All revisions must be assigned within 30 days of your receipt of the first draft of copy. After that, additional rewrites may be made at a fee to be negotiated separately from this agreement. We make our best attempt to be available to make revisions. Depending on his availability, Bob can sometimes turn around minor revisions in 2-4 business days; major revisions may take longer.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ DEADLINE If we get your go-ahead and deposit by _______, Bob can have the first draft of the copy to you on __________, by 3:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Bob’s schedule does fill up quickly and we regret that we can’t hold dates without your go-ahead and payment. CAVEATS If you cancel or put the project on hold once Bob has begun work, a kill fee will be applied. Let me know if you’d like a copy of our kill fee schedule. This fee is for copywriting, which we define as creating text for promotional material from content provided by the client. Research to create original content if needed would be an additional fee to be quoted separately. Although you are not required to do so, Bob recommends that you send him the promotion in layout before going live, so he can review it, make sure the elements are positioned effectively, and make sure all revisions work effectively. Also, although Bob makes every effort to make your copy comply with the law, he is not an attorney. Therefore, it is your responsibility to submit all copy for legal review. You are also responsible for final proofreading of all the copy. RESULTS There are many factors in your marketing—product, market, price, list, demand, consumer preferences, major events—that Bob cannot control. Therefore, while he can and does guarantee your satisfaction with his copy before you test it, he does not promise and cannot guarantee specific results. NEXT STEPS [Spell out here what happens next—usually, I list background material and other things I require (e.g., access to subject matter experts) to write the copy.] Thank you. Please call me if you have questions. Best,
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11. “Results disappointing” memo Notice in the “RESULTS” section of my copywriting agreement above I explicity state that I do not and cannot guarantee results. Despite that, clients expect good results when they hire you, and if your copy doesn’t generate them, both you and they will naturally be disappointed. Even though I am not contractually obligated to do so, I make an effort to help the client fix the problem, as explained in the memo below, typically sent to the client via email. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear [NAME]: Naturally, I’m unhappy to hear that our package for XXXX did not do as well as we both hoped. But fortunately, there’s something we may be able to do about it. I will spend a few hours (no charge to you, of course) critiquing the final version of the package (copy, design, production), analyze the results, discuss them with you, and see if together we can figure out what went wrong and how we might fix it. I will then outline the proposed “fix” or solution to you in writing. Again, there is no charge. I consider it my responsibility to do whatever I can to help you maximize your sales results for XXXX, in any way I can. If you’d like me to do this for you, please send me a copy of the finished package as it mailed, the results for all mailing lists used, copies of any packages for this product that are doing well, and your top controls for your other products aimed at the same audience. The more, the better. Sincerely, Bob Bly
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12. Press release to your local paper Your local weekly newspaper is the easiest place to get press coverage, since you live in the town and it is their charter to report on the activities of residents. Here is a simple press release that got an article about me and my book published in one of the several papers covering my county. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact: Fern Dickey, phone 201-797-8105 For Immediate Release Local author’s 57th book is published by John Wiley & Sons Webster’s New World Letter Writing Handbook reveals “how to craft the perfect letter” Local author Robert W. Bly’s 57th book, Webster’s New World Letter Writing Handbook, has just been published by NJ-based publishing house John Wiley & Sons. The book, billed as “your guide to crafting the perfect letter,” contains hundreds of model letters with instructions on how to tailor a letter for any business or social situation, from applying for a job to selling swimming pools by mail. Bly, a Fair Lawn High School graduate, has been a full-time freelance writer since 1982. He maintains an office in Dumont, NJ and lives with his wife and two sons in River Vale, NJ. He was born in Paterson, NJ where he attended P.S. 26 before moving to Fair Lawn at age 10. He has written dozens of other books including The “I Hate Kathie Lee Gifford” Book (Kensington) and The Ultimate Unauthorized Star Trek Quiz Book (HarperCollins). His books, articles, and bio are available online at www.bly.com. Webster’s New World Letter Writing Book may be ordered online at www.amazon.com.
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13. Online copywriting fee schedule Online marketers need a great variety of copy written. I realized there was no room on my standard copywriting fee schedule to list them all, so I created a separate online copywriting fee schedule, shown below. Clients especially appreciate the clear definitions of different copywriting tasks and the way I categorize them. They can see what they want on my menu, see a price, and know that they are being charged fairly.
Online copywriting fee schedule Long-copy landing page (microsite, financial) -- $8,500 A long-copy dedicated Web site designed to sell an investment newsletter, trading service, or other financial advisory directly to consumers. Runs as long as needed to maximize sales. Long-copy landing page (microsite) -- $7,500 A long-copy dedicated Web site designed to sell a consumer product—such as a newsletter, e-book, or conference—directly. The online equivalent of a 6 to 8-page sales letter. Long-copy landing page with Taguchi test elements -- $9,500 This is your best bet for maximizing your chance of increasing conversion rates. It includes long body copy plus copy for these test elements: 3 pre-heads, 6 headlines, 3 subheads, 3 suggested visuals, 3 salutations, 3 leads, 3 calls to action, and 3 guarantees. Medium-copy landing page -- $5,500 The online equivalent of a 2 to 4-page letter. Used for b-to-b offers and products that require less description (e.g., software). Short-copy landing page -- $2,000 - $2,500 A simple landing page for a product or offer. Often used for white papers, software demos, and other inquiry fulfillment. The online equivalent of a trade ad: headline, a few paragraphs of descriptive product copy, and order portion.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Landing page versions -- 25% - 50% of above fees. Creating a different front-end for an A/B split test. Price is the assumption that Bob Bly is writing the version at the same time he is writing the original landing page. Hard-copy version of landing page -- 50% + 2 cents. Bob’s fee to turn the landing page he wrote for you into a direct mail package is 50% of the original copywriting fee plus a 2 cents per piece mailing fee after a test of 50,000 pieces. Transaction page -- $950 Similar to a short-copy landing page but with even less descriptive product copy; a page designed primarily as an online reply form where the visitor can either order the product or (if lead generation) request a free white paper or other information. Long-copy e-mail -- $2,500 - $3,500 An e-mail designed to sell a product directly by driving the recipient to a landing page. The online equivalent of a 2 to 4-page sales letter. Teaser e-mail -- $1,500 - $2,500 A short e-mail designed to drive the readers to a microsite or long-copy landing page where they can order the product. The online equivalent of a ½ to 1-page sales letter. (over, please)
Lead-generation e-mail -- $1,500 - $2,000 Similar to the teaser e-mail but the purpose is to drive the readers to a landing page or transaction page where they can request a free white paper or other information. Online e-mail conversion series -- $1,000 - $1,500 per effort. A series of follow -up e-mail messages, sent via auto responder, designed to convert an inquiry into a sale. E-zine ad -- $ 500 A 100-word classified ad to run in an e-zine and drive readers to a microsite or landing page. Banner ad -- $500 - $1,000 Banner ad designed to generate click-throughs to a microsite or landing page. E-mail capture pop-under page -- $750 - $1,500 A window that appears when visitors attempt to exit your Web page without ordering; offers free content in exchange for the visitor’s e-mail address. “Mail order” package #1 -- $9,500 (value: $13,500)—Taguchi = add $2,000 Everything you need to sell a newsletter or other consumer product online; includes a long-copy landing page, three teaser e-mails, and three online ads. This option is recommended for marketers with access to large e-lists. “Mail order” package #2 -- $9,500 (value: $13,500)—Taguchi = add $2,000
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Everything you need to sell a newsletter or other consumer product online; includes a long-copy landing page, pop-under page to capture e-mail addresses, and three conversion e-mails to convert inquiries to sales. This option is recommended for marketers who drive traffic to their site primarily through search engines. Web site package #1 -- $5,500 - $6,500 A small business or single product line Web site consisting of a home page and up to 5 additional pages. Ongoing site copy maintenance -- 3% of gross sales OR $5,000 a month For a royalty of 3% of gross sales, we remain on call to make minor tweaks and updates, and provide new test versions, at no additional fee. Copywriting of major new tests and versions is quoted separately. Home page, simple (“ad style”) -- $1,500 - $2,000 Simple home page with a headline and up to 300 words of text describing the company or site. Home page, complex (“tabloid style”) -- $2,000 - $3,000 Complex home page with multiple headlines and copy sections. Often used in membership and subscription Web sites. Also used in sites highlighting news or content in multiple product lines or subject areas. Web page, non-optimized -- $750 - $1,000 Simple page with a headline and up to 300-400 words of text. Web page, optimized -- $1,250 - $1,500 A headline and up to 300 words of text plus meta tags optimized to a predetermined list of key words. Optimization of existing Web Page -- $750 Editing the headline, text, links, and meta tags of an existing Web page, without rewriting content, to optimize for a predetermined list of key words. Key word research, per Web page -- $500 Using standard online tools to determine the best key words for optimizing a given Web page.
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14. Newsletter publisher letter Here is another lead-generating sales letter promoting my freelance copywriting services, this one mailed to a small but lucrative niche market: newsletter publishers.
Bob Bly Copywriter/consultant
[email protected] www.bly.com
22 E. Quackenbush Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 phone 201-385-1220 fax 201-385-1138
TO: Newsletter publishers From: Fern Dickey RE: Copywriting of DM packages to beat your control Dear Newsletter Publisher: At a meeting of the NYC chapter of the Newsletter Publishers Association, copywriter and consultant Bob Bly gave a well-received talk on transforming your newsletter from a “nice-to-have” product to a “must-have” product. For a limited time only, you can get this presentation, “12 Tips for Making Your Publication the One They Can’t Live Without,” on audio cassette (list price: $15)—absolutely FREE! To get your copy, just call me at (201) 797-8105. I’ll have the tape sent to you at no cost via first-class mail. By the way Bob is a first-rate copywriter who has written direct mail and online promotions for dozens of publishers including WEKA, Brownstone, Medical Economics, Bureau of Business Practice, Economics Press, Institutional Investor Journals, Reed Reference Publishing, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, New York Times Syndicate, Tradex Research, 21st Century Investor, Forbes, Kiplinger and Prentice Hall. Bill Bonner of Agora Publishing (Target Marketing’s “Direct Marketer of the Year”) says, “Bly’s writing is clear, direct, and well organized. He’s a pleasure to read.” But he also gets results: One of Bob’s recent DM packages, for a trading service, outpulled the control
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ by 3 to 1. For the Novell Companion, a looseleaf service, a #10 package Bob wrote pulled double the number of orders vs. the control. If you would like to discuss the possibility of having Bob write a promotion for you, call me at (201) 797-8105. Or mail the reply card enclosed. Cost estimates are free. And there’s no obligation to buy. Thanks,
Fern Dickey P.S. For a FREE information kit on Bob Bly’s copywriting services for newsletter publishers, complete and mail the enclosed reply card. Your kit will include samples, a client list, testimonials, bio, fee schedule, and the free audio cassette, “12 Tips for Making Your Publication the One They Can’t Live Without.”
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15. Marketing communications audit As a copywriter, you may also want to offer your services as a marketing consultant. The problem with consulting is where to begin: many prospects cannot even begin to explain what they want you to do for them, and have no idea of how to engage you. The solution is to send them a brief questionnaire such as my marketing audit below. They can go through the audit, check the items they think they might need, and return it to you. This way, when you call them to discuss working together, you at least know where to start.
Bob Bly’s Marketing Communications Audit Click here for a printable version In today’s economy, it pays to make every marketing communication count. This simple audit is designed to help you identify your most pressing marketing communications challenges—and to find ways to solve problems, communicate with your target markets more effectively, and get better results from every dollar spent on advertising and promotion. Step One: Identify Your Areas of Need Check all items that are of concern to you right now: o
Creating a marketing or advertising plan
o
Generating more inquiries from my print advertising
o
Improving overall effectiveness and persuasiveness of print ads
o
How to effectively market and promote our product or service on a limited advertising budget to these target audiences
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Producing effective sales brochures, catalogs, and other marketing literature How to get good case histories and user stories written and published
o
Getting articles by company personnel written and published in industry trade journals
o
Getting editors to write about our company, products, or activities
o
Getting some editors to run our press release
o
Planning and implementing a direct mail campaign or program
o
Increasing direct mail response rates
o
Generating low-cost but qualified leads using postcard decks
o
How to make all our marketing communications more responsive and accountable
o
Designing, writing, and producing a company newsletter
o
Creating an effective company or capabilities brochure
o
Developing strategies for responding to and following up on inquiries
o
Creating effective inquiry fulfillment packages
o
Producing and using a video or audio tape to promote our product or service
o
Writing and publishing a book, booklet, white paper, or special report that can be used to promote our company or product
o
Choosing an appropriate premium or advertising specialty as a customer giveaway
o
Getting reviews and critiques of existing or in-progress copy of ads, mailings, brochures, and other premiums
o
How to promote our product or service using free or paid seminars
o
Building/improving our Web site
o
Using our Web site to generate business
o
Implementing an e-mail marketing campaign
o
Training our staff with an in-house seminar in: ___________________________________________________________________ (indicate topic)
o
Learning proven strategies for marketing our product or service in a recession or soft economy
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Other (describe): ___________________________________________________________________ Marketing Communication Audit
Step Two: Provide a Rough Indication of Your Budget Amount of money you are prepared to commit to the solution of the problems checked off on page one of this form: under $2,000 $2,000 - $5,000 $5,000 - $10,000 $10,000 - $100,000 Over - $100,000 Step Three: Fill in Your Name, Address, and Phone Number Below
Name
Title
Company Address City
State
Phone
e-mail
Zip
Step Four: Mail or Fax Your Completed Form Today Mail: Bob Bly, 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue, Dumont, NJ 07628-3055 FAX: (201) 385-1138 Phone: (201) 385-1220 If you wish, send me your current ads, brochures, mailing pieces, press releases, and any other material that will give me a good idea of the products or services you are responsible for promoting. I will review your audit ad materials and provide a cost estimate for solving your marketing problem. Mail your audit form today. There’s no cost. And no obligation.
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16. FAQs FAQs—frequently asked questions—are a popular type of Web page, because they communicate important information that prospects want to know. I created the below FAQ page for my Web site, but never posted it, mainly because I couldn’t decide how many and what other questions to ask, and how detailed to make the answers. Hiring Bob Bly as a Copywriter: Are These Your Questions? Q: You say you guarantee my satisfaction with your copy, Bob. How does that guarantee work? A: Most clients are pleased and happy with my copy when they receive it. But if you are not, I will rewrite it according to your specific comments, entirely at my expense. Q: What about sales? Do you guarantee that your copy will get the sales results I want? A: No. Q: Why not? A: There are many factors in your marketing—product, market, price, list, demand, consumer preferences, design, approvals, current events—that I do not control. Therefore, while I can and do guarantee your satisfaction with my copy before you test it, I do not promise—and cannot guarantee—specific results. Q: Then how do I know the copy I hire you to write will beat my control or even be profitable? A: You don’t. And neither do I. What you are buying when you hire a professional copywriter is the increased likelihood that his copy will outperform your copy, based on experience. And that’s all. Experienced direct marketers know that this is part of the risk of doing business. Inexperienced direct marketers usually don’t understand this, and have unrealistic expectations as a result. The reality is that no one has a formula for beating the control or ensuring a winning promotion every time. If I did, Bill Gates would be my houseboy.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Q: Will you write copy for me for nothing up front but a nice share of the profits if your copy works? A: No. Every job requires an advance retainer, and I do not begin work without it. Q: Do you never, then, work for a royalty or mailing fee? A: I LOVE royalty and mailing fee arrangements! But those royalties are paid as a performance bonus, not in lieu of an up-front fee. If I were to write your promotion for no up-front fee, I would be in effect investing in your company. And I am not a venture capital investor or speculator. I am a copywriter. Q: But why would a client pay you an up-front fee PLUS a royalty or mailing fee? A: To give me a financial incentive to think about their product after the copy is written—and to look for ways to improve the copy on an ongoing basis, so it continues to generate a profitable response (see below). Q: If you write a promotion for me and I need occasional tweaks, or want to do some headline tests, will you write that for me at no extra charge? A: If the promotion is currently in use, and I am being paid a royalty or mailing fee, I will make those tweaks and create those headlines at no charge. After all, I have a financial interest in keeping my copy as your winning control. On the other hand, if the promotion is not paying me a royalty or mailing fee, there is an additional charge to do more copywriting on your product beyond what was originally contracted for.
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17. Kill fee schedule Some clients will ask, “What happens if I hire you, but for some reason, we have to delay or cancel the project? Will we owe you any money?” The solution is to publish a “kill fee” schedule like the one below. It tells what percentage of the agreed-upon fee the client owes the writer, depending on at what stage of the project the client cancelled. I do not publish the kill fee schedule as part of my standard copywriting agreement, because I don’t want to put the notion of cancelling into his head. But I do state in my agreement that a kill fee may be applied, and offer to send them a copy of the kill fee schedule if they desire. I would say fewer than 10% of clients request it, but it’s important to have a standardized kill fee schedule for those who do want to know what kill fees you charge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copywriting kill fees -10% if you’ve given a go-ahead and then cancel before I have started work 25% kill fee if you cancel and I have done research but haven’t submitted copy 50% if I have submitted outline or copy platform but have not written a draft yet 75% if I have submitted first draft but not done a revision 100% of bill due if you cancel and I have already done a draft and one or more rewrites Seminars kill fee -Client pays all non-cancellable expenses incurred such as air fare, reproduction of hand outs, etc.—no matter what else 10% if client cancels after signing a contract regardless of how far in advance 25% if cancelled within 8 weeks of the seminar date 50% if cancelled within 4 weeks of the seminar date NO kill fee if you cancel and I can resell the date for an equal or greater fee.
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18. Client contract Although I prefer a simple, plain-English agreement for my copywriting projects (see part 10), some copywriters and clients use a more formally worded contract like the one below. TRADEX GROUP, INC. INDEPENDENT CONSULTING AGREEMENT This Independent Consulting Agreement (Agreement) is entered into this 2nd day of November, 2004, by and between TRADEX GROUP, INC., a Florida corporation (hereinafter “TRADEX”), and Bob Bly, an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR (hereinafter “CONTRACTOR”). In consideration of the mutual promises made herein, the parties, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows: I.
Contract Commencement and Termination
This contract shall commence on the 8th day of November. The contract term shall be for one-month intervals and shall be renewable on a month-to-month basis upon mutual agreement of the parties. Either party may terminate this contract without cause by providing the other party thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice of said intent to cancel. If this contract is terminated, TRADEX’ obligation for payment for services rendered under this contract shall equal, but not exceed, payment for proper costs and expenses incurred through the date of termination minus all payments due TRADEX from CONTRACTOR, if any. II.
Services to be Performed CONTRACTOR agrees to provide the following primary services:
Write promotions to sell Tradex Digest subscriptions. Specific items to include: a) Landing page copy for TRADEX DIGEST promotions b) Weekly ad blurbs to appear in eNewsletters c) Series of dedicated e-mail promotions d) Updates and new promotions as needed to keep the material fresh and maintain a flow of ongoing conversions to paid TRADEX DIGEST subscribers. In performing said services, it is agreed that such services require specialized and unique skills possessed by CONTRACTOR. TRADEX agrees to provide the following resources: a) Reports showing open rates, click thru’s and conversions from promotions b) Samples of existing bonus reports to be used as needed
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ c) Researchers and fact-checkers as requested by CONTRACTOR d) Development of additional premiums as requested by CONTRACTOR and approved by Martin Tradex Group Inc. e) Compliance review of all promotions f) Creative design of landing pages III. Payments by TRADEX A. TRADEX agrees to pay CONTRACTOR 10% of gross sales from his promotions. Gross sales are defined as total valid orders processed with an accepted credit card or check payment. There is no deduction taken for cancellations or refunds. Payment will be wired monthly to an account designated by CONTRACTOR and a report on the sales will be provided with each payment. CONTRACTOR understands and agrees that it will perform services for TRADEX as needed. Moreover, CONTRACTOR shall be solely responsible for any and all taxes associated with such payment by TRADEX as more fully stated in Section V of this agreement. IV.
CONTRACTOR provides own defense
Should CONTRACTOR be sued, or have a complaint filed against them with the SEC, NASD, or any other regulatory agency, individual or entity, TRADEX shall have no responsibility to defend, indemnify, or pay for the defense of, CONTRACTOR. V.
Responsibilities of CONTRACTOR
A. CONTRACTOR agrees that it is an independent contractor duly authorized to do business in Florida as an independent contractor and that CONTRACTOR shall not be considered an employee of TRADEX. CONTRACTOR will be fully responsible for all social security payments, withholding taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, liability insurance, and health insurance for itself and its employees and agents, and TRADEX shall have no responsibilities for any such items nor for any other expenses other than as expressly set forth herein. B. CONTRACTOR agrees that during the contract term it will not hire, retain, employ or contract with any TRADEX employee, nor will it cause any other firm, entity or individual, to hire, retain, employ or contract with any TRADEX employee, to perform any services. Should CONTRACTOR hire, retain, employ or contract with any TRADEX employee in violation of this provision, CONTRACTOR agrees that such breach of this provision shall cause the contract to terminate immediately. Additionally, CONTRACTOR agrees that the damages suffered by TRADEX would be difficult to measure and therefore agrees that TRADEX shall be entitled to liquidated damages in the amount of three times the gross annual salary, which shall include any bonuses or commissions, of that TRADEX employee. Said payment shall be made by CONTRACTOR within 10 business days of the date the employee separated from TRADEX. Such damages shall bear an interest rate at the maximum rate allowable by law. Moreover, CONTRACTOR agrees that for a period of one (1) year from the termination of the contract term, it will not hire, retain, employ or contract with any TRADEX employee, nor will it cause any other firm, entity or individual, to hire, retain, employ or contract with any TRADEX employee to perform any services. Should CONTRACTOR do so in violation of this provision, CONTRACTOR agrees that the damages suffered by TRADEX would be difficult to measure and therefore agrees that TRADEX shall be entitled to liquidated damages in the amount of
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ three times the gross annual salary, which shall include any bonuses or commissions, of that TRADEX employee. Said payment shall be made by CONTRACTOR within 10 business days of the date the employee separated from TRADEX. Such damages shall bear an interest rate at the maximum rate allowable by law. C. CONTRACTOR agrees to comply with all industry standards, rules and regulations, including all such standards, rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), NASD and all other applicable regulatory agencies. CONTRACTOR agrees to comply with all policies and procedures of TRADEX, including its Code of Ethics, and any or all of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies. CONTRACTOR acknowledges that it is its responsibility to remain informed on all such policies and procedures. D. Tools and Instrumentalities. CONTRACTOR will supply all tools and instrumentalities required to perform the services under this Agreement. E. CONTRACTOR agrees and understands that the work to be performed will require interaction with TRADEX employees and departments, many of which only operate during TRADEX’ regular business hours. VI.
Compliance with Laws
In performing its obligations hereunder, each party agrees to comply in all material respects with all applicable laws. VII.
Books and Records CONTRACTOR agrees during the term of the agreement hereunder:
A. To maintain books, records, and documents (including electronic storage media) in accordance with standard securities industry procedures and practices. B. To assure that records pertaining to this contract or payments received by CONTRACTOR from TRADEX hereunder shall be subject at all reasonable times and upon reasonable prior request by TRADEX, to inspection, review, or audit by TRADEX personnel and other personnel duly authorized by TRADEX at any time during this contract period and for a period of two years after the termination of this contract. These documents shall be available at no cost to TRADEX. C. Upon termination of this agreement, CONTRACTOR agrees to turn over to TRADEX all books, records and documents that TRADEX shall request. VIII.
Indemnification CONTRACTOR agrees to indemnify and hold harmless TRADEX from liability on account of any injuries, damages, omissions, commissions, actions, causes of actions, claims, suits, judgments and damages including court costs and attorneys’ fees through and including all administrative, trial or appellate proceedings, accruing, as a result of services performed or not performed, or any negligent act by CONTRACTOR, or any action arising out of the operation of this Agreement. CONTRACTOR agrees that such indemnification further includes any costs and attorney’s fees incurred through all trial and/or appellate proceedings in establishing TRADEX’ right and entitlement to indemnification under this provision.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Alternate dispute resolution prior to the institution of litigation in any court of law. Disputes under this agreement must be submitted first to alternate dispute resolution such as arbitration or mediation as mutually acceptable to both parties. If the parties are unable to agree, then the matter shall be submitted to non-binding arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. IX.
Authority
Each party represents and warrants to the other party that (i) it has full power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and (ii) this Agreement constitutes it legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable in accordance with its terms. X.
Entire Agreement
This contract contains all the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. No other agreements regarding the subject matter of this Agreement shall be deemed to exist or to bind any of the parties hereto. However, the separate confidentiality agreement signed by CONTRACTOR shall be deemed a part of this Agreement. XI.
Applicable Law and Venue
This contract shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida and venue of any litigation commenced relating to this contract shall be in Palm Beach County. XII.
Amendments
This contract may only be amended by mutual agreement of the parties, provided that the amendment is in writing and is executed on behalf of both parties. XIII.
Assignment
CONTRACTOR shall be prohibited from subcontracting, selling, assigning, or otherwise transferring its interest in this contract to any other person, governmental entity, firm or corporation except upon prior agreement of TRADEX in writing. XIV.
Waiver No express or implied consent to or waiver of any breach or default by the other party, in the performance of the obligations hereunder shall be deemed or construed to be a consent to, or waiver of, any other breach or default in the performance by such hereunder. Failure on the part of either party to complain of any act of the other in default, irrespective of how long such failure continues, shall not constitute a waiver of a party’s rights hereunder. XV.
Severability
If any provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted by law. XVI.
No Third-Party Benefits
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ The parties to this Agreement do not intend any provision of this Agreement to create any third-party beneficiaries or to confer any benefit or enforceable right upon anyone other than the parties hereto. XVII.
Notices
All notices, including changes in the following addresses, required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be given in one of two ways: (1) if by mail, then by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested; or (2) if by personal delivery, then by personal delivery to the person, evidenced by a receipt signed by the recipient of such personal delivery or written notice, and shall be effective when received. A. If to TRADEX, addressed to: B. If to CONTRACTOR, addressed to: CONTRACTOR ______________________ ______________________ XIX.
Confidentiality
CONTRACTOR agrees to execute and abide by a separate confidentiality agreement. Additionally, CONTRACTOR agrees that the terms of this Agreement are confidential and the terms of same shall not be disclosed, or caused to be disclosed, to any current or former TRADEX employees. CONTRACTOR understands and agrees that disclosure of the terms of this agreement to any current or former TRADEX employee, or causing said disclosure, shall permit TRADEX, in its sole discretion, to terminate this Agreement on 24-hours written notice. XX.
Attorney’s Fees
In the event of litigation between the parties hereto for actions arising under this Agreement or related to enforcement of same, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover all costs and expenses including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees and costs through all trial and appellate proceedings. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officials. Dated this ____ day of ____________________, 2004. TRADEX GROUP, INC.
CONTRACTOR
By:___________________________
By:_________________________
Title:__________________________ Title:__________________________
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19. Client list When potential clients ask for information on my copywriting services and I send them an information kit, one of the items in that kit is a partial client list, printed on two sides of a piece of my letterhead. A more complete client list is posted on my Web site at www.bly.com.
BOB BLY: CLIENTS/EXPERIENCE (A PARTIAL LIST) Abcor (ultrafilters) Academic Information Services (book publisher) Agora Publishing (books, newsletters, financial clubs) Airco Gases (industrial gases and gas distribution systems) Alloy Technology (metal alloys) AMAX (chemicals) Aspex Incorporated (supercomputers and software) Associated Air Freight (freight carrier) Boardroom Inc. (newsletters) Brooklyn Union Gas (cooling and heating systems) Business Envelope Manufacturers (office supplies) Conference Board (organization membership, publications, conferences) CBSI (warranty and home protection plans) C&C Print Shop (commercial printing) CCI/Connections (DP consultants) Chemical Bank (electronic cash management services) Clement Communications (newsletters) Communication Briefings (newsletter) Convergent Solutions (software) Crest Ultrasonic (cleaning systems) Digital Linguistix Corporation (software) Dow Chemical (chemicals) East Hampton Industries (software) EBI (medical equipment) EBSCO (magazine subscription agency) Edith Roman Associates (mailing lists) Epner Technology Inc. (high-tech plating)
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Executive Enterprises (conferences, seminars) Fala Direct Marketing (lettershop) Geyer’s Office Dealer (trade publication) GE Solid State (semiconductors) Goodman Communications (beeper and answering services) Graver Chemical (chemicals, chemical equipment) Grumman Corporation (aerospace) Hearst Business Communications (subscription promotion) Henderson Industries (engineering) High Technology Associates, Inc. (database marketing) IEEE (professional society) Interactive System (production support software) Institutional Investor Journals (finance industry magazines) ITT Fluid Technology (process equipment) Jane’s Defense Weekly (magazine) JGB Systems (computer systems) JMW Consultants Inc. (management consultants) Ken Tradexman Inc. (computer graphics) KeySystems (vocational disability analysis) Knysak Process Equipment Company (process equipment) Koch Engineering (process equipment, pollution control) Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. Inc. (stockbrokers) Loveland Controls (calibrators test system) Letterset (desktop publishing software) Lucent Technologies (telecommunications) Major Printing (commercial printer) Manhattan MultiMedia (audiovisual producers) Marketing & Business Strategy (consultants) Medical Economics (PHYSICIANS DESK REFERENCE and POCKET PDR) Meeco Inc. (moisture analyzers) Micro Logic Corp. (software) Midlantic National Bank (retail banking) Millar Elevator Industries, Inc. (elevator controls) MKS (software) M&T Chemicals (specialty chemicals) National Information Corporation (newsletters) New York Publicity Outlets (directory) NIBM (newsletters) Nortel Networks (telecommunications) Object International (DP training, consulting, software) Odesta (Macintosh software) Official Hotel & Resort Guide (directory) On-Line Software International (software) Pascal (real estate analysis software) PC Publishing (software) Philadelphia National Bank (commercial banking) Phillips Publishing (newsletters) Prentice-Hall (publishing) Rentrop (newsletters) Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau (collection agency) Ricoh Corporation (facsimile machines)
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ SCI (mainframe software for CICS and MVS) Select Information Exchange (postcard publisher) Software Corporation of America (software) Sony Corporation of America (video and imaging systems) Soundcoat (noise control) SPS Technologies (computerized joint-control systems) Studebaker-Worthington (computer leasing) Sumitomo (industrial equipment) Thomas Publishing Company (subscription promotion) Timeplex (data communication equipment) Value Line (financial publisher) Value Rent-A-Car (car rentals) Wallace & Tiernan (process equipment) Tradex Research (newsletters) Westinghouse (radar defense systems) Wolfram Research (software) Writer’s Digest (magazine) Yourdon, Inc. (CASE software tools) For a complete client list visit www.bly.com
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20. Client questionnaire Years ago I wrote an article for a marketing newsletter called “How to Prepare for a Copywriting Assignment.” It outlined the materials you should collect, and the questions you should ask the client, in preparation for writing copy. Since it fit neatly on one side of an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper, and was so nicely laid out in the newsletter, I began including a copy whenever I sent out my copywriting information kits to potential clients, and still use it today.
COPYWRITING How To Prepare For A Copywriting Assignment by Robert W. Bly
Business-to-business copy persuades readers by giving them useful information about the products being advertised. The more facts you include in your copy, the better. When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy. You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion. But when copywriters don’t bother to dig for facts, they fall back on fancy phrases and puffed-up expressions to fill the empty space on the page. The words sound nice, but they don’t sell because the copy doesn’t inform.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Here’s a four-step procedure I use to get the information I need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients. This technique should be helpful to copywriters, account executives, and ad managers alike. Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product. For an existing product, there’s a mountain of literature you can send to the copywriter as background information. This material includes: • • • • • • • • •
Tear-sheets of previous ads Brochures Catalogs Article reprints Technical papers Copies of speeches Audio-visual scripts Press kits Swipe files of competitors’ ads and literature
Did I hear someone say they can’t send me printed material because their product is new? Nonsense. The birth of every new product is accompanied by mounds of paperwork you can give the copywriter. These papers include: • • • • • • •
Internal memos Letters of technical information Product specifications Engineering drawings Business and marketing plans Reports Proposals
By studying this material, the copywriter should have 80 percent of the information he needs to write the copy. And he can get the other 20 percent by picking up the phone and asking questions. Steps #2-4 outline the questions he should ask about the product, the audience, and the objective of the copy. Step #2: Ask questions about the product. • • • • • • • • • • •
What are its features and benefits? (Make a complete list.) Which benefit is the most important? How is the product different from the competition’s? (Which features are exclusive? Which are better than the competition’s?) If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition? What technologies does the product compete against? What are the applications of the product? What industries can use the product? What problems does the product solve in the marketplace? How is the product positioned in the marketplace? How does the product work? How reliable is the product?
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ • • • • • • •
How efficient? How economical? Who has bought the product and what do they say about it? What materials, sizes and models is it available in? How quickly does the manufacturer deliver the product? What service and support does the manufacturer offer? Is the product guaranteed?
Step #3: Ask questions about your audience. • • • • •
Who will buy the product? (What markets is it sold to?) What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency) What is the character of the buyer? What motivates the buyer? How many different buying influences must the copy appeal to? Two tips on getting to know your audience: If you are writing an ad, read issues of the magazine in which the ad will appear. If you are writing direct mail, find out what mailing lists will be used and study the list descriptions.
Step #4: Determine the objective of your copy. This objective may be one or more of the following: • • • • • • •
To generate inquiries To generate sales To answer inquiries To qualify prospects To transmit product information To build brand recognition and preference To build company image
Before you write copy, study the product—its features, benefits, past performance, applications, and markets. Digging for the facts will pay off, because in business-to-business advertising, specifics sell. About the author: Robert W. Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant specializing in direct response. He may be reached at
[email protected].
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21. Seminar description One way to establish your reputation and promote yourself as a copywriter is to give talks on marketing at association meetings attended by your potential clients. When you get such an invitation, the meeting planner will immediately ask you to provide a brief outline for your talk. So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you get this request, create boilerplate outlines for each topic you speak on. Then just e-mail the seminar description whenever required.
Mastering Online Conversions One newsletter publisher generated 20,000 leads and converted 10% of them to subscriptions using the online conversion model. The online conversion model is the only method of selling newsletter subscriptions online that has been proven to work. In a nutshell, here’s an oversimplified version of how online conversion works: 1. You create some free content. 2. You offer people the free content online. 3. When they accept, you then upsell them to your paid subscription product—again, online. This session reveals what’s working today in online conversion for selling information products—and how to apply these techniques to your own campaigns. You will discover: • • • • • • •
How to create an effective “bait piece”—the free content you offer to capture prospects’ email addresses. Writing and designing a lead-generating postcard. Producing sign-ups through online ads and e-mail marketing. Writing and designing effective landing and transaction pages to take the orders. “Free touch” vs. “conversion” e-mails—which and how many should be in your online conversion series. Scheduling and frequency of conversion e-mails. Designing the e-mail conversion series—tone, content, offer, and sense of urgency.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ After leaving this session, Bob guarantees you will know how to: • • •
Select or create the bait piece for your online conversion campaign. Generate thousands of qualified leads in weeks. Convert 10% to 20% of these leads to trial subscriptions.
About the instructor: A freelance copywriter with more than 20 years experience, Bob Bly has written copy for dozens of publishers including Phillips, Agora, KCI, Brownstone, and Medical Economics. He is the author of more than 50 books including The Online Copywriter’s Handbook (McGraw-Hill) and Internet Direct Mail (NTC Business Books). Contact Information: Bob Bly. Copywriter 22 East Quackenbush Avenue, 3rd Floor Dumont, NJ 07628 201-385-1220 (fax) 201-385-1138 www.bly.com
[email protected]
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22. Inquiry fulfillment letter One of my most successful methods of marketing myself as a copywriter has been to send out “copywriting information kits” to potential clients. My copywriting information kit consists of the following elements: • • • • • • •
4-page cover letter. Testimonial sheet. Client list. Article reprint, “How to Prepare for a Copywriting Assignment.” 3 to 5 photocopies of writing samples. One-page bio sheet. Copy order form.
The kit is tailored to the prospect through the selection of writing samples. I send samples that most closely match the type of project (e.g., direct mail) and the type of product (e.g., stock market newsletters) the client needs copy for. I may also customize the kit with additional materials. For instance, if the potential client is a software publisher, I will enclose an article I wrote on software marketing, or even an audio cassette of a seminar I have given on that topic. Of the various elements in my information kit, the 4-page cover letter is the element that does the most “selling.” The other elements just support the claims made in the sales letter. I know the sales letter works, because it has directly or indirectly generated literally millions of dollars worth of copywriting assignments for me over the years.
Thanks for your interest in my copywriting services …
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Now, maybe you asked for this information kit out of curiosity. Some folks do--especially those who never hired a freelance copywriter before. But, more likely, you need a good business-to-business or direct response copywriter— someone who combines writing skill and sales ability with technical know-how and product knowledge. Whatever your reason for calling or writing, you want to know more about a writer before you hire him. If we were sitting face-to-face, chatting in your office, you’d ask me questions. Let me try to answer a few of those questions right here. “WHAT ARE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS AS A COPYWRITER?” As a freelancer, I’ve written copy for more than 100 agencies and advertisers. And, I’m the author of more than 50 books including THE COPYWRITER’S HANDBOOK (Henry Holt & Co.), THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO DIRECT MARKETING (Alpha Books), and INTERNET DIRECT MAIL: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS (NTC Books). I’ve given seminars on copywriting and direct marketing for numerous corporations and associations. I also taught copywriting at New York University. Before becoming a freelancer, I was advertising manager for Koch Engineering (an industrial manufacturer) and a staff writer for Westinghouse. The attached material will give you the full story. “DO YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL BACKGROUND?” I have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Rochester. And, 95 percent of the work I do is in industrial, high-tech, business-to-business, and direct response. I’ve written copy in computers, chemicals, pulp and paper, mining, construction, electronics, engineering, pollution control, medical equipment, industrial equipment, marine products, software, banking, financial services, health care, publishing, seminars, training, telecommunications, consulting, corporate, and many other areas. In the computer field, for example, I’m the author of five computer books including A DICTIONARY OF COMPUTER WORDS, published by Dell/Banbury. Most important to you, I’m a business-to-business, direct-response copy specialist. Writing business-to-business and direct response copy isn’t something I do to pass the time between TV commercials. Rather, it’s my bread and butter. So I put all my skill, knack, and know-how into every piece of business-to-business and direct reponse copy I write. And, after writing hundreds of ads, articles, brochures, and sales letters for people like you, I’ve learned how to sell to corporate executives, entrepreneurs, managers, purchasing agents, technicians, engineers, IT professionals, and direct response buyers. “DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MY FIELD?” If you sell to business, industry, or through direct response, chances are I already have experience dealing with your type of product or service—or something very similar. Take a look at my writing samples enclosed with this letter. Do they seem “right up your alley”? If not, give me a call, and I’ll send additional samples that are closer to your area of interest. Or take a look at my portfolio online at www.bly.com. “WHAT KINDS OF ASSIGNMENTS DO YOU HANDLE?”
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ I cover the full spectrum. About 80 percent of my business is writing direct mail and sales brochures for business, publishing, industrial, and high-tech clients. The rest involves creating a wide assortment of marketing communications materials, including ads, feature articles, slide presentations, film and videotape scripts, press releases, newsletters, catalogs, case histories, annual reports, product guides, manuals, speeches, Web pages, and Internet direct mail. My specialty is my ability to write clear, credible, persuasive copy about a wide range of products and services, from the simple to the highly technical. I am able to quickly grasp complex marketing problems and understand sophisticated technologies. Clients appreciate the fact that I can sit down with engineers, scientists, systems professionals, stock analysts, and other specialists, ask intelligent questions, and speak their language. What’s more, my copy gets results. One ad, written for a manufacturer of pollution control equipment, was the number-one inquiry producer in four consecutive issues of Chemical Engineering magazine. Another piece of copy, a direct mail campaign I wrote for a telephone company, won the Direct Marketing Association’s Gold Echo Award … and generated a 50% response rate (and $5.7 million in revenue) for the client. I can’t predict how many responses my ad, mailer, or literature package will pull for you. But I can—and do—guarantee your satisfaction with the copy you receive from me. “WHY DOES YOUR LETTERHEAD SAY ‘COPYWRITER/CONSULTANT’?” In addition to writing copy, I also work with many of my clients as a consultant, helping them plan marketing campaigns that generate maximum response. They’re pleased and happy to get ontarget advice that works—at an affordable fee—and they like the fact that I don’t charge a monthly retainer. “YOUR FEE SCHEDULE LISTS A PRICE FOR A ‘COPY CRITIQUE,’ WHAT’S THAT?” A Copy Critique provides an objective review of an ad, sales letter, brochure, or direct mail package. You can have me critique either an existing piece OR a draft of copy in progress. It’s up to you. When you order a Copy Critique, you get a written report of two or more single-spaced typed pages that analyzes your copy in detail. I tell you what’s good about it and what works … what doesn’t work … what should be changed … and how. My critique covers copy, design, strategy, and offer. It also includes specific directions for revisions and rewriting, although I do not write or rewrite copy for you under this arrangement. A Copy Critique is ideal for clients who want a “second opinion” on a piece of copy, or who need new ideas to inject life into an existing package that’s no longer working. It also enables you to sample my services at far less cost than you’d pay to have me write your copy from scratch. “SPEAKING OF MONEY, WHAT DOES IT COST TO HIRE YOU FOR A PROJECT?” For any copywriting assignment—a direct mail package, a sales letter, an ad, a brochure, a feature article, a Web site—just let me know what you have in mind and I’ll quote you a price. The enclosed “Schedule of Estimated Fees” gives typical prices for a variety of different projects. “WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS … AND WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT YOUR COPY AND COUNSEL?”
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ “Working with Bob Bly was easy,” reports Robert Jurick, CEO of Fala Direct Marketing. “Bob Bly is more than a copywriter; he becomes part of the client team and writes with understanding and sense. His copy resulted in several projects from some of our big accounts.” Andrew Frothingham, former ad manager of Timeplex, comments: “When I was the ad manager at Timeplex, I used Bob Bly a lot, because he has the best understanding of any writer I found of the issues in the world of high technology.” “I would like to express my thanks for your assistance in helping us develop a marketing program via the mass media,” writes Stan Stevens, president, Personal Health Profile. “I was impressed with your professionalism, knowledge of the field, willingness to extend yourself, and your eagerness to help us succeed. It was a real pleasure working with you.” A partial list of clients and a testimonial sheet are enclosed. For a complete client list and additional testimonials, visit www.bly.com. “HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE MY COPY?” Ideally I like to have 2-3 weeks to work on your copy. That gives me the time to polish, edit, and revise until I’m happy with every word. However, I realize you can’t always wait that long. So if the job is a rush, just indicate the date by which you must receive the copy on the enclosed order form. If I take on the job, I guarantee that you will have the copy on your desk by this deadline-date—or sooner. No matter what the deadline, the copy I submit to you will be right. You can depend on it. “WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WANT YOU TO REVISE THE COPY?” Just tell me what you want improved and what the changes are, and I’ll make them—fast. There is NO CHARGE for rewriting. Revisions are included in the flat fee we’ve agreed to for the assignment, provided they are assigned within 30 days of your receipt of the copy and are not based on a change in the assignment made after copy has been submitted. Most clients are pleased and enthusiastic about my copy when they receive it. But if you are not 100 percent satisfied, I will revise the copy according to your specific guidelines … and at my expense. “HOW DO I ORDER FROM YOU?” Putting me to work for you is easy. First, just tell me what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to. Send me your brochure, catalog, or any other literature which will give me the background information I need to write your copy. Use the enclosed order form as a guideline. But don’t worry about organizing anything—I’ll do that. If I have any questions, I’ll pick up the phone and ask. When you give me the go-ahead, I’ll write the assignment for you. You will receive your copy on or before the deadline date. And remember: it is guaranteed to please you. Dozens of firms—including Phillips Publishing, Medical Economics, Philadelphia National Bank, Digital Linguistix, Prentice-Hall, GE Solid State, IBM, F&W Publishing, Alloy Technology, Ascom Timeplex, Allied Signal Aerospace, and Edith Roman Associates—have found my copy ideal for promoting business, industrial, high-tech, and direct-response offers. So … why not try my service for your next sales letter, direct mail package, feature article, press release, ad, e-mail or brochure? I promise you’ll be delighted with the results.
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P.S. If you have an immediate need call me right now at (201) 385-1220 or e-mail me the details at
[email protected]. There is no charge to discuss your job with you and give you a cost estimate. And no obligation to buy. "The Bly package seems to be a success! At day 9 of response to 30,000 names, we're at 77% of break-even with a .46% response." --Crystal Washington, The Oxford Club "The Internet direct mail you wrote for us got an excellent response: 7.55% from a rented list of hard-to-excite prospects." --Ken Paston, Studebaker-Worthington Leasing Corp. "All who received your copy agreed it was terrific. Certainly it's the best DM copy I've ever had to work with, because you've hit the rare combination of good writing and a good knowledge of what you are writing about." --Lois DeLong, American Institute of Chemical Engineers For more clients testimonials visit www.bly.com
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23. Daily to-do list On the wall near my desk is a cork bulletin board. On it I post several lists. The most important of these is my daily to-do list. It contains a numbered list with (a) all my current copywriting projects and (b) the deadline date for each. At least once a day, and sometimes more often, I update the daily to-do list, and print out and post a fresh copy. The numbered list is always in priority order: the jobs with the closest deadlines are #1, 2, and 3, while jobs with due dates longer out are lower down on the list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TO DO: WEDNESDAY—6/27/07 1. Channel Capital consultation—list build—TBD 2. Ideal booklet—ads—TBD 3. NUMX—7/9 [?-start 6/28]] 4. EOA DM—7/2 5. Gryphon—name capture 5/31, landing page 6/28, auto series 7/12 6. Advanced Solutions—two NLs, PR 20, form 7. Casey BG revised 6/25; IS 6/27 8. ITG new letter—7/19 9. Dalbey Science of Success—end July 10. TradeWins Velez DM submitted 6/14 11. Forbes Lehmman—7/17 12. Campione site map—5/22
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 13. Abe More mailer—TBD 14. ExecuNet—campaign 7-12 15. All Metals white paper—outline in review 16. China Stock Digest—edits 17. Boardroom Jayme—new deadline TBD 18. ConsciousOne—1/31 LP, e-mails. 19. Intech—Web, iCAM/roll brochure, knowledge brochure, globesp 20. Passlogix—comp WP, ESSO DR, CM WP edit, MS data sheet; corporate brochure 21. Sweitzer—basic mailer, cd mailer, advanced mailer 22. ETR Charter Club—LP, ad, e-mail [billed]; WINS, Big Money Watch, OC idea
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24. Long-term to-do list In addition to my freelance copywriting business, I have many other projects and tasks. These include: • • • • • •
A monthly column for DM News. Twice-monthly articles for Early to Rise. Seminars and speeches I am scheduled to give. Books I am under contract to write or want to write. Information products I need to create, edit, record, or otherwise work on for my Internet marketing business. Promotions (mainly landing pages) I need to create to sell these information products online.
These are kept on a separate list from my daily to-do list, which I call my long-term to-do list (reprinted below). Copywriting projects go on the daily to-do list because they are given priority: I am hired to do them and have assigned deadlines I am contractually obligated to meet. My Internet marketing projects have deadlines that I set, so I can move them as I wish. For the columns, I always stay several columns ahead of the publisher’s schedule, so no problems there. The books are long-term projects which I have months instead of weeks to complete, so they too are not urgent and immediate. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BOOKS/ARTICLES/PRODUCTS—6/27 BOB BLY COPYWRITING PROMO: 1) Postcard to Act driving them to www.bly.com/reports 2) Blogging—mine and others 3) DM News ad—7 ways to double response FREE 4) List of midmarket DM dream clients 5) BMA mailing and networking—Fern
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 6) Niche sites—letter guy, B2B, landing pages, the guru maker 7) Financial 8 ball mailing 8) SIPA promotion ONLINE MARKETING MISC: 1) DMA SEM Certification—starts mid March 2) Google Advertising Professional—Jodi—low. 3) Audio on sites tool Jodi—low priority 4) viral video—Stanley—[Bob to write script] 5) JMV e-zine directory submission software 6) ezinearticles.com, article directories 7) Co reg stambler—early march Jodi handling names 8) bly.com/reports2—run ad in writer’s mags 9) freearticles4yourezine.com—site [Bob to write] 10) Inbound links 11) JV site PDF submissions [Jodi ask DeCaro] 12) CTC Publishing home page Bob to write 13) Recruit and promote to affiliates—Jodi BOOKS: * = to write / PERMISSION CODES 1) 101 Ways to Make Money Writing—sourcebooks 10/1 * /WF 2) DM Handbook, Racom—due 10/15 * /DM 3) Start and Run Internet marketing business—due 8/15* /SR 4) Great Presentations—Entrepreneur—2/1* /GP 5) Paterson—proposal to Arcadia 6) Case Study Book: Let Your Customers Do The Selling—do proposal * /CS 7) Blog book ad copy—Fern ad copy due 1/17 8) Cooney book—write proposal * /GC 9) Self-help/Oceanus/Steinmetz—Enslow, Heinmann 10) ExecuNet 6 figure career strategies—do BP * COLUMNS: DM News—#57—5 ways to start writing a package [to run 54/56] ETR—92—TBD NL on NL REPORTS: LP for NL—5/15 Selling NL from e-zines—6/15 CTC PUBLISHING—monthly ads, weekly e-mails IDEAS FOR TELESEMINARS: ETR—Getting Started in Internet Marketing PRODUCTS TO RECORD/duplicate: Copywriting Scams Exposed! [send to Brett for duping] LANDING PAGES FOR STANLEY TO DESIGN: Legal Issues for Writers—submitted 6/15 WBKCSII—submitted 6/18 Short story—submitted to SD 6/18
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Business Success—SD Copywriting Exposed—SD 6/26 PRODUCTS FOR JON TO PROOF: Business Success—by 6/28 SUBMITTED E-BOOKS FOR BOB TO READ: [None currently] PRODUCTS AWAITING E-LAUNCH Query letters—7/3 WBKCS II—7/10 Biz Success—7/17 Speechwriting—7/24 Ads That Sell—7/31 Short Stories—8/7 Legal Issues for Writers—8/15 Copywriting Exposed—8/21 CONTENT FOR BOB TO EDIT: Copywriting forms and checklists Out on Your Own Special Report: Personal Productivity [Bob to correct] Science of Successful Living [Bob to write] Offline Marketing Secrets—[Bob edit] Consulting Success Library—[Bob to edit] Testing e-book [Bob to edit] B2B U (Brett to send mock up) DRPR e-book [Bob to add appendix on DR calculator PR] Copy Library—compile w copywriter referral tab Useborne Building Info empire online—to record/ LANDING PAGES FOR BOB TO WRITE: Tax book Difficult child Home school AUTHORS WORKING ON E-BOOKS: Online ads [Skye—by 6/4] Nutritional supplement copywriting [Clachar—8/15] Medical [revised due 6/7] Globalspec [elance JG—6/8] Christian writing [Whalin revisions due 6/30] Customer service DVD [Rubin sending 4/13, Bob report] Travel writing [Sue Wright, due 7/21] Writing Articles for Fun and Profit [Rachel—9/4] Web metrics [Brick, 7/31] Finance for writers [Amy –6/1] Insurance for Writers [PH—7/1] Proofreading/editing/copy editing Freelance tech writing e-book [Anne Starbuck, elance—early feb]
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Writing Niche [Kim—tbd] Funeral [Kim-tbd] Kidney Stones [Walker—tbd] Podcast e-book—Stacey [tbd] Things to do with Kids NJ—[Kim, tbd] E-BOOKS NEEDING LAYOUT, ASSIGNED: Speechwriting [to JAJ 6/14 Kiran] Query letters [JAJ to proof Barb] Tax [JAJ to proof Val] Legal [Hans300] Business Success [Barb submit prelim 6/18] Ghostwriting [Barb $260bid 6/27] E-BOOKS NEEDING LAYOUT, UNASSIGNED: LGDM e-book #20 [5/4] Special report self employment [5/24] RadioTVPRe-book [6/1] Conversational copy [6/12] Consulting success library [TBD] Art of self promotion [TBD] Book publishing e-book [TBD] PCM TO SCAN: Basics of Testing—ask Yvonne PRODUCT SOURCE: My Chemistry Set—source sets.
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25. “To come” list (potential jobs) Another list I keep on the bulletin board is my pending potential jobs. These are inquiries from companies that need a copywriter and have asked about my services. The list is important for planning purposes. Knowing what potential jobs are pending tells you how busy you are likely to be during the next few weeks or even months. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------POSSIBLE JOBS: 6-27-07 D=diamond, G= gold, S=silver, C=copper 1. Street Authority—G2. Boardroom Consumerlabs.com—G 3. Metrolensik—S+ 4. Abraxas Energy—S+ 5. Clear Haven Center—S+ 6. Sylmark—S+ 7. Dalbey—G 8. US Charts—G 9. FNMG/CFM/Luke—G 10. Conrad/NUMX—G 11. PRSOE/Mike Carroll—S+ 12. October Research—S+ 13. Golf Institute—S+ 14. ITG—second letter—G 15. Bill Stafford—S 16. Hurley Capital Management—S+ 17. Mark Joyner—S 18. Salesaxion.com—S 19. Unitel Yellow Pages ad—S 20. Elan—S 21. U.S. Monitor DM—S 22. PBD/BIR—S+ 23. Donaldflor.com—S 24. Angel Publishing—S+ 25. Advanced Roofing Pro—S 26. Sylmark—S 27. Cybermail Marketing—S+ 28. BD&A—G29. Acutrack—S+ 30. Wall Street Reporter—S+
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 31. Scott Willard—S 32. Precision Nutrition—S+ 33. Clarity Learning Solutions—S 34. BCH—prostate, heart, joint—S+ 35. AP Lending—S 36. Russ Ledbetter—S 37. Dr. Michael Fortini—S 38. Logan Swimming Pools—S+ 39. Lassen—S40. CFM oil and gas—G 41. Bold Industries—G 42. DRIP investing/Vita Nelson—S+ 43. Marketing Communications Group—G 44. Zaken—S 45. American Business Leveraged—S
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26. Idea starters checklist Many copywriters, I among them, keep “swipe files”—samples of successful promotions. I maintain my own swipe file by category. One of the largest categories in my swipe file is “financial publications” because (a) there are lots of mailings and (b) I do a lot of work in that area. My swipe file grew so big, that it became cumbersome to use as a reference. To solve that problem, I went through the swipe file and divided the samples by the creative or thematic approach they took. Then, I typed a list of all these different approaches with examples. It now serves as a cheat sheet or “Cliff Notes” to my swipe files. Instead of having to spend hours going through hundreds of samples, I can browse the cheat sheet and get inspiration for my project in just a few minutes. Now, you can too …
Bob Bly Copywriter/consultant
[email protected] www.bly.com
22 E. Quackenbush Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 phone 201-385-1220 fax 201-385-1138
Idea Starters for Packages Selling Financial Newsletters 1. ONE BIG STOCK. Tease the reader with the promise that you will give him a recommendation on a great stock that will make him rich, e.g, “The One Internet Stock You Should Buy This Year. Hint: It’s NOT Amazon.com.” 2. MULTIPLE BIG STOCKS. Tease the reader by offering a selection of stocks poised to earn big returns, e.g., “5 Technology Stocks You Must Own Now.” (Technology Investing) 3. INVENT A TERM. Create a new terminology to describe the types of winning stocks you pick (e.g., the successful “Bull Stocks” package for Wall Street Winners, and the Armadillo Stocks package for Phillips). 4. CREATE AN INVESTMENT CLUB.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Agora is very good at this; e.g., Sovereign Society, Oxford Club. 5. POSTION YOUR EDITOR AS EITHER A STOCK-MARKET GURU OR AS AN EXPERT IN A SPECIALIZED NICHE. The best-known example of the former is Louis Ruckeyser; the best-known example of the latter is Ken Roberts in options. 6. THE SAVIOR. Dick Sanders says: “This differs from the guru or niche expert in that the savior is put on a pedestal, portrayed on a much higher level and in an elite class. The savior doesn’t show you how to invest but actually does the work for you, sharing his trades and thus saving you from financial ruin or mediocrity.” Example: “Meet Phil Erlanger: Wall Street’s Best-Kept Secret.” (Squeeze Play) 7. PREDICTION PACKAGE. Packages that predict big moves, either in the market overall or a specific sector or investment: e.g., “The Great Supernet Boom of 2002.” (Sagami’s Scientific Investing) “Why Value Investing Will Never Come Back.” (Phillips) “20 Surprises in Technology for the Year 2000” (Technology Investing). 8. PROTECTION PACKAGE. The theme is “Take my advice or you will lose your shirt.” Tradex is the master of this approach: e.g., “What you must do before September 15, 2001 to avoid devastating losses.” (Tradex Digest) 9. PROFIT PROMISE. Promise big returns and back up promise: e.g., “The voice on my phone was trembling. ‘Steve,’ he said, ‘I invested just like you said. And I made $300,000 in one day!’” (Options Hotline) 10. SELL A SYSTEM. Show that you achieve your profits through a trading system or stock-picking method not available elsewhere, e.g., “This Unique System Will Work, Like a Swiss Watch, In Any Market” (Erlanger Squeeze Play). 11. GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR. Offer a chance to profit from the next big thing, e.g., “If you missed buying Intel or Microsoft during their infancy, here’s your chance at getting rich from the technology revolution.” The message: You missed out last time; don’t miss out again. 12. NEWS TIE-IN. Tie-in with current events; e.g. “Terrorists Unleash Economic Hell” (Tradex) and “War, Energy, and the Saudi Time Bomb” (Utility Forecaster). 13. ISSUE-SPECIFIC. Packages focusing on energy shortages, Arab oil cartel, decaying infrastructure, defense, health care, world affairs, e.g., “The Battle for Energy Independence” (Utility Forecaster). 14. ADVICE. Tell the reader what to do, e.g., “Buy these 5 Vanguard Funds Immediately.” (Phillips) 15. LEAD WITH YOUR OFFER.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Gain attention with a strong offer or unusual premium, e.g., “A private Swiss, Austrian, or Luxembourg bank account is waiting for you.” (Sovereign Society) “With our compliments … a free trial issue of America’s most trustworthy personal health letter.” (Mayo Clinic Health Letter—successful control) 16. DRAMATIC STATEMENT. E.g., “The First Great Event of the 21st Century” (Outstanding Investments in Natural Resources); “The Greatest Market Discovery Ever Made” (Past, Present, Futures); “New Wall Street Shock Ahead” (Blue Chip Growth). 17. CONFIDENTIAL/INSIDE INFORMATION. Promise to reveal exclusive information available only to a small group of investors on a limited basis, e.g., “Discover the Secret World of Underground Investments!” (Outstanding Investments) 18. CONTRARIAN. Say the opposite of what others say, e.g., “You don’t need to be playing too-hot technology stocks to make huge profits on the technology revolution.” (Agora) 19. POSITION THE MAILING ITSELF AS AN INFORMATION PRODUCT. Give the magalog or reportalog a title that implies the DM piece itself is a valuable information product, e.g., “Special Issue” or “Investor’s Bulletin.” Or Ken Roberts’ classic “The World’s Most Powerful Money Manual and Course.” 20. HIDDEN MARKET. Offer to let the reader in on a little-known category of investment or market opportunity, e.g., “Unusual Stock Market ‘Inversion’ Brings Whopping 45.8% Profit in 14 Days.” (IPO Insider); “Your stock broker doesn’t want you to know about this $25 billion hidden bull market” (Senmontier Strategy). 21. MAKE UP FOR LOSSES OR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES. Missed opportunities, e.g., “How to make back every dime you lost in the market” (Stellar Stocks). 22. AVOID MARKET DISASTER. Idea: The market is going to crash. We will tell you how to avoid losses plus how to actually make money, e.g., “7 Horsemen of the Coming Stock Market Apocalypse.” (Tradex Digest) 23. ASK A PROVOCATIVE QUESTION. e.g., “Is Social Security Doomed?” 24. THE SKEPTICAL OR “NAÏVE” NARRATOR. e.g., “I didn’t believe it until I did the math for myself,” “This system is so complex even I barely understand it …” 25. GREAT TRACK RECORD OR RECENT BIG SUCCESSES. e.g., “I just made 140% … 225% … 450%. Don’t miss my next big trade.” Please let me know if you have others to add to the list. © Copyright 2002 Robert W. Bly. Phone (201) 385-1220
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27. Copy disclaimer I place the box below at the top of page one of every piece of copy I submit to my clients. My main purpose is to encourage them to use the Word “Track Changes” feature for reviewing and marking up copy, as it saves both the client and me time and aggravation. A note to reviewers Please keep in mind that this is a preliminary draft. As you read, you may find extraneous information you want to delete, or think of missing information you want to add. You may want to change the organization of the piece, or make wording changes to heads and body copy. Please do so without hesitation, marking your comments directly on this manuscript. That will give us the best draft possible. At this point, you can make as many changes as you want, without cost or delay of any kind. If we do not hear back from you within 30 days, we assume there are no changes and you approve the copy as-is. Please note: Although you are free to communicate your copy changes in any manner you wish (phone call, handwritten notes on the draft), we strongly recommend you type your comments directly on the electronic file of this copy using the Word Tracking feature. Not only does it give you unlimited room to comment (a problem when marking up a hard copy by hand), but it eliminates the frustration of having to deal with handwritten comments that look okay on your end but become illegible when faxed.
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28. Copywriting questionnaire Go through the checklist of questions below and make sure you have the answers before you start writing copy for your ad or mailing. Forty-two questions to ask before you write copy 1. What are all the product benefits? 2. What are all the features of the product? 3. How is the product different and, hopefully, better than the competition? 4. What does the buyer expect when he or she plunks down a few dollars for the product? And do we deliver? 5. What methods, approaches and sales techniques are the competition using? 6. How is the audience for my product differing from the general public? 7. How much can my buyer reasonably expect to pay? 8. Does my average buyer have a credit card or a checking account? 9. Will my product be purchased for business or personal use? 10. Can I expect to get multiple sales from my buyer? 11. What is the logical “back end” product to sell someone after he has purchased my product? (Back end refers to other products in your product line you can offer to someone who has bought the primary product featured in your ad.) 12. Will I need to show my product in color? 13. What’s the ‘universe’ i.e. what’s the total number of potential customers? 14. Who will buy my product: teenagers or octogenarians … men or women … executives or blue collar workers? 15. Is there a market for overseas sales? 16. Should I offer time payments? 17. Will my product be a good gift item? 18. Should my copy be long or short? 19. What should the tone of my copy be? 20. Should I test the price? 21. Should I test copy approaches? 22. Is there a seasonal market for my product and am I taking advantage of it? 23. Are testimonials available from satisfied customers? 24. Do I need photographs or illustrations? 25. Which appeals have worked in the past for this product? 26. What objections might arise from a prospective customer? How can I overcome these objections? 27. Should I use a premium? 28. Should I offer a money-back guarantee?
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 29. Is this item also sold by retail? Are there price advantages I can stress for buying direct from the ad? 30. Should I consider a celebrity testimonial? 31. Can I tie in my copy to some news event? 32. Can I tie my copy to some holiday or seasonal event? 33. Does my product sell better in a particular region or climate? 34. Should I consider using a sweepstakes? 35. Can my product be sold through a two-step advertising campaign? (In a two-step campaign, ads generate inquiries rather than direct sales.) 36. What must I do to give the reader a sense of urgency so he or she will buy my product now? 37. Can I use scientific evidence in my sales approach? 38. Have I allowed enough time to write, design, produce my ad and place my insertion order’? 39. Can I get my customer to order by telephone? 40. What unsuccessful approaches have been used to sell this product’? 41. Can I get powerful “before” and “after” pictures? 42. Assuming the ad is successful, am I prepared to fill all the orders?
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29. Multiple copy platforms At times you may have more than one idea as to the theme or idea around which you want to write your copy. I use a “preliminary concepts” memo to present options to the client. Together we discuss them and pick the one we both like best. An even better idea is to create two or three versions of the mailing, each based on a different approach, and test them in an A/B/C split. To: Paul Johnson FROM: Bob Bly File: LEADERSHIP Topic: Preliminary concepts for Leadership mailing Date: 11-5-06 COPY PLATFORM #1: LEADERS ARE MADE, NOT BORN. If people feel leadership is an innate ability, they will not buy our service because they think leadership cannot be learned. We prove that great leaders are made, not born—the skills can be easily acquired if they use the right resource (us), and we provide the fastest, least expensive, most effective way to do that. Possible headline:
AMA report dispels the myth of the “born leader.” New study finds that leadership skills are learned; not inherited. Easy home-study learning system transforms ordinary managers into dynamic leaders in just 20 minutes a month. COPY PLATFORM #2: BEING A LEADER WILL MAKE YOU MORE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CAREER. People want to be better leaders. They want to be respected and admired. They want to do better in their jobs, get promotions, and make more money. We prove that mastery of leadership skills is directly tied to earnings and success. Possible headlines:
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Managers with good leadership skills are promoted faster and higher; earn $10,000 to $30,000 a year more than colleagues, research reveals. COPY PLATFORM #3: WE SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY. In just 20 minutes reading time a month, you get the best ideas in leadership. There is so much out there on leadership, it would cost you a fortune to buy—and you would never have time to read even a fraction of it. Our service brings you the best in leadership skills training in a concise, quick-reading format for under $9 a month. Possible headline: The $50,000 Executive Leadership Program You Can Master in 20 Minutes (and for $8 a Month) in the Privacy of Your Own Office. COPY PLATFORM #4: GAIN THE LEADERSHIP ABILITIES OF A FIVE-STAR GENERAL. Who has the best leadership skills and training? Five-star generals. Now you can apply the same winning leadership strategies they use to your business. Possible headline: What McArthur, Patton, Eisenhower, Powell, and Schwarzkopf can teach you about becoming a more effective leader. COPY PLATFORM #5: AN ELITE GROUP. In the 1990s, winning in business was easy. All ships were rising with the tide, and you had to screw up big time to get fired. Times have changed, and so have the challenges of executive leadership. An elite group has figured this out and is now sharing the secret. Possible headlines:
What do the world’s most successful CEOs know about leadership that ordinary manages often don’t? What do the world’s highest-paid CEOs have going for them that ordinary managers sometimes lack? World’s most successful CEOs reveal their best-kept leadership secrets.
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30. Travel itinerary for business trip For many years my assistant has prepared a summary itinerary for me whenever I travel to speak, attend a conference, or consult with a client. I find it a convenient tool for staying organized and on schedule while traveling.
Bob Bly’s Itinerary for IABC Iowa 2007 Principal Financial Group/Corporate Building One 711 High Street Des Moines, IA March 7, 2007 TRAVEL DAY Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 2:15 p.m. pick up by Airbrook Limo (201-843-6100) at the office; confirmation # 438956 Airbrook Limo will call you at 201-385-1220 when the driver arrives at your office. You have an electronic ticket for this flight. Please have photo ID. - Depart 4:38 p.m. Newark International Airport, Terminal A United Airlines Flight #651 Depart Terminal: A United Airlines Confirmation #: SVLC5C Ticket Number: 0161562864857 Seat 15D - Arrive 6:19 p.m. CST Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 1 (CHANGE PLANES IN CHICAGO) - Depart 8:30 p.m. CST Chicago O’Hare International Airport United Airlines Flight # 691 Depart Terminal: 1 United Airlines Confirmation #: SVLC5C Ticket Number: 0161562864857
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Seat 15D - Arrive 9:44 p.m. CST Des Moines Airport Transportation from airport to hotel: -Radisson Hotel Des Moines Airport Shuttle - Complimentary Please call the Radisson at 1-515-285-7777 from baggage claim area to have them pick you up. The hotel is 1 mile from airport. (approx. 5 min.)
Accommodations in Des Moines Radisson Hotel Des Moines Airport 6800 Fleur Drive Des Moines, IA 50321 Phone: 1-515-285-7777 Fax: 1-515-256-0000 Reservation number: 3PM8CCJ Room: $139.00 + $16.68 tax = $155.68 Arrival: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 (confirmed for late arrival) Departure: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 PLEASE NOTE: go to the express check-in kiosk with your check-in pass and pick up your room key. You have already been checked into the hotel. Transportation from hotel to conference: - Pick up by Yellow Cab (515-243-1111). Confirmation #80819. Pick up at 6:45 a.m. from the Radisson Hotel. Please bring your luggage with you as we have scheduled Yellow Cab to take you back to the airport from the conference center. Bob, go to the 711 High Street entrance of the conference center. Tom Brown will meet you at security desk. Tom Brown’s phone numbers:
W- 515—xxx-xxxx H—515-xxx-xxxx C—515-xxx-xxxx
Conference Schedule for March 7, 2007: 8:00-8:30 Registration 8:45-9:00 Announcements/Networking 9:00-10:00 The World’s Best-Kept Copywriting Secrets - Part I 10:00-11:00 The World’s Best-Kept Copywriting Secrets - Part II 11:00-11:15 Break 11:15-11:45 Ready, Set, Write - headlines 11:45-12:15 Ready, Set, Write - leads 12:15-1:15 Lunch and Informal Copywriting Chat 1:15-2:15 Ad Writing workshop 2:15-2:30 Break 2:30-3:30 What’s Working in E-mail Marketing and the Web 3:30-4:30 Business-to-Business Marketing Secrets
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ TRAVEL DAY Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Transportation from Conference Center to Airport: Pick up by Yellow Cab (515-243-1111) from the conference center to the airport at 5:00 p.m. Confirmation #80820 - Depart 6:38 p.m. CST Des Moines Airport United Airlines Flight #5837 United Airlines Confirmation #: SVLC5C Ticket Number: 0161562864857 Seat 14C - Arrive 8:00 p.m. CST Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 1 (CHANGE PLANES IN CHICAGO) - Depart 8:55 p.m. CST Chicago O’Hare International Airport United Airlines Flight # 818 Depart Terminal: 1 United Airlines Confirmation #: SVLC5C Ticket Number: 0161562864857 Seat 18D - Arrive 11:54 p.m. EST Newark International Airport, Terminal A - Pick up by Airbrook Limo. Confirmation # 438957. Pick up in baggage claim area. If you need assistance please call: 800-800-1990. We have you returning to the office, if you choose to return home instead, please let us know so we can alert the driver prior to pick up. ###
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31. Space ad promoting copywriting services Here is a full-page space ad I ran in DM News to generate leads for my freelance copywriting services. The first time the ad ran, it generated 75 inquiries.
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32. Copywriting order form It’s a common practice for potential clients to ask for a resume, brochure, samples of your work, your rates, and other information to be sent to them. Throughout this Toolkit, I’ve shown you the different elements of my copywriting information kit, which has been very successful for me. Some of the elements—a bio, cover letter, client list, testimonials—are common; many copywriters use them. Here’s something that’s less common: I also enclose a two-sided order form (below) the client can use to order copy from me. Although most clients will want to have a discussion about their needs before hiring you to write their copy, a surprising number completed the form and mailed it back to me— without talking to me first—after getting and reading my information kit. Now, on my Web site www.bly.com, I post a version of this order form on the Contact page. Prospects use it not to order copy, but to describe their project to me. They can request a free copywriting information kit, a free quote, or both.
USE THIS FORM TO ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! 1. Your name
signature
2. Your title 3. Your company 4. Your address city
state
zip
5. Your phone number E-mail address
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 6. The name of your product or service 7. The market for your product or service (who are you selling it to?)
8. The kind of copy you need: ( ( ( (
) Ad ) Brochure ) Catalog ) Copy critique
( ( ( (
) Feature article ) Web site ) Newsletter ) Press release
( ) Direct mail ( ) White Paper ( ) E-mail/Landing Page ( ) Other:
9. The desired length of the copy (how many pages, words, minutes?)
10. The purpose of the copy (check all that apply): ( ( ( (
) to generate inquiries ) to generate sales ) to transmit information ) to announce new products
( ( ( (
) to answer inquiries ) to build awareness ) to build company image ) other:
11. Please enclose any literature that will provide me with the background information I need to write your copy. This can include previous ads, brochures, mailings, article reprints, press releases, internal memos, proposals, technical papers—send whatever you feel appropriate. Don’t worry about organizing the material. I’ll do that. 12. What are the key selling points of this product or service?
13. What is your deadline date (the date you need to receive the finished copy)?
14. Use the bottom of this page for any additional comments (attach more sheets if needed). 15. Order your copy or copy estimate by checking one of the options below: ( ) I’ve enclosed the order form, background material, and a check for half your fee. Please write the copy I’ve ordered and send it to me by the date indicated on this form. I understand that the balance of your fee is payable and due on the day I receive the copy from you. ( ) Here’s my order form and background material. Please call me with an estimate of what my copy will cost before you start writing.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ ( ) Give me a call so we can discuss my copy needs in more detail. 16. Mail this form to:
Bob Bly 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628-3055
Phone: (201) 385-1220 Fax: (201) 385-1138 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.bly.com MY GUARANTEE TO YOU: The copy I write is guaranteed to please you. If you’re not satisfied, I’ll rewrite, based on your specific guidelines, at no extra charge. Revisions must be assigned within 30 days and don’t include changes made in the original assignment after copy is submitted.
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33. Invoice As in most other businesses, copywriting clients want you to bill them before they write you a check. My standard invoice is shown below. Nothing fancy, but lots of freelance copywriters ask me if they could see what my invoices look like, so here you go …
Center for Technical Communication 22 East Quackenbush Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 (201) 385-1220
INVOICE
DATE 6/29/07
CLIENT: Spartan Engineering COPYWRITING SERVICES: DATE 6/29/07
ITEM CODE Copywriting
DESCRIPTION Copywriting of Sales Letter
TOTAL
AMOUNT $2000
$2000
Please make check payable to: Center for Technical Communication
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ When a client does not pay your invoice on time, promptly send him a statement showing the outstanding balances.
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34. Fax cover sheet Although many self-employed professionals are giving up having a dedicated fax machine with a dedicated phone line, I still have one. It seems more professional and convenient for both me and my clients. Since it’s a standard fax machine and not a fax modem, I need to use a fax cover sheet, shown below. Priority Fax Transmission Date_________________________ Time_______________________________ To_______________________________________________________________ Fax______________________________________________________________ FROM: Bob Bly, CTC 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628
phone (201) 385-1220 fax (201) 385-1138
We are transmitting ________ pages including this cover sheet. If you do not receive all the pages or they are not legible, please call back as soon as possible. Thank you. SUBJECT____________________________________________________________________
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35. Cold-calling script Although I personally don’t make cold calls, cold calling can be an effective means of generating leads. Occasionally a member of my staff has made cold calls to clients she thinks we should have, with great success. Here are some of the scripts she used … Cold call: Doug, you don’t know me but I came across AirZip in a recent issue of NEPA News and wanted to offer to send you some samples of Bob Bly’s marketing and direct mail copywriting. If so, just reply to this message and I’ll send them along. For the past 20 years, he’s written lead-generating direct mail copy (both online and offline) for clients like Nortel Networks, IBM, Computron, Haht Software, US Robotics and more. Bob Bly is the author of 50+ books, including “The Online Copywriter’s Handbook” and “Business to Business Direct Marketing: Proven Direct Response Methods to Generate More Leads and Sales.” You can see both direct marketing and e-mail marketing samples on his Web site: http://www.bly.com Short variation to cold e-mail/call script: Gary, per my voice mail message, I’m hoping you work with outside copywriters on your marketing materials and (if so) that you’d like to see some samples of Bob Bly’s online and offline copy for Siemens, GE Medical Systems, Osteonics and other healthcare companies. If so, just say so and I’ll send them along. Longer variation to cold e-mail/call script: Carol, you don’t know me but you may be familiar with Bob Bly, high-tech b2b copywriter. He’s written a lot of direct mail for Intuit and other accounting software. That’s why I thought you might like to see samples of lead-generating direct mail copy (both
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ online and offline). Other clients include Nortel Networks, Microsoft, IBM, Computron, Haht Software, US Robotics and more. You can also see both direct marketing and e-mail marketing samples on our Web site: http://www.bly.com So may I send those samples? If you’re not the right person, please point me in the right direction. Just click “reply” with your address and we’ll get those out. Thanks for your time, Follow up to voice mail message left: Dear Blank, We saw today in the NEPA Hotline that you’re launching a new Google newsletter, so I thought you might be interested in receiving direct mail copywriter Bob Bly’s FREE report, “How to Double Your Response Rates At Half The Cost.” If so, just reply to this message and I’ll add you to his monthly e-mail tip list, and you’ll get the report at the same time. Bob’s written control-beating lead-generating direct mail copy (both online and offline) for other newsletter publishers, including Forbes, Institutional Investor, Phillips, Agora, KCI, Boardroom and more. I’d be happy to send samples of some of these. What do you say? Phone/e-mail to get contact: Hello, I’m writing on behalf of Bob Bly, direct mail copywriter specializing in the financial industry (and stock promotions in particular) and would like to send some samples/info to your marketing director. Can you tell me who that is and where to send it? This script for making cold calls to sell your freelance copywriting services was created by the American Artists & Writers Inc. and is reprinted with permission from my book Secrets of a Freelance Writer, Revised Second Edition. “Good morning (Mr. Smith) my name is (Donald Marcus), and I’m a direct mail copywriter. I’m calling you today because I think I can help you boost your sales dramatically. Honestly, I think I can beat the control you’re mailing. I have a very unique formula for evaluating sales copy, and when I applied it to your oontrol, I found several critical weaknesses. Would you mind if I just point out a couple to you?” “Well, just to give you an idea, I found (summarize three weak points found in analysis).
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Now, that was just a small part of my evaluation. The point is, that I think I can DOUBLE the response of your current control. Would that be of interest to you?” “Then let me make a proposal to you. Let me rnail you a brief analysis of your control, and show you what I think the weak points are. I’ll also include an outline of how I would approach a promotion for your product. Then, if you’re interested, we can discuss my fee for a test package to go against your control. And left me say this: I think you’ll find my offer quite reasonable. And even if you’re not interested, you’ll have gotten a FREE critique of your control. Does that sound fair?” “Thank you very much (Mr. Smith). Let me make sure I have your mailing information correct. You’re at (etc.) “Thank you again for your time. You should hear from me in about one week. If you don’t mind, I’ll call you about a week afterwards, to make sure you received everything.” “Thanks again, (Mr. Smith). Have a good day. I’ll speak with you soon.” (Mail analysis and outline promptly—within three days after initial call. Include cover letter reminding Mr. Smith of who you are and how you intend to help him.) Source: American Writers & Artists Institute Getting Clients Workshop 2004
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36. Sales letter to industrial marketers Here is the sales letter I used to launch my freelance copywriting business in 1982. I mailed it to creative directors at 500 advertising agencies that handled industrial accounts, pulling the list from the Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies (see appendix II). I received 35 replies, a 7 percent response.
How an Engineer and Former Ad Manager Can Help You Write Better Ads and Brochures For many people, industrial advertising is a difficult chore. It’s detailed work, and highly technical. To write the copy, you need someone with the technical know-how of an engineer and the communications skills of a copywriter. That’s where I can help. As a freelance industrial and high-tech copywriter who is also a graduate engineer, I know how to write clear, technically sound, hard selling copy. You’ll like my writing samples, ads, brochures, catalogs, direct mail, PR, and A/V. And you’ll like having a writer on call who works only when you need him. Here are my qualifications: I have an engineering background (B.S., chemical engineering, University of Rochester). I started out writing brochures and A/V scripts for the Westinghouse Defense Center. After I left Westinghouse, I became advertising manager for Koch Engineering, a manufacturer of process equipment. In my freelance work, I’ve handled projects in a wide variety of industries, including computers, software, chemicals, industrial equipment, electronics, publishing, banking, health care, and telecommunications. My articles on business communications have appeared in Business Marketing, Computer Decisions, Amtrak Express, Chemical Engineering, and Audiovisual Directions. And I’m the author of The Copywriter’s Handbook (Dodd, Mead), A Dictionary of Computer Words (Dell/Banbury), and nine other books. Now, I’d like to help you create ads, brochures, and other promotions. Call me when your creative team is overloaded, or when the project is highly technical.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ I’d be delighted to send you a complete information kit on my copywriting services. The package includes a client list, fee schedule, biographical information, and samples of my work. Just complete and mail the enclosed reply card and the kit is yours, at no cost or obligation to you, of course. Sincerely, Bob Bly P.S. Mail the reply card today and I’ll also send you a free copy of the much reprinted article, “10 Tips for Writing More Effective Industrial Copy.”
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37. Collection letter series If a client does not pay your invoice on time, immediately start sending a series of collection letters once the balance becomes past due. The longer a bill goes unpaid, the less likely it becomes that you will ever collect it. LETTER NO. 1 Dear Jim: Just a reminder … … that payment for the brochure I wrote for you (see copy of invoice attached) is now past due. Would you please send me a check today? A self-addressed stamped reply envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Regards, Bob Bly
LETTER NO. 2 Dear Jim: I haven’t gotten payment for this invoice yet. Did you receive my original bill and follow-up letter? If there is any problem, please let me know. Otherwise, please send me a check for the amount due within the next few days. Thanks, Bob Bly
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ LETTER NO. 3 Dear Jim: This is the third notice I’ve sent about the enclosed invoice, which is now many weeks past due. Was there a problem with this job I don’t know about? When may I expect payment? Sincerely, Bob Bly
LETTER NO. 4 Dear Jim: What do you think I should do? Despite three previous notices about this invoice, it remains unpaid. I haven’t heard from you, and you haven’t responded to my letters. Please remit payment within 10 days of receipt of this letter. I dislike sending you these annoying notices, nor do I like turning accounts over to my attorney for collection. But you are leaving me little choice. Sincerely, Bob Bly P.S. Please be aware that the copyright on the copy I wrote for you for this assignment does not transfer to your company until my invoice has been paid in full.
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38. Query letter You can promote yourself by publishing how-to and informational articles related to commercial writing in trade and business magazines read by your potential clients. To propose an article to an editor, use a query letter. A query letter is a brief (1-2 page) letter proposal to an editor. It concisely outlines the article you want to write—including the topic, contents, and your qualifications to write it. The sample query below got me an assignment to write an article on letter writing for Amtrak Express magazine. They even paid me $400, and this was many years ago!
Mr. James A. Frank, Editor Amtrak Express 34 East 51st St. New York, NY 10022 Dear Mr. Frank: Is this letter a waste of paper? Yes —if it fails to get the desired result. In business, most letters and memos are written to generate a specific response, close a sale; set up a meeting, get a job interview, make a contact. Many of these letters fail to do their job. Part of the problem is that business executives and support staff don’t know how to write persuasively. The solution is a formula first discovered by advertising copywriters, a formula called AIDA. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. First, the letter gets attention … with a hard-hitting lead paragraph that goes straight to the point, or offers an element of intrigue. Then, the letter hooks the reader’s interest. The hook is often a clear statement of the reader’s problems, his needs, his concerns. If you are writing to a customer who received damaged goods, state the problem. And then promise a solution.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Next, create desire. You are offering something: a service, a product, an agreement, a contract, a compromise, a consultation. Tell the reader the benefit he’ll receive from your offering. Create a desire for your product. Finally, call for action. Ask for the order, the signature, the check, the assignment. I’d like to write a 1,500-word article on “How to Write Letters that Get Results.” The piece will illustrate the AIDA formula with a variety of actual letters and memos from insurance companies, banks, manufacturers, and other organizations. This letter, too, was written to get a specific result: an article assignment from the editor of Amtrak Express. Did it succeed? Regards, Bob Bly P.S. By way of introduction, I’m an advertising consultant and the author of five books, including Technical Writing: Structure, Standards, and Style (McGraw-Hill).
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39. Letter to obtain testimonials After completing a job successfully, you can use this letter to solicit a testimonial from the client. I always send a self-addressed stamped envelope and two copies of the letter. This way the recipient doesn’t have to make a copy of the letter or address and stamp her own envelope. Mr. Andrew Specher, President Hazardous Waste Management, Inc. Anywhere, U.S.A. Dear Andrew: I have a favor to ask of you. I’m in the process of putting together a list of testimonials, a collection of comments about my services from satisfied clients like you. Would you take a few minutes to give me your opinion of my writing services? No need to dictate a letter—just jot your comments on the back of this letter, sign below, and return it to me in the enclosed envelope. (The second copy is for your files.) I look forward to learning what you like about my service … but I also welcome any suggestions or criticisms, too. Many thanks, Andrew. Regards, Bob Bly YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO QUOTE FROM MY COMMENTS, AND USE THESE QUOTATIONS IN ADS, BROCHURES, MAIL, AND OTHER PROMOTIONS USED TO MARKET YOUR FREELANCE WRITING SERVICES. Signature Date
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40. Letter for getting permission to use existing testimonial Some clients will send you letters of testimonial unsolicited. Before you use them in your promotions, get their permission in writing, using this form letter: Mr. Mike Hernandez Advertising Manager Technilogic, Inc. Anytown, U.S.A. Dear Mike: I never did get around to thanking you for your letter of 8/15/97 (copy attached). So … thanks! I’d like to quote from this letter in the ads, brochures, direct-mail packages, and other promotions I use to market my writing services—with your permission, of course. If this is okay with you, would you please sign the bottom of this letter and send it back to me in the enclosed envelope? (The second copy is for your files.) Many thanks, Mike. Regards, Bob Bly YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO QUOTE FROM THE ATTACHED LETTER IN ADS, BROCHURES, MAIL, AND OTHER PROMOTIONS USED TO MARKET YOUR FREELANCE WRITING SERVICES. Signature Date
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41. Form for keeping track of sales leads You can keep track of your sales leads with contact management software such as Goldmine or Act. Or, you can keep your leads in a three-ring binder, filling out the form below for each prospect.
Date
Source of inquiry
Name
Response via
Title
Company
Phone
Address
Room/floor
City
State
Zip
Type of business: Type of accounts (if an ad agency): Type of projects: For: [ ] immediate project [ ] future reference [ ] project to be started in: (month/year) STATUS: [ ] Sent package on (date): [ ] Enclosed these samples: [ ] Next step is to: [ ] Probability of assignment: [ ] COMMENTS:
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Summary:
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42. Letter requesting referrals One of the best sources of sales leads is referrals from existing clients. If your clients aren’t giving you as many referrals as you want, here’s a letter you can use to ask for more:
Ms. Joan Zipkin Acme Retail Outlets Anytown, U.S.A. Dear Joan: I’m glad you liked the spring catalog I recently completed for you. Like you, I’m always on the lookout for new business. So I have a favor to ask. Could you jot down, on the back of this letter, the names, addresses, and phone numbers of a few of your colleagues who might benefit from knowing more about my services? (Naturally, I don’t want the name of anyone whose product line competes with your own.) Then, just mail the letter back to me in the enclosed reply envelope. I may want to mention your name when contacting these people. Let me know if there’s any problem with that. And thanks for the favor! Regards, Sam Tate
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43. Promoting yourself through speaking engagements One effective way to market yourself is by giving talks and speeches to groups of advertising and marketing professionals. Here’s a model query letter you can use to generate such engagements: Ms. Jane Smiley Program Director Women in Engineering Big City, U.S.A. Dear Ms. Smiley: Did you know that, according to a recent survey in Engineering Today, the ability to write clearly and concisely can mean $100,000 extra in earnings over the lifetime of an engineer’s career? For this reason, I think your members might enjoy a presentation I have given to several business organizations around town, “10 Ways to Improve Your Technical Writing.” As the director of Plain Language, Inc., a company that specializes in technical documentation, I have worked with hundreds of engineers to help them improve their writing. My presentation highlights the 10 most common writing mistakes engineers make, and gives strategies for self-improvement. Does this sound like the type of presentation that might fit well into your winter program schedule? I’d be delighted to speak before your group. Please phone or write so we can set a date. Regards, Blake Garibaldi, Director Plain Language, Inc.
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44. Sample copy critique I don’t use any special format for writing copy critiques. I merely go through the piece of copy I am being paid to critique, and present my comments in a simple numbered list, as in the sample critique below: To: Joe Client From: Bob Bly Re: Critique of small business loan mailer 1. The main problem with this is that it LOOKS and SOUNDS like “promotional mail.” I get at least one of these a week, maybe even one a day, at my office, as do many small business owners. It just has the style, tone, and appearance of “junk mail.” That’s not good. It should look and read like either personal correspondence or important business information. 2. Every other lender’s mail looks and reads like this, which is a good reason to make yours DIFFERENT. You want ABCD to STAND OUT from the pack, and come across as a valuable business resource—not another loan shark. 3. In your mailer, you take the standard copy approach of letting the reader know he qualifies to borrow money. Perhaps you should test this against an approach where you educate him on the VALUE of borrowing money to grow his business. 4. What I mean is this: many small business owners don’t like the idea of borrowing and having debt. But they DO like the idea of growing their business and becoming rich and successful. Yet we are opposed to borrowing. We want our business to be successful. We don’t WANT to borrow money—and you have to educate us that we SHOULD borrow money, because that way, we will reach our business goals faster. 5. In your letter, you can start with the prospect, her business, and her hopes and dreams of building a small business into a source of lifetime financial security, e.g., “To grow your business, it takes capital. Capital you may not have. But capital now, thanks to ABCD, you can now get—at a very affordable cost.” 6. Give an example with some numbers to show that if they use the money they borrow to increase their business, the increased cash flow they will gain is far in excess of the small monthly payments they must make to pay back the loan. So in effect, they are borrowing the money for free! This could be a case study of one of your borrowers.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 7. You have used a tone in your copy that is official and professional. Try writing a letter that is personal and emotional. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are passionate about their businesses. Show them that ABCD shares that passion and wants to help them make their dreams come true. Reach them on a PERSONAL and EMOTIONAL level. Right now, your copy only reaches them on a LOGICAL level. 8. If ABCD is actually a government agency, say so up front. If not, explain how ABCD is in a position to help the reader gain government grants or loans. Are we AUTHORIZED by the Australian government to act as an intermediary between the borrower and the lender? 9. I would put the 5 categories of funding in a separate small brochure mailed along with the letter. This way we can say “we have enclosed an informative pamphlet showing the 5 ways Australian small businesses can get the government to help you finance your growth at low cost.” 10. I might also print the long list of businesses for whom we have obtained funding on a separate sheet, perhaps on colored stock, to make it stand out. On the headline to that sheet, we could reference the total number of businesses we have helped and the total dollar amount of funding we have secured for them, e.g., “Since 19XX, ABCD has helped 1,325 Australian businesses obtain $15,367,543.34 in government grants, loans, and other funding.” 11. On the sheet of success stories (#10 above), maybe add a sidebar with 3 to 6 testimonials from satisfied customers praising our services and telling what they were able to accomplish in their businesses with the money. 12. How do we charge for our services? Does the prospect pay us a flat fee? Do we get our commission from the government lending agency? Do we charge for a business plan or do it for free as part of the service? 13. As in other financing promotions, tell the reader what he does NOT have to pay for or do, e.g., “no application fee … no audit of your books … no revenue verification … no closing costs … etc.” 14. Consider offering a premium or other incentive for calling immediately, e.g., “Call within the next 7 days and you get X.” “X” could be a waiver of application fees, or maybe a cordless phone or desktop calculator, or a booklet on “9 ways to grow your small business in Australia today.”
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45. Sample copy manuscript Copywriters constantly ask to see a sample of my copy as I submit it to the client, presumably to learn the proper format. Here is an example … --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------File: IntechPC1 Date: 10-21-04 Topic: Intech 6X9” postcard—plastic teeth breaking—first draft
A note to reviewers Please keep in mind that this is a preliminary draft. As you read, you may find extraneous information you want to delete, or think of missing information you want to add. You may want to change the organization of the piece, or make wording changes to heads and body copy. Please do so without hesitation, marking your comments directly on this manuscript. That will give us the best draft possible. At this point, you can make as many changes as you want, without cost or delay of any kind. If we do not hear back from you within 30 days, we assume there are no changes and you approve the copy as-is. Please note: Although you are free to communicate your copy changes in any manner you wish (phone call, handwritten notes on the draft), we strongly recommend you type your comments directly on the electronic file of this copy using the Word Tracking feature. Not only does it give you unlimited room to comment (a problem when marking up a hard copy by hand), but it eliminates the frustration of having to deal with handwritten comments that look okay on your end but become illegible when faxed.
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800-XXX-XXXX FRONT
OPTIONAL VISUAL
800-XXX-XXXX
•
www.xxx.xxx
BACK
[LAYOUT]
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How to stop teeth in your plastic gears from breaking You know what happens to ordinary plastic gears when they overheat: thermal expansion. And as the gears expand, the teeth don’t match up precisely—resulting in bumpy, noisy operation. With Power-CoreTM Gears from Intech, non-hygroscopic Nylon 12 is molded onto a metal hub which reduces thermal expansion of the plastic by 50% or more. The metal core also distributes stress evenly throughout the plastic, preventing tooth breakage. Result: the non-lubricated Power-Core Gear maintains its dimensions, with minimal backlash, to keep your machine running smoothly and quietly for up to 12 times longer than steel gears. [VISUAL: Photo of gears] For your FREE Gear Selection Guide … [VISUAL: Front cover of brochure] Call 201-767-7797 Or visit www.intechpower.com [FRONT—ADDRESS PANEL] Only Power-Core “plastic-on-metal” gears give you all these advantages! 9 No lubrication—does not require maintenance or a gear box. 9 Fabricated from Nylon 12—non-hygroscopic crystalline structure virtually eliminates swelling. 9 Steel or aluminum core—dissipates stress and heat; reduces thermal expansion. 9 Engineered for longer life—proprietary formula accurately calculates how long the gear will last. 9 Reduces backlash—6 decibels quieter than metal gears. For your FREE Gear Selection Guide … [VISUAL: Front cover of brochure] Call 201-767-7797 Or visit www.intechpower.com
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46. Follow-up call scripts When you send potential clients information on your copywriting services, does it pay to follow up? Yes! With follow-up calls, you can increase the conversion rate of leads to sales by 10% to 30% or more. Here are some follow-up scripts used by my staff, who does all the follow up calling for me … Follow up to samples sent Hi Shirley, Just following up Bob Bly’s direct mail samples we sent you recently. Maybe it’s still on your desk somewhere? Anyway, we’d like to stay on your radar in case a project comes up that might be right for Bob. Let me know. Touching base message Hi Henry, it’s been a while since we’ve been in touch, but we’re planning for 1st quarter so I’m checking in on behalf of Bob Bly to see if he can help you out with any copywriting projects. Recent projects include direct mail package for Boardroom … direct mail and e-mail for Harvard Business School Publishing … direct mail for Kiplinger … e-mail for Forbes … direct mail for Global Health Solutions … direct mail for Uptick Media and Fleming Financial … and more. Bob is an IBM approved vendor and we’d love to add you to that list. Follow up to a referral: Hi Jennifer, just checking in per the message below from Michael to see if you have any direct mail projects coming up that might be appropriate for Bob Bly. You may be aware that Bob has done work in the past for PDR. I can send you those samples if you like. Other clients include … American Health Consultants, Rodale, Agora Publishing and many, many more. You can see samples galore here: http://www.bly.com
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Also, may I add you to Bob’s free monthly e-mail newsletter list? Follow up to an inquiry: Jason, thanks for your time and interest in Bob Bly’s direct reponse copywriting. Bob would love to try his hand at beating the control for a full page ad for one of your science courses. As I mentioned, his standard rate for a full page ad is $2500-3000 (for copy only), so mull that over and see if there is one it would be worth testing Bob on, either now or later. Let me know if you have any questions.
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47. Compliance disclaimers When using testimonials in copy you write for clients, this disclaimer should appear on the page on which the first testimonial appears. NOTICE: Testimonials are believed to be true based on the representations of the persons providing the testimonials, but facts stated in testimonials have not been independently audited or verified. Nor has there been any attempt to determine the experiences of the persons giving the testimonials after the testimonials were given. The average reader who purchases the system should not necessarily expect the same or similar results. Testimonials may be based on previous products, and are not necessarily based on the specific products offered in this brochure. When writing about stocks, options, commodities, or futures trading, speculation, or investing, a disclaimer such as the following should appear on the first or second page of the promotion: IMPORTANT NOTICE! Stock and option trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and willing to accept them in order to invest in the equity or options markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose. This is neither a solicitation nor an offer to buy/sell securities, interests or listed options. NOTICE: “Hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain inherent limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not actually executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown.” Here is a disclaimer you can use when writing an investor relations promotion: a direct mail package whose purpose is to promote a company’s stock to individual investors. IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This featured company sponsored advertising issue of Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. ABC Company, Inc. (ABC), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by IR Communications Inc., to provide public awareness for ABC. IR Communications Inc. has approved and signed off as “approved for public dissemination” all statements made herein regarding ABC’s history, assets, technologies, current as well as prospective business operations and industry information. Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter and Cashflow Financial Media (CFM) have used outside research and writers using public information to
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ create the advertisement coming from Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter about ABC. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter and CFM makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. Superstar Stock Profits Newsletter is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. CFM has received and managed a total production budget of $100,000 for this print advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. James Rapholz is paid $5,000 as an editorial fee from CFM and also expects to receive new subscriber revenue as a result of this advertising effort. *More information can be received from ABC’s investor relations firm, or at ABC’s website www.xxx.com. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like ABC, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, ABC notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the size and growth of the market, the Company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and in the long term; pricing pressures, technology issues etc.
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48. Small display ad Some trade publications sell business-card-sized display ads in the back of the magazine. I always got better results creating an ad to fit the space rather than just letting them run my business card.
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49. White paper template Clients may ask you to write white papers for them, or you may want to publish your own white papers to promote your business and offer as premiums to potential clients. This is a template into which you can fit the text of your white paper. Length varies, but white papers are typically 3,000 to 4,000 words plus visuals.
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50. Article reprints Consider making good quality reprints of some of your articles to hand out and mail to prospects and clients.
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51. Seminar brochure If you want to market your seminars and workshops more aggressively, you can mail a brochure such as this to training directors, meeting planners, and others who hire speakers on your topic.
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52. Flier announcing a speaking engagement When you give a talk to a local group or association at a lunch or dinner meeting, they will mail or e-mail a flier to get people to attend. Since you want as many potential clients in the audience as possible, it can pay you to get involved in the writing and design of your seminar announcement.
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53. Tax form for Canadians working for U.S. clients If you are registered as a Canadian corporation and you are working for clients in the U.S. or selling products to Americans, you must submit U.S. tax form W-8BEN. Ask your accountant for further details. You can download the form using the link below: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf
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54. Creative Brief Some clients give their copywriters a “creative brief” to guide them in the creation of the promotion. If your client does not have a creative brief, you may want to write one. By submitting and reviewing a creative brief before you begin writing the copy, you ensure that you and your client are on the same page.
THE POWER MARKETING PROGRAM TARGET MARKETS: 1. Sales and marketing professionals at direct marketing companies—businesses for whom direct marketing is the primary sales channel and do one-step (i.e., mail order) marketing (e.g., Rodale, Boardroom). 2. Sales and marketing professionals at companies that do a lot of direct marketing and “care” about direct marketing—but do two-step (lead generating) direct marketing (e.g., Intuit, IBM). 3. Entrepreneurs and wanna-be entrepreneurs who buy high-priced material on direct marketing (e.g., Jay Abraham’s customers) or online marketing (e.g., Corey Rudel’s customers). TEST METHOD: Create a long-copy microsite selling THE POWER MARKETING PROGRAM. Drive traffic to the microsite through online ads in ETR and a solo e-mail to the ETR list. COPY PLATFORM: 1. There is a small group of ultra-successful entrepreneurs that made their fortunes by starting direct response businesses on a shoestring—businesses that today have annual revenues of $10 million to $100 million…and have made their owners extraordinary wealthy. 2. If you knew everything they did to get started—how they came up with their product, where they advertised, the marketing methods they used to launch and expand their companies—you could do exactly what they did, copy cat their success, and make almost as much as they make …with a fraction of the risk (because you are avoiding their mistakes and following their proven formula) and
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 3. We call the program THE POWER MARKETING PROGRAM because these people really are all “marketing geniuses” (or at least extraordinarily lucky). But with THE POWER MARKETING PROGRAM, you do not have to become a marketing genius or have extraordinary luck. You simply follow what they did and get rich following their tested formula. POSSIBLE HEADLINE:
“College Drop-Out Starts a $52.7 Million Mail Order Business in the Cramped Living Room of His Cramped Third-Floor Walk-Up Apartment!” Now you can duplicate his success—with almost NONE of the risk and at a tiny FRACTION of the cost! PRODUCT ELEMENTS: Teleconferences: At least 3-4 per year •
Deliver at least 3-4 teleconferences and alerts a year. We’ll deliver the hottest and most ground breaking marketing promotions.
•
Topics will span from Newsletters to Nutritional Supplements—we’ll cover any of the hottest things out there (via teleconference)
Prep Kits: At least 3-4 per year • Delivered before each teleconference. • Includes: Summary of product, copy of promotion, bio about copywriter, gives all information about logistics of teleconference. • Teleconference and alerts are the core promise of delivering the hottest products out there as soon as we know about them…you’ll get the insider’s advantage of knowing about these hot products just as soon as we dig them up. Online Newsletter: delivered via email monthly • 8 page newsletter that covers the secrets, tactics of extremely successful marketing campaigns. • Includes interview with the marketer • Analysis of the campaign strategy—dissects a marketing campaign from target audience, to marketing lists, datacards, and reveals what the marketing numbers are (response rates, break even analysis, etc.)
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55. Overcoming objections Web page I thought about adding the following copy to my Web site. It deals with common objections and helps screen out potential clients who are not a good fit for me. But I never got around to posting it. Q: Why should I hire Bob Bly to write copy for me? A: Maybe you should not. By Robert W. Bly My experience is that you, as a client, will be unhappy with any copywriter or consultant you hire if certain conditions exist—and if certain other conditions do not. Here are some guidelines to determine whether my services are a good “fit” for your needs. Before you sign my agreement and send a retainer, read the below carefully. If it discourages you, don’t hire me; we would not be happy with each other: 1. I do best with clients that are either direct marketers or have a direct marketing “mindset”; i.e., they need copy to generate a measurable, tangible response— either to generate a positive ROI or beat an existing control. 2. You’ll be happy with me if you like highly persuasive copy and aren’t afraid to use long copy if the situation warrants. 3. Clients who are interested primarily in goals other than increasing response and ROI—branding, awareness, image-building, and other intangibles—are better served elsewhere. 4. If you are an expert in direct response, we should by all means work in a collaborative partnership; after all, you may know more than I do. 5. On the other hand, if you admit you know little or nothing about direct response, you need to let me drive and stay out of my way. If you don’t agree, don’t hire me.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ 6. Some clients, in particular those in large corporate settings, expect their creative vendors and consultants to be available on a “beck and call” basis, able to take a conference call or rewrite copy on a moment’s notice. I am not. 7. Clients who will like my service give their copywriters the time needed to create great copy. They are much more interested in “I want it good” rather than “I want it fast.” 8. Once you give me the assignment, you don’t continually call me to ask “How’s it going?” Trust that if I need something from you, I’ll ask. 9. When you give me a copywriting assignment, I go away and work hard on your copy. If you want me to do so, you will not interrupt me in this task with frequent phone calls and e-mails. 10. I work with clients by mail, fax, phone, FedEx, and e-mail. I do not, except in rare circumstances, meet face to face with clients. And I virtually never travel.’ 11. Some clients, in particular small businesses and others not experienced in or sophisticated about marketing, need to understand that what I am selling you ultimately for the fee you paid me is copy. And copy only. Nothing else. 12. Because I do not control lists, offer, price, product, external events, and a variety of other factors that can affect your marketing, I cannot and do not guarantee results. 13. I can, however, continue to work for you, if you wish to contract with me to do so, on developing different sales themes, copy, and offers to come up with a winning promotion for your product. 14. I do not offer “project management” in the sense of coordinating all aspects of a promotion (copy, design, list, production, mailing). I write the copy. And that’s it. But I can recommend project managers to you if you require that kind of “agency” service.
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56. Letterhead Designing your logo and letterhead was a big deal for copywriters when I got started back in the early 1980s. Though e-mail has replaced postal mail as the primary method of business communication, you still need letterhead. I had three rules for my designer when he created my letter: (1) keep it simple (2) make sure the design leaves plenty of room on the page for the letter, and (3) include all my contact information. My letterhead is not creative or splashy, but it fulfills those three requirements.
My business card follows the design of the letterhead. It is straightforward and professional, not creative or promotional.
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57. Product order forms Many writers publish and sell their own information products including audio tapes, DVDs, special reports, and booklets. You can post a form such as the one below on your Web site or enclose it in outgoing correspondence to generate product sales.
Audio and Video Cassette Programs Print and mail this form with payment as indicated on the coupon at the bottom of this page. Audio Cassettes (800 series) 804 Sixteen Secrets of Successful Small Business Promotion How to use low-cost/no-cost advertising, marketing, sales promotion, and public relations techniques to build your business. Single cassette
$15
805 Selling Your Services in a Soft Economy How to successfully sell and market your professional, trade, or technical services in a recession or soft economy. Single cassette
$15
806 How to Write Copy That Sells Marketing expert Bob Serling interviews Bob Bly on how to write compelling, hard-hitting copy that excites your prospects and moves them to buy. Single cassette
$15
812 The Motivating Sequence A proven 5-step formula for persuasive writing. Single cassette
$15
813 Secrets of Successful Lead Generation
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ How to write sales letters, self-mailers, ads, and other marketing communications that generate high volumes of qualified sales leads. Single cassette
$15
814 filing Your Services in a Soft Economy How to successfully sell and market your professional, trade, or technical services in a recession or soft economy. Six cassettes
$59
816 What’s Working in Direct Mail Today Case studies highlighting techniques you can use to dramatically increase your direct mail response rates. Single cassette
$15
817 Six Secrets of Newsletter DM Packages That Work How to write successful direct mail packages selling subscription newsletters. Single cassette
$15
818 Marketing Technology Products Direct marketing methods for selling software, hardware, systems, and other high-tech products and services. Single cassette
$15
820 Maximizing Personal Productivity Time management techniques and personal productivity tips that can help you get more done in less time. Single cassette
$15
821 Selling Information Products in the Internet Age How to market newsletters, books, special reports, CD-ROMs, databases, subscription Web sites, and other information products that compete with free information on the Web. Single cassette
$15
823 Internet Direct Mail How to conduct an effective e-mail marketing campaign. Covers lists, copy, graphics, transmission, and response measurement and tracking. Single cassette
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Videos 901 How to Get Your Nonfiction Book Published How to write a nonfiction book and sell it to a major New York publishing house for an advance of $10,000 to $50,000 or more. 60-minute video, VHS format
$29
Clip this coupon and mail it with your payment. (You may photocopy it, if you wish) Items you wish to order (indicate item #'s): _______ _______ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ _______ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ _______ Name___________________________________________ Phone #________________________ Address________________________________________________________________ ________ City______________________________ State_________________Zip_____________________ Enclose money order, cash, or check (payable to "Bob Bly") for appropriate amount. NJ residents add 6% sales tax. Canadian residents add $2 (U.S. dollars) per order. 30-day money-back guarantee on all books and cassettes. All items shipped UPS ground. Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery
MAIL TO: Bob Bly, 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue, Dumont, NJ 07628
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58. Detailed copy platform This memo format communications a detailed copy platform to the client. The client should review and sign off on this platform before you begin writing copy.
Bob Bly Copywriter/consultant
[email protected] www.bly.com
22 E. Quackenbush Ave. Dumont, NJ 07628 phone 201-385-1220 fax 201-385-1138
RE: Copy platform outline DATE: 4-25-02 FILE: BBPLATFORMTechnology News.doc
USP (Unique Selling Proposition) •
What is the Big Promise of this publication? How is this product different/better than competition? What is its reason for being? Technology is vitally important -- to your career, your business, your investments, and every other aspect of your life. Those who know and understand tomorrow’s most important technologies, today (before others have even heard of them), have the edge. They can make their businesses more successful, their portfolios grow faster, and their careers take off. This is the edge that Technology News provides.
•
Secondary point: Yes, there is a mountain of information on technology published daily. Some paid, some free; both online and offline. You don’t have time to read even a fraction of it. And can you make sense of it all? Anyone can give you “information.” We give you actionable ideas based on an accurate forecast of new and emerging technologies and the roles they will play in our future.
•
Urgency/uncertainty factor: Business today moves at the speed of light, and it constantly changes. We keep you on the cutting edge, so you can stay a step ahead of the curve. We’ll make sure you anticipate and act on important technology innovations well in advance of your competition.
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Who is the audience? The core audience is businesspeople who influence their company’s technology and strategic decisions. These include entrepreneurs in technology companies, strategists in other industries, financiers, marketing professionals and other executives in technology services companies are the primary audience. Secondary audiences include libraries, academics, and media.
•
What is their “unvoiced fear” or “under-represented desire”? That they will make the wrong decisions concerning technology, and that these mistakes will be costly if not devastating to their businesses. They will be left behind, blamed by management, and miss opportunities for increased market share and profits.
•
What lists will be used? Client to contact Edith Roman Associates or Merit Direct for list recommendations.
Core complex of the audience •
Beliefs (attitudes and principles)—Technology is important. I am interested in technology, even fascinated by it. I know the basic concepts and which technologies are hot (e.g., I know terms like “broadband,” “PDA,” and “embedded systems”). I believe if I can be smart about my technology decisions and investments, my business will be more successful, and I will gain a big edge over my competitors.
•
Desires (wants and needs)—I want to (a) know where technology is going and what the next hot technologies will be, (b) learn this before my competitors know about it, (c) make good business decisions based on a strong understanding of emerging technologies and their role, and (d) have others think I’m smarter (and more knowledgeable) than they are when discussing technology with them.
•
Feelings (emotions)—I am interested, even fascinated, by technology. But I am afraid I really don’t understand it, or at least that I am not savvy enough to accurately forecast where it is going and how I (and my business) will be affected. I fear I will miss a trend or opportunity and be left behind. I am overwhelmed by the glut of information about technology being published today. I can’t keep up with or read even a small fraction of it, much less extrapolate from the data what’s really going on. I need someone to guide me in making smart technology decisions.
4 LEGS of the stool (elements required for a successful DM promotion of an information product) •
System (the Big Idea)—Joan Smith is a technology guru you can trust to guide you. She and her team—through the benefits of sharp analytical minds, extensive industry experience, and constant contact with the movers and shakers of technology—know better than anyone else what’s happening in technology and how it will affect you.
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Promise (future benefit)—Technology News will tell me today what I need to be successful tomorrow—before others even know about it.
•
Credibility—Smith is endorsed by major media and her subscribers rave about her and Technology News.
•
Track record—She has anticipated and forecast future trends in technology way ahead of the curve over and over again. People trust her interpretation and view of technology trends and issues.
Offer •
Price—$795 for 1 year (11 issues); $1,350 for 2 years (22 issues).
•
Term—payment with order or bill-me option.
•
Premiums—1-year subscribers get an early-bird invitation to PC Forum 2002, a transcript of the event, and a binder to hold issues. 2-year subscribers get all 1-year bonuses plus the invitation and transcript for the 2003 Forum.
•
Guarantee—Refund if not 100% satisfied. I recommend a full refund if cancellation occurs within 90 days, and prorated refund after 90 days. Subscriber keeps all issues and bonuses received at no cost in either case.
•
Value—You can hire Joan Smith to give a speech to your people for $30,000, or hire consultants for an expensive engagement, or spend $1,000 to $10,000 on a market research study. Now for $795, you get 12 issues equivalent to those thousand dollar research studies -only more concise, interesting, clearer, and accurate.
Package Elements I have suggested minor changes in the components below to maximize response: •
#10 envelope—with teaser. Use a window envelope. Recipient’s name and address is imprinted on reply element and shows through the window.
•
2-page personalized sales letter—possibly split test personalized vs. non-personalized letter; I am not sure personalization will pay for itself.
•
Brochure—I’d recommend an 8 1/2 C 11” folded twice to form 3 panels, which would give us one more panel than the current PC Forum brochure.
•
Buck slip—feature the premium (the Forum transcript) on a separate 4 X 9” buck slip rather than as a part of the reply form (see below).
•
Lift note—Use regular stock, not vellum. Consider a Monarch size lift letter in Courier or Prestige Elite typeface.
•
Order card—standard 4 X 9” order card replaces your tent card. Recipient’s name and address are imprinted on the order card and show through a window on the outer envelope. This way the busy reader does not have to fill in his name and address to order.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Letter Lead Dear [Name]: Imagine the advantage you’d enjoy ... in business, investing, and your career ... if you were able to gain a thorough understanding about the most important new technologies -- before others even knew about them. Can you really gain such an edge? There’s an absolute deluge of information on technology today. But when it comes to deciphering the true significance and direction of emerging technologies, most of us are -- as the famous quote says -- “drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” That’s where Technology News -- a unique technical advisory service that Information Week says “will shape the future of the technology’ business” -- can make a real difference in your life.
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59. E-book disclaimers Many copywriters write and sell information products online as a second source of income. There is some liability involved with publishing and selling advice: namely, the buyer might be able to sue for damages if your advice doesn’t work out. To reduce your exposure, publish a disclaimer on the title or copyright page of your e-books, traditionally published books, special reports, and other information products. Here’s an example from a tax guide for writers: This manual is intended to give guidance on tax issues for freelance writers and other selfemployed individuals. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, professional, legal or tax advice. To determine your individual tax situation and specific needs, please consult a professional tax advisor or your financial advisor. For more information, visit the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov or contact your tax advisor. You also need to print a copyright notice in the front of your e-book as follows: Tax Issues for Freelance Writers and Other Self-Employed Individuals is copyrighted by the Center for Technical Communication. No portion of this manual may be reprinted or reproduced in any way without express written permission. © Copyright 2007, by the Center for Technical Communication. All rights reserved. Another concern you have as an e-book publisher is people passing your e-book around to friends without paying for it. To protect your intellectual property and stop people from ripping you off by copying and distributing your e-book without paying for it, prominently display the warning below in large type on the title or copyright page: WARNING: This is not a free e-book! Buying this book by electronic download entitles the owner to keep one copy on his or her computer and print one copy only. Printing multiple copies, or sharing this book by electronic transmission, either as a gift or for payment, is a violation of international and U.S. copyright laws and treaties. Any person who distributes this e-book free or paid will be subject to penalties of up to $100,000 per copy distributed.
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Appendix I: Copywriter’s Roughs Clients often ask, “Will you provide a copywriter’s rough with your copy?” A copywriter’s rough is a crude drawing to show how the copy you write is to be positioned in the layout. Before computers, I hated doing copywriter’s roughs, because my drawing is sloppy and they always looked terrible. When PCs became popular, I began having my assistant redraw my crude pencil sketches as Word drawings. Although they were simple, they looked 100% better, mainly because the computer, unlike the human, draws a straight, neat line every time. I realized that many of my projects had similar formats and therefore similar layouts. So I would save the copywriter’s roughs my assistant did in Word in a subdirectory on my hard drive. Outer Envelope
When I got another assignment with a similar layout, I’d either use the old Word drawing as is or have my assistant make changes if needed.
Postage
Recipients Address Corner Card
Teaser
In time I built up quite a library of these copywriter’s roughs, and in this appendix, I provide a number you can use.
Flier or Premium Sheet
HEADLINE Sales Letter
A. #10 direct-mail package
Picture
Over please
This is a copywriter’s rough for a #10 direct mail package. The components are a #10 outer envelope with teaser, a 4-page sales letter, an 8 ½ X 11” premium sheet, and a business reply card.
Yes,
Order Form
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B. Slim-jim brochure A “slim jim” brochure is made by folding an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper twice to form a pamphlet with six panels. The format fits into a #10 envelope for mailing or in a display rack or holder at a bank or travel agency. Tri-fold Brochure—letter size folded to form 6 panels Front cover
Back cover
A
B
inside flap
C
D
E
F
inside spread
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C. Full-page direct response ad Here is the layout for a standard direct response advertisement with a reply coupon. Many advertisers omit the coupon, arguing that buyers today want to go to a Web URL. But a coupon is a visual indicator to the reader that says, “This is one of those ads where you are supposed to reply and get something in exchange.” So I use it frequently, though not always.
HEADLINE Subhead Optional Picture
Yes!
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D. Sales brochure When creating sales literature for clients, the most common format is a 4-page brochure. This is formed by taking an 11 X 17” sheet of paper and folding it once vertically to form four pages.
Headline Subhead
• • • 1
Visual
Front Cover
Banner Subhead _____ _____ _____ _____
Headline Subhead
_____ _____ _____ _____
Visual
_____ _____ _____ _____
Visual
_____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
Headline _____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____
Subhead
Logo
_____ _____ _____ _____
4
Back Cover
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E. Editorial-style ad “Editorial style” means the ad is typeset so that it looks like an article in the publication rather than an advertisement. Most publications require the advertiser to put the word “Advertisement” at the top of editorial style ads.
Advertisement
HEADLINE Subhead by Joe Blow Feature Writer
800-XXX-XXXX
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F. Buck slip A buck slip is an extra piece of paper added to a direct mail package. Often it is just slightly smaller than the outer envelope. Typically the buck slip is used to highlight a premium in both words and pictures.
HEADLINE
#1 #2 #3
800-XXX-XXXX
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G. 4-page insert “Inserts” are marketing pieces inserted into publications or products. They ride along with the publication or product, eliminating the cost of a solo mailing.
HEADLINE Subhead
VISUAL
_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________
_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________
HEADLINE Subhead _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
Subhead _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
HEADLINE Subhead _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
_________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
VISUAL _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
Subhead _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
HEADLINE
VISUAL _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
VISUAL
Order Form _________________________________ _________________________________
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H. Order card with tear-off stub When the reply element in a direct mail package is a 4X9” reply card or order form, we often make a portion of it a tear-off stub which serves as a receipt for the buyer.
Tear-off Stub
HEADLINE
Dashed line over perforation
Main Section
YES,
PICTURE
LABEL
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I. Postcard
Indicia
Teaser! Label or Ink Jet
Front
HEADLINE Subhead
800-XXX-XXXX www.xxx.com
Back
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J. Premium sheet A premium sheet is an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of paper inserted into a direct mail package. It highlights the premiums or free gifts that are part of the offer. The premiums are typically described and shown on the front, with additional information about the product or company on the back.
HEADLINE Subhead Front
(over)
HEADLINE Subhead
Subhead
Back
Subhead
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K. Voucher A voucher is a promotional mailing that looks somewhat like an invoice. The format is frequently used to sell magazine subscriptions by mail.
Professional Courtesy Voucher
Detach Here
9 9 9 9
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L. Landing page When I write landing pages, I use a two-column format with a narrow column in the left margin containing “proof elements” (e.g., editor’s bio, testimonials) and the main sales letter to the right; for an example, see www.theinternetmarketingretirementplan.com …
HEADLINE Subhead Subhead ton But
Click Here
: Op ti Vis onal ual
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M. HTML e-mail I much prefer text e-mails to HTML. But when you are e-mailing to a list used to receiving HTML, an HTML message is going to work best. Here are a few of the layouts I have used for HTML e-mail blasts. The one below works well when you are promoting a product with a free information offer such as a white paper. A picture and description of the product go in the left column, while a picture of the free white paper and a description of its contents appear in the right column.
From: ________ Subject: ______
HEADLINE Subhead
Subhead Inset Visual
Main Visual
• • • Order
Main Panel
Order
Right Margin
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ The HTML e-mail format below works well with e-mails selling a single product. The copy is formatted like a sales letter, with a big color picture of the product in the upper right. From: _______ Subject: ___________
Order Now!
HEADLINE Subhead
Picture Another HTML e-mail layout, which I use for e-mails promoting Webinars. The key is to have multiple buttons that hyperlink to the registration page.
• • • • • From Subject
HEADLINE Subhead Button
• • • • •
Visual
Click Here Now
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N. Illustrated sales letter Although one school of direct marketing says “a letter should look like a letter”—all words, all type—many marketers use illustrated letters with great success. My favorite application is for a promotion offering a special report or other information premium. I show a picture of the report cover on page 1 of the letter, and make the letter headline bold call-outs to various sections of the report.
Book, Booklet, Report or White Paper
HEADLINE
Dear
Titl e
:
(over
please…)
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O. Lift letter A lift letter or “lift note” is a second smaller letter enclosed in a direct mail package along with the main, longer letter. Typically the lift letter is printed on a Monarch or lettersize sheet and folded, with the letter copy on the inside when it is unfolded, and a teaser headline (e.g., “Read this only if you are NOT going to join us …”) printed on the outer flap when the letter is folded.
A
B
C
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Inside panel when open
Back when folded
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Appendix II: Sources and Resources Freelance Placement Agencies These companies match freelance commercial writers with potential clients who may need their services. Fee arrangements vary. Copywriter’s Council of America 7 Putter Lane Middle Island, NY 11953 (631) 924-8555 Creative Freelancers 99 Park Avenue, Suite 210A New York, NY 10016 (888) 398-9540 www.freelancers.com Direct Marketers On Call 45 Christopher Street New York, NY 10014 (212) 691-1942 www.dmoc-inc.com Paladin Staffing Solutions South Dearborn Street, #305 Chicago, IL 60603 (888) 725-2346 www.paladinstaff.com Staffwriters Plus 2150 Joshua’s Path, #102 Hauppauge, NY 11787 (631) 582-8828 Associations, Clubs, Organizations American Medical Writers Association 160 Fifth Avenue, Suite 625 New York, NY 10010
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ (212) 645-2368 American Writer’s Institute 245 N.E. 4th Avenue, #102 Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561) 278-5789 www.awaionline.com Direct Marketing Association, Inc. 1120 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036-6700 (212) 768-7277 Direct Marketing Club of New York 224 Seventh Street Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 746-6700 Education Writers Association 2122 P Street NW, #201 Washington, DC 20037 (202) 452-9830 www.ewa.org Florida Freelance Writers Association CNW Publishing, Editing & Promotion, Inc. PO Box A North Stratford, NH 03590 (603) 922-8338 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 544-4700 www.iabc.com National Association of Science Writers PO Box 890 Hedgesville, WV 25427 (304) 754-5077 http://nasw.org National Mail Order Association 2807 Polk St. NE Minneapolis MN 55418-2954 (612) 788-1673 www.nmoa.org
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ National Writer’s Union 113 University Place, 6th floor New York, NY 10003 (212) 254-0279 www.nwu.org Outdoor Writers Association of America, Inc. 121 Hickory Street, #1 Missoula, MT 59801 (800) 692-2477 Society for Technical Communication 901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904 Arlington, VA 22203 (703) 522-4114 www.stc.org Self-Employed Writer’s and Artist’s Network (SWAN) P.O. Box 175 Towaco, NJ 07082 Society of American Travel Writers 1500 Sunday Drive, #102 Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 861-5586 Mailing Lists Creative Access 3701 N. Ravenswood Ave., #207 Chicago, Illinois 60613 (312) 440-1140 Edith Roman Associates One Blue Hill Plaza, 16th floor Pearl River, NY 10956 (800) 223-2194 www.edithroman.com Software Act 1505 Pavilion Place Norcross, GA 30093 (770) 724-4000 www.act.com Scriptor Professional Script Formatting Software 138 N. Brand Blvd., #201
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Glendale, CA 91203 (818) 843-6557 www.screenplay.com Telemagic (800) 835-MAGIC www.telemagic.com PowerPoint (800) 426-9400 www.microsoft.com/office Word for Windows (800) 426-9400 www.microsoft.com Books Benun, Ilise, Stop Pushing Me Around: A Workplace Guide for the Timid, Shy and Less Assertive, Franklin Lakes, NJ. Career Press, 2006. Benun, Ilise, The Art of Self Promotion, Hoboken NJ, Marketing Mentor Press. The basics of self promotion for creative types Bly, Robert. The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells, Third Edition. New York, NY: Henry Holt, 2006. How to write effective copy. Bowerman, Peter. The Well-Fed Writer. TOWN: PUBLISHER, YEAR. Marketing and selfpromotion for freelance commercial writers. Boyd, Amanda. Writer’s Digest Handbook of Making Money Freelance Writing. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1997. Collection of useful articles on the commercial aspects of freelance writing. Cates, Bill. Unlimited Referrals. Wheaton, MD. Thunder Hill Press, 1996. How to get lots of referral leads. Collins, Mary Claire. How to Make Money Writing Corporate Communications. New York, NY: Perigree, 1995. How to freelance for large corporations. Davis, Paul D. How to Make $50,000 or More a Year as a Freelance Business Writer. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1992. Good advice on starting and running a freelance commercial writing business. Floyd, Elaine. Make Money Writing Newsletters. St. Louis, MO: Newsletter Resources, 1994. How to make money writing and producing promotional newsletters for corporations, small businesses, and nonprofits.
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Flynn, Nancy. The $100,000 Writer: How to Make a Six-Figure Income as a Freelance Business Writer. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 2000. Shows how to earn $100,000 a year as an editorial services consultant. Foote, Cameron. The Creative Side of Business. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1996. Comprehensive and informative guide to the business of freelancing for corporations and ad agencies. Holtz, Herman. How to Start and Run a Writing and Editing Business. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1992. How to make money doing freelance editing and writing for corporations, nonprofits, individuals, and the government. Kopelman, Alexander. National Writer’s Union Guide to Freelance Rates & Standard Practice. New York, NY: National Writer’s Union, 1995. Somewhat dated guideline to rates. Shaw, Eva. Ghostwriting: How to Get Into the Business. New York, NY: Paragon House, 1991. How to ghostwrite books for executives, companies, celebrities, and other clients. Slaunwhite, Steve. How to Start and Run a Successful Copywriting Business. TOWN, PROVINCE: Self-Counsel Press, YEAR. Excellent guide to getting started as a freelance copywriter. Sorenson, George. Writing for the Corporate Market: How to Make Big Money Freelancing for Business. Denver, CO: Mid-List Press, 1990. A successful writer who works in the business market tells how you can follow in his footsteps. Periodicals Advertising Age 740 North Rush Street Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 649-5200 Adweek 49 East 21st Street New York, NY 10010 (212) 529-5500 B-to-B 740 North Rush Street Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 649-5260 Commerce Business Daily Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20401 (202) 512-0132
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Creative Business 275 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116 (617) 424-1368 Direct Marketing Hoke Communications 224 Seventh Street Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 746-6700 DM News 19 West 21st Street New York, NY 10010 (212) 741-2095 Freelance Success 801 Northeast 70th Street Miami, FL 33138 (305) 757-8857 New Writer’s Magazine Sarasota Bay Publishing P.O. Box 5976 Sarasota, FL 34277-5976 (813) 953-7903 Public Relations Journal 33 Irving Place New York, NY 10003 (212) 998-2230 Sales and Marketing Management 633 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 986-4800 Target Marketing North American Publishing Co. 401 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19108 (215) 238-5300 Writer’s Digest 1507 Dana Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45207 (513) 531-2690
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Writer’s Journal 27 Empire Drive St. Paul, MN 55103 (612) 486-7818 E-Zines Bencivenga’s Bullets www.bencivengabullets.com Master copywriter Gary Bencivenga’s can’t-miss e-newsletter based on his decades of tested results. Early to Rise www.earlytorise.com Daily e-newsletter on business success, wealth, and health by marketing guru Michael Masterson. Excess Voice www.nickusborne.com/excess_voice.htm Nick Usborne’s e-newsletter on online copywriting. Informative and great fun. Marketing Minute www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm Weekly marketing tip from consultant Marcia Yudkin. Paul Hartunian’s Million-Dollar Publicity Strategies www.prprofits.com Great marketing e-newsletter focusing on publicity. Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor Weekly tips about marketing and client relations from self promotion expert, Ilise Benun. Sign up here: http://www.marketing-mentortips.com The Copywriter’s Roundtable www.jackforde.com John Forde’s superb e-newsletter on copywriting. The Direct Response Letter www.bly.com My monthly e-newsletter on copywriting and direct marketing. The Success Margin Ted Nicholas’s must-read marketing e-zine. www.tednicholas.com The Well-Fed Writer Peter Bowerman’s e-zine on succeeding as a freelance commercial writer. www.wellfedwriter.com
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Web Sites www.awaionline.com Home study courses and conferences on copywriting. www.monthlycopywritinggenius.com Monthly Copywriting Genius Regular reviews of winning promotions and interviews with the copywriters who wrote them. www.smallbusinessadvocate.com The Small Business Advocate Radio show and Web site dedicated to small business. www.theadvertisingshow.com “The Advertising Show” (radio show on advertising). www.agora-inc.com/reports/700SCBMO/W700D643/ Mailbox Millionaire Home-study course on how to start and run a profitable direct response business. Directories Bacon’s Publicity Checklist 332 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60604 (800) 621-0561 Media lists for mailing press releases. Directory of Major Mailers North American Publishing Co. 401 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19108 (215) 238-5300 Good prospecting directory for direct-mail writers. Encyclopedia of Associations Gale Research Book Tower Detroit, MI 48226 (313) 961-2242 Good prospecting directory for writers who want to do work for associations. Interactive Multimedia Sourcebook R. R. Bowker 121 Chanlon Road New Providence, NJ 07974 (908) 464-6800
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ Good prospecting directory for writers who want to do CD-ROMs, Web sites, and other interactive multimedia projects. NJ Source Calsun, Inc. P.O. Box 327 Ramsey, NJ 07446 (201) 236-9099 Lists New Jersey ad agencies, printers, and other suppliers. O’Dwyer’s Directory of Corporate Communications J. R. O’Dwyer & Co., Inc. 271 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 679-2471 Prospecting directory listing communications directors at large corporations and associations. O’Dwyer’s Directory of Public Relations Firms J. R. O’Dwyer & Co., Inc. 271 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 (212) 679-2471 Prospecting directory of public relations firms. Philadelphia Creative Directory 153 James Mill Road Elverson, PA 19520 (610) 286-7990 Lists Philadelphia-area ad agencies, printers, and other suppliers. Standard Directory of Advertisers R. R. Bowker 121 Chanlon Road New Providence, NJ 07974 (908) 464-6800 Excellent prospecting directory of major national advertisers. Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies R. R. Bowker 121 Chanlon Road New Providence, NJ 07974 (908) 464-6800 The best prospecting directory for advertising agencies. Standard Rate and Data Service 1700 Higgins Road Des Plaines, IL 60018-5605
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▬▬▬ The COPYWRITER’S Toolkit ▬▬▬ (800) 851-7737 www.srds.com Comprehensive directory of publications that accept advertising. Thomas Register Thomas Publishing Company One Penn Plaza New York, NY 10119 (212) 290-7200 (212) 695-0500 Starting in 2006, available online at www.thomasnet.com Lists thousands of businesses that advertise and would be good potential clients for you. Writer’s Market F&W Publishing 1507 Dana Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45207 (800) 289-0963 Lists magazines you can write for and their editorial requirements.
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About the author BOB BLY is a freelance copywriter with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business and direct marketing. McGraw-Hill calls Bob Bly “America’s top copywriter.” Clients include IBM, the Conference Board, PSE&G, AT&T, Ott-Lite Technology, Intuit, ExecuNet, Boardoom, Medical Economics, Grumman, RCA, ITT Fluid Technology, and Praxair. Bob has given presentations to numerous organizations including: National Speakers Association, American Seminar Leaders Association, American Society for Training and Development, U.S. Army, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Society for Technical Communications, Discover Card, Learning Annex, and New York University School of Continuing Education. He is the author of 70 books including Selling Your Services (Henry Holt; over 50,000 sold) and The Elements of Business Writing (Alyn & Bacon; over 100,000 copies sold). Bob’s articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Writer’s Digest, Successful Meetings, Amtrak Express, Direct, and many other publications. Bob writes monthly columns for Early to Rise (circulation 400,000) and DM News (circulation 50,000). The Direct Response Letter, Bob’s monthly e-newsletter, has 50,000 subscribers who, as a group, spend approximately $5,000 a week buying Bob’s books, tapes, and other information products. Awards include a Gold Echo from the Direct Marketing Association, an IMMY from the Information Industry Association, two Southstar Awards, an American Corporate Identity Award of Excellence, and the Standard of Excellence award from the Web Marketing Association. He is a member of the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He can be reached at: Bob Bly 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue Dumont, NJ 07628 Phone 201-385-1220 Fax 201-385-1138 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.bly.com
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