HATZ COPYWRITING

​Today in my video I want to share a little bit about tracking, measuring, and planning for the next year. So November is wrapping up December is going to start and most people are coming up with their budgets for marketing. They're coming up with their plan on their strategy and what they're going to do going into 2019.

So what I want to share with you is as a small business owner if you weren't normally tracking your ads, or your expenditures, or your budget going into the next year and trying to plan that without those numbers can be difficult.

Ok, so what you need to do is just come up with a percentage that you're comfortable with to be able to know what you can spend on your marketing. 

And that includes all ad creation from writing, to video, to strategy, to the actual ads themselves, or emails or anything else that you're going to be sending out for the next year. Okay so if you're not
tracking try to write down what you did and what you think you spent on that so you have something. 

The next piece is measuring. 

Now set up some sort of system to measure your progress. So if that's an email system you know set up something that tracks your open rate. Set up something that tracks your click
throughs. If that is you know a paper ad of some kind try to track if possible website visits or a phone number that they're supposed to call or whatever.

Something original for that ad so that you can measure it. Okay money spent and not measured is money wasted because you don't know what's working and what's not. 

So as you go ahead and plan your new year make sure that you have money in there for marketing. Marketing can be all kinds of things like I said from running ads, to something as simple as some emails written for your clientele. So take a look at that and make sure that there is a budget for it because without marketing you aren't growing. Whether that's word-of-mouth or anything it's still marketing. 

So track, measure, and plan your next year. 

As a direct response copywriter there are a couple questions that we get when it comes to writing certain projects. So direct response is a persuasive type of copy that is meant to lead people through the sales cycle all within that letter, that email, that post, to then take in action. Right, there's always a call to action at the bottom. 
It is a marketing style writing it is not just storytelling and it's not just an educational post but it is meant to evoke emotion and it's meant to persuade people to take in action.
Now there's a difference between direct response in B to C which is business to consumer and direct response in B to B which is business to business. I've been trained in both. Business to business has more logic behind it. You need some more stats you need facts and you need other things to support your claims. 
Whereas sometimes in B to C even those claims don't have to be necessarily backed up however proof pieces are always essential to any good marketing piece. So the other part of it is that there are copywriters just trained in SEO. Like I am. So that your
web writing is key worded for your industry, and your topic, and the products that you're trying to sell. 

Right and then there are people who are content writers and they're not necessarily looking at the marketing aspect of things. They just like to tell a good story. They might be educating but they're not necessarily trying to move people to take an action. They just want to write. 
So there are differences between b2c, b2b, content writers, and direct response marketing copywriters. 

Which is why a lot of us choose a niche right. So I've chosen a niche, my niche is real estate. I have a real estate background, but I also have a marketing and sales background, so I also love to write Marketing copy. Anything I can do to help a business grow is what I want to write for them. 

So as you're hiring copywriters you'll find out their background. Talk to them a little bit and see if they're going to be a good fit for you. 

Now, I've never worked for an agency, so I'm only going off of what people have told me and what other freelance copywriters have said about the difference between the two.

So, as a remote writer, obviously, the biggest thing is that you're not an employee like an in-house copywriter.

You run your own business. You work with clients of your choice. You do the best you can within the niches that you choose.

An in-house copywriter has to work on the projects that they are given. Now there may be some leeway in that, there may be people who prefer one type of project over another.
Their overall marketing director or designer or whoever choose who works on the project would probably pick someone that's best suited for that type of niche market. But, the passion may not be there. It may not be the thing they love to write about.

Whereas as a freelancer, we reach out to the people in the niches that we love to write about. So there's a difference in the excitement and the emotional level.

Now, I'm not saying an in-house copywriter can't do the same thing. That they can't fabricate the emotion and put that in the copy but there is a difference.

The second part of that is while we are freelance, we own our own business, so we don't need benefits.

We don't need insurance, we don't need 401k, we don't need the things agencies provide. We take care of ourselves. We have our own business, we get our own insurance and we take care of our own retirement.
So, the cost of having a remote writer technically should be less than having a full-time in-house copywriter.
Now, for companies who can't afford an in-house copywriter or in-house marketing team, a freelance copywriter is perfect for those. A perfect fit for someone who needs direct response marketing copy but can't afford a full-time person.
The one not in the video, is a freelancer does their best on absolutely every project because they want repeat clients. Most freelancers love the consistency of getting to know clients and writing for them on a regular basis.​

There's probably other differences that I'm not aware of but today those are the couple that I want to go over between a remote writer and in-house copywriter.

"Do you have the experience or the background?"

With this question it's kind of hard to explain. A lot of us didn't go to school for Journalism. We didn't go to school for English. We didn't go to school...well period. 
My college background is psychology with a minor in women's studies. You would think psychology is something you would use as a copywriter, and you do to a point, to a certain extent, but I was trained in clinical psychology and not necessarily just the ability to to persuade and figure people out. It's in there but it's very subtle compared to what I do now.

So with copywriting I took a personal development course just like many of the things out there, and you learned on your own. You further your education by reading books, by finding other writers that you like and do doing rote writing. 
You learn what you need to know to write the best copy that you can provide. And every employer, every client, everybody that you write for they're going to have different standards and your work may not be what they're looking for exactly. But then you will find others who fit the mold.

They'll appreciate what you've been doing. So keep your head up whether someone asks you whether or not you have the experience or the background in something, learn what you need to learn so that you do have that experience if necessary. 

But just know that as you get going you will find the clients and you will find the individuals who like your writing style and you know that you can help them out.

The frequently asked question I wanted to go over today is "Can I see some samples?"

​Now, I understand you want to make sure you actually can write. You say you're a copywriter. You want to make sure an article has good form. The sales letter persuades people to take action. That the web page or online piece actually captures attention and moves people to some sort of call to action.

Right.

So the problem with "Can I see some samples",is that work is made for hire. Just because there's a sample written doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to fit the next client.

And if the client doesn't see that it's something that pertains to them, they may not hire you. Thinking that because you don't have a specific sample, you don't know how to write for them.

"Can I see some samples", can be kind of misleading? I understand you want to prove that there's some work experience, but on the same token, any good copywriter will have a couple of clips to be able to show.

Also, they'll do their research. They'll write appropriately for whatever client is hiring them. 

Samples are good and bad. 

The other part about samples that can be misleading is people can steal them from you. I've had it happen. A potential client asked to see some samples. When I checked back in with that client a couple weeks later, he was now almost done with the project. It was something that was just in the idea phase when we were talking. I can't prove it for sure, that he used my samples as his work, but the likelihood is kind of strong.

"Can I see some samples", is something that is hard for a lot of copywriters to put out there.

We understand the necessity.

On the same token, the client should also respect the fact that they don't necessarily need to turn over samples to you. It's the nature of the beast, a double-edged
sword, unfortunately.

That's "Can I see some samples."

Hi. Today I wanted to go over one of the frequently asked questions I get, which is, "How much do you charge?" Now this question is a very loaded one. As a lot of people work on an hourly basis and I get it.

However, with writing sometimes you're not inspired in an hourly basis kind of time. So I often like to work on a project basis. Which means I give you a price for writing the whole entire project, along with any research I need to do, any interviews I need to do, any editing, including you know after drafts get turned in, editing on the backside as well. 

So that you will have a product that you can use, in whatever format that you need to use it in, and it is professional sounding. The grammar is correct, and everything is set for you to go ahead and get that printed, or use that across social media, or videos or whatever. 

So the problem with how much do you charge is a race to the bottom right. Not everybody has the same experience level. Not everybody has written every kind of project piece. I haven't written every kind of project piece.

But there are people out there who are not willing to do the research to figure out how to write those project pieces. Or how to make their current writing style better and so it all goes into that hourly price. 

Now, you can find a lot of good people on the bid for work sites. I'm not knocking them but not everybody takes the time, not everybody has the education, or the structured background in training as other copywriters do. 

Now, I don't have as much as a lot of people, and a lot of people don't have as much as me, so to give an hourly rate is not only shooting myself in the foot, but I believe not giving my clients the best product I could possibly give them.

​If I charge them a project price they then know that the project they are getting is something they can use immediately, and it's professional quality, and they don't have to worry about having to re-edit or rewrite something themselves. 

So with that I can work on it for as long as I need to work on it, so that I turn in the best possible project for them. Anything less would be a dis-service to my client. 

Whereas if you're paying an hourly person and you're saying that you want something done within a certain amount of time, you can expect only that kind of work. So keep those things in mind the next time you ask someone how much they cost and if they quote you a price. 

It just doesn't mean that it took them that amount of time to write the project, it also means that they're using their experience, their further marketing and sales knowledge or whatever else that they're doing for you in that project to make it the best for you as a company.

​Today I want to share a video about making videos. 

Now a lot of people want to start making videos for their company but once they turn on the camera they freeze. They have no idea what they're going to say they just totally clam up, right. That's one issue in making your own videos. 

Two is they have no idea what to say. Even if you script it sometimes the words just don't come out right and that happens to everyone. That's why they have editors. 

So what I want to share today is just some easy things that you know really well that you can start shooting videos about. That is your company's frequently asked questions. 

No matter if you sell a product or service you, get questions from clients. And you
may get them a lot and you may get repeated questions. So what I suggest you do is write down at least your top ten frequently asked questions. Kind of set them aside and think about them. Then start some short videos answering those questions. 

So for example my name is Eva, from X company, and the question I'm going to answer today is this... and then go thoroughly into that answer. Make sure that you leave nothing to chance. Answer the question just like you would if you were talking to your client.

Then go through the next frequently asked question. You can shoot separate videos so that they're small. You can then share them across social media, your blog, anywhere that you think would be important. 

You can also use the script for those short videos in content. If you haven't checked that out I do have a video about nine ways to repurpose a video, frequently asked questions is one of those ways. So be sure to check that out as well. 

Just leave a comment in my previous video and I'll get you that PDF. If you'd like
to start videos, frequently asked questions are a great way to do it. 

Have it be consistent, relevant content that lives on your website, across your social media. Content that really explains your company, educates your clients, and persuades them to do business with you? 

I get it. Everybody does. Everybody wants to have relevant social media content along with a good blog, along with other nice, fun quotes, and things that show the personality of your company. 

Because of that creating content for these platforms seems very daunting. It seems like you have to write an article every day. Shoot a video every second you're outside, or taking the time to create those fun little quips and quotes that express the personality of your company. 

It's hard to do. 

Did you know that you could repurpose your content?  I'm not just talking about sharing the same article across every platform on a scheduled time frame. ]

No, not that. 

So let's take a video for example, video has the video itself, has an audio and there's a script. There’re three pieces right there that can be turned into a multitude of content pieces. 

In fact it can be used over 30 times. 

Now, it may be kind of confusing on how you can get a video to be used nine different ways at the very least, and over thirty times on different platforms.

Well, to help you with that I've created a infographic that explains the nine ways to repurpose a video. 

If you'd like that infographic that will help walk you through the steps to create nine different repurposing for your video and over 30 pieces of social media content, put it in the comments below and I will personal message you with a link to get this PDF.
Thank You.
​

Hi, Today I want to talk about case studies. Case studies are an excellent way to provide social proof to new clients or prospective clients and to sell without selling. Now a case study is a story about a client who is already happy with your product and
service. It goes through how they found you and the benefits that they
received. 

I'm just gonna give you the six questions that I normally ask in
the a case study interview. Hopefully you can use those in your next interview
as well. 

The first one is what problem was your client trying to solve? You know really dig into the problem that they were having how that was affecting them, what other things that was causing, dig through that a lot make sure that you really get some good details about it. Have them explain their background, who they are, what they do, why they're even looking for a service like yours. Make sure to include that in there as part of step one. 

Step two is did they try anything else before you? So did they turn to anyone else to try and answer their problems, to try and solve the issues they were having?

Give a little explanation about that and if so why didn't that work out? Obviously they were still looking for you and your product and service. So why didn't it work out with the first company that they chose or whether that's the third company, whatever it is. But get that all in there as part of the story. So you're already on step three. 

Step four is now how they found you? How did they search for you? Why did they choose you? What did they see as a benefit of working with your company? Then you can go into all the details of your company. This is where you can have a little bit more of a brag fest, explaining your benefits, explaining your features, explaining how you work with people, and the result they get. That's more about you in step four.

Now step five you want to go back to a focus on your client and really have that be how they felt. Did they feel that it went well? Did they feel that  working with you was a good thing? Do they feel that they received lots of benefits from it? What types of
benefits you know it's not just about results here. It's about how the process
worked, how they liked working with you and really digging through being
your client, what that means. 

Step six is the results. So if you can have stats in here about the results that they got, that would be great. If you can find any numbers throughout make sure to use them as excellent proof pieces. The results that they achieved from utilizing your service or your
product, and how that could benefit other people. As always leave a call to action at the bottom as to why someone else would want to choose you. 

Those are the six steps that I go through when I'm doing a case study interview. You can also get an extra testimonial here and there and use those as breakout quotes. Or find some breakout quotes in the case study to use as well. Hopefully that helps the next time you have to write a case study.

Marketing emails are one of the most fun projects to write. You can be creative, you can put stats in there and be completely logical, you can also have a little more fun with them. I want to go through my process that I use to write marketing emails that I have clients send out to drum up new business. 

​These are actual direct response emails that clients would use to get new clients get prospective clients to call them and have a conversation. 

The style that I've learned and that I have the most fun
writing, I actually learned through Perry Marshall. Now if you don't know who Perry Marshall is you can google him. He's a very well-known email writer but he’s done a lot of other things so take a look at this course if you're interested.

I liked his email course because I like the stories. I like writing case studies and emails and things I have a little more story nature to them. 

I want
to go through the basics of my version of a Perry Marshall style email. Each mail has a different focus. You want to send out a series of three and those three emails should all be focused on a different problem that your client is having. 


The formula talks about a specific time, a specific time when the
villain in the email who could be the problem, did something to your hero which would be you. 


As a result of doing that action or thing or making that
person feel a certain way, they took action and they found the
solution. That solution is the solution that you would also be
providing for your potential clients.


So you have a villain you have a hero and you have the problem and solution. You turn that into a story and give it all the details that
you need to explain what happened between the hero and villain that day to make the problem worse. 


Include how that made the hero feel. The action steps the hero took to solve the problem. How the hero then started to receive some respect and credit from solving that problem. How things changed for
that hero. 


Because that's how things will change for your clients when they read your emails. They will see that throughout this story it's really talking about them. Their problems and the solutions and the results they can get by working with you. 


Remember with all your emails you should have a call to action at the bottom. That shouldn't only be to call you. Give them a way to learn more about you whether that's a report, or going to a landing page with videos, or something else that they can opt into so that they
can learn more about you before they take that step to give you a call. 


That will definitely help your response rate to any email.