Copywriting

It turns out I have been a Growth Hacker since 1979.

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growth hacking

First, what is “growth hacking”?

Growth hacking is a term and practice beloved of Silicon Valley startups. It’s anti-traditional marketing. Some of its advocates go so far as to suggest that marketing ideas should come from the engineers, and not from anyone trained in marketing.

There are numerous definitions out there, but for the sake of brevity, here is how John Elman describes growth hacking, “This concept of “growth hacking” is a recognition that when you focus on understanding your users and how they discover and adopt your products, you can build features that help you acquire and retain more users, rather than just spending marketing dollars.”

Wanting to learn more, I have just finished reading an excellent book by Ryan Holiday, Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising.

It’s a reasonably short book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In large part because I am a fan of any smart thinker who beats up on the old school of marketers. Those are the marketers who believe they can succeed by throwing bucket loads of money at campaigns designed to persuade people to buy stuff they probably don’t want anyway.

You should read it. It’s a smart book.

However…

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Don’t send your readers to sleep with pigeonhole copywriting.

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piI’m going to begin by giving you an illustration of what this post is all about.

Here are two ways in which a company might communicate the availability of its customer service agents.

Example #1: We are available to take your call between 8:00AM and 6:00PM.

Example #2: We’ll leap at the chance to take your call between 8:00AM and 6:00PM.

If I were to give you a brain scan while you read those two lines – and if I knew the first thing about brain scans, which I don’t – I might see zero brain activity while you read the first example, and a sudden spark of activity while you read the second.

How come? Because the language in the first example is so familiar, so expected and so simple, you really don’t need to think at all. Your mind recognizes the vocabulary, and sees that it’s all put together in a way you have seen and comprehended a hundred times before. No cognitive activity is required.

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Give your online copy the face-to-face test.

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Read your online copy face to faceWhat do I mean by the face-to-face test? It’s simple.

When you have finished writing a draft of your copy, ask yourself if you would feel comfortable reading it out loud to one of your readers, face to face.

In fact, imagine someone from the audience you are writing to is sitting at your kitchen table, and you are reading your copy to him or her.

I suggest you get as close to this being real as you can. If you can get a family member or friend to sit across the table from you, so much the better. Look them in the eye and then start reading. Or hook up with someone through video on Skype. If there is nobody around to take on the role of your audience, find yourself a mirror and read your copy to yourself.

Completing this face-to-face test can improve your copy in three important ways.

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Freelance Copywriters: You don’t have to say Yes to standard industry rates or fees.

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copywA few days ago I got involved in the comment stream on a post about the fees freelancers earn. The post itself was actually about freelance designers and coders etc. There wasn’t any data on what most freelance copywriters earn.

However…

A copywriter did post a comment in which she noted that “industry rates” for copywriters were pretty dire.

This got me scratching my head a little. Why? Because I can’t imagine a situation where I would allow myself to be confined by an industry “rate”.

To put it another way, working within the spread of an industry rate in voluntary. You will be confined by those rates only if you voluntarily agree to be ruled by them. There is no law that says you have to do that.

Your other choice is to totally ignore those rates and set your own fee levels in accordance with the value you offer your clients.

How can you go about establishing higher fees for your work? Here are three ways to get started.

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Differentiate your writing services with an area of technical expertise.

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precise skill set working with watch repairIf you are a freelance writer or copywriter, you probably have a fairly broad skill set.

If I asked you what you did, you might say one of the following:

“I’m an online sales copywriter.”

“I’m an online content writer.”

“I’m a social media writer and marketer.”

There is nothing wrong with those descriptions, in so far as they describe a general area of expertise. Behind that claim you could have a ton of training and professional experience.

The limitation of describing your value in these broad terms is that you will find yourself lumped together with thousands of other people who describe themselves in exactly the same way.

For example you could be a terrific online copywriter. But when someone hears you describe yourself with those words, they might think, “Yep, you and a thousands of other people like you.”

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Copywriters: You can’t bully your prospects into saying Yes.

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copywriters shouldn't bullyAs a copywriter you are placed in an adversarial position with your readers.

This happens whether you like it or not.

The relationship is adversarial because you are trying to get your reader to change in some way. Change their brand of toothpaste. Change their diet. Change the software they use. Change the coffee they drink. And so on.

It is our job as copywriters to drive a change in behavior. Or, if you are writing to existing customers, it’s our job to prevent change from happening.

Either way, there is an adversarial element to the relationship.

If you don’t think there is anything adversarial about trying to persuade someone to change a behavior, pause for a moment and think about the last time you tried to make your spouse or one of your kids change their behavior.

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