Folks,

I'm trying to figure out the best way to market my copywriting services without wasting time. It will take quite a while to get my new business going, and I want to be as efficient as possible.

So the question is this: should I go for small businesses, or are they a waste of time? I've read that small companies get sticker shock when they hear freelancers' fees, and large companies only go with the veterans. So I've been focusing on companies that aren't super-huge but are not flea-sized.

In your experience, do small businesses with just a few (or a few dozen) employees hire freelancers with consistency? Or are they just going to waffle and then squeeze me for every penny?

My strength is not in one particular area of business; my background is in teaching public speaking, persuasion and communication in general. As a result, it's been kind of difficult to figure out which specific field of business I should hit other than company size.

Thanks.

Alex Stiner
Copywriting Solutions

You gotta start somewhere...and that usually means small business. Those are the ones no freelancer wants to deal with.

Quite the contrary: I prefer to work with small businesses. They pay me much more promptly than do large businesses. There are no annoying committees to deal with. I'm working directly with the ultimate decision-maker. I become a valued advisor, not a replaceable freelancer.

It's a common mistake to think that all small businesses are struggling and don't have money to pay consultants. Quite untrue.

Alex, see my article in the Articles section called "Find Your Niche & Launch Your Copywriting Practice." It's on precisely this question.

Best wishes,
Marcia Yudkin

My point was that most writers won't start out by working for large companies.

Marcia,

Thanks!

Honestly, I did think this, too. Until I saw this board, surfed sites and read some testimonials. MOST of them, actually, seemed to come from small businesses. So I wasn't sure where to go.

Alex Stiner
Copywriting Solutions

Just to add a little to Marcia's excellent article:

For an easier sale, "look for people who are already looking". In other words, people who are already aware that they have a problem that needs solving and are actively looking for a solution, OR who can be stimulated into seeking a solution through your marketing. Those with a big itch or burning rash (i.e. acutely feel the pain of their situation) will be far more likely to buy than those who are only dimly aware of their problem, not terribly concerned or the problem hasn't graduated up their priority list yet.

Coupled with this is that they must have the resources/budget to pay you, and must view your solution as a worthwhile investment of their time and money. Some people who, on the face of it, have plenty of money will not want to spend it on good writing because, for whatever reasons, they don't see the value of it. Others, who are actually strapped for cash, WILL spend their money with you because they "get" that you are offering them something really valuable. Most people can find money when they really want to.

Jane

Hi,

I have a question.

Alex has just started his copywriting business and he is looking for ways to market himself.

Instead of searching for a client to write a sales letter, why not he create his own product and write a sales letter for it and try to sell it online/offline?

Better yet, will it not be better if he is well versed in a particular industry and let us use Small business as an example and look for a niche he wants to write for and create a say 16 page Special report and sell it to them and upsell those buyers into buying his Copywriting services.

And if writing sales copy is the best skill in the world, why do someone has to look for clients at all?

Can't such a person launch product after product and live on his own?

Sorry, if I have taken this post to a different tangent. I just wanted to clarify.

Thanks,
Edward

PS: If you have time pls do a critique for me :

Gas At $5 a Gallon

Some people would rather write than run a bunch of little companies

Very strange reading about myself in the third person all of a sudden.

And yes, I don't particularly care to invent products and market them myself. I have the words; that's what I'm good at. Copywriting is another new area to learn (more the business/marketing side of it, really).

Alex Stiner
Copywriting Solutions