Hello all,

My name is James Palmer. I have written articles, reviews and interviews before, but the money is less than great. When I read Peter Bowerman's book, I decided to give freelance copywriting a try, but I'm still new to the game. I have two clients, but would like to do so much more. The problem I'm having is a lack of a portfolio. People want to see the exact same type of material that they are looking for. How do you get around this mentality?

I'm really looking forward to this board. It's just what I've been looking for.

James

Try getting around this by explaining that no two situations are the same.

What works one day for one company will never work another day for another company. Markets move fast, and it's up to the copywriter to stay ahead of them.

Thanks, that's a good point. Let me throw another one out there. What do you do with clients who want to see a resume (which I've read isn't a good idea0 and then don't return your phone calls? My gut tells me to move on, but I don't want to lose a potential client I know needs a copywriter, and if I do lose them, I want to know why.

I had someone ask me for one once. It caught me off guard because I couldn't understand why. Later, I realized they were looking for a college graduate. I was glad to loose them.

The credentials they should be concerned with are in your portfolio. If they think something else is important, then they'll end up being a problem client and you're better off without them.

If someone is looking for a resume then they obviously don't understand business. After all, you don't ask your bank manager for their resume when you open a new account, do you?

It's always a challenge for new businesses to provide proof that they can do what they claim to be able to to. For example, if someone has been a marketing manager for a number of years, and then sets up their own company, then it's fairly easy for them to create credibility by discussing the positions they held before going out on their own.

But if you haven't been engaged in the line of business that you're now in, then it can be a problem. It seems that most people get round this by doing some pro-bono projects that they can use as their portfolio. My way of getting round it was to create a bridge between I had been doing (IT) to what I wanted to do (marketing) via webdesign. I leveraged the fact that most people wouldn't understand that IT and webdesign are not one and the same thing, therefore I gave the appearance of being more experienced than I actually was.

I also leveraged the fact that so long as I was one step ahead of my clients, then I'd be fine. So long as what I could do for them was somewhat/considerably better than what they could do on their own, then I earned the right to provide service to them. I also made sure that I learnt any and everything about my chosen new career so that I could speak authoratively about it. However, a certain amount of "blagging" was involved. I would still be a word processing operator if it weren't for the art of blagging!

The problem a lot of new businesses have is trying to work with the wrong types of clients. You need to understand your capabilities and where you fit into the competitive landscape. If you can't speak with authority or credibility with hard-nosed internet marketers, then don't target them as your prospects - they'll know straight away that you have no experience in copywriting. However, if you target (say) local small business owners who haven't used copywriters before, then they may not ask you as many tricky questions. They won't pay as much, but they probably won't demand instant improvements in conversion rates either.

Hope there's something in there that's helpful,

Jane

Yes, thank you. That was a great help. I think that some of these people want to see resumes because that's how they've been taught to look for workers, and they can't make the leap to distinguishing potential employees from a freelance consultant who can help them solve a problem.

I actually have a sort of success story to add. Just last night someone I sent my resume to called me back to get a quote on a job. Of course, he has a lot of other people to call for quotes as well, but any interest at this point is encouraging.

Thanks for your input.