Wanted to get your professional feedback on this ... I've been approached by a print shop to write copy for their clients (of course, they want a cut), but I think I can take this a step further.

Has anyone found "Print Shops" a good source of referrals?

The "one step further" is to kit the entire promotion, so the print shop can market their clients, and send leads directly to me. Each lead would be tagged using an affiliate tracking system.

The print shop would get a series of postcards, letters, and other materials to promote the related sideline -- and when clients got their copy, they would get a list of print shops participating in the program with a "special report" encouraging 3 quotes.

The later part is to reduce overhead relating to tracking where each specific lead came from outside of the compensation. Going to a print shop is an obvious next step after getting copywriting and fits well with my layout / campaign recommendations I bonus clients.

Has anyone worked with print shops? What are your thoughts? If I'm able to generate enough leads, Would you like to be a subcontractor? You are welcome to PM or respond here.

Sincerely,

Justin

Sounds like a interesting idea...
When i was rushing off to BigSeminar 6, and my business cards hadn't arrived, I went to a local print shop to get a few made up...

1/ The owner thought I was in competition with him (e.g., "copy", thought I was, maybe a print shop

2/ As Harlan as commented any number of times ... he, like many of our clients, had never heard of "copywriting"

I'm also finding print shops with their own house "copywriters" who aren't much better than high school students -- fortunately I'll be piloting some of this with a mail shop owner who "gets it."

Until now I've primarily marketed to individuals who already do direct response marketing, however, I'm never against having someone else mail my marketing materials -- it beats hiring sales people.

That's why I focus on prospective clients who already use direct response marketing, or have a heavy analytical approach to marketing. This lets me be the person who "writes the words that sell" -- their marketing folk then have some sort of clue.

However, I see hundreds of "cash rich" businesses in my niche (industrial and high tech copywriting) who could benefit from a combined copywriter / print shop / mail house partnership.

Anyone else have any comments on referrals from print shops, or working with others in the direct mail world to pick up new assignments? Ideally I'd like to add this to my existing marketing activities to increase my overall client load as I move from on-site consulting to copywriting / advisory services.

Sincerely,

Justin

Hi Justin:

I've been in this business a long time, and I've never received a lead from a print shop. And I wouldn't want to, either. By the time you receive your cut, you're working for peanuts. Instead, I work with print shops to provide printing and production services for my own clients--which I'm able to mark up on my end. Much better, don't you think?

I'm also finding many print shops think my rates are outrageous, my clients are happy, but out of context printers think I charge too much. In this scheme, I was planning on getting most of my money up front. And, because many printers are notoriously slow invoicing and collecting their money, I was planning to take mine off the top.
Hmm, sounds like what I was already doing. At one time I was going to hire a project manager to help clients with campaigns, to chase down things at the printer, and make sure mail shops were on track. The problem was that reselling print shop services made me responsible for delays -- it became easier to just refer, in hind-sight, customers wanted one-stop-shopping.

Maybe I could use the kit concept to let print shops refer business under an affiliate type program. This would be similar to how they outsource high-end printing, or UV coating, ... except that I'd bill clients direct.

Any other ideas. Who else is using referrals from service providers to build their freelance copywriting side of business?

Sincerely,

Justin