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A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[03:15] If you’ve got a client who maybe doesn’t understand their target audience, as in they think they know their target audience, but they don’t understand their motivations, how do you deal with that?

[04:05] It’s about being as tactful as you possibly can as you guide your client and really make suggestions. It could be something you lead for them and all it takes is asking questions.

[05:44] Testing is always a great way to say, “Hey, I see where you’re coming from, but I think it’d be really great to test this because this could really change the direction and we could get more hard and fast data to make these decisions.”

[06:20] The fundamentals of copywriting: don’t forget to mention the benefit. If we really lean into this audience and understand what they’re thinking, that’s only going to lead to more sales in the long run.

[06:47] You need to do market research with the client. You need to have the client on board with that—and don’t want to spend your time doing it if they’re not onboard.

[09:09] Clients are humans and sometimes they have to learn hard lessons and they have to learn those hard lessons the hard way. Definitely guide and make suggestions, but at the end of the day, it’s their final decision.

[09:44] If you follow up a month after a project and, if the results aren’t what they wanted, it’s a perfect time to re-pitch them. It’s a great way to continue working with them.

[11:53]  With websites, you can do small tests so it’s less dramatic. For example, “what if we test this headline versus this headline?” After that, maybe we’re testing the call to action copy. Test piece by piece so you can really tell which things are influencing the actions people are taking on the page.

[13:06] Microsoft has a tool Clarity where you can enter whatever URL you want to look at, and it shows a heat map. This can show you what people are and aren’t spending time reading or otherwise looking at when looking at a page.

[13:40] You can just start to have some information and data that you can recommend very pinpointed tests that might move things in the right direction.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“When’s the last time we had the opportunity to get on the call with some of our clients and really hear what they have to say.” -Nicki

“Asking questions about what they want, what they need, what they fear, what’s gotten their way, what’s been frustrating, what would life look like if everything were fixed in whatever this arena is. But certainly if you see an opportunity, don’t hesitate to say something.” – Nicki

“When in doubt, suggest testing, depending what copy you’re writing. ” – Kate

“If you wanna do market research, I would absolutely do it with the client’s buy-in because you’re gonna wanna talk to people who have purchased from the client. You’re gonna wanna talk to people who have opted not to purchase from the client.”

“People who are aware of the client but haven’t even yet had the opportunity to purchase from the client, that can be a little bit trickier. ” – Nicki

” At the end of the day, I think you’re putting your best foot forward, right? You’re kind of trying to gently nudge them in the right direction if they ultimately are like, we don’t wanna go in that direction.”

“You can bring it up again certainly as new projects come up and what not and still continue to try to kind of fight the good fight, but at the end of the day, clients are gonna do what they wanna do.” – Kate

Mentioned on This Episode

• What’s a Copy Test?
• Ep. 56: What is a Copywriting Test and Should You Do One?

Related Links

• Why You Need to A/B Testing
• The Most Important Piece of Email Copy
• Top 3 Biggest Email Mistakes Copywriters Make

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

The post Episode BONUS – Laser Coaching: How to (Respectfully) Disagree with a Copywriting Client appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[02:15] I If you’re freelance, certainly you have the ability to work from different places and that kind of lends itself to visiting loved ones more often. We would like to help you avoid making this mistake thinking that you’ll be able to get the same amount of work and the same type of work done.

[04:31] One of the first tips when it comes to working remotely from a loved one’s house is to really not take on as much work during that time period that you’re visiting as you normally would.

[05:16] You don’t wanna be so pressured to get things done so to add to that pressure by putting the stress on yourself to deliver things like you normally would, it’s just unrealistic. And you’re setting yourself up for not the best at home visitation.

[07:35] You can have a blur on your background so that people can go about their day and not feel like they’re disrupting you. But noise will happen. Save your important meetings for another time.

[09:28] When I break for lunch, that lunch might take a little longer than expected. And I think that’s okay to remember that we do this to have a work life balance.

[10:26] I think when possible too, travel as much as you can take time off. But again, build it into your rates so that you do feel comfortable knowing that okay, I’ve built this into my project rates.

[10:50] How much money I wanna make each month roughly on average. You’ve done that math so that you can take 3, 4, 5, whatever number of weeks off that you’ve kind of accounted for.

[12:02] There are also workarounds if you absolutely have to get things done. Make sure there’s a place you can go. The Starbucks; a library near there; if you prefer more silence versus coffee and coffee shop environment, that’s always an option as well.

[13:03] Adjusting your schedule also in terms of when is your peak creative time? My early hours are my best time, I might have to figure out a way to carve some of that out at my parents’ house.

[14:56] The last little point is just make sure that you have a go-to kit of what you will use, what you need to have with you when you travel.

[15:19] You can just grab your travel kit. Things that you might need, earbuds or headphones, chargers for your computer, chargers for your phone, chargers for if you use a tablet or something, chargers, earphones or earbuds or whatever you use.

[17:04] Before you’re starting to travel and you’re making these plans, just have a conversation with whoever you’re staying with, friend, family member. Just setting some expectations to begin with and then not being afraid to remind people of that.

[18:46] We also can spend quality time together and maybe just work it out in advance so that you go in with a plan and then you don’t have to let resentment build or get stressed out.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“It’s not the same as working from your house. even if you tell your parents and friends, even if you carefully explain that when I’m on my computer, I am working. Things just don’t go as plan. ” – Nicki

“If you’re traveling around the holidays, just give yourself a little more buffer than you normally would.” – Kate

“Put yourself in your loved one’s shoes too. Maybe not realistic to make the entire household be silent, is not a great plan to begin with.” – Nicki

“Is it derailing the work that I need to get done? But what’s ultimately more important in our lives? Am I gonna remember the project that I was supposed to be working on when I’m 80 years old in a rocking tree? or am I gonna remember kind of quality time spent with friends and family?” – Kate

“I think that this is part of why we do this to be flexible so if we have the opportunity to focus on our loved ones instead of work, let’s take that. Build that into your schedule” – Nicki

” We should be using these opportunities to go spend time with our families. None of us are gonna be around forever. Our career is flexible and we should be taking advantage of that to spend more time with people we love.” – Nicki

Mentioned on This Episode

• 6 Must-Pack Items to Write Copy Overseas

Related Links

• Is it Really Possible for Copywriters to Work Entirely Remotely?
• 7 Tips to Living the Digital Nomad Lifestyle as a Copywriter
• How Can I Work Remotely from Anywhere in the World?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

The post Episode 193: Tips for Copywriting While Staying with Friends & Family 😳 appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[03:11]  You have to like writing, because lemme tell you, there’s a lot of writing in a copywriting career. It’s not all writing, there’s a lot of editing as well, a lot of thinking and brainstorming.

[09:34] Being willing to roll with things, being open to other points of view, as a copywriter you’ll come in and you’ll make recommendations.

[10:18]  The more you’re able to be flexible in dealing with people and how you deal with people, the more success you will have.

[13:00] I would imagine if you’re not hustling, there’s someone else that is more than willing to hustle and do the work. You have to get the job done no matter what. You cannot miss a deadline.

[22:15] Clients don’t automatically know how to evaluate copy. They don’t know how you as a copywriter know that you have structured things in a certain way to affect the target audience in a certain way.

[30:07] The concept of patience and persistence. It’s gonna be rare that you get your first draft and it’s perfect. Even just as you’re writing, it’s gonna take some time to come up with the right words and there is a lot of editing involved in copywriting.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“In order to be a copywriter, you need to get the training to add on to that natural ability to write because there are techniques and skills that you will add on to that natural ability. But that natural affinity for writing is a really important place to start” – Nicki

“My next favorite trait is resilience. Because you might love to write, you might then love some of what you’re writing. When you are facing that feedback that feels like it could be personal or it was just not. But you have that kind of ability to say, it’s gonna improve me as a writer, and it’s gonna improve the final product.” – Kate

“You’re the copywriting expert in the room, but you’re not the copywriting expert in the world. So there’s an element of needing to own the fact that you know what you’re doing and you have a lot of value to provide, but at the same time, being open to the fact that you don’t know everything.” – Nicki

” When you’re sitting down with a group of people in the office. You are all working together. You are collaborating to create the best piece possible. It’s at least 50% editing. You write your copy, you look at it from your target audience viewpoint, and you make your change, you make your tweaks. It’s not an instant process.” – Nicki

Mentioned on this Episode

• 11 Traits of the Most Successful Copywriters

Related Links

• What Does it Take to Become a Copywriter?
• Confused About Where to Start Your Copywriting Career? This One’s For You

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

Previous Episode

The post Summer Rewind: Ep 15. Traits of the Most Successful Copywriters appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

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Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:50] In this episode, Nicki and Kate are talking about testing your copy in terms of seeing how different versions of it perform (as opposed to a copy test you might do for a client before being hired—more on that here).

[2:36] Testing your copy is not a scary thing—it can actually be an opportunity for you as a copywriter to better serve your client.

[5:31] There may be times when it’s appropriate to provide options for your client to test, which is a nice way of providing more of a service, while also helping you learn more about what that audience responds to.

[6:24] It is in no way a judgment on your skills as a copywriter to test your copy—it’s just an opportunity to learn (and you will often be surprised by what performs best).

[8:20] You can’t test your copy before giving it to your client—your client has to test it to their audience

[9:35] With an A/B test, you’re testing two versions of one variable against each other. For example, you might test one headline against another headline on a sales page. Changing too many variables at a time makes it hard to isolate the reason one sales page performed better.

[11:01] Your client would split the traffic between the two different versions of the sales page and when they’ve reached a high degree of certainty, they’d look to see how many people purchased on each sales page.

[12:25] There are many opportunities for testing copy, including subject lines, headlines, the language you use in a call-to-action, and testimonials. You can bring more value to your clients by making recommendations for tests to carry out.

[15:46] When Nicki is doing email copy for a client, she will often just automatically send through a couple of different versions of subject lines to her client, which they’re generally grateful for.

[16:41] There are other kinds of projects where testing is more built into it, like Meta ads, where you are constantly testing to see what performs against different versions. Length is always a good thing to test to see if the audience prefers more or less detail before clicking through.

[18:31] If you are creating more copy for your clients to test, make sure you’re building that into your quote so that you are being compensated for it. And if your client comes back to you with additional testing elements, don’t be afraid to create a new quote for that.

[21:17] Anytime that you’re asking your client to test something, put it on your calendar to follow up with them and ask if they can share the results with you (although it may take a while to get them). This is a great opportunity to re-pitch your client—even if it performed well.

[22:32] If your client runs some copy and it doesn’t perform the way that they had hoped it would, that’s not a mark against you. You are only one part of the marketing machine and there are many other factors that can affect the metrics. But you can be part of taking advantage of the opportunity to improve it.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“It’s just so, so valuable for me and for my client to get that information back and know, oh, here’s what our audience actually cares about. Here are the messages that most resonate with them. How can we say these different things in other ways because they want to hear more of this. And this other message, yes, it’s important for them to hear maybe, but they don’t resonate with it as much. So maybe you don’t put as much emphasis on it. It just gives you so much more to work with.” – Kate

“It is not in any way a judgment on your skills as a copywriter to test your copy. It does not mean that you’re not a good copywriter. It’s just an opportunity to learn. And if your client says, ‘oh, we’re going to test this’, embrace it and ask to find out what the results are. After however many years I’ve been doing this, pushing 15 now, I feel like I am almost always wrong of which thing I think is going to win the test.” – Nicki

“I think that’s one of the nicest things about working with a ton of different clients across a ton of different industries is you get ideas that you can then bring to your clients and bring so much more value to them by having all of this knowledge from what other people are doing in their marketing.” – Kate

“And I think anytime that you’re saying to yourself, ‘which one do I think will perform better?’—that’s a perfect time to say, okay this is an opportunity to say to my client that they run an a/b test.” – Kate

Mentioned on this Episode

• What is a Copywriting Test and Should You Do One?

Related Links

• Know Your Copywriting Numbers
• Copywriting Metrics: What You Need to Know

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 170: Why You Need to Upsell Your Copywriting Clients (And How to Do It the Non-Sleazy Way)

The post Episode 171: Help! My Client Wants to Test My Copy! appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[2:09] The easiest clients to sell to are ones who know you and are already thrilled with the work that you’re doing!

[3:21] If you see a project that could deliver value for your clients and have a major impact for their business, then you’re doing your clients a disservice if you’re not pointing that out to them.

[7:04] What’s valuable for one client isn’t necessarily going to be valuable for another client, so instead of having “cookie cutter” ideas ready to pitch, tailor your ideas to each business’ needs.

[8:03] To help you identify possible opportunities, think of how your current piece fits into the whole customer journey. For example, if you’re working on an email and look where it’s driving to, you might see that the landing page it goes to could be a lot stronger.

[9:32] It’s always worth considering what other elements would help to make your original piece more successful. Kate gives an example of this from a recent CCA coaching call.

[12:18] Rather than focusing on the deliverables to upsell, start from what the goal is and what pieces are missing or could be strengthened to help fill this goal. Starting from a stronger strategic place will have a higher impact and bring more value.

[15:11] Anytime is the right time to pitch but when it’s a natural progression of a project that you’re already working on, it feels much easier. What is your client focused on right now? And what other projects can you come up with that will support that focus? 

[18:24] Don’t forget to tell your clients how an idea would benefit them. Sometimes we assume that they know why it would benefit them and their company, but that’s not necessarily true. 

[18:48] The best time to upsell a client is when they’re still riding high on the excitement from  what you’ve delivered on the current project. Get in touch with your ideas as you’re wrapping up the current project and still in direct communication.

[20:06] Kate suggests adding notes to your invoice tracker with upselling ideas for certain clients in the future–especially if you know there’s limited bandwidth for that project right now. (But ideally, all projects should be pitched in the moment.)

[24:15] Every quarter, it is good practice to go back and look at the clients you’ve worked with in the past, check out their websites, social pages, and emails, and see if there’s anything you can come up with to pitch to them.

[24:51] Some of the tools that your clients use to engage their audience will apply to completely different industries. For example, a re-engagement series is a tactic that you could pitch to a wide range of different clients.

[26:39] The key to upselling is focusing on how to provide more value. What are the additional projects that would be helpful to the clients that you’ve worked with in the past and the clients you’re working with now? Remember: there is no downside to pitching a new project!

[30:25] Nicki sets us an assignment to start the upselling process with past and current clients!

Must-Hear Takeaways

“There are all kinds of great opportunities once you start digging into working with a client. But don’t just get too focused on the project that you’re doing. Think to Kate’s point, what other elements would help make this piece more successful but what other elements would help make the entire customer journey more successful, for both the customer and for your client.” – Nicki

“You are hurting your client by not suggesting projects that will benefit them. And I think sometimes copywriters think, ‘well, if this is such a good idea, why didn’t they think about it already?’ I think it can be a great way for resistance to kick in. ‘Well, they’ve probably thought about it already. I’m sure there’s probably a really good reason why they’re not doing it.’ Maybe not. Or maybe it’s a project that they haven’t thought about already. Or maybe it’s a project they have thought about in the past, but they haven’t had the opportunity or the right writer to help them out with.” – Nicki

“What’s your client focused on right now and what other projects can you come up with that will support that focus, that are already within that realm of focus?” – Nicki

“There is no downside at all to repitching, to upselling your clients. It helps everybody. Everybody wins and that’s what we want. We want to win and we want our clients to win.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Should You Package Your Copywriting Services?
• Too Afraid to Pitch? Business Owners WANT Your Copywriting Pitches

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 169: 12 Marks of a Lazy Copywriter (And How to Avoid Becoming One Yourself!)

The post Episode 170: Why You Need to Upsell Your Copywriting Clients (And How to Do It the Non-Sleazy Way) appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[2:19] Nicki and Kate introduce today’s topic: the concept of copywriting formulas (and what you should do instead!)

[3:32] No business can be successful without effective messaging, and so these templates are aimed at business owners who are intimidated by their own messaging. They prey upon a need in business owners, without actually fulfilling those needs.

[6:53] One of the dangerous things with formulas is that business owners (and even copywriters who are looking for an easy way out) are doing their clients a disservice. You should be digging into the customer’s particular needs and concerns before you even start writing.

[8:58] Templates don’t let you make sure that your writing actually resonates with your target audience or is written in line with the company’s brand voice.

[11:24] There are a lot of parallels with these formulas and the use of AI for copywriting. Ultimately, if you haven’t identified the right benefit for your audience, then the word choices don’t really matter because the message won’t resonate with potential customers.

[12:48] Kate gives an example of a formula she has seen for creating headlines. It shows that just putting words out there without purpose (the antithesis of everything that copywriting is about!) is completely ineffective.

[15:10] Nicki shares how she received three emails from different companies, all with the same subject line, and all following a similar template. It made those companies look lazy and showed they were not geared toward their target consumers.

[17:08] Don’t forget that when you pitch your services, you are helping business owners with something they are likely struggling with. They might otherwise end up opting for these templates, which put them further behind versus taking the time to really think through their messaging with a professional.

[18:30] As copywriters, it can be very tempting to opt into these templates, especially when they are marketed to us using specific metrics like how much it will increase your open rates. But digging into the deep benefits will be so much more effective than any formula.

[21:21] The easy way out is never the effective way. You want to stand out from anything that’s already been created and the whole fun of what we do is combining creativity with strategy. By relying on templates, you take that fun away.

Must-Hear Takeaways

 “If there was a formula for copy that nailed it, that this is what you do and everyone just plugs and plays and does a mad lib and you have the perfect email or sales page or the perfect whatever… we would be out of work, we wouldn’t have jobs if that is how it worked.” – Kate

“I had 3 emails from 3 totally different companies, and they all had the same subject line. I opened it up and they all had roughly used the same template and just put in their pricing and their signature and that kind of thing. First, it was kind of validating but also how embarrassing for these companies? I certainly was not the only person to receive the exact same emails and it also makes these companies look lazy. You want my business but you’re not willing to put in the time to write your own email? You borrowed it from someone else who told you it would work.” – Nicki

 “It’s putting words out there without purpose and that’s the antithesis of everything that copywriting is about.” – Nicki 

“You want to stand out from anything that’s already being created and again that’s the whole point why AI isn’t going to work because they can just regurgitate what already exists. You want to do something new and different and grab attention and stand out in the space, and that’s never going to happen with any of this stuff that’s been done before.” – Kate

Related Links

• Can Copywriting Software Replace Skilled Copywriters?
• Artificial Intelligence Copywriting: Do You Need to Worry?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 160: How This Teacher Doubled Her Salary and Decreased Stress—Amanda’s Story

The post Episode 161: 1 Copywriting Tactic You Should Avoid at All Costs appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:49] A lot of the copywriting projects that you work on may not be of interest to you or they may not seem compelling to you. Make sure you start with the creative brief, as you would for any project, and don’t be afraid to reach back out to your clients to gather more information from a subject matter expert.

[3:42] The more you dig into a project and the creative brief, the more you get to understand why it’s compelling for the target audience, which is what really matters.

[4:35] It’s not often that we are our own target audience. That is why a big part of our job is to get into the heads of our target audiences and figure out what makes whatever it is that we’re writing about compelling to them.

[5:14] As a copywriter, you have a responsibility to dive deep into truly understanding the target audience because that can change an entire marketing campaign. It’s a good idea to ask about their biggest pain points, challenges, and what they are looking for in the service or product that is being offered.

[8:10] Don’t be afraid to get curious and question everything. Clients usually love it when you want to dig into their business and understand it inside and out.

[9:23] To make something interesting that’s fundamentally not interesting to you, think about what would make it compelling first, and then ask your client to see if they have anything that would support that point. 

[12:23] It’s important to not impose your judgment on the target audience. It’s not our jobs to judge how valid or important their need is and instead, we should go into it with our target audience hat on.

[14:15] Every copy project is a solution to a problem or need and deserves the same level of attention. It’s not about comparing project to project or audience to audience. It’s about the right message, at the right time, to the right people.

[17:05] Nicki cautions against going into a project thinking it will be boring (or even turning it down) because the more that you dig into projects, the more you find ways to make them interesting and to the target audience as well.

[18:34] Asking your client if they have done any client research can be a great way to really make sure that you and the client know who you’re talking to.

[21:17] No matter what you are selling, the interest point is there and it’s your fun job as the copywriter to find it, pull it out, and then share it with the world.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“it’s very rare actually that we are our own target audiences. Instead, a big part of our job is to get into the heads of our target audiences and figure out what makes whatever it is we are writing about compelling to them.” – Nicki

“We don’t just write words. We get into the minds of the target audience, we get into the minds of the people who are selling/trying to persuade and we find a way to connect both of those through our words. It’s not easy work, its valuable work (partially because it’s not easy work!).” – Nicki

“I think it’s important too to not impose our judgment on the target audience. Just because we think ‘oh that’s not a big deal’ doesn’t mean that whatever it is that you’re writing about isn’t the exact thing that someone has been looking for.” – Nicki

“It’s on us to treat every copy project with the same level of care and strategy and creativity. Every project deserves that, no matter what, because every person that we are helping this company to sell to or persuade or message or communicate with, every person deserves that.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Episode 137: How To Structure Your Copy for Every Project
• Episode 126: Good vs. Bad Copywriting: How Do You Tell the Difference?
• Ep. 5: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice
• How to Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

The post Episode 153: How to Write Powerful Copy (Even When the Product or Service Isn’t Interesting) appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[2:57] CCA student Shelby is having trouble identifying the deep benefit for less functional things like art, especially because it is so subjective.

[3:59] It is true that with some things like art, the deep benefits can be a little bit less concrete. Often you have to focus on softer benefits, but these matter just as much. 

[5:56] Different types of art projects require different approaches to highlight their unique benefits. Talk to your client to find out how you can best connect with that specific target audience and their wants and needs.

[7:46] Art is about an interaction between people and the artwork, not just how it looks in a room. Figuring out the deep benefit has to be done on a case by case basis, rather than looking at the benefit of art as a whole.

[10:37] A good exercise would be to practice writing copy for different artists and galleries, to help distinguish between benefits across a range of target audiences. 

[12:13] Sharing work within a supportive community will enhance your growth as a copywriter and help to improve your skills.

“Remember too that you’re not going to be writing for art as a whole, art won’t be your client. You’ll be writing for an individual author to write their back cover copy of their book or their inside flap copy of their book, in which case you’ll be able to dive into what makes that particular story exciting or appealing or enticing or insightful.” – Nicki

“I’ll buy an original piece for how it makes me feel. It makes me feel inspired, it broadens my view of the world, it intrigues me, it encourages my creativity. Art is about an interaction between people and the artwork, not just how it looks in a room.” – Nicki

“What someone might be getting out of it is different based on the medium, the actual art piece, the audience, etc. So I take it on a case by case basis versus trying to figure out a benefit of art as a whole.” – Kate

“It’s true that with some things, it’s a little bit less concrete. This artwork did not make me lose 10 pounds but there’s still a benefit. The softer benefits are still important and when it comes to art, often it will be those softer benefits. But especially for people who appreciate art, those softer benefits can matter just as much.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Copywriting Q&A: The Magic Bullet for Effective Copy
• Features vs. Benefits Quiz: Test Your Copywriting Knowledge

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 147: How to Avoid Freak Outs & Solve Any Challenge

The post BONUS – Laser Coaching: Identifying the Deep Benefit for Artwork appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[2:00] Kate explains what a hook is and why it is important.

[3:19] In order to draw readers in, a hook has to be something that’s genuinely intriguing to the target audience. Nicki and Kate discuss some different examples of what that could look like.

[5:12] Numbers and questions make effective hooks because they pique curiosity and make people want to find out more.

[6:53] Kate reminds us that it is possible to lead with the benefit and do a catchy hook.

[7:27] If you are giving some kind of a hook, you have to actually pay it off. Using a hook and then launching into something else will lose the trust of your target audience.

[8:59]  Clickbait is when you don’t pay it off and lure people in without answering whatever it was that piqued their interest in the first place. This can hurt your marketing efforts and frustrate readers.

[9:54] Our co-hosts share examples of clickbait and discuss how this angers readers when they do not get the information they were expecting.

[11:34] As a marketer and as a copywriter, your job is to ensure that not only do you come up with great hooks for your clients, but that you also pay off that hook in a way that is intriguing.

[12:39] Spending time looking at copy around you and evaluating hooks can help to make the differentiation so you are able to have a positive impact on your client’s copy.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“A hook is by definition in order to hook them in, it has to be something that’s genuinely interesting or intriguing to that target audience. So It might be an interesting statement, a provocative statement, it might be a question that interests them. It opens a loop that they want closed.” – Nicki

“The hook has to bring people in but it also has to get paid off and it has to get paid off in a genuine way. If I say “The 5 Biggest Mistakes that People Make in a Portfolio”, either when people keep reading or maybe people click through, they should get the five mistakes.” – Nicki

“You can’t use a hook and then launch into something else because you’re going to lose the trust of that target audience.” – Nicki

“You can actually hurt your marketing efforts by using clickbait because you’re getting clicks, but you’re not getting the actual engagement that you want or need to move your client’s business forward.” – Kate

“It is very, very easy to lose an audience’s trust. And as a copywriter, it’s your job to make sure that your copy helps build that trust and doesn’t do anything to jeopardize it.” – Nicki

“Your job is to ensure that not only do you come up with great hooks for your clients, but that you also pay off that hook and give information in a way that is useful, intriguing, and gets them to keep reading.” – Nicki

“It is always beneficial to look at the copy around you and evaluate it.” – Nicki

Related Links

• What Your Headlines Are Missing
• Copywriting Q&A: When to Use Curiosity Headlines
• Ep. 27: The Most Important Piece of Email Copy

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 144: Navigating Ups and Downs in a Copywriting Career – Tammy’s Story

The post Episode 145: Catchy Hook or Clickbait? How to Tell the Difference appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Check out the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:15] A call to action is the next step you want the user to do in the user journey. It is often referred to as the “CTA”.

[2:40] The majority of copy will have a call to action, especially in direct response copywriting. In your career as a copywriter, 95% to 100% of your work will be direct response copywriting, where you persuade the audience to do something, to take an action.

[4:30] An effective call to action makes it clear what is coming next, what the next steps are.

[6:30] This is not the area to add personality, you want the CTA to be very simple and direct. To hook the consumer in it needs to be clear and concise.

[9:50] If your copy causes the reader to hesitate because it’s unclear, the chances of them continuing and clicking the button or signing up or purchasing the item greatly decreases.

[11:35] Make sure to ask the client what is coming before and after the piece you are working on, so you understand where it lives in the user journey.

[15:15] If your CTA is in print or audio be sure that whatever you are asking them to type in their browser is very simple, easy to spell, and easy to remember. That step shouldn’t feel like work to the user.

[16:45] Calls to action are crucial. There is no point to copywriting if you don’t tell the user the next step. You have to be clear and help the user understand what is going to happen next if they take that call to action.

“Every interaction that a company or organization has with a reader or a follower or a user, they have something that they want to take [that customer] to next in the customer or user journey. And that’s what the call to action is all about. It’s taking them to that next place.” – Nicki

“If it’s not clear what’s going to happen next, it’s not an effective call to action.” – Nicki

Related Links

• What Makes a Good Call to Action (CTA)?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 120: Most Common Copywriter Backgrounds

The post Ep. 121: Writing a Call to Action that Maximizes Engagement appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.