Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Marketing your copywriting skills: create a marketing package

You need a marketing package on hand that you can send out to prospective copywriting clients immediately, as soon as they enquire.

 

What your marketing package contains is up to you. Here are some ideas:

 

* a short bio (100 words max) with a photo. Note: you're a consultant not a potential employee, so you don’t need to send your CV, no matter how impressive;

 

* a couple of work samples. You can print, scan, or send a PDF file of these work samples;

 

* an outline of the kind of work you do for clients, or would like to do;

 

* your hourly rate, and how this translates into projects.

 

I like to compile all this material into a PFD file. I burn this package onto several CDs, so that I always have some on hand to drop into the mailbox.

 

You can send your PDF as an email attachment, of course, BUT please ask your recipient whether she's set up to accept attachments. With the proliferation of viruses, many people strip attachments.

 

 

Can you succeed at a writing career?

My most-asked question, from students and others, is: "Can I make a living writing?"

 

My answer is always YES. However it comes with a rider. You can make a fine living IF you can take the reins into your own hands and commit to marketing your writing and writing services consistently.

 

Marketing is a MUST. No one knows you, or knows what you can do, until you tell them. You need to keep putting the word out. Think about how much advertising and promotion large corporations do. They promote week after week, month after month. They know that not to promote is the kiss of death.

 

I also explain that YOU CAN'T STOP. You need to keep making contacts, and keep sending your work out into the market. If you're just starting out, it will take around three months for you to get steady, ongoing work.

 

Photos galore, and they're all free

If you're looking for images for brochures or other marketing material you're creating for your copywriting clients, check out morgueFile.

 

The images are free, and are grouped into sections, so you're sure to find some that work for your projects.

New-look at Digital-e

Birgitt has given our Digital-e site a big makeover.

  

Check out the bright, fresh new look – the site loads faster too.

 

There's a lot of information on the Articles page for you, if you want to turn your writing into a profitable small business.

Excellent insight on mind maps: structure reveals meaning

Excellent insight on the value of mind mapping for everyone, not just for writers, on Nick Duffill's blog, Beyond Crayons.

  

The structure of the map reveals meaning:

 

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The bottom line is this: there is more information in the lines of a map than in the words. The connecting lines in a map are the body language of its words. Body language that does not match the spoken word is instinctively and immediately recognised as deception. Sometimes we don't know exactly why we think the other person is trying to fool us - it's just a hunch. Perhaps this is blindsight at work, reading their body language without conscious effort, and sending alarm signals about inconsistency.

>>> 

 

As a writer, your skill in structuring your writing is more important than the words you use. The structure is everything; once you have the structure, your work is 80 per cent done.

 

This explains why bestsellers rile literary critics. A novel becomes a bestseller because it's a wonderful story – the story (the plot) is the structure. The words may be pedestrian, but the story is a winner. :-)

 

If you're writing a short piece, the structure must contain Who, What, How, When, Where and Why.

 

If you're writing a novel, or a nonfiction book, the structure gives you the bones that you need. Without the bones, your 100K words are just a shapeless mass that no one, not even your mother, would want to read. :-)

 

If you're not already using mind maps, start today. A mind map well done is the task mostly done.

 

Brilliant: MindManager has a blog!

I love mind maps, both the hand-drawn maps I create on index cards and on every scrap of paper in my office, and also computer mind maps.

 

For computer maps, I use MindManager, and it's great to see that MindManager now has a blog.

  

If you're a MindManager aficionado, here's a map-organizing tip from the blog:

  

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First, create a Master Map. Every time you need to start a new map, don’t go to File: New. Instead, open up your Master Map, find the place where you want your new map to reside, insert a new topic, name the topic, then choose: File/Send to/MindManager as new map.

 

MindManager then opens a new map with the topic title in the center, and away you go. Instead of shoving yet another file folder in yet another musty file cabinet, you have kind of blossomed a new fruit off of your tree. It’s a beautiful thing.

 

 Once I started this, it slowly sunk in that I was saving my visually. I just started this this week. But I already feel my anxiety level dropping as I realize that I am going to have a much easier time finding and, if necessary, moving my maps.

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Complete how-tos on creativity and mind maps in our up-coming video tutorials

BTW, I'm always being asking HOW I use mind maps. So one of the first video tutorials I'll be creating for Pro Write will be how to create mind maps, both the hand-drawn variety and the computer variety.

  

(If you're concerned that you need drawing skills for the hand-drawn maps, no, you don't need to be able to draw – just doodle. :-))

 

I'll follow that up with a series of tutorials related to each of our workshops, and of course since I use mind maps all day every day, you'll get additional insights into mind mapping for easy and fun creativity in those tutorials.

 

Please watch for them. They'll be unique tools that you can use to kick your writing career into overdrive. :-)

 

BurnQuick: end data backup hassles

My beloved Zip drive just died after six years of stalwart service, and because I'm a backup fanatic (I hope you are too) I've been testing all kinds of options since.

 

I've finally settled on Burnquick for easy one-click backups of any file I've worked on.

I like backing up as I work, as well as doing complete backups once a week. It's similar to the process that I used to follow with my Zip disk, and BurnQuick lets me burn to CD or DVD.

  

One tip: if you're testing this program and want smooth results with a fast speed CD or DVD drive, place a checkmark beside the ‘create disk copy first’ option.

The problem with PDAs: putting stuff in, getting rid of old stuff

I love my Palm PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). I'm (almost) ashamed to admit that lately I've only used it to play games while I'm taking a breather between writing tasks.

 

I'm using paper notebooks, and index cards as my primary writing PDA again. I'm a big fan of the Hipster PDA, otherwise known as index cards.

  

When I've finished with a card, I recycle it. Rip and it's gone.

 

Yes, the PDA is useful. However, it's not a tabula rasa. If I open it to jot down a note, I'm distracted by all the other notes I've written in the past day and week. And, by the time I'm into the swing of Graffiti again, I've forgotten some of the brilliant idea I just had.

 

OTOH, with an index card, I scrawl a quick note and prop it on my desk --- I'm not distracted by other cards, and I can add to the card whenever I happen to glance at it.

 

Works for me.

 

Attributes of a copywriter

I'm often asked: "Could I write copy?"

 

Here's my list of a copywriter’s basic attributes. I've numbered the list in my order of importance:

 

1. You need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the intended audience of the particular piece of copy, and get that audience to respond in the way the client requires;

 

2. You need to be able to think logically. (On paper.);

 

3. You're being paid to communicate clearly, so you need to know the rules of English. Errors of punctuation, like inappropriate caps, confuse your audience. If you decide to break the rules, you need to know which rules you broke, and why;

 

4. You need the ability to write to order, about almost anything; you need good research skills;

 

5. You need the ability to write even if your brief is inadequate. (I once wrote an eight-page brochure on dog food based on a one-sentence brief.)

 

6. You need the ability to be creative, within the limits of your brief.

 

Writing technique: know yourself

Your writing is YOU. Just as silkworms spin silk from mulberry leaves, you spin writing from your life's experiences. The more you know and understand yourself, the more you will know and understand the world, and the more you'll have to write about.

 

I'm a believer in the "black box" theory of personality. That is, you know someone (and yourself), by their actions -- by what they do -- NOT by what they say, or by what they think.

 

This theory comes in handy when you're writing fiction. :-) The curse of the neophyte novelist is the thinking and talking head. If you decide that your characters have to DO stuff, you'll find that your fiction is suddenly much more interesting.

 

To begin to get a handle on knowing yourself, commit to a writing log, and/ or a journal.

 

A log is usually project-specific; that is, you would keep a log for a novel, or nonfiction book. However, you could also keep a log for your goals. Many years ago, I kept a Goals Log, and found that it kept me focused and working steadily, so I've decided to start keeping a Goals Log again.

 

Your journal is your day-book. It's a place where you can talk to yourself. One of the benefits of a journal is that it gets all the whining and complaining out of your head and onto the page. When you see it there, it starts to look boring. Then you can use your journal to develop material.

 

For example, you might go to a coffee shop just to people-watch. That girl with all the piercings and tattoos: maybe she could appear in your novel. Or maybe you could write an article on body decoration. Unless you're keeping a journal, you've lost the idea of that girl as a character, or as the impetus to an article, within a few minutes of seeing her.

 

Free ebooks, video tutorials and much more on Pro Write

Exciting times on Pro Write. This month and next month, Pro Write is giving members a free ebook writing manual as part of their Pro Write membership.

  

This month, members can download Tell, Yell and Sell: Marketing Skills for Writers, and next month, enjoy Writing to Sell in the Internet Age: the ebook; both manuals are completely free for members.

 

Tell, Yell and Sell: Marketing Skills for Writers shows you how to market your writing like a pro.

 

Writing to Sell in the Internet Age: the ebook helps you to discover how to develop an UNLIMITED writing income in the new global marketplace.

  

Each book is yours, completely free to download and keep, exactly as sold on our Digital-e site. Enjoy. :-)

 

Birgitt and I have wonderful things planned for you this year, like video writing tutorials, and much more.

  

Coming to Pro Write soon: video tutorials!

 

We hope that the ebooks keep you busy writing while we develop our video writing tutorials. :-)

 

The tutorials will be free, exciting how-to videos which show you exactly how to put the writing skills we discuss on Pro Write to work.

 

I've long been aware that we have writers at different stages signing up for PW. We've got beginning writers, intermediate writers who are publishing and selling and want to sell more, and professional writers who are looking for new writing venues in which to spread their wings.

 

I know that when I write a tutorial, it has to appeal to everyone, and a 5,000 word workshop is NOT enough to inspire, motivate and guide a beginning or intermediate writer to success.

 

The videos will be a way in which I can explain exactly HOW you approach an editor, HOW you interview someone, and HOW you work through different drafts. We can also explore all the techniques which professional writers use to make life easier -- on video.

 

With both audio and video to guide you, you'll make a roaring success of your writing career. Why video? Because when you can see something done, it becomes simple to do it yourself.

 

We know that you'll find the tutorials powerfully effective in moving your writing career towards more success - and profit.

 

Watch for them. And if you're not yet a Pro Write member, please join us.

 

The writing wealth in your subconscious mind: use it!

Think of your subconscious mind as your inner librarian.

 

Colin Wilson, in his book Access to Inner Worlds, says: "The (inner) library contains detailed recordings of everything that has ever happened to us, and these can be recombined in any order… We catch a glimpse of this inventiveness in dreams… but these are obviously some kind of a random selection. Our inner librarian does his best work when we ASK FOR his cooperation."

 

This is a useful insight. Try it out --- ask your inner librarian to help you with a specific writing task, and he/ she/ it will happily do so. You'll find that there's a time lag when you do this. It's best to leave at least a few hours between your request, and the writing. Barbara Cartland famously used to ask for the plot of her next book as soon as she finished one, and A COMPLETE plot was ready for her the next day. :-)

 

* Note: for the purposes of this technique, we'll assume that your subconscious and unconscious minds are the same. I have quibbles with this, because I don't think that they are. However, it doesn’t affect the way the technique works, so don't let it concern you. :-)

 

Titles sell your work: start a Titles notebook

Titles sell. Get into the habit of writing down any titles which occur to you. You can also write down good titles of published books and articles. Analyse why the title of the published work is a good one.

 

Not only does becoming aware of titles make it easier to create titles for your own work, but it will inspire ideas for your writing as well. In my own work, I find that the title often comes to me first --- it's a gift from my subconscious.

 

 

The cure for a blank mind: notebooks

Everything comes from something. Your writing comes from your entire life: everything you've done, witnessed, and experienced. And everything you've read. Unfortunately, when you sit down to write, you may feel as if your mind is a blank slate. The cure? Notebooks.

 

Get into the notebook habit. You can keep your notebooks on your computer, in paper notebooks, or on index cards, your choice.

 

The benefit of writing notebooks isn’t in the notebooks themselves. It's in the writing you do in those notebooks. When you write something down, you'll remember it, and it will come out in your writing sooner or later. No more blank slate. :-)

 

Start a Conversations/ Dialogue notebook.

 

Write at least one conversation you overhear today, either at work, in a restaurant, or in some other public place. Describe the people having the conversation. What does each person want from the other?

 

Dialogue tip: dialogue isn’t just conversation.

 

When you're writing dialogue, beware of writing small talk. In a novel, short story or nonfiction, your dialogue must have a point. It's not greetings, and it's not small talk. Watch a TV show like "Law and Order" to get a feel for the way dialogue conveys information, and characterizes.

 

Read your writing aloud to solve problems with the material

If you get the niggling feeling that there's something wrong with something you wrote, but you have no idea what it is, read your work aloud and you'll discover the solution.

 

Reading your work aloud is the best first step in rewriting. Researchers say that sound stimulates the brain into attention. This is important, because when you tinker with your writing there's a limit. After a while, you lose perspective. Wait a day, and then reread your work, aloud.

 

Babies react powerfully to the sound of a human voice. And you'll find new meaning in your writing when you read it aloud.