Your Well-Fed E-PUB: December 2018 Issue

Welcome to THE WELL-FED E-PUB!

The companion monthly ezine to the quadruple-award-winning how-to
guide, “The Well-Fed Writer.” Serving up food for thought and tasty
tips for the prospering FLCW*. Come on in, sit anywhere and bring your
appetite!

*FLCW, peppered throughout the ezine, stands for “Freelance Commercial
Writer”—anyone who freelances for businesses (vs. writing magazine
articles, short stories, poetry, etc.), typically earns $50-125+ an
hour, and is the sole focus of this e-newsletter.

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VOLUME 17, ISSUE 12 – DECEMBER 2018
Publishing the first Tuesday of every month since May 2002
Read it online HERE.

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READY TO PULL AWAY FROM THE ARTICLE/BLOG-POST-WRITING CROWD?
“Well-Fed Craft” offers step-by-step guidance on writing the most requested and
high-paying marketing-copywriting projects. Give your copywriting skills a serious
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NEW 1-ON-1 COACHING PROGRAMS: SAMPLE/SITE REVIEW & “SIDECAR”!
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THE WELL-FED WRITER BLOG! Weigh in on, “Good Clients Will Pay
Handsomely for This (Often-Elusive) Outcome”; “Four Client-Repelling
Mistakes, & What I Learned to Do Instead" (Guest Post); "Successful
Copywriters (Or ANY Craftspeople) Don’t Focus on Success; They Focus
on This”; and more!

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THIS MONTH’S MENU:

I. APPETIZER: HAVE YOU GONE BACK TO THE FUTURE?
Yours Truly Affirms Truism: Reach Out to Old Clients, Land New Work

II. “FIELD” GREENS: WHEN CLIENTS ASK, “YOU DONE X-TYPE PROJECT?”
If the Answer Is No, This Smart Script Can Overcome Client Objections!

III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: HOW TO SCALE THE CLIENT “BUY-IN” WALL
NY FLCW Serves Up 5 Steps to a Smoother, Obstacle-Free Project Process

IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
FLCW Learns the Positive Meaning of “What Goes Around Comes Around”
TIP: UK FLCW Makes Good Use of Past Journo Skills, & Touts Their Value

V. COFFEE, MINTS AND TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
- I NEED ALL COURSES FOR THE WELL-FED-E-PUB! PLEASE SHARE!
- The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register HERE, Get Bonus CD!
- How Can My Mentoring Service Serve You?

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I. APPETIZER: HAVE YOU GONE BACK TO THE FUTURE?
Yours Truly Affirms Truism: Reach Out to Old Clients, Land New Work

So, in the September issue, I ran a success story from a writer
reporting on LinkedIn’s ProFinder service. In a nutshell, it’s a
program you apply for, and once accepted, for a fee, you’re matched
with and receive job listings from other LinkedIn members seeking
expertise like yours.

I honestly haven’t done too much with LinkedIn, but why not check it
out? At the very least, it might make for some good fodder for the
ezine, but who knows? I might just land some work, as the writer of
the piece mentioned above apparently had.

So, I put in my application, waited a few days, and heard back from
someone saying I needed to add more testimonials and publications
(articles, books, etc.) to my profile. I’d provided a link in my main
profile to the testimonial page of my copywriting site, but, according
to the LI powers-that-be, that didn’t cut it.

I stifled a moment of irritation, since it seemed they were implying
that I—after 25 years at this—didn’t have the requisite expertise??
Well, I never! Sigh. So be it.

So, over the next week or so, I reached out to a variety of clients in
multiple arenas (copywriting, book titling, coaching, readers of my
book, etc.). In short order, I went from three posted testimonials to
13. But a more interesting thing happened in the process…

I reached out to many of the folks who’d provided me testimonials in
the past—ones I’d posted on my sites. I asked if they’d be willing
(after we were connected on LinkedIn, if we weren’t at that point) to
post that same comment on my LI profile (and I sent it to them, of
course). Most replied back and were happy to do so.

I think you know where this is going… Two clients I reached out to,
simply by virtue of that outreach, asked me to quote on some new
projects. Total fees: ~$7200.

Course, this lovely new development spawned mixed emotions. On
the one hand, naturally, I’m delighted to get the new work. On the other,
it has me scolding myself for not doing regular follow-up. Something
we’re all, no doubt, guilty of.

We somehow have this idea that, if those clients suddenly need
copywriting help, they’ll remember us from our shared past, and reach
out. In some cases, if we’ve developed deep, lasting and mutually
beneficial relationships, they’ll do just that, and I have several
clients like that.

But, then there are all the other ones that perhaps we’ve done limited
work for, or did it a long time ago, that just seem to fall off our
radar. Well, if they fell off our radar, then why wouldn’t we imagine
that we’d fall off theirs? On that “cover-your-bases” note, let’s eat!

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II. “FIELD” GREENS: WHEN CLIENTS ASK, “YOU DONE X TYPE PROJECT?”
If the Answer Is No, This Smart Script Can Overcome Client Objections!

A highly useful “tactic” piece from friend, colleague and Atlanta-area
small-business coach, Ed Gandia. If you’ve been at this a while,
you’ve no doubt encountered this numerous times. If you’re relatively
new, it WILL come up.

One thing I’d add to Ed’s solid advice: Clients ideally and always
want someone with experience that exactly matches the project in
question, but, in the end, they’ll often accept far less. Why? Because,
clients don’t have the time to endlessly hunt around for a writer.

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What if a prospect asks if you’ve ever done “X” type of project
before, and you haven’t?

What can you say? You don’t want to lie, but you don’t want to give a
straight “no,” either. Rather, why not reframe your experience? It’s a
two-step process…

1) Show how your experience is relevant to the project.

Meaning…

• The prospect asks if you’ve done X before.
• You explain that you haven’t, but you’ve done Y.
• X and Y and similar in this regard…
• Since you’ve done Y, you can definitely do X.

2) Highlight other things you bring to the table that make you a
good fit for the project—industry experience, familiarity with the topic
or audience, personal experience, etc.

Put these two pieces together, and it could sound something like this:

"I haven’t written a white paper before, Karen. However, I have
written dozens of long-form articles that follow a very similar
structure. So, I know I could put together a strong white paper. Plus,
my professional experience in the XYZ industry would be highly
relevant. I know the challenges your customers face, and I know their
businesses. I'd be happy to send you some samples that speak to my
abilities in this area. May I email them to you?"

It may not work every time, but it only needs to work once. Because
the next time someone asks, you will have the experience they seek.

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III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: HOW TO SCALE THE CLIENT “BUY-IN” WALL
NY FLCW Serves Up 5 Steps to a Smoother, Obstacle-Free Project Process

Great piece from Corning, NY FLCW Ted Goldwyn on the necessary
steps to keep the unpleasant surprises, delays or unexpected speed
bumps to a minimum in your next project.

Clients may not always realize the possible minefields at work when
they start a project with folks like us. As such, it’s our responsibility
to cover the bases.

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One common challenge FLCWs face is getting buy-in from the client.
Nothing is worse than spending hours and weeks on a project, only to
run headlong into an obstacle placed by an internal decision-maker
you’ve never even met.

Adding to the challenge, projects like case studies also require
review and approval from your client’s customer.

The good news is, the obstacles are entirely scalable. With a little
smart planning, you can ensure every project will be a smashing
success. The key is getting pre-approval from all key stakeholders
before you begin.

The Five Ways to Traverse the Client Buy-in Wall

1) Establish Clear Goals—I always kick off my projects with a one-hour
client discovery session. I ask questions like: How does this project
fit into your overall marketing plan? How will it be used? What
outcomes do you hope to achieve? For case-study projects, I ask about
any red flags that may arise during the customer-interview stage.

2) Know the Key Players—Another question I ask in discovery is: “Who
must review this piece before it’s published?” Don’t assume your
primary contact is the sole or ultimate decision-maker. Depending on
the size of the company, you may need approval from legal, compliance,
marketing, sales, or members of the senior executive team.

For case-study projects, this question is even more important, as you
must also manage an extra layer: the internal review process of your
client’s customer. It’s best to know this information upfront, and
engage the key players before you begin writing.

3) Share the Benefits—Once you’ve identified the key decision-makers,
try to get an audience with some or all of them, to educate them on the
goals of the piece, and how it will benefit them.

For case studies, this should include your client’s sales or
customer-success team, as they are the key gatekeepers to your
client’s customer. Gain their trust by promising to keep communication
lines open and offer to provide regular project-status updates.

4) Submit an Outline—For longer-form projects like white papers,
submit an outline for review and approval. Although this adds time to
the front end of a project, it eliminates unnecessary rewrites down
the line.

5) Get Pre-approval from Key Stakeholders—Lastly, before you sit down
to write, ensure that all key players have given their tacit approval
for the project. Ask if there are any special requirements or
restrictions on how the content will be used, and decide whether the
project goals can still be met.

It’s always better to adjust or abandon the project early, rather than
investing weeks of time and effort before pulling the plug.

Of course, there’s no guarantee every project will go off without a
hitch. But by following the above steps, you’ll minimize project
frustrations and knock the buy-in wall down to size!

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IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
FLCW Learns the Positive Meaning of “What Goes Around Comes Around”
TIP: UK FLCW Makes Good Use of Past Journo Skills, & Touts Their Value

A cool success story from a FLCW who prefers to remain anonymous,
with yet another testament to the power of tapping old clients—as well
as the lovely dividends of quid pro quo.

After that, Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK FLCW Hannah Giles offers up a
smart tip about leveraging journalism skills—or brushing up on a few if
you’re not from that world.

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I recently picked up a project from an old client—a web developer—I’d
done one job for a few years back. I’d forgotten about him when I’d
gotten busy with other work, but when things slowed down, I took a
closer look at old records, found him and reached out. He asked me to
give him a quote on a new project, which we then started on.

Meanwhile, I’d landed another project, and in talking with the client
on that one, found out they didn’t have a web developer nailed down. I
connected him to my web developer, and, in short order, the developer
was involved in my other project.

But, what happened next was really cool: The web developer came
back to me, asking me to quote on two more projects. Sure, now he
was reconnected with a copywriter, and he needed copywriting for those
projects, but I couldn’t help but feel that he was scratching my back
because I scratched his.

It’s great to land steady work from clients, but you can cement that
relationship even more by returning the favor whenever the right
opportunity arises.

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Before turning to copywriting, I trained as a journalist. While a
career in journalism wasn’t for me, I still use the skills: Being able
to ask the right questions of a client or interviewee; structuring
both long and short pieces of commercial writing; and implementing
correct grammar, are all valuable skills I use on a regular basis.

Studying journalism can also help you with editing, headline writing,
image sourcing, and research. You can even develop an appreciation
of legal issues, such as copyright.

If you’re new to commercial writing and are looking to develop a suite
of skills, taking a short course in journalism might give you an edge.
Unfortunately, I never mastered shorthand, but I’m sure if I had, I’d
have put this to good use, too!

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share? Turn it into a Feature (MAIN COURSE; 500-600 words; query first).
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SUCCESS STORIES (200-400) to ME. Archived issues HERE.

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