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Freelance copywriting services often come with a hefty price. And, unfortunately, not all clients can afford the full monty. When you have a client or prospect who cannot afford your copywriting services, there are alternatives that can fit within this potential referral source’s budget and that meet your financial needs as well.
For example, I once had a small business client who wanted her website revamped, but could not meet all the costs of a copywriter. My range of tasks when rewriting a website for clients includes preparing a full analysis of their current website before starting the work. To arrive at a price that was reasonable for me and doable for her, I charged her for the time it took to perform the website analysis. I also factored in the time I spent writing it and making it presentable and easy to follow.
What she got was a valuable copywriting services tool – a detailed report in pdf format, including, among other things, advice on how to improve many aspects of her website, social media recommendations, SEO keyword suggestions and some “how to’s.” This way, if the client wants to overhaul her website on her own, she can. Often, in their attempts to apply my suggestions, clients realize all the work, time and energy the project entails and end up turning the project over to me to handle. They simply find the money in their budgets.
Having said that, below is a list of supplementary copywriting services that you may already provide, but which can be segregated and charged for separately. These copywriting services include:
Web Site or Landing Page Analysis and Feedback Report
A web analysis or landing page analysis can be done in a variety of ways, using a number of analytics tools, including: Google Analytics, JAWStats, Clicky, Hubspot Marketing Grader, GoingUp!, W3 Counter, Piwik, TraceWatchWoopra, Snoop or W3Perl. You can then synthesize and translate this information into a more laymen-friendly pdf presentation. To make things easier, you can orally record your take on this site, then type it up and organize your notes into a nice neat report.
Sales Copy Critique and Redraft
Clients are too close to their products to see how their self-crafted copy is negatively impacting their business. There is a need for sales copy critique to rescue them from themselves. As an isolated copywriting service, you can review an e-mail marketing campaign, ads, sales letters, landing pages, or direct mail packages. You select and enhance the right elements to boost sales and prevent them from unselling their products.
To simplify things for yourself, you can create a two column chart with several rows. The rows in the left column could list copy items including things like: compelling headline; sell the solution, not the product; use sub-headlines; build desire; talk about benefits often; give reader multiple chances to take action; offer a guarantee; show, don’t tell; address potential objectives; create a buyer’s environment; reader should be nodding “yes” as they read your copy; use emotional words; use short, easy-to-read paragraphs; use a powerful P.S., etc. The rows in the right column could contain a one to sentence critique and suggestion for each copy item.
These results, of course, get packaged into a handsome report which you can create using the design features and templates in MS Office or any other program you have.
Blogging Tips and Strategy Consultation
The blogosphere sees millions of blogs published daily. Many of these bloggers are business owners and mid to large companies that are blogging because the gurus and thought leaders said they should. But, most of them have no clue how to leverage this tool. Here’s where your copywriting services come in. You can run an SEO analysis using one of the above-mentioned analytics programs, then review the SEO results of their blog posts vis-a-vis their ultimate blogging goals. You could then come up with a campaign strategy for achieving that goal, suggesting things like where they can find readers, etc. You can also compare their blog and blog results to their competitors’ via an abbreviated audit report. Your report can identify key performance analytics based on your client’s goals, or it can cover: blog strategy, relevant content for the blog, integration of the blog with their website or other social media platforms, research, target marketing tips, appropriate design (from a copywriter’s efficacy perspective) or traffic generation ideas.
Bonus: Get Leads from a Copywriting Services Training Session
You may not be a 5-year veteran, but as a copywriter with some projects under your belt, you are aware of basic copywriting practices that many businesses are not aware of and you could offer to teach a class to small business owners (e.g., hosted by your local chamber of commerce). You can give your course a compelling headline and sign small business owners up to hear you speak. To fancy things up, you can create and run off copies of the training program highlights in a handout with your logo and contact information at the bottom. From such a training sessions any of the above-mentioned prospects could result. It’s also a great referral source; audience members will spread the word about your copywritng services.
In this economy businesses are always looking for ways to cut costs. Offering creative solutions via your freelance copywriting services is certainly one valid way to please prospects and clients while not losing their business altogether.
Good luck,
Stacey
P.S. You can get very creative in what you choose to provide to your client in the report. As with any of these ideas, you can provide copywriting services reports in the form of a CD or MP3′s as well.