Pigs have flown

I just so happen to have two adorable, hilarious, brilliant children. (In my humble opinion, of course.) They’re 4 and 3, and for the last several years now, they’ve been pretty good kids, except for one glaring problem. They had no idea how to sleep – not through the night and not by themselves. And when babies don’t sleep, parents don’t sleep – and then a whole host of bad, bad stuff ensues. It’s that simple.

We figured we’d never sleep again. We thought they’d never do it. That they wouldn’t sleep in their own beds ever. That their first night at college, their new roommates would wake up at 3 in the morning to find Jack and Sophie in bed with them.

But we decided to try to make it happen anyway. We were finally ready to turn this sleeping thing around.

Here’s what went down

Night 1 they were up several times, crying. Night 2, they were up a few times and the crying was short lived. Night 3, last night, they slept from 7pm to 6am. Without waking up, without crying, without doing anything but sleeping for 11 hours. For the first time in their precious lives.

Our friend, Patrie, had told us, ‘When it’s your truth, it will be theirs as well.” In other words, when we were really ready and when we felt that in every cell of our bodies, the kids would make the change easily.

Looking beyond the words

She was right. These people that don’t know as much as us, a.k.a. our children, look to us not only for our words, but for the meaning and the feeling behind them. Do you believe this is a good thing? They ask with their eyes, ‘Because if you do, then we will too.’

Isn’t it the same for our readers? Whether they’re reading our blogs, our books, our copywritten ads, websites or white papers. Words are great, but the meaning and the belief behind them – the intent – is what moves mountains, gets people to buy, to hire you, to change their lives. It’s why people like Chris Brogan succeed and spammers fail. It’s why Obama is our President and McCain isn’t. When you write (and live) for real – feeling your truth in every cell in your body – you are an influencer, a maker of change.

True writing (and living), then, can make the difference for your business, your relationship, your life. It can get the book published, the project off the ground and the children to sleep. I’m here to tell you that I’ve witnessed it first hand.

This morning, when the reality of our little miracle set in, I swear I looked out and saw pigs fly right by my window. And they were smiling.

Image credit: olaerik

Filed under Critical Copywriting, How To, Marketing, Writing | Tags: Blogging, copywriting, influence, marketing copy, web copy, Writing | Comments (10)

Are you getting paid what you’re worth?

Forget writer’s block and building a clientele, the single hardest task for a copywriter is deciding how much to charge for a project. Behold, the many reasons this is so difficult…

1. There are no golden rules, no definitive guide book that mandates we get paid $400 for a press release. Some writers get $15,000 for a sales letter. Some writers get $10 for a blog post.
2. Client factors. Some have money, some don’t. The ‘what they’re willing to pay’ factor is distressingly subjective.
3. The economy. When it’s good, so are rates. When it’s bad – and I mean really bad, like now – you may have to adjust your rates according to what the market can bear.
4. The plate issue. Is yours full? Then you’ll ask for a lot of money to add another project to the table. But, if your plate is empty, you might be willing to take a job for less.
5. The ego. Us. You and me. The level of self-worth. How does your internal conversation go? Do you doubt your abilities, do you value your time? Are you confident, professional, fair? What do you think you deserve…and how did you come that conclusion?

If you’re struggling over fees – in general or for a specific project – I recommend the following:

1. Talk to your peers. Find out what they would charge and let their input guide you.
2. Check with professional sources. While this isn’t the end all and be all (remember, I just told you there is no golden rule book), you can still find resources that will be helpful.
3. Try them on. Literally role play. Try on $200, try on $500, try on $800. Does $200 make you feel angry and devalued? Does $800 make you feel like you’re stealing? Maybe $500 will feel just right. Wear each fee around for a few hours, tell your spouse, best friend, mom what you’ll be making – how do you feel when you say it out loud and to someone else? Proud? Embarrassed?
4. Weigh the economy, plate and client factors that I listed above. They’re real and they have influence.
5. ‘I choose my choice’ It’s not only one of my favorite Charlotte lines from SATC, it’s a great mantra. Simply put, when you do settle on a fee, sign a contract and start the project, there is no looking back – choose your choice. You’ve made a decision, now deal with it...nah, make the very most of it.

Image credit: Pink Sherbert Photography

Filed under Critical Copywriting, How To, The Business | Tags: copy, copywriter, copywriting, copywriting fees, how much to charge, Julie Roads, marketing copy, marketing writer, web copy, Writing, Writing Roads | Comments (18)

Can you take a look at this for me?

I believe it was Ben Stiller in the 90′s romcom Reality Bites who coined the phrase ‘non-practicing Jew’ – I’m one of those too, and right now, I’m a ‘non-practicing yoga teacher’ as well. But just like my Judaism, the yoga teaching is still running through my veins. I find myself thinking like a yoga teacher – wanting to lead, make hands-on adjustments, practicing alongside my students, clients, whatever they may be.

My beautiful wife, Patti, however, is a ‘practicing yoga teacher’ and while she does teach traditional classes, her focus is on teaching privates only. Someone asked me why anyone would want a private yoga class. “Wouldn’t that be so weird,” she asked, “to have the teacher just sitting right in front of you, staring at you?”

Yes, that might be weird…it might not. Traditionally the teacher/student relationship was one-on-one with the teacher paying single pointed focus to the student, guiding them along their way. And it usually didn’t look like our yoga classes. When you work with someone in this way, you’re able to look at their body in their postures, talk about injuries or unique physical and mental limitations, etc.

One of my favorite exercises that I used to to with my students, was this (you can totally do this with me right now…):

1. Stand up (somewhere with enough space that you can swing your arms and legs without hitting anything).
2. Close your eyes.
3. Shake your arms and your legs out (like you were trying to get water off of them after the shower – really spiders is a more appropriate example but then you’ll be freaked out about spiders crawling on you and won’t be able to concentrate – so pretend you shake water off, post-shower, ‘kay? Thanks.)
4. Keep your eyes closed.
5. Now come back to standing in stillness. If you practice yoga, come into the Mountain Pose. If you don’t practice yoga, bring your feet hip width apart, make them parallel to each other, arms down by your sides.
6. Now, open your eyes.

Look down at your feet…most people, with their eyes closed, think their feet are parallel and hips distance apart – but the reality that many of you might find is that one or both of your feet is turned out or in (either a little or dramatically) and that your hips distance apart more like a foot or two apart.

And trust me, this is only the part that you can see. Chances are one shoulder is higher than the other, your head is pitched way forward and your right ear is curiously close to your right shoulder. In my case, and Patti always finds this hysterical, my body is rotated a good 15 degrees to the left from my waist up. But I, and you, think we are standing perfect straight, totally symetrical.

It’s fascinating, jarring really. And a fantastic lesson. When I have someone standing with me, they can guide my body into alignment – as often as needed, in whatever post I’m in – until my body releases the habitual holding patterns and learns the alligned way.

So my question is, why wouldn‘t you ask someone to look at all of your stuff? Business plans, new boyfriend, marketing strategies, new suit, tagline, dinner party menu, web copy, first home, logo…

A new set of eyes is likely to find the flaws. You know, when you’ve looked at something so many times, they just seem natural and right to you. I don’t know about you, but I love to be straightened out.

Image courtesy of northstander

Filed under How To, Myth or Reality, The Business | Tags: copyediting, copywriting, editing, Julie Roads, Marketing, marketing writing, web copy, Writing, Writing Roads | Comments (8)

When you are so 2009 & your web copy is so 1987

One of my clients, whom I’m teaching how to blog, asked the other day about my first blog post. Here’s a snippet:

As a writer without a blog, I’ve been like a butcher without a taste for meat, a dog trainer without a dog, a rockstar without a microphone….

And, as I read those words (and had a good chuckle), I realized that something was missing again. This time, the missing piece is up-to-date, umm, updates on my static pages.

When was the last time you read through your website?

Mine had been virtually ignored for a long, long time. All of my attention has been on my blog, but guess what? My site’s homepage is the #2 referrer to my blog. What’s on there is important – it is, of course, where people go to find out more, discover what’s in it for them and how they can use me to make their lives better…

Things to do when revising your static website copy:

1. Personalize. Could your website belong to anyone in your industry? My old homepage was very generic, talking about ‘results-magnetized copy’ and being ‘a full-service copywriting and marketing company’ – it didn’t stand out at all. I was noticeably absent. Where was my personal brand?

2. Accuracy. When I first wrote my site (yes, this was the first time I’ve revised since I originally wrote the site, cough, cough, oy vey), I concentrated on different services than I offer today. My company, skills and knowledge have grown dramatically and, while this was all documented on my blog, it wasn’t reflected on the rest of my site.

3. Blog Ties. In case you haven’t noticed, I love blogs. This is where I let it all out and where you really get to know me. So, here’s what I did: on my homepage, instead of linking to static info about my services, I linked my main services: Writing, Consulting, Speaking and Mentoring to blog posts where I discuss these bits about myself and my business…might change them at any point if I write something I like more…

4. Write what you want. What do you want your business to look like? Put it on your site. Ever seen the tagline, Write where you want to go???? That’s what I meant. Take action with your words, make it happen. Your website (and blog) are your very own real estate – the rules are your own, the sky is the limit. This is what I help my clients do because it’s what I’ve learned to do for myself.

Check out the new copy by clicking on the typewriter key navigation above…specifically, the ‘H’ for home and the ‘S’ for services. And, if you change your site, let me know – I’d love to see how you grab this bull by the horns…

Filed under Blogging, Critical Copywriting, How To, Marketing, The Business | Tags: blog, Blogging, Julie Roads, marketing writer, personal brand, social media, web copy, website content, Writing Roads | Comments (10)

question anyone?

I just realized that my last 3 blog entry titles were questions. Not a huge surprise because my job as a copywriter is to both ask and answer questions all day – it’s what I do. Here are the top 3 questions that I ask my clients at the beginning of any project.

1. What do you want to accomplish with your website, brochure, blog, direct mail, etc.?  Sometimes this answer changes as we explore options.

2. Who is your audience for this particular project? You must know your market before you begin ‘talking’ to them.

3. Have you considered…? I so enjoy looking at what a client currently has going on, listening to their goals and, then, coming up with a new angle or idea.

And, while the questions are important, the listening is paramount. When these questions are answered, I glean personality, tone, critical words and phrases, concepts and data/information.

Filed under Critical Copywriting | Tags: blog writing, brochure copy, copywriting, research, web copy | Comment (0)

How can I drive traffic to my website?

1. Blogs. Static websites don’t drive much traffic. Search engines are ranking sites by relevancy – they want to know if you know what you’re talking about, and if anyone cares what you’re talking about. If your site is about dogs, write about everything dogs (dog food, dog health, dog toys, dog breeds, etc.) and talk about what is happening in the dog world now. Blogs offer a productive solution – you are constantly adding content to your site (sending the search engines to visit you again and again) and you can add realtime content to your site.

2. Joint Venture Partnerships. Look around. Who else is selling to your market? One of my clients that I blog for owns a very hip mommy-gear store selling cool highchairs, crib blankets, slings and the like. When we start to look around we see that there is a world of store sites selling to our customers, but not selling our products! Natural baby toys, designer nursing clothes, organic baby food…these sites are all tangent to my client’s site. The beauty of the JVP is that you create a relationship with these other stores; then, you tell your list about your JVP’s store site. You offer your list value and you’ve just been permission marketed to the hilt by your JVP.

3. Keyworded Copy. Some of you have heard this story before. My research showed that in one month, 248 people searched for ‘copywriting for direct mail’ and 10.755 people searched for ‘direct mail copywriting’.  Why wouldn’t you use this research to drive these people to your site? I know it is a bit creepy, digging into the minds of internet users everywhere, but it is useful – you are creating a resource based on what your customers are actually looking for. Really, it’s plain old marketing research – just a la SEO. Just make sure that the keyword research comes from a reliable source and that the keywords are strategically placed throughout your site and not dumped in like hay in a stable. Your site must also have VEO (optimization for the visitor) which means that it must be readable – to people. And, yes, using the keywords skillfully in your copy is… a skill! But success is possible at beginner, intermediate and professional levels.

Filed under How To | Tags: blogs, joint venture partnerships, keywords, search engines, SEO, web copy, web traffic | Comment (0)