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Lisa Cropman from The Word Nest

Who are you Lisa Cropman?

As a copywriter and editor, I help businesses and authors by translating jumbled thoughts into powerful messages.

What did you do before you became a copywriter?

After studying English and Media at uni, I worked at the London advertising agency J. Walter Thompson before joining the publicity department of Penguin Books. Over the next few years I hopped around from publisher to publisher, ending up as Non-Fiction Marketing Manager at Pan Macmillan – a role I absolutely loved that set me up with the skills I use today.

How long have you been copywriting?

Copywriting was always part of my role. But I launched The Word Nest and my freelance copywriting career nine years ago.

What has been your biggest copywriting career win?

Apart from finding Kate Toon (which has definitely been my biggest win to date), I’d say getting hired by American mega-coaches Jeff Slayter and Kane Minkus of ‘Industry Rockstar’, who were sharing the stage with people like Branson, Robbins, and Demartini at the time. I cut my teeth writing their direct response emails, ebooks, press releases, media kits, etc. And because they were business coaches, they had an endless stream of clients needing copywriting so they referred new business to me for years. I still don’t know how I scored that job, but I’ve always been thankful for it because it gave me the confidence and pipeline I needed in the early days.

What was your worst copywriting career fail?

Luckily I’ve only had one job that was a complete fail and my gut told me I should have run away from at the start. It was for a client in an industry way out of my comfort zone and a brief where I had to add new copy to an existing site that was written in a style that can best be described as ‘distinctive’. It was painful from start to finish, and I walked away without payment but with a stronger sense of when I need to say, “No”.

What is your number one fave copywriting tools?

wordhippo.com

What was your worst copywriting career fail?

Even after nine years, I do struggle with self-doubt – especially when I send off first drafts. To combat this, I look at all the websites I’ve written and the books I’ve edited, my repeat clients and referrals. A lot of lovely people have said a lot of lovely things about my work, so I have to trust that they can’t all be wrong.

What work-life balance/ mental health tips do you have?

A couple of years ago I edited a book called ‘Self-Care Isn’t Selfish’ and truly, it was a light bulb moment. I’d been neglecting myself, and guilt was a big part of the problem. Working on that book prompted me to hire a cleaner, sign up for a dance class and start meditating. And I can honestly say these have all contributed to better physical and mental health. So my tips are to ask for help wherever you need it, move your body, and attend to your thoughts on a daily basis. Whatever self-care means for you, it’s really important to know it’s not selfish – it’s essential.

What tip would you pass onto any newbie copywriters?

Apart from the ones I mentioned earlier, I’d say research. But know when it’s time to stop researching and start writing. I tend to over-research because I want to be all over everything. But I remind myself that time is money, and clients can usually fill in information gaps quicker than I can.

What’s next for you?

I’d like to be braver when it comes to marketing myself, develop a stronger brand identity, and focus on ‘people and planet-friendly’ brands. I don’t have aspirations to conquer the world, but I do like using my words to help build a better one.

Why do you love TCCS?

I’ve felt isolated at times doing the freelancing thing, and this community has saved me from myself. It’s given me a place to ask questions, help others, celebrate, moan, laugh and cry. The banter, learning, and support keep me motivated in my business, and I’ve met some really gorgeous and inspiring people. I feel very lucky to be a part of it.

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Notes from Melbourne’s hottest digital marketing conference

This post was written by TCCS member,  Kara Stokes

Did you know Melbourne has its own sizzling digital marketing conference? Well, you do now.

But what’s more important is how Loren Bartley from Impactiv8 brought marketing experts together to share their wisdom.

The Click Engage Convert conference gave so much valuable information my fingers were tired from scribbling down notes to try and capture all the pearls.

The core message from all the experts is that we need to focus on showing our buyers how much we love them.

Consumers know they’re spending money, but they don’t want to think about it. They want to feel like you’re interested in them as people, not dollar signs.

It’s time to find the squishy spot in your heart, and here are seven reasons why.

1. Give more to your repeat customers

Relationship marketing expert Jessika Phillips believes we need to make our brands crave-able.

Gone are the days when consumers were coerced into buying.

We need to focus on making our brand so enticing they’ll be desperate to hit the ‘add to cart’ button.

People want to belong to a culture that resonates with the lifestyle they want. Show them how your brand is a part of that lifestyle. Get them to imagine how a purchase from you will bring them into that culture.

It’s no longer about buying a t-shirt because your old one has holes. It’s about buying a t-shirt from a business who cares about life in the same way we do.

After making a purchase, you can help them avoid buyer’s regret by staying interested in them. Send them a thank you email and ask what they love most about your product and if there’s anything they don’t like. Create an open conversation and get to know them.

You want them to come back whenever they need a new t-shirt, right? So make room in your marketing budget to reward your customers.

It’s time to invest in your repeat customers and turn them into brand advocates.

2. Sell yourself. You’re worth it

Copywriting expert and Beyoncé of SEO Kate Toon knows that business owners loathe selling. It brings on images of used car salesmen with slicked-back hair and smiles oilier than a $5 pizza.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could just make a thing, and people bought the thing and you made money? You probably could if you were the only business on the planet. But in the crowded world of the web, you need to make yourself seen and heard.

The key to getting over your aversion to selling is remembering that your customer is already out there looking for you. But if you don’t meet them on socials or help them find your website, they won’t find you.

Instead, they’ll find your competitors.

Marketing your business isn’t like being a cold caller ringing household at dinner time with an offer ‘you can’t refuse’.

Optimising your website, posting on Facebook and sending out flyers creates awareness of who you are and what you do.

You’re giving consumers a chance to get to know you and decide whether they want to buy from you. They’re in control of their wallets, not you. Your job is to convince them your product or service is worthy of their pennies.

3. Invest in your sales page

Along with reminding us that selling isn’t sleazy, Kate went through her 17-step process to build a successful sales page.

If you’re going to spend time and money on your website, focus on your sales page.

From one page you can increase your SEO, overcome consumer objections, and increase conversions.

And if you’re worried about putting in too much copy, don’t be. When a consumer is ready to buy, they’ll want all the information they can get. It’s okay to write long copy, but you need to do it extremely well. Don’t put words in just to fill the page. Make sure every sentence leads them towards clicking the ‘call to action’ button.

Three points to remember when writing your sales page:

1. Show them that you understand their problem and know how they feel
2. Be honest, and address their concerns by explaining why your product or service is the best purchase even though it might be perfect
3. Show them the features in terms of benefits. For example, this t-shirt goes with every outfit because we’ve chosen a style that works for day or night

Working through your sales page may be time-consuming. But every tweak you make helps your prospect decide, ‘Yes, I do want to buy from you’.

4. Consumers want more video

That’s right, they want more content.

Despite the internet being overloaded with videos, video strategist Ben Amos explained that consumers are on the hunt for more from brands they like.

They want to get intimate with you and, videos help them do that. You might loathe getting in front of the camera to spout your wares, but it’s worth it.

Why?

Because video brings the human aspect to the online world.

You’ve probably heard that we only learn around 3% of information from a person’s words. The rest is garnered from their tone of voice and body language.

Being online takes away the chance for your customers to see you. Instead, they rely on your written content to decide whether they like you. But video is changing that. Once again, consumers get all the information they need by watching you talk about your business.

It helps them feel closer to you and makes it easier for them to trust you. And building trust is vital to making customers feel comfortable with making a purchase.

But don’t just whip out your phone and spend 30 seconds saying how great your product is. Plan what you’ll say first. It’s important to ask yourself, ‘What does my customer want to know about my business?’

Once you’ve planned your content, it’s time to create it. Make sure you set up good lighting and choose a flattering angle.

Of course, all this time is wasted if you forget to publish your video. Choose the platform where your customers hang out on most, or add it to your home page.

5. Webinars done right, build trust

We’ve all signed up to a webinar that promised amazing tools and tips to help us. We wasted an hour listening to the host yabber on about their wonderfulness. And in the end, they offered a discount for their best-selling product.

Ugh, the frustration and disappointment.

‘Where were the tips? Why don’t I have any tools to help me?’

You wonder why you bothered. And the next time a webinar invite hits your inbox, you send it to the trash.

You think, ‘Why would I bother creating my own webinar?’
Because as long as you make a promise and deliver on it, you’ll gain loyal fans.

Omar Zenhom, co-founder and CEO of WebinarNinja and host of podcast The $100 MBA believes webinars build successful businesses.

Here’s the key to making yours avoid the trash pile.

The title of your webinar is your promise. If you call it ‘Seven ways to feel more confident in business’, you need to give your audience seven ways to feel confident.

Not six. Not three. Seven.

So brainstorm your content and search your wealth of knowledge for ideas you’re happy to share with your community.

Ask yourself, ‘Are they relevant to my customer?’ If yes, that’s great. Go ahead and plan your webinar. Then review your plan and come up with a title that explains exactly what people should expect.

Then it’ll be easy to promote because you’ll be confident about the benefit you’re offering.

6. You need to get all touchy on your prospects

No, it’s not about patting their bottom.

Marketing expert James Tuckerman explained how we need to be engaging with people on numerous occasions.

It takes between seven and fourteen points of contact with your business before prospects make a purchase. They check out your website, read your social posts, sign-up to your emails. And even then they won’t feel ready to buy.

The trick is to be on their screen again and again without driving them mad.

Ask yourself, ‘What experience does my customer have when they purchase from me?’ This helps you see the process through their eyes, from learning about your brand to buying from you.

Review the buyer’s journey and find ways to connect with them at each point.

7. Automation helps you get personal with your leads

Digital marketing strategist Loren Bartley and Jeremiah O. Sarkett from Keap believe you need to create a personalised approach for managing your emails.

Why?

Because reaching out to your customers on a personal level draws them to you.

Customers are selective. They only open an email if it has something they want to see.

If they think you know who they are and what they like, they’ll trust you have something they’ll be interested in.

By showing you care, you’ll increase your open rate.

Most businesses don’t have a system for turning prospects into customers. We’re too busy juggling emails, phone calls, and post-it notes. And amongst all that mess, some leads slip away. We lose our hastily scribbled notes, forget to call someone back, or accidentally delete an email.

To avoid people drifting over to your competitors, you need an automated process.

Automating doesn’t mean losing connections with your customer. By having your workflow streamlined you create time to tailor your responses to each person.

Scrabbling through the piles of paper on your desk is time consuming and tiring. When you avoid the chaos, you have more energy to give to your business. This energy goes towards caring more about who your customers are and what they want.

Check out the online tools available and decide which works best for you.

How you do it doesn’t matter. What does matter is capturing leads and guiding them from showing interest to making a purchase.

Conclusion

There you have it: seven great tips from the mouths of digital marketing experts.

Posting videos, hosting webinars, rewarding your existing customers and personalising your emails are all ways to reach out and tap into your buyer’s heart.

Want more nuggets to add to your marketing tools collection? Click Engage Convert tickets for 2020 are on sale now. Get in quick, because Melbourne doesn’t wait for anybody.

About Kara Stokes

Kara’s mission is to help you connect with your audience. It’s time to get your words working for you. Her specialty is content writing targeted straight for your ideal client’s heart. Whether your business is focused on fitness and health or you’re looking for a friendly copywriter, Kara can help.

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Matt Fenwick from True North Content

Who are you Matt Fenwick?

I run True North Content, a content strategy and writing consultancy based in Canberra. We create content with value and help other people to do likewise. We love working on big and hairy content projects, such as rewriting the travel advisories for most of the countries in the world. I’m still surprised I get to do this for a living.

What did you do before you became a copywriter?

Lawyer, policy advisor, assistant janitor, contract cleaner, assistant chaplain, freelance journalist, research assistant, sketcher of blackboard illustrations for my Aunty’s school (she paid me $20).

How long have you been copywriting?

It’s kind of like the best friend that you end up dating then marrying. It’s hard to put an exact start date on it, but I’ve been getting paid for writing for 20 years and doing this full-time for seven.

What has been your biggest copywriting career win?

Sitting down at my desk when I’m in the pits of depression or anxiety and still doing good work.

What was your worst copywriting career fail?

The time I was working for a goat wholesale provider and wanted to talk about the degree of freedom accorded to the goat. I wrote “We put a lot of love into each goat”. That was a sign I was getting lazy. I should only write about things I give a shit about.

What are your number one fave copywriting tools?

Otter voice notes for capturing random brain farts.

How do you deal with self-doubt?

Ignore it. I’ve found the less I worry about what I think of myself the more confident I appear. I couldn’t be arsed doing affirmations or anything. I just try to be useful. I even did a TEDx talk about this:

What work-life balance/mental health tips do you have?

Everyone has a set number of hours a day of solid work in them. Find that number and stick to it. Don’t compare yourself to hyper-adrenalised go-getters who work 15 hours a day continuously. They are crumbling inside.

What tip would you pass onto any newbie copywriters?

Find people to team up with. Watch them. Build your confidence. Then do it yourself.

What’s next for you?

Deciding which form of carbs I’m going to order from Uber eats.

Why do you love TCCS?

Because you are my people. Because you gave me a place to vent and be weird and be loved.

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Sarah Spence from Content Copywriting

Who are you Sarah Spence?

Content strategy, content creation and SEO-focused copy for brands and businesses that want to engage and excite their customers. Drawing on the expertise of my network of SEO copywriters, copy editors and social media managers, we LOVE delivering exceptional strategies and content for our clients.

What did you do before you became a copywriter?

Relationship Manager at 3 Mobile, Shareholder Communications Consultant at Standard Life, Head of Guest Relations and PR at Old Course Hotel, Senior Loyalty Marketing Manager at Citi.

How long have you been copywriting?

More than 16 years.

What has been your biggest copywriting career win?

Creating content for some of Australia’s best-known brands including Sheridan, LendLease and Qudos Bank.

What was your worst copywriting career fail?

Not believing in myself. I’ve said “No” to projects because I feared I wouldn’t be able to deliver. This hampered my career for a long time.

What are your number one fave copywriting tools?

Ooh! A hard one! Google Docs has to take the number one spot, I think.

How do you deal with self-doubt?

I’ve built a very close-knit, supportive team around me who I turn to when I’m unsure about myself or something in my business. That, and a significant focus and dedication to my mental health management through exercise, meditation, and perspective.

What work-life balance/mental health tips do you have?

Make your mental health a priority most days – above work, family, and friends. If you aren’t well, nothing else in your life can function well either. And find what works well for your mental health. It’s different for everybody.

What tip would you pass onto any newbie copywriters?

Just say “Yes” to any project or opportunity, even if it scares the pants off you!

What’s next for you?

Scaling my content strategy and content production agency and continuing to create fantastic content for our clients.

Why do you love TCCS?

It’s a safe space to let your copywriting worries hang out and it contains, officially, the best bunch of humans on the whole internet.

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Mary Cameron from 4Words

Who are you Mary Cameron?

Kiwi with Scots roots, lifelong coast dweller now living ‘la vie bretonne’ in regional France. Distance runner, cold water swimmer, wife to a darling husband, mother to a lovely lad, bossed by a ginger cat, scared of heights, grumpy loser of board games, often curled up with a crime novel.

What did you do before you became a copywriter?

I championed ‘fewer words, more meaning’ as a TAFE comms lecturer, a freelance writer and editor, and manager of a handful of award-winning digital training projects. Just before swapping my best black frocks and big girl shoes for jeans and sneakers I managed comms for a primary health care organisation.

How long have you been copywriting?

Since ‘forever’ (around 30 years), and long before I knew copywriting was a thing. Officially as boss of 4Words since 2013.

What has been your biggest copywriting career win?

Turning one-off jobs into long-term relationships where I write everything for years. Having all my lovely loyal clients stick with me when I moved to the other side of the planet. Every win, big or small, feels like a gift from copy gods whom I try to please by writing succinct, smiley, dead good stuff.

What was your worst copywriting career fail?

I overestimated my capacity to keep working while my son was recovering from a near-fatal car accident. (He’s fine now.) I spent six horrendous weeks trying to complete a huge website job on a laptop during hospital vigils. I didn’t finish it.

What are your number one fave copywriting tools?

I’m keen on the brutality of the Hemingway app, and the reliability of Grammarly. I also love my human proofreader’s “What were you thinking?” function that’s triggered by an occasional bit of untidy copy. Eddie Shleyner’s micro articles at ‘VeryGoodCopy’ also restore my perspective.

How do you deal with self-doubt?

I’ve come to see it as a ‘force for good’ that keeps me on my creative toes. In more than 40 years of tolerably successful lecturing and presenting and copywriting I can count my impostor syndrome-free days on one hand. It never quits, so I’ve learned to smile at self-doubt and love the way it helps me stay honest, curious and brave about practicing my craft.

What work-life balance/mental health tips do you have? 

I’m a confirmed creature of habit. My morning routine keeps my head in order and sets me up to deal with whatever happens next. It goes like this: coffee, a run/swim, meditation, breakfast, work. Sadly, after half a century of practice, I’m still crap at sticking to reasonable working hours. Recently I resolved to have Sundays off.

What tip would you pass onto any newbie copywriters?

Apart from my observations on managing self-doubt, I suggest doing a stint with a great agency. (They are out there.) There’s no better way to get to grips with working under pressure to create passable copy for a range of clients.

What’s next for you?

“On verra: (“We’ll see”). I’ve just shrunk my copywriting niche to focus on small businesses keen on making a big difference. I may write “The too-long journey”, a kids’ book that’s been wafting around in my head since my son gave me the title as a toddler. I might flood my favourite journals with ‘grumpy old dame’ opinion pieces.

Why do you love TCCS?

TCCS is a boot camp and a sanctuary. I wouldn’t be half as professionally skilled and confident as I am without Kate’s tough love, generous advice and brilliant courses. Furthermore, my freelance life is hugely enriched by sharing trials and triumphs with these gorgeous copy beasts. Finally, some of my favourite clients found me via the TCCS directory.

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