CopyCon18: More than an excuse for a weekend in the Big Smoke
First, a confession. Back in my corporate days, I saw conferences as a way to get my employer to pay for a couple of days away in a posh hotel in the big smoke. Sure, I had to sit through a few plenary sessions and take the odd note to justify the trip. But I also often got the chance to catch up with friends and order room service on someone else’s dime. These days, as a sole trader who has to pay my own way, I tend to avoid interstate events unless I can kill a few birds with one stone and schedule in some client meetings to make the whole shebang tax deductible. But I am so glad I made the special effort to get on a plane and wing my way to Sydney last weekend for CopyCon18. To be honest, I mainly went to catch up with my virtual copywriter colleagues, do a bit of big-city shopping and have some time to myself after 24/7 parenting as my husband worked long hours during vintage (explanatory note: He is a winemaker, so perks!). Of course, it was great to catch up on my colleagues, hit the shops and enjoy “me” time. But I didn’t expect to learn stuff. Loads of stuff. Businesses are meant to evolve Like Kate Toon, my business has changed since I first launched in 2011. Maybe not quite so much as Kate’s, who has transformed herself from a copywriter to entrepreneur and now owns several businesses, including the one behind CopyCon, the Clever Copywriting School. Kate spoke about the reasons behind her evolution, and exploded the myth of passive income, explaining that her e-courses now come with hundreds (thousands) of clients who all want a piece of her. But you can tell by the way she carries herself on stage that she enjoys every minute of helping people with SEO and with launching their own copywriting business. My business has evolved in a different way, and Kate’s presentation showed how important it is for sole traders to enjoy business growth, but also know their limits. Not everyone has to launch member sites, or put on events, in order to consider the business a success. Put the problem before the product I usually work as a B2B (business-to-business) copywriter, which means my clients are usually in the B2B space, and often in services, rather than products. I do a lot of trade journal articles, stakeholder newsletters, information posts, as well as big, unwieldy documents such as annual reports, capability statements, white papers and more. Even my web copywriting experience tends to be with B2B clients. With this kind of dull-but-worthy experience, I can be a little gun-shy about product sales pages. I don’t identify as a sales copywriter (not that there is anything wrong with that). But all this might change thanks to Joanna Wiebe from Copy Hackers, who showed delegates the secret to persuasive, conversion copy. It’s simple – put the problem first, then agitate things, then unveil the product. BOOM. This works for all sales copy – for landing pages to brochures. Copy is just like icecream In her presentation about editing (and let’s face it, that has the potential to be a tad dull. I know, I...
read moreWhy referral marketing is the best marketing
As a freelancer, one of the best ways of marketing your business is through referral marketing relationships with complementary services or products. The key here is to do your research and make sure you partner with like-minded people.
As a freelance writer – business writing, copywriting and the odd journalistic article – I often work closely with designers, web developers, trademark lawyers, internet marketers, social media marketers and so on. Sometimes, a client will come to me with no idea where to start and I need to be able to help them in a broader way than my talents allow.
read moreWhat is a copywriter?
Every now and then, when I am talking to my mum, she mentions an old family friend who has asked after me. And, without fail, the conversation drifts into my working life, whereby mum will mutter something about writing, and clients and websites. Then, in the retelling of the conversation to me, she will ask:
What do you actually do?
read moreDreaming of a quiet Christmas
I’m dreaming of a quiet Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Where projects are finished Workload diminished Enjoying the ebb before the flow. I’m dreaming of a quiet Christmas Just need to wrap up one more thing It’s that time of year With family, friends and cheer And Santa might just bring me bling. I’m dreaming of a quiet Christmas With every sentence that I type May the words be free of all hype And may all your Christmases be quiet. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Black Coffee Communication. Our doors are closed to new projects until Monday, January 16, 2017 ...
read moreIs your business tragedy-proof?
Last week, the inconceivable happened to a copywriter colleague of mine when her husband suddenly and unexpectedly died. So instead of spending her week finalising client copy, chauffeuring her kids around town and writing her next YA novel, she was choosing caskets, planning a funeral and writing a eulogy.
For the most part, her clients were incredibly supportive and understanding. But there were still deadlines to be met.
read moreAnnual reports in Australia: A missed opportunity?
Last week, KPMG International released a 44-page report based on a survey of business reporting conducted with 270 listed companies across the globe, including 15 in Australia.
The report (which I have read so you don’t have to) has some good and bad news for local companies.
First the good news. You can all pat your self on the back for managing to cut the average report size down to 155 pages, down from a global average of 204. (The French average sits at a whopping 304 pages). About 42 percent of the content of annual reports worldwide is the financial statements, which sit at an average of 70 pages in Australia.
read more7 things I learnt at Big Digital Adelaide
It doesn’t happen often, but over the past couple of days, I have ventured out of my home-office cave and headed into the Big Smoke for the inaugural Big Digital Adelaide Conference, held right here at the Science Exchange (pictured) in the city of churches.
read moreRock your media interview with these six tips
So, you have sent the perfect press release, and the media is now interested in you and your biz, and wants to interview you. It’s pretty exciting, right? Until you realise that: The. Media. Wants. To. Interview. You.
The excitement soon turns to anxiety. But you need to remember the media – in all its forms – is not really the bad guy. And unless you have done something dodgy (or work in politics) they are unlikely to give you a hard time.
read moreTop tips to get your press release noticed
I am often asked how to get your press release noticed and guarantee press coverage and my answer is always “can’t be done”.
What you can do, however, is shorten the odds by:
1. Making your press release interesting and engaging; and
2. Targeting it to the right place.
read moreWhy a freelancer needs a cheer squad
It’s been nearly five years since I quit the rat race to start freelance copywriting and, while I have no intention of going back to working for The Man, I gotta admit, the life of a freelancer can be lonely at times. Your clients are often interstate (or even overseas), your “team” of contractors is virtual, and sometimes you spend hours talking to no-one but the cats.
read more