The Copywriter Underground Goes Green (While Other Blogs Turn Green With Envy)

January 25, 2007, by 5 comments

I like the freedom of self-employment. You make your own decisions and answer only to your own instincts (and those of your two-dozen bosses).

Simply put, it means if I want to work for a “green” company, I can.

Now I do.

It’s Easy Being Green

My wife and I try to keep our energy footprint to a minimum, but decided to offset the carbon dioxide we produce by heating and lighting the house.

Carbon offsets are easy, affordable, and I even accounted for my Web server and home office. Suddenly, my blogs are green too.

The first “green” blogger? Unlikely, but I might be the first “green copywriter blogger” – a distinction that’s almost certainly worth a Wikipedia entry or an appearance on Lettermen (take that, Carson).

But enough crowing. I’ll cut right to the clear, simple explanation.

The Clear Explanation

Essentially, a carbon offset translates your global warming guilt (represented by your dollars) into carbon-dioxide free energy in an amount equal to your carbon footprint.

Several Web-based companies offer carbon offsets, though I chose Terra Pass for its excellent reputation. Patagonia clothing – no slouch in the green department – uses Terra Pass, which was research enough.

Terra Pass Web site

From the Terra Pass Web site:

When you buy a TerraPass, your money funds renewable energy projects such as wind farms. These projects result in verified reductions in greenhouse gas pollution. And these reductions counterbalance your own emissions.

You can use their online calculator to figure your carbon offset and even buy an offset online.

And remember, you heard it here first – at The Green Copywriter Blog.

[tags]carbon offset, terrapass, blog, copywriter underground[/tags]

The PR Industry Loves Blogs. But They Aren't Blogging. Is This the Online Writer's Next Great Market?

January 24, 2007, by 3 comments

The Deep Jive Interests blog references an interesting study – one that exposes a certain amount of hypocrisy in the Public Relations industry (yes, we’re shocked too). According to Deep Jive:

Yes, you can file this under “talking a good game”, because the results show that while most PR executives believe in the blogging as an effective tool to share information quickly and broadly (UK 70%, US 80%), and have a role in influencing public opinion and decision making (UK 60, US 70%), the majority do not have a blogging policy (UK 82%, US 88%), and only around a third blog for their own company or clients (UK36%, US 37%).

What’s the problem? And are there opportunities for writers in this?

First, the problems. The original “Bulldog Reporter” article cites “fear” as the #1 reason why the PR industry is lagging in digital marketing, and there’s a ring of truth to that.

Blogs are an unknown, and PR firms are hugely risk averse. Fear is a critical factor. But I wonder if it’s the only one.

Content’s Not Free

From a business standpoint, blogs require content, and I’m not sure how blog content fits into your average PR agency’s pricing structure.

Agencies charge dearly for even simple projects like press releases. If the client can’t commit to content creation – or simply lacks the writing skills – how do four ghostwritten posts per week fit into a bloated agency pricing structure?

Leadership. What’s That Cost?

Pushing that scenario a little further, how does a PR agency find and retain writers capable of ghostwriting a blog into a “thought leadership” position?

It requires knowledge of an industry (and a passion for it) that isn’t easy to find. Nor does it typically come cheap.

Will PR agencies find a way through the thicket? As blogging matures into a critical media channel, they’ll have to – or let a competing vendor wedge themselves into that crack.

PR agencies don’t like cracks.

Is this the perfect opportunity for editorial writers to pump up revenues without wholly enslaving themselves to uninteresting business writing projects?

It’s a reasonable thought.

Writers of any kind could prosper in what looks to be an emerging market. But it seems like a great opportunity for editorial writers.

Blogs place an emphasis on education, entertainment and research – the sweet spot of editorial writing.

PR firms can’t ignore blogging much longer. A firm that serves healthcare clients will need to write healthcare blogs. That’s a great opportunity for healthcare specialist.

A writer looking to cash in on steady commercial work should already have a blogging pitch packet assembled. A little research would pinpoint PR firms working in your fields of specialty.

Contact them. Send them your packet. Pitch them.

They may not need you right away. But in the weeks and months to come, they will.

[tags]blog, blogging, pr, public relations, writer, copywriter, business writing, engagement, engagement marketing[/tags]

Content Done Better Blog Resurrected

January 24, 2007, by No comments yet

No doubt many of you winced when you read my “Carson deletes Content Done Better blog by accident” post. It included a long letter from Carson detailing the moments before and after he accidentally wiped his blog – and the hundreds of posts it contained - from the face of the planet.

Ouch. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I read it because that’s the kind of thing I’d do.

Still, you can’t keep a good blogger down, and Carson just unveiled his new blog.

Shiny new software and look. Same great content.

Keep writing, Tom Chandler.

[tags]blog, blogging, content done better[/tags]

Gone Fishing. No Nasty Comments Please.

January 21, 2007, by 3 comments

After working the last three weekends, I’m taking Monday off and going fly fishing.

I’m experiencing absolutely no remorse.

Fly Fishing in Mt. Shasta
(c)2006 Tom Chandler photo

To heighten the envy, I live at the base of Mount Shasta (background) – just below that thin sliver of snow at the right edge of the frame.

Back again Tuesday. Maybe.

[tags]fly fishing, time off[/tags]

This Week's Fifteen Minute Friday Pitch Post: The Power of Fun

January 19, 2007, by 2 comments

This Friday’s Fifteen Minute Pitch Post is all about fun – and its power to engage.

This is part of the week where I pitch a new project to an existing client – the fastest way for a freelance copywriter to grow revenues.

Earlier this week, a small business client said they planned to send a letter to a very select group of professionals, paving the way for a later phone call.

Nowadays – faced by a flood of direct mail – there’s no guarantee a letter will be opened. And given the small size of the mailing list, it didn’t seem like a good bet. Every name counted.

What did I pitch them instead of the letter? I said it was time to go lumpy.

Send Something They Have to Open

I suggested a “lumpy mailer” – something so intriguing that it has to be opened.

Some time ago I wrote a post about my own Chattering Teeth lumpy mailer. I suggested a similar course for this client.

Remember – this mailer was a lead for a phone call. So an immediate response wasn’t the goal. We wanted to be remembered, and generate a sense of fun around the brand.

When the phone call came, the caller would mention the lumpy mailer. Ice broken.

Best news? You know the person on the other end of the phone is smiling. There’s no better way to begin a sales call.

It already looks like the project is a go. I can’t wait.

Your Turn

There’s my Fifteen Minute Pitch Post. What are you pitching to an existing client?

[tags]copy, copywriting, marketing, writing, [/tags]

The Dangers of Blogging (Or, Oops! Carson Just Shot His Blog!)

January 19, 2007, by 8 comments

Late last night I finished work on a tough project for a new client that was giving me the yips. It’s not fashionable to admit I struggled with a simple Web site project, but I’d write it, look at it, and decide I’d typed a lot of garbage.

This morning I got up early, gave it a once-over, and shipped it. Then, feeling tired and beat up, I read my e-mail, where I found the following note from Carson Brackney (formerly) of Content Done Better.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad. You see, Carson Killed his Blog.

I’m tempted to snicker, but I know how much effort’s gone into Content Done Better. I’d cry me a river if I accidentally killed any of my WordPress blogs.

I’ve published his angst-ridden note below. It’s either a cry for help, a cautionary tale, or an illustration of how ephemeral “word life” is on the blogosphere.

I told him yesterday he “owed” me a post after I built a post around one of his posts, which he pulled down minutes after I put mine up. I didn’t think he’d go to this extreme to provide it.

Carson’s Big Adventure:

-1A Cautionary Tale…The evils of procrastination…A helpful reminder…

If you’re reading this, your probably seeing it at someone else’s blog. I sent this to a few bloggers in hopes that they might spread the word for me. This is what it’s like to be a homeless blogger.

That’s not the way I wanted it to happen. In fact, I didn’t want anyone to read this. I didn’t want to write this. After tonight, I felt obligated to do it, though. I think part of me was hoping to find some catharsis in the process, too.

I have (or should I say “had”) a blog hosted at Blogger.com.

Read more →

Anna Quindlen Says Time to Write for Your Life. Did She Mean "Blog For Your Life?"

January 18, 2007, by 3 comments

Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen pens a review of the movie “Freedom Writers,” but also touches upon the value and role of writing in today’s society.

Jan. 22, 2007 issue – The new movie “Freedom Writers” isn’t entirely about the themes the trailers suggest. It isn’t only about gang warfare and racial tensions and tolerance. It isn’t only about the difference one good teacher can make in the life of one messed-up kid. “Freedom Writers” is about the power of writing in the lives of ordinary people.

For a time, the written word’s ability to shape our society was diminished, seemingly supplanted by televisions and telephones (presumably). Now – between e-mail, blogs, message boards and other interactive online technology – is writing gaining ground?

Quindlen thinks so.

How is it, at a time when clarity and strength go begging, that we have moved so far from everyday prose? Social critics might trace this back to the demise of letter writing. The details of housekeeping and child rearing, the rigors of war and work, advice to friends and family: none was slated for publication. They were communications that gave shape to life by describing it for others.

The age of technology has both revived the use of writing and provided ever more reasons for its spiritual solace. E-mails are letters, after all, more lasting than phone calls, even if many of them r 2 cursory 4 u. And the physical isolation they and other arms-length cyber-advances create makes talking to yourself more important than ever. That’s also what writing is: not just a legacy, but therapy.

It’s an interesting (and heartwarming) thought. Certainly, few ignore the fact that the blogs in our corner of the blogging universe are marketing tools, though that hardly explains the range of topics covered or the depth of expression.

A majority of my 20+ years of a copywriter have been spent outside the auspices of advertising agencies, and while I’m clearly suited to working alone, the ability to trot out my latest thinking for peer consumption (and comment) is clearly an attraction.

Copywriter Therapy? I don’t know. But it begs the question: what is blogging’s place in the writing world?

More permanent than a cell phone, but certainly less intimate than handwritten letter, it’s an odd mix, and Quindlen unfortunately ignores some of the new realities facing writers.

For example, you don’t get to comment in a book in realtime, yet online writers enjoy exactly that kind of feedback. Is blogging (electronic publishing on the Internet might be better) the future of the written word?

And is the act of “writing for your life” enhanced by the interactivity and public nature of blogging, or is it deadened?

If you truly had a choice (without economic considerations), where would you write?

Source: Quindlen: Write for Your Life – Newsweek Anna Quindlen – MSNBC.com

[tags]writing, writer, copywriter, anna quindlen, newsweek, freedom writers, blog[/tags]

Work Goes Batshit. Chandler Follows Suit. But What Comes After?

January 17, 2007, by 5 comments

It’s been a good start to the year. Maybe a little too good. Clients new and old are surfacing (or resurfacing) by the gross, and conference calls are lined up all week long.

I’m writing like the wind. I’m trying to keep it all straight in my head. And I’m going batshit.

I’m not the only one. Carson of Content done Better said:

All freelancers want to stay busy and profitable, fearing the droughts and dancing for a rain of jobs. When the deluge hits, however, we often find ourselves secretly craving afternoons when aimlessly ambling around the net passes for work.

That passage about covers it (except I aimlessly amble around rivers and lakes instead of the Internet).

Work is good. A lot of work is gratifying. But too much leads to The Dreaded Boom & Bust Cycle – the one where you’re too busy to market, then find yourself on the far side of the glut, no marketing in place, staring at a checkless future.

Beating Boom & Bust

I counsel a lot of small businesses. I tell them marketing is a process, not a project. It’s rare to solve your marketing problems with a single ad, campaign or direct mailer.

You need to regularly acquire customers – and you need to market to your customer list to maximize their value. Both require regular, ongoing marketing efforts.

Unfortunately, those are precisely the efforts that are so difficult for any self-employed person – who has a limited amount of time – to maintain.

Hence, Boom & Bust.

You can beat it today. Not by “doing something” once, but by deciding on a regular process that becomes a part of your routine.

Grasshopper and the Ant

I’m reminded of a couple writers who went freelance during the dot.com boom. They wondered out loud why they hadn’t done it before. “This is so easy” they said.

And for a short time, it was.

Clients of startups would pay almost anything – if you could get their Web site written by the end of the week. Ad agencies – who normally sought clients like hyenas seek roadkill – were interviewing clients for acceptability.

Crazy stuff. You didn’t need a marketing process. Then dot.com went dot.bomb.

Those who didn’t have a process in place suffered. One of the two writers I mentioned above produced a print newsletter, and kept acquiring clients.

The other didn’t, figuring it would always be this way. It wasn’t. One day the easy clients dried up – as did his cash flow.

The point of all this?

Things are pretty good right now. The need for content is exploding. But will they always be this way?

And if they aren’t, do you have a process in place now that’s generating business for the future? Something like my Friday Fifteen Minutes Pitch Post? Or a blog? Or?

I’d love to hear what’s worked for others during the slow times. I’ve never done a newsletter, but see them everywhere. Obviously, they work. What else?
[tags]copy, copywriter, writing, writer, marketing, freelance, newsletter[/tags]

Vote For the Top 10 Books for Writers – Or Have Your Eyes Gouged Out

January 16, 2007, by No comments yet

The whole “eyes gouged out” thing is a teensy exaggeration. I’m not quite willing to do that, though I am ready to fall back on a tired, hoary cliche.

You don’t get to whine if you don’t vote.

Me? I’m voting precisely so I can whine later. It’s not pretty. But with old clients resurfacing and new clients appearing onscreen on an almost daily basis, whining’s pretty much all that’s left to me.

Below are the books that are on the finalists list. Go to Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers blog to vote.

I’ve got two titles squarely in my sites. Which means – given my luck with lotto tickets, horses, raffles and bingo – I’ve doomed them both. Not to whine or anything.

Source: Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers » Blog Archive » Top 10 Books for Writers – The Finalists

[tags]writer, writing, copywriter, copywriting, books, writing books, top 10 books for writers, elements of style[/tags]

Copywriting Job: Good Corporate Ghostwriting Gig

January 15, 2007, by 2 comments

Who wants work?

A client notified me of an interesting corporate ghostwriting job that could easily turn into many, many corporate ghostwriting jobs.

Job Description:

We are looking for a copywriter that is interested in working throughout the year to write 32-48 page books.

Project:

Write 32-48 page “quick read” books for our clients. These books will be short, punchy, hard-hitting, and will include a mix of explanatory prose and highlighted bullet points.

No research is required. You will use interview audio tapes, the client’s personal notes or business diaries, previously published articles or books, and video tapes of selected speeches.

Concise and hard-hitting copy is needed; these short, fast-reading books are short in verbiage but long in meaning, message, education and inspiration.

Project schedules call for all writing to be produced in a two week period once all materials are in copywriter’s hands (no formatting or layout required).

Please send a proposal as to your hourly rate, your proposed total hours based on the above description, a resume of qualifications and samples or a portfolio to: smoore[at]dpiweb[dot]com

I’ve worked with the parent company for a short time, and they have been wonderful: prompt payment, receptive to good ideas, smart.

Good luck!
Tom Chandler

[tags]copy, copywriting, ghostwriting, job[/tags]

A Shiny New "Top 150" Marketing Blogs List. Does it Matter?

January 13, 2007, by 7 comments

Have we truly witnessed the birth of the “Power 150″ top marketing blogs list? And given the long tail, does it even matter?

A quick scan suggests only one pure copywriting blog (The Copywriting Maven), and that copywriting’s heavy hitters (Copyblogger, Writing White Papers, Fortin, etc) seem strangely absent.

Of course, marketing is a much bigger sandbox than writing, and these rankings reflect that reality.

Continuing the the “Power 150″ idea, here’s how Todd And (there’s a name destined to confuse) ranked the marketing blogs:

Today, I am unveiling the Power 150, a ranking of the top marketing blogs in America and my attempt to add a sliver of value within the massive marketing blogosphere. As the author of my own marketing blog, I’ve developed a great appreciation for my fellow marketing bloggers and their content. As a PR guy, I understand the perceived value of lists and rankings. The Power 150 provides a stable, unbiased ranking foundation with a pinch of subjective measure for creativity.

Interestingly, I just compiled a similar list in a much smaller market (for a client). The results lined up as expected – with the exception of a few blogs that clearly didn’t belong near the top.

It’s difficult to quantify intangibles like reach, authority and credibility. But given humanity’s fascination with lists, it probably doesn’t matter.

Of course, the savvy copywriter already knows that – and leverages that fascination every working day.

Enjoy the list (I found a few I hadn’t visited). And let us know if the long tail hasn’t obsoleted lists like this.

Source: Todd And – The Power To Connect

[tags]power 150, marketing, marketing blog, long tail[/tags]

Leveraging the Value-Added Copywriter: An Underground Manifesto

January 11, 2007, by 15 comments

I recently conducted a pair of Messaging Platform interviews with clients. I was struck by how good they are at their core competencies.

And how most market like it’s still 1991.

It’s not a knock so much as a reality. Marketing has changed more the last five years than it did the prior 50.

Anyone would have trouble keeping up – especially in the context of a small business, where the marketing manager is also managing sales staff, fighting PR battles, and scraping gum off the conference table.

The result, of course, is an unhappy kind of stasis. Companies keep throwing dollars at one-way channels like trade advertising – even as ROI shrinks.

They might be too busy to notice. Their copywriter shouldn’t be.

The Opportunity

I’m a huge believer in the value-added copywriter - the marketing genius who brings more to the table than the ability to sling words.

Are you savvy enough to walk into a company, define the message, see the holes in the marketing plan, and maximize the return on their tight marketing budget?

Can you confidently explain the value of engaging customers via blogs? Can you leverage the latest technology on behalf of your client?

Can you do all this in business terms your client will find attractive?

It’s Not About the Words

A recent small business client built a great product, but lacked a consistent, differentiated message. His Web site actually inhibited sales. And he didn’t understand the power of engaged communities.

We sat down. He listened. We fixed the problems. And sold two years of production in 1.5 months.

It wouldn’t have happened if all I sold were vowels, consonants and assorted punctuation. Instead, I sold success. Will that client ever go anywhere else?

The Copywriter of the Future

As the evolution of marketing quickens, copywriters increasingly occupy a unique space.

Content is King. Engagement is Queen.

And knowing how to get results is fast becoming as important as writing the words which get them.

New marketing channels are created on an almost hourly basis. The people best prepared to exploit them are those who fill them with content.

That’s you. The copywriter.

It’s Different Today. Are You Ready?

I don’t want to hype Web 2.0 beyond reason. But my 20+ years of experience offers me a unique perspective.

Years ago, a single copywriter couldn’t begin to compete with an ad agency’s horde of media specialists, art directors, traffic coordinators, account execs, and assorted stuffed suits.

Today, one smart copywriter can out-market the whole bunch. And do it on behalf of a company 1/10 the size of the ad agency’s mega-client.

It’s not easy. But the leverage is there – if you’re perceptive enough to seize it.

Viral. Engagement. Video. RSS. Buzz. Blogs. Skype-enabled VOIP.

They’re buzzwords. But they’re also levers. Long levers. And Archimedes once said that if he had a long enough lever and a place to stand, he could move the earth.

Today’s value-added copywriter has the leverage to move the marketing universe. Are you ready?

[tags]copywriter, web 2.0, marketing, [/tags]