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Home::Copywriting
How to Increase Your Copywriting Success
Author : Chris Marlow
Take a look at your prospecting list, if you have one. Where did
all those names come from?
Most likely they're a hodge podge of names from a hodge podge of
sources...with few added to your list solely on the criteria
that they're especially good leads.
Now ask yourself how successful your clients would be if their
lists were compiled in such an unscientific manner?
When you consider that the single most important element of a
direct mail campaign is the list (followed closely by the offer,
and THEN the copy), it becomes painfully apparent that a sloppy
list is a liability indeed!
So how do you go about creating a solid list of quality
prospects that you can mine for years to come?
There are some methods you can use and sources you can tap, and
I reveal a few of the best here. However, It always boils down
to looking in the right places for your particular specialty.
MY FAVORITE STARTING PLACE
Roughly half of my coaching students are new copywriters and
when it's time to share my list building strategies with them, I
always introduce them to Who's Mailing What,
http://www.whosmailingwhat.com/, a rich online archive of more
than 130,000 direct mail packages collected from more than 7,000
companies since 1994.
For about $30 per year, you can go into the archive and
literally see "who's been mailing what," which can be a real
boon for copywriters who specialize in the dozens of categories
- publishing, financial, collectibles, technology, and more -
covered by WMW.
For instance, I specialize in software. And while there are more
than 7,300 software companies in the U.S., I need only 500 to
keep busy. So which 500 should they be? Well, the BEST 500 of
course...the 500 that I know are direct mailers...the 500 that I
know are financially stable...the 500 that I know are well
respected and trustworthy.
When I started compiling my list, I mined Who's Mailing What to
discover the names of software companies that had mailed over
the past two years. As "sure mailers," these companies became
the richest names on my list, and remain so today.
OTHER GREAT PLACES TO LOOK
Nearly every large industry has an association, and most
associations have member lists. To get your hands on the list
you often need to join the association, but unless the price is
really exorbitant, it's usually worth it. Remember, time is
money in the freelancer's world, so the faster you can put
together your list, the faster you can market to it.
The library is another place to look for lists. In addition to
my "sure mailers," I added the world's most profitable software
companies to my list, tracked down at the local library in the
Computer and Software section of the Dunn and Bradstreet Gale
Industries Handbook.
I completed my goal of assembling 500 strong names by surfing
the Internet in search of newsletters, Web sites, and
publications that serve the software market. There I found lists
like "The Top 50 Software Venture Capital Investments," which
listed software companies that had recently been infused with
millions of dollars each, in venture capital.
SOME STRONG SOURCES FOR GENERALISTS
Although I believe that every business freelancer should carve
out a niche for him or herself, many start out as generalists.
If you fit this category, you'll find some excellent
list-building sources at the library.
Chuck Thompson, one of my early coaching students, discovered
the "Mail Order Business Directory" at his Chicago-area library.
It lists over 5,000 names, addresses, and basic facts about U.S.
firms doing business by mail.
Library sources I used in my early days of freelancing included
the "Standard Directory of Advertisers" and "Standard Directory
of Advertising Agencies." Also known as "the Red Books" by
industry insiders, you should be able to find them at any main
library; I've had less luck finding them at the local level (and
they're too expensive for most freelancers to buy).
The "Standard Directory of Advertisers" contains information on
over 24,000 U.S. and international advertisers who each spend
more than $200,000 annually on advertising. Each listing
includes advertising expenditures by media, contact information,
address, and more.
The "Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies" contains
detailed profiles of nearly 13,500 U.S. and international
advertising agencies, including accounts represented by each
agency, fields of specialization, contact information, and much
more. These directories are truly exciting sources of
information for the freelancer who recognizes the value of smart
targeting.
Finally, you never know what you'll come up with while searching
the Internet. After helping dozens of coaching students build
their niche market list, I have a folder full of rich places to
look for high quality names.
Compiling your own personal prospect list is never fast or easy,
but there is a silver lining. And that is that no other
copywriter will be marketing to the same exact list that you
are. So do your homework and make your list as strong as it can
be. Because most of your success will flow from your list, it
pays to make it as powerful as it can be.
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