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Excess Voice Newsletter
March 2007, Issue # 150
In this issue:
>> Intro: Deadlines and Procrastination
>> Review: Pricing Your Services as a Freelance Writer
>> Article: It's not just what you write, it's how you package and sell it.
>> Survey: Do you meet your deadlines?
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Find out about my COACHING service.
http://www.asknickusborne.com/
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Greetings,
Once again, thanks for the great feedback on the last issue's survey.
It seems that many of us feel the most stress when we procrastinate and then find ourselves uncomfortably close to our deadlines...often before even starting on the job in question.
If this sounds like you, you may want to check out my Writing Rituals guide.
In this issue, the article looks at the difference between copywriting and copywriting + marketing. And the review is about an upcoming teleconference call on the topic of pricing.
Finally, I'll soon be telling you all about a new copywriting course I have written. This is a huge course, coming in at about 75,000 words. It's the biggest thing I have done since my book, Net Words, was published back in 2001. Unlike the book, the course is much more focused on "how to", and covers writing all kinds of different types of web pages, plus emails and e-newsletters.
Stay tuned. ; )
Until next time,
Nick
Nick Usborne
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
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REVIEW: Pricing Your Services as a Freelance Writer
This isn't really a review, as the event hasn't taken place yet. "Pricing Your Services as a Freelance Writer" is a teleconference call for freelancers and moonlighters, taking place on Wednesday, March 19th.
The host is Michael Stelzner and he'll be interviewing Steve Slaunwhite. These are both good guys, and I have featured their products and services in this newsletter before.
The topic of the teleconference is pricing.
As a freelancer or moonlighter, how do you price your services? Do you estimate by the hour or by the project? Do you struggle with clients who are unwilling to pay what you think you are worth? Do you find it hard to figure out how much you should estimate for any given job? Do you sometimes get the feeling you could be charging more?
These questions, and many others, will be answered by Steve during this call.
Highly recommended. (I'll be there.)
Previous reviews:
#1. Writing Rituals
My productivity guide for marketing writers and copywriters. This set of 5 rituals will help you stay focused on your writing tasks, avoiding the perils of procrastination and writer's block.
Learn more...
http://www.writingrituals.com/
#2. Desktop Marketing
A course for freelancers who want to increase their income by offering writing AND design services. For writers with even basic design skills, this is a great way maximize revenues from every job you do.
Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/desktop-marketing.htm
#3. The Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey, Volume 2.
This is the second volume of this survey, fully up to date, and with a lot more information on what to charge for 40 different types of freelance copywriting work, how to find new assignments, and more.
Read my review...
http://www.excessvoice.com/copywriting-fees-survey.htm
#4. Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting
This is the only copywriting course I wholeheartedly recommend to any copywriter who wants to write copy that drives results.
Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/michael-masterson.htm
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ARTICLE: It's not just what you write, it's how you package and sell it.
I subscribe to a number of e-newsletters and feeds from serious, mainline business copywriters and marketers.
It keeps me in touch with what my peers and colleagues are up to.
But I also have a separate folder in my inbox for emails and promotions from the "dark side".
By that I mean the online marketers who sell programs and packages to aspiring internet marketers. "How I made over a million dollars online in just 16 hours."
That kind of thing.
Some of it is pure hype and nonsense.
But some of it is brilliant.
I have been watching this guy Frank Kern.
He's an enormously talented copywriter who writes about a copy style that is sincere, genuine and personal. He talks about being a friend to your reader. About being honest, helpful and generous. About building a list of people who just love to hear from you, and want to buy from you.
Sound familiar? It does to me. Because I have been saying and teaching the exact same thing about online copywriting since 1998.
But here is the difference. I have built my freelance business on this message. But I'm guessing that Frank has made ten times as much simply by packaging and presenting the same message in a better way.
Am I jealous of Frank? Sure I am. But I admire him as well.
I admire him because he is not only an outstanding copywriter, he is also a brilliant marketer.
He knows how to package a message and sell it.
He's not the first person to take a product or message that is already out there on the market and make it "bigger".
Remember Ginsu knives? Well, you can buy knives at Wal Mart too. But that's not the point. The marketers of Ginsu knives took an ordinary product and packaged and marketed it in an extraordinary way.
That's what Frank does with copywriting.
And it's what we can all do when we sit down to write a sales page for a web site.
On the face of it, it may seem like we are having to write a page about a fairly ordinary product or service.
But we should pause and think.
Maybe there is a remarkable way in which we can present our message.
What I'm saying is that a copywriter shouldn't confine his or her ambitions to simply being a great copywriter.
We should also aspire to be great marketers.
It's the combination of copywriting AND marketing skills that delivers remarkable results.
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
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SURVEY: Do you meet your deadlines?
Whether working for a company or for oneself, we all work to deadlines. Do you meet your deadlines all of the time?
[ ] Yes, 100% of the time
[ ] Most of the time, but not always
[ ] I miss more deadlines that I meet
Comments:
(NOTE: Any comments and your name may be published in the next issue, or on the Excess Voice web site.)
Cut and paste your replies to me at mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
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NICK USBORNE'S SERVICES:
Yes, I do more than write articles and publish newsletters.
Ask me to give a training seminar or webinar for your writers or web team.
http://www.nickusborne.com/speaking.htm
Ask me to write for your site, emails and newsletters.
http://www.nickusborne.com/copywriting.htm
Ask me to optimize your key offer pages...
http://www.nickusborne.com/consulting.htm
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