nick usborne's guide to online copywriting
For information on my coaching service for freelancers copywriters, visit:
Excess Voice Newsletter
April 2007, Issue # 153
In this issue:
>> Intro: All about Goals
>> Review: Goal Setting Rituals
>> Article: Why we all need to set goals.
>> Survey: You have been writing for how long?
===============================================
Find out about my COACHING service for freelance writers and copywriters. NEW coaching and pricing options...
===============================================
Greetings,
In the last issue's survey I asked whether or not you write down goals for your business or career. The response wasn't huge...but based on the replies I did get, it seems that fewer than half of us go through a serious goal-setting process.
That surprised me. So in this issue the article is all about the importance of goal setting, and how it has become more urgent for our generation than it was for our parents or grandparents.
The review is for the second in my series of guides for freelance writers and copywriters. And yes, the topic of this guide is goal-setting.
Finally, please take a moment to check out this issue's survey.
Until next time,
Nick
Nick Usborne
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
===============================================
REVIEW: Goal Setting Rituals for Freelance Writers & Copywriters
This is the second in my series of Rituals Guides. The first guide, Writing Rituals, took a look at how you can become more productive when you write.
This second guide, Goal Setting Rituals, steps way back and shows you how to set goals for your business.
As you will see from this issue's article, I am a firm believer in setting goals.
Looking back over my 25 years as a freelancer, I can see that I have achieved the most, and enjoyed my work more, when I have had a clear goal in mind.
When you work at home as a freelancer, working without goals is like canoeing without a paddle. You simply float with the prevailing current and hope for the best.
That's not a great way to secure your future.
If you don't already take a disciplined and planned approach to goal-setting, I would encourage you to get a copy of my guide.
More about Goal Setting Rituals:
http://www.goalsettingrituals.com/
Previous Reviews:
#1. The 2008 Landing Page Handbook from MarketingSherpa
Whether you purchased the first edition of this handbook or not, you should be running to get a copy of this latest edition. It reveals the latest best practices for optimizing a broad range of landing pages, with data drawn from over 3,000 online marketers.
Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/landing-page.htm
#2. 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/
#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
===============================================
ARTICLE: Why we all need to set goals.
Go back a couple of generations and there was far less need to set goals.
Our grandfathers often worked for the same company from the day they left school to the time they retired.
Whether working on assembly lines, in offices or out on the farm, they had very little need to set goals, because their employers took care of their progress within the company.
Today, we and our children face a very different future. We can look forward to changing jobs every few years, whether we want to or not. We'll probably change industries or careers two or three times in our lifetimes as well.
So what about our goals in life?
Nobody is watching out for us now. If you don’t establish your own goals, you're going to be drifting from one job to another. You'll simply accept the first attractive offer, regardless of the direction in which it might take you.
The need to set goals is even more urgent for freelancers.
When you work for a company, even if you are there only for a few years, you'll find that your group or department has its own goals.
As an employee, while a company will no longer provide you with goals for life, it will provide you with goals for the period you are working there.
But if you work from home as a freelancer, you'll have no goals at all, of any kind, unless you set them yourself.
Why setting goals makes a difference...
Look at it this way. If you're a freelancer without goals, you're just drifting, going with the flow and hoping that you'll pick up enough work next month to pay the bills. You have no real direction in mind. You'll just go where the work is.
The day you set some goals and start working towards them is the day you strap on a 200 horsepower engine and stop drifting. You know where you are going, you set your course and you fire up your engine.
It's a powerful difference.
So why are so many freelancers "drifters"?
In most cases freelancers have simply not been exposed to the concept of goal-setting. Or, if they have thought about it, they haven't learned how to do it.
Goal-setting is a formal, deliberate process. You have to think hard and make sure you are setting a goal that is right for you. You have to do a lot of planning and set yourself some milestones along the way. You have to work hard and review your progress on a regular basis.
Yes, it involves work. And maybe that's what turns some people off the idea.
But here's a little nugget from a famous study conducted by Harvard Business School – ten years after entering the job market, graduates who had written down their goals were earning, on average, ten times more than those who hadn't.
If you're not setting goals right now, you should at least learn about the process. There are plenty of good books on the subject.
Or, of you would prefer a guide that is written specifically for freelance writers and copywriters, consider my own guide at http://www.goalsettingrituals.com/
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
===============================================
SURVEY: You have been writing for how long?
I asked this question before, a few years back. Might be interesting to see if anything has changed.
So...for how long have you been writing professionally?
[ ] 0-1 year
[ ] 2-5 years
[ ] 6-10 years
[ ] 11-15 years
[ ] 16-20 years
[ ] Over 20 years
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
===============================================
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
Sign up for the Excess Voice Newsletter and get this 35-page Guide FREE.
Writing For the Web #1
7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web
Sign up NOW and I'll send you the link where you can download this 35-page guide...
(Your email address will be used only for the purpose of sending you this newsletter, and you'll be free to unsubscribe at any time.)
