Every Web site needs content. An e-commerce site needs
product descriptions; online publications need articles; company
information site needs write-ups; and sales oriented-sites need
sales copy. Content is the one constant requirement of every Web
site, whatever its purpose may be. Some site owners write their
content on their own, but many require the help of professional
copywriters.
PowerHomeBiz.com interviewed Eileen Coale to learn more about
the business of copywriting marketing materials such as direct
mail, brochures and flyers, as well as writing Web content and
online articles.
PowerHomeBiz: How did you start in the business of
writing?
I’ve been writing in one form or another since I was a child.
In any job I ever had, I gravitated to the writing-related
tasks. My first career was as a translator, which is just
another form of writing. During the ten-year period when I was
at home raising children, I began writing a regular newspaper
column and freelance articles for magazines. In 2000, I read
Peter Bowerman’s “The Well-Fed Writer.” That was when I first
realized that writing for businesses could be a viable
enterprise for me. It took me another two years, though, before
I got brave enough to try it.
PowerHomeBiz:· What qualifications does one need to be able
to enter this type of business?
Obviously, you must be able to write well, and you must be
willing to keep learning. You should have a basic understanding
of marketing concepts and techniques; I’m self-taught in this
area. You also need to be willing to market yourself. This is
where a lot of good writers fail; they don’t enjoy marketing
themselves, they don’t do enough of it, and therefore their
business does not do well. You also need to be able to listen to
your clients, and write what they need, not what you want.
PowerHomeBiz: Can you please describe your early days in
the business?
I was afraid I would fall flat on my face. I was afraid I
would fail. But fortunately, I two outstanding mentors -
entrepreneurial women who had started their own businesses while
they also had young families. More than anything else, they
built up my confidence and urged me to spread my wings.
I had to learn about targeting the right kinds of clients –
that is, ones with budgets to pay me. This was much more of a
confidence issue than anything else. I had to learn, too, how
little or how far of a stretch I could make in trying out new
types of writing. It was both a scary and exhilarating period
for me.
PowerHomeBiz: What made you shift from freelance writing
to doing business communications writing?
I was good at freelance writing articles, and got some good
magazine credits to my name. But I did not enjoy the process of
querying editors, or the way the whole freelancing system works.
It’s very difficult to make good money. Magazine writing is
seriously undervalued. Top markets in the 1960’s paid $1 a word.
Most top markets today still pay only $1 a word, which of course
is worth far less than it was a generation ago. In two years,
working just part time, I make what most full-time magazine
freelance writers take five or more years to build up to.
PowerHomeBiz: What was the market’s reaction to your
service? Did clients immediately come knocking to your door?
The need for freelance copywriters is definitely out there,
but success does not happen overnight. Until I learned exactly
who my best prospects were, and started connecting regularly
with the business community by networking, things were slow. It
wasn’t until I was in business for over a year that I stopped
worrying about whether or not I’d get enough business each
month. It took a year and a half until I started getting regular
referrals.
PowerHomeBiz: What kinds of writing services does Coale
Communications currently offer? What types of services enjoy the
greatest demand from clients?
I write traditional print marketing materials such as
brochures, direct mail, advertorials, and press releases. I’m
equally comfortable writing editorial, so I also ghostwrite
articles for my clients’ bylines and write newsletter articles.
But increasingly, my business is for internet marketing – this
week, out of five active projects on my desk, four are for the
web. Web writing encompasses web copy (sales oriented), web
content (information oriented), e-zines and e-newsletters, and
email marketing.
Balancing Business and Family
Concerns
PowerHomeBiz: How do you balance the tasks of fulfilling
your projects, soliciting new accounts and being a stay-at-home
mom?
I don’t work a 40-hour week, for starters. In fact, I don’t
plan ever to do so. I expect to max out at 30 hours this fall
when my youngest child starts first grade. When I first started
out a little over two years ago, all my client contact –
networking, meetings, and phone interviews – had to be
accomplished around the 8 hours a week my youngest child was in
preschool. That was challenging, to say the least. I wrote with
the children at home, but my productivity was poor due to
continual interruptions. Summertime is always a challenge,
because I do not have regular childcare.
PowerHomeBiz: How do you keep your home life separate
from your work life?
Frankly, it’s a juggling act. Much of my work time is
fragmented because of the needs of the kids. The two worlds
overlap quite a bit – when I take my kids to the pool in the
afternoon, for instance, I always bring work with me. While the
balancing act has its frustrations, being available to my family
is very important to me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
PowerHomeBiz: You mentioned in your website that starting
Coale Communications allowed you to leave the “one income
lifestyle behind.” Can you please elaborate on what that means?
When my four children were very young, I was a stay-at-home
mom, and my husband was the breadwinner. With four children and
one income, frugality is important, and I spent a lot of time
stretching our pennies. Ironically, it was out of these efforts
that I landed a newspaper column in 1999 about money management,
which is syndicated in four Maryland newspapers. Today, it’s a
joy to be able to buy my children clothing in the mall instead
of at yard sales. We can afford to go on vacations. We also have
achieved one of our most important family goals, which is to
give our children a private school education. None of that would
be possible without my income. If my modest income projections
come true, we’ll be able to build a second home in a few years
on land we recently purchased for our retirement.
PowerHomeBiz: Do your kids or other family members help
you in your business?
My four children range in age from 6 to 13. My husband and I
were just talking the other day with our accountant about
employing our children in some capacity in my business. We
haven’t reached any conclusions yet, but this is something we
certainly want to explore. My husband is my computer tech
support. I actually pay him a retainer to back up my files
regularly and troubleshoot my computer problems. Since I pay him
less than $600 per year to do this, that income is not taxable
for him, but it is a deductible expense for me.
Growing Your Business:
PowerHomeBiz: How has your business grown through the
years? Did the types of services you offer shift as your
business grew?
My first year in business, I took almost any writing project
I could get, sometimes taking less money than I felt the work
was worth. My typical client was a very small business owner who
needed lots of education about marketing. While the types of
projects I work on have not changed, the clientele has. While
small business owners still make up a majority of my clients,
they have bigger budgets and understand the importance of
investing in good copywriting. They don’t need nearly as much
hand-holding as my earliest clients. I have developed
relationships with several ad agencies and web design firms, who
refer or subcontract work to me. It took me a year to build up a
portfolio in order to approach these firms. I also get some
outsourced work from corporate marketing and HR departments; I
would like to concentrate on growing this segment of the
business more.
PowerHomeBiz: How do you handle the growth of your
business and the increase in the number of projects? Do you have
an assistant?
At this point, I do not have an assistant. For three months
last winter, I had an intern for about 10 hours per week, and it
was a great arrangement. She conducted a lot of background
interviews and research for me, and she even did some of the
writing. At some point, I would consider getting a contract
assistant to handle the chores I dislike, such as filing and
record keeping.
PowerHomeBiz: How do you decide if a project or client is
worth taking on?
Since I get most of my clients through networking or
referrals, I get a real sense of who they are in our first
conversation. Most people are delightful to work with, but
sometimes I sense that someone will be difficult. The few times
I’ve gone against my intuition and taken on a difficult client,
I’ve really regretted it. Now I listen to my intuition and don’t
take on those clients. I occasionally turn work down because
it’s not the right fit for what I do. I’ve turned down jobs
editing a book, writing resumes, and doing a PR campaign. These
were great opportunities to pass referrals along to colleagues,
who are likely to repay the favor at some point.
PowerHomeBiz: Can you describe examples of your best
projects?
Two of my most measurably successful projects were postcard
marketing campaigns. I created the concept and copy for two
different postcards, and the response rates were 8% and 12%. In
the direct mail world, that’s outstanding – the average response
rate is 1 to 2%. My personal favorites, however, are web copy
projects. I feel the most satisfaction when I provide all-new
web copy for a web site that was poorly done before.
PowerHomeBiz: What do you do if a client is not satisfied
with the results of their collaboration with you?
My fee includes two rounds of revisions, and I have never had
to go beyond that second round to satisfy a client, although I
would do so without charge if I felt it were justified. The only
time I had an unhappy client was when she did not understand the
collaborative nature of the work, and got very upset when the
first draft was not perfect. She didn’t even want very many
changes, but she pulled the plug on the project at that point
and said she would finish it herself. It was a good lesson for
me, though. Now I make sure my clients understand the give and
take necessary to produce a product they are happy with.
Marketing Your Business
PowerHomeBiz: What has been your most effective marketing
strategy?
I built my business primarily by networking. I’m fortunate to
live in an area with seven thriving Chambers of Commerce to
choose from, plus other organizations. I belong to one Chamber,
one entrepreneur’s networking group, and a paid leads group
organization. Membership dues and event fees are my single
largest expense, and they are worth every penny. I am also
proactive in following up with people.
PowerHomeBiz: What other strategies do you use to market
your business online?
I have a web site, of course, which allows me to show my work
via an online portfolio. The site itself acts as a 24/7
brochure. This month (July 2004) I’m launching a monthly e-zine,
Third Thursday Marketing Tips. · Offline? This spring I taught a
seminar through my Chamber of Commerce that was very successful.
It brought me new business and raised my profile in the business
community. I am now actively pursuing other opportunities to
teach the seminar to other groups.
PowerHomeBiz: What are the benefits of having your
own website?
In my opinion, a web site is a fundamental marketing tool
that every business should have. The practical benefits are
many. Clients can see samples of my work on my portfolio page.
They can learn about the process of working with me on my FAQ
page. I also list my fees as a way to prequalify prospects. Many
writers won’t do this, but I’ve found it saves me time creating
proposals for prospects who don’t have a realistic idea of what
it costs. People can sign up for my e-zine online. At some
point, I will begin posting my own marketing articles on my
site. There are many ways a business can use a web site, and I
expect mine to grow along with my business.
PowerHomeBiz: Do you usually bid on projects?
If so, what sites do you use to possibly solicit new
projects? I am not a fan of bid-for-work sites, because most
writers, whose work is already traditionally undervalued, find
they must bid ridiculously low prices in order to compete. I see
writers on bid-for-work sites bidding $5 for work I typically
charge hundreds of dollars for. The word is out there on
Internet discussion boards that if you want cheap writers, go to
the bid-for-work sites. Of course, the quality of work isn’t
there, but buyers who are looking for cheap writing really don’t
care about the quality. In fact, sadly, much of the
$5-an-article work is simply copy-and-pasted from copyrighted
material.
Some writers tell me they don’t bid low and do get work, but
it didn’t work for me. In a three-month membership with Guru.com,
I submitted dozens of carefully targeted proposals and never got
a single job. In the offline world, when I submit a proposal to
a prospect, I close two out of three sales. I’m not sorry I
tried bid-for-work, because now I won’t be wondering if I’m
missing out on the party. Marketing oneself is always an
experiment, and finding out what doesn’t work is equally as
important as what does work.
Advice to Other Entrepreneurs
PowerHomeBiz: What do you think are the keys to your
success?
First, I love everything about my work – the writing, the
freedom and control I have, and being part of the business
community. That passion has been fundamental to my success.
Second, I have mentors who prod me to take risks I wouldn’t
take, and who act as sounding boards when I face challenges. I
couldn’t have gotten this far without them. Third, I am
continually learning, whether it be about the craft of writing,
trends in marketing, or the elements of running a business.
PowerHomeBiz: What are the next steps from your business?
What are your plans for the rest of 2004 and beyond?
This month (July 2004) I’m launching a monthly e-zine, Third
Thursday Marketing Tips. I’m eager to see if this form of viral
marketing works as well as the experts says it does. I’m also
thinking about trying pay-per-click ads online; some writers
have great success at finding clients this way.
Fall 2004 will be an exciting time for me. My youngest child
starts first grade. This means that for the first time ever, I
will have a solid 6 hours each day that I can devote, without
interruption, to business. I expect my productivity to rise
significantly as I will have more control over my schedule. This
also means that when my workday is over, at about 3pm, it’s
really over. I expect to be spending fewer evenings and weekends
in my home office. I’ll also have more time to learn the craft
of direct response copywriting, which is something I’ve only
dabbled in.
PowerHomeBiz: To those who wish to start a similar type
of business, what advice can you give them?
The field is wide open for freelance copywriters, especially
with the continuing growth of the Internet. You only have to see
how many badly written sites are on the web to see the
opportunity. There are many excellent books out there that will
inspire, motivate, and educate aspiring copywriters about the
field. If this is a field that interests you, read everything
you can get your hands on, and visit online discussion boards
about the subject.
PowerHomeBiz: Any other success tips that you can share
to PowerHomeBiz.com readers?
Get out and network like crazy. Ask for advice and help when
you need it. Find friends who will encourage you. Try things.
Don’t be afraid to fail; mistakes are just part of the journey.
Don’t let other people define what your business should be –
it’s yours, and you are the one who can shape it to fit your
life and goals.
July 13, 2004
