Dear Freelance Copywriter,

I send out a monthly newsletter but my list isn’t growing. I’ve listed my website on loads of  free advertising sites and I’m even paying for advertising, but I’m not getting any new sign-ups. What can I do?

Yours sincerely

Billy-No-Mates

Dear Billy-No-Mates,

Number one, you’re not alone. Even though you’re putting a lot of effort into this, it doesn’t mean you will be guaranteed success. You need to think about long-term ways to grow your list.

A great way is by giving away articles.

Website and blog owners are always looking for new content and there are places called Article Directories (basically a library of free articles) where they can go to find articles that they can use for free. You’ve probably heard of Ezine Articles? Well, that is just one. If you search Google under ‘free article sites’ you’ll find loads more.

Simply write and submit articles to these websites.

When submitting you’ll be asked to complete an Author Bio which goes at the end the article (see below for an example). This is where you can sell yourself and talk about your business. Make sure your link takes your reader to a page on your site with a sign up box for your newsletter. Also give them an incentive to fill in their details – give away a free report or eBook.

Once you’ve done that, everyone who clicks through that link will be taken to the page where you can offer them your wonderful newsletter and your list will grow.

Sally Ormond is a professional freelance copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C copywriting markets. She can be contacted at +44(0)1449 779605 or at sally@briarcopywriting.com for any copywriting project you may have.

Contestants

Simon Cowell – Stuck to traditional marketing methods based on years of business experience.

Tracy Morter – A photographer from Essex with no marketing experience in the music industry at all.

This week, both people went head to head.

Weapons?

Simon Cowell – TV Show – The X Factor, one of the most popular audience participation tv shows in the country. The X factor has produced Christmas number one after Christmas number one! The transit method was once the most popular media device in the world.

Tracy Morter – Networking – Facebook. Has never produced a Christmas number one or any song for that matter.

The Product

Simon Cowell – Young attractive face, the face recognised by millions across the country singing in an amazing voice a song of hope and dreams.

Tracy Morter – A 1992 rock band singing shouting a rebellious song containing more swear words than the radio would care to filter.

The Result

The Christmas number one slot has been the place of heros. The Beatles held it three years running from 63-65. Queen has also taken the spot, Pink Floyd, Band Aid, Cliff Richard and many more. This year, the official Christmas number one is ‘Rage Against the Machine’ with ‘Killing in the name of’

“**** you I won’t do what you tell me”

Power to the people! Network marketing has beaten TV marketing in an amazing fight. Joe deserved the spot but for the ultimate test of a new society.

Social media is and will continue changing the world.

(and Joe, we know you’re number one really. RATM was just to prove a point. Good luck in your new career)

On the twelfth day of christmas my true love gave to me

• twelve PEOPLE  TYPING
• eleven LUCKY LEADS
• ten BUYERS BUYING
• nine PAYPAL PAYMENTS
• eight EMAIL ERRORS
• seven SURFERS SURFING
• six ADWORD VOUCHERS
  *** [with gusto]
• FIVE THOU-SAND HITS
• four SUPPORT REQUESTS
• three COMPLAINTS
• two NEW CLIENTS
• and a CARTRIDGE IN THE PRINTER

Merry Christmas one and all*

*If you don’t celebrate Christmas, have a nice few free days off work celebrating nothing in particular while enjoying random old films on TV… which I hasten to add tend to be black and white, low quality at a silly frame rate. I hope you enjoy that beautiful HD TV which as it turns out is a complete waste of money! Next time you WILL celebrate Christmas… it takes our mind off the TV and gives us a great opportunity to tell our family members what we really think about their new girlfriend/hairstyle/tattoo/dress sense/sexuality.

Direct response copywriting is everywhere and can take several different forms – such as a direct-mail campaign or direct response ads.

Many companies employ direct response copywriting. But you must ensure that what you are writing is interesting and compelling enough to get your reader’s attention. When you are doing direct response copywriting, you should make sure that you are writing to your reader as you would write to a friend so it needs to be conversational.

There are no hard and fast rules as to how long your writing should be – instead you should write until what you need to say has been said.

Direct Response Copywriting Formula

OK, as the advert says here comes the science bit.

There are three main parts usually attributed to a direct response letter:

• The headline – this must be attention grabbing.
• The offer – make sure you explain in great detail what a person will receive if they take you up on your offer.
• The postscript – this is where the incentive goes for someone to respond immediately to your offer.

The key behind direct response copywriting

The key is that you want the person to immediately respond to the offer that you have presented.

A good freelance copywriter knows that success in the direct response market is achieved by focusing on the three main parts such as the headline, the offer, and the postscript. Get this right and you’ll be setting yourself up for a high success rate.

Sally Ormond. Briar Copywriting