I have a confession to make.
I broke a Copywriting rule for Direct Marketing.
In fact, I didn’t even realize I broke a rule until I got my copy from my first client!
But before anything else, I need to tell you about myself. I am a junior copywriter, which means I am just a beginner in this amazing world of direct marketing. One day I hope to sit at the table with people like the great veterans in front of me. Greats like David Garfinkel, Doug D’anna, Ben Settle, David Duetch, Gary Bencievega and good old Ole Uncle John Carlton. I also hope to one day write for many of the world’s top direct marketing companies.
Yes, my friends, I am ambitious.
So what exactly did I do wrong to get my copy rejected in the first place? Well, in my quest to find clients, I figured since Copy is advertising, I would “go out there” and sell my services business to business in hopes of landing a client or at least a prospect.
In my quest to land my first client I was met with one rejection after another. No one needed any copywriting services, but what’s worse, none of these companies have ever heard of copywriting or direct mail.
On the way home, defeated and tired, I ran into an old friend who ran a small TV assembly business. He confessed to me that business was slow and that he needed more clients. Noticing his pain I offered him my services, he accepted. I went home, put on my deer jacket and went to work. Research your target customers to discover their biggest issues, concerns, etc. I also went ahead and called the local newspapers to find out the price to run their ads.
Whatever, I probably did.
After a week I finished his 1 page copy and proudly called him to let him know. So… I decline.
“This was not what I expected,” he said.
He was upset, angry and hurt. He expected a more “traditional” form of advertising. During our discussion I realized my serious mistake.
“I should have sold my services to my target market!”
Target market i.e. those in direct marketing!
This was my fault and I should have told him what I majored in. It would have saved us headaches.
When you write copy, you write with your ideal client in mind. You write about their pain, and how you had the same problem AND that you have a solution for their problem.
When I talked to my friend, I should have been clear about what copy it was and what it would look like.
Instead I jumped the gun and accepted the task.
The lesson?
Focus on your target market.