I have a confession to make.
I broke a copywriting rule for direct marketing.
In fact, I didn’t even realize I had broken a rule until I got my copy back from my first client!
But first of all I need to tell you about myself. I am a junior copywriter, which means that I am only 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 leading direct marketing companies.
Yes, my friends, I am ambitious.
So what exactly did I do wrong that caused my copy to be rejected in the first place? Well, in my quest to find clients I thought that since Copy is advertising, I would “hit the sidewalk” and sell my business-to-business services in the hopes of landing a client or at least a prospect.
In my quest to land my first client, I came across one rejection after another. No one needed any copywriting services, but worse, none of these businesses have ever heard of copywriting or direct mail.
On the way home defeated and tired, I ran into an old friend who had a small business assembling televisions. He confessed to me that business was slow and that he needed more clients. Noticing his pain, I offered my services and he accepted. I went home, put on my deer hunter, and went to work. I researched 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 … rejection.
“This was not what I expected,” he said.
He was upset, angry and hurt. I expected a more “traditional” form of advertising. During our discussion I realized my grave mistake.
“I should have sold my services to my target market!”
Target market, that is, those of direct marketing!
This was my fault and I should have told him what I specialized in. It would have saved us headaches.
When you write a 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 to their problem.
When I spoke to my friend, he should have been clear about what the copy was and what it would look like.
Instead, I jumped the gun and accepted the task.
The lesson?
Focus on your target market.