A Special Message from the Chix

Hey Freelancers,

It's nearly Thanksgiving in the States and We have so much to be
thankful for. We're thankful for the ability to write well and make a
living from it. And We're thankful to you for being a loyal reader.

So we would like to give back.

We hear so much from writers - new and old - that they need to work
on a great sales letter in order to drum up some new business. One of
the hardest things to write about is yourself.

How do you do that without seeming, well, like a narcissistic snot?
Sure, I can sell the heck out of the next mega vitamin but talk about
how great I am? I'd rather eat soap.

That's why The Chix have put together a killer mini-course you can do
from the comfort of your home AND have personal critiques from us.
Writing a sales letter about yourself has never been easier:

- http://www.3chix.com/Online_Course.html

To a successful week,

Victoria, Donna and Beth
The 3 Chix
www.3chix.com

When Persistence Turns to Harassment

Hi All:

When I was trying to decide what to write about this month, I thought about the word "passion” and how it means different things to different people. Passion can be great enthusiasm, it can be obsession, and it can turn into harassment.

In the film National Treasure Nicolas Cage's character, Benjamin Gates, asks a question of his partner in crime, Riley Pool: What's one step before crazy? Riley Pool answers “obsessed” and Nicolas Cage retorts “passionate”.

A friend of mine had an experience this past year with a potential client that went from engaging to harassing.

Where's the fine line? This is a question we can ask as copywriters and also on the other side of the fence as employers of copywriters.

Here's what happened with my friend: she received an e-mail from someone interested in hiring her to do some copywriting. She listened to what he had to say and took a look at the Internet sites he had suggested she look at. He asked, politely, if she would have a telephone conference with him to discuss his business further. She didn't have any problem with that so a she gave him a call.

The call lasted about an hour and she had come to the conclusion that his work was not something she was interested in promoting. It wasn't that his work was objectionable; it just wasn't her cup of tea. 

Trust Your Gut 

We've all had times when a situation just didn't feel right. There wasn't anything you could put your finger on objectively as a reason why it felt out of whack; it just did. In fact, I've had situations where I have walked into a room, had the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I've walked right back out. Do I have any evidence to show that something bad had happened or was about to happen? No.

I trusted my gut.

My intuition and my feeling about a situation have been more right than wrong in my lifetime.

And my friend's intuition was right as well. When she wrote this potential client an e-mail telling him that she thought his products had merit but that she was over extended with work at the time and would not be taking him on as a client, his persistence turned into obsession. A week went by and my friend received at least one phone call per day as well as several e-mails.

When Obsession Turned Into Harassment 

He said he just wanted to talk with her. My take on this was that he was trying to be as persuasive as he possibly could be but he had stepped over the line with no way to go back. When he e-mailed her again and begged to speak with her, she e-mailed him a one-word answer: no.

So what does this have to do with you as a copywriter?

Everything.

When is reaching out and getting in touch with someone a good thing and when is it too much? It's something we all have to think about as marketers and producers of information. How much contact is too much?

On one hand we don't want to lose touch with our audience -- out of sight out of mind really is true -- but we also don't want to tick them off because we've gotten in touch with them too much. There are those gurus out there who insist that one email per day is what you need to do to make sales -- whether you're selling your services or a product. I think that's too much. When you're waiting to hear back on an assignment from a potential client, less is more. While the squeaky wheel might get the grease in some situations, it isn't true for assignment hunting.

Let's say you've written a wonderful introductory letter, have had a terrific phone call with a marketing director of the company you'd like to work for, and have sent that letter and samples at their request. They politely answer you, responding that they received your letter and samples and would get in touch with you shortly.

Two weeks after sending your letter and samples you decide to get in touch with the company because you haven't heard from them. Now, truly, everyone is busy although I really hate that excuse. When someone says, “Oh, I'm just so busy” I think it can be read two ways: “I'm way more important than you” or “you're of lesser stature because you can't possibly be as busy as me and therefore you must acquiesce to my schedule”.

OK. I've digressed. You've gotten in touch with the company two weeks after sending a letter and samples and nothing has happened.

No phone call returned, no e-mail sent. While you certainly don't want to spend all of your time wondering what you've done wrong, it's perfectly human -- and passionate -- to want to know whether you have a chance to work for that company. After all, you had a very nice conversation with the marketing director and she seemed genuinely interested.

I feel comfortable telling my coaching students to go ahead and get in touch once a month or so until you're either told go away or you get some kind of response. I want them to be persistent but not pushy. The general rule out there is that it takes anywhere from seven to 10 “touches” to get someone's attention by e-mail or phone these days.

We are all so overloaded electronically -- that’s the number one reason we get at The Chix for someone unsubscribing from our list -- that it takes more than once or twice to get someone to click through.

Don't take silence as a negative. For marketers this is a difficult pill to swallow because silence usually denotes a lack of order of their product and that can make things difficult for the financial bottom line. For writers, it's equally as difficult because no matter how many times we tell ourselves that we write well it's still nice to know that someone else thinks so too.

It's a subjective crap-shoot. If you've written a good piece and believe in it, then really believe. The rest will take care of itself.

I know I've blathered on a bit in this issue but mindset is a critical component of success.

Believe in yourself. You deserve it.

Have a happy and safe holiday and we’ll see you back here next month!

The 3 Chix

Victoria, Donna and Beth