Copywriting Training | Keep Copywriting Clients Happy

If you want to be a successful copywriter and keep your business thriving, you must learn how to keep your copywriting clients happy and build long-term relationships with your clients

These ongoing connections provide your business with stability and a steady income. Plus, working with the same clients over time allows you to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and industry.

So, how can you create a business where clients repeatedly turn to you for their copywriting needs?

In this copywriting training, we’ll explore strategies that top copywriters use to create lasting partnerships with their clients.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to forge strong, enduring relationships that set you apart in your market.

via GIPHY

Let’s dive in.

Understand the Client’s Brand and Voice

This might be a tough pill to swallow, but when you start writing for clients, you need to qualify them; in other words, you need to see if they can work well with you.

One of the hardest tasks is understanding your client’s brand and voice, and if they won’t communicate this with you, it’s going to be a challenge. So, upfront, make sure they are cooperative.

Here’s a Shortcut to Understanding Your Client’s Brand

To make your clients happy, you need to understand their brand, voice, and what resonates with their customers and prospects.

You must have a deep understanding of their brand and mission to deliver stellar copy that converts and makes them happy. The easiest way to achieve this is by asking for their previous successful ads and other marketing materials.

If they hired a previous copywriter and had a successful campaign, ask for that copy to study. This insider knowledge gives you an unfair advantage over other copywriters.

If a client doesn’t provide this material upfront, you might want to reconsider working with them. In my experience, if a client isn’t willing to work with you, it will be a tough project. If you do take on such a client, you’ll need to build a marketing plan for them. Of course, if you’re going to do all that, you should be compensated well—I’m talking tens of thousands of dollars.

But if you want to charge peanuts and work yourself to death, be my guest.

Gather As Much Information as You Can

To accurately capture your client’s brand and voice, you must do your research. Gather existing assets they may have, such as:

Blog Posts
Social Media Updates
Published Reports
Articles
Links to Videos
Direct Mail Pieces
Advertisements
Brochures
Whitepapers
Newsletters

Your client might not have all these materials, and that’s okay—some assets are better than none.

Pay Attention to These Elements

Once you have these assets, analyze them. Look at the language, tone, and other stylistic elements. Are they using a casual or formal tone? Is there unique language in their messages?

Consider this: an advertisement from a solar panel company versus one for a skateboard. The language and tone will be vastly different. I once wrote for a solar panel company, and it was all technical facts and figures, almost like an engineering whitepaper.

I suggested a more relaxed tone, but the owner, who had been in the business for a long time, insisted on keeping it technical. He was right—most of his top clients were bigger businesses deeply concerned about the technical and logistical aspects of solar power.

If you’re selling skateboards or parts, there are some technical details to cover, but most of your writing will focus on the skateboarding culture. So, it is vital to research and know your client’s business.

Copywriting Training Hack: Interview Your Client and Their Employees

This is one of those copywriting training hacks that you can easily use in your copywriting business.

Dan Kennedy, one of the best copywriters ever, once wrote for a company that made tarps for the backs of trucks. Dump trucks must have tarps by law to cover their loads. This company needed a direct response sales letter to send to businesses needing these tarps.

Dan did his homework. He interviewed everyone at the tarp company—the designers, fabricators, secretaries, bosses, employees, anyone with a pulse. He didn’t stop there; he also interviewed businesses that had already bought the tarps to see what they liked and didn’t like.

With all this information and the advertising resources from the tarp company, Dan had a massive amount of data to draw from. This made his copywriting much easier and more effective for the client.

Interview Your Client and Their Employees

With all this information and the advertising resources from the tarp company, Dan had a massive amount of data to draw from. This made his copywriting much easier and more effective for the client.

Deliver Consistent Quality

This is a fundamental copywriting principle but it is vital to this copywriting training. You want to deliver the best quality writing you can for your clients. How can you do this? If you have followed some of the steps above, you should be well on your way to writing high-quality copy. Here are a few reminders:

Study and learn your client’s brand.
Gather as many marketing materials from the company as possible.
Pay attention to the company’s language and voice.
Interview as many people at the company as you can.

A Warning About Copywriting Clients

It’s important to note that some prospective clients might not be a good fit. If you interview a potential client and they:

Don’t discuss their marketing.
Do not have a content plan in place.
Talk to you like they are bored.
Have no marketing assets for you to review.
Can’t recall any marketing wins they’ve had.
Don’t understand their market.
Won’t listen to your suggestions.
Act like you are beneath them.

Run away from them as fast as you can. For me, the interview process is two-way. I’ll try to sell my services and represent myself well so the client knows what I can do for them. However, I won’t grovel or suck up to them like I’m desperate.

If they have no interest in their own marketing, it will be an uphill battle. It is very difficult to work with a client who can’t give you information about what you’re writing. (Believe me, I’ve been there and done that. IT DOES NOT WORK.)

Adhering to Deadlines Will Keep Copywriting Clients Happy

Another way to impress clients is to stick to deadlines as closely as possible. I’m a real stickler about time. Business owners value time highly because they understand it’s their most valuable asset.

Nothing terrifies me more than being late to an appointment.

My wife can tell you; I freak out when I’m late to anything.

I also hate it when people are late for appointments with me. If you want to get on my bad side as a business, be late to an appointment with me. No, I won’t get upset or treat people poorly, but I may not do business with you if you’re late.

A Great Hack for Time Management

There is a simple way to ensure you are never late with your copywriting clients. I get the email address of every owner or editor I work with, and every day that I’m working on their project, I send an update on what I’ve worked on. The email usually looks something like this:

Subject: Daily Update on Blog Post Project

Dear Jolene,

Here’s today’s update on the blog post I’m writing for your company. First, I did extensive keyword research for the post to get a better idea of what is ranking on the SERPs.

After that, I wrote out 30 different headlines we could use for this post and started writing the most dynamic first paragraph I could muster. (I’m not settled on this one yet.) I’m including some of these results in the attachment in this email. Please let me know if you think I’m moving in the wrong direction.

Let’s make this the best post ever!

Sincerely,

Mark Elmo Ellis

ElmoCopy

How This Hack Can Keep You Out of Trouble

The reason why I do this is three-fold. First, it keeps me in a friendly conversation with the person in charge of the project. Second, it lets the client know I’m taking the gig seriously and will do my best for them. Third, if there is an emergency or I get sick, 99% of the time, they are kind and will give me extra time. They know I’m not flaking or making up excuses.

Pay Attention to Detail

Another way to impress clients is by paying close attention to detail. Editors dislike going through many rewrites to get the job done.

A good copywriting practice is to always ensure your punctuation, spelling, and coherence are as close to perfect as possible. If you’re working with an editor, you’ll get feedback if you’re on the wrong track, but you’ll score big points if they don’t have to correct you all the time. If they send your work back needing corrections, be professional, courteous, and kind.

Always act like a professional. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your project either. This will help you write better copy for your clients.

This Depends on Who You Are Writing For

Note: Some of this copywriting training advice is great for working on projects with editors and other professional writers.

However, if you have been hired to write direct response sales copy, your work should be non-negotiable.

Just because they are the owner does not mean they are good direct response copywriters. They hired you because you know how to sell on paper better than they do. Keep them informed regularly on your progress so they see your care and effort throughout the project.

Keep Up on Your Client’s Industry

Another excellent way to ensure you look like a copywriting heavyweight is to keep up with industry trends. How can you do this? First, keep reading and subscribe to industry-related materials like magazines, journals, newsletters, and blogs.

If you find yourself writing for a particular industry, try to attend conferences, workshops, and online/offline events. Once you get involved in a particular business, you’ll be amazed at all the informational seminars and lectures you can attend. Another great resource is LinkedIn.

On LinkedIn, you can follow and connect with influential leaders. It’s easy to reach and converse with CEOs, editors, and experts in any business field.

Try to Get Feedback on Your Work

If you think back to the section I wrote about qualifying clients, I mentioned that you need people who will communicate with you.

There are several reasons why this is very necessary.

I network with professional copywriters all the time. Just last week I talked to a lady who was ghostwriting a book for a client. Half way through the project, the client all of a sudden said, “Nah, I don’t like what you’re writing. You’re fired.”

Of course, she was devastated.

Get Your Terms in Writing First

I told her she should have had a contract with a kill switch in it. A kill switch is a point in your contract where either party can stop the project. Most professional copywriters will place that switch at the halfway point of the project.

However, if half the money for half the project is put up front and the client says they don’t like the project, they lose their half.

So, before a word gets written, they have to cough up half of the money with the clear understanding that if they decide to kill the project, they will lose it. (Always get a contract on the front end, especially if it is a big project.)

“You can read more about this in Bob Bly’s guide to running your own copywriting business, The Copywriter’s Handbook.” [Insert Amazon Link Here]

Make Sure You Stay in Touch

If you learn one thing from this copywriting training, remember this: communication between you and your client is vital. This is especially important on bigger projects.

I’ve written blog posts for very professional websites, and I never worry about not getting paid. (Heck, most of them just want 2000 words or less, and I can get the bulk of that written in an afternoon.)

But if I were working on a series of posts, I would need a contract with a kill switch in it, unless I’ve already written for the company and I know how professional the editor.

Good clients will communicate with you on your progress.

Go back and look at the section called, “A Great Hack for Time Management.” Communicating like this is a great way to make sure the project gets done with correctly and on time.

This is a very easy way to keep copywriting clients happy, so make sure you do it.

Copywriting Training Hack: Revise Quickly and Fairly

What do you do if you have a new client and accidentally get something wrong? The easiest way to impress your client is to act quickly and professionally.

Make the necessary adjustments and address any concerns or suggestions the client may have. Also, it would be a good idea to thank them for their suggestions and concerns.

Think of How You Want to be Treated

A good hack for this is to put on your client’s shoes. Think about how you would want a copywriter to respond to your request and then model that.

The last thing you want to do is have a great rapport with a client and then blow it with a bad attitude.

So, make the corrections, even if you disagree, and move on.

If you are writing direct response sales pieces, 99% of the time the client will trust your work. But, if you are ghostwriting, or merely crating content, stay in touch.

Offer Some Help to Your Clients

This is an overlooked copywriter training idea that you can capitalize on. Several years ago, I had two clients who developed a phone application for flip phones. It was a method for older people to send messages to one another by simply pressing one key. They asked me to write the copy for their online sales page.

No problem.

As I was writing for them, I asked how they were maintaining their subscribers. They didn’t know what I was talking about. I told them they should have an email subscription to keep their customers happy and send them updates. They hadn’t even thought about that.

So, they hired me to set up an opt-in box and write the copy for it. I helped them get onto a platform like MailChimp, which offers a free account to get started. Once they had that, I told them they were going to need some sequenced emails to promote their business and welcome any new followers.

Being Proactive and Offering Some Advice

I used to teach technology at a private school, so I knew how to teach people procedurally how to learn and do different things. I asked these guys, “Do you have a way for your new customers to learn the system?” They asked, “What do you mean?”

I explained that they needed a course their customers could download from the website. The next thing you know, I was writing a manual on how to use their flip phone services.

After finishing that project, I ended up doing a bunch of other tasks for them, some of which they didn’t even ask for. Without realizing it, I had become their “go-to guy” or a vital marketing linchpin for their business. From this one project, I got five or six different projects and glowing testimonials.

So, anytime you can be proactive in a simple way—offering advice, pointing out errors, giving feedback—you should do it.

Conclusion

The goal of all this work is to get a steady pool of clients who return to you over and over again.

One thing I’ve learned from selling everything from online courses to jams and jellies at farmer’s markets is this: Your easiest clients and customers are the one’s who have already purchased from you.

You want people who will come back to you again and again. This will allow you to charge more, save time chasing clients, and reserve your marketing money for other pursuits.

So, remember to:

Ask for feedback
Interview new clients on the front end
Have regular communication with them
Deliver high quality work at all times
Make sure you meet deadlines
Make corrections cordially and quickly

I can tell you from my own personal experience that not only have I had returning clients, but I’ve actually had people who want to start businesses with me.

So, the bottom line to all of this activity is that it works.

If you liked this post and got something out of this copywriting training, please leave a comment in the comment section below, it would really make my day.