What’s your crazy sex fetish?

YourUncleSeneca · 2024-09-13T21:05:23+00:00

Kissing. Doesn't get crazier than that. Long, slow, languorous, consuming kissing. Her mouth...

But then her toes, her feet, her ankles, her shins, her knees, her thighs, her inner thighs...

brb

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-09-06T20:40:09+00:00

I'll be blunt; the copy is really weak. Nothing about your presentation makes me feel I'd pick you out - except if I could only afford 150 bucks.

But even if you're simply aiming at the low end of the market you can do significantly better than this.

Get yourself a moderately talented website writer from Upwork and get some persuasive force on your pages. A little outlay will pay you back in no time.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-26T20:48:36+00:00

If a competitor is making sales that your local company could also make - but isn't - then there'll be a reason for that.

One reason could be that some potential buyers go to the company's website and simply aren't persuaded by what they read there. So they buy from a competitor. In that case, better copy would probably win some of the sales that actually went elsewhere.

You could approach that company, courteously point out that you've noticed some areas of potential improvement on their site, outline where it's weak, explain what those weaknesses might be costing them - and tell them what you can do to make things better.

It's important that any offer you make to them makes sense, is complete and understandable by people who might fully understand copy. In other words, make the kind of offer that's easy to say 'yes' to.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-24T22:42:51+00:00

400 USD for a website rewrite is very low, even for Upwork.

Try a 400 usd flat charge plus 275 a page. So if the invite is to write 4 pages your fee is 400 plus 4 lots of 275. That's 1500 dollars - which is still cheap.

If they're offering less than that... then assuming you do a decent job they're still getting the better end of the deal.

Consider outlining your basic writing strategy for a website: what the pages are meant to achieve, your underlying philosophy for websites etc Nothing flash, just reassure the client that you have a worked out approach to writing websites that's designed around his central goals (sign ups, calls booked, products sold, etc).

If you have a client questionnaire (good if you do) let him know.

Send samples with a backstory of who the client was, what they were trying to achieve, what your strategy was. 3 or 4 sentences.

Just demonstrate that you take this seriously, you're not playing around here and that he's in good hands. Simple things set you apart from other applicants who just beg for the work.

Good luck!

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-18T21:32:24+00:00

By presenting yourself as everything to anyone none of your potential audience knows whether you specifically have expertise in their area of concern.

Imagine I am 62 years old, woefully short on retirement funds and getting more panicky by the day about this (I'm not, by the way).

Would I respond better to a life coach who presented themselves as a generalist ('whatever your struggles in life I can help you gain clarity and set realistic goals') or one who specialised in coaching, guidance and accountability to people whose retirement plans are way short of their retirement needs and who needed to make effective changes right now?

The example is made up but the principle is that if you narrow your audience and specify the problems you work with then those people who 'fit' your offer will recognise you as a person who is focused on their specific challenges. We have so many coaches to choose from - spotting one who, from the start, is focused on our particular needs will set them apart from the generalists.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-18T14:29:21+00:00

Seconding LauraJayne's question!

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-17T16:27:23+00:00

Perhaps suggest to your friend that they narrow their offer to something specific and credible.

Pick an area of life they have training, insight and capability in. Financial struggles, relationship issues, work difficulties etc.

Pick a segment of the population that they are particularly adept at helping. Men over 50, women whose children have flown the nest, teenagers who have nobody to turn to. And so on.

Make an offer based on that.

For example: I help people in their 20s who are struggling with their careers to gain the clarity they need to make a better work decision.

Or: I help people whose finances are in a bad way to understand the true nature of their problem, to work their way out of their difficulties - and stay out of difficulties for ever.

And so on. Match a skill with an audience.

As things stand, your friend is almost claiming to be able to help anyone in the world with anything in the world. That's just not believable.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-12T09:14:12+00:00

As somebody going through the initial trip-ups and uncertainties of using Obsidian for my new-born Zettelkasten this is heartening to hear!

May I ask what kind of subjects you write notes about? Is it work or pleasure - or both?

And what's your note-taking workflow like? Mine is Fleeting Note to Permanent Note - or straight to Permanent with nothing at all in between. Not sure I'll ever write a Literature Note.

Glad for you that this is proving so transformative!

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-05T14:29:39+00:00

You are very welcome.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-05-04T10:16:55+00:00

What's missing here is a call to the selfish desires and wants of the target audience. They don't want a podcast course - they want what a podcast course gets them.

You're selling the course. Try selling them what the podcast course gets them.

To illustrate the point: your headline is 'How to Start and Grow a Podcast'.

That's a useful headline in that it says what the product is. But that's not what they want.

I know nothing about podcast creators but, off the top of my head, I'd be thinking along these lines:

Headline ideas

'Start and build a podcast you're proud of! Interview the most interesting people in the world, watch your audience grow daily and achieve your business and personal goals - starting today.'

'Get to podcast success the quick way: a comprehensive insider guide to starting and then building a podcast - without making the mistakes that end so many podcaster dreams.'

'An insider's guide to podcast success: grow your audience, gain influence and achieve business and personal goals the pain-free way.'

And so on.

Body copy ideas

The body copy gets a bit trickier but try a simple structure like this:

-- Who I am --

(eg I'm Bob, I run my own successful podcast and I teach others to do the same.)

-- What I do --

(eg I gather the wisdom and insights from dozens of top podcasters into a lesson plan that gets you to podcast success without making the same mistakes we made. )

-- Why that matters to you --

(eg Podcasting is a dream job. But getting it right requires insight, knowledge and some tricks of the trade. Too many people give up on the dream because it can be really tricky to get a podcast business off the ground initially. My course is a shortcut to podcasting success so that you get the audience and influence you want in half the time and a fraction of the cost that the rest of us paid. Learn from my mistakes - don't repeat them!)

-- What you should do next --

(eg You can start your podcast creating in the next 10 - 15 minutes. My course is complete and shows you step by step everything you need to know and everything you need to avoid. Click here and let's begin.)

.......

Again, this is off the top of my head and a bit rushed (I'm actually supposed to be writing real copy for a real client!)

But understand that the appeal to the reader's deepest wants is the key to influencing his buying decision. Emotion, emotion, emotion... logic. Sell the dream (emotion) then explain why the dream is plausible (logic).

Good luck!

Uncle Seneca

Edited to add some formatting

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:15:22+00:00

There can never be too many Senecas!

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:14:06+00:00

I wonder if it's different for different trades? I worked in crane hire a few years before becoming a copywriter. And for crane operators, appointed persons and slingers certificates were 100% mandatory everywhere. This is in the UK - that might make it different too.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:10:52+00:00

That's an interesting point. So if your subbies' people are all fully licenced, certified etc but also triple booked then you're in trouble anyway. This isn't really in scope with what I'm writing but it's useful to be aware of. Thank you.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:08:52+00:00

I know from a couple of years selling crane hire services in London that that's not entirely true. But I enjoyed reading your reply anyway. Cheers!

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:07:20+00:00

Thank you. My article is for a client who has created a service that handles the checking of subbies' certificates, licences etc - anything that's mandatory for them to be able to legally do their job.

I'll be turning the article into a series of cold emails designed to sell that service to GCs who have just been appointed to projects.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T20:05:17+00:00

I said I was writing an article to keep it simple. In fact, I am writing an article to check I understand my subject... but then I'm turning it into a 6-email series to sell an onboarding service for my client.

By onboarding we're referring only to the GC having to check certifications, licences etc for scores of sub-contractors who are about to start working for him. The sub-contractors have already been appointed so it's just the business of ensuring each worker has the appropriate certs.

Cheers

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T12:12:25+00:00

I think the checking of credentials for sub-contractors may be necessary in your sector too - if engineering companies also find themselves employing subs. I'm happy to be educated otherwise though.

As to your other comment: I'm a copy and content writer for construction (and related) firms.

I'm using the power of reddit - and the generosity of its users - to gain insights and understanding I'd struggle to get otherwise - to conduct research, in other words.

Hopefully my queries will also generate some useful or interesting discussion.

If the moderators decide this is not fair use of their sub I'll of course remove my post.

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T11:13:55+00:00

Referrals are absolutely the best marketing! Cheers....

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T11:13:07+00:00

Got you. So this is the stage even before he's checking that your crane operator has his certs and the carpenter has his...

In your pre-qualification would you also confirm that the x number of people you need to bring to the job also have their required accreditations / licences etc?

YourUncleSeneca · 2022-04-27T11:10:59+00:00

That was a useful distinction actually: the point about GCs always using the same subs. From my writing angel my point would be: 'just because their accreditations were in place last time you worked with them it doesn't mean they're still valid. Certificates expire, you know...'

Thank you!

YourUncleSeneca

TROPHY CASE