How do you market your B2B copywriting services?
If I asked a dozen successful B2B copywriters, I’d probably get a dozen different answers. “Cold calling.” “Writing articles and speaking.” “SEO.” “Networking.” “Blogging.”
All those techniques are legitimate and effective. The problem is, it’s easy to turn the techniques into a checklist, and feel like you have to do them all.
I’ve spoken with B2B copywriters, especially those just starting their business, who believe they have to blog regularly. They have to do SEO. They have to make cold calls. They have to attend meetings. They have to speak. They have to write articles. And on and on.
Soon, two things happen.
First, they get exhausted, frustrated, and fed up because there are just so many things to do. Too many plates are spinning.
Second, they don’t get traction from any one marketing technique, because they’re doing so many different things. Because they’re blogging, cold calling, email prospecting, and networking, they’re not doing any one of them well. And, as a result, they’re not going to get good results.
The answer is to simplify your marketing.
You have to decide that you’re not going to do everything. Instead, what you want to do is have one or two techniques that you use to market your B2B copywriting services. Learn how to do those techniques really well, and you’ll get consistently good results.
What Happened When I Simplified My Marketing
Let me share with you a quick story about the early days of my B2B copywriting business and how a simple marketing approach worked for me.
When I started my copywriting business, I tried many different techniques to get clients. Some of them worked. Some of them didn’t.
Then, I landed on a simple technique that worked very well.
Each week, I went through a business directory called the National List of Advertisers and circled the companies I thought would be great clients for my services. Then, I’d send them a one-page sales letter and offer them an information kit on my services, sort of a copywriting package.
The letter had a form, so they could fax back a request to get my copywriting information kit. And, that’s all I did.
I got a response of about three percent. So, out of every 200 letters I sent out, I would get six responses. Typically, one out of every six of the responses became a new client for me within the next three or four months. So, it became a marketing system that worked for me for several years.
I eventually tried other techniques to market my business. But, for a long time, this one simple marketing system worked really well to identify and introduce myself to potential clients.
I could have made it more complicated. I had a consultant ask me why I didn’t follow up with a phone call.
And you know what? I could have done that. But that would have added a level of complexity and required more time than I wanted to spend on it. So, I actually kept it very, very simple. Two or three hours a week using this simple marketing system gave me all the clients I needed.
That’s all you need to do — develop a simple marketing system for yourself. Focus on one, maybe two, at the most three, techniques for getting clients.
A 5-Step Strategy to Simplify Your Marketing
So, how do you decide which technique is best for you to use?
I’ve mentioned blogging, SEO, email prospecting, cold calling, and a few other options. How do you determine which technique to implement for your business?
Step #1. Think about your target prospects.
Be very clear about who your prospects are. Are they marketing directors? Are they business owners in a particular industry niche? Are they graphic designers?
If you’re not clear about who your target audience is, it’s going to be very difficult to implement a marketing plan that works, because you don’t know whom you’re targeting.
Step #2. Think about how to reach your target prospects.
Using what you know about your target market, what’s the best way to reach them?
If you are targeting professional speakers for example, a good way to reach them is through a speakers association. I can’t think of a single speaker who isn’t a member of a speakers association.
Every niche has a “gathering place” — all you need to do is find it.
Step #3. Identify the technique you’re most comfortable using.
Are you the kind of person who likes cold calling? By the way, cold calling can be very effective, even these days. I know several B2B copywriters who cold call and do very well. I know one copywriter in particular who swears by cold calling. That’s all she does.
Or maybe you prefer email prospecting. Or networking. Perhaps you prefer to market yourself through speaking engagements.
There are many different marketing techniques and they all can work very well if you implement them consistently.
Step #4. Determine if the technique will work with your niche.
When you pick your marketing techniques, ask yourself, what are the chances this technique will work with my target audience?
For example, if you’re going to do cold calling, make sure your target audience is reachable by phone. If you’re trying to target the VP of Marketing at large corporations, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get them on the phone. Email prospecting might be a better option.
So, think about the techniques you want to use and determine if they will work with your target audience. You’re making a bit of an educated guess here but do your research and use your best judgment.
Step #5. Implement your marketing technique.
Do it well. Keep doing it. Give it time to get results. At times, even very active marketing strategies like cold calling and email prospecting can take time to get traction and start working for you.
Be aware of what’s working and what’s not. Make changes or adjustments as you need to. Get really good at the marketing techniques you’re using. Soon, you’ll start to see reliable results from your marketing.
So, that’s the five-step strategy for simplifying your marketing. Think about your target prospects. Think about how to reach them. Think about which marketing techniques you’re comfortable doing. Think about if the marketing technique is going to work with your target audience.
And then, once you make a decision, jump in with both feet. Really implement it. Go whole-hog. Learn how to do that marketing technique really, really well.
If you follow those steps, then you’ll create a simple marketing system that will work very well for you.
What technique have you decided to use to get clients? Let me know in the comments below.
