Do you have "great clients"?

If you're not sure, why not take this quick and simple Quiz:

Do your clients...

1. Understand the value of copywriting? YES/NO

2. Have a generous budget for copy that pays you what you're worth? YES/NO

3. Treat you and your business with equality and respect? YES/NO

4. Know more than you about marketing, so you can learn from their campaigns and sophistication? YES/NO

If you answered YES to all four questions, you have ideal clients. Congratulations!Your clients are large small businesses, mid-size, large, and very large businesses.

If you answered NO to any question, you need better clients.

And if you answered NO to all questions, your clients are almost guaranteed to be individuals or very small businesses (and your income is likely to be low as well).

HOW TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR CLIENTS

Here are three steps to improving the quality of your clients, and they are in a particular order.

Step #1 must be in place before you go to Step 2, and Step 2 in place before going on to Step 3.

STEP 1: Do not use your website or marketing messages to "educate."

Website copy that tells the prospective client "why" they need copy automatically attracts very small business (because they know they need to be educated), and repels higher levels of business (because they know they do not).

A mid-size or larger business will think, "This copywriter works with very small business," and then will go on to look for a copywriter who speaks the language of a more sophisticated marketer.

STEP 2: Do not use your home page to talk about yourself, except for VERY briefly (like two or three lines — save the details for your Bio page).

When you spend too much time talking about yourself on you home page, a seasoned marketer recognizes you as a marketing novice.

This is because in the world of lead-gen, it's common knowledge that marketing pieces have a "YOU" focus.

So when a prospective client arrives at your home page and sees that it's all about you, they instantly assume that you don't know much about marketing, and especially lead-generating marketing.

Rather, your home page should reflect an understanding of your target market's needs, wants, desires... and especially, their pains.

The copy on you home page should clearly show the visitor that you understand their problems and that you can solve them with your copy and marketing acumen.

Of course, this means you must know what some of your target market's business pains are — pains that your copywriting can solve. And that brings us to...

STEP 3. Do have an offer for your home page visitor.

Often, and logically, solutions to your target market's pains are presented in an offer to the target market, usually in the form of a free report or white paper.

In the B2B lead-gen world (which you are a part of as a copywriter seeking business clients), it's standard to offer a white paper or "free report".

That free offer is the vehicle for capturing a lead on your end, and for educating your visitor the correct way: by not talking about "you," but showing them how you can solve THEIR marketing problem.

The trick is, that free report or white paper had better contain a solid solution to a major pain... or it won't generate any leads for you.

And its title must be on target and exceedingly compelling!

Since I brought the concept of creating an offer to the copywriting world nearly ten years ago, my coaching students have created — and are still creating — white papers and free reports that are truly cutting edge, and therefore strong lead-generators.

However, as word got out about my marketing techniques, there became a rise of home page offers amongst the general population of copywriters.

A quick spot check of copywriters' home pages reveals many very weak paper topics.

Quite a few look as though they were hastily created, with titles that reveal little depth or relevancy.

Also I frequently see a violation of the rule of Step #1: Thou shalt not educate on the topic of copywriting! (Again, unless you want to attract very small business.)

Remember, to attract companies, organizations and institutions that gross at least $5 million per year (large small business, mid-size and on up), we focus on solving THEIR pain.

They don't want to know "The 10 Top Tips for Killer Headlines." That's YOUR job.

Higher quality clients want to know how you will help them by raising ROI, shortening sales cycles, selling more, saving money, breaking into new markets, leveraging new technology, coming up with strong ideas, and more.

In short, great clients want to know how you can make THEM look good!