And rather than beat around the bush, let’s just call this list the “Eight Gratifying Moments in the Life of Any Freelance Copywriter or Consultant:”

• Reading a short, pithy, “The copy’s perfect” email from a client
• Shipping solid draft copy, and checking it off the list
• Getting a check
• Getting a check before it’s due
• Getting a big check
• Finding a signed work order – for a prestige project initiated by your lumpy mailer – nestled in your inbox
• Discovering the blog/email program you recommended is working exactly as you said it would
• Explaining modern Internet marketing to a class of entrepreneurs, and realizing they get it

I’ve experienced all the above in the last 1.5 weeks, and while I’m not threatening to burst into song (Tonight on the Underground: Copywriter Karaoke!), I’m reminded that even after 23+ years in this business, good stuff happens with gratifying regularity.

Keep writing & consulting, Tom Chandler.

In the past, I’ve detailed my tried-and-true Six Point Lumpy Mailer Plan designed to put you in touch with high-value contacts at the companies you want to write for.

This Freelance Switch post details a cold calling plan that eschews the lumpy mailer step, focusing instead on calling 300-500 prospects.

The article goes into a lot of detail (scripts, etc) that I didn’t. You might find Martha’s plan more to your liking than mine.

After I left my second agency job, I made a lot of cold calls, and yes – collected new clients. Success is in the details, and Martha does a good job of outlining the steps. (Build a client profile, write a script, follow up, etc.)

I prefer my system because it’s more selective and lumpy mailers are fun, but either method will find you on the phone with your target companies.

Cold calls? Lumpy mailer?

You decide. Just don’t decide to do nothing.

Keep writing, Tom Chandler

My wife and I both worked a very, very long work week. And when it lands hard on both of us at once, neither can pick up the slack.

It’s not true, but the last few days, I feel like I’ve eaten nothing but cereal.

Does it look like I’ve been sleeping here? (It feels like it.)

Still, the worst is over. Yet I’ve only got time for a short update.

In a prior post, I urged my readers to pursue their dream clients (and dream projects) instead of sitting and waiting for clients to choose them.

I even outlined a process, and employed it myself to win a meeting, where I pitched a sizable membership project. I left the meeting feeling pretty good.

And I’d love to report on my success (as in “I’m writing this from the French Riviera, where my English butler is doing the typing for me“) but in truth, the reality isn’t that rosy. Still, you get the bad with the good here on the Underground, and the project that seemed so promising is now on… hold.

Why?

After all, I invested several hours educating the marketing person.

Who just left the organization.

Damn.

But you know, stuff happens. And if you’re deterred by every setback, you should consider a different line of work (no crybabies on the Underground).

The good news?

The higher ups now know my name. They liked the original proposal. And because of the visibility gained, I’ve been given a shot at a different project (my proposal’s on several desks as we speak).

In fact, I’ve got three separate proposals circulating at two different organizations, and I’m talking to the industry leader about some very, very intriguing engagement marketing stuff (and yes, I’m getting sick of spreadsheets).

Best of all, each is the kind of project I want to do — the kind of work that fires my imagination.

Starting tomorrow, I’m spending a week in Maine, where I’ll have limited connectivity (they have web servers in Maine, but apparently they’re wood fired).

I’ll leave you with this thought. When you sit down at the keyboard in the morning, what kind of project would it excite you to write?

Keep writing, Tom Chandler.

We started back here — the post where I suggested getting your foot in the door of high-value clients via a lumpy mailer.

Lumpy mailers have gotten a bad rap; some feel they’re misleading (a sheet of bubble wrap in credit card mailers is generating bad press), but in this case, we’re delivering something of value (even if it’s just fun), and I’ve never once heard a complaint.

In the age of badly written email and hair-trigger attention spans, a lumpy mailer is pure power.

This time I sent two high-value prospects a pair of chattering teeth (yes, it’s a communications theme, and yes — I have a box of the things sitting on a shelf).

Attached to the teeth was a card laying out the benefits of my proposed program.

One prospect immediately called for a meeting, and last Friday, we met.

I pitched an engagement/membership program, and at first, the client was skeptical. Then she grew very interested.

Frankly, you have to be prepared for this; unlike the clients who seek you out — presumably after identifying a need for your services — prospecting on your own means pitching people who don’t necessarily think they need your help.

In short, the prospect requires a little education, and you don’t have much time to do the educating.

In this case, the client liked what she heard. At the risk of bragging, I wasn’t that surprised.
Copywriters often fear they have little to offer (it’s the most common fear among newer copywriters).

They’re typically wrong about that, but in my case, I’m very comfortable pitching engagement marketing to marketing professionals. This client responded to that pitch.

How do I know?

For starters, our one-hour meeting ran 2.5 hours, and the walk back to the office (from the cafe) was repeatedly interrupted by stops (she wanted to go over more possibilities).

I didn’t walk away with a signed work order, but I’m now the proud owner of a prospect deeply interested in the kind of project I want to write — one who asked me for a detailed proposal.

How about you; have you picked a small handful of clients you want to work for and then pitched them?

If not, why not?

Let me help; take 60 seconds to sit down and hand-write a list of the four companies/organizations/causes you’d kill to work for.

There. You just started the process. I already laid out the next few steps. So what are you waiting for?

Keep writing, Tom Chandler.