The Confident Copywriter

You are in the midst of purchasing an item online. Before you hit submit, a box pops up…“Buying ABC today? Get XYZ at a huge discount!”

You are buying athletic shoes at a department store. The salesperson suggests a cleaner “made especially for this type of shoe.”

You are ordering a meal at a restaurant. The waitress asks, “How about a soup or salad with your meal?”

You’re at a fast food counter. The kid with yellow arches on his hat says, “You want fries with that?’

These are examples of ‘upselling’, a soft approach to helping clients enjoy greater value from your products and services, while increasing the dollar amount of each purchase.

Have you ever considered applying upselling techniques to your own freelance writing business? If not, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to serve your customers well and increase your revenue…all without even breaking a sweat.

Here are a few ways to incorporate upselling:

Sell your client on a new product or service. People want to buy…you just have to give them a reason. Your client asks for articles? Tell him you can help put some sizzle in his website copy too.

Sell an enhanced version of a product or service. “Mr. Client, after I create your new content, I’ll edit it to perfection. It will be all ready for you to use. And the additional cost is nominal…”

Sell the same service, but in a different area. Normally, your client orders website copy. Then you discover another department handles the web copy for a different website the company owns. You’ve just uncovered a whole new department to sell to!

Bundle your services with discounted pricing. Sell similar services together…articles and website copy, for example; or a sales letter and a ‘free’ report. Then discount the total cost slightly. Everyone loves a deal!

BOGO. Choose several key times during the year to put your services “On Sale”. The “BOGO” concept (Buy One Get One Free) or the “Half Off” concept (Buy One, Get the 2nd Half Off) both work well. I’ve used them; my coaching students have used them…clients begin to save up projects, so when the deal comes around, they’ve got lots for you to do!

Meet your clients in person. As copywriters, we work in virtual worlds. Occasionally, though, a client is in your own backyard. So take him to lunch! Meet her for coffee! Face to face meetings are as valuable for copywriters as the golf course is for CEOs.

Regularly ask for referrals; then upsell the new client. Make a habit of asking clients for referrals. If they truly like your work, it’s no problem. A client who regularly orders case studies will probably refer you to new clients who want case studies. First, thank your client with a special offer; perhaps buy one free case study with the next one he orders. Upsell the new client too. “Sue, Joe thought you could use my services. You’re looking for case studies? Great! Did you know I also offer…”

Don’t fall into the trap of believing you have nothing left to sell your client. What you’re really saying is:

• You haven’t established a sufficient connection with the customer
• You’ve failed on the follow up…the client has forgotten you
• You know your customer is somehow irritated – you don’t want to ‘start something’

These statements simply mean you’ve failed to establish a bond with your customer that brings obvious value to the relationship.

Here’s the takeaway: Selling your services to your customers goes far beyond getting a project, completing it and moving on. When you treat your customers like wallets, you fail to establish yourself as a trusted advisor. You’re simply ‘a writer’. There are a million of those.

Have you taken advantage of upselling? Why or why not?

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