As a freelancer or aspiring micro business owner, you may think that emails are something you left behind in your old job. Sure, large multinationals send them out because they have audiences that run into the millions. You don’t, and that’s fine; so surely you don’t need to bother, right? Wrong.
Email copywriting is a skill that will be an asset to your business from day one. It allows you to generate new leads, close sales, and generally just keep in contact with clients in a professional and informative manner. The only question is: how do you get better at it?
Know the value that you have to offer
You offer value because you have a specific set of skills that people are looking for. As a new freelancer it can be easy to lose sight of this, but always remember that people have paid you in the past. If they could be persuaded before you took your email writing to new heights, then you’ll be able to get even more customers with a more persuasive approach.
Knowing your value is more than just a timely psychological boost. It will help you with your writing in 3 distinct ways:
- It will give you the self-confidence that you need if you’re to find the right words to position yourself as an authority figure
- Knowing your value allows you to think about the specific skills that you can offer your customers
- You will be able to project a sense of confidence, without overdoing things, that will give you credibility in the eyes of the reader
Don’t try and do everything, specialize in something
The next thing to do is not to get carried away by your own flexibility. Now that you’re your own boss, you have the freedom to take on any type of work that you like. The downside to this is that you’re going to end up turning down a lot of work because you’ll be offered projects that aren’t the best fit for what you want to achieve. This isn’t a sign that you’re not adaptable enough for the job; it’s a clear demonstration of the confidence you have in your own choice of niche.
“It’s so important to choose a niche. Too many freelancers try and write emails that position themselves as a one-stop shop. All this does is set expectations unrealistically high, and set the freelancer up to fail” — says Jane McDowell, a marketer at Canada Writers and TheEssayTyper.
Your emails need to clearly lay out what you can assist your customers with, and also rule out things you’re not able to do. This will save you from wasting time on low yield projects that don’t make the best use of your skills. What you want to avoid, however, is listing everything you can’t do as this will give the impression that you’re unapproachable or difficult to work with. Choose your wording in such a way that what you can’t offer is implicit, rather than explicit.
Identify the right kind of clients for your business
Writing prospecting emails is largely a matter of knowing who it is you’re writing to. If you know what your niche is, then it’ll soon become apparent who the various different businesses are that will need your services.
There’s little to be gained from a blanket campaign that targets a huge range of different businesses. As a micro business, your job is to target the people who need you with laser-like focus. You only need to get a few extra clients for your profits to rise markedly, so focus on doing your research. Here are 3 key questions you can ask yourself:
- If I were contacting myself, what would I be asking for a helping hand with?
- Why should a business go with a freelancer, as opposed to a larger operation?
- What type of working relationship do I expect to have with my ideal customer?
Know the answers to these 3 questions, and you’ll soon know which kind of clients you need to start pursuing.
About the Author
James Daily is a professional writer, content manager, and blogger. When he is not involved in career-related tasks, he follows his other many interests, including astronomy, psychology, and cinema. You can follow James on Twitter.
