In the last post we discussed why you should outsource copywriting and a tip to making it economical. In this post we will take a look at a few of the dont’s for outsourcing.

1. Don’t forget your own percentage of the client fee – you found them and you do the edits to make sure the copy is just what they want. You deserve a portion of the fee.
2. Don’t outsource to incompetents – hiring a writer who will work for less than you would is great, but be sure there’s something to work with. If you spend just as much time editing as you would have writing, it’s not saving you any stress.
3. Don’t outsource so much you don’t have an income – make sure that your bills are taken care of before you outsource. Yes, you’ll get a percentage of their writing, but don’t forget to calculate the salary you need and make sure you’ll meet it.

Yes this blog is all about do-it-yourself copywriting techniques, but sometimes it does pay to outsource.

If You Have Trouble Getting Started

Some VAs that write copy are fantastic re-writers, but not terribly good at coming up with new ideas. If you’re often stumped for inspiration but have no trouble at all editing someone else’s poor copy, then outsourcing can be perfect for you.

If You Are Running On Overwhelm

Sometimes you really will have more work than you can handle, and outsourcing is great for getting those jobs done. In another scenario, you may be stressed out by basic life problems, and outsourcing work can ensure that all your assignments get done without you having to worry about them.

Tip

Find a less-talented writer who’s willing to work for a lower fee while they build experience. Polish up their copy to a beautiful shine and send it on to the client knowing that it’s as good as anything you could have done – but without the stress of coming up with an angle yourself.

In the last post, we spoke about extending your reader’s attention spans with the use of bullets. Now it is time to look at making them effective.

Effective bullet points:
• Use powerful verbs to start each in order to create dynamism
• Are brief
• List the highlights of each information point
• Take up only three to six lines – more are just as exhausting to the eye as paragraphs
• Appear only once or twice an article – unless the article is about bullet points

As you’re probably aware, you’ve been most drawn to the bullet pointed lists in this article much more than you have to the main paragraphs. What you also may have noticed is that the paragraphs are easier to swallow when they’ve been broken up by bullet-pointed text that’s easier on the eyes. Our brains actually process brief spurts of information more easily than long paragraphs, but with that break of bullet points, our brains are rested and ready to tackle the next longer piece of information.

Readers like bullet points because they can:
• Get the main points quickly
• Understand what’s being offered in the least amount of time
• Give their brains a break from long paragraphs of information

You can think of bullet points as the rest stops in a marathon. Running the whole way is daunting, but those rest stops give you a break and a burst of energy for the next stretch. In the same way, bullet points let your reader’s brains rest so they’re ready to tackle the next long paragraph – and that means they’re more likely to read all the way to the end of the article.

One of the greatest weapons in a copywriter’s arsenal is, somewhat appropriately, bullets. Bullet points break up copy, get your point across succinctly, and are easier for readers to understand. They’re the time-stressed reader’s saving grace, which means they’re critical when you’re writing for a web audience whose attention span is somewhat less than that of your average squirrel.

It would be nearly impossible to have an article about bullet points that didn’t make full use of them, so let’s give it a whirl. Using the same information that we already put in the lead paragraph, let’s make some bullet points on why bullet points work.

Bullet points are a great copywriting tool because they:
• Get your reader’s attention
• Break up your copy for easy readability
• Give bite-sized nuggets of information
• Take up almost no time to read
• Make the most of your reader’s attention span

Bullet points work. So how do you use them effectively? Bullet points should be informative, persuasive, and brief. If your bullet point is a full paragraph, you might as well not use them at all. If you were summarizing the main highlights of each point for someone else, those are the nuggets of information you want your bullets to hit.

Along with providing target-specific scenarios to help create compelling reasons to stick around for your sales pitch, figuring out your target market will also help you figure out what kind of voice you should be using for your writing.

If in your VA business you primarily serve coaches and internet marketers, you may want to use a different voice when speaking to each. Greater results will likely be found by speaking to them separately.

A younger crowd tends toward slang, humor, and snappy arguments when they decide what they like. A middle-aged crowd is much more compelled by firm, intelligent, authoritative arguments for your product or service. Using a sassy tone may work great if your target market is a young crowd, but it may backfire horribly if you use it for copy intended for octogenarians.

Keeping an eye on your language in deference to your target market is smart too, and we’re not talking about swearing. Certain phrases or catchwords are great for the right market, but can come off as condescending, insulting, or just plain confusing when you direct them toward the wrong market. If your target market is lower-class economically, for example, telling them that your new service will help them fund their 401k won’t be received the same way as it would if you said the same thing to Wall Street executives.

Have you defined your target market?

If your answer is yes and you believe it is defined as entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, you are unfortunately wrong.

Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs are NOT the target market for your VA business.

It really is that simple.

Your target market may be coaches, copywriters, marketers or lawyers, (all of whom can be entrepreneurs and solopreneurs) but it is definitely not all of them. Do you see the distinction?

These questions can help narrow down your target market from the generic “everyone” to “single, middle-aged women living in major urban areas who like golden retrievers.”

• What’s the age range of my target market?
• What’s their socio-economic status?
• What is their gender?
• Where and how do they spend their free time?
• Where do they work?
• What kinds of publications do they read?
• What other products do they buy frequently?

Add as many questions onto this list as you can think of. The more you can narrow your target market down, the more specific you can be when coming up with compelling arguments for the product or service you’re writing for.

Bear in mind that not all of these questions need to narrow down your target market. If, for example, your market is of both genders, don’t be discouraged. Think of what the entire target market has in common (the entire target market prefers organic groceries, for example), and you’ll have a compelling hook to draw them into your copy.