You’ve just delivered your finished and approved web page, blog post, or special report draft to your client, and they’re delighted.
It’s been a fun project with a great fee for you. Well done!
So, what happens next?
Do you collect your fee, wish your client well, and move on to other clients?
Not so fast!
This is the magical moment when you can pick up momentum with your just-delighted client.
“This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
— Casablanca
No single client project is an island.
When you complete a blog post or web page or email series for a client, you’re doing more than just delivering that one item, of course.
You’re beginning a beautiful, ongoing cycle of online-copywriting opportunities… because every single project is connected to some other web page, action, next communication, etc. And all those things require content that works.
Think about it. Even if there’s just one hyperlink on a web page you wrote for your client, it leads visitors to another page or resource. And, what’s on THAT page? Does that content need help, too?
Most often, the answer is YES.
Now that you’ve proven your worth by delivering a clean, well-written project on time, it’s the perfect opportunity to make the most of your momentum.
Let’s look at three easy steps for doing just that.
– 1 –
Confirm that your client is happy with your digital-copywriting work, as well as your professionalism.
As you close the books on that single assignment, say something like this to your client:
“Based on our conversations, I’m assuming you’re happy with how this project turned out. I’d love to know if you agree. Do you mind letting me know?”
Now, this does two things:
- It will likely prompt your client to send a lovely reply, a testimonial you can use in your marketing (with the client’s permission, of course).
- But also, it opens the door for you to follow up and offer something else. But, before you do that…
– 2 –
“Audit” your client’s online-marketing efforts to see how they guide prospects toward a purchase and what happens after the sale.
Look at where your just-completed project leads people. For instance, did your new web page link to a product sales page? Or a free-demo invitation? Or something else that moves the prospect along the buying decision path?
This AWAI article talks about your project opportunities through four stages of the customer journey. You can use this chart from the article to see how your client publishes information for all four stages…
This will help you identify one or two logical “next-step” projects that might be missing or could use improvement.
For instance, if you just wrote a series of ads that link to a sales page, can you possibly improve the sales page itself?
Or, if you just wrote a sales page, what happens when the customers clicks BUY? Does your client have an inviting “Welcome” email series, customer newsletter, “how to use” demo video(s), and other useful content?
Another example: You’ve just written a blog post for your client. This may be a good time to review your client’s other blog posts and see if there might be customer questions you can answer in a series of new posts.
Pick one project category to offer your client: the sales page, the welcome emails, the blog series.
And then…
– 3 –
Propose your next-step project
that’s an easy YES for your client.
After following the first two steps, this one should be comfortable to carry out. Email your client a thoughtful proposal that shows you care about their business success.
Here’s an example:
“Hi [Client Name], I noticed that the new ad series I wrote for you lands on a sales page to generate paid subscriptions. I have three ideas that could make that sales page much more powerful for you, boosting subscription rates. Here’s my proposal for enhancing that sales page.”
Now, if the client already likes and trusts you — imagine they’ll be happy to review your proposal and say YES to having you improve their sales-page results.
After that, keep going! Every business needs to continually publish marketing copy and content that WORKS, such as:
- Refreshed/strengthened existing web pages
- New web pages, as your client introduces new products, services, or other features
- Banner ads, still quite popular and effective (Focused landing pages are the heart of any successful promotion, and your copywriting skills will be perfect here.)
- “How-to” guides or tours that help prospects and customers understand how something works or how to benefit from it
- Blog posts, where new content is posted regularly, at least once a week
- Videos that help your client demonstrate products, offer how-to tips, introduce the staff and culture, and so forth
- FAQ pages that provide great answers to the most common questions asked by customers
- Happy-customer case studies that include an account of the problem, a description of the solution, and the outstanding result, complete with a strong testimonial from the customer
- Special reports and white papers
- Emails of all kinds
- Ongoing e-newsletter issues
- And so much more!
The sky’s the limit!
Wow — see where one client project can lead you?
I have several clients who’ve been with me for at least 10 years (and even as many as 29!). Some are web clients, some are e-newsletter clients. Some ask me to create special promotions, and some ask me to manage their entire annual digital-content plan.
In each case, we’ve come to know each other very well, and we have a great time developing new promotions and content. We count on each other as we work hard to make our businesses perform well. So, it’s a win-win for us both.
Give those three steps a try, whenever you complete a client project. It could lead to a long, beautiful, and lucrative relationship.
