One of the most important things you can develop with a potential client is name familiarity.
If you reach the point where a marketing director or business owner recognizes your name and has a positive response when they see it, you’re in a great position.
That’s because, even if they aren’t exactly sure who you are, if an email shows up in their inbox from you, and your name is familiar to them in a good way, they’re going to open that message and read it. Chances are high they are even going to respond.
That’s how conversations get started, how relationships build, and how eventually, you’re first in line when they need whatever kind of writing work you do.
So how do you develop name familiarity?
The first thing to accept is that it takes time. It also takes some consistent effort.
But beyond that, it isn’t hard, and there are a lot of things you can do.
The first step is to pick who you’re going to focus on. This is often the hardest part. It takes some research time. You want to make a list of 10 or 20 companies you’d like to work with, and then figure out who the best contact is at each company… which takes more research.
You can send an email to the info@ address asking who the best contact is. Sometimes you won’t get a response to that message, but a lot of times you will.
You can do a LinkedIn search for marketing professionals at the company. If you do this, I recommend following whoever is the most active on LinkedIn.
Once you know who you’re focused on, the next step is to start building that familiarity.
Do this by commenting on their social media posts and, if the posts are good for your audience, sharing them.
If the company has a well-written blog that your social media connections would find interesting, share their blog posts to your social media, and tag the person you’re getting to know.
Send them emails thanking them for things they’ve written that have been helpful to you. Go the extra mile, and send them a handwritten note.
If their company makes the news (in a good way), send an email congratulating them on that.
Make every point of contact unique, thoughtful, and helpful to them. If your comments or emails sound canned, you won’t get a good reaction. But if you sound like a real human reacting to something their company has done, you’ll start to build some affinity there.
When they’ve responded to you a couple of times, the next step is to send them an idea. They’ll open it, for sure. They may not say yes, but they’ll read it, and it’s very likely they’ll send you an answer, one way or another. Even if they say no, keep at it. Send them well-thought-out ideas on a regular basis. Eventually, you’ll start getting some yeses.
Another thing to keep in mind about name familiarity is that it’s good to act fast when opportunities come up. So, outside of your focus list, if you meet someone at a networking event or get into a chat conversation with someone during a virtual event, follow up with them quickly… while your name is still fresh in their mind. You don’t need to pitch yourself at this point. Just let them know you enjoyed meeting them and would like to connect further.
Name familiarity is one of the biggest overlooked marketing assets you can develop. Give these ideas a try and see if they don’t lead to more conversations… and more projects down the line.
New on the Site
Were you born to write? Whether you answer that question with an enthusiastic yes or a more hesitant shrug, you can develop your writing chops and earn a living with this craft. These seven steps from Jen Flatt Osborn will have you writing better in no time.
Strategic mirror scheduling takes the stress out of knowing what you need to talk about — and when — in order to convey your value to your clients consistently over time. It gives you a cohesive approach, yet allows for creativity. Suzanna Fitzgerald digs deeper into this concept in her latest Reality Blog.
And, in case you missed our Monthly Member Update last week on writing stronger subject lines, the video and transcript are available. You can watch that here. You’ll also find site highlights from the last month as well as answers to some common web-writing questions.
Mark Your Calendar
March 10 (Thursday): Many of you tried your hand at our newest Practice Assignment, to write a blog post. The live review of selected submissions is coming up. Even if your entry isn’t selected for review, this is still a great way to hone your blog-writing skills. If you want to write blog posts for yourself or for your clients, you won’t want to miss this.
March 21: Have you heard of UX copywriting? It’s a type of copywriting that prioritizes the user experience… and it’s also one of my very favorite kinds of writing. In this live event, I’ll walk you through what one possible user experience project might look like. You’ll see how to evaluate an email sign-up process for UX and then how to write the necessary elements to create a better experience for the user and a better result for your client. I can’t wait to show you how fun UX can be! Details will be posted soon.
Around the Web
This SEO split test shows how even a small change can bring you a nice boost in traffic.
In our world of mobile browsing, the inverted pyramid style of content is gaining traction — get right to the point, then expand with more detail.
Need to convey a lot of benefit in a small space? These power words can help your copy work harder.
And here you’ll find a variety of writing techniques you can start using immediately to strengthen your content.
That’s all for now. Make it a great week!
