Good news; one of my copywriting invoice-dodgers has broken her alleged 2-month vow of silence, claiming that “the check is in the mail.”

Although the real proof is in the pudding, I tend to believe this client because this is the third time I’ve done work for her and she did pay for the other two jobs. (Although I will say that it took a fair amount of hounding before she finally coughed it up for the second assignment.)

I don’t know if people are total train wrecks or what. Maybe they think that if they don’t respond to your invoices, you’ll eventually go away?

What’s your experience with bad payers? I was thisclose to handing my two problem children from February’s billing cycle over to a collections agency. (I have another guy that I may still do this with.)

Let me just review the series of events that took place here:

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A good copywriter should be well practiced in the art of perspective jumping - not just in your marketing communication, but with your client relationships as well. While I was always pretty good at hopping into the minds of my own clients… I was never so tuned in to them as when I began outsourcing aspects of my own marketing.

Here is my take on what small business clients not only want, but desperately need from the people who we outsource our jobs to.

“The Small Business Client Wishlist” from Dina at Wordfeeder.com.

Small business clients wish that service providers would take the initiative.

I know that many freelance professionals wait there passively, thinking “Well, if my clients needed my services, they’d call or send an email.” The truth is that sometimes business owners can’t catch their breath long enough to say what it is that they want, let alone map it out in steps.

I guarantee that the next freelancer of mine who appears in my email inbox and asks for work WILL get it, even though right now I have no idea of what that assignment will be. Believe it; small business owners are THAT busy. If you’re looking for work, just say so. Clients do not spend time wondering how much work you do for other clients. We just like to know that you’re available for US.

Small business clients wish for marketing without ego.

Being on the flip side has allowed me to experience the unspoken friction that happens when clients make copy changes that copywriters don’t appreciate or agree with. There are two occasions where the copywriter has the right of way in this situation. One, is if the copy changes that the client implements might affect sales. (Let’s say the client deletes the call to action or deletes their own URL - yes it happens.) And two, if the client accidentally says something in the copy that blatantly makes them look unintelligent.

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The first year you do business online, you’ll love the convenience of instant payments by PayPal. But then your business will grow a little more, and some customers will ask you to pay by credit card. You must upgrade your PayPal account in order to offer them this.

Once your account is upgraded, PayPal will help themselves to a wee little service charge for every transaction you make. Bank-account-to-bank-account payments incur one fee, and then credit card payment fees are even higher. The regular PayPal fee is 2.9% plus .30 USD. I forget what the credit card fee is; I think I blocked it out.

Gradually though, as your client invoices grow larger, you’ll see more and more money being deducted from what they pay you. You might think, “Oh, it’s such a such a small amount.” But what if I told you that you’d be making $70,000.00 this year? And then what if I said that I was going to take out of that $2,030.30, for no real reason. You’d be disappointed, right?

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As a copywriter, I work with a lot of coaches and consultants. Although I’m not a podcasting expert and have no intention of becoming one, I often think that many of them would benefit from hosting speaking events and interviews on their websites. This is easily accomplished via podcast.

Next week, Leesa Barnes (pictured to the right) is giving a FREE class on How Podcasting Can Help You Stay Profitable During an Economic Slow Down.

It’s scheduled for Wednesday April 16, 2008 @ 8pm EDT.

I don’t listen to audio very often because many people who run podcasts are unqualified due to their horrible sounding voices. (Oops, did I really say that out loud?)

Leesa Barnes, however, always grabs my attention because her vocals are smooth like buttah and she always over-delivers with her lively and engaging presentations.

I promise, you’ll learn a lot from Leesa Barnes. So if podcasting compliments your business and you want to know more, check out Leesa’s class.

More details are available here.

- Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

Popularity: 12% [?]

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Two years ago or so, I began to realize the immense value in outsourcing portions of the marketing to other service providers.

For example, when I first arrived on the web, I was handling every aspect of article distribution for my clients; writing the articles, researching the best places to submit them, and then opening new article accounts.

As my client base grew, I learned that this was not the best use of my time. So I gradually began assigning portions of the work to others who specialized in this area so I could focus strictly on the writing. My clients are aware that I do this; it pleases them, because their work gets done faster.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

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Simon Payn, the real estate newsletter expert, has posted a great piece on Copyblogger about how bloggers can take a copywriting tip from the news writing world.

The Word Wrangler gives a lesson on thoughtful link placement in your web copy and why it makes a difference in whether people stay to read your stuff.

There is a must-read feature on how to reduce tax stress next year (yes, it’s not too soon to start thinking about 2008’s return) from David Bohl of Slow Down Fast.

Steven Snell spins opportunity cost around the freelance way of living and working over at Freelance Switch.

Alan Johnson cautions Dumb Little Man readers on the Five Business Decisions You Will Absolutely Regret. (And he’s right - a few of these have been my own regrets - but in keeping with number 3 “not having an open mind,” the good news is it’s all totally revisitable no matter how old you OR your business is.)

Enjoy the Sunday buffet. Blueberry muffin, anyone?

- Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

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Two months ago, I worked for two copywriting clients who for some reason decided not to pay me. This is such a rarity in my life that I keep thinking there has to be a valid excuse. Maybe he died! Maybe she had a family emergency!

Truth be told, neither is probably the case. What shocks me even more is that the one client was a referral from a web design partner whom I trust.

I guess when other people lower their standards, you get pulled down as well. I came to learn (after the fact) that the designer who worked with my non-paying client was doing a project for him “last March” but then he suddenly disappeared for six months before returning to “finish” his website.

I assumed she meant that he paid before he skipped town; after all, I’m thinking who in their right mind would agree to do work for someone who doesn’t pay you?

Maybe I’m wrong though; the story was “fuzzy.”

(Maybe this is what happened to my client!)

Regardless, I’ve decided I’m going to put this guy, and the other woman who owes me money, into collections. I’ve contacted an agency called Your Collection Solution. Their policy is, if they are unable to collect the money from the client, then you don’t owe them a dime. If they do get the money, you pay something like 20 or 25%. For the real details, go to www.yourcollectionsolution.com.

I’ve had the good fortune to meet smart, honest people online who take our professional relationship seriously. They treat me with respect for my expertise, pay on time, and are always open to new ideas on how we can work better together.

I really, really appreciate that.

As for these two deadbeats… well, I’ll keep you posted on what happens with the collections agency.

Freelancers, have your own issues with delinquent payers? How did you handle it?

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

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My good friend and colleague Ann Zuccardy of the Vermont Shortbread Company prefers to do business with people with whom she’d just as easily sit down with for a meal and some good conversation.

In this new age of forming relationships with customers, it would seem the ideal situation - a client or business partner who is also your friend.

Do you agree?

I’ve thought long and hard about this, recalling the many faces of coworkers past and thinking of the people who I worked best with, versus those who I became close with on a personal level.

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What is a brand image? Is it a logo? A slogan? A color scheme? A provided service?

The simple answer is, yes, it’s all of the above. But it goes beyond that. A lot of businesses have slick logos or catchy slogans, but go unnoticed. So let’s take a look at each individual item and see how it fits with your overall brand image.

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I received word from Mitchell Levy of HappyAbout.info that there will be a teleseminar on how to get a book published - scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, April 10 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time.

An excerpt from his message:

If there is one thing that’s more important than any other in terms of building credibility that attracts the media, and clients, it’s being an author.

Putting the title author behind your name is similar to putting the title Ph.D. It’s amazing how the perception people have of you changes. It’s amazing how much easier it is to be heard. It’s amazing how much easier it is these days to publish than it was just 1-2 years ago.

Don’t miss this teleseminar where we’re speaking with book publisher Mitchell Levy (Happy About: http://happyabout.info ) who is going to talk about what you can do to get your published book in 3-4 months and be remarkably successful.

Call details:

Thursday, April 10, 2008
2 p.m. Eastern time
1 p.m. Central time
Noon Mountain time
11 a.m. Pacific time

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it, as I’ve got quite a lot on my copywriter’s plate this week. But if you attend, please let me know what great things you learn.

Thanks,

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

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