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Lisa Orrell, The Promote U Guru 
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5 Things Your Freelance Sales Writer Must DeliverJuly 18th, 2011Hi All! The following blog is a guest post courtesy of Debbie Feldstein, a freelance non-fiction writer based in New York City. For more than 20 years, she has provided imaginative, unique, and persuasive copy in the form of press releases, brochures, sales letters, and autoresponders. She has authored dozens of books, reports, and articles on effective sales and marketing. Among her ‘best sellers’ are How to Use Social Media Marketing to Attract More Prospects, Make More Sales and How to Create Information Products. For more information, please visit www.creativeblocks.com or send a message to oddball@creativeblocks.com. Plus, I can personally vouch for Deb’s talent because she has been the Editor for my 3 books! She really is fabulous and great to work with. Okay! Let’s jump into Deb’s article: 5 Things Your Freelance Sales Writer Must Deliver The Internet makes it easy to find and hire freelance copywriters. But the question many entrepreneurs and small business owners face when they want to outsource their copywriting needs is this: How do I know which copywriter to choose? (My short answer is ‘Choose ME,’ of course.) If you don’t know anything about the product you’re buying, then it’s tough to get a good deal. For example, if you don’t know diddly about cars, you may end up buying a Yugo instead of a Mercedes. One way to ‘look under the hood’ of a potential hire that you want to handle your business writing is to ask them in their proposal if they know (and can deliver) the 5 essentials of a good sales message. Anatomy of a Conversion-Oriented Sales Message Whether it’s an advertisement in the Sunday paper, a postcard, an online sales letter, a television commercial, or even a flyer stuck under the wipers of an automobile, an effective pitch always includes these elements. To assess skills, ask your copywriter to provide portfolio samples of: ***Headline – A headline should be unique, powerful, and convey the biggest benefit of using a product or service. ***Body Copy – The body copy should be an emotionally compelling recitation of what the consumer will receive and needs to do. ***Social Proof – Testimonials and endorsements, prove that an offer is what you claim. The problem is that many testimonials and long and rambling. (Ask your copywriter for a sample of a before-and-after testimonial that he/she has edited.) ***Guarantee – Guarantees should remove risk so that the consumer has no fear of disappointment. ***Bonus – Offering something of additional value (“But wait, there’s more!”) should transform a sales offer from ‘good’ to ‘irresistible.’ ***Urgent Call to Action – Procrastination kills profits and, unfortunately, prospective buyers may be likely to put aside offers to act upon at a later date. Ask your copywriter for an example of a statement that tells a consumer how to place an order, with an incentive for them to act quickly. Important note: When asking for a sample of these various elements, it is appropriate to request something from the writer’s portfolio. It is NOT appropriate to ask your as-yet-unhired writer to do work ‘on spec’ and deliver samples based on your specific project. Unscrupulous entrepreneurs (and you don’t want to be one of THOSE) sometimes ask numerous copywriters to provide on-spec samples. Then they simply cobble those samples together to create their own sales message, without paying any of the writers whose creativity they are pilfering. Your prospects are waiting for you. And so are the talented copywriters that can help you turn those prospects into buyers. Go for it! Thanks, Deb, for the great advice! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa
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