International Association of Professional Ghost Writers

Speaker: Beverly Bergman

Event Date: August 31, 2010

The Queen of Copywriting, and Founder of Copywriting For Coaches^TM and the International Alliance of Female Copywriters (IAFC) will reveal her secrets to generating more qualified leads on your opt-in landing page (Squeeze page) to fill your pipeline as a ghostwriter.

In this class,we covered:

Message from Mary Anne

Greetings, fellow ghost writers:

Those of you who subscribed to this newsletter months ago may have wondered whether I had disappeared off the face of the earth (something that, I suppose, is entirely within the realm of a ghost’s natural abilities, yes?). But no, I’ve been around, mostly working on writing and editing projects, and thinking about various ways I could bring more value to International Association of Professional Ghost Writers membership.

And then I thought, duh, why not just ask the Invisible Ink readers what they would like to see the IAPGW do or offer? Yeah, yeah, I can be a little slow on the trigger sometimes.

So I’ve designed a super-quick survey that I hope you’ll take a few moments to complete. You can find it at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JLQGLJM. To see what benefits the IAPGW currently offers, go to http://iapgw.org/member-benefits.

I look forward to reading your input.

To your success,

Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director

Feature Article:
How to Turn Website Visitors into Clients

© 2010 by Mary Anne Hahn

You’ve begun to see an increase in traffic to your ghost writing website or followers to your blog. People have begun to check out your services because they came across an article you’ve written, heard you speak somewhere, found you on a social media site, or learned about you from a friend or colleague. Something about your message or personality made them want to know more about you and your services, so they clicked on your URL.

This means that your marketing efforts have begun to pay off. But if that’s true, then why aren’t more people actually contacting you to talk about their project or obtain more information about working with you? To answer this, start by taking a good look at your website or blog to see if one or more of the following factors is the culprit:

1. You don’t provide enough detail on what services you offer. Exactly what kinds of writing services do you do? Do you offer any packages? How are you unique from all of the other ghost writers out there? Be as specific about your services as possible and be sure to include samples of your work so that potential clients will know whether you are a match for them.

2. You don’t provide enough detail on what kinds of clients you work with. Trying to be all things to all people will most likely get you nowhere. Everything from marketing strategies to setting rates gets immensely easier when you focus your efforts and content on specific types of clients.

3. You don’t describe the problems that working with you would solve. Can you help someone tell his or her side of the story? Get them greater visibility online? Put their extensive knowledge of a complex subject into layman’s terms? The more specific you get about the needs of your potential clients and how you can fill them, the more likely you’ll develop services and Web copy that resonates with them.

4. You don’t provide visitors to your site with a risk-free way to get to know you better. Maybe your site visitors have considered hiring a ghost writer, but are not yet ready, willing or able to do so for a variety of reasons. Offering a free newsletter, report and/or e-course is a terrific way to capture the email addresses of potential clients and keep your name and services in front of them.

5. You don’t provide visitors to your site with a risk-free way to contact you. Many people have an aversion to picking up the phone and calling a complete stranger, or fear that they’ll get a hard sell if they call; on the other hand, they would happily complete an online form or send an email outlining the project they want to do and asking questions about your services. Be sure that your email address is prominently posted throughout your website, or that your form is easy to find and complete. Also, offer a free, no obligation initial consultation via phone, email or instant messaging, which lets your potential client choose the contact method he or she is most comfortable with.

So while helping people find your site is an important and ongoing strategy, you also want to generate visitors’ interest in what they see there. Make sure you’re putting your virtual best foot forward via your website and/or blog by addressing each of the issues listed above. Your bank account will appreciate the effort.

Upcoming Events

Stay tuned for the schedule of upcoming speakers and topics. Also, I will be participating in a telesummit for freelancers in October. Details coming soon!

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