Darrell Vesterfelt and Tim StoddartIs your fear of selling keeping you from where you want to go?
Selling is part of business — but it makes a lot of us nervous (especially writers, I’ve noticed). I think that’s because we have skewed “Glengarry Glen Ross” ideas about what effective selling truly looks like, and we don’t understand the structures that pave the way to a sale.
In this 23-minute episode, I talk about:
- The myth of “selling ice to Eskimos”
- The single factor that makes most of the difference when you’re trying to sell
- Why people don’t buy, and what to do about that
- The mechanics of selling
- What to do when you’ve made the offer and they don’t pick it up
Listen to Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing below ...
Getting Over the Fear of SellingSonia Simone
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The Show Notes
Important: Our Certified Content Marketer program typically opens only once or twice a year. If you’re interested in getting involved, get your name on the interest list right away by dropping your email here: Copyblogger’s Certified Content Marketers
- If you’re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — swing by StudioPress.com for all the details.
- My Copyblogger post on What Effective Selling Looks Like
- Some thoughts on emotional benefits in copywriting …
- … as well as logical benefits that close the sale
- One of the more important “mechanics” of selling with words is the Call to Action
- Beth Hayden’s recent post on writing well-converting sales pages
- I’m always happy to see your questions or thoughts on Twitter @soniasimone — or right here in the comments!
- Here’s the link one more time to learn more about our Copyblogger’s Certified Content Marketers
I’ve struggled with the idea of selling in the past (still do when it comes to selling myself) in part because I see so many sleazy, gross attempts to sell. I don’t want that icky feeling when pitching my own services or clients’ products/services.
It’s so true, though, that it doesn’t have to be that way if you focus on the audience’s needs. Thanks for the reminder.
As a side note, I was glad to see the title of this episode because I assumed there would be a mention of the Content Marketing Certification at the end. (It’s the sort of meta element I’ve come to love from Copyblogger.
I’m interested in the course, but I’m not entirely sure it’s for me yet. I’m transitioning into freelance writing full-time with a focus on content marketing strategy. I feel that I have strong writing skills and a distinct voice. I’m still working out my positioning, though. Any thoughts on that?
The program is really kind of designed for you. 🙂 (And for folks who have already made the jump but aren’t satisfied with their client list yet.)
Brian and I talk quite a bit about positioning literally from the first week. Whether you go with us or not (of course I hope you will!), I think it’s smart to carve out that positioning as a content strategist in addition to the actual writing.
You might or might not use the term prominently in your marketing. Some (many) clients don’t know they need a content strategist. What they know is that they’re glad to find someone who understands the purpose of blog content, who knows how to structure persuasive copy, who has solid strategies for getting email marketing delivered and read, who has a plan to put it all together effectively, etc.
Thanks, Sonia.
I just signed up (I think I already knew I was going to). It’s a big investment for a new freelancer, but I probably already owe you and Copyblogger that much for all the free content I’ve received from you guys.
I’m looking forward to the training and the transition into strategist, which is more how I see myself anyway.
Very cool, I’ll look for you inside the program! Thanks for your note. 🙂