A freelance copywriting proposal will come in handy when you’re looking for work. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, a small business owner, or an agency boss, you’ll find use for this flexible proposal format. As the name suggests, a freelance copywriting proposal is usually crafted by a freelance copywriter. It will cover different aspects of your business, such as your objectives, the target audience, and most importantly, the services you offer. In this article, we’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of crafting a brilliant copywriting proposal.
The Essentials
Before you can start crafting the proposal, you’ll need to gather some basic information about your target audience and the business you’re proposing to write for. First, identify the key people and groups of people you’ll be targeting with your proposal. To do this, simply list the demographics and psychographics – such as age, gender, and location – that will influence your decision to buy a product or service. Having information on these demographics and psychographics will give you a good idea of who you’ll be writing for and what they want. Keeping these factors in mind while crafting your message will make it more effective.
The Purpose Of The Proposal
The proposal’s purpose is to provide the reader with enough information about your business and the type of content you create to convince them to entrust you with their marketing and sales efforts. When crafting your proposal, bear in mind that the reader is typically a business person or an individual who has some decision-making authority. Therefore, your proposal should be concise, yet comprehensive enough for them to make an informed decision about your services. In practice, a great proposal usually has three parts:
- An introduction
- A short summary of your expertise
- A detailed description of the services you offer
The Product / Service
The product (or service) is the physical (or digital) item your client will receive upon purchase. For example, a real-estate agency’s product would be a residential property, while a law firm’s product might be a bundle of legal services. When it comes to a freelance copywriting proposal, your product (or service) is the collection of materials you’ll deliver to the client, such as a website copy or an email marketing campaign. Your product should be familiar to any existing or potential customer that is exploring your services. Having a clear picture in mind of what your product is, and how it will benefit the reader, will make the writing process much simpler.
The Competitors
The competitors of the business you’re writing for are the other companies that provide similar services to your target audience. If you’re writing for a particular business or industry, then you’ll need to do some research to identify the competitors and find out what sorts of services they offer. The purpose of your proposal is to persuade the reader that you’re the best choice for the job. To do this, you need to show that you’ve done extensive research into the problem your target audience is facing, and that you’re the only person who can solve it. Most importantly, you need to convince them to entrust you with their marketing and sales efforts. In practice, great proposals usually include a section that compares your offering to those of your competitors. This is especially useful when the customer has limited knowledge about the subject matter.
The Features Of Your Product
Your product (or service) has various features that make it unique and of high quality. These features should be described in the proposal. There are four parts to a great product feature:
- An honest and in-depth review of the product
- An unique selling proposition (USP)
- An explanation of how the feature is beneficial to the target audience
- A demonstration of how the feature will make their lives simpler, easier, or more pleasant
The Advantage Or Benefit To The Target Audience
The advantage or benefit to the target audience is the part that explains how your product is useful or beneficial to the people who use it or purchase it. The advantage or benefit is typically in the form of a question and answer style of writing, where you state the question, provide a solution, and then conclude with more questions. In a nutshell, the reader is typically a person who is searching for a solution and expects you to provide one. Your proposal must include this aspect, regardless of whether you sell a physical product or provide a service. In practice, the greatest advantage or benefit to the target audience is usually a combination of education and convenience, such as saving people money, providing access to expertise, or making an already complex process simple and straightforward. Remember: Your product’s greatest advantage or benefit to the audience is what gives it value. It’s the difference between creating a solution that is convenient, and creating a solution that is convenient because it’s been designed to meet their needs.
The Marketing Plan
The final part of the proposal is the marketing plan. This is a list of the strategies you’ll use to get the word out about your business. When crafting your marketing plan, you should write down all the possible ways you might promote your product or service. You don’t need to follow all of them, but you should include some ideas of what you’ll try, and why you think it will work. Your marketing plan should be concise and should cover all the major areas of promotion, including online and offline strategies. To succeed as a freelance copywriter, you’ll need to be able to craft a top-notch proposal, and the great thing about these documents is that they’re flexible enough to be used for different purposes. This makes them ideal for those who are just starting out, or for those who need a little extra help with their marketing efforts. Whatever your reasons for wanting to write a proposal, having a plan will help you get started, and then it’s simply a matter of following through.
As you can see above, a great deal of information can be covered in a single proposal. It might seem like a lot of work to write one, but remember: Information is power. Having all this relevant information at your fingertips will put you in the perfect position to land your next marketing and sales job. Before you know it, you’ll be writing for your favorite companies, enjoying the freedom of freelance copywriting, and benefiting from the connections you made along the way.