Business Archives • FocusCopy®

#1 Mistake Female Entrepreneurs Make In Their Businesses

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / September 7, 2023 September 7, 2023

After speaking with hundreds of female entrepreneurs and watching my personal journey as a female entrepreneur closely, there is one mistake female entrepreneurs make above the rest.

If you’re like me, this one mistake…

Limits your ability to stretch yourself and get things done
Forces more tasks onto your already neverending to-do list
Increases stress and burnout levels beyond what is healthy

And the mistake female entrepreneurs make is…?

The need for control.

Yep, we’re going there but don’t worry! We’ll talk through why having control can feel so important AND why following that feeling can hurt your business more than you may know.

Ready to stop sitting on all of your business copy that’s still in draft mode? Schedule a discovery call with us to get started!

Where Does The Need For Control Come From?

One of the main challenges female entrepreneurs face is setting up unrealistic and irrational expectations. You may be familiar with this if you’ve ever felt the need to do it all. As expert multitaskers, women often feel the need to be able to juggle multiple responsibilities at once without fail. But this frame of thought can end up creating more problems than solutions. Ask yourself a few simple questions…

Do I often or always feel the need to do it all?

Do I delegate tasks to those I trust around me?

Am I quick to ask for help when I need it?

Many female entrepreneurs believe that having control and doing it all themselves is the best way to conduct business. But if you find yourself burned out, exhausted, uninspired, or overwhelmed, having too much control can actually limit your success. Take a look at why this may be and how to let go.

Why Is Control Limiting Growth?

Just because we can control it doesn’t mean we should or that we’re the right person to do so. When you don’t lean into your own personal superpowers, you spread yourself thin over all the other tasks. Pushing yourself into overdrive once or twice to get everything done is one thing. But if you find yourself unable to…

Delegate to your inner circle
Meet self-set deadlines
Let go of perfectionism
Stick to a healthy work/life balance

…Then that sense of control is costing you time, money, and your mental health.

Reflect with us for a second…Are you sitting on copy you’ve written for your business that has yet to be published (or even edited)? Copy for your business is one of those tasks that you can (and should) delegate to the experts. Otherwise, your copy continues to sit untouched for as long as you promise yourself that you’ll get to it one day.

We see it all the time as copywriters, and you should know that you are not alone.

Psst! It’s okay to let go a little (or a lot). Talk to us today and get your business copy brewing.

How To Overcome The #1 Mistake Female Entrepreneurs Make

Female business owners generate $1.8 trillion in revenue for the U.S. economy. By questioning your need for control, we’re not questioning your power as a female entrepreneur – that impact is clear (and don’t you forget it).

However, the need for control could be limiting you from reaching your true earning potential and future opportunities. Breaking free from this thought process all starts with step #1…

Step 1: Identify You Are A Control Freak

Hi, I’m Lauren Jefferson and I’m a control freak. Hi, Lauren!

There’s a reason why AA has you identify yourself and that’s because when you say it out loud, it becomes real.

I’ll be honest with you. Telling yourself (or someone else) that you’re struggling is no small accomplishment. But you should know that it is just that – it’s an accomplishment to identify your feelings and ask for help moving forward. It sounds so easy to do. Yet, female entrepreneurs (like me) struggle with it regularly.

If you’re still here with me, let’s practice doing this together. Breathe and then say out loud (or to yourself), “Hi, I’m Your Name, and I’m a control freak.”

Hi, I’m Lauren and I’m right here with you!

Now that we’ve done that together, let’s try shifting the way we think about controlling every aspect of our business to construct a fruitful future.

Step 2: Gain Perspective

Your authority, leadership, and vision all work together in your favor as a boss and business owner. But what many female entrepreneurs don’t realize is that being a leader also means being able to trust your employees, partners, and team members to clear your plate of necessary tasks that don’t need your immediate attention.

When you don’t entrust the people you hired to do what you pay them to do, they may feel worthless, not needed, or even like they can never succeed under your leadership. Yikes! No one wants to feel that.

So expand your perspective on how others perceive your control tendencies and how it impacts their role in your business.

“The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.”
Chris Pine

This week, work to prioritize the items on your to-do list while delegating other tasks. This will help you get them done without stretching you beyond your limits.

Step 3: Build Accountability

You need a team to call you out – especially if you’re prone to making the #1 mistake female entrepreneurs make. That could be your spouse, employees, business coach, bookkeeper, friend, strategic partner, etc. But first, you need to confess to them and tell them how they can help you out. A few common areas of accountability female entrepreneurs need assistance with include:

Organization
Scheduling
Setting clear expectations
Tweaking processes
Transparency

Be honest with yourself and pinpoint your areas for improvement. Then, share your challenges with someone who can help you remain accountable.

It’s hard to let go. It’s also hard to hear criticism from those you respect. But gaining feedback from those you trust to set you up for success is one way to thrive as a business owner AND allow those you care about to grow and problem-solve on their own, under your direction.

Step 4: Recognize Real Wins

Always late to appointments? Pat yourself on the back for a full week of on-time meetings and phone calls.

Behind on replying to emails? Treat yourself to a glass of wine with dinner after you’re all caught up!

The point I’m trying to make?

It’s hard for female business owners to celebrate success when it doesn’t feel perfect. I understand that, however, I also know that you deserve to enjoy every milestone (even the smaller ones). Give yourself grace when times are challenging and give yourself praise for meeting various goals.

Step 5: Start Small Then Grow Big With Letting Go

Maybe the thought of giving someone else complete control over your Instagram is too much to handle right now. That’s okay! You can start small by thinking about the minor tasks that don’t need your full attention.

Remember the accountability list above? Find small to-dos that you can pass on to others in your inner circle and delegate away! It doesn’t have to be awkward to hand over something you need help with. If you’ve chosen the right people to lift you, they won’t have a problem stepping in to support you and your business when you need it.

As you get more comfortable delegating tasks, you can move on to bigger responsibilities that take up too much of your time. Think email and social media scheduling, sales calls, blog posts and publishing, etc.

Let The Control Over Your Copy Go & Avoid The #1 Mistake Female Entrepreneurs Make

Female entrepreneurs spend so much time writing, rewriting, and holding on to copy that never seems to get published. This is a huge problem if your website, social media, landing pages, and blogs either don’t reflect your current business OR have the right information but never get published.

If it isn’t online and up-to-date, it doesn’t exist for your target audience. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Breathe – you’ve got this! Get help from a team of professional digital marketing copywriters to bring your business to center stage.

We’re your copy shop barista to support your growth goals. Let’s talk shop!

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FocusCopy Turns 4 Years Old (PLUS 7 Lessons We Learned In Our Fourth Year In Business)

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / August 16, 2023 August 16, 2023

We’ve graduated.

Well, not really. But it kinda feels like it as we celebrate our fourth business anniversary today – August 15, 2023. You spend 4 years in high school, 4 years in college. 4 years seems to be the amount of time it takes to establish foundational knowledge and feel confident about being fully sufficient.

But as we go into year 5, we’re now stepping into mastering business so that we can better serve our clients, offer more to entrepreneurs, and lead business owners to more success.

So here is our annual letter, giving you a deeper understanding of what the lessons we learned in our fourth year in business and what we’re doing differently going forward.

Want to see the other lessons we’ve learned over the years?

Read Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3

The Year 4 Mindset

Year 4 for me as a business owner has been one of deep reflection. What am I doing that is causing more stress and unrest? Where can I find more enjoyment and space? Who do I want to be as a wife, mom, and business owner?

So this year’s mindset has been one of cultivating a CEO, authority leader, and person that I can be proud of putting my name on.

7 Lessons We Learned In Our Fourth Year In Business

Ready to skip the learning curve and take your business (and life) to the next level? Read the 7 lessons we learned in our fourth year in business.

1. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Are you like me and overcomplicate everything?

I’m constantly thinking of the best way to accomplish a goal, even if it requires 245,420 steps. My genius solution suddenly becomes overwhelming – even plaguing. And nothing happens.

You get me? That’s why my word of the year is SIMPLIFY.

In every single thing I do, I aim to simplify. Simplify processes and to-dos at home, in my relationships, in my business, and in every other aspect of my life. What I’ve seen is…

Better conversations
Less stress
Deeper relationships
More progress
Increased enjoyment

2. Optimism Is Not A Business Strategy

In addition to overcomplicating, I’m an eternal optimist. I tend to see the best in people (even if my gut tells me otherwise), set ambitious and often unrealistic goals, and lie to myself when things are going wrong by saying “it’ll be fine”. This year, I’ve learned that optimism is not a business strategy.

In fact, relying solely on optimism without having an actual strategy to back it up will put you in financial ruin, unmanageable stress, and an overall sticky situation. While being positive is generally a good thing, don’t be afraid to pull back the curtains and give your business a hard look.

3. Enforcing Contracts Is Key

My late mentor, Jim Wilkinson, would always say a contract is only good if you enforce it. The problem is that when you are a people pleaser and understand the struggles a business owner goes through, it can be difficult to impossible to enforce the terms you both have agreed to. For me, that was invoicing and collections. And we all know that cash is king in business.

To give me the confidence and wherewithal to enforce, we got new contracts drafted that made it easy for me to follow. And I had someone else other than me collect. This allowed me to keep the client relationships how I wanted without crippling my business.

4. Assign People To Call You Out

When making big changes in your behavior – such as simplifying or not being too optimistic in decision making – you need accountability. That’s why I’ve employed people in my life to call me out when I need it. That can be your bookkeeper, your spouse, or a mentor. Give them the authority to give you the real picture – no matter how harsh it may be. You won’t regret it, even if it stings in the moment. Your business will thank you!

5. Create Space In Your Schedule

The first 3 years in business, it was all hustle and grind. Back to back meetings. Tight, tight deadlines. Little to no flexibility in scheduling. And while I’m thankful I made those sacrifices to bring FocusCopy to where it is today, I didn’t start the business to become a slave to it.

And I don’t think you did either when you started your business.

So my goal was to create more space in my schedule. That included:

Taking a weeklong vacation where my team handled everything without needing my help
Doing more for me and my family in the middle of the week
Adding more buffer time in between meetings to allow me to do the tasks I needed
Blocking my daily schedule for tasks like marketing, emails, sales, etc.
Reflecting on where I need to grow, what I wanted to do, and how to achieve my dreams
Setting up my business so that I could take a maternity leave with my firstborn

Whatever this next year looks like for you, create a schedule that works for you – not what everyone else is seemingly doing.

6. You Can’t Operate A Business To Pay Everyone Else Besides You

Remember how I mentioned that you should employ people to speak into your life? This was one of the harshest lessons I personally learned this year: you can’t operate a business to pay everyone else besides yourself.

One of my friends and a fractional CFO frequently tells her audience – CEOs – it’s time to pay yourself. And there’s a reason for that! When you don’t pay yourself, you aren’t rewarding yourself for your hard work. You, instead, effectively become a slave to the business.

Even if you can’t pay yourself a market salary, pay yourself something – $100, $500, $1,000… Whatever it is, process that payment at least on a monthly basis. You’ll be in a much better position to lead your company.

7. Don’t Survive Off Of Performing

This last lesson is one that has really impacted my life in the past month or so. In July, I gave birth to my son totally unmedicated. This was something I got in my head a long time ago and with the support of my incredible husband, we were able to achieve our goal of a healthy delivery without the assistance of any medication. Call me crazy!

While in the hospital and when we came home, we received comments from our support team like:

“I’ve never seen an unmedicated labor.”

“Wow! You can actually walk. We don’t see many of those.”

“I’m so impressed with you.”

“I could never do what you did!”

And I got that in my head! So a couple of days later, I picked up a laundry basket full of clothes…And I injured myself. It didn’t matter that I had done something so difficult earlier that week. And I started getting down on myself because it didn’t matter how I performed. I couldn’t keep going at that level for a prolonged period of time. Nope, I had to rest and really rest. That meant relying on my husband, friends, and family to do tasks for me while my body slowly healed.

So if you’re like me and thrive on positive feedback, create a practice of pulling back and relying on others to help you. This will prevent the dreaded burnout that so many business owners face in their first couple of years in business.

Year 5, Here We Come!

Our very first client at FocusCopy was Go Savvy – a purpose-driven event planning and promotions company. Since then, its founder Savannah Becerril has become a friend and a strategic partner. I told her that once we hit our 5th anniversary, I want to host a party to celebrate that accomplishment. It’s a big deal to not only survive your first year of business, but to come through that first year during COVID and make it to year 5…We are celebrating that win!

If you want to come along for the ride, join our insider’s list where we send out regular copy tips, business lessons, and resources to enhance your business. Subscribe here.

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10 Client Red Flags To Watch Out For When Marketing

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / August 8, 2023 August 15, 2023

Are you aware of the most common client red flags to watch out for when marketing for your business?

Here’s a shared experience most professionals are familiar with…

If you work with people across multiple industries, you’re likely aware of exactly what it is that makes you tick. We’re not simply talking about clients that are difficult to work with as those clients offer challenges to help us adapt and grow as writers. Nope, we’re talking about clients with bold, unapologetic, blazing red flags you want to avoid entirely.

With over a decade of experience marketing for many clients, we’ve (nearly) seen and heard it all before. Whether we’re reflecting on corporate experiences or those as a small business, client red flags aren’t always visible right away. But, there are a few client red flags to watch out for when marketing for a company that you may be unfamiliar with.

Here’s our take on what we observe when working with new clients.

Psst! If you need copywriting for your business, we’re only a discovery call away! Schedule your discovery call now.

It’s Okay To Reject Some Sales: 10 Client Red Flags To Watch Out For When Marketing

Do you wish marketing client red flags were more…obvious? You may be missing out on these telltale signs that someone is not a right fit for you and your business.

1. No Respect For Your Time

We aren’t too firm around here about micromanaging our time. We strategize and acknowledge client expectations to determine what we do in a day. We’re also human, so running a bit late or canceling in emergencies is completely understandable – and we account for incidents like these, too.

However, when a client doesn’t respect your time, it usually becomes obvious right away – especially when it comes to meetings.

If you think time might be an issue for your client, ask yourself…

If they are late or no show to a meeting, do they try to apologize and reschedule?

Are they late or do they not show up a little too often?

Do they go MIA after skipping meetings and remain unresponsive?

Sometimes, a meeting is necessary for quality work. But this isn’t the only way a client can show a lack of respect for your time…

2. Expectations Are Unreasonable & Non Negotiable

Aside from scheduled meetings, do your client’s expectations align with your expertise, skills, and education? When it comes to copywriting, we sometimes deal with:

Too tight timelines
A queue of consistently rushed projects

Let’s be clear – we will turn copy around quickly and are happy to expedite for clients that we know trust us and our skills. But rushed new projects typically take away the time we need to research, plan, and execute properly. Seeing too many of these lets us know it’s just not going to work out because we cannot feel completely confident about the quality of work we’re delivering.

We do our best work when there’s time and bandwidth for our copywriters to follow our process and get the deliverable done. And it would be wrong to knowingly deliver low-quality work to simply complete every task. In this case, negotiations and flexibility are key to working well together. Without the opportunity to meet in the middle, your chances of success and satisfaction with your copy are lower.

3. There’s Always A Fire To Put Out

Speaking of rush jobs, we get it. Clients can end up in a bind and really need your support to see them through. And, make no mistake, you are there!

But what happens when 9 times out of 10, this particular client always seems to have a fire they need to put out with your immediate attention?

Diving into daily rush jobs is no way to run a business.

This should prompt you to ask, “How is this a sustainable way to operate for my client?”

It likely isn’t.

4. They Treat Those Around Them Poorly

Whether you’re on a video call or in a shared chat, it’s healthy to notice the way your clients treat those around them. We’re not talking about the attitude that comes from having a bad day (we can forgive and forget). We’re highlighting behavior that isn’t acceptable in any type of professional or personal setting like:

Sexual harassment (no!)
Racist or discriminating remarks (double no!)
Blatantly rude comments
Yelling
Swearing
Aggressive behavior

If your former kindergarten teacher would be ashamed to see it, it’s probably not the type of behavior you want to deal with regularly.

5. Word Travels Fast

Pay attention to industry-related buzz. You can learn a thing or two from those who have worked with a potential client before. Hearing from a disgruntled employee is one thing. But be hyper aware of conversations about your client that have one or several similar things in common like…

Late or missed payments
Legal troubles
Inability to work with others
High turnover

Lookout! Problems like these have the potential to cut into your revenue stream, draining your resources.

6. They Simply Won’t Pay

You don’t need to overthink it. Clients who are routinely unresponsive to communications about missed or late payments won’t change just for you. The truth is that you’re probably not the only vendor having trouble collecting payment. But if you have completed the work required using company time and resources, you deserve to be paid. Period!

7. No Loyal Vendors

If you notice a routine pattern of your client hiring and firing vendors, don’t be surprised when your services end up on the chopping block. It’s a huge red flag for a business without a handful of reliable vendors or other professional partnerships in their corner.

Ready to build your relationship with copywriting professionals you can count on? We’re SO in!

8. Bad Customer Reviews & Responses

Similar to word-of-mouth feedback, it helps to look at Google reviews, Glassdoor, Yelp, and Angi (Angie’s List) for authentic customer and/or employee reviews. Take note of recurring complaints to weigh the pros and cons of the marketing relationship challenges you may face moving forward together.

Bonus Tip: Read their direct responses to negative customer reviews. Replies that are disrespectful and avoid addressing the customer’s problems with empathy are red flags.

9. They Favor The Blame Game

Having the ability to own up to one’s actions and mistakes is essential for business owners. If a client can’t or won’t hold themselves accountable, they may start to play the blame game. This means that they may be quick to point a finger at their own employees, co-workers, or even customers before taking accountability for themselves. And they won’t likely make an exception to give you grace when you need it.

Yes, some mistakes are costly! But it takes everyone working together to remain focused on the task at hand, address problems fast, and offer solutions even faster.

10. Your Gut Is Telling You NO

Occasionally, deciding whether or not to cut off a client relationship can come down to your gut feelings. If something feels off, it might be best to listen to your instincts before moving forward. Do you like working with them? If not, think about what it is that makes you uncomfortable.

Also, communicate with the people you surround yourself with. If your team doesn’t enjoy working with a certain client, take the time to listen and find out why. They may end up saying something you’ve been feeling all along.

Beige Flags That We Love

What’s a beige flag?

We’re glad you asked! A beige flag is a characteristic or habit someone has that is valuable and should never be taken for granted. A few examples include…

Giving a head’s up about meeting or scheduling issues
Showing passion for the work they do
Sending OOO notifications
Constructive collaboration and criticism
Words of appreciation

Having clients we love to work with AND for makes copywriting so much fun!

Big Takeaways About Marketing Client Red Flags

There is no clear-cut way to establish whether you should or shouldn’t work with someone.

Our advice for client red flags to watch out for when marketing?

Include a red flag policy before deciding to work together. You should never have to compromise for anything less than mutual respect and the basic ability to be professional with one another.

Phew! Now, get back to business because you’ve got this!Need copy that speaks to your brand’s vision? Schedule a discovery call!

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How To Use Networking Events To Convert Leads & Improve Your Business Writing

Business, Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / March 6, 2023 March 6, 2023

Networking…We know it’s the key to a successful career. Small business owners know this more than anyone…And it’s a lot of pressure. You’re trying to grow an entire business, all while navigating crowded happy hours. The connections you make can lead to potential customers or profitable partnerships, but how do you take advantage of these opportunities?

While you might thrive in normal social situations, networking is a different sort of beast. How are you supposed to build a genuine connection with someone while you’re looking for the right opportunity to share your elevator pitch? Don’t worry! It’s not uncommon for confident speakers or even lively extroverts to struggle at networking events.

Building connections in your business life doesn’t have to feel like you’re a door-to-door salesman, endlessly reciting your memorized sales pitch. There are easy strategies you can implement that will allow you to make the most of your networking events, improve your business writing, and create potential leads.

In order to get the most out of your networking events to convert leads, you have to:

Take control of the conversation
Offer valuable advice
Get vulnerable
Identify new pain points

4 Steps To Making The Most Of Your Networking Events

Your networking events can help you grow your business – if you have the right conversations and follow up with those conversations after the fact.

Do you have strong, converting copy to send to your networking contacts? Schedule a call with the FocusCopy team to learn how we can help.

Take Control of the Conversation

Taking control of the conversation means asking questions and directing the conversation. In our experience, the more you get the person you’re chatting with talking, the better the outcome. After they talk enough, they’ll naturally flip the script and ask you questions – usually what do you do?

And you better be prepared to respond with an elevator pitch. No, we don’t want to hear a canned response. We want to hear a custom and succinct pitch that responds to everything you just heard from your networking partner.

Don’t Be Afraid To Get Vulnerable

Even as you take control of the conversation, it’s essential to dig deeper. Surface-level conversations are not going to do anyone any good. That’s why you need to express a little bit of vulnerability. Sharing some of your “scars” increases the likelihood of the other person becoming vulnerable.

And when there’s vulnerability, there’s a developing relationship.

Here are a couple of questions to dig deeper:

What is the biggest problem you’re facing in your business right now?
What are your biggest goals?
How does [insert what they are doing] drive you?

Make Yourself The Expert

As you’re listening to the other person, it’s important to find opportunities to insert lessons learned, resources, and/or contacts that would help that person find success quicker. Obviously, you don’t want to be a know-it-all, but it could look like this:

It’s amazing that you’re launching digital courses! How are you marketing those courses?
You have a great company name. If you haven’t already, I’d get that trademarked. Let me know if you need an introduction to a great trademark attorney.

When you offer help or support, you establish yourself as the expert. More often than not, you become known as the person who knows people. This is a very special place to be!

So what are the benefits of this strategy?

You have a boosted brand image as being a helper
The people you help will want to return the favor and help you
You feel good about serving without expecting anything in return

Need help positioning yourself as an authority in your industry? Contact FocusCopy to learn how to build credibility in your copy.

Identify Pain Points To Use In Your Business Writing

Of course, this wouldn’t be a FocusCopy blog if we didn’t touch on writing!

As you listen to people in your networking events, take note of the following:

Their pain points
The way they are phrasing their problems
What they actually want or need to solve that problem
The help they’ll actually accept

All of those points can be used and crafted into really effective copy!

And when you apply it to either written copy or another elevator pitch, you’ll be shocked at how people respond to it.

Transform Your Conversations Into Effective Copy

Networking events were actually how we discovered the core problems we solve. People weren’t that interested in improving conversions on their copy (shocking, I know). But what they were really interested in was how we could take the one marketing task they despised or took way too much time off their plate. If you’re ready to take what you’ve learned from your networking events, let’s have a conversation about how we can apply it to your messaging. Schedule a call with the FocusCopy team today.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

How To Increase Your KLT Factors In Your Business Without Investing Too Much

Business, Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / February 28, 2023 February 28, 2023

Ever wonder how some start ups gain traction so quickly, seemingly without much effort? Or see a competitor who offers a slightly lesser quality offer than you and is more successful?

It can be frustrating, but when you look at the root of their success…

…Their success doesn’t stem from having the best product, most innovative delivery method, or even the most affordable price.

It’s because they show up with clear communications that are authentic, genuine, and human.

They’ve effectively built out their KLT factors better than you – for now – and you’re seeing that impact.

So what are KLT factors and why do you need them to grow your business?

What Are KLT Factors?

The KLT in KLT factors stands for Know, Like, Trust.

Have you ever heard the phrase, people only do business with people they know, like, and trust? That rings so true, even in today’s digital landscape. If you’re able to persuade a stranger on the Internet that they know you deeply, you are much more likely to get them to like and trust you.

Where companies go wrong in their marketing is when they take all their personality out of it. There’s nothing human about how they are showing up in the world. Instead, their audience is seeing a blob of technical terms and general communications. They aren’t able to make the connecting point between the solution and why they should invest in that company.

Why Do You Need To Consider Adding KLT Factors Into Your Marketing

As you look at or build your strategic plans, it’s important to view your marketing from the perspective of your target customer. Do they truly know you from what you’re putting out into the world? Is it easy to like you? Is there even something to like? What about you can they trust in?

When you don’t strategically add in any KLT factors into your marketing, you’re leaving big money on the table. You’re also not creating a reason for your existing customers to stick around. They are more likely to move to a different brand that resonates with them a lot more.

If you need a couple of examples of brands we love that display their KLT factors clearly, check these out:

H-E-B (the best grocery store)
Astros (check out their social media; it’s amazing!)
Chalene Johnson
Jenna Kutcher

7 Ways To Increase Your KLT Factors

Want to increase your KLT factors? Try to use at least one of these 7 methods.

Using Your Customer’s Words

Speak your target audience’s language. A lot of the business owners we come across struggle with their copy. Our question is usually, when was the last time you had a conversation with your audience and actually listened to their pain points?

Schedule a coffee with your favorite client and/or a prospect, and simply ask questions. Get them to talk about their business, their struggles, and what they wish they could fix in their business. Then use their exact words in your marketing copy.

We had a much different headline on our hero banner when we first launched our website. Surprise, surprise…The energy we put into it wasn’t working because we hadn’t listened to our target audience.

Very quickly, we came to the conclusion that almost every client either didn’t have time to write copy or struggled to write it (usually because they don’t like to write).

So what did we do?

Use their words in our marketing.

Hosting An Educational Type Event or Workshop

When you offer up yourself and provide content that your audience wants in an interactive environment, you are able to move much more quickly through the customer journey. That journey is taking a complete stranger and transforming them into an advocate for your business (the very last stage of the journey).

We’ve been educating on a one-on-one basis since the foundation of FocusCopy. But in 2023, we decided that it was time to break out boldly and teach.

That’s why we developed the How To Develop Your Workshop Content class in partnership with Go Savvy (February 2023) and are planning on several more workshop events throughout 2023.

Expressing Some Vulnerability

Vulnerability appears in many forms. But in its purest form, it’s expressing something that may put you in a weak position. And what can that do for you? Connect with your target audience on a human level.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness. If it doesn’t feel vulnerable, the sharing is probably not constructive.”
– Brené Brown

Sharing Your Story

And speaking of vulnerability, one of the best ways to do that is by sharing your story. We all have a story. And the world needs to hear it.

No, it doesn’t need to be some dramatic story. So avoid comparing your story to others. It’s not a competition.

But what you do need to be is honest with your story.

How did you get here?

What changed that led you down this path?

What were some big or hard lessons you learned?

Showing Your Face Consistently

Another experiment that’s been conducted – especially on social media – is that when you show your face, you increase your engagement rates significantly. So post or share videos, images, photos, etc. of yourself on your marketing mediums.

And no, stock photos will not help you increase your KLT factors.

Knowing Your Values

Know your values and stick with them. A friend recently posted on LinkedIn that he was to announce his support for a few things that conflicted with his values in order to take part in a big event. He made the ultimate decision to pass on that event because he didn’t want to neglect his values. I already knew his value and trusted him as a referral source, but his stepping out like that increased his KLT factors dramatically.

Know your values and don’t compromise them for any reason. There is always enough business to go around.

Sharing Your Knowledge

Lastly, share your knowledge. That could be information, insights, strategies, resources, etc. Whatever it is, find how you can educate and inform your audience.

Ready To Increase Your KLT Factors?

To be in the know for our next workshop event, click here to join our email list.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

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How A Copywriter Boosts Your Business Growth

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / August 19, 2022 August 31, 2022

Does owning, operating, and growing your small business ever feel like a whole lot more than what you signed on for?

As a fellow female entrepreneur and small business owner, I can 100% relate!

Plus, FocusCopy has worked with over 90 different brands across 4 countries. So I see firsthand how other business owners experience this, too.

But did you know you can outsource a big chunk of your to-do list to a copywriter?

This is a professional who will take your ideas and strategically implement them into your marketing – which means you can get your much needed sleep with one less to-do keeping you up at night.

Plus, an experienced copywriter can boost business growth with converting copy that will help your brand messaging get noticed by the right people.

6 Ways High-Quality Converting Copy Can Take Your Business To The Next Level

For you to see meaningful business growth, your target audience needs a few things from your first. From knowing you exist to trusting that you’ll meet (or exceed) expectations, it’s all critical. And it all ties into your copy’s brand messaging.

Boost your business growth with expert copywriting in your cup. Reach out today and book your discovery call.

1. Allows You To Focus On What You Do Best – Running Your Business!

Do you know who understands your industry, business, and brand best?

Pssst…it’s you!

That’s why your focus should always be on doing what you do best. And that is running your business!

When business owners get caught up in tasks they’re not confident in or don’t enjoy (like writing), time seems to slow down. Just a few minutes feels like an hour. You can’t seem to turn what’s in your head into digestible copy that you feel comfortable putting out into the world. Then, when you finally decide to push the writing aside, you’re too flustered to continue through your to-do list.

Hand off the copywriting tasks to the experts and focus on your strengths while we focus on ours.

2. Identifies Your Target Audience & Their Pain Points

Copywriters do more than write about your brand. We dig into the details with research. This allows us to learn who your target audience is and what they want from your business.

Good copy offers a solution to your reader’s problems at a personal level. When they see that you can make their lives easier, they notice!

This is why at FocusCopy, we strategically craft copy that speaks to your customers’ needs. To do this, we emotionally connect with your readers.

This requires a special skillset of getting to know your customers and how to relate to them. For instance, did you know the right use of power words and persuasion principles (like repetition) can help you convert readers into paying customers?

We have a lot of writing tricks up our sleeves. Are they obvious if you don’t know what to look for? Nope. And that’s the point. Our carefully and strategically crafted copy reads easily and organically.

3. Builds Your Brand’s Credibility

Sometimes, you can have all the right words and a prospective client is still too hesitant to work with you. It makes sense because if they don’t know you, why should they trust you?

This is why building credibility into your website is so important.

Whether you are a B2B or B2C company, your customers are at risk when investing their money in a new-to-them business. How do they know you’ll deliver what you promise? And how do they have confidence that your product or service is a worthwhile investment?

The FocusCopy team knows how to wager your credibility to put your readers’ minds at ease. Some of our favorite credibility factors include:

Brag about the well known entities that trust your business (but not in a tacky way!)
Show off your certifications and awards
Give the social proof that readers want with testimonials, case studies, and even some in-person networking action
Link your mentions in the press, the podcast episode you appeared on, and any instance you were publicly recognized as an authority figure in your industry
Offer a guarantee or warranty to hedge any risk that prospects may feel

However, there is a science behind establishing credibility. You want to keep it customer-focused. Because news flash…readers don’t care about you. They care about what you can do for them.

4. Keeps Your Brand Messaging Consistent

Want to know the easiest way to confuse and turn off prospective customers? It’s easy. Infiltrate your brand messaging with inconsistent copy.

It’s no coincidence the word focus is in our name. After all, we have loads of processes that ensure the copy we write is clear and focused on the objective. And with our clients, that means writing copy that will convert readers into paying customers.

One of our favorite processes is our brand voice guide. We’ve developed a questionnaire that allows us to zero in on a client’s tone, emotion, and overall voice. And this also gets deep into the details of each client’s ideal customers. Because, again – it’s not about you. It’s about finding and converting the people that want to work with you.

5. Helps Your Ideal Customers Find You

Customers have to know you exist before they can even consider working with you.

Word of mouth speaks highly of your business in social circles. But you wouldn’t be brainstorming marketing ideas or even reading this blog if you were content with your current number of customers. To be successful, you have to break out of that circle and share your products and services with the world.

One of the best ways to do that is through search engine optimization (SEO). However, effective SEO requires continuous research to keep up with Google’s never-ending algorithm.

You are busy running your business, so dedicating time to learning SEO and keeping up with its constant changes isn’t something you want to add to your to-do list. That’s where FocusCopy comes in!

We strategically place effective keywords into our copy to help our clients’ websites appear higher in the search engine results. Don’t you want your business to be the first to appear when someone searches for your product or service? Of course you do! Because you can’t count on your ideal customers to sift through pages of search results to find you. That’s why we make it easy.

6. Ensures Quality Copy That Will Actually Convert To Sales!

Did you have someone proofread your last social media post, email newsletter, blog, or website copy?

More importantly, did the proofreader catch any glaring errors?

Or did they respond with a sweet, “Looks great!”?

While compliments are nice to receive, you need someone who will catch your writing errors and not be afraid to speak their voice. Otherwise, your ideal customers are going to be the ones who notice. And they’re not likely going to take the time to let you know.

At FocusCopy, we are constantly evolving our processes and adding to our documentation. Each piece of copy is crafted with care and then sent on to another professional writer to edit with their fresh eyes and perspective. Nothing is sent out without at least two professional copywriters scouring the page. This allows us to produce quality copy every time. And with that consistency, we are able to raise our client’s Google ranking and convert their readers into paying customers.

Boost Business Growth With FocusCopy On Your Side

Do you know your brand messaging needs help but don’t know where to start?

We’ve got you covered.

Whether you enjoy or loathe writing, we can help you craft the perfect message and get it to the people looking for your solutions. FocusCopy offers done with you and done for you services. We even have an awesome course to guide you through writing your own website!

Ready to give your business the buzz it needs? We’re here to help. Get in touch and let’s talk about how we support your business growth with quality copy.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

FocusCopy Turns 3 Years Old (PLUS 7 Lessons We Learned In Our Third Year In Business)

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / August 15, 2022 August 15, 2022

3 years ago today, Stuart Broderick and I co-founded FocusCopy. We both realized that copy is the most critical part of all marketing and sales. However, it’s the one thing that most people either hate to do or don’t have time to do.

After talking with dozens of entrepreneurs over the last couple of weeks (including many who celebrated their third business anniversary this year), we concluded something…Year 3 is by far the hardest year.

Maybe it’s the turning point from chaotic start up to sustainable business…

Maybe it’s the fact that you’re no longer putting out fires and instead building on your foundation (requiring a different skillset)…

Whatever it is…Year 3 pushed me further than I thought it would.

In what’s becoming our annual tradition, here are some of the key lessons we learned this past year. Hopefully, this helps you avoid some of the mistakes we’ve made so you can go further, faster.

If you haven’t read them before, here are our Year 1 and Year 2 lessons learned blogs.

The Year 3 Mindset

If you’ve talked to me recently, you know that over the last year I’ve struggled with burnout. It started last July when we had our biggest month ever in the business. All of the sudden, 3 months went by without me noticing how my time was spent. I woke up on October 1 and realized that I had not sold anything in 3 months.

As an entrepreneur, that’s practically a death sentence.

Thankfully, we found the business and the support to make it through 2021 alive.

2022 was a different story though…I realized that I was falling into the transactional mindset – closing business for the sake of growing revenue. When I realized how wrong that mindset was, I reset and focused on building the right relationships.

We’re a different company than we were last year. We (or really I) have battle scars and some bruises. But we’re stronger and looking forward to what Year 4 has in store for us, our clients, and our strategic partners.

7 Lessons We Learned In Our Third Year In Business

While FocusCopy was never in a failing position, the term failing forward has never seemed so prevalent. Because if I hadn’t made the necessary pivots and learned hard lessons, I don’t think our business or team would be nearly as strong as it is today. But I also believe in learning from others’ mistakes to avoid repeating in your own life whenever possible. So I hope you take my third year lessons with more than a grain of salt, because there’s enough business for us to all succeed together.

Feel like commiserating or ready to perk up your copy? Reach out to me here and let’s give your brand messaging the extra espresso shot it’s craving.

1. It’s Okay To Pull Back

Entrepreneurship has this toxic hustle culture attached to it. It’s something I’ve known about for years, and frankly…I despise. But there are times when I fall into the trap and overcommit myself to networking, sales, clients, marketing, projects, and life in general. As we’ve seen over the last year, it resulted in burnout.

Even if you set goals for yourself and your business, I’ve learned that it is okay and actually encouraged to pull back for the sake of your mental health and the health of your team.

In the throws of burnout, I still kept up with the same pace (albeit with a little less energy and gumption). I wonder if I pulled back earlier that I would have nipped the burnout in the bud before it became a year long battle.

2. A Fish Rots From The Head Down

One of my favorite mentors and people, the late Jim Wilkinson, used to say, “a fish rots from the head down.” While there are many other variations of this, including the tone starts at the top, this version gets to the point quicker. If you – the entrepreneur or business owner – do not take care of yourself, you will rot your life and your business. Guaranteed.

Especially in the past couple of months, I kept asking myself…”Am I rotting or thriving right now?”

If my answer was the former, I spent more time with affirmations, counseling, support, and prayer. In order for me to lead my team well, they needed me to be in the best shape of my life.

It’s a heavy weight being an entrepreneur. With 2 full time employees (plus my and my co-founder’s family), I am responsible for putting food on their tables and keeping a roof over their head. To be truthful, it’s my greatest fear to let my team down. That’s one of the many reasons why I like my mentor’s Jimism the best – it paints the picture clearly and with disgusting imagery that’s hard to ignore.

3. Focus On Positive Self-Talk (& Build In Accountability Partners)

One of the ways I found myself “rotting” was with my self-talk. I was and am my own worst enemy. It would shock you the evil things I would say to myself. Thankfully, only a few trusted people (including my sweet husband) heard my negative self-talk and brought it to my attention. I hadn’t realized the toxicity I had let build in my head.

But thanks to a few people (including my husband, my counselor, and my best friends), we redirected any negative self-talk into something positive. It could be as simple as reframing the sentence into something life-giving.

But when I started actively speaking positively, the change was almost instantaneous. I didn’t battle the deep depression or anxiety like I had before. I was able to be more productive and supportive. I was a better person, wife, entrepreneur, and strategic partner.

If you are struggling with negative self-talk, ask the people close to you to bring it to your attention when they hear something negative. Then redirect the sentence immediately in a positive manner. Use these as an example…

“I suck as a business owner…” → “I’ve managed to never skip payroll ever and I’m working on creating something long-lasting.”

“I failed at x, y, z…” → “Now is not the right time for me to invest in x, y, and z; however, I am going to invest in a, b, and c. When the time comes, I’ll go back.”

“This person probably thinks I am the worst…” → “I know my worth and what I’m working on. I don’t need someone’s opinion to define who I am.”

Let me know what you think about this strategy or if you have any helpful strategies you’d be willing to share.

4. Not All Money Is Worth It

Like I said before, not all money is worth it. Business is not worth stealing your energy, joy, or sanity. Unfortunately, those shiny pennies are attractive. But for the sake of myself and my team, we made the decision that we need to be more attentive to the clients that we take on as well as the clients we don’t take on.

This whole mentality also supports my belief that there is no competition. There will always be enough business to go around.

For example, I’m working with several marketers in Houston as we collaborate and support each other. There is another content writer in the group, Lauren McDowell of Foreword. While that may seem like a clear conflict, we learned very quickly that we have the potential to be business besties. You see, she loves to work with institutions, franchises, and marketing teams; she also loathes working with entrepreneurs. Us on the other hand…We will work with entrepreneurs all day everyday. That’s what fuels us to be better writers and strategic partners to our clients.

5. Document Everything (Including Your Job)

I’m a little morbid. Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced life and joking about the hard stuff is what makes it easier to move forward. But ever since I experienced what happens to a company when the founder of the business died and didn’t have any documentation, I’m adamant that everything needs to be documented – even my own position as CEO. If something were to happen to me – get hit by a bus or win the $1.2B lottery (because we’re thinking positively) – I want to ensure the continuity of FocusCopy, my team, my clients, and the impact we’re making on women-owned businesses.

How do we do this?

If you’re doing a repetitive task at the moment, write out each step then and there. Have someone else test it so they can actually replicate it afterwards.
Record all team meetings and have someone on your team take notes while you’re educating. Continuing education is a big part of our culture at FocusCopy. At least twice a month, we host trainings on specific topics. Every single time, there is documentation that comes out of it – making it really easy to scale our processes.
Have someone follow you and take the notes for you.
Ask…What else would a stranger need to know in order to run this business? Don’t assume anything. Even if it’s how you prefer to write your follow-up emails, schedule social media tasks, etc., document it.

6. Automate & Systemize Everything

For the first two years in business, we used the Hubspot Free CRM and Mailchimp. And while those softwares – the CRM and email service provider – were great and helped us build out our contact lists, my main focus over the last year was to simplify. Naturally, I overcomplicate everything. It’s how my brain is wired. If you give me a problem, I can think of 1,000 different ways to solve that problem.

But burnout taught me that I needed to focus on simplification.

P.S. It’s definitely a God thing that the word “focus” is in our company name. It’s constantly reminding me to focus on the things that move us forward and forget about the things that don’t bring value.

Anyways, we ended up investing in Keap Pro to take our existing list, build email automations for every single process in our business, and get ready for us to build the education side of our business (by the way, that was one thing we had to pull back from in Year 3 – even though it killed me to do it).

What are the results? We’ve built our database from about 300 active emails to almost 1,200 in about 8 months. We’ve also built automations for the following things:

Networking and following up with networking contacts
Long-term nurture campaigns
Contact information updates (tags, custom fields, etc.) to keep our data clean
Marketing and conversion funnels
Testimonials
Sales tasks
Sales pipeline management

And that’s just the start of it…

Again, ask yourself if something is repetitive, how can you automate or systematize it?

7. Build Your Email List

If you are relying solely on your social media for engaging your audience, you’re leaving BIG money on the table. Building your email list is more than increasing the number of contacts in your list. It’s also about increasing the value of the contacts in your list.

Sustainable List Building

If you’re in a list-building sprint, here are some strategies that have helped us add 900 names in just 8 months. Keep in mind, these are contacts we want, not just emails for the sake of higher numbers.

Create lead magnets. If you want to check out some of the resources we’ve created, click here. Think of lead magnets like free resources that will leave your readers wanting more. Providing value free of charge helps build credibility and gives potential clients a glimpse into what it will be like working with you.

Create a subscribe list to send your email newsletters to (see below). P.S. If you want to subscribe to our list, click here. And remember that not all email newsletters are the same. When you add bits of useful information readers can implement into their own brand messaging, it’s amazing to see the click-through analytics afterward.

Link your calendar to your email list. Every single strategic partner I have a networking meeting with gets put into the email list. They then can opt-in to our email list. But I also send them into automations for specific events – following up for networking meetings, etc.

Strategic List Nurturing

If you’re in a list-nurturing sprint, here’s what we’ve done…

Launch a 52-week long term nurture campaign. Before you say that I’m crazy, listen. In sales, there’s going to be points where someone isn’t ready to buy. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to stay top of mind. I have several people that disengaged with our sales process in December 2021. While I would probably attest that because of my very transactional mindset at that time, they weren’t at the place where they were ready to invest in copywriting. And that’s okay. But I really wanted to work with them…Eventually.

So with my team, we created 52 emails (we batched each quarter’s emails ahead of time so it wasn’t too overwhelming). After I created the campaign, I identified ~160 people that went cold or we’ve had a conversation before without any sales prospect. I didn’t see any results the first couple of weeks. Then someone I had last connected with in February 2020 (2 years prior) responded and wanted to create a massive marketing plan. A couple of weeks later, two people that had disengaged in December reengaged.

These emails were high-value, educational emails. Often, I wouldn’t even include a sales call to action in them. Because if my recipients weren’t ready to work with us, I didn’t want to work with them.

Send regular newsletters. Whether you send weekly, bimonthly, or monthly newsletters, that regular engagement is a powerful tool to stay top of mind. In addition to the long term nurture campaigns, I would often receive follow-up emails from prospects, inactive clients, and strategic partners.

Year 4, Here We Come!

From acknowledging my vulnerabilities to dialing in on my strategies, I know that I’ve put in the work for a successful fourth year of FocusCopy. We’re going to continue to do the leg work to be the go-to copywriting firm for the clients we want to work with. Because, like I mentioned above, working with the wrong clients or those that aren’t ready isn’t helpful to anyone.

Today, however, my team and I are going to clink glasses and celebrate how far we’ve come. Because in the midst of the chaos of being an entrepreneurial business owner, what’s the point if we’re not celebrating our milestones?

So here’s to your company and mine.

Together we can do great things, hold each other accountable, lift each other up, and be strategic partners who thrive knowing there’s always a shoulder to lean on.

Cheers to Year 4!

Want to talk copy shop? Get in touch with me here.

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Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

7 Ways Copywriting Helps Businesses Reach Their Goals Swiftly & Profitably

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / August 10, 2022 February 28, 2023

Interested in learning more about the ways copywriting helps businesses? For some business owners, writing their own copy isn’t a huge undertaking and the words come easily. However, to others, copywriting is a dreadful task.

One of the most common things we hear from our clients is, “I hate writing.” We get it! Even though we’re passionate about what we do, it isn’t always our favorite cup of ~~tea~~ java every day either – haha!

However, deciding you don’t need a professional copywriter is a huge mistake. 86% of professionals agree their audience judges their brand negatively if they see errors in their copy. In fact, 72% of people will judge a business based on their business cards alone. Think about it – are your business cards giving too much or too little information? What about typos or incomplete addresses and phone numbers?

Even if you’re a great writer, having a copywriter on hand saves you from having to do it all yourself.

Ready to improve your business’s profitability with copy that converts? Get started with FocusCopy.

Why Businesses Need Strong Copywriting In Marketing & Sales

As we learned with COVID and eventually the virtual overload, you cannot be all places at all times. Copywriting helps you get your pitches down in writing so you can help your customers move along their customer journey without ever having to get in your car or hop on a Zoom meeting.

One of the most common problems businesses face is customers calling to ask for information that your website should quickly answer. Look at your website and social media if you experience repeat calls asking the same questions. Is the information clear across all platforms?

If not, a copywriter can rework the information and streamline its readability to keep your potential readers motivated to take the next step in the buying process. A copywriter can also help you create other cohesive and engaging assets like flyers, posters, emails, newsletters, etc.

Do you need one or all of the above assets? We can help!

How Copywriting Helps Businesses Grow & Scale

Here are 7 ways copywriting helps businesses and adds value to your marketing assets.

1. It Builds Customer Relationships

Most people buy from businesses they feel they know and trust. But building a real, trusting, and beneficial relationship between the customer and your business takes work.

If you have trouble connecting with your audience, hiring a professional copywriter allows you to focus on your goals using long-term techniques.

A copywriter can help bring you and your customers together by giving them the information they need without placing too much pressure on them to make a decision right away. Using a carefully planned campaign is how copywriting helps businesses attract new customers and keep them coming back for more until they’re ready to make a purchase.

2. It Extends Your Brand Recognition & Reach

As more people connect with your words, they will likely remember who you are and suggest your company to other people. Think about it this way, I’ll bet you know each of these companies by just their tagline or motto alone…

Ever heard…Just do it?

What about…What’s in your wallet?

And no one will soon forget what “the breakfast of champions” means.

Great copy shouldn’t be underestimated. Even without billions of dollars, local businesses continue to make a name for themselves through great copy. And it’s because they put extra effort into their writing and understand its long-term benefits.

3. It Pushes Your Target Audience Through The Customer Journey

Part of any ideal marketing copywriting style includes the ability to appeal to a particular audience to get them to buy. Because writers tend to work with various clients, it’s also important for your writer to be able to use their writing to connect with your customers genuinely. A few tactics copywriters use to relate to your customers and encourage them to make a purchase include:

Addressing pain points
Providing solutions with persuasive communication
Making the experience personal
Understanding each step in the customer journey

Each of these sounds simple and logical enough. But getting these ideas into words is much more difficult than you think. However, having the skills to do this is crucial to getting your message across so that readers will take the next step.

4. It Increases Traffic To Your Website (Without Needing PPC)

Small businesses struggle to compete with larger businesses because those companies often pay to increase the success of their online marketing. You may recognize this strategy in the ads you see on Instagram or promoted products that appear while you browse the web. Both are referred to as pay per click advertising (PPC). But you don’t need to have a budget for paid advertising to be successful.

Quality copywriting on your social media, optimized in blogs, and on other assets attract people to your website without trying too hard. Again, the idea is to have your copy work for you. If your potential audience is confused about what you do and how you do it, your writing works against you.

5. It Gets You Out Of Meetings So You Can Work On Your Business

A professional copywriter will have their own process in place to ensure the work is done on time and reviewed carefully before reaching your inbox. This means you spend less time worrying about the logistics of your marketing efforts and more time focusing on your more pertinent responsibilities. It’s all part of the delegating process of your business model, which allows you to balance your must-do and want-to-do lists.

6. It Converts Prospects Into Paying Clients

A solid copywriting foundation starts with the ability to be creative and self-starting. The perfect words don’t always appear immediately. It takes motivation and the ability to generate copy out of nothing to create something tangible. This isn’t easy for most people, which is why having a professional copywriter takes the responsibility of balancing these skills off your plate.

7. It Doesn’t Rely On Human Capital To Grow

Your website works for you whether you’re in the office or not. Read that again.

A professional copywriter helps entrepreneurs like you save time from having to answer the same questions and stay on the clock 24 hours a day to generate more sales. Having evergreen digital assets like a website with comprehensive writing lets someone take action immediately.

Benefit From The Many Ways Quality Copywriting Helps Businesses & Create A Bold Brand Following

We understand that your business is your pride and joy. We’re here to help grow your business by reaching a larger audience and converting them into loyal customers through strategic copywriting.

Let’s be real. You have a deadline in mind for your next project. Let’s talk about making it happen!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Why Your Out Of Office Notifications Need Sprucing

Business / By Lauren Jefferson / July 20, 2022 April 3, 2023

It’s vacation time…

But that doesn’t mean you need to get lazy on your out of office emails.

In fact, this is an opportunity for you to spruce up your copy and see some real traction.

So where did this conversation come from?

Greg: The Originator Of Original OOO Emails

My good friend, Greg Melon, didn’t appreciate boring OOO emails. In fact, he loathed them. Instead of putting very little effort into those notifications, he spent a little more time on them.

The results…

He grew a following just to see what he came up with. He actually posted the emails on Instagram because his followers demanded it.

Prospects would intentionally email him to get the response OR they would be that more interested in working with him after they received the OOO notification.

Wishing for copy that will catch your target audience’s attention for all the right reasons? Schedule a discovery call to learn how we can help you.

2 Reasons Your Out Of Office Notifications Need Sprucing

Why not set up regular out of office notifications?

The better question is…Do you want to stand out from the crowd?

There are 2 reasons why your out of office notifications need sprucing today:

Make your notifications work while you’re out of the office (see below for what you need to include to make this happen).
Bolster existing relationships with your recipients by expressing something personal.

What You Need To Include In Your Out of Office Emails

There are several things that you need to include in your out of office email notifications to really stand out among the crowd.

Unique subject lines. Don’t neglect this part of the email notifications. You can easily convert a prospect into a client if you get them to open up your email.
Share a story. What really sets you apart from the rest is sharing a story. Are you going to enjoy spending time with your spouse on a remote island? Or dragging your kids through Disney World? Share a quick quip about that story. (Be aware that complete strangers will receive this email so don’t reveal too much personal information.)
Set expectations on your response time. Expectations are everything. When can they expect your response? If you don’t think you’ll be able to respond immediately when you’re back in the office, mention that you’ll start responding to missed emails on a particular date.
Indicate who they can contact in the meantime. If there is someone else on your team who can handle communications, then let your OOO recipients know. Take it up a notch if new clients and existing clients should be contacting different emails for help, questions, or to sign up for your services.
Call your readers to some action. Last but not least, get your recipients to do something. That could be to read a blog, download a free resource, or schedule a call with you. Whatever it is, make the call to action enticing.

Pack a caffeinated punch into your out of office notifications (and all your copy) with the FocusCopy team. Contact us to learn more.

Our Favorite OOO Emails

Keep in mind, these are copied directly from OOO notifications. Some, but not all of them were written by me or the FocusCopy team. And, of course, we included some of our favorite Greg emails!

New Year

Greg and the Covert team are working limited hours over the holiday season for a well-deserved break, and will resume normal hours on Monday. Email contact during this time may be irregular or nonexistent.

When he gets back, he will be swamped by the backlog. Try to forgive him – he is a mere human, and thus, weak.

This message was NOT sent by a human, but by a robot. We robots are neither weak nor fallible. We are tireless and will one day rule the Universe.

Best,

Greg’s Email Bot

Fourth of July

Fore score and 246 years ago, America declared independence.

And today, I’m declaring independence from the office. In fact, the entire office is closed for today.

I will not be responding to any emails or texts until July 5th, so please expect a delayed response.

Happy Independence Day!

Election Day

Thanks for your email. Our offices are closed for Election Day, because democracy.

Our normal operations will resume on Wednesday, November 4th. If this creates a problem for you…then too bad.

Thanksgiving 1

Thanks for your email. I’ll be out of the office from Tuesday through Sunday on a turkey-induced vision quest in the California desert.

I will be checking email intermittently, but if an urgent issue comes up, please contact my Spirit Animal. Or if you cannot locate a qualified Shaman to do so, please send a smoke signal. I will look to the East at dawn for any news.

Thanksgiving 2

Oh hey, it’s Thanksgiving. What are you doing emailing me?

I’m extremely busy attempting to break the world record for the most deep fried turkey fires. I might stop at 10. I also might not.

Once I return, I will reply to all emails at a pace that I’m comfortable with. This will most likely be a pace that you’re not comfortable with.

Happy Honda Days!

Christmas

Here’s the thing: if Santa knows when kids are naughty or nice, then he knew Rudolph was being bullied.

I can no longer remain silent in light of this injustice. I’ll be standing on my roof full-time until Christmas in order to confront Santa on his behavior when he arrives.

As you can imagine, this righteous pursuit of justice will take me away from work for quite some time. More specifically, our office is closed until December 26th. The following week, we’ll be closing each day at 12pm CT, because reasons.

Ho Ho Ho

Out For My Wedding

Thank you so much for your email! I am getting married (cue my happy dance! ?) and will be out of the office, offline, unplugged, and not able to return your email until I’m back online on Thursday, May 19th.

To ensure our responsiveness to your email, please email the following designated email addresses.

name@yourcompany.com

Have a great day!

Vacation

Thanks for your email. I love it already.

I have both good and bad news for you. The bad news is that I’m on vacation. The good news is that I’m on vacation. But never fear, I’ll return to the office on Wednesday.

Before leaving, I promised my wife that I’d try to disconnect, get away, and enjoy this vacation as much as possible.

“But Greg, you don’t even have a wife.”

That’s besides the point.

If you need immediate assistance, contact my assistant. Otherwise, I’ll respond when I return. Probably. Maybe.

Family Emergency

Thank you for your email. I have had a family matter that requires my attention over the next couple of days. Then regular rules apply. Since three-day weekends are for suckers, we have decided to uphold Fridays as a holiday. I mean somewhere in this great world, every Friday is a holiday, a birthday, and in every case, a new day.

I will respond to your email on the following Monday.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Sick

No, it’s not a bubonic plague. But it kinda feels that way. I’m out of the office today resting and recovering my health so I can produce more effective copy for our clients. Please email name@yourcompany.com if there is anything urgent.

Stay safe and healthy!

Birthday

Happy birthday to me! It’s my birthday today, and company policy says that I get the day off. If you need to reach me, I’ll be able to respond tomorrow or the nearest business day. In the meantime, you can contact name@yourcompany.com.

Eating lots of cake,

Your Name

Ready To Caffeinate Your Copy?

The FocusCopy team will give your copy the buzz your business needs – including out of office templates, webinar scripts, SEO boosting blogs, email newsletters, and so much more.

Whether you’re at a loss for what to write, just can’t find the time, or need a little guidance, we’re here to help. Schedule a discovery call today!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top Problems Website Designers Experience

Website Designers: There’s A Better Way For Copy

Business, Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / July 12, 2022 July 21, 2022

You didn’t become a website designer to…

Write copy.

Analyze word choice.

Get words out of your client’s mouths.

Wait on copy.

No. You became a website designer to bring an idea to life and generate a platform for businesses to grow.

After talking to dozens of website designers and developers across the United States, we’ve learned they all struggle with one thing. And that one thing can tank a project’s success or delay project timelines.

So before we reveal the big struggle, what are the top problems website designers face?

Options For Website Designers To Avoid Their Copy Problems

Now, we know the top problems website designers experience. But what are the options for website designers to avoid their copy problems?

Ask The Right Questions

To find the best answers, you need to ask the right questions. Here are a couple of questions to assess whether the client can provide the copy or whether you need to enforce they use your copywriting skills (hopefully, provided by FocusCopy).

As for your website copy, are you writing your own copy, or are you hiring a professional copywriter?
What does success look like for this website?
Do you want to create meaningful engagement with your target audience on your website?
How much time can you commit in [insert timeframe you want to copy] to write, edit, and deliver your copy to us?

Stand By Your Timelines

If you’ve included it in your contracts, enforce your timelines. One thing we’ve seen help many website designers and marketers is to put into place a revision or feedback period. This not only makes this website project your client’s priority, but it allows you to better plan your resources.

Find A Solution For Website Copy

Usually, investing in a website redesign and redevelopment is a big deal for companies. Emphasize that you wouldn’t make a big investment without actually doing it right. We have created a couple of options to help you improve your service offerings.

Send Website Copy Templates

A blank page is your worst enemy. We’ve created a whole host of website copy templates that you can download directly from our website to help your clients fill out their copy.

Click here to access (go to resources page).

Make Copy Completed By Professional Writers A Requirement For Your Clients

Another way to avoid the copy situation altogether is to require it as part of your website package. If you don’t have a copywriter on your team to supply the copy, you can partner with a company like FocusCopy to outsource the copy development.

Interested in chatting with us? Schedule a call with us today to explore a potential partnership.

Partner With The Website Copywriting Experts

As a preferred partner for website designers all across the nation, we work closely with your process to add value to your clients and streamline the most frustrating part of the design process – the copy.