Have you ever wondered what sort of businesses pay for copywriting?
Have you ever wondered what industries I specialise in writing for?
And have you ever wondered where copywriting clients come from, anyway?
I sure have!
As 2014 draws to an end, I thought I’d take a look at my copywriting clients this year, and see if I could categorise them. I also wanted to know where they came from.
Now, I’m sharing the results with you. So here they are…
(NB: This survey only looks at copywriting clients, not proofreading or SEO audit clients.)
Broad Classifications
Like most copywriters, my clients fall into one of three broad categories: business-to-business, business-to-client, or both.
Here’s my breakdown for 2014:
- B2B – 22.2%
- B2C – 57.4%
- B2B and B2C – 20.4%
Industries
While I’ve written for pretty much every business under the sun (theme parks, drug rehab centres, coffee shop franchises, pharmacies, and more), many of my clients do fall into the same industries.
Below are 7 industries into which three or more of my 2014 clients fit:
- Financial Services
(Accounting, bookkeeping, financial planning, insurance broking) - Beauty
(Hairdressing, beauty, skincare) - Training and Teaching
(Exercise, dance, piano, languages, business coaching, TAFE training) - Visual Services
(Photography, videography) - Property
(Property management, real estate, property development) - Tradies
(Building, security, electrical) - Fashion
(Clothing, shoes)
Where Does The Work Come From?
Of course, you may be wondering where my work comes from.
The places my work originates from can be broken down into three main areas: Google, word of mouth, and LinkedIn.
Google: 61.1%
Word of Mouth: 38.9%
LinkedIn: 0% (but I have upcoming jobs for 2015)
Of the jobs that originated from Google, nearly a third were referrals from web designers, internet marketers, and others who had found me via Google, and got me to work for their clients.
In fact, of all the jobs I did this year, 22% came via referrals from web designers whom I’ve formed a relationship with.
While none of the work I’ve done this year came via LinkedIn, I have clients lined up for next year who found me via the world’s largest professional online network.
What The Data Tells Us
Specialisation
If I wanted to classify myself as a specialist copywriter for particular industries, then you could say I specialise in writing for the financial services, beauty, and training and teaching industries.
Relationships
If there’s one thing the data shows, it’s that building relationships in business is important! After all, while the majority of my work may have originated via Google, over half the jobs I did ultimately came via referral, be that straight word-of-mouth, or a referral from someone who found me on Google.
The Secret to Google
Not all the clients who came to me via Google came via the main pages on my site (Home, About, Services, etc.). In fact, one of my most recent clients came via a blog post I wrote about following up on a late invoice. As he explained to me, he read the post, and then thought “Oh, she’s a copywriter. I need one of those”, and gave me a call.
Similarly, one of my clients recently emailed to say that after publishing a post about adult students, he had 4 calls from prospective adult students in 3 days – the first time this had happened in 15 years. So when it comes to Google, don’t forget the power of blogging!
Time To Diversify
Of course, the other thing the data tells us is that it’s time for me to diversify where my work comes from. After all, Google is notoriously fickle (though I have weathered every recent algorithm update).
Thankfully, I’m well-placed to diversify the sources of my work. I’ve cultivated strong relationships with a couple of web designers who send me work, I’ve joined a networking referral group that’s proven to be very fruitful, and I did one of Julie Mason’s LinkedIn courses in October.
Wrapping Up
Who do you work for? And where does your work come from? Do you need to diversify too? Let me know in the comments below!
Diversifying
Want to diversify the sources of your work? Then you’ll enjoy these articles:
Dominating Google: The Day I Became Google’s Favourite SEO Copywriter
Starting On LinkedIn Success: Why Your LinkedIn Summary Shouldn’t Be About You
Business Networking: Why I Joined NRG (coming soon)
The Power of Blogging: Some Case Studies (coming soon)