Life and Writing

Abbey Woodcock

Your Guide to Voice: Stand out from the noise in 5 steps

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What all your worst clients have in common

Client horror stories.

They make endless fodder for every single copywriting forum I’ve seen.

Because we all have them.

And over the past several weeks, I’ve cataloged them to figure out what they have in common…

…and what we can learn about vetting better clients.

What I found surprised me.

Of course many of them shared the same traits:

Clients that don’t value copy

They set insane expectations for workload and timeline… and insult us with what they’re paying.

Two different ideas of what “good copy” looks like

The client doesn’t want the sales page to actually have any sales language… or they just want you to type up the thing they were going to write anyway.

No communication

It’s like pulling teeth to get good feedback, research materials in a timely manner, or answers to our questions.

Now if you’re a copywriter, you’re probably nodding along.

“Yeah, awful clients! Where do I find people that don’t do that?” 

But before we raise the collective pitchfork, let’s dig a little deeper.

Because below the surface is something interesting… the common denominator.

The common denominator in all your bad client relationships… is you.

Maybe the copywriter is the problem.

What are we –collectively and individually– doing to encourage this behavior?

Turns out, quite a lot.

Here’s what I mean:

I come from a big, close family.

It has its advantages. Free childcare is probably at the top.

But a big family can easily become all-consuming.

If I’m at my parents’ farm less than twice a week, we’re “avoiding” them.

If I miss a text or call, it must be because I don’t care.

And last week, my sister was mad at me.

I found this out from my brother, and then my mom.

She was mad because she felt she wasn’t being appreciated.

So this stressed me out.

Until I realized something.

My sister had taken the time to talk to my brother and my mom (so presumably, my dad and my other sisters as well)… but she hadn’t talked to me about it.

In fact, I hadn’t talked to her in weeks (which looking back, was no doubt her way of signaling it).

Was I at fault? Absolutely.

My sister had been helping me out a lot with the kids during some recent travel and I never took the time to thank her. And that’s 100% on me.

But…

And this is a big one…

How could I have fixed it if I didn’t know?

By not voicing her concern — to me — she robbed me of the chance to make good on it.

I value my relationship with my sister deeply.

A simple text, “hey, ya know, I’ve been helping you out a lot lately, I don’t think you realize it, but I’m getting a little burnt out and I feel like you don’t really care” ….

Could have saved literally hours of stress (and 3 other people getting involved).

And we play my sister’s role ALL THE TIME in our client relationships.

  • We don’t set expectations up front

  • We don’t teach our clients how to communicate with us

  • We complain on industry forums instead of voicing our concern to the only person that can fix it — the client.

  • We put up with minor annoyances so long they become major headaches.

  • We expect the clients to just “know” how much is too much (or not enough).

 

Now, I know I’ll get pushback on this.

I know this because the most unpopular answer to the question “How can I find better women” is “Be a better man.”

And “How can I fix my marriage” is “Start with fixing yourself.”

People hate hearing that.

But it needs to be said.

How do we find better clients?

We become better freelancers.

So let’s be better. 

Are you with me?

[IMPORTANT CAVEAT]

Just like a marriage counselor who encourages you to improve yourself first… there are exceptions to this advice. If you’re being abused, get out. And the same is true for client relationships. I’m not advocating putting up with penny-pinching, jerky McJerkerson clients. Tomorrow via email I’m going to show you a four-part test to determine whether you should cut your losses and run. Just enter your email below to get in on it.

About Abbey

Abbey Woodcock has been a direct response copywriter since 7th grade when she wrote a 30-page sales letter asking her crush to the dance with dismal results. Since then, she's converted better... writing sales pages and emails you've probably read from some of the biggest names online. Now she helps other copywriters build and grow amazing businesses.

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  • ABOUT ME
  • THE BOOK
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  • WHERE TO FIND ME

Recent Musings

  • Why people hire marketing consultants
  • I’m not answering this question anymore
  • Copy school drop-out (or that time I quit Parris)
  • Working for a dying print newspaper made me a better digital marketer
  • B.I.G niches

What people say

I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of superstars…and one of the copywriters I am placing a big bet on is Abbey

After working with some of the best copywriters who have ever lived throughout my career, I came to the realization that it was not a “given” that there would be a next generation of copywriters who understood direct response like their predecessors. I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of… Read more “I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of superstars…and one of the copywriters I am placing a big bet on is Abbey”

Brian Kurtz
Former Executive VP of Boardroom
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Huge, ‘beyond expectation’ wins for some of the most famous names in our industry

Abbey Woodcock is one of my favorite copywriters – both to work with and recommend – for 3 reasons:

  1. She has a deep understanding of direct response marketing AND how it fits into modern mediums like social and email.
  2. She has a deep understanding of human psychology and how to speak to different markets… Read more “Huge, ‘beyond expectation’ wins for some of the most famous names in our industry”
Kevin Rogers
Copy Chief
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“The systems she created to hire, train, and evaluate writers are now a daily part of operations.”

Abbey was a key member of my team during a time of explosive growth. I needed to grow my content team and leaned heavily on Abbey to conceptualize, build, implement, test and improve our backend processes. The systems she created to hire, train, and evaluate writers are now a daily part of operations. Writing great… Read more ““The systems she created to hire, train, and evaluate writers are now a daily part of operations.””

Ramit Sethi
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Read more about Abbey