What I’m listening to: The Busker by We Invented Paris
How’s December going for you? Busier than you thought, or slower? I’m seeing a slow, but steady pace. Small projects — an article, a blog post, a sales letter. It’s giving me time to get to the things I’ve been wanting to do.
Those things are what I’m sharing with you this month. I keep a running list of things to add to my day that can help me boost business. Since our freelance writing business — our freelance writing career — is a living entity, we must feed the beast, so to speak.
Let’s give it something good for a change.
December 14: Write Your Own Press Release & Boilerplate
Didn’t see that one coming, did you? Well, if you want to be able to convince clients you’re the one to hire, you have to know what to say. The best way to know what to say: set it up like a press release.
You may never send it to anyone, and that’s okay. But the idea is to get you thinking and writing about your business in a new way.
So let’s try it. Start here:
- Pretend you’re writing for someone else: They say the best way to learn something is to teach it, right? So choose a friend (preferably another writer). Now create a release that describes that friend using your own traits. If you must, change the name to give you the detachment you need to brag it up a bit.
- Make a bulleted list of your skills: Include your specialty(ies), the projects you do most often, things clients have said about you (like how reliable you are, or how well you listen), your experience in years, your publications/companies worked with…. make it long. It’s just bullets right now.
- Create your first sentence: Type “Press release” into Google. Grab the first image and use it as a template. That first sentence usually goes something like this: “Acme Brand Anvils, Inc., the leading provider of cast products for the capture of roadrunners, is proud to announce….” Why that first sentence matters — it forces you to describe your business in a short, qualifying statement.
- List your news: You’ve just expanded into writing about slingshots. Or your website now provides coyotes with TNT. Or there’s a sale on buckshot pellets. Make it up if you have to. Just finish that “…proud to announce….” sentence. Use those bullets to inspire you.
- Make a next paragraph: Here’s where you describe more the offer/reason for you release. It’s a great time to brag a little about your background (or your “friend’s” background if you’re playing along that way). A quote from you should be included: “I’m pleased to be able to expand my services in order to further enhance my clients’ communication needs” or something equally client-facing.
- Invite people to visit or call: It’s as simple as “For more information, visit or call” and then provide the info.
- The boilerplate: Now that you have your feet wet talking about yourself, it’s time to tell people exactly who you are. Your boilerplate goes at the bottom of your release, set apart by a subhead. Refer to your bulleted list, and include those things that are most important for others to know. “Roadrunner Writing & Editing was established in 1993 and provides writing and editing services for the anvil industry. Headquartered in the Mojave Desert, we help clients enhance their communications through product marketing pieces, website content, and advertising and sales material.”