The Copywriter
Katie couldn't
help smiling as Kit regaled her with choice details of what transpired
on the day she walked out of the office. Seems that a client was unhappy
over the results of an ad campaign and her manager had implied that
Kit's copywriting skills needed a little brushing up. He actually had
the audacity to suggest that she consider a refresher course at the
local university!
One thing about
Kit - you can tell her her hair's a mess or her shoes are the ugliest
you have even seen, and she will just grin sheepishly at you and tell
you that she's been working a little too hard. But tell her that her
copywriting skills are not up to par ….. Katie was glad she was not on
the receiving end that day.
"He's already
called to apologize, and I know he just said it to appease the client,
but I'm not going back. I thought it through and …. you ready for this?
I am going to start my own ad agency."
It took a moment
for Katie to realize that her best friend was not kidding. She has no
doubts as to her friend's ability to run an ad agency, but she knows
that Kit is passionate – very passionate - about copywriting.
Katie knows that
she will be roped in to "assist" in the running of the agency but in no
time at all, she will be running the whole show while Kit will be
sitting in her corner somewhere doing her copywriting.
Not that Katie
minds being the "boss" but it's going to be a big risk for Kit,
financially. An ad agency needs a posh office, good location and
talented people, all of which costs big bucks. Kit's gonna have to dig
deep into her nest egg, and then some. And there is no guarantee of
success.
Katie has been
thinking of using Kit's copywriting skills to set up a small business
online. The financial risk is much lower and now seems to be the time to
broach the subject.
"Actually, I've
been thinking along the same lines. But instead of setting up the usual
brick and mortar business, let's do it in cyberspace. All you have to do
is to write the ads, and I will get the products, place your ads and
collect the money. Don't worry, I'll give you a small commission - if
your ads are good."
"You wish! 50% of
everything or you are walking home tonight."
"Oh yeah! I'll
just call your Brother, he's just dying to pick me up."
Over the next few
hours, in between bouts of good-natured teasing and friendly rivalry,
they managed to formulate a plan. Kit will identify a market
segment with good potential. Katie will search the net for products in
that segment that offers affiliate programs.
That way, they do
not have to keep stocks or even purchase the product - they simply earn
a commission when their leads purchase the product. Kit will write
advertising copy for the product while Katie will look for online ezines
and web sites to post ads.
For a start, they
will refer customers directly to the product's web site, although they
plan to design their own site and sell their own product at a later
date.
Katie intends to
track the response to their ads, so that they can tell which sites or
ezines give a better response and which one of Kit's ads perform better.
They can increase their ROI (return on investment) and become more
profitable.
Summary of Kit and Katie's Plan
Aim
In general, Kit
will take what she knows - writing ads - from an offline environment to
an online one.
Product
No predetermined
product. General guideline would be a product that's relatively easy to
sell, offers an affiliate program and pays a good commission.
Marketing
Katie will focus
on placing paid ads in targeted ezines and web sites.
Expenses
No fixed monthly
expenses. Expenses per ad campaign will be determined on an ad hoc
basis.
Income Stream
Income is based on
the product they are currently promoting, and the commission it pays.
And find interested advertisers, he can sell advertising space in
his newsletter.
