22 Conversion Copy For Freelancers w/Graeme McLaughlin

$100K Freelancing

Graeme and Chris discuss traffic, how to make the client care about what you're selling, and how to develop conversion copy for closing freelance clients.

Began w traffic acquisition Dabbled in design Enjoyed delivering the end business result Taking a solid offering & tuning it up is enjoyable

Started in seo & ppc Wanted to make sure users take the right action when they arrive

Inquiral* Colona, BC * lots of B2B ans buyer research * wrote the Buysphere * eye tracking on search results (golden triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Triangle_(Internet_Marketing))

Believes in delivering on user intnet * match the intent with the page they land on * the right action for THEM, not the business owner * multiple micro-conversions before the big conversion happens * the customers story comes from their numbers

Right now, word of mouth * networking is the most direct route to client acquisition * if they're not a prospect, they know a prospect *

High volume, low quality content marketing is useless

Freelancing seems like a passive label* more consulting today

Network exploitation

Expanding network via clear positioning * expand personal network * outreach (podcasts) * conference (Unbounce conference) * be visible, be a good resource * have lots of conversations

Bitten by the recurring revenue bug * Golden age of Saas * productized consulting * on the CRO side orgs don't know where to start * instead of selling a big 12 month program, sell the research first * some orgs don't want another person in their code * sell the research & let them diy

I want to be small by design * I'd rather be boutique and raise rates then grow by adding customer

"I'll be the bumper lanes as you do your first round of testing."

Conversion for freelancers * segment audience, position against target segments * segmenting too narrow from an seo perspective isn't a concern * top of funnel keywords vs resource keywords * not the same volume, but higher-quality, more appropriate traffic * biggest driver is the copy you use * adjust words, adjust flow * it's hard to explain what you do to someone outside your business * dictate your copy, don't write it* explain the problem and how you solve it * talking through it is often a better starting point than writing it * check your IA; the info may be there but not in the right order

1) what do you do 2) why should they care 3) what to do next

• cognitive burden* be careful of those clever headlines that don't say anything
• don't be nervous about niching down too soon
• 1 landing page per segment of your niche
• optimizing for conversion rate is the worst thing you can do
• optimize for outcomes
• lead-gen percentages may go down, but qualified leads, contracts & profits can go up

Solve specific problems, not general ones