Why Strategic Planning is Essential for a Successful Copywriting Business

Sep 7

…and how you can get started

Have you ever walked into an important meeting or begun a project where you felt completely unprepared? You knew that you weren’t ready, and were secretly hoping that no one noticed what felt like your heart literally beating out of your chest.

The sad thing? All of this could have been completely avoided.

How? By simple planning! Here’s the thing—even if you’re a carefree, fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants, kind of person, planning is still essential…especially when it comes to owning your own business.

When most people think of strategic planning, they see it from a 30,000 ft view. What are the company goals and objectives? How can these goals establish the direction of the company? While this is all important, strategic planning goes much deeper than a high-level perspective. Some people call this project planning.

What I’m about to say may sound pompous and a bit bold. As a copywriter, in order to achieve your business goals, you must plan. You must be organized and you must have a streamlined process. Seriously…you can not have a successful business if you do not put effort into planning all the small details that go unseen.

For some, planning and organizing come easy. In fact, it’s usually fun (hello, fellow to-do-list lovers)! For others, planning and organizing is a chore…the kind of chore that your mother has to constantly remind you to get done. These people would rather jump right into the project than waste their time planning.

But here’s the problem.

If you do not spend time planning and organizing a project, it will never be able to reach its full capability. It may be ok…but it will never be excellent.

Here’s the truth. You can land copywriting projects and crank out sales pages, emails, and product writes up, but still operate an unhealthy business.

You say, convince me. What will happen if I fail to plan?

You know the old saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail?” It’s true.

If you fail to plan:

You will miss the important details
You won’t get the results you need
You will miss deadlines
You will become frantic and stressed out
Everything will take you twice as long because there is no system for processes
And most importantly, all of this will reflects negatively on you and your business

Here’s the thing about copywriting. Even though a large part of it is the creation of copy/content, the framework that holds your business together is the way you operate as a business owner. If you can’t properly run your business, you will never have a successful copywriting practice.

Putting a little bit of time and effort into the business and strategizing side of things will only set you up for success.

So how can you make sure you’re set up to run your business like a pro?

How to Successfully Operate Your Copywriting Business

Set daily and weekly goals
Make sure these goals are clear, focused, and reasonable. If you expect too much out of yourself, you set yourself up for failure. Only include the goals that you know you can meet.
Create a process and FOLLOW it!
How many of us can admit to “setting and forgetting”? We create goals, systems, or processes, only to turn our focus onto something else and completely forget about it. This is normal, which is why it’s especially important to be intentional. A good way to stay on track is to set daily reminders.
Use project planning tools (see below for some free options that I use)
I’m a huge fan of planning tools. It makes strategy and organization so easy and saves you a ton of time (and paper).
Use a file management system like Google Docs or Dropbox.
Friends, these tools are free up to a certain amount of space. Take advantage of this! I love Google Docs because I can access my documents from anywhere, anytime.
Create spreadsheets
Trust me, I understand if you have a major dislike for spreadsheets. To be honest, they bore me. But once I started using them, it was clearly obvious that I needed them. They provide you with a level of organization that even your personal closet organizer can’t provide you.
Create a swipe file
Ever run across an amazing piece of copy that you want to keep around as inspiration for future projects? But you get busy and completely forget to save it? And alas, you can’t find that inspiration when you need it the most. A swipe file is a place where you put all the best copy so that you can refer back to it when you need some ideas. This approach saves you a ton of time and frustration.
Manage your time wisely
All of us have a certain time of day when we work better…when our brains are at their sharpest and when we feel like we can literally conquer the world. Make sure you capitalize on this time. If that means you need to set your alarm for 3:30 AM, then do it (yes, I am one of those crazies that gets up that early).
Always analyze how you’re doing (SWOT Analysis)
Your goal is to grow. If you feel like any of the tools or processes you’re using is hindering growth, re-evaluate them and try something new.

Create a copywriting workflow

Once you’ve organized your business processes and procedures, you also must create a framework for the way you deal with your clients. While it’s completely possible to begin a project without a workflow, it will make your life (and probably the life of your client) way easier to have one in place.

I will say this over and over again—streamline your process. Without it, your copywriting flow will quickly become unorganized.

Here’s why. It’s so easy to miss important details when you don’t have a plan in place. And if you miss important details, your job as a copywriter becomes a million times harder. You want to be able to make sure you checked all the boxes before handing in your stellar copy.

My process (which I keep in asana so I can easily go back to it) follows 4 simple steps:

Beginning step, which includes discovery call, proposal/quote set up, and creative brief
Research step, which includes audience analysis, keywords analysis, and market research
Writing step, which includes writing, editing, and wireframe
And the final step, which includes back and forth with the client to make sure everything is perfect

I go into quite a bit more detail for each step, but this is just a basic outline so you can get the idea.

FREE Project Planning Tools That Will Help You Stay Organized

If you’re just starting out, take advantage of free project planning tools! They will only make your life easier, and as I said…they’re free!

*I’ve used the free options for all of these.

To sum it up…

My business runs smoothly (mostly) because I have my processes organized. And because I’ve set up my systems to run smoothly, I’m able to focus on other important matters of my business that results in happy customers and business growth.

Here’s the thing. It’s pretty easy to start a copywriting business. With that said, you will never have a sustainable business if you aren’t committed to planning and structure.

So if you haven’t started, start now!