Anyone with a laptop and internet access can call themselves a “copywriter” or “internet marketer” — and many do:

• Tens of thousands of freelancers on Upwork and Fivver are foaming at the mouth. They’ll “write” blog posts and template emails about anything — and your business’s or charity’s cash register is their training ground.

• Facebook ads and copywriting courses are still hawking high-pressure sales tactics that haven’t worked since AOL days. (And let’s face it, wouldn’t you rather grow and be respected?)

• And boutique agencies are happy to build intangible “brand awareness” in return for most of your marketing spend.

But if you want to grow a more profitable business or well-funded charity…

… if you want measurable results — sales, donations, qualified leads…

… then you need a green marketing company that’s laser-focused on marketing strategy and “direct response copywriting” — that is, combining proven psychological principles with writing to persuade people.

You don’t have time to waste.

And you need a proven history of success.

Here’s how Green Collar Marketing’s process works to grow your business or charity:

First, we don’t run a “content mill.” And we don’t hike up a mountain, burn incense to the writing gods, and then deliver your copy late.

Instead, we start by meticulously studying your controls (sales copy that’s working) — along with your competitors, your product or charity, and your target market.

Just some of the research for one USP and sales page. (We’re now paperless.)

Thorough research is hard work. And it’s the only way we can uncover your biggest sales benefits, find out what your buyers/donors care about most, and deliver the best finished product. (Many marketers skip this step because it takes extra time… and it’s less exciting.) Fortunately, it’s fast and easy on your end with our step-by-step intake process and project tracking software. And we’ve built systems and have access to university-level researchers to complete projects with better results, in less time.

Then, we brainstorm and diagnose your biggest opportunities for improvement. We’ll pay close attention to low-hanging fruit such as enhancing:

• Your brand’s story

• Target audience selection

• Positioning

• Opt-in/signup copy

• Your offer

• Upsells/cross-sells/downsells

During this stage, we’ll be able to identify where you’ll get the biggest impact. And we’ll tell you if a project is unlikely to move the needle — before you invest more time and money into it.

Next, we mindmap the research and create your unique selling proposition (USP). Or we’ll outline your project’s sales copy — with major headlines, the basic structure, and the lead (opening paragraphs that are critical to getting someone’s attention).

Once you sign off on the outline, we’ll write the sales copy. (This process reduces back-and-forth time and costs because you get to see the approach early, instead of after everything is built.)

Then, we’ll review Version 1.0 together in Google Drive, and Green Collar Marketing will revise it as needed.

Finally, you’ll use our copy — and we’d like to adjust it as needed once we see performance data.

This process gives you the best odds of getting high-performing market strategy recommendations and sales-boosting copy.

Of course, it isn’t for everyone.

What you need to be willing to do:

• Let us create marketing strategies and advertising copy that we think will sell.

• Review for legal and factual accuracy, but trust our process that’s been proven in 23 markets. If the marketing strategy or sales copy isn’t ours, we can’t guarantee it’s likely to succeed. (Also, why pay us for a sales tool you don’t use?)

• Already have a compelling product or nonprofit — we’ll do the research, pull it apart, reexamine it, interview users, and use the product… but it needs to be good.

• Want sales/donations, not awards or pats on the back from an English teacher. (For instance, Tony was the AP English student of the year. But if ending a sentence with a preposition improves sales or readability, then grammar’s something he cares less about.)

We’re dedicated to helping you bring in more revenue and profits.

But we don’t promise silver bullets, and we aren’t for everyone.

For starters, we’re highly specialized and only create sales tools for green companies and nonprofits. That shortens your delivery time, ensures deeper expertise, and reduces rewrites. Most importantly, our methodology improves your bottom line.

And we aren’t cheap.

That’s because you benefit from our experience, our focus, our systems, and our track record of delivering measurable results.

You will benefit from working with us if you:

• Focus on sustainability and reversing climate change

• Want to optimize profits

• Feel like your current marketing isn’t delivering the results you want

• Measure your response and successes — in sales and donations, not “likes” or congratulations

• Recognize that you’re making an investment in sales tools, not buying articles from a “copy mill”
• Agree to fill out an easy-to-follow creative brief — and share background material such as competitors’ ad campaigns (the better our information before a project, the better your results after)
• Want us to dig deeper than any reasonably obsessed person — or competitor — ever would, to find your strongest sales points. (For example: While writing a customer’s sustainability brochure, Tony studied more than 1,000 pages of scientific research and intergovernmental reports. Why? To uncover 3 critical facts that an entire industry had missed in its sustainability literature.)
• Allow ample time for us to finish your projects and get the details right
• Know your market, especially your customers’ or donors’ psychographic and demographic information (if not, we can determine this, but it’ll require additional bandwidth)

• Are comfortable with our “Diagnose first, then treat” approach to marketing. We aren’t order-takers, and most smart people prefer that.

• Understand that marketing strategists will ask questions, share insights and turnkey strategies, and deliver creative ideas — but it’s up to you to use the sales tools you’re given