Patrick Shea From Perk Copywriting
Patrick Shea is the owner of Perk Copywriting, a B2C content marketing company with a focus on small business and startup brand strategy.
Q: Please tell me all about your agency and what makes it unique?
I'm a B2C content marketing professional that specializes in copywriting and brand strategy to help businesses scale visibly.
Perk Copywriting exists because every great marketing campaign starts with words. Maybe 500 words, maybe three. (“Just Do It” comes to mind.) Words drive action, elicit emotion, and create believers.
When we do the research and invest the time, we find the right words to explode your brand into visibility.
Q: Can you describe your journey to becoming an agency owner?
Sometimes, you get lucky and bump into a quote that changes your life. Mine was from Carl Jung: “Everyone you meet knows something you don’t know, but need to know.”
That’s my whole journey to this moment, and it will be my journey until I’m gone. Owning an agency doesn’t make me smarter, brighter or better than anyone else. I’ve just learned how to be a constant learner.
I think what’s most amazing is how little of my “writing job” actually involves the writing process. I’ve had to learn how to do everything else — the reading, the research, the analysis. I’ve become more process-oriented than I’ve ever been.
Q: What do your clients like most about your agency?
Individual attention. This is going to be the answer to a lot of your questions, fair warning.
The reason I stepped away from larger companies is my inherent lack of belief in “big box solutions”. Niche business solutions are dominating 2023, from micro SaaS to recommerce.
Content marketing can’t be “one-size-fits-all”, especially for startups and small businesses. We build every brand’s content strategy from scratch.
Q: Let’s face it, agencies are a dime a dozen. How do you make your agency stand out?
I don’t want to work with everyone. Not because I’m picky — because I have a finite amount of attention. Sure, I’d love to grow and scale. But I can’t sacrifice quality along the way.
When my clients call, I answer. I make sure everyone has time in the schedule for my undivided attention. I know it’s a simple premise. But there are many talented copywriters and content marketers out there. The best way for me to win is with individual, unique focus on each client.
Q: If you could pick your dream brand to become one of your clients, which brand would that be?
This is going to sound cheesy, but they don’t exist yet. I love “ground floor, start from scratch” situations. I crave that feeling of having my hands in a brand strategy from day one and watching it succeed and scale in real-time.
If you want a real-world example — I love Allbirds so much. I wear their shoes daily. I’d really enjoy working with a brand I’m already so invested in personally.
Q: What would you say are the top 3 strategies used by your agency to land new clients?
1. Every pitch letter must be individually written. Must, must, must. I can sniff a form letter from a mile away, and I’m not a genius — so that means everyone else can, too. You can cut and paste some standard language, but every query letter must be unique to the lead being pitched.
2. Every first consultation hour is free. Why should I expect a client to invest in me if I don’t invest in them first? Beyond that — I’m a content marketer and brand strategist. I have to know your brand in order to properly serve it.
3. I know who I’m not right for. I used to cast a much wider net — primarily because I wanted to pay my bills and also eat food. But you have to know your strengths and develop a niche. Clients don’t care if you can serve everyone — narrow your focus and serve them.
Q: What works best when it comes to retaining clients at your agency?
Nothing beats good old-fashioned show n’ prove, baby. Do the work like you care, and client retention isn’t a problem. (At least if we’re talking about worthwhile clients.)
Think of it this way — if you give incredible effort and provide top-level results, and the client walks away… is that really a client you want moving forward?
Q: What are some of the pain points you experience as an agency owner?
I love talking. I love the back-and-forth. But owning an agency has taught me the value of shutting up. Especially in my field.
Content marketing is not thought leadership. It’s active listening. When you stop “thought leading” and start listening, your audience tells you how to market to them. So yeah. I had to learn how to be quiet.
My friends and family are grateful for that. 😅
Q: What advice do you have for someone who is just now starting their agency?
Zig where they zag. Find out what competitors in your industry are doing — then don’t do that. The worst thing someone can say about a new agency is, “Oh, so you’re just like _____”.
It’s so tempting to copy-and-paste brand strategy from successful companies. But it never works, because they already exist. Take notes on successful themes and overarching ideas, sure. But be the first you.
Q: Can you think of a time in your agency journey when you made a mistake and learned from it? Please explain.
I tried to do everything myself. Simple as that. And when you attempt to control everything, you learn very quickly that you suck at some things.
I had to resist the urge to prove I “deserved to run an agency”. I had to learn that delegation was a display of self-understanding, not weakness. Now, I focus on what I’m best at, and trust some very gifted people to handle what they’re great at.
Q: Looking ahead, what do you think will change about the agency landscape in 2024?
Sales, as we knew it, is dead. People are incredibly media literate, and they’re becoming more and more digitally literate as well. They know when they’re being sold to, and they hate it.
This is especially true of younger consumers — aka the new generation of business owners. 84% of millennials don’t trust advertising of any kind.
Successful agencies in 2024 won’t sell. They’ll seek to serve. And they’ll find new clients and ways to grow within that service journey.
