Entries Tagged 'copywriting services' ↓
September 14th, 2009 — copywriting services, copywriting tips, freelance copywriting
If you are a business owner, are you of the opinion that there is absolutely no need to hire a copywriter to write your sales materials because you know your product better than anyone else?
I can’t argue with the fact that you probably do know your product better than anyone, but that is the exact reason why you shouldn’t write the copy.
How can you tell if a company has written its own copy?
Because it is focused on what the product is rather than what it will do for the customer. It’s only natural. After all if you spend every waking hour with tumble dryers you will end up thinking about them a lot. You will know what every programme does and will probably be able to explain how it works in your sleep. It would be same if you made top of the range, ultra expensive shoes or any other product for that matter.
The problem with this is that it tends to lead to descriptive writing rather than powerful sales writing. So you will be writing about how great it is at drying clothes and perhaps the different colours it is available in – great, but a freelance copywriter would describe it as a specially designed labour saving device.
The same applies to the shoe example. Being too close to them, you will be selling them as high quality and stylish, which I am sure they are. But your sales writer would look at them and think ‘what does your potential customer want to know?’ They aren’t interested in the quality of the leather, or shade of colour. The will want to know that they are the latest must-have item for the woman-about-town and they’ll make her irresistible to men.
OK, that is potentially a little far fetched, but I hope it illustrates my point.
No matter how much blood, sweat and tears went into developing and producing your product, your customer won’t give two hoots. The only thing they are interested in is what will it do for them?
• Will it save me money?
• Will it save me time?
• Will it make me look successful?
• Will it make me feel like a million dollars?
Knowing your product well is vital but what is probably more important is the ability to dramatise them it terms of their benefits. A skilled copywriter will make your reader believe that not only will their lives be made easier with your product, but they couldn’t possibly live without it.
That is the skill you need to harness through a professional copywriter; the skill that will make your readers reach for their credit cards.
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September 8th, 2009 — copywriting, copywriting services, email copywriting
Email is a quick and easy way to get your message out to thousands of people in one hit.
So what do you need?
Well a copywriter is always a good start, but well written sales copy will only get you so far. Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they get a copywriter on board their email marketing campaign will be a sure success.
But come on, this is the murky world of marketing – nothing is that simple. For a campaign to have the highest possible chance of success (there are no guarantees here) there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Yes, this is a biggy but it’s not the be all and end all by any means. Your copy needs to be strong, compelling and sales orientated (hence the need for a freelance copywriter) with a strong headline and call to action, but it also has to have a ‘human side’. No one likes to think they are being sold something. The content has to be interesting, personable and engaging to give it the best possible chance of getting your message across.
Possibly even more important than the writing (did I really say that?) is the offer you are making. If it’s not irresistible it won’t work. And don’t forget it’s your readers that have to find the offer amazing – your opinion doesn’t count. Let’s face it we all think our products and services are the best, but that obviously can’t be true. It doesn’t matter how great you think your offer is, if your reader doesn’t get excited about it your email will end up in the deleted folder.
You can send out the best offer ever written by the world’s top copywriter, but if you are sending it to a ‘bad’ list it won’t work. You have to carefully research your target market to make sure your message is reaching the correct audience.
If you are sending an HTML email, have you tested it? Now I’m not an expert in HTML but I do know that not all browsers/email clients view it in the same way. What might look like a stunning email to one recipient may look like a pile of garbage to another. Test your email to make sure it works otherwise your hard work could either end up in a spam filter or deleted file.
Timing is everything. Avoid sending out your mailing on a Monday or Friday. The best time to send is mid morning on a Tuesday or Thursday. Also don’t forget that your recipient has a life too. The reason why your email failed to get their attention may be due to factors beyond your control – too busy, having a bad day, going to the wrong person or simply that you’ve contacted a company at a time when they don’t want or need your product.
I’m sure you can think of many more reasons why an email campaign may not work. But I want to get across the fact that you can’t blame one aspect for failure as there may be multiple reasons.
When embarking on a campaign it should be exactly that – a campaign. One email won’t do it. To be highly effective you need to send a series of emails over a time period. Use them to give information as well as sell. By constantly appearing in your reader’s inbox over a period of time increases your chances of being called when they need your particular product or service.
People will only buy if they need your service. It doesn’t matter how attractive your offer is, if they don’t have a need, they won’t buy.
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August 20th, 2009 — copywriting, copywriting services, freelance copywriting
The purpose of any copywriting or sales writing is to make your reader want to buy something.
But how can you make sure your reader actually buys your product or service when they land on your website?
Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. You’ve landed on a web page, it looks quite pretty, it’s got some nice images, the copywriting is quite persuasive but you’re not 100% convinced it’s for you.
So what do you do?
Go back to your search results and look at another site? Probably. But would you actually return to the original site – would you remember which site was the original one? Probably not.
Basically if your reader navigates away from your website you are highly unlikely to see them again.
Therefore it is vital that you create a sense of urgency so your reader will buy your product there and then.
How to create urgency
The simplest way to create urgency is by using a limited time offer. Your reader won’t want to think they are going to lose out on something. It can be in relation to a discount, free bonus, price increase or even stock availability.
If it’s limited by time surely that means it will sell out fast…it must be popular…it must be the thing to have therefore I MUST HAVE IT.
There are a number of different types of limited time offer such as:
- Order now! While the price is still low. After 18th August 2009 the price will go up to…
- Order before midnight, January 12th 2010 and you’ll get a 25% discount!
- Order before July 9th 2010 and you’ll get a free bonus!
- Order now while stocks last! After 12th November 2009 we can’t guarantee we’ll have any stock left.
By using this method I can’t guarantee everyone will buy straightaway, after all not all your readers are necessarily going to be interested in your product. But if they are interested, a time limited offer will usually make them want to buy.
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August 18th, 2009 — Press releases, copywriting services, sales writing
One of the most effective online marketing tools is the press release. However it is often misused or under-used.
Let me ask you something – in the past 12 months how many press releases have you made on behalf of your company?
20, 15, 10, 5…less…none?
When should I make a press release?
The simple answer is whenever your company does something it wants to shout about. If it’s news, press release it.
Want some examples? OK, here is just a selection of scenarios where you can spread the news through press releases:
- The launch of new products or services on your web site
- You want to publish the results of an online survey you’ve been running
- To publicise a seminar you’re hosting
- You are launching a new website
- Your company has won an online award
- Publicise online products or services you’re giving away
- If you’ve started an online club/forum
- If you’re lucky enough to have someone famous to endorse your product
- Launching a joint venture with another company
- If you’ve written a new eBook
That was just a list off the top of my head. I’m sure if you have a think you’ll find an angle you can press release about right now.
Press release golden rules
Of course, if you want your press release to stand the best possible chance of being published, you’ll have to make sure it is written correctly. By following these simple steps you should be able to create something interesting, readable and printable.
- Make sure your release reads like news and not an advert
- Only send your release to media related to the topic of your press release
- Keep it one page in length
- Your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your release
- Use short, simple sentences and double space your lines
- Your header and first few sentences must grab your readers’ attention
- You should tell a story and mention your business, product or service in the body of the press release
- Proofread your press release looking out for grammar and spelling mistakes
- Proofread your press release looking out for grammar and spelling mistakes
- Proofread your press release looking out for grammar and spelling mistakes
No I haven’t gone mad. That last point is meant to appear 3 times. You can’t afford to send out a press release with errors in it.
Don’t forget if it’s new to you, it will probably be valuable news to someone else so shout about it.
These press release tips are brought to you by freelance copywriter Sally Ormond.
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July 29th, 2009 — copywriting services, freelance copywriting, website copywriter
As a copywriter I am asked to undertake a huge variety of projects for my clients. They can range from website copywriting to providing copy 
for brochures or writing features/articles to interviewing people to write case studies and just about everything else in between.
A recent project I was involved with was to not only write a clients web copy but to also produce an awards entry for their company. They are a freight forwarding company and were looking to enter the IFW Freight Forwarder of the Year Award for the first time.
Working closely with the company, I produced an entry for them and guess what?
The Managing Director phoned earlier this week to tell me they had been shortlisted as finalists!
Superb! Now it’s fingers crossed time that come September there’ll be even better news – a win?
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