Entries Tagged 'copywriting tips' ↓

I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter now for about three years. Over that period I have been frequently contacted by new copywriters asking advice about how to get their fledgling freelance careers off the ground.

One question that I am always asked is whether they should ever do work for free.

Is free work beneficial?

When starting out you immediately find yourself in a Catch 22 – you need to find clients to build up a portfolio, but potential clients want to see your previous work. So how do you get those first few clients?

It is a difficult one, especially if you are coming to freelance copywriting without any specific previous experience. If you have worked as a copywriter within a company or agency, you at least have examples of projects you worked on. But if you are new to the industry, the chances are you have nothing.

So should you work for nothing?

My usual reply is ‘no’.

So have I ever produced work for nothing?

Yes.

Rather contradictory? Yes, but I have only ever done a freebie under certain circumstances. It looks as though I’m not the only one too as this post by Lorraine Thompson shows -

Copywriters: Should You Write Copy For Free? 5 Cases For Working Without Pay

The only occasions I would consider free work are:

• As a donation to a charity I support
• As a barter
• When it’s a great portfolio enhancing opportunity
• For friends and family
• To self promote

But if you are approched for free work and you’re tempted, stop and think about it.

Will it help you? Will your business benefit from it in some way?

Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons otherwise it will be an expensive use of your time – that you won’t get paid for!

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

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Every now and then it’s a good idea to give your website a fresh look. Whether it’s because your company focus has changed, you’ve undergone re-branding or simply that your old site is looking tired, a fresh new image will breathe life into your online marketing.

Of course, along with a new design, fresh content is always a good idea so hiring a good SEO copywriter is always a great investment.

But getting back to your website – there are certain things that really should be avoided when you are considering a revamp:

Don’t over complicate

We all like an easy life so your website has to be simple to use. If your reader lands on your site and they can’t navigate around it, they’ll leave. Make sure your navigation is clear and very easy to follow. Also don’t over do the number of links on your website. There’s nothing worse than being faced with text littered with links and – more to the point – vast quantities of boxes in the sidebar containing links and asking them to do umpteen things.

You don’t want confused readers, you want relaxed readers.

Make your navigation simple and logical.

Dare I say it? Flash

Once upon a time, Flash was unreadable to Google and therefore did nothing for your SEO. Today, although Google has developed the ability to crawl some Flash, it will still limit the effectiveness of your search engine optimisation so it’s important to keep its use to an absolute minimum. So rather than filling your site with it, how about utilising your white space to add some great content instead.

Images

Everyone loves pretty pictures but, just like Flash, you can over do it.

Images that enhance the text are great. But if you have too many your reader won’t know where to look first. Keep them to a minimum and make sure you choose wisely. A bad image can kill a website.

When used well, images can also help you with your SEO.

Loading

If your website takes a long time to load it will turn off visitors faster than Jonny Vegas in a jock strap, and it will also have a detrimental effect as far as the search engine spiders are concerned. Google likes sites that load quickly as this post from the Google Official Webmaster Central Blog shows.

What’s your offer?

When redesigning don’t get so wrapped up in making it so pretty that you forget what your website’s there for in the first place. Many website owners are so obsessed with SEO they completely forget what is it they want their readers to do. Yes, SEO and organic search results are important, but so is your offer and call to action. If  you neglect those you will end up with an ineffective website.

Keeping your image fresh is very important but just make sure you always have your website goals in mind when redesigning your site. Don’t be tempted to go OTT – simple and effective is the best way to do.

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Email marketing has been a revolution for many businesses.

It has given them an opportunity to market to thousands of people simultaneously and in a very cost effective way. Not only that, but it is also measurable – you can see who’s opened your email, what they did after they read it etc.

But, as a copywriter, one of the hardest aspects of email marketing is coming up with a subject line that makes people want to open the email. It is the do or die. If you can’t get people to open it, you not going to sell them anything.

Creating subject lines takes a lot of work and in my previous post 10 Words That Will Make People Open Your Email I shared with you some powerful words that would help boost your open rate.

But the best way to determine the effectiveness of any subject line it to test it. Split testing is often used – send one group an email with one subject line, and then send another group the same email but with a different subject line. But how about using social media to test their effectiveness?

This, I will admit, was something I’d never actually thought of until I read a post on BlueSkyFactory’s blog. In How to use social media to boost email marketing open rate, Christopher Penn describes how he used Twitter to help determine the effectiveness of an email subject line.

If your Twitter following resembles the demographics of your email marketing list, why not try it out?

If you do, bookmark this post and come back and tell me how you got on.

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Like most people I’ve always dreamed of being a writer. When I was at school I had a pink hard back note book I used to write stories in. I used to think they were the best thing since sliced bread but I wouldn’t let anyone else read them; they were mine, something I had created and were for no one else but me.

I found that little pink book a few months ago and had a read. Boy am I glad I never showed them to anyone else! The sad thing was I thought they were good. They weren’t.

I’ve not given up on the writing dream and have written a novel and a half in my adult years (not published) – after the pink book scenario I’m even more wary of my writing. Mind you, in a funny way I have ended up earning a living through writing – being a freelance copywriter wasn’t exactly how I’d envisaged it but I love it. Watch out J.K. Rowling – one day…

The pink book taught me a good lesson about reviewing my work. During the writing process you become completely absorbed in what you are doing. You are so close you can’t see beyond the words you’ve written which makes reviewing it very difficult. But, over time (as with the pink book), your perception of your work changes making it easier to be more critical.

But, as a commercial writer, time is usually of the essence. You don’t often have the luxury of being able to put your work away for a few months (or longer) before reviewing it. So performing an effective critique on your own work is difficult.

To help you, I’ve put together five tips to review your work effectively which I’ve used over the years.

1. Leave it

As I said earlier, this one isn’t easy. Because of tight deadlines you won’t have the luxury of leaving your work for a long period. However I normally find that by working on several projects simulatneously, I can complete one task, leave it for 24/48 hours and then review it.

That is normally enough time (especially if I’m working on a number of things) for me to come back to it with fresh eyes.

2. Get someone else to read it

This one is going to depend on how you work. I work alone so it’s a bit difficult to get someone else to read things for me (although my husband has been known to be dragged in to read things for me). But if you can get a second opionion, that will help enormously.

3. Read it like a reader

This one takes practice. Even though you’ve taken the time to research and get to know your client’s business intimately to write about it, you now have to look at your copy as a reader would; someone without any prior knowledge of the product or company. Look out for sections that are irrelevant. Does it get to the meaty benefits quickly enough to keep your interest? Does it answer your questions? Does it tell you what to do next?

4. Read out loud

Number 3 will help you determine the effectiveness of your writing, this one will help ensure your English is correct and that it flows. I always feel a right Charlie sat in my office reading my work aloud, but it really works. Only when you can hear it with intonation, can you really asses its rhythm and voice. If you stumble over sections, re-write them until they flow easily.

5. Proofread

This is the last thing I do. Thorough proofreading is essential. The quality of your writing will speak volumes about you so you must make sure it’s perfect. I don’t know about you, but I find reading off a screen really difficult so I always try and proofread from a hardcopy. Plus reading backwards is a great way to find mistakes. Frequently, when you read something you’ve written, your mind will play tricks on  you filling in missing words because you know they should be there or skimming typos. If you read your work backwards, yes it will take longer, but it will also force you to read every word making it much easier to find mistakes – try it, it works.

How do you review your work? Are there any tips you’d like to share? If so please leave a comment, I’d love to hear them.

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First off, when I say “The Importance of Telling Your Reader What to Do” I don’t mean that your copywriting should become prescriptive and demanding. That would just be silly. After all, a copywriter is supposed to build rapport with her readers; she’s supposed to get to know them, work out what makes them tick. She’s not supposed to shout at them and give them orders.

Or is she?

Softly at first

If you want your copy to work, you’ve got to build a realtionship with your reader. You must immediately show them that you understand what they are looking for. By telling them how your product/service will benefit them will show them that you care, you are willing to listen, and you’ll make their life better.

Aren’t you great?

By the time they’ve finished reading the inital paragraphs of your website they’ll be your best friend hanging on your every word.

Then what?

Well, now’s the time to build on your new found friendship. By now your reader trusts you and is ready to be lead by you to the next stage of the relationship.

But there’s a problem. You’ve told them how you’re going to improve their life. They love your product/service and realise that it is exactly what they’ve been looking for. But now, after doing all the hard work and convincing them they need it, you’ve left them high and dry.

They’ve read to the end of the page, ready to do whatever you ask, but there’s nothing. Zero. A big fat zilch. Just empty space.

Now they’re confused. They panic and hit the back browser and go to another website in the hope that will tell them what to do next.

So what did you forget?

You forgot one of the most important sections of your copywriting. It may only be a few words, but they could be the most important few words on the entire web page.

What’s the point in creating superb copy that has convinced your reader to buy if you forget the call to action?

“But they know they want to buy the product, why should I have to tell them to buy it?”

A very valid point, but if you don’t have a line at the bottom of your page that says Click here to buy now, or perhaps Call us today on 123 456 78 and book your appoinment, your reader won’t know what to do. Why should they go hunting round your website trying to work out what to do next if you can’t be bothered to tell them.

It might sound laughable that people forget to add a CTA but it happens all the time. I’ve lost count of the nimber of websites I’ve seen without one leaving the owner wondering why their conversion rate is so low.

Go and take a look at your website now – do you have a CTA? If the answer’s “no”, before you do anything else today add one to every sales page. Don’t leave anything to chance, if you want your reader to buy, tell them.

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