Entries Tagged 'Guest blog' ↓

Evan Fischer is a contributing writer for The Web Shoppe –Fargo Graphic Design, handling all of your website design, marketing, and content management needs.

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

If you haven’t worked in the freelance marketplace before, you are probably excited by the many benefits of leaving the office and the 9-5 behind.  No more morning commute, micro-managing supervisors looking over your shoulder, or noisy co-workers disrupting your workflow.  And you can decorate and paint your home office any color you like rather than spending all day staring at a mind-numbing sea of gray cubicles!

So far, so good.

But it’s not all wine and roses.  You are now managing your own business (by yourself), and that means you have to wear a lot of hats in order to keep the operation running smoothly.  The enterprise fails or succeeds solely because of you.  So here are just a few common mistakes that many in your position make and how you can avoid them.

1. Not treating it like a “real” job

As a freelancer you have the freedom to set your own hours, pick and choose the jobs you take, and virtually be your own boss.  But if you get in the habit of waking at the crack of noon, working a couple of hours, and then taking a siesta before showering up to go clubbing with your friends all night, well, you’re not really doing all you can to make your business venture a success.

So set work hours for yourself and stick to them!  And when you’re not working on a project, find ways to self-promote and bring in new clients.  There’s always work to be done when you’re self-employed.

2. Foregoing contracts

The other name for freelancer is contractor, which implies that you need a contract in order to do work and get paid for it.  Without this basic document trading services for payment, you have no legal leg to stand on should clients decide they simply don’t want to pay you (for whatever reason).  So draw up a basic contract (use templates online or seek legal services).  Even a comprehensive purchase order will do.  And consider demanding half of your payment up front; if clients make you chase them for the balance, at least you have a partial payment.

3. Overspending

It’s tempting to blow your start-up funds on the latest equipment and software, but it’s better to stick to what you know when you’re first starting out.  There will be plenty of time and money later on to expand your setup and your repertoire, but until you have steady work it pays to save every penny.

4. Ending education

Just because you have a couple of loyal patrons, that doesn’t mean you can afford to rest on your laurels.  You need to continue to offer current and prospective clients the best possible services if you want to remain competitive, and that means staying on top of industry trends by learning new programs and techniques.

5. Plagiarism

Most people never intend to plagiarize the work of others, but the internet seems to foster an environment of “borrowing” that really crosses the fine line between inspiration and outright stealing.  So just be cognizant of the fact that if something you create looks too similar to a popular design that’s already out there, you could end up with embarrassed clients, angry competitors, and even a lawsuit on your hands.

This article was supplied by Printed.com, suppliers of unbeatable quality digital flyer printing, and a shortlisted company for this year’s industry leading Print Week Environmental Company of the Year 2011 award.

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

A flyer campaign can offer a high return-on-investment due to its ability to reach a targeted demographic with a specific, relevant message. Once you have written your flyer, or flyers, the main issue is how and where to distribute them for maximum effect.

Like everything else, the business world is dependent on the written word to communicate information about its products and services. No matter how many thousand words a picture is worth, text isn’t going out of fashion: there is simply no substitute for a paragraph, page or book of words to get your message across. Your own flyer is a case in point: flyers are an outstanding way to deliver a simple, brief and accessible pitch to potential customers. Although images can add a great deal to them, flyers stand and fall on the quality of their text.

Flyers as a calling card

Whilst the text on any flyer is critical, it takes on a new relevance when the service you are promoting is text-based. Here your flyer presents an additional opportunity and pitfall; it is not just what you are saying, but how you are saying it that will make an impact. As a copywriter, editor, proofreader, advertiser, scriptwriter, bid writer (the list goes on), the quality of the text on your flyer as well as the service itself will form a vital part of attracting new clients. At the most simplistic level, you have to be absolutely obsessive about detail; if you are offering a copywriting service, for example, your potential customers will not have much confidence in you if your flyer is littered with minor errors – something that might be forgiven in a different industry. Conversely, if your flyer is well designed and laid out, and the text is compelling and letter-perfect, this in itself serves as an advert for the service you are offering. The flyer is an advert and portfolio sample in one.

Distributing your flyers

Once you have identified a need or niche, and composed your flyer accordingly, you need to make sure it reaches the right people. One of the biggest advantages of a flyer campaign is that they can be used to target certain demographics. Local businesses with a broad appeal (such as a restaurant, for example) might benefit from distribution to a particular post code. Other services, probably including your own, will require a different approach.

Fortunately, this is relatively easy with a little research. You will know from experience that flyers are distributed in a variety of ways – direct to your door, in magazines and other publications, and displayed in public places. The only task is to establish which of these are most relevant to your business and will provide the best ROI. That way, you need send out comparatively few flyers, knowing that the people they reach are likely to be interested in the service you provide. Specialist and trade publications are a good place to start, since you know that these are industry-or interest-specific. You may also be able to purchase mailing lists of people who have used or expressed interest in similar services in the past.

Conclusion

Some forms of advertising (such as newspaper ads or radio commercials) aim to reach a large number of people representing a cross-section of the population. Consequently, this is best for businesses that have a broad appeal. Flyers, on the other hand, typically reach a smaller number of people with a specific message that – with a little research – can be tailored to their needs. This is why a flyer campaign can offer such a high ROI: flyers are very cheap to produce, and can be sent to the people who will most likely respond well to your message. For a text-based service, there are a wide range of opportunities to distribute your flyer to potential and relevant customers, due to the large number of publications aimed at different business sectors.

This article was written by Daniela Baker, a small business blogger at CreditDonkey, a credit card deals website. She helps entrepreneurs compare small business credit cards to find rewards right for their business. 

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

When was the last time you went to a corporate website, other than your own? OK, now when was the last time you went on Facebook or Twitter?

Yeah, this is the reason why some people are asking whether social media is killing off company websites!

According to blogger, public speaker, and social media strategist Jeff Bullas, company Facebook pages seem to be absorbing corporate website traffic.

For example, he cites three companies that have both a booming Facebook presence and developed corporate websites: Coca Cola, Starbucks, and Oreo. A quick check this morning revealed that Coca-Cola boasts 36.6 million Facebook fans, Starbucks has 26.6 million, and Oreo has 23.7 million. They’re doing well, right?

Except Bullas noted that Coca-Cola’s corporate site traffic dropped by over 40% last year, Starbucks’ site traffic reached a plateau, and Nabisco’s traffic plummeted from 1.2 million hits each month to just 321,000 per month in a year. The social media strategist pointed to a Webtrends study showing that 68% of Fortune 100 websites have been experiencing negative growth, with a 24% decrease, on average, in unique visitors.

Even back in 2009, blogger and Internet media entrepreneur Adam Ostrow pointed out how common it was becoming to see business cards which included Twitter usernames instead of domain names and ad campaigns that included URLs to Facebook pages.

But is this death, or just specialization?

It’s important to note that neither Bullas nor Ostrow are predicting the death of company websites. Rather, the rise of social media seems to be taking them in a different direction.

Bullas, for example, argues in favor of integrating and optimizing content for different websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. That way, consumers can be more engaged all around.

He suggests using social media pages to send traffic to your corporate site by offering links on your company’s social media profile pages. For corporate blogs, include a sample of the start of the latest blog post in your company’s Facebook status or tweet, then include a link to the article. Make a Facebook or MySpace contest that requires users to track down information on your website, then announce you’ll publish the winners on your corporate website. Use social media to link your fans or followers to on-site coupons and use e-mail marketing, too.

That way, social media sites can help interested visitors find your corporate site instead of being a replacement for it.

Need help figuring out how to make your company website and social media communications play well together?

If this is all leaving you confused, consider hiring a social media consultant to help. With so many experts participating in the social media trend today, this task has never been easier.

Many major freelancing websites, such as Elance, even allow you to pay remote workers using your credit card. Business credit cards can be particularly helpful when using this strategy. Using a business credit card allows you to earn rewards that go toward your bottom line, access a steady source of cash to help you through dry periods, and establish business credibility.

Look for a social media strategist that’s familiar with many different social networks, has good feedback from past clients, can show you their own social media presence, understands new technology, plans ahead, and has a professional attitude.

Social media presence + corporate website = better communication with consumers.

In short, your brand’s social media page may take some attention away from your corporate site, but that doesn’t mean that you have to choose one or the other. With a little effort, you can make them work together for best results.

Think of it this way: your brand’s social media page can hand out flyers while your corporate website hosts the party.

This article was supplied by Printed.com, suppliers of unbeatable quality digital leaflet printing, and a shortlisted company for this year’s industry leading Print Week Environmental Company of the Year 2011 award.

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

Leaflets are a great way to drum up some business, assuming the content is up to scratch. However, writing effective copy for your leaflets is quite a skill.

Leaflets are an excellent way of targeting a particular area or demographic with details of your business, and flyer printing is a cheap and simple process thanks to advances in digital printing. However, simply putting together a leaflet and sending it out isn’t enough. Your content has to sparkle in order to grab the attention of your readers and raise it above the level of the dozens of other leaflets they will encounter on a regular basis.

Before you start…

To begin with, there are two general principles you should remember. One is that attention to detail is really important. When you have finished writing your leaflet copy, check it, re-check it and check it again. Then get someone else to read your leaflet. Printing thousands of substandard flyers isn’t going to do you any favours, as spelling and grammatical mistakes make you look lazy – and if you can’t be bothered to proofread a flyer, why should the customer have any confidence that you will pay them the attention they need? The other principle is not to over-stuff your leaflet with too much information or extraneous text. Readers don’t want to plough through any more than they have to.

1. Grab the attention

Flyer printing is an excellent way to access new customers, but you need to engage them straight away. Don’t leave your best material for the end of the leaflet. You need to grab their attention in the opening words – since these are all that many people will read. Most customers will take just a few seconds to assess your leaflet, before deciding to keep it or throw it away. In addition, if your leaflet is displayed alongside others in a rack, the first third or so is all that casual onlookers will see. You need something to make them pick it up. Have a look at other leaflets to see which achieve this and which fail. Images are sometimes good, and digital printing means you can include colour pictures at a relatively low cost. Nevertheless, make sure they add to rather than distract from your leaflet’s message.

2. Draw them in

Having gained your potential customer’s attention, you need to prompt them to consider your business or service further. A good way to do this is to ask a question that has particular relevance for them, and then offer the solution. Readers don’t want or need to know all about your business; what they want to know is what it can do for them. All the detail in the world won’t help you to make a sale or gain a client if they can’t see how it relates to their needs. So, put yourself in a potential customer’s position and write your leaflet copy accordingly.

3. End with a prompt

Finally, make sure you end your leaflet with a ‘call to action’ – a little encouragement to your audience to take the next step and get in touch, visit or find out more. Needless to say, make sure that they have all the information they need to do this, whether it’s directions and a map, a website or phone number. (Make sure that you are going to be able to deal with people who get in touch that way – there’s no point including a phone number on your flyer if you don’t have staff around to answer the calls.)

The call to action restates the reason they might want to find out more, and tells them how they can do it: ‘To cut your heating bills by 30 percent, phone us on…’ Don’t just give them the information they need in the flyer and expect them to make the leap to contacting you. Including this one extra sentence can result in a far more effective leaflet campaign.

This article was supplied by Printed.com, suppliers of unbeatable quality digital leaflet printing, and a shortlisted company for this year’s industry leading Print Week Environmental Company of the Year 2011 award.

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

Anyone can throw together a business leaflet, but putting together something strong and compelling is a little harder. Here are some top tips for writing something that shines a little brighter than the average leaflet.

Business leaflets are easy to produce and cheap to print, but therein lies their problem. Whilst the best ones catch the eye and can bring a fantastic return on investment, the majority of leaflets are mediocre – poorly designed and written slips of paper that may not even be read before they go in the recycling bin. Given the sheer volume of leaflets that paper the walls of the typical library or get pushed through doors to carpet the average porch, it pays to think a little longer and harder about it than the competition.

Get a sense of what works
Before you write anything, gather a bunch of other companies’ leaflets together and go through them. Give each of them just a few seconds at most – that’s how long people look at a leaflet before passing judgement. Decide on instinct whether you like them or not, and put them into two piles. When you’ve finished, go through the piles again and this time try to work out why some leaflets worked and others didn’t. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a good idea of what to aim for and what mistakes to avoid.

Meet a need
Whilst good design is a big part of getting people to read your leaflet in the first place, that won’t lead to any conversions unless you’re telling the audience something they want to hear. One of the most common mistakes leaflets make is trying to tell potential customers all about the company in question. The problem is that readers don’t want to know any more than they have to. In fact, in this respect your leaflet isn’t about your company at all: it’s about the reader’s needs and problems. Your company is only important in as much as it can answer those needs. Make sure that the information you state on your leaflet looks at things from the customer’s point of view, not yours.

Keep it short
On a similar theme, customers don’t want to read any more than they have to. Because leaflets are typically only two sides of A4, the temptation is often to cram them as full of information as possible so as not to waste any of your precious space. This is a mistake: solid text is unappealing, no matter how interesting – and it’s unnecessary. Part of the skill of leaflet writing is being able to condense what your business can offer into a few short words and phrases that will leave the reader wanting more – and therefore to contact you. Think of a leaflet a little like a trailer for a film. Images are great for this, because they can say so much more than the words you can fit in the same space. Two caveats are to make sure that the images are relevant and meaningful, rather than just pretty, and to make sure that any pictures do not detract from your text. You don’t need to give people any more reasons not to read your leaflet.

How to start a leaflet
The beginning of your leaflet is the most important part. The first few words or pictures have to be eye-catching and engaging, otherwise the rest of the leaflet is unlikely to be read at all. You should bear in mind that if your leaflet is going to be displayed in a rack along with perhaps dozens of others, the top third is all that anyone will see to begin with. If they don’t like what they see, they will simply move on to another one. Therefore that small area has to give potential customers something to pique their curiosity and read on. Choose your content carefully and for maximum effect.

Check again
Lastly, check and double-check your leaflet before it goes to print. Spelling and grammatical errors look unprofessional and careless: not the impression you want to leave with the reader. Make sure the customer has all the details they need to take things further, and give them a ‘call to action’ or reminder to contact you at the end of the leaflet – the information alone isn’t enough.