If you tried to give your customers every piece of information about your business and processes within the body of your website, you’d end up with something confusing, long and incredibly tedious.

That is why the humble FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page exists.

It is a simple way to communicate simple pieces of information to your reader quickly. Most websites include one these days because:

• They provide an extra level of support for your customers
• They save you time by posting answers to questions you are constantly asked therefore reducing email and phone calls
• They show you care about your customers by providing them with as much assistance as possible

Of course, for it to be a truly effective page you must ensure you include questions that people want to know the answers to. Look back through your email correspondence with customers and pull out all the questions that crop up time and again.

That’s all well and good, but how do you make sure you write a good FAQ page?

Well these 6 pointers will get you started in the right direction.

6 ways to write a winning FAQ page

1. Forget the fuss

The first thing to remember is that your FAQ page is there simply to provide information. It is not one of your main sales pages. So, although its content should still be clear and informative, it is the content that matters so forget images and other distractions. Make sure it is well written and easy to follow and that there’s no ambiguity.

2. Simplicity is key

Providing an FAQ page and then making it difficult to find answers is rather counter-productive. Make it easy for your user by categorising your Q and As. Cluster all questions relating to similar topics together. That way it will make your customers life much easier because they’ll be able to find the information they need quickly.

3. Information overload

The number of questions and answers you have will depend on your business. Some of you may only have half a dozen or so. But for those who are likely to have ten or more questions, gather all the questions together at the top of your page and link each one to their answer. That way your reader can scan down the list of questions, find the one relevant to them, click on the link and be taken to the answer. This will make it much easier to use than if you merely list all Q and As together so they have to scroll down your mammoth list until they find the one they want.

Just bear in  mind though, if you do list your questions and link them to the answers, make sure you provide a ‘return to top’ link at the end of each answer so they can easily return to the top of the page.

4. Start with the easy stuff

Another good way to make sure your list of questions is useful is by placing the simplist and most often asked questions at the top of the list. The more complex questions should then come further down the list.

5. You’re not writing a novel

However tempted you are to write something literary and indepth, keep your answers short and to the point. Now’s not the time to show off your writing skills (in fact, that is something you should never do when writing any type of marketing materials. Your writing should be secondary – it is your marketing message that should be noticed), keep your answers simple, short and to the point.

6. Be available

One thing that really bugs me are websites without any contact details. It is so frustrating especially when the FAQ page doesn’t answer my particular problem. Like many people, if I find a site that makes it virtually impossible to get in touch with the company I’ll hit the back browser and find someone else. My instant reaction is what are they trying to hide? If you are a genuine company why isn’t your address, phone number, email address clearly marked on your website? Make sure you provide a link to your contact page from the FAQ page in case someone has a question that’s not listed.

So as you can see your FAQ page really is important and shouldn’t be thrown together as an after thought. It is your extended online customer service portal providing information that your customers need. By making it easy to find, easy to follow and easy to read, you are adding another layer of customer service. Plus, just think of how many emails and phone calls you won’t have to field because your customers can find the answers to their questions for themselves.

Remember to also keep it updated. It is unlikely you’ll predict every question you’ll ever be asked, so as new questions arise add them to your page. Over time you’ll accumulate a valuable bank of information for your customers.

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Yes, I’ve returned to my favourite topic – good old search engine optimisation.

What makes me so qualified to talk about it?

Am I an SEO expert? – No.

But, I am a great SEO Copywriter – what makes me so sure? Well, that could have something to do with my website appearing on the front page of Google for the term copywriter which is incredibly competitive (getting on for 7 million search results) as well as several of my other keywords.

OK, that’s my credentials out the way, so let’s get back to the subject in hand.

Writing content that is search engine friendly involves far more than stringing a bunch of words together which include your keywords. Below are 7 things you have to know about SEO content if yours is going to work:

1. The importance of content

Writing great content shouldn’t just be about rankings. If that is what you hone in on, you’ll end up writing drivel. Your content has to be interesting and relevant because not only do you want it to rank well in the search results, you also want other people to link to your site and share its information.  And we’re not just talking about web copy here, it’s also things like articles and blog posts too. These back links are very important to your SEO strategy so attracting them is vital.

Obviously when writing your content you will have to include your keywords, but do it in a natural way. Don’t cram your copy with  them or have them so concentrated it makes it impossible to read. Read your copy out loud, if you find you’re falling over yourself because you have so many keywords, cut them back or re-write it so they are more naturally spaced. Readability is everything.

2. Attention grabbing

Headlines are a great way to grab your readers attention. You obviously want them to be relevant to your copy, but don’t just write decriptive headlines. Think of yourself as a journalist. How would they create a sensational headline to make your reader want to learn more? Try to come up with something that will really capture their imagination and, of course, make sure your primary keyword is in there too.

3. Bionic bio

When you write articles, blog posts or directory submissions, you will be asked for a biography. Again make this as interesting as you can and make sure your keyword is in there.

4. META

META descriptions are often overlooked. They never seem to be thought of as important. But they are. If you are unsure what a META description is, it’s basically 150 characters that are used to describe your content. Include your keywords so your reader can instantly see whether your content is going to be relevant to them or not. Although this may not necessarily directly contribute to your SEO, it will help direct readers to your website.

5. Layout

Just as you would take time to make sure your business letters are laid out correctly, spend the same amount of time ensuring your web copy, articles and blogs are laid out effectively. Lots of white space make them more appealing to the eye and easier to read. Headings and sub headings should be used to attract attention and direct readers through your text. When you use headings, make sure you use the correct tags and in a hierarchical order. H1 tags are your main headings; your sub headings should be H2 etc. And of course, always use your keywords where possible within the headings.

6. Be original

Coming up with continuous and original copy isn’t easy and the temptation to recycle is great. But don’t – unless you want to fall foul of Google’s duplicate content trap, make sure all your content is original. That’s not just your web copy, articles and blog posts, but also directory submissions, biographies and profiles. It is a lot of work but well worth it.

7. Pretty pictures

Finally I want to look at pictures. Images are always a great way to enhance your copy. But make sure the images are relevant to your content and that you have the right to use them. Many people over look the SEO potential of images. The ALT tag is very important as it gives you another opportunity to include your keyword within your site. But make sure the description you use is relevant to the image.

Why do you need to know this?

Many people believe SEO is all down to keywords and content. In part it is, but your SEO strategy should encompass so much more. You have to think about readability, links, images as well as the navigability of your website (for humans and search engine spiders).

Too many companies are still spending thousands on websites without giving a thought to its content. Yes a well designed site is important, but it is the words within it that will do the hard work for your rankings, attract traffic and convert those visitors into paying customers.

If you think SEO copywriting is an expense you can do without, you may as well think customers are an unnecessary annoyance. Investing in well written SEO copywriting is vital for the success of your online marketing.

It won’t be cheap but it will make a huge difference to your bottom line.

Sally Ormond is an international SEO Copywriter. She has worked with numerous companies (SMEs to Blue Chip Companies) from a broad range of industries to create eye-catching SEO website copy that attracts a targeted audience and converts them to buying customers. Find out how you can benefit from her experience by getting in touch today.

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Email marketing is possibly the most important and effective marketing tool available to businesses today. It offers a way of regularly communicating with your customers to give them up to date information, telling them about new products and offers. Within seconds you can communicate with thousands of customers simultaneously – and that’s very powerful.

I have written numerous posts about email marketing in the past, such as:

How to build your email marketing list

Email marketing – Welcome

How to be an email spammer

How to become the King or Queen of email marketing

Consistent  email marketing

10 words that will make people open your email

Email marketing – When’s the best time to send?

Boost your email open rate

So this time I want to address a question I am frequently asked by clients…

How often should I email my customers?

As we all know life is rarely simple, so you can probably guess what my answer is going to be….it depends.

Not very helpful I know, but it really does depend on your business type. What’s right for one person isn’t necessarily going to be right for the next. You have to find the right balance for you. Take a good look at your business and the products or services you offer – the frequency of your emails will dependly largely on:

• What you are offering your customers
• Who your customers are
• What you have to say

Common frequencies are quarterly, monthly, bi-monthly (i.e. once every two months), twice monthly, weekly and sometimes daily (or multiple times per day).

To help you out, here is a short guide to email frequency:

Quarterly

The businesses that opt for a quarterly mailing usually don’t have a vast amount to say. Perhaps their products or services don’t change regularly and they don’t have offers to make. Although some would argue some contact is better than none, I struggle to see the point of only making contact once a quarter. By leaving so much time between communications you run the risk the recipient forgetting who you are.

To be quite honest, if you are considering quarterly mailings I would think very hard about it. There’s almost no point in bothering.

Monthly

Many companies go for the monthly option because it is regular without seeming intrusive. Often the businesses who opt for this frequency don’t use their newsletter/email to sell things. Normally they are more concerned with imparting valuable knowledge on the recipient. Giving away great information regularly is an excellent way to build and strengthen relationships with your customers.

As a copywriter I send out a monthly newsletter which offers my readers hints and tips on copywriting, marketing and social media. It is free information that I am giving away and I never sell through it. By the way, if you want to get on the mailing list visit my website and sign up.

Twice a month

This is a compromise for those companies that want to make contact more than monthly but don’t have enough to say to make weekly contact. One of the benefits of this frequency is you can alternate the type of content you email. One could be giving away information whilst the next could be an offer on one of your products. That way your reader won’t feel as though they are constantly being sold to.

Weekly

Weekly emails are often sent by stores looking to sell. Whether they are High Street chains or independent shops, weekly emails enable them to communicate offers and new lines quickly and easily to their customers. Plus being retail outlets it won’t come as a surprise to the recipient that they are being sold something.

So these are the most common frequencies used. There are companies that email daily or even multiple times per day but you’d have to have a lot to say to be able to keep that up.

Keeping up with your chosen frequency is important. Your customers will grow to expect their next newsletter/email so if you have to miss one for any reason (e.g. holiday etc.) make sure you let them know. Just a simple one liner to say there’ll be no newsletter this month but service will resume as usual next month will keep them informed.

If you are not already doing it, give email marketing a try. Coming up with a constant stream of ideas and content can be a challenge, but the results make it worth while.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

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If you own a business, you can’t help but have noticed that online is the place to be these days.

The vast majority of the population is searching the internet for the goods and services they want, so if you want be part of the action you have to have an online presence.

But lobbing a website into cyber space isn’t as easy as it sounds.

There are a number of online marketing pitfalls just waiting for the unsuspecting business owner who perhaps isn’t quite as web savvy as they think. That’s not meant to be criticism of all business owners – it’s just that the web changes at an alarming rate so it is vital you understand it and keep up with the latest techniques, taboos and pitfalls that await you.

Having a successful web presence takes time and money. Throwing any old thing together will kill your business quicker than anything. After all if you had a High Street store you would make sure the window display was inviting to passers by. Your website is your online shop window so treat it as that. It should be professional, appealing and tailored to your business needs.

This superb post on Copyblogger will help you navigate the mine field that is online marketing. Mel Brennan’s post 6 Online Marketing Mistakes that Will Kill Your Business takes you by the hand and walks you through the 6 no-nos of internet marketing.

It’s really worth taking a few minutes of your day to read through it and make sure you’re not committing any cardinal sins.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

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Local search is fast becoming a very important marketing tool for many businesses.

More and more people are turning away from Yellow Pages and local press and towards Google and the other search engines to find local products and services.

Therefore it is more important than ever to make sure your website and online marketing activities are geared up for local searches.

Boosting your local search potential is all about owning more of the web.

How to boost your online presence

A great way to give your presence a boost is to increase the number of web pages on the internet that relate to your business.

By that I don’t mean you’ve got to grow your own website, but instead utilise the power of other websites. To illustrate my point I thought I’d review one such site called www.myProSpot.com.

myProSpot is just one ‘directory’ style website that you can utilise to boost your online presence. By adding your company details you are opening yourself up to a whole new market. Not only that but the Platinum membership (the site also offers a free membership) offers you something very valuable – a micro site for your company.

If you’re not sure what I mean take a look at the one I set up for my own freelance copywriting business. Now, not only do I have my own copywriter website, but I also own more of the web through my myProSpot web pages.

Websites such as these are great for local businesses. Not only do they increase your web presence and therefore increase your chances of appearing in the search results, they also offer other services such as customer feedback – so you can compete against the big boys through your feedback. Great feedback is only achieved through good service so the size of your marketing budget doesn’t matter.

Did you know approximately 40% of small businesses don’t have a website

That’s quite scary – but again, sites such as myProSpot can help you out.

If you don’t have the budget for a website, setting up a profile like the one above will give you that all important web presence.

It really is worthwhile looking into setting up profiles on sites such as this one – there are plenty out there.

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Do you have a website? If so, how is it performing?

I’m not talking about its load time or looks but rather how many of your visitors go on to become customers – i.e. we are talking about its conversion rate.

As a copywriter I frequently come across websites that look pretty, have a lot of content, even rank well and yet the owners are at a loss as to why it doesn’t convert its visitors into sales. Even scarier is when people state:

Client: “My website’s working really well – I get about 500 unique visitors every day”

Copywriter: “Great, so what’s your conversion rate?”

Client: “My what?”

There is a simple way to boost your conversion rate, although this post is entitled the Number 1 secret to websites that convert; it’s not really a secret, it should be common sense.

How to make your website convert

First off I want to look at the behaviour of people searching the internet.

If they are looking for a specific product or service they will enter their search term into Google and then open a new tab for each website that takes their fancy. The idea behind this is that they can compare what each company is offering.  They’ll want to know what’s in it for them if they buy from your company.

Have you guessed the number 1 secret to website that convert yet?

That’s right – you have to identify your unique value proposition. But not only identify it, make sure it is the first thing your potential customer sees.

Your UVP is going to be the main benefit you offer. Something that is going to set you apart from your competitors,

It could be a free bonus item, price reduction, guarantee – something that is of real value to your reader.

That is the secret behind the biggest converting websites.

If you hide your UVP within your text, do you really think the reader is going to take the time to read the entire content of your site to find it?

No, they won’t. The one thing people have very little of these days is time. So make their job easier by announcing your UVP immediately and clearly. And make sure it is on all your pages – after all, there is a chance they’ll land on a page other than your Home Page. A simple banner across the top of all your pages announcing your UVP will do the trick.

Make it big, make it bold, make it seen.

So, now you know what to do if you want to boost your conversion rate. Take a look at your website, identify your UVP and shout about it. Then watch what happens to your conversion rate.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

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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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I’m sure you’ve read enough blog posts to know that search engine optimisation is the thing to be doing these days if you have a website.

Good organic search results are the holy grail for many business and, in the long run, are much cheaper that using PPC (pay per click) advertising.

But understanding how to create great copy that will contribute to great rankings and be interesting to your reader is not easy. Therefore many company’s take the sensible option to invest in the services of a SEO Copywriter who knows what they are doing.

Your on page SEO cheatsheet

If you do your own web copy in house, I stumbled across this great post on Conversation Marketing which will prove invaluable to you. If you are responsible for uploading images, writing articles or tweaking your company’s website copy, this On Page SEO Cheatsheet will show you how to get the most from your onpage SEO elements:

To get your copy click here and download the PDF.

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The way we read is being revolutionised.

With advances in technology it is now ‘cool’ to read our favourite books on a Kindle reader:

“A revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper”

No, I’m sorry but that’s just not right.

I don’t want to hold an inanimate object and read from a screen. For me reading is about connecting with something tangible. I like to hold a book, feel it’s pages, listen to the gentle sound as each page is turned, see the creases in the spine – I WANT TO TO TURN PAGES!!!

On holiday I’ll take several novels. Yes they take up space in my luggage but I don’t care. I can read them anywhere without fear of getting a flat battery.

There is something special about a book – whether it’s new or second hand – that can never be replaced by a screen.

If the text in my book is small, compact and endless, I don’t care. I’ll read it. But if writing on a screen is small, compact and endless I won’t read it.

It’s just like websites and blogs that you see which are crammed to the rafters with copy. They are so difficult to read. Writing copy for the web is very different from writing for printed media. Most people find reading from a screen difficult and if they are faced with a wall of text, they probably won’t even bother.

Make your writing look interesting

Content has to look attractive to make someone read it.

Creating space around your words is more likely to encourage someone to read them.

Rather than writing long paragraphs of text, break it up into chunks separated by white space. Insert sub headings to signal to your reader what each section is about.

Basically, if you want people to read the content on your website you have to make it look inviting. Your copy has to be interesting, relevant and search engine friendly. Getting the right amount of content on your page is vital – but good SEO Copywriting doesn’t necessarily mean writing thousands and thousands of words.

So what is the optimium amount of copy? Well the simple answer is it depends.

You’ll need enough to get your keywords in and enough to make sure you get your message across to your reader. At the end of the day it will depend on the competitiveness of the keywords you have chosen and what you actually want to say.

Getting your web content right is vital for your search engine optimisation so it pays to invest in the services of a good SEO Copywriter who understands how to write great content  that is appealing to your reader and the search engine spiders.

For me, no amount of electronic gizmos will ever replace a good old fashioned book. Reading from a screen is always going to be difficult so if you want people to read your material make sure you follow the advice in this blog post.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

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Search engine optimisation is huge these days.

If you have a website, having an SEO strategy is a must if you want to develop those all important organic listings. Yes, you could opt for PCC (pay per click) advertising, but why pay for short term gains when you can develop a long term winning strategy?

To make your SEO work you need three things:

• An SEO friendly website that is easy to navigate (for the reader and search engine spiders)
• Great content written by a professional SEO Copywriter
• Back links

To get the first two, it really pays to find an expert in  their field. Yes there are cheaper options out there, but if you cut corners you’ll end up with something that doesn’t work. This is especially true when it comes to the copywriting. There are a lot of people out there who will claim to understand SEO, but few copywriters do. It pays to shop around and ask to see examples of work they’ve done.

When it comes to backlinks, you need to think long term. You can buy them in, but that often causes more harm than good. So the best option is to build them yourself. But that takes time and is often too much for one person alone.

Therefore why not bring in your team to work on this for you?

The best way to make this work for you is for you to create a team of link builders within your company.

I stumbled across this post on Seomoz.org which gives an example of how this can work. Take a look at Rob Ouseby’s post “Create A Link Building Team Within Your Organisation” and see what tips you can pick up to make your whole organisation a continuous link building machine.

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