Entries Tagged 'copywriter' ↓

If you’re a bit of a petrol head, I bet the sound of a V8 racing past gets your spine tingling. There’s something very special about that throaty roar.

Normally coupled with a sleek body, gorgeous good looks (yes, I’m still talking about the car) and sumptuous interior, its all your boy-hood (or girl-hood) dreams come true.

A car without one is simply, well a car – just your usual run of the mill banger to get you from A to B.

Is your website a Ferrari or an old banger?

Ask any website designer what pattern a typical visit to their website follows and they’ll tell you:

Basically, a visitor will land on their home page, click through to see examples on their portfolio page and then either get in touch, or go elsewhere.

Why does this happen?

Because many people’s main concern is still the aesthetics of their website. They want it to look slick and sexy. They want flash and loads of images and graphics that look pretty. In other words, they want a Ferrari.

But if this is your main focus when looking for a new website, you’ll probably end up with an old banger.

Don’t get stuck in the scrap yard

You might think a gorgeous looking website can’t fail to sell. You’d be wrong.

A gorgeous looking website on a web designer’s portfolio will sell. But if you try and use it to sell your products, on its own it will fail.

Despite the huge amounts of information on the web about search engine optimisation, many people are still not doing it, or doing it badly.

A fabulous looking website is like a Ferrari without an engine – it’s useless. The engine of your website comes in two forms – its content and links.

The web copy on your site has to be:

• SEO friendly
• Compelling
• Relevant
• Interesting
• Benefits driven
• Unique

A tall order if you’re writing it yourself. If you’re serious about getting the SEO copy right on your website, hire an SEO copywriter to write it for you.

But make sure you chose wisely – beware the copywriter who talks about keyword density or who doesn’t know what an H1 heading is or who can’t explain the significance of a Page Title.

Don’t forget the links

Getting your on-page SEO right is a great start, but then you have to work on your linking strategy.

Google adores one way back links – they are links you get from other websites to yours. There are numerous services out there who claim to be able to build thousands of links for you overnight (practically). But be careful – the best links are those that are from sites relevant to your industry. The most effective way to link build is to do it yourself through article directories (e.g. ezinearticles) and using web 2.0 properties such as Squidoo.

Organic is good for you

You might decide that you want to go pay per click rather than battling with SEO. If you have a large marketing budget then go for it. But if you’re not lucky enough to have bottomless pockets, organic search results really are the best way to market your business today.

The days of consumers turning to the Yellow Pages or local press ads are disappearing fast. Today, even for local searches, people are turning to the internet.

Don’t forget, one advantage the search results have over the Yellow Pages is, if you have one or more search results on page one, you’re pushing your competitors off the front page and onto page 2!

So don’t forget – a great looking website won’t sell your products. Relevant, interesting copy will.

Do you use Twitter?

If so, how do you use it?

For a lot of people, Twitter is all about getting as many followers as possible. They don’t care who they are, just so long as their Twitter page shows an astronomically large number of follows.

But for others (me included), Twitter is more about quality rather than quantity. You see, Twitter is a relationship tool. It’s not about who can get the most followers. It’s about who’s out there in the Twitterverse that can add value to your life/business and visa versa.

It can be a fabulous tool for gathering information, finding new partners for business projects, identifying potential new clients. But above all, it allows you to build relationships and trust by giving and sharing great information.

…and the copywriting?

Yeah, OK, I was just getting to that bit.

Let’s take website copywriting as an example. When creating copy for a website, you have to take the reader into consideration. After all you are trying to attract them to the site so you have to write benefits led copy that they’re going to find interesting.

You will utilise SEO skills to ensure you attract targeted traffic to the site.

“Who cares – I just want loads of traffic!”

Sure, everyone wants loads of traffic to their website, but would you rather have 100 visitors a day who don’t hang around or 10 highly targeted visitors who not only visit your site, they also buy.

Just think about that. Every day your site would get 10 buying customers – 70 in a week – 3640 per year.

Of course, to get this type of targeted traffic you’ll have to do your research carefully. Use free keyword tools like Google’s to find your target audience – oh, and start with local key phrases rather than generic ones as the local ones are easier to rank for.

Get your key phrases into your page titles and headings and then write your web copy with them in mind. Don’t worry about density – that’s no longer relevant and you’ll find writing naturally will automatically bring in the right saturation of key terms.

So you see, Twitter is a lot like copywriting. Quantity isn’t that important – it’s the quality that really counts.

When was the last time you actually saw a business do business?

Personally, I’ve never witnessed a company pick up a phone to place an order to arrange an appointment.

In the world I live in, it’s the people that run the companies that do the buying, selling and phone calling.

Selling to business

In all the years I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter I have written copy for personal customers and business customers – B2B and B2C.

If I’d been given a pound every time a new client said “My main clients are other businesses so your copy will need to be very corporate….”

Number 1 – real people run businesses. Real people make buying decisions therefore writing to sell to businesses isn’t that different to writing to sell to individuals.

Even though your client has a corporate image and headed note paper, they still experience problems. And those problems need solving.

B2B emotion

As a B2B copywriter I know how important it is to pull on the emotional triggers. Business owners have concerns and worries the same as anyone else – and they want solutions to those worries.

If your copy blatantly disregards those basic needs, your sales message is going to fall on deaf ears.

But if your message shows you understand their problems and you have the solution that will take their pain away – you’re more likely to have a winner on your hands.

To achieve this you can employ many of the psychological triggers that you already use on your personal customers.

Keep it simple

The language you use should also be relatively simple. It is often argued that b2b copywriting should be more formal and complex because you are addressing other companies. Plus the level of management you are aiming is going to be well educated and therefore will expect something rather more ‘high brow’.

Again, don’t forget you are writing to normal people. They are also likely to be very busy. A complex, dense document is not going to look as attractive as a powerful headline, a paragraph of stonkingly good sales copy that is packed with benefits and a strong call to action.

When you next write b2b copy, remember:

• The company can’t pick up the phone
• Your are selling to a human
• They still have problems for which they are looking for solutions
• They will be time-limited so keep it short, simple but strong

It’s Mothers’ Day so I’m sat here in front of my computer working while the kids and my husband are glued to the TV watching the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Everything has to stop in this house when it’s F1 season – especially as Schumacher is making his big comeback this season (or at least he hopes!).

I’m not doubting that this year should see some amazing races. After all we have Hamilton and Button as team mates, Alonso looks strong and Vettel has got the first pole of the season.

So the big question is, has Schumacher still got what it takes to win races?

Moving on

You’re probably wondering what all of this has to do with copywriting. Well, if Schumacher drives as he used to when the cars were different and the rules were different, he’s not going to get very far.

Although he’s been working as a consultant for Ferrari since his retirement, he’s not actually been out there behind the wheel of an F1 car for sometime.

If he doesn’t move with the times. he’ll be left behind. And that is precisely what will happen with your copywriting if you just continue to churn out the usual stuff.

Freshen up or risk boredom

If you put out the same old sales message time and time again, your audience is going to get bored. Even though you may want to keep your colours and corporate image static, you need to alter your message and style.

Not every product or service you want to market is going to be successful if you market them in the same way. Think about your customers –what type of person are they? how old are they? what social standing do they have?

When you want to produce a new advert, sales letter, landing page etc., don’t just regurgitate what you’ve done before. Go for something different – make people stop and think “Oh, that’s different. I wander what that’s about.”

Giving a new take on your advertising keeps it fresh and arouses curiosity. If you can get your audience curious they’ll want to know more.

Tips to keep your copywriting fresh

There are a few techniques you can use to try and give your copy a new twist. It’s very easy to get stuck in a rut if you’ve been writing for the same product for a while.

Try one of these suggestions next time you are struggling to find an original angle:

• Browse through the websites of your competitors and see what they’re doing. This might help generate new and innovative ideas.
• Study headlines to find a new, stronger angle.
• Try to link your product to something topical – use a current news story to give a different slant to your marketing.
• Talk to friends and family about the product – they can sometimes be a great source of inspiration.
• When you’re out and about be aware of what’s around you, look at adverts, listen to people – you can pick up great ideas from casual conversations.
• Study news papers and magazines – keep cuttings of interesting articles and headlines that could be useful.

The world around you is full of fresh and interesting information that can be used within your marketing. All you have to do is be more aware.

Oh, and by the way – despite Vettel’s pole position, his car let him down, Alonso won. And Schumacher – 6th.

In my last post I explained why you should get your business blogging.

“That’s great Sally. But what the hell am I supposed to write about?”

Trust me, you’d be amazed at the wealth of material available to you.

By blogging you are going to really help your search engine optimisation, customer communication, online reputation as an expert and really boost your web presence. So it is really worth digging deep to find some great topics to write about.

Look beyond your writers’ block

Everyone has something to write about:

• your businesses background
• top tips
• ‘how to’ articles
• customer case studies

In your daily work situation subjects are likely to crop up. Keep a pad next to you to jot down ideas as they come to you. That way you’ll begin to build a list of potential blog posts for future use.

I stumbled across a great post on Problogger tackling this subject. In his post, Mark Hayward gives 9 tips for creating more small business blogging ideas. Building these suggestions into your everyday working life will generate you a constant stream of ideas.

Therefore writers’ block and the excuse that you can’t think of anything to write about will be banished forever.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter