Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

These days, TV schedules seem to be full of reality TV shows. We appear to be obsessed with human behaviour (admittedly at times, it’s not so human) – how different people react in situations and how they interact with each other.

Whether you love them or loathe them, they do offer an insight into the world of social media and the people you will meet there.

Although social media happens in a virtual world, you will still come across the usual people profiles:

• Shy
• Confrontational
• Opinionated
• Funny (and those who think they’re funny)
• Confident
• Flirty…

The list is endless. This is why social media interaction should be based on real life interaction. You may not be speaking with people face to face but they are real people.

Make friends

If you were at a party you would mingle and chat, that’s what you need to do on social media. If you are a natural wall flower this is the perfect opportunity to make an impression.

In a real life situation you may not have the confidence to approach people and chat with them (especially if you don’t know them). But in social media you can because you don’t have to physically approach them. Sat in front of your computer, you can be whoever you want to be.

Join the conversation but make sure you leave your sales hat off. Concentrate on adding value to others rather than asking favours. Offer advice and information and become a valued member of the community.

Social butterfly

You must know someone who always manages to effortlessly fit into any social group, always has crowds of people around them hanging on their every word and generally being irritatingly popular.

Emulate that person by sharing tips, stories and advice. Also encourage others to join in the conversation by inviting readers to leave comments on your blog posts – get a debate started.

Always ask questions and be interested in others and what they have to say. If you engage with others in this way they’ll want to talk to you.

Watch out for the bully

Sadly they exist everywhere, even on social media.

There’ll always be someone somewhere ready to start a fight – they’ll disagree with everything you say and try to run you down.

First of all, if you can avoid this type of situation, do so. But if it does happen, don’t run and hide. Make sure you express your opinion and stand up to them but…

• Think before you speak – you don’t want to antagonise the situation
• Read your comment before posting – how does it sound? You don’t want to lose credibility through a knee-jerk reaction
• If you can add facts and figures to your reply – use stats to back up your position
• Don’t reply in haste – remember your comment will be on the internet forever

So, as you can see, social media really is a lot like real life. All sorts of people use it – some to engage with others and make new friends and contacts, others to promote their services and products.

To get the most from it you have to be part of it. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or blogging, dive in and join the conversation.

Do you have any tips you can share on engaging in social media?

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a situation that’s been quite difficult or you’ve been the victim of a social media bully? If so, how did you deal with it?

Please share your experiences by leaving a comment below.

Author – Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter at Briar Copywriting and social media addict

If you’re thinking about becoming a copywriter, there’s one thing you must get – a very thick skin.

Over the years mine has thickened to rival any Rhino – that doesn’t conjure a particularly attractive image, but it is a necessity when you write for a living.

I’ve been in business as a freelance copywriter since 2007. I’m pretty good at what I do, in fact I would go so far as to say I’m an expert in my field – that’s why companies from all over the world come to me when they need help with their marketing copy.

The process is fairly simple:

1. The client makes contact
2. I ask for a full brief on which to base a quote
3. They say ‘yes please’
4. I write the copy
5. They review it
6. Everyone’s happy

OK, in an ideal world it would work that way. But frequently there’s a few extra steps added between 5 and 6.

You will soon discover that, no matter how experienced you are, clients will criticise your copy. I will admit that when I first started out this was, at times, hard to take. After all, I’d spent hours pouring over concepts to come up with the finished article.

Some won’t like the approach you’ve taken, others will tell you how they would write it – even though you’re the professional they’ve hired to do the work.

But the one thing you have to remember is that the criticism isn’t directed at you personally.

Copywriting is a very collaborative process. Sometimes you’ll hit it right first time and there’ll be no amendments to be done. Other times there may be a few tweaks needed and the key is to talk to your client, discuss their ideas and together produce a revised version.

Just like art, writing is very subjective – what you know is right may not be so obvious to your client.

So what do you do when they change your copy?

First, take a deep breath. Then review what they’ve said, make any change requests that are valid and then take the time to explain why you wrote the copy in the way you did. Show them the elements within the copy and how they work together. Be confident and stand up for what you believe to be right (without causing an unpleasant scene) and if you know what they are asking you to do is wrong, tell them – nicely.

They’ll have far more respect for you if you take the time to explain a concept than if you say “OK, if that’s how you want it written” knowing full well it won’t achieve the results they’re looking for.

At the end of the day, believe in yourself and your abilities but leave your ego at the door. Plus it also helps to keep sound bites to hand from clients who were happy with your work so in moments of self doubt you can remind yourself how good you are.

Does that sound familiar?

Come on, be honest, I bet at some point you’ve muttered those 4 words.

You’re not alone; it is the most frequently proffered excuse for someone not to do social media (closely followed by “I don’t understand all that stuff”).

Blogging, Facebook and Twitter (amongst others) can and will do wonders for your online marketing. They are the tools to use to build your credibility, offer advice, become an expert in your field and get to know other business owners and your customers.

Most people understand they need to do it but, at the same time, they say they don’t have the time.

Marketing time

If you have avoided social media marketing let me ask you a few questions:

• Do you go out networking?
• Do you spend time writing and submitting small adverts?
• Do you do call/warm calling?
• Do you send out mailings to attract business?

I’m sure you do at least one of those activities regularly. So if you can build those into your working day, why can’t you slot in some social media time?

At the end of the day social media is just another tool in your marketing armoury. But it is a tool that can carry your voice a lot further than an advert or phone call. Blogging, Facebook and Twitter help you reach your audience directly. You can start conversations with them and interact with them.

One thing a week

Get yourself started by doing one task per week.

It could be writing and scheduling a few blog posts, write an article, submit your website to an online directory, post to Facebook or getting to grips with Twitter.

By breaking down your marketing into manageable chunks, you’ll find it easier to cope.

Before you know it, you won’t have to pay a small fortune for a tiny little ad that’s surrounded by your competitors in a magazine with only a small circulation. You won’t have to make those cold calls anymore and you can say good bye to those tedious and unfruitful mailings.

You will only get something out of social media if you’re prepared to put something in – your time. We’re not talking hours – just a few minutes a day will make a difference.

Come on, make your time work harder for you and get cracking on your social media marketing strategy.

If you’re already ‘working it’ leave a comment and share your experiences with us. Tell us what worked for you and what didn’t. Have you had any successes? If so tell us.

Plus, stop by and say hi on Twitter and Facebook.

You’re ready to take the plunge.

You’ve set up your blog and eager to get your first post written so you can hit the ‘publish’ button.

But how long will your initial enthusiasm last?

All too often people dive into blogging without really understanding what it takes to be a successful blogger.

There are loads of stories banded about of people who make a living just from blogging. But if it was that easy we’d all be doing it.

Creating and sustaining a popular blog is hard work – are you ready for a life long commitment?

Blogging stamina

Here are 5 things you have to have if you want to succeed. It’s not an exhaustive list but designed to give you a taster of what you could be taking on.

1. Time

There are bloggers out there making money from their blogs. But it didn’t happen overnight. If you want to generate an income from your blog it’s going to take a lot of time and hard work. Your dedication will be severely tested and only the truly committed will make it.

2. Passion

Running a blog is non-stop.

You have to be totally in love with your subject to pull off a successful and lasting blog relationship. You will have to write year after year about your subject – can you generate enough ideas to pull that off?

3. Traffic

Many people are completely hung up on the number of visitors they get to their blog. But the true measure of a successful blog is the number of visitors who stay, come back, interact with you through comments and share your content with others.

4. Promote

Just because you have a blog and post to it regularly doesn’t mean people will find you.

To grow your readership you’ll have to promote your blog continuously through outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.

5. Plan

Before you begin you have to have a plan:

• Why are you blogging?
• What do you want to achieve?
• What will your posting schedule be?
• What will you blog about?

As you can see, having a blog is a long term commitment. How do you manage yours? Why not share your blogging experiences by adding a comment below.

As a business owner I’m guessing you spend a fair amount of your marketing budget on your online marketing (and off line).

You have website copy to keep up to date, email marketing to do, blogs and articles to write not to mention the brochure you need to revamp.

All of that takes money but there is something out there that can generate a shed load of free publicity.

Don’t forget your PR

Most marketers have lost faith in print marketing and advertising. But you shouldn’t ignore the power of great press coverage.

Whether it’s in the form of an interview, quote, feature or editorial, being seen in the ‘right’ magazines and papers can pay dividends.

And here’s why…

1. Cheap

Getting a press release professionally written is an awful lot cheaper than paying for advertising space. Once it’s submitted and accepted you could end up with a page in a magazine or on a blog/website that’s all about you – pretty powerful stuff.

2. Credible

The public are fairly sceptical about marketing and can be resistant to anything that is obviously trying to sell to them. But good press coverage (such as a success story about your company or customer case study) is far more believable.

3. Connect

Adverts are impersonal. A good news story will personalise your company in your readers’ eyes and so make a connection with them.

4. SEO

Submitting press releases to online sites and blogs will help generate back links to your website and help your SEO.

5. Recycle

You can get a lot of mileage out of a press release. The content can be reused and turned into blogs and articles. It could be picked up by other publications and lead to other features and articles. The possibilities are endless.

So whatever you do, don’t forget to make sure your marketing strategy includes PR.

Have you had any PR successes you can share with us? If so leave a comment and let us know what happened and how it helped your business.