Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

Cor, I wish I could write like you…You make it look so easy….Yeah, but it’s alright for you, you’re good at this

As a copywriter it is my job to be able to create compelling and persuasive copy to sell your product or service to a target audience. The above are just some of the comments I get when people see my work.

I hate to dispel the mythical aura around what I do, but the final result that is published isn’t the first result that I come up with.

One of the keys to great writing is careful editing. It is a vital part of the writing process and one that many people skip to save time. But if you do skip it, you’ll end up with error ridden copy that isn’t effective. Here are a few tips to help with this important stage of the creative process:

1. Take a step back – when you’ve done as much as you can do in the first draft, walk away. Not permanently but just leave it alone for a while. Go and walk the dog, have a cuppa, read, get on with another project…anything that will take your mind off what you’ve just written. You’ll be amazed at how many errors you find when you return.
2. Remember your reader – it is very easy to forget who you are writing for. Think about your target audience. Is the tone right for them? Are you using the correct language – is it too high-brow? Make sure you don’t use any jargon. Is it convincing?
3. Get your pruning sheers out – now is the time to be ruthless. Cut down any overly long sentences. Make sure their construction is simple to read and understand. Remove any grandiose words. Keep your writing active.
4. Don’t trust the spell checker – it is the one feature of Word that has made us all lazy. Rely on it at your peril. Check and re-check real names. Make sure you’re using the right contractions (i.e. you’re when you mean you are). One tip here is that I read sentences backwards because it forces you to concentrate on every word.
5. Print and read – I don’t know about you, but I hate reading off a screen. By far the easiest way to edit your work and spot mistakes, is to print it off and read it aloud. You might feel a bit of a Charlie but it will help you spot mistakes, identify overly long sentences and change words to get the right sound and rhythm so it is easy to read and understand.
6. Hit it again Sam – Just when you think you’re ready to publish, stop and go through points 1 – 5 again. Go through them as many times as you like until you are 100% happy with your work. You only get one shot at it so you have to make sure it’s right.

Error ridden copy is sloppy, unprofessional and won’t portray your company in a very good light. It really is worth taking the time to get it right.

So I guess the real moral of this story is don’t leave the writing to the last minute. Be prepared – if you are running a DM campaign, reworking your web copy or carrying out an e-shot you know you will need copy, so make sure you allocate sufficient time to get it written.

After browsing the net the other day I came across this great post by Sherice Jacob for CopyBlogger – How To Write Copy for Short Attention Spans.

As a freelance copywriter I know all too well the problem you encounter when your audience suffers from the dreaded S.A.Ps or Short Attention Spans.

Sherice’s tips illustrate how this particular annoyance can be over come. I hope you find them useful.

No matter how gripping your sales copy is, it’s an unfortunate fact that the majority of people will only read the first few lines of it. Does that mean all the effort you poured into the perfect call to action is wasted? Not at all! But in today’s fast-paced world of communication, less really is more.

Taking into account that many people will be reading your copy from a mobile device or skimming after a quick search, it’s worth breaking up larger thoughts into small, mentally-digestible “chunks” for easy, quick scanning.

Begin With the Action in Mind

Many copywriters go about the process in reverse – filling up the valuable top left space with lofty promises no one really cares about and then spend the rest of the page getting to the product or service that’s going to bring the eventual offer.

While this type of approach is great for harnessing your long-term readers, you don’t want to alienate the visitors who are judging your site’s relevance for the first time. Some people, when they’re confronted with a long sales page, will skip right to the bottom to find out the cost, then jump right back up to the top if they feel it’s worth their time (are you nodding your head, too?)

So how do you attract the quick browser and convince them that your page is worth their time while appealing to the more serious reader who’s in it for the “long haul”?

So What?

One of the best exercises I’ve ever done to help with this process is to continually ask myself “so what?” Whittle down your copy to the raw benefits that directly engage your readers:

“XYZ company can save you up to $500 on your car insurance by helping you get a free quote online” – So what?

“Put an extra $500 in your pocket today” – Now I’m listening!

You don’t have to forego imagination for the sake of clarity either. There are some products where using the right word can make all the difference while still condensing the overall message – like so:

“XYZ chocolate makes a terrific gift. Order now for great savings and fast shipping” – So what?

“Get sinfully delicious chocolate delivered right to your door.” – I’m interested!

Strategic Chunking Retains Readers

Take a closer look at your pages – especially the very first paragraph. How can you condense and filter your message to attract the casual browser and convince them to stay? Are you making good use of headlines, sub-headlines, photos and captions? Does your call to action really call them to act or is it buried under heaps of text?

Try “chunking” your message and test it on your audience. You may be pleasantly surprised at how many more people stick around to keep reading!

To survey or not to survey, that is the question.

Well, it seems a bit daft even asking whether you should survey your customers every now and then. Surely it’s common sense to ask your buyers’ opinions about your products, your service and your sales material.

After all, sitting in your ivory tower brain storming about what you think your customers want won’t give you a true opinion. The only people that can really answer that question for you are your customers.

A good survey can tell you a lot about your market and the perception of your company within that market.

Here are 10 very good reasons why your marketing and sales strategy would benefit from regular surveying:

1. Discover what your readers want to see on your web site to make them revisit and buy.
2. Find out how your products can be improved opening up a whole new market for you.
3. Get an insight into what products your customers would like to be able to buy in the future.
4. Use the feedback to improve your customer service.
5. Discover how you can make your DM and adverts more appealing.
6. Raise your newsletter readership by discovering what type of articles people want to read.
7. Improve the design of your web site to encourage visitors to stay there longer.
8. Identify any non-related products your customers are interested in which could help you expand into different markets in the future.
9. Discover how to optimise the price of your product.
10. Discover the life styles of your customers – places they frequent. This could open up new marketing opportunities for you.

You can learn so much from a survey. Yes they can be time consuming, and yes they normally get pushed to the eternal bottom of the ‘to do’ pile. But I hope this has helped you see the value of the humble survey.

Seize the initiative. Devise and circulate your survey and reap the rewards of enhanced customer relationships.

Sally Ormond is a professional freelance copywriter with extensive experience in the B2B and B2C markets. Her comprehensive range of copywriting services has helped countless companies increase their sales and market visibility whilst saving them time and money.

Now, as I’m sure you’re all well aware, people aren’t going to buy just because you tell them your product is great. If they did, it would make life a whole lot easier and also put me out of a job – but it’s never going to happen.

If you want someone to buy from you, you have to persuade them your product is the best thing since sliced bread and will make their lives simpler, more fulfilling and, quite possibly, richer.

So how to you go about persuading them? Well, there are several techniques you can use that will help them come to the ‘right’ decision.

People want a lot of things, your job is to work out what they are and give them to them. Now, I’m not talking about wanting a physical thing, what I mean here is that people want things that will make them feel better about themselves.

Not sure what I mean? Well, below are 10 things people might want along with a way you could sell your product to meet their needs.

1. To win the approval of others – tell them how their friends will admire them if they buy your product.
2. To associate with like-minded people – give free membership to a membership site if they buy.
3. They are environmentally conscious – tell them you will donate a percentage of your profits to green causes.
4. They enjoy delicious food – give away vouchers for restaurant meals if they buy your product.
5. They want information – give away a free eBook when they buy.
6. They want to get rid of pain – guess what? Your product will take away their pain.
7. People want pleasure – your product will provide them with it.
8. They won’t want to miss a great opportunity – tell them the price is time limited and will soon be rising.
9. People want good health – provide free taster sessions at a local gym or health club if they buy your product.
10. People like to be part of a select group – give away free membership to your associated club when they buy your product.

Obviously you won’t be able to use all of these for your products but hopefully it has given you a few ideas about how you could add the art of persuasion into your sales copy.

Just think – what is it that my customers are looking for? What is the need they want satisfying? If you can identify that and tailor your copy accordingly – how can they refuse to buy?

Sally Ormond is a professional freelance copywriter. Her extensive range of copywriting services has helped numerous UK and International businesses save time and money whilst increasing their sales and market visibility.

I love Twitter. It is a brilliant tool for networking, business promotion, meeting amazing people and a superb resource for information. I feed all my blogs and Squidoo pages through it helping others by spreading my copywriting tips to a wider audience (you can follow me by clicking here).

But unless you use it, you don’t always get it.

Well, prepare yourself for a mini Twitter master class. I found this fab video by Mark Shaw (follow him on Twitter here)

If you are unsure whether it is for you, watch this video – Twitter Show: Why I left Twitter after a week and then you’ll understand the power of Twitter.

NB – since making this post, the above link for Mark’s video is no longer valid. However, if you want to learn about Twitter and how to use it effectively, why not take a look at Mark’s series of videos on Twitter.