Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

Woohoo – look at all those visitors you’re getting to your blog.

But are you getting any benefit from them?

Are they sharing?

Are they coming back?

Are they signing up for your RSS feed or newsletter?

No?

Ah, that’s a problem.

If you’re getting shed loads of traffic, but not doing anything with it, what’s the point?

People are coming to your blog, but they’ll only subscribe to it (or your newsletter) if you ask them to.

It’s true.

So how do you do that?

Boosting your sign ups

Well the best place to start is by adding a passing comment along those lines in your blog posts. Add a footnote, or something in your author’s bio that lets them know you offer a newsletter, what it usually contains and how often it’s sent along with a call to action to get them to sign up.

Social media is also another great tool to boost your sign ups. Send a tweet out or Facebook update before your next issue is due out, urging people to sign up so they don’t miss out. If you’ve hit a milestone (such as your 100^th newsletter), shout about it.

A great way to boost your blog subscribers is to announce that you will be publishing a series of blog posts on a particular subject. Of course, they won’t want to miss an instalment, so they’d better subscribe to your RSS feed today.

Of course, then there’s the good old-fashioned call to action. Make sure these are liberally dotted about, especially at the end of a really hot blog post. You know the ones – they’ve been attracting loads of traffic for days or weeks, so make the most of that exposure by placing a sign up call to action at the end.

By following these simple steps you’ll see your subscription numbers soar, boosting your exposure and reputation.

Author:

Sally Ormond is an international copywriter and founder of Briar Copywriting Ltd.

In the aftermath of Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm ‘tweaks’, the fact that we all get search results that relate to our location (yup, you’re no longer seeing country-wide results^*) and the prospect of even more changes on the way, is there a future for search engine optimisation?

Let’s face it, small businesses with a national (and international) reach relied heavily on their SEO to get great rankings in the search results. Now, they have no way of knowing who will see their listing because everyone sees different things.

OK, for local search this isn’t too much of an issue, but how are SEO companies dealing with the fact that they can no longer state, with any certainty, where their clients’ websites are ranking?

The changing face of SEO

Once upon a time, SEO could be divided into 2 categories:

1. Internal SEO – relating to your website’s structure
2. External SEO – articles, content, blogs, press releases, links etc.

Of course, the reason for Google’s changes comes down to that small minority who couldn’t be bothered to do things properly and had to find short cuts to make money.

These ‘black hat’ SEOers spoilt the party for all the other legitimate businesses who worked hard to get their rankings playing by the rules.

Now many face an uncertain future, or are being forced to rethink their whole marketing strategy because they can no longer reach out to the wider market place.

Search goes social

The focus behind all these changes is for our search results to become more social and therefore (apparently) more relevant.

The relevancy of your website is now to be dictated by the number of followers, comments, views and shares your content gets.

The problem I can see with this, is that it won’t be long before the cowboys work out a way of faking that too.

Where does that leave us?

For most of the big brands out there these algorithmic changes have little or no effect. But for the smaller businesses they can have a devastating impact.

Google claims that if you have followed their SEO rules your website won’t be affected, but thousands and thousands of sites have seen their rankings plummet because of them.

Online marketing is a fast changing environment. Keeping up with these new techniques is proving to be a major headache for many small businesses out there. They don’t have the budgets needed to get an expert on board to help them and so are left floundering in the wake of the might Google’s whims.

Over to you

Are you an SEO company? How are these changes affecting you and your clients?

Are you a small business struggling to keep pace with it all?

Leave a comment below because, whatever your story, we want to hear from you.

^*If you want to return to national results, simply go to your Google home page,  click ‘settings’ (bottom right), click ‘Search Settings’, click ‘Location’ and then enter UK in the ‘Where are you?’ box.

Author:

Sally Ormond, copywriter and MD at Briar Copywriting Ltd – blogger, cyclist and mum.

Is there a difference?

In essence the answer to that question is no.

Both must engage the reader, both must persuade the reader and both must convince the reader to take action.

The main difference is the way the two are read.

Website copy

Reading from a screen is not natural; in fact 79% of web users only scan the page rather that read it word for word.

They also read it much slower so your writing should be concise, to the point and use short paragraphs, sub headings and summaries to help the reader find and assimilate the information.

One clear benefit web copy has is the hyperlink. This enables the copywriter to link one section of text to another related one, or direct the reader to an external document or web page that will enhance their understanding of what is being said.

Search engine optimisation is another consideration for website copy. But it is essential keywords are used naturally to prevent the copy becoming over-optimised.

Finally, the copy must always be rounded off with a strong call to action at the end telling the reader what they should do next.

So, with all that in mind, effective web copy should be:

• Simple and short (vocabulary and sentence structure)
• Short paragraphs with clear subheadings
• Bulleted or numbered points to show important information
• Have the key information at the start of the page

Print copy

In contrast, when the information is presented in a printed format, the reader reverts back to a traditional method of reading and an expectation of the familiar beginning, middle and end structure.

They expect the topic to be introduced before being faced with benefits and hard facts.

The use of sub headings signposts the location of information helping the reader identify the detail that’s most important to them. And of course, it must always be rounded off with a call to action to tell them what they need to do next.

As you can see the difference between the two is very subtle, but both demand the use of simple, persuasive and engaging language.

No, it’s not 1^st April and this is no joke – there really are businesses out there that don’t have a website.

And we’re not just talking about one or two. According to the Office of National Statistics 21% of small firms don’t have a website. In todays’ digital age I find that astonishing.

So who are they?

Well, they are the type of businesses you use, plumbers, florists, decorators, small retailers etc. They rely on word of mouth for their business. But times are pretty tough these days and that just isn’t going to cut it.

But surely if they have enough business coming in there’s no need to change. Is there?

According to research conducted by O2, from a poll of 2000 people a quarter of all respondents said they wouldn’t use a small business if they didn’t have a website.

If that surprises you let me ask you this, what is the first thing you do when you want to find out about a local business you are thinking of using? Probably check them out online. If you discover they don’t have a website would you still be so keen to use them?

Barriers to having a website

Money is probably the main one here. These businesses are generally very small and may not have the money to invest in a website. But then again, websites don’t have to cost the earth; so considering the benefits they can bring it’s quite short sighted not to invest in one.

Many of these businesses also only work within a small area, so they believe a website would be a waste of time. Ever heard of local search? Hmmm?

They may also argue that they only need a small client base. But what happens if a few of their regulars move away or no longer need them? Where do they get new clients?

Why you should have a website

If you are a small business and have used one or more of those excuses, think again. A website isn’t an optional extra anymore. If you want to be taken seriously it is a must.

Here’s why:

• No one uses Yellow Pages anymore, now they Google
• Even word of mouth has moved online
• Your website will sell for you 24/7
• Your competitors have websites that show testimonials from their clients so others can see how great they are. How will they know if you’re any good if you don’t have a website?
• If someone searches for you online and doesn’t find you they’ll go elsewhere
• If you don’t have a website you could be viewed as being a bit dodgy, unprofessional or at the very least behind the times

My advice is find a good web designer and copywriter and get a website. It will boost your reputation and widen your customer base.

If you don’t you’ll get left behind.

Hands up if you’ve made a comment on a Facebook business page you’ve liked, or sent a tweet to a company only never to hear a dickey bird?

I know I have.

It’s a bit like going to a party and chatting to someone only to be blanked by them. Who does that? No one does, because it’s very rude to ignore someone who’s talking to you.

It seems crazy that companies dive into social media to spread the word about how great they are, but don’t understand that it is a two-way street.

Social media isn’t a soapbox that you can shout from. It is a platform through which you can communicate with your customers.

After all, by signing up for it you gave your customers a new way to interact with you, so interact.

Make an impression

Just setting yourself up on social media isn’t good enough. You must also allocate someone to monitor the channels you use and respond on your behalf.

If your fans and followers have taken the time to make contact with you, the least you can do is respond to them because that’s how you start to build relationships. And social media is all about building relationships.

The more you interact with your fans and followers the more likely they are to share your content with their friends, widening your reach and your audience.

Speedy, speedy

One of the benefits of social media is its immediacy.

Within seconds users can respond to someone’s comment, but that does mean your fans and followers will expect to hear from you fairly soon after they post their message.

Taking days or weeks to respond is not good.

For them, your social media channels are like a customer service channel where they can post comments, complaints and compliments. But they will expect a response from you.

That’s why it’s essential you have people on your team whose job it is to respond to any questions that are raised by your customers.

You gave them the option to contact you that way by signing up for Facebook and Twitter, so it’s up to you to make sure they don’t go unheard.

Thank you

These are two simple words that are sadly so often lacking in social media.

It doesn’t take long to say thank you in response to a comment or tweet, especially if someone has taken the time to retweet something you’ve said.

Manners cost nothing, as my mum always used to say – and she was right.

OK, granted nothing here is ground-breakingly new, but considering my experience of dealing with companies thorough social media, it needs to be said.

Remember, social media should be seen as an extension to your customer service, use it well and respond quickly and you’ll go far.

Author:

Sally Ormond, Copywriter and MD at Briar Copywriting Ltd

Twitter – @sallyormond

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