Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

This one is from the archives, but still very relevant. If you want your marketing to really sell to your customers you have to make sure your copy sells, not tells. This post explains how:

Some copywriters will specialise in a certain industry or field of writing. Others offer copywriting services that cover just about every aspect of sales and business writing you can think of.

Many copywriting projects begin with a desire to tell an audience about a product, service or idea. But if all you do is tell your readers about something, you are missing the mark. Telling is done by journalists and teachers. Copywriting is about giving much more value.

It should sell not tell

Your message – whether it is an advert, website copy, brochure or email – should persuade and motivate your reader to carry out a particular action – BUY NOW, CALL NOW, BOOK NOW.

Below are three crucial elements that distinguish between writing to tell and writing to sell:

Benefits

This is one thing you must become completely fixated on – because it’s what your readers want to know about. By highlighting the benefits you are appealing to your audience’s self interests. Why? Because benefits provide motivation.

Make offers

To make a sale you need to make a deal and this is your offer. Whether it is BOGOF, a time limited offer or a limited edition bonus gift they all add weight to your sales campaign.

See if from your customer’s point of view

This is where you leave your ego at the door. If you want to build rapport you have to write from their point of view. Suspend your own opinions and only think about what you are promoting from your reader’s side of the fence.

There are many other factors that need to be taken into consideration but the three elements described above are crucial if your writing is to sell rather than tell.

 

For more information about writing to sell, download Sally Ormond’s free eBook – 5 Simple Steps to Sensational Marketing.

The following guest post was written by Carlo Pandian. The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

Working for yourself is one of those things that can seem like a good idea at the time.  However before taking the leap into self-employment it’s worth planning ahead.  There is a great range of resources online from both local and national government to help you get started and it’s worth considering the following issues.

Attitude matters

Successful businesses of any size rely on their people to create that success.  So before starting out it’s important to decide if you have the right qualities to run your one man business.

• You’ll need to be prepared to make some sacrifices, particularly in the early days.  This can include cutting back on your expenses, holidays and free time.  If you have a family this latter can be a big issue (or it can become one) so consider the impact it will have not only on you, but the rest of the family.
• Common sense and a sense of humour.  You’ll need both of these in relatively large amounts to start off with.  No amount of business studies courses or management technique manuals can replace either.  That’s not to say they don’t have their uses, but sometimes a little common sense and the ability to laugh (usually at yourself) will make life a lot easier.
• Do you have experience of running a business?  Even if this is at management level in somebody else’s firm.  This is crucial if you are looking for bank loans or grants and will smooth the path to finding finance if you need it.
• Management skills and people skills.  You will need both of these if you plan to run your own firm.  If you are starting out as self-employed you may think you won’t have staff to manage, however, there will be you.  In this sense simple things like time management skills are essential.  People skills are essential for dealing with clients and suppliers, and will come in handy when you do start to employ other workers.

Practical tools

Most businesses today believe that a website is an essential tool for their firms.  To a large extent this is true although, depending on the type of business you run, it may not be crucial to start out with.  However, in the long term it offers visibility to a vast range of potential customers and it’s also largely expected by consumers these days.

Premises, again this will depend very much on the type of firm you run.  The key is to find appropriate premises in the best location you can.  If a cupboard under the stairs will do, then go for it, but if it’s a shop, office or manufacturing premises that you need then don’t stint on the cost if at all possible.  A High Street location will repay the investment in the way a back street one simply won’t.  By the same token a pre-cast concrete firm does not normally suit a narrow, residential street.  Think sensibly and then rent or buy the best premises you can.

Most computer software can be sourced in cloud format these days from data and document storage to online bookkeeping and accounting software.  The latter is one thing you can’t afford to be without and you should ensure you have good software in place, as well as an accountant.  Both may seem an unnecessary expense, when starting out, but it’s essential to keep the books in order from day one if you are not to fall foul of the dreaded HMRC.  If you need advice on this contact either the dreaded HMRC (they’re actually quite nice and very helpful) or Business Link.

From accounting software to the ability to laugh at yourself there are a range of practical tools and skills you’ll need to run your own business.  Preparation is normally the better part of valour before setting up on your own, but with the right attitude it can be the most rewarding lifestyle of all.

About the author: Carlo Pandian is a business graduate and freelance writer. He blogs about freelance work, personal development and technology covering everything from QuickBooks Online accounting software to Android apps. Aside from his daily job, he loves reading great entrepreneurs biographies and writing payroll software manuals for small businesses.

As a copywriter my job is to help you communicate more effectively with your customers through writing. But on top of that, I’m also here to offer advice and make suggestions about how to improve your marketing strategy.

After spending many years perfecting my art and learning all about search engine optimisation of content and how to use different approaches to attract different audiences, you get a lot of experience and expertise for your money (as well as some stonkingly great copy).

So is there any occasion when hiring a copywriter isn’t a good idea?

Well, let’s look at it this way.

Below are 3 very good reasons why you should hire a copywriter (there are more than just these, but they give you the idea):

1. You want results, to project a professional image and instil trust in your readers  

Every piece of marketing you place ‘out there’ represents your company. Therefore, the quality of your writing will have a direct influence on the perception people have of your business.

Using a copywriter will mean your content will be professional, speak to your readers and show them the benefits of working with you and offer a professional image.

2. You’re open to new ideas

The whole point about bringing in a professional copywriter on board is so that you can refresh and revitalise your marketing approach.

If you want to carry on in the same way, but simply can’t be bothered to write it yourself anymore, hiring a copywriter probably isn’t a great idea.

Part of their job is to look at your approach, understand why it’s not working and then devising a new a way of ‘speaking’ to your customers.

3. You’re not confident in your writing.

If you’re not a confident written communicator it will come across in your marketing materials.

Even though we write practically everyday, it doesn’t mean we are all experts in creating persuasive marketing copy.

The strongest business minds recognise their weaknesses and hire in the help of experts to strengthen those areas.

But, if you think you know better don’t call in a copywriter. That would be like going to the doctors about an ailment only to tell them they have no idea what they’re doing (despite the many years they’ve spent studying) and you’ll go back to the good old fashioned home remedy your mum always used to give you.

For the relationship to be fruitful and for you to see results you have to trust your copywriter, acknowledge that they are an expert in their field and take their advice on board.

Remember, the copywriter isn’t an expert in your business – that’s you – but they are experts at what they do. They know how to structure content and how to use language to persuade and connect emotionally with your readers.

Email marketing is an incredibly effective marketing tool, but it can also be one of the fastest ways to ruin your business’s reputation.  

If you blatantly send out emails to thousands of random people who have either no prior knowledge in your company, or interest in what you do, you will be labelled a spammer – not good.

But, if you take the time to build your own email marketing list from people who have opted in to receive information and offers from your company, then you will be providing them with information they want to see – and that is good.

Of course, building your own list takes time, but if you are a WordPress user, there are a few tools you need to be aware of that could help you grow your email subscribers.

Recently, my attention was drawn to a useful post on the Socialmediaexaminer.com site that takes a look at 7 WordPress plugins that can be used to grow your email opt-in list.

They look at:

• Pippity customised popups
• Hellobar
• Comment Redirect
• WP-Leads
• OptinSkin
• Gravity Forms
• DiggDigg

You can see the full post here – 7 WordPress Plugins to Grow Your Email Subscribers.

So pop over there and have a look.

Growing your email subscribers is a great way to promote your business safely and get your content shared across the web, widening your reach out into your marketplace.

Over to you

Do you have any further tips on how to grow your email subscribers?

Perhaps there’s a different tool to those mentioned here that you use and have had success with.

Leave a comment below and share your experiences.

With Google’s ever evolving algorithms, producing fresh content is more important than ever.

But does it have to be high quality or will any old thing do?

If you’re outsourcing your content production, don’t let financial matters cloud your judgement, as quality will always outweigh quantity.

Not convinced?

OK, look at it this way. Everything you put out on the web is there to promote your business in some way shape or form. It may not be a blatant advert, but it will be designed to drive traffic to your website and therefore will be associated with your company.

Now are you beginning to see why quality is important?

If you’re still struggling, here are 6 points worth remembering when it comes to content marketing.

1. Reflection

As mentioned above, every piece of content you put out under your company’s name will reflect on you.

If the content is sloppy, grammatically incorrect and downright boring, it will damage your reputation.

2. Crowds

Because there’s loads of content on the Internet, yours has got to stand out if it is going to be seen. Second-rate articles will fall by the wayside, but something that’s well written, engaging and informative will rise to the top of the pile.

3. Penguin

Google is the master at moving the goal posts, as demonstrated by its constant algorithm changes. The latest one, Penguin, can sniff out bad content a mile off. It looks at the time people spend on pages, how many shares they get and bounce rates etc., making it easy to sniff out the bad stuff.

So if you want your content to perform well in the search results, it’s got to be good.

4. Longevity

Unlike print, what appears on the Internet today isn’t going to be tomorrow’s chip wrappings. Once you publish an article under your name, it’s there for life. So if it’s badly written, it will have a long lasting detrimental effect.

5. Quality vs price

Rather than swallowing hard when the copywriter you approach tells you how much it will cost for a high quality, well researched and superbly written article, consider this. If the content is good and demonstrates a compelling reason for the reader to buy your product, its value is considerably more than one written as SEO padding that couldn’t even tempt someone lost in the desert to buy a bottle of water.

6. Business magnet

In the same way that people will judge your business on your website, brochures and emails, they will also judge you on your online content.

Badly written articles and blogs won’t inspire anyone to pick up the phone and want to do business with you.

These 6 reasons are why it is vital you put quality content before price. Even if that means you put less ‘out there’, what you do put out will bolster your reputation as a quality company that offers great information to its clients.

Can you really afford to jeopardise your reputation with sloppy, substandard content?

I doubt it.