Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

This one is for all the women out there who are mothers and business owners.

Do you remember when you had your first child?

Months of excited anticipation gave way to sheer terror when you realised the birth was only days away. Then you endured hours of intense pain as you tried desperately to help your new baby find their way into the world.

Then finally, after a monumental and exhausting journey, it was all over and you were handed your new baby, wrapped up tightly, eyes blinking, totally dependent on you.

For a moment you were lost in that moment, but then you gradually began to realise the midwife had handed you your baby, but forgot to give you the instruction manual.

In a way, that’s exactly the same as starting out in business for the first time.

Business gestation

Your business idea was conceived some time ago. Never forgotten about, it gradually began to grow and develop in your mind until you knew it was the right time to bring it forth into the world.

Your mind awash with things to do, you worked your way down that painful list of opening bank accounts, incorporation, insurance, PAYE, stationery and utilities. Not even to mention having to grovel to the bank manager for a loan to get you started.

Eventually, you emerged from your to-do list, exhausted but the proud owner of your brand new business.

There’s just one thing missing – customers.

You’ve been so wrapped up in setting everything up you didn’t have time to get a marketing strategy together. In fact, you’re not entirely sure what it should be.

No one handed you a manual to make your business a success (sound familiar?), so you’re on your own and it’s up to you to bring your business to the market.

Understanding your customers

Before you can decide on your marketing plan, you have to understand your customers because you have to know where to find them.

Local networking is always a great idea (especially if you are a B2B business), but that pool of potential customers will only last so long – even though you hope you will also get other referrals.

Cold calling and direct mail is always an option, but how many people do you know who actually buy from unsolicited approaches (I don’t)?

Getting your presence felt online is a great option as you can reach a much wider audience. But a strategy is vital if you want to ensure your customers can find you through the search engines and social media.

Being prepared

As with parenthood, in business you can only be prepared up to a point. Something is always going to happen that will throw you off kilter if you’re not careful.

The trick is to remain calm and focused on your end goal. It will be a rollercoaster ride, but it will also be rewarding.

Over to you

What are the experiences that you remember most about starting out in business?

Are there any things you would do differently?

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sally Ormond – Copywriter and mother of 2

It’s been like a slow train coming – more and more marketing is being turned over to digital formats, whether that’s websites, emails, e-newsletters, QR codes, video or social media.

Although brochures and leaflets etc., still hold a valid place in your marketing armoury, you do begin to wonder how long that will remain so. After all, if we look at consumer behaviour, it would suggest they will soon become a dim and distant memory like the humble pound note or vinyl.

The consumer leads the way

That’s where it all started (well, in my world anyway) – with music. I started off buying tapes of my favourite bands or vinyl singles. They were the best as far as I was concerned; that was until the CD arrived.

It wasn’t long before I was seduced by those shiny discs and my vinyl and tapes were consigned to the history books (and our loft). I thought CDs were the pinnacle – nothing could surpass their sound quality. But a few years down the line and I was confronted by the iPod and digital music downloads.

So, you guessed it, eventually I converted to downloading my music.

The same is happening to books.

A staunch lover of an actual book, I have vowed never to go over to the digital side. I love the feel and smell of a book; the ability to thumb through pages. I don’t care how cluttered my house gets (I simply can’t part with my books), I love browsing through book shops and buying books.

But, the other day I really wanted to read. Not having a book to hand (one that I hadn’t previously read), unable to wait for Amazon to deliver one, and certainly unwilling to brave the pre-Christmas crush in town, I did the unthinkable.

I reached for my iPad and, yes that’s right, downloaded a book.

Expecting to hate the experience, I have to say it’s not a bad way to read. Granted, I don’t have the physical book to touch or smell, but I can use a digital book mark, turn the pages almost as I would in real life, and enjoy it

That illustrates how consumers are embracing new technology and paving the way for change simply by accepting it.

We’ve already seen more and more people engage in online shopping rather than hitting the High Street, online banking, video calling, and social media – so perhaps the era of print marketing is drawing to a close.

The online way

Perhaps now companies should be investing more into their online presence. With the search boom continuing, their budgets may well be more wisely spent on search engine optimisation, professional copywriters, mobile websites, video and social media.

It would certainly appear that the effectiveness of print adverts is dwindling. So is this the beginning of the end?

What do you think?

Do you think we’re coming to the end of the print advertising era?

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your views.

Oh yes, ‘wearing’ your blog is this season’s latest trend.

No, I haven’t completely lost it; you really can ‘wear’ your blog (in a manner of speaking).

People read blogs because:

•    They want to learn something
•    They enjoy reading people’s opinions
•    They are personal

That last one is the key – they are personal. Your posts are written by you, from the heart and full of personality.

So, if no one is reading your blog posts, that could mean there’s not enough of you in them.

Getting personal

Even if you don’t realise it, your readers are building a relationship with you.

They know a lot about you from your writing. The style you use, your opinions and subject matter all help them build up a picture of what you’re like. And if they like what they see, they’ll keep coming back.

To some, that might sound like a scary stalker kind of scenario, but your readers are based all over the world and read your stuff because they like it – simple.

If you are lacking in readers, or losing them, you’ve got to boost the connection you have with them. So squeeze yourself into you each and every post and flirt with them a little.

How to add personality to your posts

Try these out for size:

1. Write orally

Write as you speak.

As you compose your post, imagine yourself chatting to a friend over coffee and write in that style. This openness will appeal to your readers and create a very accessible and readable style.

2. Add a bio

By simply adding a biography to each post, or an ‘About’ page to your website will show your readers who you are and what you do. Adding a picture is always a nice touch.

3. Respond

If your readers like your stuff enough to comment on it, don’t ignore them, reply to them. This will encourage a two way conversation and may even boost the number of comments you get.

4. Be personal

Throw a few different types of posts into the mix. As well as your informative stuff, chuck in a few personal stories and experiences, may be even a rant or two. This will really connect with your readers and show them the real person behind the blog.

It’s also a great idea to be contactable – whether by email or social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) – your readers will know you’re a real person who is also interested in them.

Over to you

What do you do to encourage readers to your blog?

Have you found a particular style that works for you?

Leave a comment below – it’s good to share.

Sally Ormond – Copywriter, blogger and lover of rum toffees

How to make your copy stand out

We are surrounded by marketing messages every day.

You can’t hide from them. Whether it’s the TV, magazines, radio, buses, taxis, billboards etc. everywhere you look, everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something.

So, if you’re one of those companies, how do you get your message to stand out from everyone else’s?

Well, it has a lot to do with your information presentation.

As a copywriter, my focus is always on the message, but I am well aware that colour, graphics and layout play a big part in the way an advert or message is received (even though, ultimately, it’s the words that will do the convincing and selling).

When it comes down to it, if you want your message to be seen, think about how it is presented.

Information presentation

There are 5 very simple things you can do to make sure your message isn’t ignored. I’m sure there are other things too (if you can think of any, leave a comment and share them with us), but these are my top 5.

1. Verb

Don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a grammar lesson. But starting your heading with a verb instead of a noun will help it pack more of a punch.

A verb is a ‘doing word’ making it active, and if it’s talking about something you like doing, you’ll be more inclined to read on.

2. Short and sweet

Nope, I’m not about to dive in to the ‘long copy verses short copy’ argument. In this case, short and sweet refers to your sentence structure. Keeping them short will aid readability. They get across ideas succinctly. They keep your reader interested.

3. Another short and sweet

Your paragraphs should also be – you guessed it – short and sweet.

A page with lots of white space and short chunks of text will look far more attractive than a page with solid text.

Psychologically, it makes the reader think the information will be easy to read.

4. Loud

Once you’ve written your copy, do you ever read it out loud?

If you don’t, you should. Reading out loud will give you a whole new perspective on it. Plus, it will help you spot areas that sound clumsy or repetitive.

5. Check-list

After writing and refining your copy, check to make sure it is:

•    Concise (think short sentences and paragraphs)
•    Informative (and relevant)
•    Attractive (lots of white space, readable font etc.)

If you can tick all 3, you’re well on your way to making your message stand out from the crowd.

Over to you

Can you think of any other ways to make sure your message stands out?

Leave a comment below and share them.

Now, tell me where it hurts?

OK, so I’m not a doctor – actually, with my chronic needle and hospital phobia that was never going to be a career suited to me.

But, as a copywriter, I can use my skills and experience to help your customers overcome their difficulties in life by convincing them your product or service is the panacea they’ve been looking for.

Finding their pain point and lancing it (urgh, that’s just conjured up an awful mental image) is all it takes to get a sale.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing for a B2B or B2C market, businesses and consumers all have problems they want solving.

Pain equals motivation

It’s true, pain is a great motivator. After all, if you burn your hand on an iron, you’ll be swiftly motivated to remove your hand to stop the physical pain you’re feeling.

It’s the same in sales. Let’s take the business market as an example. There are all sorts of pain points here:

• Inadvertently breaking rules
• Being rejected
• Having your secrets stolen by a disgruntled employee
• Losing money

Businesses want to stop these things from happening, therefore they are strong motivators.

Getting the balance right

If your copy over states or concentrates too much on these pain points, you’re going to depress your reader and they’ll probably just go and find a dark corner to hide in.

But if you get the balance right, they’ll snap your hand off because they know you’re the ‘special one’ they’ve been looking for; you’re the one that’s going to make everything OK.

A great way to start is with a headline like…

Have you ever wished that….

This is a gentle lead in and shows them that you understand the problem (pain point) they are experiencing. This empathy will show that you’re a company that cares and one that wants to help.

Then, as you get into the real meat of your copy, you can continue with…

Well, now you can with our …..

So within a few seconds you’ve not only shown you understand their issues by highlighting the problem they’re facing, you’ve also immediately shown how you can make that problem disappear.

That’s pretty powerful stuff.

Over to you

Identifying the pain is half the battle. How have you managed that in the past?