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Is email marketing part of your marketing strategy? If so, I bet you’ve pondered long and hard about how to get your emails opened. Much of the problem you face is that, ultimately, the success of your email is determined by the type of day the recipient is having. So, it’s not surprising it can be a frustrating activity. Boosting your open rates There are 5 simple strategies you can take to give your open rate a bit of a boost. They aren’t new and they’re hardly earth shattering, but they do work. 1. When do you send? Believe it or not, the day you choose to send your email will have a big effect on your open rate. As a general rule, it’s best to avoid Mondays and Fridays. As you would expect, most people are either catching up on work from the weekend ...

  How do you know if you have a piece of good copy or not? Can you tell, just by looking at it? Annoyingly, the answer is yes and no because it depends on: What the copy is What’s its purpose is What form it takes As an example, take a look at this piece of SEO copywriting: As you read through it, you are constantly tripping over the phrase ‘search engine optimization’. That’s not good. A well written piece of SEO copy should not make its keywords obvious. It should be written in a natural way – and if you think about it, naturally, you wouldn’t constantly repeat a phrase over and over, would you? OK, that was quite an obvious example, but let’s think about a general piece of text that is being used to sell a product. It can written grammatically correctly without ...

  If you are business engaging in social media, it’s essential you have a social media policy in place. Every social media channel you engage in, is a direct line to your customers. Everything you do happens in real-time. Once you’ve hit send, it’s gone out to potentially thousands of people – a bit like texting…and how many times have you sent a text you’ve later regretted? If your message is wrong, or written in haste (especially when tempers are strained), you could land your company in some serious hot water. By putting a social media policy in place you will protect your company from: PR nightmares Employees saying something they shouldn’t Legal hot water The leaking of confidential or sensitive information What will you say? Your policy should clearly state how your company will deal with defamatory comments and positive comments. It should state who will ...

  Why is it that so many corporate and professional business services websites are written in a stiff and formal tone? Granted, they are serious businesses, but that doesn’t mean that to portray a sense of professionalism you have to use intensely complex language. The result is generally, an underperforming website that no one wants to read because it’s too boring and the language completely unfathomable. If you want to make someone think… “Yes, this is great. They sound just like the company I need” …you have got to write in an approachable, accessible and friendly manner. Making friends Writing in a conversational tone is the best way to get readers on your side. That doesn’t mean you have to ‘dumb-down’ your language, it just means creating something your readers can relate to. Your website will be instantly more accessible. I know what you’re saying, most of your ...

  If you could write any old thing to get people to buy, us copywriters would very soon be out of a job. But it’s very rare for someone to read web copy, an email or brochure and say “I want one of those now!” Making a buying decision is not that straight forward. The voice of reason is always lurking, ready to stop you from reaching for your wallet:     Can you really justify the cost? Do you really need one? Don’t you already have something similar? A professional copywriter will be able to overcome these objections within their copy – even before you’ve thought of them. So how do they do that? Copywriting that overcomes objections When you’re on the verge of buying something, all sorts of niggling objections will pop into your head. It’s the job of the copywriter to pre-empt them. Why? Because

  Some people take to social media like a duck to water, others find it slightly trickier to get to grip with how to use it and how to get the most from it. If you are not sure about how to use social media and fear falling foul of what is seen as the correct etiquette, this blog post is for you. By the time you read the last word, you’ll be ready and raring to go. Most people find the biggest hurdles in social media (whether that’s Twitter, Facebook or blogging) are: Not knowing what to say Not sure how to say what they want to say Not knowing how to interact with other people Don’t worry, all is about to become clear. Let’s get right back to basics. Your social media look Don’t worry, this isn’t a blogging version of How to ...

  Judging by the number of spam comments I receive every day on my blogs, many people appear to be under the impression that adding comments to blogs is a great way to gather links for their own website. Apart from it being very annoying for the blog owner, commenting doesn’t really have that kind of effect. The only way your comment will drive traffic to your website is if you have something interesting to say. In my experience there are 2 types of spammers: those who don’t try and hide what they’re doing because they leave comments riddled with hyperlinks to other websites; and those who just leave total gibberish. If you want to be seen as a good blog commenter and add value, here are a few tips for you. 1. Read How can you leave a worthwhile comment if you haven’t actually read ...

  What should come first? Your website or your keyword research. Unlike the chicken and the egg conundrum, this one is easy to answer – your keyword research should always come first. Researching your keywords (not guessing) is vital if you are going to get the most out of your web presence. The words you target will have a big effect on your website’s structure, which is why it’s vital you do it before thinking about your design. It’s not until you have your keywords that you can:   Create your SEO Copywriting Plan your anchor text link building strategy Decide on your site’s navigation Create your title tags Decide on your URLs Write your META Descriptions What keywords do you choose? Choosing the right keywords/phrases is paramount, so here are a few tips on making sure you find the right ones. 1. Open your mind First up, you’re ...

  One of the most important aspects of your SEO strategy is the generation of back links. One of the best ways to do that is to blog. Constantly adding fresh content, in the form of blog posts, will help drive traffic to your website, enable you to build a constant stream of back links and attract links to your website. Blogging will also: Add value to your relationships with your customers Position you as an expert in your field Boost your online exposure because you’ll own more of the web No matter what your market sector, you can utilise the power of blogging to drive more traffic to your website and improve your rankings. Of course, you do have to come up with a constant stream of ideas. Idea generation Trust me, you have a wealth of ideas to write about – you just have to ...

  You’ve worked so hard with your search engine optimisation strategy. All that blogging, article writing and, SEO copywriting and, rather expensive, SEO tweaks to your website structure have finally paid off. Proudly, you show everyone your website on the front page of Google for your chosen keyword. Fantastic, but before you head off to the pub to celebrate, there is a wee problem. Yes, your website is ranking superbly, but your analytics (and inbox) are showing that you have no traffic. Is that right? Can you really have a well ranking website, but not have any traffic? What’s gone wrong? Yes, it is possible for this to happen and it’s more than likely due to one of these reasons: You’re not really ranking at all Your keywords aren’t delivering (because you’re targeting the wrong ones) You’re simply not attracting the all important click Those ...

  Content marketing online, gives you the power to educate, communicate, influence people and attract a continuous stream of potential customers. But you must have a strategy. Jumping in without thinking rarely works. You must be realistic and understand that results won’t happen over night. To make it work you need patience and perseverance. As a freelance copywriter, I’ve been content marketing since 2007 and it does work – you just need to understand the process and have a plan. What’s your content marketing plan? If you want readers to read what you write, you must have empathy for them and the problems they face. Writing ...

  Your headline is the make or break of your article. If it doesn’t immediately grab attention, a reader is unlikely to read your article  - regardless of how many hours you slaved over it. Many online marketers write articles because they know they are a great way to build backlinks which are vital to any SEO strategy. So a steady stream of them (written either in-house or by using a professional copywriter) will boost your visibility on line and position you as an expert in your field. But because it’s such a popular marketing tool, there are an awful lot of articles out there. That means, if you ...

  First off, do you know what your conversion rate is? If your marketing is to be effective you not only need to know your conversion rate, you must also understand your conversion goal. Everyone’s conversion goal will be different. It could be: Newsletter sign-ups Brochure downloads Sign-ups for a free trial Email enquiries Phone enquiries As soon as you know what it is you’re measuring, you can begin to track the effectiveness of your website or landing page through Google Analytics. But there is one vital element you need to get conversion and that’s traffic. You can’t have one without the other. Using your analytics you will be able to instantly see how many visitors you are getting, where they are, how they’re finding you, ...

  Press releases are a valuable marketing tool for any business. So how come so few businesses use them? They are fairly easy to write, you can even publish them online so avoiding the impenetrable newspaper editor. Yet many companies turn their backs on them in favour of other forms of marketing. Whether you write them in-house, or you bring in a professional copywriter, creating an eye-catching, informative press release will get your company noticed. Writing powerful press releases Unlike other marketing forms, press releases have several elements that must be present if they are to be successful. 1. Temptation ...

  Once upon a time, customers could only get in touch with you by telephone, letter or by visiting your premises. If they were unhappy, they’d probably moan about you to a friend or two and you’d be non the wiser. How times have changed. Now, if they’re unhappy they’ll tweet about it or post in on their Facebook page. Before you know it, the whole world will know they received bad service. That’s why, as a business, it’s vital you’re using social media. How social media can be used to your advantage If there’s one thing everyone loves, it’s to talk. By listening to social media channels, you ...

  Yes I know, you’re a start-up business so money’s tight. But, you still need engaging marketing materials and an effective online presence to get things off the ground. More often than not, copywriting is the one thing that gets crossed off your set-up shopping list. Why? Because you think you can do it yourself. Granted, you can write pretty well. But can you write something that makes people think “Yes, that’s exactly what I need”? Going it alone without a copywriter This is a familiar scenario: The task to write your sales copy is passed to someone in your office. They already ...

  Everyone uses social media these days – or at least it seems like it. As a copywriter I use it a lot. Whether it’s tweeting for help (usually IT related problems), offering advice, promoting my blog posts, or just general chit-chat, I love using it as a way of connecting with other people. Did you see that? I said I used it for connecting with people. The problem is, some social media users out there don’t connect, they spam. And that’s not something you want to do – especially if you want people to follow you or ‘like’ your Facebook page. ...

  Are you being tempted by the dark side? Are you looking for great results without the hard work? If you are, you are heading for a very big fall because the grass most certainly isn’t greener on the dark side. As an online marketer, search engine optimisation is vital for your survival. But the only effective way to boost your visibility is through an effective, white hat SEO strategy. It’s not a quick fix, it’s a long term solution that needs constant nurturing. So if that sounds like too much like hard work to you, perhaps you’d better rethink your online marketing  career. Creating a winning SEO strategy If ...

  Most people will either love social media or hate it – with the odd few thrown in who simply don’t ‘get it’. But the problem is for those who hate or don’t ‘get it’, social media is here to stay and it will continue to grow. We’ve already seen Google join the party with Google+ so your days of keeping it at arms length are numbered. It’s time to join in. Personally I love it. Working as a freelance copywriter it has helped me not only gain new clients but its also enabled me to meet great people, boost my online exposure and find people to ...

  If I asked you to give me an example of powerful copywriting what you say? Something that catches your attention immediately A headline which draws you in Simple to read copy with lots of headings Hopefully your answer was something along those lines. Powerful copywriting is all of those things. The problem is when some people try to write strong copy they get it all wrong. Bear with me and I’ll explain. Shouting copy A few days ago, I was writing some web copy for a client and my husband was working from home. He works for a German company and deals with a lot of customers located around Europe. That particular day he was engaged on a phone call to one such customer. Instead of his usual voice, I heard a rather strained conversation being conducted in very slow, broken English. He, like many of us, is guilty of adopting the technique of speaking very s-l-o-w-l-y ...

  Finding out what they really want There is one sure fire way of finding out what your customers are looking for – ask them. They can tell you if your products/services are providing what they’re looking for, whether your customer service is hitting the mark and how they would prefer to interact with you (email, social media, telephone etc.) So what’s the most effective way of conducting your research? Here are a few ideas you could try. 1. Ask them directly Talking to your customers – scary thought but quite effective. Whether it’s face to face, on the phone or using social media ask ...

  What kind of success rate are you getting with your email marketing at the moment? Pretty good or could do better? Your electronic marketing strategy should be constantly evolving – test, test and test again until you create the optimum format and content strategy for your audience. Just in case you’re looking for inspiration to inject some new life into your efforts, here are a few tips that might just help you improve your stats. 1. Mobile More and more people are reading their emails from mobile devices so you must find out how your email looks. Not only that but you have to ...

  Internet marketing is vitally important for your business. Not convinced? OK, utilising activities such as article marketing, social media, blogging and other content creation will have a dramatic effect on your business’ online visibility and exposure. Just in case you are still sitting there shaking your head, take a look at a few facts and figures that were compiled earlier this year by Pingdom about internet usage, social media, email etc. So if you’re ready, prepare to be blown away. Email Whether you use email as a marketing medium or simply as a method of communication, it is a vital part ...

  This is amazing. Your search engine optimisation strategy is working. Targeted traffic is flooding to your website and your professional copywriting is converting them because they are going straight to your contact form. Fantastic. So what happens next? Getting traffic that converts is one thing but does your customer service match their expectations or is it letting you down? There are a number of ways your customers will be able to get in touch with you so you must ensure the service they receive via their preferred method is first class. 1. Email Although your customers won’t expect an immediate response via email, they don’t to be left hanging around for weeks either. When you get an email send an acknowledgement so they know you are aware of their ...

  Twitter – a world in 140 characters. It seems such a harmless tool and yet it can make or break a business. Social media hasn’t only given you a much louder voice, it has also provided your customers with a huge stage from which they can address the world in an instant. That’s great if they are shouting nice things about you but what happens when things go wrong? As soon as you hit send, your tweet is released into cyberspace to be potentially seen by millions. OK, you may not have that many followers but what happens if one of your followers retweets it to their followers ...

  In the good old days customers would communicate with you via letter, phone or in person. Today things are very different. Now they can send you a tweet, post a comment on your blog or leave you a message on Facebook. In the past if someone was unhappy with your service the ‘bad press’ was usually limited to a few of their friends and family (unless it was seriously bad service and the wrote to the Editor of your local paper). Now a single tweet or Facebook message could potentially be seen by millions. Now, more than ever, you must have procedures in place to deal with social media communications. ...

  Yes, I know – if you could answer that, marketing your business would be a doddle. You’d be able to second guess precisely what they want, provide it for them and keep them happy forever. That’s a nice dream but it will never be a reality. The dilemma is that your products and services have to fit the needs of your customers – if they don’t, they won’t sell. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is to believe that their customers want what they want. Let’s think about that for a second. I enjoy going to the gym, watching F1 and going out to dinner. So does that mean ...

  Social media isn’t always an easy thing to get to grips with. It’s like any new thing – it takes a while to get the hang of it and a lot of practice. And understanding it is unlikely to happen over night; it will take time and patience. Let’s face it, communicating via a computer, iPad or smartphone to a bunch of people you’ve probably never met before isn’t the most natural thing in the world. If you were physically in a crowd you could stand out and be noticed by your looks, clothing or extravert personality. When chatting with online ‘friends’ standing out isn’t so easy but that’s what you ...

  If you’re an online marketer you need traffic – and a lot of it. Why? Because your traffic is your customers and more customers means more money. How do you actually get more traffic though? And, once you’ve started to get it, how do you convince them to buy from you? There are various things you can do to encourage more people to your website and make it more visible in the search engine rankings. And no, that doesn’t mean plastering it in bright colours with loads of flashing images. Here are 4 ways to help boost your traffic. Remember though, gaining more traffic isn’t going to happen over night. It is something that’s going to require commitment on your part. 1. Keywords This ...

  Social media is everywhere, everyone seems to be using it but are you really getting the most out of it? Of course, that is assuming you’re using it – you are though, aren’t you? Using social media doesn’t mean simply setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account; anyone can do that. Using these social tools effectively will help you attract followers and, in turn, boost the visibility of your business along with sales. Yes, it really can do that. Using social media The amount of time you can give to social media is going to depend on: Your job ...