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Go on, admit it, you'd love to ditch your boss and escape the 9 to 5 way of life. Becoming a freelancer is the dream of many, but what's it really like on the other side of the fence? Is it as rosy as you would like to believe? As with everything in life, it has some major pluses, but there are also several minuses, so let's take a look at the lifestyle as a whole without any rose-tinted glasses on. The first thing to remember when you become a freelancer is that you can kiss goodbye to a regular salary. Granted, you can potentially earn a lot more that you could as an employee, but your income will be unpredictable. Secondly, although you will be able to work the hours that suit you, you'll find that (especially in the early days) you'll be working a lot longer than 9 to 5. The flip ...

How do you get backlinks? Is your strategy to identify websites with high page rank and then set about trying to get them to link to you, regardless of their sector? Oh dear, if that is what you're doing you could be in trouble with the Penguin. Wikipedia's definition of Google's Penguin update is: "... The update is aimed at decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines by using black-hat SEO techniques, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, participating in link schemes, deliberate creation of duplicate content and others." Basically, Penguin doesn't like low quality links, over optimised content and keyword stuffing. Natural linking The humble link is one of the factors used by Google to determine a website's relevance to a particular search term. But not only that, they are the invisible strings that hold the entire Internet together, linking sites and allowing us to navigate our way through tonnes ...

How you come across to others on Twitter will have a big impact on your followers. Usually, the first thing someone will do when considering following you is to check out your profile, so make it as powerful as possible. It is made up of these elements: Picture Twitter handle Bio Web address Number of tweets, followers and following Your last tweets Each of these will impact on their decision on whether to follow or not to follow. 1. Picture A generic image of company logo is really quite impersonal. I know that big brands will want to use a logo, but for smaller companies why not use your photo, or as I do, your photo with your logo? It just adds to the personal connection. For larger companies that want to use their logo, a nice touch is for the tweeter to add their name or initials to their ...

I have written umpteen posts about search engine optimisation over the years, but I want to concentrate on keywords for this particular post. What is a keyword? Well it is a word or phrase that people type into a search engine when they are looking for a particular product or service. Years ago, marketers believed that the only way to rank highly for those keywords was to cram as many of them as possible into their websites, which led to incomprehensible content. Thankfully, those days are now gone (although there are still a few dinosaurs around who steadfastly believe that keywords density is still relevant - it's not). So how do you use them? Natural Writing naturally, without shoehorning keywords into every sentence, is how to get good rankings. By keeping your copy focused firmly on the needs of your customers, you will ...

Your website copywriting must be written for your reader, packed full of benefits and have a strong call to action if it is to work. I'm sure that's nothing that you haven't heard before. But what about the actual text you use on your website, have you given that much thought? Well you should if you want to create the right impression. There are many barriers that stand between you and making a visitor to your website buy and one of those is the text you use. Here are 4 things you should think about. Font size It's really annoying when you land on a website only to find the font is so small you need a magnifying glass to read it. Let's face it, if it's unreadable they'll wander off to find a website they can read. So make sure your font ...

Did I really just write that? Before worrying about the fact that I may have finally lost it, let's think for a moment about what a copywriter actually does. Yes, they write to help you communicate effectively with your audience, but they can also help you develop your brand's voice and style as well as offering suggestions on how you can improve your marketing strategy to make it more effective. So when you hire one, you get a lot of expertise for your bucks. After having said that I'm struggling to think of an occasion when you shouldn't hire a copywriter, so I'd better look at reasons why you should use one while I get my thinking cap on. 1. Professional image and results Everything you do and every piece of marketing collateral you use represents your company. So the quality of the writing and the way you communicate through words will have a big ...

One of the most effective sales tools your business can have is email marketing, but at the same time it can also be one of the quickest ways to ruin the reputation you've spend so long building. If you decide to buy in lists and send umpteen unsolicited emails out to people who have never heard of you before, you'll quickly get a reputation as a spammer - not good. But if you're sensible and build you own list and only send emails to people who have opted in to your list, you'll be seen as a responsible email marketer because you'll only be sending information out to people who have asked for it. The only problem is building your own list takes time, which is why so many companies opt for the first option. But if you use WordPress there are a few tools you can use to help you along: Pippity ...

As Google constantly changes its algorithms, quality content is now more important than ever. But if you outsource your content needs quality content doesn't come cheap, but don't let financial matters cloud your judgement unless you're happy for your website to disappear from sight. Everything you put on the web will reflect on your company. One naff article or poorly written blog post could have a detrimental effect on your online visibility and reputation. Not only that, but if you insist on every piece of content being a blatant sales message your traffic is going to take a nose dive. You see, quality is important. If you're still not convinced, or need a bit more ammunition to convince the holder of the purse strings, here are 6 points that are worth remembering. 1. Reputation Already mentioned, but so important I'll say it again - ...

The home page of your website is also frequently, the page most visitors will first land on, which is why it has to be as powerful as possible. But having said that, it's probably not going to be your main sales page. Look at it this way, when you walk into a department store all the goods are displayed in different departments so its easy for you to find what you want. Your home page is like the store map you see by the escalator, telling you what floor to go to. It must be captivating and show the visitor that they're definitely in the right place and then lead them to information they need, which will be on one of the internal pages of your website. But before you launch into writing your copy, you must first decide what you want your visitors to do" Buy something Sign up for your newsletter Fill out your ...

Customers that phone you are such a pain, aren't they? Unless you happen to have a large call team, you can only speak to one person at a time, and then there's that annoying ringing when you're trying to get some work done. Why do they do it? Thankfully, more and more people like to deal in email (much quieter and less annoying), but how you deal with their incoming enquiries will have a big impact on their perception of you as a company, so how can you make sure you give a good impression? 1. Show your email address Obvious! I hear you cry, because otherwise how will they know where to send their email to. Yes, I know that, but have you noticed how many companies these days are opting for a contact for instead and don't show their email on their website? I've lost count of the number of companies I've contacted this ...

You know what it's like, your boss calls you and the rest of the marketing team into his office and announces: "Right guys, big push this quarter, we're going to create a viral video - any ideas?" While his enthusiasm starts to bubble over the rest of you sit in despair because you know that's not going to work. After all, it's not you that will make the video viral, that job is reserved for the viewing public. So, it's time to take your boss to one side, sit him down and explain what viral marketing is all about.   What is viral marketing? Viral marketing happens when a video captures the imagination of your audience and they share it like crazy using social media, which boost your brand awareness (and sales). So, if you want to have a viral hit on your hands you have to produce something that your audience will love and feel compelled ...

What do you see when you check your emails during the day? If your inbox is anything like mine there's probably a lot of subject lines like: 'Blood Pressure Myth', 'Shoes', 'CarClearance_Lot', 'Get more traffic', 'Fitter body', 'SEO services' etc. They'll also have another thing in common, they'll be addressed to 'Sir/Madam' or just 'Hello', but they definitely won't address you by name. These are all what you would term as 'spam' emails because you didn't ask for them. Annoying aren't they? But think about your own email marketing for a moment, are you sending out emails to people who haven't opted in? Have you bought in a list? Are your emails personalised? In other words, are you sending out genuine, well-thought out and relevant emails or are you blanket 'spamming'? To spam or not to spam If you use your very own home-grown ...

Is there really such a thing as free speech when it comes to social media? Hands up those of you who have ranted about an annoying customer or your boss on your Facebook page after a particularly hard day? All you want to do is get your frustration out and, hopefully, garner a bit sympathy from your friends. But what happens if your employer sees it? A recent article in The Drum looks at this issue. They argue that your employers shouldn't be snooping in the first place, a feeling I echo because it's tantamount to 'reading your personal mail'. But reading further they go on to suggest that '30% of employers have taken a member of staff through a formal disciplinary procedure as a result of comments made on their social media pages.' Really? The problem lies with the sharing aspect of social media. Yes, you can post your rant (sorry, ...

  OK, a slight departure from my usual posts, but I found this video I put together a few years ago and wanted to share it with you. Although my photo and website image are a wee bit out of date now (note to self - create new, up to date video soon), it gives a good overview of what I do as a copywriter.Of course, the one thing that's not shown here is thinking, copywriter's do a lot of that, but it doesn't make for good TV. Plus, it's a fun way of showing an insight into my world. Hope you enjoy it and I promise I'll work on a new one very soon.      

Did you know that 80% of corporate blogs don't get beyond a fifth post? Who would have guessed that running a blog could be so difficult? Well the reality is that it isn't difficult to run, so where are the corporates going wrong? Commitment Like any long-term relationship, you have to show commitment. A blog is and should be a marketing tool that you will use for many years, mainly because it takes time to build a following and reputation. Producing new ideas day after day is tough so it may be an idea to pull in a number of staff members to regularly contribute. One thing that you may also want to consider is to find a professional copywriter to work with on a long-term basis. Not necessarily to write the posts for you, ...

You mean they're not the same thing? Nope, advertising and marketing are two very different animals. The whole world is full of adverts; they are everywhere you turn, on the TV, radio, on buses, the Tube, in magazines, in newspapers, everywhere. Wherever you look there's a company somewhere trying to grab your hard earned cash from you with their incessant "buy now, buy now" messages. But is that really the most effective way of selling? The problem with that method is that you're thrusting your product or service at someone without actually knowing what they want. These days the buying public are far more canny and want to be wooed rather than ordered to buy. The subtlety of marketing There are far more avenues available to today's marketers through which they can reach their potential customers. Social media, video, article marketing and ...

This blog first appeared on our sister blog, Freelance Copywriter's Blog, but we felt it was so useful we wanted to share it with you here too. Despite the number of blog posts and articles you see about Twitter, I was flabbergasted to read a recent post on The Drum. Apparently 71% of companies are still ignoring consumer complaints on Twitter. Social media has opened up communications between consumer and business. Now, someone can complain through Twitter about poor service or product quality and within seconds potentially thousands of people will know about it. And yet, there appear to be an alarming number of companies who are not monitoring Twitter effectively. According to the article, in a survey by Maritz Research, only 29% of those who tweeted a company with a complaint received a reply. This shows a worrying trend - namely, businesses are still not ‘getting’ Twitter. The post goes on ...

A lot of businesses will soldier on with their marketing by writing their own content. But there will come a time when you either don't have the time to produce your own stuff, or you realise it just isn't working for you. That's when you need to call in an expert and find yourself a good copywriter. If you've never worked with one before it can be quite daunting. Many people think they can just give a copywriter a call, say I need x pages of web copy or x number of words for a brochure and receive an instant quote. It doesn't work like that. Most copywriters will charge a fixed fee for a project. You see, you're not paying for their time, you're paying for their expertise and the experience they have amassed over a number of years. They will want to know everything about you, your company, your ...

For many, content marketing is seen as one of online marketing's necessary evils. Yes, it brings greater visibility, higher rankings (with a bit of luck) and a potential boost to customer service, which all helps your bottom line. But it does mean you either have to find the time to write the stuff yourself, delegate or hire in the services of a copywriter. The other big aspect is that it will only work if people can find your articles, so how can you make sure your writing is being found and being read? On the surface that sounds like a tough one, but the following points should help. Over here! If only your blog posts and articles could jump up and down to grab the attention of potential readers. Well they can't, but by checking your Google analytics you ...

Words are very powerful things. The way we speak, the phrases we use and the words we choose all say something about the people we are. Within seconds the person you're speaking to would have made a judgement about how approachable or friendly you come across as being, whether you're a chatty informal type or slightly more staid, in fact they would have summed you up by the time you've finished uttering your first few sentences. That's why you should be so careful about the words you choose in your marketing. As a copywriter, I spend a lot of time talking to my clients about the tone and voice of their marketing copy because its essential that what I write reflects them and their company's image. You see, copywriting isn't about sitting down and stringing a ...

YES. I could leave it there, but that wouldn't really convince you to take the plunge if you're still hovering around the fringes of the social media world. One of the main arguments is the time factor (we covered what to tweet in our last post). It's yet another thing you have to squeeze into your already hectic day. But let's look at that issue from a different angle. I'm guessing you find the time to promote your business, chat to your customers and offer them a great service, so if you're already doing that, you're pretty much there because you just have to do the same thing but online. I bet you even go out to networking events - well that involves leaving your office, arriving at a location where you won't be entirely sure about who will be there, probably not talking to everyone in the room and just leaving ...

One of the main barriers that prevents businesses using Twitter is not knowing what to say. There is still a common misconception out there that makes people think that tweeters only ever talk about what they had for lunch. OK, sometimes they do, but on the whole tweeters use the social media platform as a way of reaching out and engaging with other people. It can be a great source of information and sales leads. If you've set up your Twitter but are yet to tweet because you have no idea what to say, the following tips should help those creative juices start to flow. How to tweet effectively 1. Share The internet is full of great information (and some that's not so great), so when you read something that makes you smile, makes you mad, or gets you thinking, ...

Whether you're a copywriter, manager, secretary, director or anything else for that matter, proofreading is essential. Although I write for a living I am not claiming to be whiter than white on the typo front. I make mistakes because I am human, but I always do my utmost to make sure errors don't slip through the net. But spotting a typo is difficult - if you don't believe me take a look at this:                                   Second opinion The best way to make sure your writing is error free is to get someone else to read through it for you. But what happens if you work alone? Proofreading your own work isn't impossible, it's just not very easy. The reason being that your brain will play tricks on you because it will make you believe you're reading what you think you wrote even if you've ...

It's a well known fact these days that employers use social media as a way of screening candidates. Your Facebook wall offers them a great insight into the type of person you really are, rather than the one you display in the interview. But that's not the only way social media can land you in a whole heap of trouble. Yes, we live in a free country and yes, we should be able to openly voice our concerns and opinions, but there are times when some people really need to learn when to keep quite (or at least vent their frustration in a quiet and private way). Once case in point is the council press officer that had to quit his job because of an ill-judged tweet. The main aspect of this story is that the tweet ...

Why oh why do so many companies feel the need to fill their marketing materials with jargon? Do they think it makes them appear clever? Perhaps they're under the impression their clients want to be faced with unintelligible ramblings because then they'll feel as though they're dealing with experts? Well they're wrong. Using jargon in your sales material is a complete turn off. All your customers want to know is how you're going to make their lives better in plain and simple language. Language speaks volumes The language you use says a lot about your company - even the salutation you use in your letters and emails: Dear customer - 'we don't really care who you are, just give us your money.' Dear Mr Smith - 'see, we do you know your name 'cause it's in our database, but we don't really want to talk ...

As an online marketer your search engine optimisation strategy should be led by content and that means blogging. Some love it, some hate it, but regardless of your feelings about the whole thing blogging is something that has to be done if you want to get your business high up in the Google rankings and yourself a reputation as an expert in your field. Sorry, that's the bottom line - you really don't have a choice in the matter. If you don't believe me, here are a few stats courtesy of Hubspot to back me up about companies that blog: They get 55% more visitors They have 97% more inbound links They have 434% more indexed pages As if that wasn't enough evidence for you, 57% of companies that blog have acquired at least one customer because of it. Now are you convinced? Building your blog Making the ...

For a lot of people, working for themselves is the ultimate dream. No more bosses, no more 9 to 5, no more horrible jobs that you don't want to do and the opportunity to choose who you want to work with. That's all true to a certain degree, but freelancing isn't always the Holy Grail you may expect it to be. It does have it's downsides too. For example, you're on your own. Suddenly, you go from a business that had specialists in each department to just you. Overnight you've become the MD, Financial Director, Customer Service, Operations Director, Marketing Director, Sales Director - the list is endless. Rather than trying to juggle all the balls, find out what your strengths and weaknesses are and then farm out all the weak areas. Then you need to find out what it is you're going to do. Your niche When I started out as a copywriter I decided ...

In the world today there are over 1 billion users of social media - that sounds quite a lot to me. Rather than just another statistic that one should make you, as a business owner, sit up and take notice. Just think about how that effects your market place. One billion people online, socialising, chatting, sharing news and information - how cool would it be if they were talking about your business? OK, sure, not all 1 billion would be talking specifically about you, but you get my meaning. But that's not to say social media is and should only be about selling. Yes, it should be part of your marketing strategy to build and enhance relationships with new and old customers alike. But it should also go further than that; it should also be used to enhance your customer service too. If you think about it, Facebook and Twitter are all about ...

Have you noticed how social media has managed to become part of our every day lives? Because of many of us now own smart-phones we automatically sent tweets, update our Facebook statuses and log in on Foursquare wherever we go. In fact, it's also beginning to have an impact on our shopping habits. We no longer have to wait until we're in front of our PCs to browse the web in search of that sought after item. Now we just turn to our phones or tablets and buy on the go. Research from Reevoo has shown that consumers indicated that social content is starting to shape how they shop online. Over half of those surveyed said that they found social media comments helpful when shopping online, with user reviews and friend recommendations being the biggest influencers. But it's not just consumers who are changing their shopping habits, retailers are also embracing ...

As you know, email marketing and newsletters are very powerful tools in your marketing armoury. But they can also do a lot of damage if you're not careful. A rushed newsletter or careless email can create havoc for your business, so it's essential you take your time and think about what you're doing. This diagram outlines the key elements of your email that must be checked before you press the send button.   But that's just for starters because sloppy email marketing could see you fall foul of the CAN-SPAM Act and you really don't want to do that. To comply with the act, all your emails must: Not carry misleading, deceptive or false information in your “To”, “From”, “Reply to”, subject line etc. You must specify whether the email is from a company or ...