copywriting tips

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

  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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Towards the end of last year, Ofcom revealed that 27% of UK adults and 47% of teenagers owned a smartphone - a pretty strong message to all businesses that they can't ignore mobile marketing any more. As more and more people are browsing the web for products and services it's no longer acceptable to just hope they'll find your normal website and buy from you. Now you have to invest in a mobile site that is tightly focused on their needs so they can find the information or product they need quickly. A 2012 study by the marketing technology provider Unica (links to a PDF) shows that: 33% of companies are already using mobile messaging, apps and websites as part of their marketing strategy 24% plan to use these tactics within 12 months 13% plan to use them in more ...

If you have small children you'll be pretty fed up with the word 'why'. Almost every sentence uttered by your child with feature it. Their insatiable appetite for knowledge makes them repeat it again and again, until you reach breaking point.  But for a professional copywriter the word 'why' is one of the most important words in the English Language. Why? Well, when working as a copywriter you are: A superb sales person A magical wordsmith A persuasive orator A great writer But the one thing you are not is an expert in every industry, so it's essential your client know that from the outset. People often shy away from hiring a copywriter because they believe its impossible for the writer to know more about their business than they do. And they'd be right, but that's why they do need a copywriter. You see, you client is ...

Being an independent copywriter can be a lonely life. As you're not part of a big agency you spend many hours alone thinking and writing. To some that might sound like the perfect working arrangement, but it does pose a few problems. Working alone demands discipline and vast quantities of self-motivation, so here are a few tips to help you make the most of your time. 1. Remove distractions When you're on your own all day it is very easy to get distracted. People popping round (a particular problem if you work from a home office as for many, working from home means you're available for a gossip all day, 'cause you're at home, even though you're in your office), ringing phones (office and home), the unfinished book on the side, even the washing and ironing can ...

It happens a lot - you meet a customer, spend an hour or so with them taking a detailed brief, then you produce a proposal and quote outlining exactly what needs to be done (as agreed during your meeting), your customer is happy with it, says 'yes' and you get started. Then, just as you're nearing completion they either move the goal posts or announce 'no, I want it written like this...', which is the complete opposite to what was discussed and agreed during the meeting. What do you do? Get it in writing Make sure you always provide a written proposal and quote. That way, when your client changes their mind and you announce that that means the quote needs to amended, they can't quibble (OK, they probably will, but at least you can show what the original quote covered and ...

The term 'keyword density' shouldn't even be part of your vocabulary. Harking back to the bad old days of search engine optimisation, it was believe that to rank highly for your chosen terms you had to repeat them as many times as possible. Surprise, surprise that just let to website upon website of incoherent ramblings that offered no value whatsoever to the user. Hence the constantly changing Google algorithms that are designed to wheedle out those who try to beat the system (you can't, so don't even try) rather than going to the trouble of creating content that is meaningful, relevant and useful. Getting your SEO right I'm pleased to say that most of today's SEO copywriters understand the value of natural content that's written primarily for the reader. And before you ask, yes it is still effective ...

Writing guest blogs is a great way to get your writing (and name) out to a wider audience. So how do you pitch for guest slots? Let's clear one thing up straight away - just because you send an idea or a post to a blogger and ask them to publish it, doesn't mean they have to accept it. It's their blog so its their right to choose if they want to have guest bloggers, the type of post they publish and the type of tone/approach they want for their readers. So how do you pitch your ideas? A bad start If you want to impress the blogger and build a relationship with them, here's what not to do: Send in a post asking for it to be published without researching their blog first Constantly chasing them when you don't hear anything A good start The first thing to do is research: find blog(s) that you can write ...

It doesn't matter how good you are at your job, sooner or later you'll end up drowning under a pile of paper. We've all been there; the bottom of your tray has been invisible for months, then, just as you are about to unearth it your boss dumps another load of work on you with the passing comment that the Annual Report is due out in a few weeks so make sure you're on it. Stop. Before you lose it completely, take stock of your situation and what you have to do. Be rational: not only do you not have the time to write the report, you've never written one before and have no idea where to start. Even when he tosses last year's at you for reference you're completely nonplussed. So what do you do? The simple answer is ...

The first stop for any copywriter after receiving an enquiry is a client meeting. The most effective way is face-to-face, but that's not always possible so it may be by video call or Skype. But however you do it, it is your one opportunity to meet the potential client, impress them and gather all the information you need to know about the project. So where do you start? Here are my top 20 must ask questions: 1. Project definition What exactly is it they want you to do. This is essential to work out the complexity and extent of the work involved. Pin them down to as exact a brief as possible to avoid constant 'tweaks' throughout the project. If you're not careful you could end up out of pocket because the changing parameters resulted in huge amounts of extra work. A good way of protecting yourself is using their answer to this question in ...

What's your copywriting budget? I bet you don't have one. Come on, let's face it - you've spent hours trawling the Internet to find the best web designer you can (or at least that you can afford), they've convinced you to get a professional photographer on board and a graphic designer. Then they add in a spot of keyword research and suddenly your budget has gone. It's so exciting isn't it, as you see it all come together and you gradually refine the site until it's perfect. The photography looks amazing, your logo is stunning, your website works like a dream and then your web designer turns to you and says... "OK, we're all ready to go - we just need the copy now." Copy? Who said anything about copy? Doesn't that come with the site? Oh boy, now you're in trouble. Your designer sighs and suggests you contact this professional copywriter he knows, but ...

When marketing your business, you're going to do a lot of writing. Regardless of whether you have the resources within your company to cope with this, or hire in a professional copywriter, one thing you're going to need a lot of is ideas for your content. Ideas can come from anywhere at any time, so you have to make sure you're ready to record them when they strike because you never know when the next one will come from. So what's the best way to go about that? Here are a couple of ideas for you that work for me. Pen and Paper It doesn't matter how technologically advanced we get, there'll always be a place for the humble pen and paper. Ideas can come at you from all angles during your working day: Customer comments Articles in magazines and newspapers New items on ...

This post originally appeared on our other blog Freelance Copywriter's Blog, but we thought you may like to read it too. Working as a copywriter offers great variety and some really interesting projects to get your teeth into, but things don't always run smoothly.  Every now and then you'll find yourself in a situation where you'll have to part from a clients, so this post looks at how you should handle that sort of situation. As a freelancer (whether a copywriter, designer, social media adviser etc.) you love your clients. After all they are the ones that help you keep your business afloat and pay your bills. But there comes a time – every now and then – when you have to say goodbye. We’ve all been there – at first the relationship with your client is good, but as time goes on, cracks begin to appear. They are taking up ...

You hired a copywriter because of at least one of these reasons: You wanted to work with an experienced sales writer You needed an expert in their field You don't have the time to do it yourself You don't have the skills needed to create effective copy You wanted to make sure your copy worked In other words, you're serious about your business goals and you wanted to make sure you had the best team on board to help you realise them. So, what will your copywriter bring to your project? The role of a copywriter After you've briefed your copywriter, what do they do next? Well, first of all, they'll spend a lot of time getting to know: You Your company Your style Your products and services Your customers and their needs Your brand After that they'll research your competitors, find out what's happening in your market and, if necessary, make ...

No, we're not talking about what you think we're talking about - this post it all about how to keep your copywriting message on target. On the face of it, writing copy may seem simple, but it's not. For a start, you have to take a big step back from your business and look at it through the eyes of your customers. It has to be powerful and persuasive and it has to flow. That means meaningful paragraphs that slip from one to another without sounding like a load of disjointed ideas. So how do you achieve that? Well, here are 7 tips to help you out. 7 tips to retain clarity in your copywriting 1. Focus This is very important. Think of your ideal customer and write to them. If you try and write something for everyone, your message will become garbled. So, ...

No one knows your business like you do, so surely you're the best person to write your company's copy, right? Wrong. It's quite true that you know your business better than anyone else, but that's precisely the problem. Let me explain. You've spent years honing your products and services, you're rightly proud of your achievements and as a result, when you write about them you will end up focusing on how great they are and all the different things they do/offer. Although, on the face of it, you probably think that's OK, it's not. You see, your audience isn't bothered about any of that, they don't even care how long you've been in business, what they care about is what your product or service will do for them. That's why it pays to bring in a professional copywriter. They will bring their expertise ...

This post originally appeared on our other blog, Freelance Copywriter's Blog, but we also wanted to share it with you. You all know how important it is to produce a continual stream of content. But under no circumstances is that content to be a blatant sales pitch. What? I can’t sell? Then what’s the point? If you generate content that is just all about selling, no one is going to read it and people will be turned off your company because of it. But, if you generate content that is full of cracking information that people love, you’ll draw them to you. Mind you, just because you can’t directly sell through your content doesn’t mean you can’t use it to gently persuade them to take a specific action. What I’m talking about here is to get your reader to do something you want them to do (other than put pounds in your ...

When starting out as a professional freelance copywriter one question will cause you sleepless nights (other than how to attract clients): how do you price your services? One of the most popular ways of answering this particular quandary is to charge for the time it takes to write the copy. But is that the best way? Apart from the fact that you'll be severely restricting your potential income as there are only so many hours in the day (and I doubt anyone wants to work 24/7 just to get a decent income), it isn't an option that really takes in the bigger picture. Look at it this way, you wouldn't pay a plastic surgeon by the hour, would you? Of course you wouldn't and that's because it's their experience and expertise that you're paying for, ...

This post first appeared on or other blog, www.freelancecopywritersblog.com, but we wanted to share it with you here too. Copywriting Motivators What is a copywriting motivator? Well, before I answer that, think for a moment about what it is that makes you decide to buy something. First off, you’ll have a need (whether you’re conscience of it or not). Whether it’s a party coming up that you need a new dress for (and shoes, bag, make up etc.), or a problem with your business that you need a solution for, something will trigger a potential buying decision. Last week, I was leaving my Accountant’s office at about 5pm. It had been a long day and I’d not had a lot to eat. As I walked back to my car, my stomach was beginning to complain bitterly about the lack of food it had seen that day. To reach my car, I had to ...

If you're going to blog for your business, you must make sure every single post you publish makes an impact. The reasons people read blogs are: They want to learn something They enjoy reading people’s opinions They can connect with the reader on a personal level They are informative and entertaining But the main reason is that they are personal. Every post is written by a person, they are full of personality. So, if no one is reading your blog posts, there probably isn't enough of you in it. Getting personal Every reader that comes to your blog is building a relationship with you. You'll probably never meet them, but they believe they know you. They can tell a lot about you and your personality through your writing. The style you use, your opinions and subject matter all help them build up a picture of what you’re ...

Every day we are surrounded by marketing messages. There's no getting away from them; they're on the  TV, in magazines, on the radio, plastered along the sides of buses, taxis, billboards etc. everywhere you look, everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something. There lies the problem for marketers: with so many messages out there, how do you get yours to stand out and be noticed? That particular feat comes down to the presentation of your information. As a copywriter, my focus is always on the message, but colour, graphics and layout also play a big part in the way an advert or message is received. Information presentation Here are my top 5 things you can do to make sure your message isn’t ignored. 1. Verb Don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a grammar lesson. But starting your heading with a verb instead ...

Copywriters, in a strange way, are a lot like doctors. We use our skills to find someone's pain point (a challenge they are wanting to overcome) and to help them overcome it by offering them the panacea they've been looking for (the product or service that will resolve their issue). Diagnosing their pain and removing it is all it takes to make a sale. Regardless of whether you're writing for a B2B or B2C market, every consumer has a problem they are looking to solve. After all, if they didn't they would be on your website or reading your brochure looking for a cure. Pain as a motivator Pain is a motivator. If you touch a hot iron, you'll be quickly motivated to move your hand. It's the same in sales. For consumers, it's things that will make their lives easier, make ...