Posts Tagged ‘freelance copywriter’

The whole point of creating copy is to sell. It doesn't matter what form it takes - website copy, brochure content, email, case study, white paper etc. - its main function is to get your reader to sit up and take notice and take an action (e.g. buy, sign up, visit your website etc.). When you're face to face with someone selling to them, you have the advantage of being able to think on your feet, counter their objections and continue to talk to them until you convince them to buy. But when you're writing copy, none of those advantages exist. You're writing words that will be read at a later date by someone you've never met, so it's essential your words work hard for you. 4 things to remember when writing your sales copy OK, there are far more than ...

Tight copy? Does that mean writing: Nope. Tight copy is a way of writing a clear sales message that's to the point - i.e. no superfluous waffle. If you fill your copy with unnecessary adjectives and go round the houses before getting to the point (i.e. selling the product/service you're writing about), your copy isn't going to be very effective. That's why, before you get started, you need to plan what you're going to write. Consider: What you're selling To whom you're selling Why you're selling it What you want your reader to do Once you have that straight, you can start to write.   Keeping your copy tight As a copywriter I spend most of my time creating tight copy, so here are a few tips to bear in mind before you start writing. 1. Declutter Everyone adds in unnecessary words when they write. But you're unlikely to spot them until you read your copy back ...

This post originally appeared on my other blog freelancecopywritersblog. For any of you considering entering the world of copywriting, it is something you have to read: If you’re thinking about becoming a copywriter, there’s one thing you must get – a very thick skin. Over the years mine has thickened to rival any Rhino – that doesn’t conjure a particularly attractive image, but it is a necessity when you write for a living. I’ve been in business as a freelance copywriter since 2007. I’m pretty good at what I do, in fact I would go so far as to say I’m an expert in my field – that’s why companies from all over the world come to me when they need help with their marketing copy. The process is fairly simple: The client makes contact I ask for a full brief on which to base a quote They say ‘yes please’ I ...

  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 ...

  What’s the golden rule when it comes to writing press releases? DO NOT USE THEM TO SELL. A press release is all about providing the reader with news. If you want to place an advert pay for it like everyone else. But because it’s not paid for, your press release has to be top notch if you want to get it published. Every newspaper and magazine editor is looking for genuine news that their readers are going to want to hear about. But it also has to fit the style and tone of their publication. That all sounds like a lot of hard work ...

  Copywriters are always having to come up with new ideas. Whether it’s for blog posts, client projects or for their own web copy, fresh and original content generation is a part of their daily life. I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter for several years now and I would be love it if i could just sit at my desk in the morning and create an unlimited number of original ideas without any effort. Wouldn’t that be great? Just think how easy it would make anyone’s life if they could simply produce idea after idea after idea. Never again would a project stump you, you’d write oodles of great blog ...

  Building your freelance copywriting business from scratch isn’t easy. How do you get started? Where do you find your clients? How do you build up a portfolio? They are just a few of the questions that will be flying round your head. I have been a freelance copywriter since 2007 and I am frequently asked those questions by copywriters just starting out. But there is often another one too – Should I write for free? A fledgling freelancer has a problem – potential clients want to see a portfolio of work. But you can only amass a portfolio when you have clients. So how do you get those first clients? Should you write for free? If a newbie was to ask me whether I think they should ...

  Remember Wimbledon last year and that epic match between Mahut and Isner? It lasted an incredible 11 hours and 5 minutes in total with Isner eventually winning 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68! You’re probably wondering what Wimbledon, and that match in particular, has to do with SEO copywriting. Well hang in there and I’ll tell you. Just like Isner, if you want to win with your SEO strategy you have to be in it for the long haul. Many people still view their ‘SEO strategy’ as: Find a few keywords Get someone to build a website ...

  As a freelance copywriter, I have used blogging as a way of promoting my business, my knowledge and to help other people out there who need a bit of help when it comes to copywriting, marketing and general social media issues. But if you are coming to blogging without any experience the whole concept can seem quite daunting. Blogging is great if you do it effectively – so what steps can you take to make sure you’re doing it right?   How to be an effective blogger If you want to blog well, blog regularly. It’s a bit like social media – ...

  The humble case study can be like the AK47 of your marketing armoury. What better way to boost your company’s profile while showing your customers a real life example of exactly what your products can do for them. The most powerful case studies are those that combine an interview with your customer. using quotes from them and their personal insight will add weight and authority. But interviews shouldn’t just be reserved for case studies, copywriter I use them in projects such as newsletters, press releases, internal communications and news items. Often you will find the interview will provide a framework from which the rest ...

  If you are an avid reader of marketing blogs you’re bound to have come across the old saying ‘content is king’. Internet marketers across the globe have been telling us that if you want more organic traffic to our websites we need to generate more content—but not any old content, targeted content containing relevant keywords. As a result many companies are now adding content to their sites, but it’s not always good content. One of the easiest ways of getting loads of content is to use a copywriter. But there are loads out there so it pays to do your research and find a good

  Businesses everywhere are beginning to appreciate the benefits of email marketing. It is a form of marketing that can be done cheaply and on a massive scale. It’s never been so easy to get your message out to your market place. But not only is it fast, its results are also measurable. With today’s sophisticated software you can track who opens your emails, what links they click on within the email, what they do once they’ve made that click. This kind of transparency helps you hone your email marketing, constantly improving it to make sure it’s giving your customers what they want. Testing the effectiveness of ...

  There are masses of blogs out there, some great, some not so great. Everyone seems to have something to say, so how can you make an impact in the blogging world? The best place to start is to look at the structure and presentation of your blog posts. How you write and the way you present it can be more important than what you write when it comes to drawing readers in. Admittedly if what you’ve written is poor they won’t come back, so you have to make sure you tick all the boxes – simple then really. Producing a constant stream of ...

The brochure – once the main marketing force of many companies, has now become a bit of a dinosaur. With more businesses than ever turning to online marketing, is the humble brochure about to be consigned to the annuls of history? As more people turn to the internet to find goods and services (both locally and nationally), companies are investing heavily in search engine optimisation. And with 85% of all search traffic clicking on organic listings rather than the paid ads, it’s hardly surprising that’s where the money’s going. But is it really too late for the humble brochure? I don’t think so. It still has a valid place within your marketing armoury, and here’s why… Leaving it behind When ...

If you engage in email marketing you’ll know how difficult it can be to get someone to read your email. For your email to survive it has to have a strong, clear and concise subject line to make the recipient curious enough to open it. So all you have to do is come up subject lines that won’t get junked or deleted—simple! Winning subject lines To make sure email subject line draws the recipient’s attention and gets your email opened make sure you: Keep it short (no more than 60 characters, including spaces) Personalise it Identify your company Tell them what your email is about Give them a benefit as an enticement Salesy is bad If you make your subject line too salesy you will turn your recipient off immediately. No one likes being sold to so if you make it obvious that’s what you’re up to the barriers will go up. The other hurdle you have to get over ...

  Email marketing is cheap, quick and effective. Plus as most sent today are in HTML you have the added benefit of the hyperlink. This allows your reader to click directly through to your website or landing page for more information or to buy or sign up to your offer. But if you want that to happen your email must be interesting and relevant to your recipients otherwise it will just be transferred to the deleted folder. So make sure it’s appealing by following these simple suggestions: 1. Friendly Just as if you were writing a letter, use a salutation preferably personalised. This personal touch ...

  Hey, I’m a copywriter so I know exactly what my audience wants, right? All they want is an incredible offer and they’ll be putty in my hands. If real life was like that it would be amazing and my job would be very easy. But sadly in the real life creating copy that sells isn’t quite that easy. Sometimes there is a problem with your sales pitch—they simply don’t want to buy your product. You can’t lead a dog of a tablet… Well that’s a well known saying in my house anyway. I have two dogs—one very large chocolate Labrador that’ll ...

Writing your own copy constantly can lead to a problem—how long is it before you run out of things to say? Before you know it all your marketing materials look and sound the same. Customers start getting fed up seeing the same old messages again and again. So how do you overcome this? What can you do to freshen up your approach and offer something more innovative, eye-catching and exciting? Doing a 180 Keeping your marketing collateral fresh and exciting is vital if you want to remain at the forefront of your industry. When things start to get a bit stale it’s time for a 180 degree rethink by looking at your products and offers from a different angle. Let’s look at an example to see how this can ...

  Many people would have you believe that SEO copywriting is a mystical art that you can only do after many years of training high on a remote Tibetan mountain top. It’s not—but that’s not to say it is easy. It does take time to get to grips with because you have to learn how the search engine spiders read a web page before you can learn how to write one. A favourite phrase for many writers who claim to understand search engine optimisation is keyword density. Here’s a tip for you—if anyone throws that one at you run for the hills. In the ...

  You already know how important it is to maintain regular contact with your customers through a regular newsletter—but how easy do you find it to come up with interesting content? Whether you create your own content or hire the services of a freelance copywriter, your newsletter has to provide information that your readers want to read—so that means you mustn’t fill every issue with amazing facts about you. If your newsletter isn’t providing useful information, your readers will unsubscribe. So how can you ensure your newsletter is…well, news-worthy, interesting and giving your readers what they want? How to create a bad newsletter Fill ...

What are the advantages of email marketing? Well for a start its a quick and cheap way of reaching out to thousands of customers instantly. In a relatively short space of time it as revolutionised marketing. But as with everything, there are some people out there who want to spoil it for everyone—the spammers. Spammers are those people out there who think it’s fine  to fill our inboxes with unsolicited emails. But thanks to  them, genuine businesses now have a much harder time. If you want your email to get through the spam filters and be opened and read, your message has to be strong and eye-catching. What is spam? It is basically unwanted (and unwelcome) emails sent to thousands of recipients simultaneously. I’m sure you receive shed loads of it every day. I want to use ...

How is your website doing? Does it get a lot of traffic? If so, is that reflected in your conversion rate? What I’m asking is, if your site gets thousands of hits a week is that converting into sales? As a copywriter I come across lots of websites. Some look good, have a decent amount of content and even rank quite well. But they don’t convert. So how can you get your website working efficiently for you? What is the secret that successful website owners know that you don’t? How to make your website convert every time Before you do anything to your website, you have to go to the beginning of the process and study how people use the internet. Generally if they’re looking for something ...

  In my last post we looked at the Home Page and About Us page. Now it’s the turn of the Products/Service page and FAQs. Products and services 1. A company selling products Quite often when you look at a website, the product pages are full of images showing you what you can buy with very little copy. That’s a real shame as it’s the copy that sells the benefits to your reader and gives you the opportunity to get your keywords into your page. That doesn’t mean there has to be a massive amount of text here, just enough to tell the reader why ...

Many people believe that writing is just writing. It doesn’t matter what it’s for, it is basically the same animal. It can range from fiction, sales writing, promotional writing, poetry… But if you treat every form the same you’ll come unstuck. Your writing style must be adjusted according to its format and desired effect. For example, if you’re writing the next best seller, your writing has to entertain, enthral and envelop your readers’ curiosity to hold their attention until the last page. But website copywriting should be interesting, relevant, engaging and must sell. It should also be search engine optimised too. Fiction writing is all about painting a picture with similes and metaphors. But website copy is about selling and driving traffic – there’s ...

Before we get going I just want to make one thing clear – the term ‘keyword density’ should be confined to the rubbish bin. There, I’ve said it. It is often used by ‘SEO experts’ who claim to understand the ins and outs of Google’s algorithms – well if that were true, they’d know that ‘keyword density’ was a nonsense. So where did it come from in the first place? Well the basic thinking went along these lines: “If I use my keyword more often, its density will be higher; if it’s higher Google will regard my copy as more relevant than anyone else’s. So, the more keywords I cram in the better.” Oh boy, how wrong can you be? Working along these lines, you completely disregard any competition from other websites for ...

Although there are many different uses for the direct mail letter, they all have common characteristics that make them successful. Of course, your list and your offer will also have a big impact on your success rate but the characteristics I will be talking about are those that make the letter powerful, engaging – a sales force to be reckoned with. So, that must mean the copy. How you write your letter will determine whether you successfully engage with your reader. A lot depends on the words you use… Be personal When you are in a face to face selling situation, the first thing the sales person will try to do is build rapport. That is exactly what your letter has to do. Use language that will engage your reader ...

    Direct mail has always been a very effective marketing tool – but only if you get it right. It won’t have a place in every business, especially with the advances in online marketing. But it is still very much alive and well. If you dabble in direct mail and want your campaigns to be successful, there are three elements you should use to maximise your chances of success:   Make sure the content of your letter appeals to your target market Make sure it is written to inspire your audience to take an action Make sure you can monitor its effectiveness ...

Is there really a difference between producing copy for on and offline purposes? Well, let’s think about that for a moment. What’s the most important thing to focus on when producing sales copy? Your reader. Once you know who you are writing for, what do you have to remember? To sell the benefits of the product or service you are writing about. There is only one question your audience wants answered – What’s in it for me? This is true whether you are writing website copy, brochure copy, newsletter content or direct mail. Essentially the elements for on and off line copy are going to be the same – it should always be focused on your reader. The basic formula There is a basic formula to keep in mind when you are writing sales copy. You may have heard of it already ...

  Clever copywriting as opposed to what? Well, a while back I was asked to take part in an online Q&A session with The Guardian about copywriting as a career. During this discussion the question was asked whether copywriting should be clean or clever. Clean copywriting is all about producing very tight, concise and compelling sales copy. Where as clever copy is there to impress. Which is best will stem from personal experience and what your audience dictates. As a copywriter, my career to date as mainly seen me involved in creating copy for commercial print or web based media, so here is my point of view. Always short and sweet ...

  Are freelance copywriters the only people who can write persuasive copy? I would love to answer that with a yes, but anyone can write persuasively if they have the time and inclination. But as time is a rare commodity these days it is often more cost effective to use a professional copywriter. Creating a magnetic force in your writing uses 9 techniques. Used in isolation they’ll have little effect, but combine their power and you’ll produce captivating copy that will make your reader buy. I guess you want to know what the 9 elements are… 1. Be direct I don’t mean write “Buy it now!” – that won't work. I’m thinking ...