The writing of articles and article marketing is one of the best and fastest ways to market your business. As a copywriter it is something I have been doing for sometime to great effect.

Don’t believe me? OK then, I’ll prove it. I have put together 7 ways you can benefit from articles. Are you ready?

1) Articles quickly position you as an expert in your field

By writing articles you’ll be setting yourself apart from your competition. You’ll never have to grab a chair, climb on it and yell "listen to me, I’m an expert!" Your articles do that for you.

2) Articles are an army of 24/7 salespeople

Once your articles are published on the internet you’ll have a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year international sales team working specifically for you. Not bad eh?

3) One article can have many uses

In other words, leverage. One article can be used as a free report, a newsletter feature, it can become part of an online e-course, part of a book, etc. The possibilities are endless.

4) Articles spread the word about your business and your services

Online articles have a very long shelf life. They can be picked up by anyone at anytime and anywhere.

5) Marketing articles is simple, easy and inexpensive

It costs you nothing to write an article (apart from your time). It also costs you nothing to have it listed on article directories.

6) Articles can help you build a mailing list

Once you have a few articles out there, people will click through to your site and sign up for your newsletter building a mailing list worth its weight in gold which can be used over and over again.

7) Articles let you stay in touch with clients and sell more products

On average it takes 7 contact for a new prospect to be ready to become a client. Articles let you to stay in touch with prospects and provide them with quality information.

I could go on - article writing and marketing really is a fantastic and cost effective way to your business. What are you waiting for? Give it a go.

The world is becoming more and more virtual every day. As a website copywriter it is my job to help you to create an engaging website that’s interesting, relevant and converts visitors into customers – no pressure then!

You might think your website already satisfies these criteria, but it is worth reading on just to check.

I’m sure you’ve come across many a website that has been unreadable. I’m not just talking about dodgy copy that has been over stuffed with keywords, or bad translations of foreign sites. What I’m getting at is those sites that are literally unreadable because of the layout and
colours.

I have put together a list of 8 tips to bear in mind when writing your website content. If you already have a site, once you’ve read this list go back to it and see if you have fallen foul of any of them.

Make it easy to read

Here I’m referring to the look of the text (the way it is written is an entirely different subject). Don’t use light coloured text on a white background, for example yellow on white, because it will be unreadable. By the way, the same can also be said for dark text on a dark background.

Get them in the mood

Colour can be used to great effect to create a mood – for example red will create excitement or urgency. But don’t over do it, rainbow text looks very unprofessional.

Attention grabbing

If you want your website to be read make sure you have a strong headline that will grab your readers’ attention and make them want to read on. Use different fonts and colours to make them stand out. 

Highlight important words

Important words can be your keywords and others such as super, fast, free, new etc. They should be highlighted in bold or colour. Be careful if using the underline as a way of highlighting text as this could be confused with a hyperlink. And your reader could get very frustrated
trying to click it. 

Font size

In website copywriting, size is everything. If it’s too small your reader will struggle to read it.

Spare the capitals

DON’T USE ALL CAPS AS IT WILL LOOK UNPROFESSIONAL AND AS THOUGH YOU ARE SHOUTING AT YOUR READER. Not good.

White space

A solid block of text is an instant turn off. Use white space to break it up into paragraphs with sub headings. These will make it much easier for your reader to navigate around your page and find the information that’s important to them.

To highlight your key points (such as your benefits) put them in a bullet point list to make them stand out.

Check and double check

There is nothing worse than a gorgeous looking website full of typos and grammatical errors. Always check and double check before publishing. If possible get someone else to read through it for you. 

This list of 8 tips is a great start to creating an eye catching website.

Ask any freelance copywriter what is one of the most essential elements in their marketing  armoury, they’ll say your call to action.

Your call to action is undoubtedly one of the most powerful parts of your copywriting.

Let’s assume your copy has been compelling enough to keep your reader engrossed to the very end, you have them in the palm of your hand, they’re ready to buy so you’ll want to make sure your copy ends on a bang not a whimper.

8 crucial desire drivers for your call to action

Your call to action has to convince your reader to take action - it’s your last opportunity to make them buy. To help you achieve this I have put together the following list of 8 desire drivers which will optimise your chances of making that all important sale.

1.    End on a high note – their lives will be so much better if they buy your product - use the most powerful benefit your product has as the example.

2.    End with a warning – this is the opposite of number 1 so tell them what will happen if they don’t use your product.

3.    End with a short review - repeat all the major benefits and features they will receive.

4.    End with a deadline – restrict your product with a limited time offer or closing date to create a sense of urgency.

5.    End with a guarantee – this will add peace of mind.

6.    End with a testimonial – use one or two of your customers’ testimonials but make sure they are believable and contain specific results.

7.    End with a free bonus – this could be a free sample or a trial period.

8.    End with a discounted price – further up in the body of your copy you can show your normal price but offer a discounted price if they order straight away.
These desire drivers are a simple but effective way of achieving a sale. Try them in your marketing copy and see how you get on.

You would think it is common sense to survey your customers now and again wouldn’t you. So why do so many businesses fail to do it?

There is only one way you’ll find out whether your products and services provide what your customers need and expect - by asking them.

Customer research is vital to keep ahead of the game in a competitive market place.

Sitting in your meeting room brainstorming about what you think your customers want won’t give you a true opinion. You are so much in love with your products and services you’ll see everything through rose tinted specs. The only people who can give you a true picture are your customers.

A good survey can tell you a lot about your market and the perception it has of your company.

10 very good reasons why your marketing and sales strategy would benefit from regular surveying

1.    Discover what your readers want to see on your web site to make them revisit and buy.

2.    Find out how your products can be improved opening up a whole new market for you.

3.    Get an insight into what products your customers would like to be able to buy in the future.

4.    Use the feedback to improve your customer service.

5.    Discover how you can make your DM and adverts more appealing.

6.    Raise your newsletter readership by discovering what type of articles people want to read.

7.    Improve the design of your web site to encourage visitors to stay there longer.

8.    Identify any non-related products your customers are interested in which could help you expand into different markets in the future.

9.    Discover how to optimise the price of your product.

10.    Discover the life styles of your customers - places they frequent. This could open up new marketing opportunities for you.

There is so much you from surveying.

Seize the initiative. Create and circulate your survey and soon you will be able to reap the rewards of enhanced customer relationships.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

One of the hardest parts of my job as a freelance copywriter is working out exactly what to say to make someone buy. Everyone is different, every product is different.

Wouldn’t it be great if you inherently knew exactly what to say to make someone buy from you?

Well, that is pretty much what I hope this article will do. You see, people have to justify their buying decisions, so all you need to know is how they go about it - simple!

How many times have you bought something you didn’t really need but you wanted? Come on, own up - I know I have one or two pairs of shoes I managed to convince myself I needed even though I didn’t?

To help you solve this particular problem, here is a list of 10 reasons why people buy products – see how many you recognise.

1.    To make money – more money makes them feel more successful

2.    To save money – maybe investing for the future to make them feel more secure

3.    To save time – hands up who wants to work less and have more leisure time to help them gain a better quality of life ( I know I do)

4.    To look better – perhaps lose a bit of weight or a nip and tuck to make them feel more attractive

5.    To learn something new – a new skill will make them feel more intelligent

6.    To live longer – by getting in shape and changing their diet they will feel healthier

7.     To feel better – finally getting shot of niggling aches will bring relief

8.    To be loved – no one wants to be lonely, everyone wants to feel wanted

9.    To be popular – whether it is to the degree of wanting to be famous or just to be liked it will make them feel admired by others

10.    For pleasure – by satisfying their inner most desires they will feel more fulfilled

Sound familiar?

Who doesn’t want to be more successful, more secure, have a better quality of life, feel more attractive, feel more intelligent, feel healthier, feel wanted, be admired or feel fulfilled? Isn’t that what we are all striving for?

Now you know what makes people buy all you have to do is convince your readers that buying your product will result in at least one of these ‘wants’.

Words can be very powerful. Believe it or not, the English language is full of words that will make people act the way you want them to. They will buy, they will contact you, they’ll even hop up and down on one leg whilst waving their arms around - OK, maybe not the last one.

What am I talking about?

OK, let me ask you this. What is the purpose of copywriting on your adverts, brochures or website?

The answer is simple – it is designed to make your reader buy. Now and again your readers may need a nudge to get them to arrive at that buying decision. So, the words that you use within your advert are really important.

Rather than leaving you to discover the mine of golden words yourself, I have listed 10 of the little beauties below.

Curious?

I thought you might be. Prepare yourself, here we go…

•    Limited – People love to think they are getting something ‘exclusive’. Tell them your product is in limited supply and they won’t want to miss out.

•    Discount – Don’t you just love to think you’re getting a bargain? Well, your readers will too. They could be time limited, BOGOFs, money back schemes etc.

•    Guaranteed – This is the all important peace of mind. It will give your readers confidence in your company knowing you believe in your product so much you’re prepared to give a guarantee.

•    New – Every one likes to have something that is new that will improve their lives whether its information, technology etc.

•    You/Your – These are so important. Talk to your reader directly and you’ll build rapport and make them feel special.

•    Fast – Whether it’s fast delivery or fast results, time is an extremely important commodity these days.

•    Testimonials – Seeing is believing. Your readers will be reassured if they can read from others that your product works. Just make sure the testimonials are specific and reputable. 

•    Easy – People are inherently lazy. They want easy ordering, easy instructions, easy to pay and easy to use…

•    Important – This is one word that makes people sit up and take notice. They won’t want to miss out on important information that could affect them.

•    Free – This doesn’t mean you have to give your product away. Free information or a free trial is a great hook and incentive to buy. People love to get something for nothing.

By using these words in your sales copywriting you’ll help create a greater response to your marketing. Try them out.

Q: What is the one thing that freelance copywriters are always asked for?
A: Snappy or punchy copy.

But of course, when you actually probe a bit deeper and ask exactly what they mean by ‘snappy copy’ and the response is usually along the lines of:

“Erm…you know…snappy…punchy…that sort of thing.”

Hmmm, very useful.

If a copywriter is going to produce powerful copy, they need to fully utilise the one tool they have available to them - the power words.

We’re not talking about incredibly complex words here. The words they use are very basic, simple words that don’t require defining or explaining. Your reader shouldn’t need a dictionary to try and establish what you’re talking about; they should be able to connect with them immediately.

You want to see some examples? OK. Power words are things such as:

- Love
- Hate
- Cash
- Care
- Best
- Crash
- Worst
- Win
- Lose
- Risk

That doesn’t mean you have to hit these right in your first draft. Every copywriter will produce several drafts before they submit it to their client.

The editing stage is vital because it’s at this stage you clear out all the flabby worn-out words and replace them with something more powerful. Of course, the choice of words is going to depend on what you are writing and who you are writing for.

If you are still unsure of what I am getting at, below is a list of worn-out words and their powerful alternatives.

See - the power words are ‘snappier’; they’ll give your copy far more impact. Try them out and see what difference it makes to your sales copy.

Following on from my last article, we’re now going to discover how you can attract your readers’ interest in what you are selling.

How do you do that?

Well, your reader has a problem – they are feeling stressed, bored or unfulfilled. It’s down to you to find a way to tie your product to their problem as the solution.

A metaphorical arm around their shoulder

Freelance copywriters can be described as counsellors. We have to be able to show our readers that we understand how they feel. We then we promise to take the problem away - all they have to do is buy your product.

The golden rule here is to make sure you write about the solution not the problem – negativity won’t help your case.

Think about this question - ‘How will my reader’s life be improved if they do what I want them to do?’ and answer it in the first sentence or paragraph.

Sell the benefits

Benefits are anything your reader perceives as valuable or worthwhile – something that will help them make/save money, save time, get them promoted, make friends etc.

But it is important to make sure you are selling the benefits and not
the features. The product might be recyclable but that is a feature. The benefit would be that it helps preserve natural resources.

It will take a bit of practice, but you’ll get the hang of it.

But just because they are interested and can see the benefits, doesn’t mean they’ll simply hand their credit card over.

The next step is to create a desire for your product. See you in a day or so.