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 have a full workload so it gets pushed to the bottom of the pile.

Eventually, the need for the copy becomes urgent so they spend their lunch hour quickly writing something that ‘will do’.

The problem with this is, writing about your company is difficult because you’re too close to it. It is incredibly difficult to stand back and look at what you offer through the eyes of your customers.

The result is you end up with copy that tells your reader all about your company and absolutely nothing about what your company can do for them.

What a copywriter will do for you

When you bring in a professional copywriter they will ask lots of questions to learn about:

• Your company
• Your product or service
• Your audience (i.e. your ideal customer)

This helps them understand you, your product/service and, more importantly, the person you are trying to sell them to.  Through this process, they can place themselves in your customers’ shoes and discover what it is that your readers really want to know.

The copy will talk directly to the reader, address their problems and sell them the benefits of your product/service.

The result?

• Your website copy will be optimised and will convert visitors into paying customers
• Your brochures will sell, not just inform
• Your case studies will entertain, inform and sell
• Your press releases will engage and generate new enquiries
• Your email marketing will be effective because they will be opened, read and acted on

Do you still think copywriting is a waste of money, or something you can do on your own?

Every piece of written marketing could be the first impression the reader has of your company. Make sure it gives the right impression – that you are a company that is professional and understands what its customers want.

In any business relationship, trust is probably the most important factor. After all, if someone doesn’t trust you they’re not going to buy from you.

So, when you’re creating your marketing materials, your copy has to convince your readers that you are trustworthy.

Before I go on to explain how this can be achieved, I want to look at how you can build trust through blogging. The posts on your blog are very personal to you so your reader instantly connects with you because they feel they know you through your words. This is the exact type of connection your sales writing has to replicate. 

The problem is many people believe that if you fill your copy with hype and shout BUY MY PRODUCT NOW people will do as you ask.

Wrong.

We all have a natural resistance to buying. When asked to part with your money it’s only natural you become cautious.

To get your customers to buy you must prove you’re not a charlatan and you’re not going to rip them off. You have to convince them to trust you – not something that’s easy to do through text.

Here are a few techniques you can use to create copywriting that sells.

Tell them a story

Don’t rely on bold or colourful lettering when telling someone about your product – that won’t make them buy.

Everyone loves a story so use that in your copy to help build credibility. Tell them why you created the product weaving in your credentials (number of years experience, clients you’ve helped etc.) to your benefits driven copy.

By incorporating the benefits in this way you’ll instantly begin to break down their buying resistance.

Just by chance

Many people fall into business or stumble across a great idea for a product. If this is how you started tell your story. Show them the process you went through to bring your product to market and how it has helped others.

There’s no room for fairy stories in business so your story has to be true and credible if it’s going to work. This approach is an excellent way to make a human connection with your reader.

Case study

The case study is one of the most powerful sales tools there is. Writing about a client’s experience of your product/service will show the reader exactly what can be achieved. 

Boost your credibility by naming names, showing quantifiable results and using direct quotes from your customer.

As you can see, selling is about showing the benefits, breaking down resistance and convincing them to buy.

Once you’ve put your ‘sales pitch’ across don’t forget to add in your call to action to make sure they buy.

STOP – LOOK – LISTEN

Those three words were probably drilled into you when you were a child.

You would also do well to remember them when copywriting.

That might seem a strange thing to say but when creating sales and marketing content, many people just dive straight in. That’s because it’s usually one of those jobs that is squeezed in between other projects.

And there’s the problem – content creation shouldn’t be seen as one of those jobs you have to fit in now and then. It’s vital for your business from an SEO perspective and for getting your message out to your audience effectively.

Stop

Before you start to put pen to paper or finger to keyboard, stop and think about what you are doing and why. Every piece of copy must have a purpose so ask yourself:

• What is going to be the best platform for your message?
• What do you want to achieve from your copy?
• How do you want your audience to react?
• What do you want to tell your audience?
• What end result do you want to achieve?

Creating content is like creating a new product. You wouldn’t dream of making a new product without carrying out R&D first, so why just sit down and cobble together some half hearted sales copy?

Look

Although your content is important, so too is how it looks.

If it doesn’t have instant readability appeal, no one will read it. In which case there wasn’t a lot of point in writing it in the first place.

Using headings, subheadings, bullet points and images will make your content more attractive and accessible. A solid wall of text is a real turn off but a page with plenty of white space, bullet points and small chunks of text, is a far more interesting prospect.

Listen

You not only have to listen to the needs of your business and customers, you also need to listen to yourself.

Your content has to tell your reader what’s in it for them and represent the voice of your business.

Once you’ve written your content, read it out loud. This will help you make sure it flows, makes sense and will provoke an emotional response in your reader.

As you can see, content creation is much more than just stringing a few sentences together. A lot of thought, planning and shaping has to go into every piece of content you produce.

So remember - stop, look and listen before you publish.

How to brief effectively

The beginning of your relationship with your chosen copywriter is vital.

You’ve done your research; you’ve asked the right questions and you’ve found the perfect writer to help you with your project.

So what’s next?

Your copywriting need could be anything from website copy or brochure content to newsletter content or case studies. Whatever it is one thing remains the same – you must give your writer all the information they need to create your content.

I use a detailed pro-forma to extract the information I need. Sometimes my clients are so great they email me immediately with everything I could possible want to know about their company and product or service.

Other times I’m only given the barest of instructions. But that’s not enough.

What your copywriter needs to know

First up let’s take a look at what copywriting is.

My job is not to know your business better than you do. My job is to present your company, it’s products or services in the most eye-catching and compelling way possible.

Home grown copy (that which businesses write themselves) has a tendency to be all about the business and its achievements. The problem is, that’s not what your readers want. They want to know what you’re going to do for them.

Basically your copy has to be written from your customers’ point of view which is why investing in a professional copywriter is a must. Not only do they understand how to write powerful marketing copy, they can also view the company and its products/services from the customers’ perspective.

Just write it

The problem is, to be able to create the copy  your writer will need as much information as possible about your company, its services and products, its ethos as well as the tone you want to convey.

I have, on occasion, had clients that were aghast when I asked them for that type of information. They seem to think that providing me with it would equate to them doing my job for me.

Not true.

So I have explain that I’m good but I don’t have a crystal ball, I don’t know their company intimately so I can’t write fabulous copy just from their company name.

To illustrate my point consider this. You’re planning on getting married. You’re going to have your dress made for you, found the perfect designer and go and see them to get it started.

When you sit down with them you just say “Make me a wedding dress.”

They are unlikely to “OK”.

They’ll want to know:

• What your measurements are?
• Whether you want short or long
• Do you want a straight dress or one with a full skirt?
• What colour do you want?
• Do you want a train?

And that’s just for starters.

You wouldn’t dream of doing this so why expect your copywriter to write amazing SEO website copy from your instruction “I want you to write my website – get on with it”.

A close relationship

The relationship between a copywriter and client should be a close one which is collaborative. You can bounce ideas from each other to develop the perfect copy.

The more work your copywriter does for you, the better they get to know your company. They’ll be able to offer suggestions and help you strengthen all aspects of your marketing.

A great copywriter should be seen as an asset and one that’s worth holding on to.  

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 and rather a hit and miss affair which is why many businesses shy away from issuing releases. But there are a number of benefits to be had so it’s well worth giving it a go.

Benefits of press releases

First off, they are relatively cheap to produce. Regardless of whether you write them in-house of hire a professional copywriter, they are a cost effective way of promoting your company.

Plus, because they appear as an editorial piece rather than an in your face advert, they’re more likely to read and viewed as being independent from your company and therefore will carry more weight.

Of course, there always has to be a downside to balance the positives:

The downside of a press release

When you write articles for the web, your own web copy, blogs and brochures, you have ultimate control over the content.

But when writing press releases you relinquish that control once it’s been sent to the editor. Just because you’ve written a 2 page release doesn’t mean there’ll be room for it in its entirety within the publication. The editor may have to truncate it and may not carry as prominent a position as you’d like.

The best way to use a press release

Your press release can be used for many purposes, such as announcing:

• A new website
• A new product or service
• A forthcoming event
• Charity work
• Advice
• Community involvement

But whatever the reason for your release, the subject has to be relevant to your audience if you want it to be accepted and published. That means doing research into the publications you are targeting.

The easy way to get your press release ignored

This may seem an odd thing to be including in this post, but if you do any of the following your press release will be ignored and consigned to the rubbish bin:

• Use a bad subject line in your email such as Press release.
• Using a bad headline.
• Filling it with waffle so it takes an age to get to the real news.
• Writing a disguised advert. Editors aren’t stupid, they will spot it. 
• Using sloppy English, dodgy spelling and atrocious grammar.
• Fill it with flowery language, repetitions, waffle and adjectives galore.

Now find out how to get your press release published

OK, we’ve seen what not to do, so now on to what you should do.

Take a look at your story, what makes it interesting? Can you use a local angle to create a hook to grab your readers’ attention thereby making it more relevant to them.

Basically, what that boils down to is using the good old fashioned Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? in your opening paragraph.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to include the word count, release date, contact details, brief company profile (in the notes at the end), notes for the editor and any photo opportunities.

Also make sure you write in the third person and be concise without using jargon. 

Structuring your press release

Here’s a quick run down on how you should structure your release:

1. Write Press release at the top of your page.

2. Write the date either as 7^th November 2010 – For immediate release, or 7^th November 2010 – 12.00 15^th November 2010.

The first shows it can be used immediately, the second shows it must not be used until the specified time and date.

3. Next, your headline should be eye-catching and should grab the editor’s attention straight away.

You can also use a sub heading to flesh out more of the story.

4. The first paragraph is critical and must dive straight into your story. Forget hype and adopt a journalistic tone which sticks to the facts.

5. The second paragraph gives supporting evidence but must still remain focused.

6. The third paragraph is the place for quotes that are relevant to the story. But make sure you have permission to use them.

7. Your final paragraph is your conclusion, briefly explaining the link between the story and your company.

8. Finish with ‘Ends’ or ###

9. Finally add notes for editors and contact details.

That simple 9 point list gives you the general outline for your press release.

Just remember, if you want to be successful it must be about genuine news and not a disguised advert and shouldn’t overly promote your company.

Done correctly, press releases can generate a lot of interest in your company; done badly and they’ll only ever see the recycling bin in the editors office.

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 write for free, I’d probably say no.

If they asked whether I’d every written anything for free, I’d have to say yes.

How’s about that for confusion? But I have only every done free work in exceptional circumstances. And I’m not alone as this post by Lorraine Thompson shows when she gives 5 cases for working without pay.

When would I work for free?

• As a donation to a charity that I support
• As part of a mutually beneficial barter
• If it’s a ‘too good to be true’ portfolio enhancing opportunity
• For friends and family
• If it helps promote me and my business

If you are asked to do some work for free stop and give your response serious consideration. Is it really going to benefit your business?

Is your website converting?

There are loads of websites out there that look great, have loads of content and, sometimes, rank quite well. But they are missing one thing – they aren’t converting.

This is a conversation I tend to have with people far too regularly. It goes a bit like this:

Client: “My website’s working really well – I get about 500 unique visitors every day”

Copywriter: “Great, so what’s your conversion rate?”

Client: “My what?”

Argh! There you have it – they’ve missed the number one reason for having a website – converting your visitors into paying customers.

That’s why I’ve written this post – to show you how you can make your website convert visitors.

How to make your website convert

Let’s look at how people behave online.

Imagine you’re looking for a new camera. First you’ll probably enter your search phrase in Google, browse down the results and open a new tab for each entry that catches your eye.

Then you’ll read through each one in turn to see what the companies are offering and gradually whittle the open tabs down until you arrive at the one you want.

Have you worked out how to get your website to convert yet?

Yup – someone will buy from you if you are offering something that no one else is. It could be a price choice, free delivery, extended guarantee…the possibilities are endless.

So if you want to convert your visitors you must identify your unique value proposition and make sure it’s the first thing your potential customers see.

Because your UVP is your primary benefit it has to be something that makes you stand out from the crowd. It could be a free bonus item, price reduction, guarantee – something that is of real value to your reader.

If you hide it within your text or deep inside your site, your reader isn’t going to find it and they’ll go elsewhere. So you have to make their lives as easy as possible and make it obvious and on all pages – after all it might not be your home page they land on.

Have a look at your website – is your UVP obvious? If not you know what you’ve got to do if you want to give your conversion rate a boost.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

Online marketing – love it or hate it, if you’re a business owner you have to get to grips with it.

As the vast majority of the population use the internet to search for products and services these days, if you you don’t have an online presence you will be missing out on a massive marketplace.

But that doesn’t mean you can just lob any old website into cyber space and people will come running with open wallets.

Being online badly can seriously damage your business

The first thing to remember when starting out in the online world is that the internet isn’t a static entity.

It changes at an alarming rate so you must get to understand it and keep up to date with the latest thinking, ideas and pitfalls.

Being successful on the web will take time, patience and money. If you chuck any old thing together on the cheap you’ll do yourself more harm than good. After all if you had a High Street store you would make sure your window display was attractive and enticed people in the door.

Your website is your virtual High Street store so it must be professional, appealing and tailored to your business needs.

One of my favourite blogs is Copyblogger. A post appeared on there a while ago by Mel Brennan called 6 Online Marketing Mistakes that Will Kill Your Business. Mel takes you by the hand and leads you through the 6 no-nos of internet marketing.

Grab a coffee and have a read. Whether you think you’re web savvy or not, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check it out and make sure you’re not committing any of these cardinal sins.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

If you a business owner today the likelihood is that you dabble in email marketing, or at least have started to think about it.

Email has opened up a new and effective way of keeping in touch with your customers quickly and relatively cheaply.

You can use the emails to give great information, keep them up to date with industry news as well as new products, services and offers.

It only takes a few seconds to communicate with thousands of people.

Because email marketing is a hot topic, I have written numerous posts about it, such as:

How to build your email marketing list

Email marketing – Welcome

How to be an email spammer

How to become the King or Queen of email marketing

Consistent  email marketing

10 words that will make people open your email

Email marketing – When’s the best time to send?

Boost your email open rate

But in this post I want to look at one of the most frequently asked questions…

How often should I email my customers?

It depends…

Your ideal frequency is going to be determined by your business type – what’s right for your neighbour isn’t necessarily going to be right for you.

Take a good hard look at your business. The optimum frequency of your emails will depend largely on:

• What you are offering your customers
• Who your customers are
• What you have to say

People tend to send email son either a quarterly, monthly, bi-monthly (i.e. once every two months), twice monthly, weekly and sometimes daily (or multiple times per day) frequency.

To help you out, here is a short guide to email frequency:

Quarterly

This is great if you don’t have a lot to say. Your products and services probably don’t change that much and you rarely have offers to make.

The main problem with quarterly is it’s not regular enough to make an impression on your readers. By leaving so much time between communications you run the risk the recipient forgetting who you are.

Monthly

Monthly is quite common as it’s regular contact without being intrusive. The content can be a mixture of information, offers, news and views. This type of information exchange is a great way to build and strengthen relationships with your customers.

As a copywriter I send out a monthly newsletter. It provides hints and tips on copywriting, marketing and social media – its all free information that I am giving away and I never sell through it. By the way, if you want to get on the mailing list visit my website and sign up.

Twice a month

This is a compromise if you want to make contact more than monthly but don’t have enough to say for a weekly newsletter. One of the main benefits of twice monthly is that you can use one newsletter to give information whilst the next could be an offer on one of your products. 

Weekly

These are often used by stores looking to sell. Their weekly emails let them communicate offers and new lines quickly and easily to their customers. Plus being retail outlets it won’t come as a surprise to the recipient that they are being sold something.

Keeping up with your chosen frequency is important because your readers will soon get to expect your next issue. If you have to miss one make sure you  tell them to keep them informed.

Email marketing (whether it’s to sell or to offer a regular newsletter) is a great way to keep your company name ‘out there’.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

Search engine optimisation – love it or hate it, it’s here to stay so you’d better get to grips with it.

Before you ask, no I wouldn’t call myself an SEO expert.

So why am I writing this post about it?

Well, I am a pretty good SEO Copywriter – what makes me so sure? Well my own site is on the front page of Google for the term copywriter which is very competitive (getting on for 7 million search results) as well as several of my other keywords. Plus a number of my clients are also enjoying front page rankings.

If you think writing SEO content is about throwing a load of keywords together, you’d be wrong. There’s a whole lot more to it than that.

To guide you through the mine field that is SEO, here are 7 things you should know about SEO content if yours is going to work:

1. The importance of content

Writing good content isn’t just about rankings.

Your content should always be written for your reader first and search spiders second. It must be interesting and relevant because you want people to link to you (a big part of any SEO strategy) - back links are vital for good rankings.

Your identified keywords will have to be in your content, but they must be used naturally. Cramming them in your copy will make it unreadable and spammy. Make it natural and read it out loud to make sure it flows - readability is everything.

2. Attention grabbing

Headlines are great for grabbing your readers’ attention. They must be relevant to your copy and journalistic in style – you need to grab their attention and make them want to know more. It’s also vital you get your primary keywords into them too.

3. A great bio

To make your articles, blogs and directory submissions work hard for you, make sure you add a good biography. Make it interesting and use your keywords.

4. META

META descriptions are often overlooked – they are the 150 characters used to describe your content. Include your keywords so your reader can instantly see whether your content is going to be relevant to them or not. It won’t directly influence your SEO but it will show readers that your site is very relevant to what they are looking for and therefore attract that all important click-through.

5. Layout

How your web copy, articles and blogs look is vital. Make sure there’s lots of white space so they are appealing to the eye and easier to read. Headings and sub headings can be used to direct the reader through your text. When using headings make sure you use the correct tags and in a hierarchical order. H1 tags are your main headings; your sub headings should be H2 etc. And of course, always use your keywords where possible within the headings.

6. Be original

Coming up with continuous and original copy isn’t easy and the temptation to recycle is great. But don’t – Google won’t like it so make sure all your content is original. 

7. Pictures

Images are always a great way to enhance your copy so make sure they’re relevant to your content and make sure you utilise the ALT tag to make the most of their SEO potential.

Why do you need to know this?

Many people believe SEO is all down to keywords and content. In part it is, but your SEO strategy should encompass so much more. You have to think about readability, links, images as well as the navigability of your website (for humans and search engine spiders).

Thinking SEO copywriting is an expense you can do without is rather short-sighted. Investing in well written SEO copywriting is vital for the success of your online marketing.